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It’s been 75 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, and as the battle becomes a grinding war of attrition, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be preparing for “a prolonged conflict,” a top U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday, as the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved nearly $40 billion in additional aid for Kyiv.
With no clear end in sight, the war could grow even more volatile in the coming months, Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, warning of an “unpredictable and potentially escalatory trajectory.” She said Putin’s aims extend beyond controlling eastern Ukraine and include establishing a land bridge connecting Russia, the Donbas region and Crimea.
In Washington, the House’s bipartisan support for the sweeping military, economic and humanitarian package sends the bill to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass.
Here’s what else to know
- A top U.S. intelligence official said that between eight and 10 Russian generals have been killed while fighting in Ukraine.
- Russian forces continued to assault the Mariupol steel plant, home to the city’s last Ukrainian fighters, officials said, estimating that about 1,000 holdout soldiers remained, with hundreds injured.
- The Finnish Parliament’s defense committee recommended NATO membership. Official decision by the country on joining NATO could be made as early as next week.
- A U.N. official said Tuesday that thousands more civilians have been killed in the conflict than confirmed figures suggest.
- The Washington Post has lifted its paywall for readers in Russia and Ukraine. Telegram users can subscribe to our channel.
U.N. secretary general says ‘no immediate chance’ of end to war
The head of the United Nations said Wednesday that recent trips to Kyiv and Moscow made it clear that there is no immediate chance of a peace agreement or global cease-fire.
As a result, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres told reporters in Vienna, his organization has focused on improving conditions for evacuations and humanitarian aid, along with reintegrating food and energy production from the two countries into the global market. He stated that food insecurity was “an extremely serious concern”, and this topic was the focus of his meeting in Russia and Ukraine.
“This senseless war must stop,” Guterres said. “It has inflamed a three-dimensional crisis — food, energy and finance — with devastating impacts on the most vulnerable people, countries and economies.”
The conflict has also shown that the global dependency on fossil fuels “is an enormous risk for all countries,” he said, noting that they are subject to security impacts.
Guterres called for a lesson to be learned from the situation: “The sooner we get rid of fossil fuels, the sooner we have a green economy, and we have a full transition to renewable energy, the best protected we will be against the consequences of wars like the war in Ukraine and other disturbances of global peace and security.”
He said he is ready to do everything possible to facilitate peace negotiations and end the conflict.
“I hope nothing lasts forever. Guterres stated that this war would not continue forever. But, he added, a resolution is “not on the immediate horizon.”
Why did WNBA stars flock to Russia? The reason WNBA stars flocked to Russia was not just money.
By Amos Barshad11: 30 p.m.
When Jonquel Jones, today the reigning MVP of the WNBA, arrived in Russia in 2018 to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, the first thing that shook her was the jet.
“You go to the airport and straight on to your plane,” Jones said. “We have our own plane. All business-class seats — the ones you can recline all the way back!”
“This is freaking nice,” she recalled thinking. “I could get used to this.”
Then there was the roster, so preposterously stacked with WNBA talent.
“That team could go up against any all-time team,” Jones said. The cross-European EuroLeague competition presented challenges but the Russian domestic league proved to be a winner. The best part was the practice.
“I wouldn’t say the coaches just threw the ball out,” Jones said, laughing. “But we go through a couple of drills, then play five-on-five, and it’s such a great level.”
With Jones’s Ekaterinburg teammate and Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner detained in Russia — wrongfully, U.S. officials now say — many in American basketball circles have rightfully argued that the issue of pay inequality is elemental to Griner’s situation. This has led to the perception that Americans travel to Russia for their money. They are shivering in cold conditions and have shaved their teeth.
But that doesn’t tell the whole Ekaterinburg story, players and others say. One city is closer to Siberia that Moscow for WNBA players. Many WNBA stars have made playing in Ekat one of their most memorable experiences.
House approves nearly $40 billion in aid to Ukraine as it fights off Russian aggression
The House on Tuesday approved nearly $40 billion in additional aid for Ukraine as the country battles Russia’s brutal invasion, now in its third month.
The package of military, economic and humanitarian support, which is $7 billion more than the $33 billion President Biden requested, was approved on a bipartisan vote of 368-to-57, with the Senate expected to follow suit this week.
Congress provided $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine this year, meaning that if the latest package is passed, lawmakers will have approved a total of more than $50 billion in aid.
