U.S. Military Reportedly Provided Real-Time Battlefield Intelligence to Ukraine
The U.S. military reportedly provided intelligence that allowed Ukrainian forces to target and kill multiple Russian generals (New York Times)
Separately, a third evacuation operation began in Ukraine’s besieged southern city of Mariupol; aid workers helped evacuate hundreds of civilians from the area (National Public Radio)
Proposed EU Sanctions on Russia Include Restrictions on Oil, Banks
In addition to phasing out European purchases of Russian oil, the sanctions package proposed by the European Union (EU) yesterday would withdraw Russia’s largest bank and two others from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), an interbank messaging service (Associated Press)
EU to Announce Russian Oil Embargo Plan
European Union (EU) officials are expected to present a proposal today for the bloc to phase out purchases of Russian oil by the end of the year; Germany said it is willing to back the plan, which reportedly aims to give Hungary and Slovakia additional time to implement the embargo due to their high dependence on Russian oil (Wall Street Journal)
Some One Hundred Civilians Evacuated From Mariupol Steel Plant in Ukraine
Hundreds of civilians remained trapped in bunkers beneath the plant as Russian forces resumed shelling the city after the evacuees left yesterday, Ukrainian officials said (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Biden Asks Congress for $33 Billion to Support Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden urged Congress to approve $33 billion in aid to Ukraine—including $20 billion for military assistance—to last through September, an amount more than double the U.S. assistance pledged so far (National Public Radio)
Separately, Congress approved a lend-lease bill to facilitate military exports to Ukraine (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia showed its “disdain” for international institutions by launching a missile attack on the city hours after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with him there (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Guterres, Zelenskyy Meet in Kyiv
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv today after visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this week; Guterres reportedly aimed to secure evacuation routes for civilians (Deutsche-Welle)
Separately, more than one thousand mercenaries deployed by Russia in Libya have left the country in recent weeks as Moscow redirects its resources toward Ukraine, Western and Libyan officials (Financial Times)
Russian Gas Giant Halts Supplies to Bulgaria, Poland
Russian state-controlled natural gas company Gazprom shut off flows to Bulgaria and Poland in the first supply cutoff since Russian President Vladimir Putin said “unfriendly countries” need to pay for gas in rubles; European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Russia of “gas blackmail” (Washington Post)
Bulgarian and Polish officials said the cuts will not limit domestic gas consumption, and von der Leyen said the European Union has been working to ensure alternative sources of gas (Financial Times)
Separately, Russian officials reported blasts in three Russian provinces that border Ukraine; Ukraine did not claim responsibility, but an official referred to the reports as “karma” (Reuters)
Meanwhile, the UN’s nuclear watchdog warned the situation at Chernobyl is still not stable, although radiation levels are normal (Associated Press)
UN’s Guterres Meets With Putin While NATO Allies Talk in Germany
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a cease-fire in Ukraine during meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow; Guterres will travel to Kyiv on Thursday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Al Jazeera)
Meanwhile, U.S. military leaders met with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies in Germany; Lavrov accused the alliance of “essentially” entering a proxy war by shipping weapons to Ukraine and warned of a “very significant” risk of nuclear confrontation (New York Times)
Speaking at the NATO meeting, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the alliance had convened “to help Ukraine win the fight against Russia’s unjust invasion”; Germany agreed to provide heavy weapons to Ukraine for the first time, saying it will send radar-equipped tanks (New York Times)
Top U.S. Officials Visit Kyiv, Pledge Further Aid
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledged more than $322 million in new military financing and $165 million in ammunition sales to Ukraine; they also said that American diplomats would return to the country starting next week (Deutsche-Welle)
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Bridget Brink to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (New York Times)
Biden Announces $1.3 Billion in Aid for Ukraine, Humanitarian Program for Migrants
U.S. President Joe Biden announced another $800 million weapons package that includes heavy artillery and tactical drones, as well as $500 million in economic support (CNBC)
He also said that the United States would expedite processing for Ukrainian refugees with a U.S. sponsor (CNN)
Separately, the Organization of American States (OAS) voted to suspend Russia’s permanent observer status in light of its invasion of Ukraine by a vote of 25-0, with eight abstentions and one absence (OAS)
Putin Claims Victory in Mariupol, Says Troops Will Not Storm Factory Holdout
