Ukraine's parliament passed a new law governing conscription after delays and amendments. The initial draft aimed to recruit 500,000 new soldiers due to the ongoing conflict with Russia, but this number was revised. Military leaders pressured politicians to remove a clause allowing long-serving troops to be discharged. This decision caused anger and risked morale in the armed forces. Financial benefits for soldiers were also cut, and the focus shifted to reviewing rotation mechanisms for military personnel. Soldiers, exhausted from years of fighting, voiced concerns over the lack of incentives and relief provisions in the new law.
Russian missile strikes in Ukraine's Odesa region killed four people, including a 10-year-old girl, while three people were killed in the Kharkiv region. The attacks coincide with the 80th anniversary of Odesa's liberation from the Nazis. Governor Oleh Kiper reported damage to transport infrastructure in Odesa. Ukrainian officials accuse Russia of using double-tap tactics in missile strikes. In response to Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy sector, Ukraine fired drones at Russian border regions and refineries, leading to retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014. The invasion became the largest attack on a European country since World War II. It is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of military casualties. By June 2022, Russian troops occupied about 20% of Ukrainian territory. From a population of 41 million in January 2022, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Extensive environmental damage caused by the war, widely described as an ecocide, contributed to food crises worldwide.Before the invasion, Russian troops massed near Ukraine's borders as Russian officials denied any plans to attack. Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" to support the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose paramilitary forces had been fighting Ukraine in the Donbas conflict since 2014. Putin espoused irredentist views challenging Ukraine's right to exist, and falsely claimed that Ukraine was governed by neo-Nazis persecuting the Russian minority. He said his goal was to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine. Russian air strikes and a ground invasion were launched at a northern front from Belarus towards Kyiv, a southern front from Crimea, and an eastern front from the Donbas and towards Kharkiv. Ukraine enacted martial law, ordered a general mobilization and severed diplomatic relations with Russia.Russian troops retreated from the northern front by April 2022 after encountering logistical challenges and stiff Ukrainian resistance. On the southern and southeastern fronts, Russia captured Kherson in March and Mariupol in May after a destructive siege. Russia launched a renewed offensive in the Donbas and continued to bomb military and civilian targets far from the front line, including the energy grid through the winter. In late 2022, Ukraine launched successful counteroffensives in the south and east. Soon after, Russia announced the illegal annexation of four partly occupied regions. In November, Ukraine retook parts of Kherson Oblast, including the city of Kherson itself. In June 2023, Ukraine launched another counteroffensive in the southeast.The invasion was met with international condemnation. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion and demanding a full Russian withdrawal in March 2022. The International Court of Justice ordered Russia to suspend military operations and the Council of Europe expelled Russia. Many countries imposed sanctions on Russia and its ally Belarus, and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. The Baltic states all declared Russia a terrorist state. Protests occurred around the world, along with mass arrests of anti-war protesters in Russia, which also enacted a law enabling greater media censorship. Over 1,000 companies closed their operations in Russia and Belarus as a result of the invasion. The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened investigations into possible crimes against humanity, war crimes, abduction of children, and genocide. The court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova in March 2023, alleging responsibility for the unlawful deportation of children.
President Zelensky visited Kharkiv to review the situation following devastating Russian attacks, accusing Russia of trying to drive people out of the city, calling for international support to strengthen Ukraine's air defense, and inspecting progress on defense lines along the Russian border. German Foreign Minister Baerbock urged urgent international efforts to supply air defense systems to Ukraine. Recent drone and missile attacks across Ukraine led to civilian deaths. The European Commission announced the supply of 157 power generators to Ukraine. The Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya was targeted in drone attacks, raising concerns about nuclear safety. Reports of Russian soldiers shooting Ukrainian prisoners of war and vice versa emerged. Zelensky emphasized the need for military aid to defend Kharkiv from escalating Russian attacks.