Zelensky praises Ukraine’s first president, Leonid Kravchuk, who died Tuesday
Leonid Kravchuk, Ukraine’s first president and a key force in its declaration of independence from the former Soviet Union, died on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian officials. He was 88.
In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Kravchuk as more than just a politician or historical figure: “He was the man who knew how to find wise words and say them so that all Ukrainians could hear them.”
Kravchuk led Ukraine in the declining years of the Soviet Union, as a Communist Party leader, and held the Ukrainian presidency from 1991 to 1994. In a United States-mediated deal, Kravchuk agreed to let Ukraine go its Soviet nuclear weapons.
His cause of death was not immediately known.
Writing on Twitter late Tuesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that “with his signature, the Evil Empire disintegrated” — a reference to Kravchuk’s pivotal role in disbanding the Soviet Union.
“Thank you for the peaceful renewal of our Independence. “We’re fighting for it with our weapons,” Reznikov said.
Leonid Kravchuk, the 1st President of Ukraine & the first Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the #UAarmy, has passed away. The Evil Empire was destroyed by his signature. We are grateful for your peaceful restoration of our Independence. Thank you for the peaceful renewal of our Independence. pic.twitter.com/WZ8p0z1MdL
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) May 10, 2022
Although he was a communist leader who spent a lifetime fulfilling decrees written in Moscow, during the waning years of the Soviet Union, Kravchuk’s strongly nationalist line brought him head to head with Russia in a struggle over the Black Sea Fleet and Crimea, The Washington Post reported ahead of his first official visit to the United States in 1992.
By refusing to sign former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev’s treaty to restructure the Soviet Union in December 1991, Kravchuk helped engineer its collapse.
Zelensky noted Tuesday that as a child, Kravchuk had survived World War II and the Nazi occupation.
“Leonid Makarovych knew what freedom costs. He wanted to see peace in Ukraine. It will be implemented, I am sure. Zelensky stated that we will win our victory as well as our peace.
Updates from key cities: U.S. intelligence official warns of prolonged assault
A top U.S. intelligence official on Tuesday warned of a “prolonged” and “potentially escalatory” conflict in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that his objectives go far beyond the capture of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. They also include consolidating control over a land bridge linking Russia and the Donbas.
Here are updates from key cities:
Izyum: A Ukrainian official said Tuesday that 44 bodies have been pulled from the rubble of a building in Izyum, a strategically important town that has been at the center of Russia’s military advance in the eastern Donbas region. Local governor Oleh Sinegubov stated that the bodies were discovered under rubble of a five-story structure destroyed by Russian forces during the first week in March.
Kherson: Russian authorities are probably preparing to integrate occupied Ukrainian territories, such as Kherson, directly into Russia — rather than creating proxy “People’s Republics,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said. Kherson was the first major city to fall to Russian forces that swept into the country in late February.
Mariupol: Ukrainian fighters holed up at a steel plant in the city made a plea Tuesday for help evacuating their wounded, as heavy Russian airstrikes and shelling continued, hitting a field hospital at the complex. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, stated that his government tried all diplomatic means to save the Ukrainian soldiers. However Russia has not yet agreed to any of these plans. The Pentagon said Monday that the equivalent of two Russian battalion tactical groups are still in the shattered port city — with 700 to 900 in each group — down from about a dozen last month as the troops are deployed to battles elsewhere in the south and east.
Odessa: Photos showed firefighters combing through debris, rescuing animals and searching for civilians who may be trapped under the wreckage after at least four high-precision Onyx missiles struck this port city in Ukraine’s west on Monday.
Paulina Villegas, David L. Stern, Adam Taylor, Amy Cheng and Jennifer Hassan contributed to this report.
Ukraine has killed as many as 10 Russian generals, U.S. intelligence official says
A top U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday that between eight and 10 Russian generals have been killed while fighting in Ukraine, an extraordinarily high number for a conflict that is less than three months old.
The toll is due in part to the unusual role Russian military leaders have had to play on the Ukrainian battlefield, Lt. Gen. Scott D. Berrier, director the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Berrier stated that instead of commanding troops from far away, Moscow’s generals had to go to the front in order to execute their orders.
But the American intelligence community has also shared vital information with the Ukrainian military, officials have said. In one high-profile instance, U.S. intelligence helped Kyiv target a key Russian warship, the Moskva. And the New York Times has reported that the United States has furnished information that allowed Ukraine to kill several generals.
