Zelensky says 31,000 Ukrainian troops killed since Russian invasion
KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since Russia invaded two years ago, marking the first time he has provided an official estimate of Ukraine’s military losses during the conflict.
Zelensky gave the figure at a news conference in Kyiv to mark the second anniversary of the war.
“I don’t know if I have a right to tell you the numbers of our losses. Every single person is a tragedy,” he said, adding, “31,000 [members] of Ukraine’s military were killed during this war.”
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KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that 31,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since Russia invaded two years ago, marking the first time he has provided an official estimate of Ukraine’s military losses during the conflict.
Zelensky gave the figure at a news conference in Kyiv to mark the second anniversary of the war.
“I don’t know if I have a right to tell you the numbers of our losses. Every single person is a tragedy,” he said, adding, “31,000 [members] of Ukraine’s military were killed during this war.”
Read the full story here.
Aide to Navalny says prisoner swap was in the works before his death
Negotiations were underway on a prisoner exchange that would have involved swapping Alexei Navalny and two Americans for a Russian agent imprisoned in Germany when the Russian opposition leader died in prison, one of his associates said Monday.
Maria Pevchikh, who chairs Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in a video address on YouTube that negotiations were in their final stages on Feb. 15 just before his death in the Polar Wolf prison colony in the Yamalo-Nenets region of northern Russia.
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Negotiations were underway on a prisoner exchange that would have involved swapping Alexei Navalny and two Americans for a Russian agent imprisoned in Germany when the Russian opposition leader died in prison, one of his associates said Monday.
Maria Pevchikh, who chairs Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in a video address on YouTube that negotiations were in their final stages on Feb. 15 just before his death in the Polar Wolf prison colony in the Yamalo-Nenets region of northern Russia.
Read the full story here.
With U.S. aid in doubt, Europe struggles to rearm Ukraine
SASTAMALA, Finland — The race to stave off disaster in Ukraine’s war against Russia is unfolding in the battle-scarred fields and forests of Eastern Europe and, in a small way, a quiet wooded area of southwest Finland.
Workers at this plant, which now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, have increased their output of 155mm shells fourfold since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The scramble here reflects an effort intensifying across the continent, as European nations seek to accelerate the production of weapons needed to sustain Ukraine’s battle against Kremlin forces and to harden their own defenses against what the continent’s leaders now see as a heightened Russian threat.
Read the full story here.
SASTAMALA, Finland — The race to stave off disaster in Ukraine’s war against Russia is unfolding in the battle-scarred fields and forests of Eastern Europe and, in a small way, a quiet wooded area of southwest Finland.
Workers at this plant, which now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, have increased their output of 155mm shells fourfold since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The scramble here reflects an effort intensifying across the continent, as European nations seek to accelerate the production of weapons needed to sustain Ukraine’s battle against Kremlin forces and to harden their own defenses against what the continent’s leaders now see as a heightened Russian threat.
Read the full story here.
Russian activist from Nobel-winning organization gets prison term
MOSCOW — Prominent Russian activist Oleg Orlov, leader of the Memorial human rights organization that jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison Tuesday for denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Orlov, 70, a veteran human rights campaigner who worked as a hostage negotiator during the Chechen War in the 1990s, was initially fined $1,630 for “discrediting the armed forces” for a 2022 article in which he branded Russia a “fascist” regime and said that the army was committing “mass murder.” When he appealed the ruling, a Moscow court slapped him with an even more severe sentence.
The new penalty comes amid a crackdown on Russia’s pro-democracy activists and the death of the most prominent one, Alexei Navalny, in an Arctic prison colony. His spokeswoman said Tuesday that no venue would agree to host his funeral this week.