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops not to invade a Mariupol steel plant where Ukrainian fighters are sheltering, telling the forces to instead blockade them (BBC)
A Ukrainian official said Russia now controls 80 percent of Luhansk, one of two regions in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas (Al Jazeera)
Separately, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requested meetings with the presidents of both countries to press them for a peace agreement and support for humanitarian access in Ukraine (UN News)
Russia Bombards Mariupol, Issues New Surrender Ultimatum
Russian forces continued to bombard the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and pledged that Ukrainian fighters who did not surrender by this morning would be killed; the United Nations said five million people have now fled Ukraine (Washington Post)
Meanwhile, the Russian defense ministry announced the test of a new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, which is nuclear-capable (Associated Press)
Separately, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany would end Russian oil imports by the end of the year, followed by natural gas (Reuters)
Russia Begins Large-Scale Assault on Eastern Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared that “another phase” of the war had begun as Russia’s troops bombarded targets along the three-hundred-mile eastern front in Ukraine (New York Times)
Russian forces seized Kreminna, a town in the region of Luhansk, its governor said; for a third consecutive day, Ukrainian officials said fighting made it impossible to evacuate civilians from the country’s east (Reuters)
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet virtually with allies today to discuss the war, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will chair a high-level meeting on responding to a global food security crisis that has been worsened by the war (Reuters)
Russian Strike on Ukraine’s Lviv Kills at Least Seven
A missile strike on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv caused the city’s first known deaths of the war and reportedly injured eleven people; Moscow said it carried out strikes on hundreds of military targets overnight, which could signal it is preparing for an offensive in Ukraine’s east (New York Times)
Meanwhile, in the besieged port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian fighters rejected a Russian deadline to surrender (CNN)
As the financial costs of the war mount, an economic advisor to Ukraine’s president said Kyiv asked Group of Seven (G7) nations for $50 billion in financial support and that it is considering issuing 0 percent interest bonds to finance a war-related deficit (Reuters)
Russia Says It Will Ramp Up Strikes on Kyiv
Russia’s defense ministry said it will increase missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv after accusing Ukraine of striking residential buildings across the Russian border. Moscow also announced that the lead warship in its Black Sea fleet, Moskva, had sunk, but continued to reject claims that it was due to a Ukrainian missile attack (Associated Press)
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged to government officials and business executives that international sanctions are disrupting Russian energy exports as the war in Ukraine reached its fiftieth day (New York Times)
Russia has pressed Brazil for support at organizations including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and Group of Twenty (G20) to help it counter sanctions (Reuters)
Russia Threatens Weapons Buildup in Baltic Sea as Finland, Sweden Weigh NATO Application
The prime ministers of Finland and Sweden announced that their countries are considering applying to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she expects a decision within weeks (Washington Post)
In response, a top Russian official threatened to deploy nuclear weapons in and around the Baltic Sea (Bloomberg)
Separately, U.S. President Joe Biden said the new $800 million military aid package to Ukraine will include heavy weapons like armored vehicles, artillery, and helicopters (Financial Times)
Elsewhere, Russia’s flagship vessel in the Black Sea was hit by Ukrainian artillery; Ukrainian officials claim the ship has sunk, while Russia says it was damaged by a fire but is still afloat (Associated Press)
European Security Body Details Russian Abuses in Ukraine
Russian forces targeted civilians and medical facilities and carried out rapes, executions, and looting in Ukraine, the U.S. envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said; the OSCE released a report accusing Russia of breaking international humanitarian law (Washington Post)
Separately, U.S. President Joe Biden accused Russia of committing “genocide” but said lawyers would have to decide if Russia’s actions constitute genocide under international law (New York Times)
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered to release detained pro-Russia politician Viktor Medvedchuk in exchange for Ukrainians captured by Russian forces (Politico)
Elsewhere, the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland visited Zelenskyy in Kyiv (Associated Press)
WTO: Ukraine War Could Halve Global Trade Growth This Year
The World Trade Organization (WTO) projected that the crisis could halve global trade growth and lower forecasted global gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.7–1.3 percentage points (Agence France-Presse)