The Pentagon has denied that it specifically helps Ukraine target Russian military officials or assets, saying U.S. intelligence is meant to “help Ukrainians defend their country.”
“We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said last week. “Ukraine combines information that we and other partners provide with the intelligence that they themselves are gathering on the battlefield, and then they make their own decisions and they take their own actions.”
Shelling hits Mariupol plant hospital; regiment begs that wounded be evacuated
Heavy Russian airstrikes and shelling continued Tuesday in Mariupol, according to the chief of the Donetsk regional police, striking a field hospital in the Azovstal steel plant where the shattered city’s last Ukrainian defenders remain.
“The aviation strikes don’t stop,” Mykhailo Vershynin, who is inside the plant, told The Washington Post. “Since the morning, the shelling from tanks, artillery, aviation, naval artillery — the shelling is all the time.”
The police chief also disputed figures given by local Ukrainian officials, who said more than 100 civilians and more than 1,000 soldiers remained at the besieged plant. Vershynin said the 100 figure was wrong, without giving further detail.
However, he said there are more than 500 wounded people, a number that is increasing “every day.”
The Azov Regiment made a desperate plea, to the government of Ukraine and to the world, to evacuate the wounded troops.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that his government had tried “all possible diplomatic tools” to rescue the Ukrainian soldiers that remain in the plant, but that Russia had not agreed to any of the proposed plans.
Putin appears prepared for ‘prolonged’ conflict, war could grow more volatile in coming months, U.S. official warns
A top U.S. intelligence official on Tuesday warned that with no clear end in sight the Ukraine-Russia war could grow even more volatile in the next several months.
Putin is believed to be prepared for a “prolonged” conflict in Ukraine, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said during a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The next month or two will be significant, Haines said, as Russian forces look to regroup after its unsuccessful attempt to capture Kyiv and could move the war along a more “unpredictable and potentially escalatory trajectory.”
In the short term, she told senators to prepare for more “ad hoc” decisions from Russia as it figures out how to achieve its aims in the face of fierce resistance by Ukrainian forces.
The Russian president’s objectives extend beyond capturing the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and include consolidating control of a land bridge between Russia, Donbas region and Russian-held Crimea to the south, she said.
Haines said other goals include occupying Kherson in the south and controlling the waters in the Black Sea off Crimea. She said that the goal of building a bridge across Transnistria (a region recognized by the international community as being part of Moldova) is not likely to be achieved.
Haines anticipates Putin could seek retaliation for western economic sanctions in the form of cybersecurity attacks and authorizing a new round of nuclear weapons exercises.
“[Putin] is probably counting on U.S. and E.U. She said that the United States and Europe would be weakened as the economy, food insecurity, inflation, and energy scarcity worsen.
Biden and Italian prime minister voice solidarity with Ukraine
During an Oval Office meeting at the White House, Biden and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi voiced solidarity in their support for Ukraine and spoke of the importance of maintaining a united front against Russian.
Biden, who has made a concerted effort to coordinate the response against Russia among allies, thanked Draghi for being “a good friend and a great ally.”
Draghi, speaking in English, thanked Biden for the “great hospitality.”
“The ties between our two countries will always be strong. “In fact, the war in Ukraine made them more powerful,” Draghi stated. He failed. He failed.”
Pelosi: House to vote on nearly $40B Ukraine aid package Tuesday night
The House will vote Tuesday night on approving nearly $40 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said.
“Time is of the essence — and we cannot afford to wait,” said Pelosi in a memo to House Democrats. “With this aid package, America sends a resounding message to the world of our unwavering determination to stand with the courageous people of Ukraine until victory is won.”
The package includes $33 billion in security, economic and humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian government that President Biden requested last month. It also includes a supplemental bill, introduced by Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.), to provide additional aid to address, among many issues, global food insecurity as a result of the war in Ukraine, bringing the total to nearly $40 billion.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has cost thousands of innocent lives, devastated cities across the region, and fueled a humanitarian crisis, rising costs, and food insecurity around the world,” DeLauro, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. “We have a moral responsibility to deliver this support to help end the grievous loss of life, hold Putin and his cronies accountable, and protect global democracy.”
