Updated June 21, 2022 at 1: 10 p.m. EDT|Published
June 21, 2022 at 3: 15 a.m. EDT
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland met with Ukraine’s top prosecutor Tuesday during an unannounced trip to Kyiv. Garland, announcing the launch of a U.S. “war crimes accountability team,” pledged to “pursue every avenue of accountability for those who commit war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine.”
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Americans captured in Ukraine would not be covered by the Geneva Conventions’ protections for prisoners of war. He also said Tuesday that Russia “can’t rule out” that two American captives would face death sentences.
Ukrainian governor says Russian forces have captured key village of Toshkivka
Russian forces have captured the strategically important village of Toshkivka, the Ukrainian governor of Luhansk said Tuesday.
The control of the village could allow Russian troops to encircle Severodonetsk and neighboring Lysychansk, twin cities that have been at the heart of the battle for Donbas for weeks.
E.U. to redirect $634 million to support nations facing food crisis
The European Commission announced Tuesday that it would redirect 600 million euros ($634 million) from the European Development Fund to support the countries most affected by a growing food security crisis that was “aggravated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
The funds “will address different dimensions” of food insecurity — including humanitarian assistance, food system resilience and macroeconomic support — in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, the commission said in a news release. Most of the money will be used to underpin sustainable food production, but over $105 million is destined to the International Monetary Fund’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, a concessional support program for low-income nations.
Attorney General Merrick Garland meets with prosecutor in Ukraine
Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unannounced trip to Ukraine on Tuesday and met with the nation’s top prosecutor, offering a message of solidarity with the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression.
Garland crossed over the border from Poland for a meeting with Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, in Krakovets, U.S. Justice Department officials said. He announced the launch of a “war crimes accountability team” aimed at centralizing the department’s efforts to prosecute Russians or others involved in war crimes or other atrocities.
Russia threatens Lithuania for enforcing E.U. sanctions on Kaliningrad
Moscow warned Tuesday that Lithuania would face “serious” consequences for barring the transit of E.U.-sanctioned goods through its territory to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
The Kremlin has described the decision as “unprecedented” and “hostile,” summoning the European Union’s top diplomat in Moscow to object.
Denmark to stall retirement of F-16s because of Putin’s ‘aggression’
By David Walker10: 04 a.m.
Denmark says it will keep its fleet of F-16 fighter jets flying for three years longer than planned because of the heightened security threat in Europe.
In a statement Monday, Defense Minister Morten Bodskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “aggression in Ukraine” has changed Europe “and the threats we face.”
Japan has always been refugee-averse. Then Ukraine happened.
TOKYO — Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, refugee-averse Japan has accepted more than 1,300 people fleeing the conflict and provided an array of social services to help them assimilate — a rare and surprising move that could mark a turning point for the country’s long-standing restrictions on those fleeing violence and persecution.
Since Japan’s prime minister formally announced the change on March 2 — just days after the invasion — the country has welcomed not only Ukrainians with relatives or acquaintances in Japan, but also anyone seeking shelter because of the conflict. Government agencies have been uncharacteristically generous in providing allowances, mental health support, language classes and housing to help Ukrainians adjust to their new lives.
Russia says it ‘can’t rule out’ death penalty for captured Americans
The Kremlin said Tuesday that Russia “can’t rule out” a possible death penalty for captured Americans who fought for Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated to reporters at a news briefing that Alexander J. Drueke, 39, and Andy Tai Huynh, 27 — both U.S. military veterans from Alabama — would have their cases investigated by Russian or Moscow-aligned authorities. Regarding possible death sentences, Peskov said the Kremlin would leave that to the court.
Ukraine claims first successful attack using Western-supplied missile
Ukrainian forces have for the first time successfully used a Western-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missile against Russia, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
The target of the June 17 attack was “almost certainly” the Spasatel Vasily Bekh. The Russian naval tug had been dropping off weapons and troops to Russian-occupied Snake Island in the northwestern Black Sea, the ministry said.
Explainer: How Kaliningrad is tangled in the Ukraine war
The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, located hundreds of miles west of the rest of the country, is the latest flash point between Moscow and European nations as the fallout from President Vladimir Putin’s war reverberates beyond Ukraine.
Sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland — both of whom are European Union and NATO members — Kaliningrad sits on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. It receives much of its supplies via routes through Lithuania and Belarus.
Russia’s Muratov sells Nobel medal for $103.5M to help Ukrainian children
The Nobel Peace Prize medal auctioned off by Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov to help displaced Ukrainian children sold for $103.5 million on Monday night, breaking a record.
The proceeds will go to UNICEF’s child refugee fund, Heritage Auctions said in an announcement, after Muratov sold the medal to help children forced out of their homes in Ukraine.
Russian missile attack reportedly destroys food warehouse in Odessa
Russian forces on Monday destroyed a food warehouse in a key port along Ukraine’s southern coast, Reuters reported.
No civilians were killed in the attack, in which the Russian military fired 14 missiles at Odessa, according to Reuters, which cited Ukrainian military officials. Those officials said the Russian military was lashing out in “anger at the successes of our troops.”
Daughter describes ‘dangerous’ conditions in Navalny’s new prison
Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a prominent opponent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has been transferred to a high-security prison known for “torturing and murdering” its inmates, Daria Navalnaya, the Kremlin critic’s daughter, told CNN on Monday.
Last week, Navalny was transferred from a penal colony to the high-security prison known as IK-6 in Melekhovo, about 150 miles east of Moscow, The Washington Post reported. Systemic abuses have been documented at the prison, including prisoner accounts of humiliation, brutality and rape.
Kremlin spokesman says Brittney Griner cannot be called a ‘hostage’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said he “strongly disagreed” with the description of WNBA star Brittney Griner as a “hostage.”
The U.S. special presidential envoy for hostage affairs is handling Griner’s case. When this approach was mentioned in an interview, Peskov said he disagreed.
Ukrainian refugees could ease E.U.’s labor shortage, report says
More than 7 million people, mostly women and children, have fled Ukraine in the four months since Russian troops invaded.
According to a European Central Bank report published Monday, many of those refugees are expected to stay in countries bordering Ukraine in the short term before gradually migrating to other European countries.