The Russo-Ukrainian War is an ongoing international conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which began in February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian military in the Donbas war. The first eight years of conflict also included naval incidents, cyberwarfare, and heightened political tensions. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and began occupying more of the country.In early 2014, the Euromaidan protests led to the Revolution of Dignity and the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. Shortly after, pro-Russian unrest erupted in eastern and southern Ukraine, while unmarked Russian troops occupied Crimea. Russia soon annexed Crimea after a highly disputed referendum. In April 2014, Russian-backed militants seized towns in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) as independent states, starting the Donbas war. The separatists received considerable but covert support from Russia, and Ukrainian attempts to fully retake separatist-held areas failed. Although Russia denied involvement, Russian troops took part in the fighting. In February 2015, Russia and Ukraine signed the Minsk II agreements to end the conflict, but they were never fully implemented in the years that followed. The Donbas war settled into a violent but static conflict between Ukraine and the Russian and separatist forces, with many brief ceasefires but no lasting peace and few changes in territorial control.Beginning in 2021, Russia built up a large military presence near its border with Ukraine, including within neighbouring Belarus. Russian officials repeatedly denied plans to attack Ukraine. Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed irredentist views and denied Ukraine's right to exist. He criticized the enlargement of NATO and demanded that Ukraine be barred from ever joining the military alliance. Russia recognized the DPR and LPR as independent states. On 24 February 2022, Putin announced a "special military operation" to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine, claiming Russia had no plans to occupy the country. The Russian invasion that followed was internationally condemned; many countries imposed sanctions against Russia and increased existing sanctions. In the face of fierce resistance, Russia abandoned an attempt to take Kyiv in early April. From August, Ukrainian forces began recapturing territories in the north-east and south. In late September, Russia declared the annexation of four partially-occupied regions, which was internationally condemned. Russia spent the winter conducting inconclusive offensives in the Donbas. In spring 2023, Russia dug into positions ahead of another Ukrainian counteroffensive, which failed to gain significant ground. The war has resulted in a refugee crisis and tens of thousands of deaths.
Fears that Russia will launch a massive offensive on Kharkiv, the north-eastern Ukrainian city not far from the border and which comes under frequent fire, were growing on Tuesday amid pleas from Kiev for help replacing its dwindling weapons stockpiles. Authorities across Ukraine's regions, from Lviv in the west to Donetsk in the east, reported deaths from Russian drone and missile attacks over the past day. Energy infrastructure was also once again hit. In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for urgent international efforts to supply more air defence systems in view of the threat posed by Russia to Kharkiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to "bomb Kharkiv to the ground," warned Baerbock.
Ukraine ( yoo-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, romanized: Ukraina, pronounced [ʊkrɐˈjinɐ] ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast. It also borders Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odesa. Ukraine's official language is Ukrainian; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south.During the Middle Ages, Ukraine was the site of early Slavic expansion and the area later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus', which emerged in the 9th century. The state eventually disintegrated into rival regional powers and was ultimately destroyed by the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. The area was then contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers for the next 600 years, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia. The Cossack Hetmanate emerged in central Ukraine in the 17th century marked on maps as "Ukraine, land of the Cossacks", but was partitioned between Russia and Poland, and ultimately absorbed by the Russian Empire. Ukrainian nationalism developed and, following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic was formed. The Bolsheviks consolidated control over much of the former empire and established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union when it was formed in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in the Holodomor, a human-made famine. The German occupation during World War II in Ukraine was devastating: 7 million Ukrainian civilians were killed, including most Ukrainian Jews.Ukraine gained independence in 1991 as the Soviet Union dissolved, and declared itself neutral. A new constitution was adopted in 1996. A series of mass demonstrations, known as the Euromaidan, led to the establishment of a new government in 2014 after a revolution. Russia then unilaterally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and pro-Russian unrest culminated in a war in the Donbas between Russian-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine. Since the outbreak of war with Russia, Ukraine has continued to seek closer ties with the United States, European Union, and NATO. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Ukraine is a unitary state and its system of government is a semi-presidential republic. A developing country, it is the poorest country in Europe by nominal GDP per capita and corruption remains a significant issue. However, due to its extensive fertile land, pre-war Ukraine was one of the largest grain exporters in the world. It is a founding member of the United Nations, as well as a member of the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization, and the OSCE. It is in the process of joining the European Union and has applied to join NATO.
The US Army has overturned the convictions of 110 Black soldiers, 19 of whom were executed, for a mutiny that occurred during the Houston riots in 1917, acknowledging that they were denied fair trials due to racial discrimination. The soldiers, known as the Buffalo Soldiers, were sent to Houston during World War I to guard a military training facility. Tensions arose between the regiment and white police officers and civilians, leading to clashes and the deaths of 19 people. The Army Board for Correction of Military Records unanimously recommended setting aside all convictions and characterizing the soldiers' military service as honorable.