U.S., E.U. and Britain accuse Russia of cyberattack on Ukraine
The United States, the European Union and Britain are blaming Russia for a cyberattack that crippled a satellite Internet company, resulting in the disruption of service for tens of thousands of satellite modems in Ukraine and other European countries at the outset of Russia’s war in Ukraine on Feb. 24.
“The United States is joining with allies and partners to condemn Russia’s destructive cyber activities against Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The attack on the U.S.-based Internet satellite firm Viasat was one of Moscow’s boldest cyber offensives of the conflict, disrupting communications in Ukraine just an hour before Russian forces marched in, the E.U. In a separate statement, the E.U. stated that Viasat was targeted by Russia’s boldest cyber offensive. It disrupted communications in Ukraine just an hour before Russian forces entered.
The Washington Post first reported in March that U.S. intelligence analysts concluded that Russia was behind the attack, which also knocked out service for thousands of European wind turbines, but the United States was not ready to make a public attribution at the time.
Blinken said the United States has developed new mechanisms to help Ukraine identify cyberthreats and recover from attacks.
“We have also enhanced our support for Ukraine’s digital connectivity, including by providing satellite phones and data terminals to Ukrainian government officials, essential service providers, and critical infrastructure operators,” he said. “We praise Ukraine’s efforts — both in and outside of government — to defend against and recover from such activity, even as its country is under physical attack.”
Finland’s parliamentary defense committee recommends NATO membership
The Finnish Parliament’s defense committee recommended NATO membership Tuesday, taking a key step ahead of the country’s official decision on whether to join the Western military alliance that could come as soon as this week.
The defense committee concluded that Finland’s military alignment with the alliance is the country’s best security strategy, as it would help deter Russia from targeting Finland, Al Jazeera reported.
“Membership in NATO is the best solution for Finland’s security. “It strengthens Finland’s national defense capabilities with the support from the union’s substantial military resources,” Petteri Opo, chairman of the National Coalition party and main opposition leader to the Committee, stated in a statement.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto is expected to announce on Thursday his stance on joining NATO, which, if favorable, would mean a historical shift in security policy for the traditionally nonaligned Nordic country, and a serious blow to Russia.
The anticipated announcement will probably lead NATO to extend a formal invitation to Finland, paving the way for formal application procedures for the country to become part of the 30-member alliance to begin right away. This process can take as long as a year.
Neighboring Sweden is also expected to decide to join NATO in the upcoming days.
This expansion would double NATO’s land border with Russia, increasing the military alliance’s frontier to the far north and around the Baltic Sea — a serious setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has described NATO expansion as a threat to Russian security
Putin cited NATO’s previous expansion in Eastern Europe — and the possibility of Ukraine joining the alliance — among the reasons for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24
How The Post covers war in Ukraine using newsgathering, social media
Media coverage of war has come a long way. In the 1960s, Walter Cronkite brought the Vietnam War to American living rooms, making it the first televised war. In the ’90s, CNN became the first network to broadcast 24/7 live coverage of the Gulf War. The media landscape has evolved over the years, with the advent of the Internet. So when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the Internet was flooded with images of war and newsrooms scrambled.
Coverage efforts — including this live file, which runs 24 hours a day from our newsrooms in Washington, London and Seoul — were strained. The Post’s reporters were getting information both from the correspondents and open sources like satellite imagery and social media. Social media can be a dangerous tool. While it provides great access to information, there are many ways to share false information.
“[This] makes the role of the professional journalist even more important, because otherwise we’re not going to know how to sort out truth from fiction,” said Bruce Shapiro, executive director at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma.
U.S. delivers first helicopter to Ukraine
The first of 11 helicopters the United States secured for Ukraine will be delivered Tuesday, the Pentagon said, part of a growing variety of equipment provided to a military outgunned by Russia.
The Mi-17 transport aircraft were once earmarked for Afghanistan before the fall of the U.S.-backed government. These helicopters can be used to transport personnel, but they can also carry rockets or cannons that can be used in close-air support situations. Last week, the Pentagon revealed that kits with laser-guided missiles will be provided to Ukraine by the U.S.
That versatility is welcome in Donbas, the eastern part of Ukraine where Russia has consolidated its forces in an attempt to seize more territory. These helicopters can be used to move soldiers across the battlefield or for medical evacuation in the large region. A number of towns have been sold in Donbas, according to a top U.S. defense official.