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — Prominent Russian activist Oleg Orlov, leader of the Memorial human rights organization that jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison Tuesday for denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Orlov, 70, a veteran human rights campaigner who worked as a hostage negotiator during the Chechen War in the 1990s, was initially fined $1,630 for “discrediting the armed forces” for a 2022 article in which he branded Russia a “fascist” regime and said that the army was committing “mass murder.” When he appealed the ruling, a Moscow court slapped him with an even more severe sentence.
The new penalty comes amid a crackdown on Russia’s pro-democracy activists and the death of the most prominent one, Alexei Navalny, in an Arctic prison colony. His spokeswoman said Tuesday that no venue would agree to host his funeral this week.
Read the full story here.
Analysis: Zelensky’s increasingly blunt comments about Trump
The relationship between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been one of intrigue and consequence from the start. What began with then-President Trump’s attempts to leverage Zelensky for political gain over Joe Biden in the 2020 election — the thing Trump was initially impeached for — has more recently involved candidate Trump’s efforts to kill two attempts at funding Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
Through much of it, Zelensky has been mostly diplomatic toward the former and potentially future president who, regardless of the 2024 election results, holds considerable sway over the survival of Zelensky’s country.
But increasingly, Zelensky has apparently decided that diplomacy involves putting pressure on and, in some cases, directly criticizing Trump.
Read the full analysis here.
The relationship between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been one of intrigue and consequence from the start. What began with then-President Trump’s attempts to leverage Zelensky for political gain over Joe Biden in the 2020 election — the thing Trump was initially impeached for — has more recently involved candidate Trump’s efforts to kill two attempts at funding Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
Through much of it, Zelensky has been mostly diplomatic toward the former and potentially future president who, regardless of the 2024 election results, holds considerable sway over the survival of Zelensky’s country.
But increasingly, Zelensky has apparently decided that diplomacy involves putting pressure on and, in some cases, directly criticizing Trump.
Read the full analysis here.
Navalny’s widow warns in E.U. speech of arrests at husband’s funeral
MOSCOW — Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, warned the European Parliament on Wednesday of possible arrests at her husband’s funeral, which is now set for Friday.
Wearing a somber black and white dress, Navalnaya went on to chastise Western politicians and officials for their policies on Russia and Ukraine, and she implored them to change their tactics against Russian President Vladimir Putin and treat him not as a statesman but as a mafia leader.
She spoke on the same day that Navalny’s supporters were finally able to find a venue for his funeral. His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media that the ceremony would take place in his home district of Maryino, on the southwestern edge of Moscow, at 2 p.m. Friday and that he would then be buried in Borisov Cemetery.
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, warned the European Parliament on Wednesday of possible arrests at her husband’s funeral, which is now set for Friday.
Wearing a somber black and white dress, Navalnaya went on to chastise Western politicians and officials for their policies on Russia and Ukraine, and she implored them to change their tactics against Russian President Vladimir Putin and treat him not as a statesman but as a mafia leader.
She spoke on the same day that Navalny’s supporters were finally able to find a venue for his funeral. His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media that the ceremony would take place in his home district of Maryino, on the southwestern edge of Moscow, at 2 p.m. Friday and that he would then be buried in Borisov Cemetery.
Read the full story here.
Analysis: Foreign troops in Ukraine? They’re already there.
Kyiv has suffered recent battlefield setbacks as it grapples with shortages in munitions and workforce. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had earlier suggested that there were European countries “prepared to send their own troops to Ukraine” — a revelation that was put to other European officials in attendance.
Officials from the United States, Germany, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic and a number of other NATO countries all dismissed the suggestion that they were considering sending troops. But French President Emmanuel Macron chose “strategic ambiguity” and stressed the importance of not allowing Russia to win the war.
Leaked documents last year confirmed that some NATO countries — including the United States, Britain and France — had deployed small numbers of special forces and military advisers to Ukraine in unspecified roles probably related to logistical support work and training.
Read the full analysis here.
Kyiv has suffered recent battlefield setbacks as it grapples with shortages in munitions and workforce. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had earlier suggested that there were European countries “prepared to send their own troops to Ukraine” — a revelation that was put to other European officials in attendance.