Meanwhile, the secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) told European Union (EU) officials that current and future sanctions on Russia could create one of the worst-ever oil supply shocks and that it would be impossible for OPEC to replace lost supplies (Reuters)
Elsewhere, following a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, President Vladimir Putin said negotiations with Ukraine had reached an “impasse” and pledged to continue military operations until Moscow’s goals are fulfilled (Washington Post)
Meanwhile, the United Nations found that the war in Ukraine has now displaced ten million civilians and killed more than 1,800 (National Public Radio)
Russia Appoints New Head of Operations in Ukraine
Russia appointed Alexander Dvornikov, a commander who led Russian troops in Syria, to head its operations in Ukraine (Bloomberg)
Ukrainian officials continued to urge citizens to evacuate from the country’s east over fears of a new Russian offensive (New York Times)
Russian Strike Kills Dozens Waiting to Evacuate in Eastern Ukraine
A Russian strike hit a Ukrainian railway station used to evacuate civilians, killing at least thirty-nine people and wounding more than ninety, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the attack, while Russia’s defense ministry said reports blaming Russian forces were a “provocation.” People have rushed to evacuate Ukraine’s east in recent days over fears of a new Russian offensive (New York Times)
Meanwhile, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed to supply Ukraine with new types of advanced weapons (Financial Times)
UN General Assembly Suspends Russia from Human Rights Council
The UN General Assembly voted to approve a U.S.-sponsored resolution to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over reports that its forces killed civilians in Ukraine (CNN)
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials warned of further killings and urged people in the eastern Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Luhansk regions to flee due to signs of an imminent Russian offensive (Wall Street Journal)
Separately, the U.S. Senate approved a revival of the Lend-Lease Program, which would allow Washington to more efficiently send weapons to Ukraine; it was unclear whether the House of Representatives would consider the bill before Congress’s two-week recess (Politico)
Western Countries Prepare New Sanctions on Moscow After Bucha Atrocities
The United States, European Union (EU), and Group of Seven (G7) are deliberating new penalties on Russia in response to killings of civilians in parts of Ukraine that its forces formerly occupied. The United States is considering a ban on investments in Russia, while the EU is weighing a ban on coal imports (Bloomberg)
In response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s calls for tougher global action at the UN Secretary Council, the United States announced a new shipment of up to $100 million worth of military supplies to Ukraine; it is also expected to levy broader sanctions on two Russian banks (New York Times)
Zelenskyy Addresses UN Security Council
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the UN Security Council, calling for the body to implement internal reforms and hold a war crimes tribunal to hold Russia accountable for its actions (National Public Radio)
Meanwhile, several European countries including Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Spain, and Sweden expelled Russian diplomats following reports about possible war crimes in Bucha (Politico)
Atrocities in Ukraine Suburb Recaptured from Russia Spark Outrage
U.S. and European officials are weighing new sanctions on Russia after Ukrainian officials reported that the bodies of hundreds of civilians were found in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha; some had their hands bound and appeared to have been executed (Washington Post)
U.S. President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin should face a war crimes trial (Associated Press)
Russian forces pulled back from around Kyiv over the weekend (Agence France Presse)
In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron said there is evidence that Russia committed “war crimes” in Bucha while Germany’s defense minister suggested that European officials consider halting purchases of Russian gas, a step Germany has so far resisted. Moscow dismissed the reports as a provocation ahead of a UN Security Council meeting tomorrow (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
China, EU Leaders Hold Summit with Ukraine at Fore
At the first summit between Chinese and EU leaders in two years, the EU called on Beijing to help end the war in Ukraine; China, however, renewed its criticism of Western sanctions against Russia and laid partial blame for the war on the United States (Associated Press)
Ahead of the meeting, EU officials said China will jeopardize its trade relations with Europe if it supports Russia (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine’s own talks on the war resumed via teleconference, and evacuations from the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol began (New York Times)
Russian forces continued to block aid from entering the city, but they pulled out of the closed Chernobyl nuclear power plant; a UN watchdog is investigating whether they departed due to radiation poisoning (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Separately, hundreds of Syrian mercenaries are headed to assist Russian forces in Ukraine (New York Times)