Russia conducted aerial attacks on Ukraine's Kharkiv region, killing three people and damaging a village near the Russian border. Ukrainian energy sites in the south were targeted, causing temporary outages. Ukraine retaliated by striking Russian border regions and refineries. Additionally, a Ukrainian-launched missile was destroyed in the Black Sea. An extraordinary UN meeting was called by Russia to discuss attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. China and Russia affirmed their strong cooperation in fighting terrorism and enhancing international cooperation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeals to international allies for more air defence systems, particularly US-made Patriot missiles, to strengthen Ukraine's air defence capabilities in the face of increased Russian airstrikes on Kharkiv. Zelensky warns of running out of air defence missiles due to continuous Russian attacks and emphasizes the need for additional ammunition for defense and counter-offensive actions. Recent Russian attacks in Kharkiv have resulted in casualties and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure, highlighting the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
At least eight people have been killed and 12 more wounded in missile strikes on Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv, with Russia firing 32 Iranian-made Shahed drones and six missiles overnight. Ukrainian air defence forces shot down three cruise missiles and 28 drones. Ukrainian sources claim retaliatory strikes were conducted inside Russia against military targets. The Russian military has not commented on the strikes but reported Ukraine firing Vampire rockets at Russia, all shot down over the border region of Belgorod.
The US State Department approved $138 million in foreign military sales for Ukraine to provide critical repairs and spare parts for Kyiv's Hawk missile systems to enhance Ukraine's defense capabilities against Russian forces. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin emphasized the importance of supporting Ukraine to prevent it from falling to Russia, potentially impacting global security and involving US troops. Contractors from RTX Corporation and PROJECTXYZ will perform the necessary work on the Hawk systems using components from various sources.
Relations between Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) started in 1991 following Ukraine's independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ukraine first joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program in 1994, later joining the Planning and Review Process in 1997 and the NATO-Ukraine Commission in 1998. Although Ukraine initially declared neutrality and non-alignment with military blocs after independence, it later signaled interest in eventual NATO membership. After Russia's annexation of Crimea and support for separatist forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Ukraine began actively pursuing NATO membership, formally declaring it a strategic policy objective in 2017.However, NATO membership prospects remain uncertain due to ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine and concerns over meeting membership criteria. While public support for NATO membership has risen in Ukraine since 2014, the prospect continues to face opposition from Russia, which sees Ukraine's potential NATO accession as a security threat.A 2017 poll found that some 69% of Ukrainians wanted to join NATO, compared to 28% in 2012 when Yanukovych was in power. In February 2019, the Ukrainian parliament voted to amend the Constitution of Ukraine to state Ukraine's goal of NATO and European Union membership. At the June 2021 Brussels summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest summit that Ukraine would eventually become a NATO member with the MAP as an integral part of the process, and Ukraine's right to determine its future and foreign policy without outside interference. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also stressed that Russia will not be able to veto Ukraine's accession to NATO "as we will not return to the era of spheres of interest, when large countries decide what smaller ones should do." Before further actions on NATO membership were taken, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.Polls conducted between 2005 and 2013 found low support among Ukrainians for NATO membership. However, since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, Ukrainian public support for NATO membership has risen greatly. Since June 2014, polls showed that about 50% of those asked supported Ukrainian NATO membership.On 30 September 2022, Ukraine formally applied to join NATO, following Russia's annexation of Southern and Eastern Ukraine.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is set to visit Washington to push for approval of a new aid package for Ukraine, stressing the importance of supporting Ukraine's security. The $95 billion aid package has faced delays in the U.S. House of Representatives due to differing opinions within Congress. Cameron's trip follows a joint call with his French counterpart for increased funding for Ukraine, emphasizing the significance of Ukraine winning the war. The article also commemorates the Entente Cordiale between France and the UK, highlighting the need for allies to support Ukraine.
A drone attack struck a nuclear reactor at the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine under Russian control, causing a serious incident with the potential to compromise the reactor's containment system. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the attack and warned of the increased risk of a major nuclear accident. Russia's nuclear power corporation Rosatom blamed Ukraine's military for the strikes, while Ukraine denied involvement and accused Russia. This incident marks the first attack of its kind since November 2022, amidst ongoing tensions between the two countries.
Mike Turner, the chairperson of the US House intelligence committee, and Michael McCaul, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, have both expressed concerns about some Republican members repeating Russian propaganda regarding the Ukraine crisis. Turner highlighted the misinformation that has downplayed the invasion as a conflict with NATO instead of an authoritarian versus democracy battle. The impasse over additional funding for Ukraine's defense persists within the GOP, with disagreements on aid packages and Republican support for Ukraine varying among members.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed willingness to listen to former US President Donald Trump's ideas to end the war in Ukraine but has not had direct discussions with Trump. Zelensky invited Trump to visit Ukraine and witness the situation firsthand. Zelensky highlighted the stability in eastern Ukraine and emphasized the need for Western allies to provide weaponry. He also addressed Russia's use of aerial bombs and Ukraine's compliance with Western conditions on weapon usage.
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