Officials from the United States, Germany, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic and a number of other NATO countries all dismissed the suggestion that they were considering sending troops. But French President Emmanuel Macron chose “strategic ambiguity” and stressed the importance of not allowing Russia to win the war.
Leaked documents last year confirmed that some NATO countries — including the United States, Britain and France — had deployed small numbers of special forces and military advisers to Ukraine in unspecified roles probably related to logistical support work and training.
Read the full analysis here.
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Putin threatens nuclear response to NATO troops if they go to Ukraine
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual State of the Nation address on Thursday to take aim at the West, threatening to use nuclear weapons against NATO countries if they send forces to help defend Ukraine from a Russian victory.
In a speech to Russia’s Federal Assembly that was predominantly dedicated to the economy, Putin delivered a tough warning, threatening retaliatory strikes against the West in the event of attacks on Russian territory.
“They must understand that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory,” he said, warning of “tragic consequences” if NATO forces were ever deployed to Ukraine. “All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don’t they get that?”
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MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual State of the Nation address on Thursday to take aim at the West, threatening to use nuclear weapons against NATO countries if they send forces to help defend Ukraine from a Russian victory.
In a speech to Russia’s Federal Assembly that was predominantly dedicated to the economy, Putin delivered a tough warning, threatening retaliatory strikes against the West in the event of attacks on Russian territory.
“They must understand that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory,” he said, warning of “tragic consequences” if NATO forces were ever deployed to Ukraine. “All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don’t they get that?”
Read the full story here.
Russia seizes more villages in Ukraine, raising fears of growing momentum
KYIV — After taking the strategic northeast Ukrainian town of Avdiivka two weeks ago, Russian forces have seized three more villages in the past few days, suggesting a growing momentum in their advance even as Western officials warn of the ammunition shortages Kyiv’s military is facing.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Wednesday that its troops had taken the village of Stepove, seven miles northwest of Avdiivka. Ukrainian officials said the previous day that Kyiv’s forces had pulled back from Stepove and the neighboring village of Sieverne.
Ukrainian forces also withdrew from the village of Lastochkyne “to organize defenses” along a new line of settlements, “aiming to prevent further enemy advancement to the west,” Dmytro Lykhoviy, a military spokesman, said Monday on Ukrainian television.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — After taking the strategic northeast Ukrainian town of Avdiivka two weeks ago, Russian forces have seized three more villages in the past few days, suggesting a growing momentum in their advance even as Western officials warn of the ammunition shortages Kyiv’s military is facing.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Wednesday that its troops had taken the village of Stepove, seven miles northwest of Avdiivka. Ukrainian officials said the previous day that Kyiv’s forces had pulled back from Stepove and the neighboring village of Sieverne.
Ukrainian forces also withdrew from the village of Lastochkyne “to organize defenses” along a new line of settlements, “aiming to prevent further enemy advancement to the west,” Dmytro Lykhoviy, a military spokesman, said Monday on Ukrainian television.
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Alexei Navalny buried as Russian public blocked from cemetery
MOSCOW — The body of Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most formidable critic, was lowered into the ground to the strains of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as thousands of his supporters outside a cemetery chanted to be allowed in to pay their respects.
Under the supervision of busloads of riot police, Navalny’s body was whisked into a church for a brief ceremony before being taken for burial.
The opposition leader died suddenly at the age of 47 in the Polar Wolf prison colony in northern Russia.
Follow live updates here.
MOSCOW — The body of Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most formidable critic, was lowered into the ground to the strains of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as thousands of his supporters outside a cemetery chanted to be allowed in to pay their respects.
Under the supervision of busloads of riot police, Navalny’s body was whisked into a church for a brief ceremony before being taken for burial.
The opposition leader died suddenly at the age of 47 in the Polar Wolf prison colony in northern Russia.
Follow live updates here.
Russians turn out to bury Alexei Navalny, as police try to keep them away
MOSCOW — Thousands of Russians who risked arrest Friday to attend the Moscow funeral of opposition leader Alexei Navalny were thwarted by a huge force of riot police, deployed to ensure that President Vladimir Putin’s charismatic rival was buried with as little fanfare as possible.
But the throngs of supporters who braved the security presence sent a powerful message that many Russians still support Navalny’s vision of a free, democratic Russia — and showed his pivotal role as a man who fearlessly defied Putin from prison.
Navalny died Feb. 16 in prison at age 47, with an official investigation declaring that his death was due to “natural causes.” His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and aides have accused Putin of his “murder,” while many Western leaders have said Putin was responsible.
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — Thousands of Russians who risked arrest Friday to attend the Moscow funeral of opposition leader Alexei Navalny were thwarted by a huge force of riot police, deployed to ensure that President Vladimir Putin’s charismatic rival was buried with as little fanfare as possible.
But the throngs of supporters who braved the security presence sent a powerful message that many Russians still support Navalny’s vision of a free, democratic Russia — and showed his pivotal role as a man who fearlessly defied Putin from prison.
Navalny died Feb. 16 in prison at age 47, with an official investigation declaring that his death was due to “natural causes.” His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and aides have accused Putin of his “murder,” while many Western leaders have said Putin was responsible.
Read the full story here.
Inside Ukraine’s last stand in Avdiivka and its ‘road of death'
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — On Feb. 17, Russia claimed total control of the eastern city of Avdiivka — its first significant territorial gain in almost a year.
The loss was a stinging defeat for Ukraine, which up until the last minute was still rushing troops to the city in a desperate last-ditch attempt to hold the Russians off.
Seven troops from the 3rd Assault Brigade spoke to The Post about their final days under Russian assault inside the former Ukrainian stronghold. Their accounts drive home the urgency of Ukraine’s battlefield disadvantage as soldiers — far outnumbered by Russians — wait for Western weapon deliveries and troop reinforcements.
Read the full story here.
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — On Feb. 17, Russia claimed total control of the eastern city of Avdiivka — its first significant territorial gain in almost a year.
The loss was a stinging defeat for Ukraine, which up until the last minute was still rushing troops to the city in a desperate last-ditch attempt to hold the Russians off.
Seven troops from the 3rd Assault Brigade spoke to The Post about their final days under Russian assault inside the former Ukrainian stronghold. Their accounts drive home the urgency of Ukraine’s battlefield disadvantage as soldiers — far outnumbered by Russians — wait for Western weapon deliveries and troop reinforcements.
Read the full story here.
Alexei Navalny’s mourners also grieve for a democratic Russia
MOSCOW — In the weeks since Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died suddenly in an Arctic prison, the simple act of laying flowers — at his graveside or makeshift memorials — has become an act of political defiance.
Wartime Russia brooks no dissent.
When he was alive, Navalny, an anti-corruption and pro-democracy activist, had urged his followers not to be afraid as they struggled for what he called a free and “happy” Russia of the future.
On Saturday, one day after he was laid to rest at a Moscow cemetery, mourners, many of them carrying bouquets, were still braving the police to pay their respects.
But in today’s Russia, freedom and happiness have never seemed further away.
Read the full story here.
MOSCOW — In the weeks since Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died suddenly in an Arctic prison, the simple act of laying flowers — at his graveside or makeshift memorials — has become an act of political defiance.
Wartime Russia brooks no dissent.
When he was alive, Navalny, an anti-corruption and pro-democracy activist, had urged his followers not to be afraid as they struggled for what he called a free and “happy” Russia of the future.
On Saturday, one day after he was laid to rest at a Moscow cemetery, mourners, many of them carrying bouquets, were still braving the police to pay their respects.
But in today’s Russia, freedom and happiness have never seemed further away.
Read the full story here.