UK Defense Ministry warns major US leak has inaccuracies, could contain disinformation

Mike Brest

April 11, 01:31 PM April 11, 01:35 PM

The United Kingdom's Defense Ministry warned on Tuesday that some of the purportedly leaked U.S. classified documents are false and could be disinformation.

The Biden administration is frantically investigating a trove of classified documents that have been posted on social media sites in recent days and weeks that range in topics from the war in Ukraine to U.S. efforts to spy on allies such as Israel and South Korea, though there's a possibility that either the leaker or any others involved could manipulate or alter the documents.

LEAKED PENTAGON DOCUMENTS SHOW HOW DEEP US HAS PENETRATED RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE

“The widely reported leak of alleged classified U.S. information has a serious level of inaccuracy,” a ministry spokesperson said in a statement. “Readers should be cautious about taking at face value allegations that have the potential to spread disinformation.”

One of the dozens of documents that have surfaced on social media in recent days revealed that a Russian fighter jet nearly shot down a British jet last September off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea. A Russian plane came within roughly 15 feet of the British plane on Sept. 29 in a similar incident to the one in March when a Russian pilot collided with a U.S. drone.

It's unclear who is responsible for the massive breach and if more documents will be released, while questions remain about the accuracy of each one.

One document in particular appeared to show Russia and Ukraine's casualty totals, only for a subsequent photo to appear online showing distorted casualty numbers that favor Russia. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the posts looked like a Russian disinformation operation to sow doubts.

South Korean officials have also warned that documents released regarding its government also appear to have been altered.

One of the related documents released provided insight into an alleged internal discussion among top aides to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol regarding a debate about whether to provide the United States with artillery shells due to a long-standing policy of not providing weapons to warring countries. The intelligence seemingly indicates, if true, that the U.S. had spied on its ally.

"On the US government’s alleged wiretapping, the defense ministers of the two countries agreed that ‘a considerable amount of the documents were fabricated,’” South Korea's presidential office said.

German Leopard 2 tanks and first British tanks arrive in Ukraine

Mike Brest

March 27, 05:02 PM March 27, 05:02 PM

Ukraine received its first tanks from Germany and the United Kingdom, among other tactical vehicles, officials of all three countries announced on Monday.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Facebook they had received Challengers, main battle tanks, from the U.K.; Strykers, infantry fighting vehicles, and Cougars, infantry mobility vehicles from the mine-resistant ambush-protected family, from the U.S.; and Marders, infantry fighting vehicles, from Germany.

AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL MADE ENEMIES THINKS US 'FECKLESS' FORMER CENTCOM COMMANDER SAYS

“A year ago, no one could have imagined that the support of our partners would be so strong. That the entire civilized world would reboot and eventually resist the bloody aggressor, the terrorist country of Russia,” he said. “This year, everything has changed. Ukraine has changed the world. The resilience of the Ukrainian people and the skill of our army convinced everyone that Ukraine will win.”

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany had also delivered the much-sought-after 18 German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine that had been promised to them.

“Our tanks, as promised, arrived on time in the hands of our Ukrainian friends," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on social media. "I am sure that they can do something important at the front!”

Germany had initially refused to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks, going as far as to give them up only if President Joe Biden did the same with U.S. tanks. Biden ultimately gave in, ending the stalemate when he announced a plan to provide Ukraine with 31 M1A2 Abrams tanks, though the Pentagon later decided they would provide them with M1A1 tanks because it would reduce the length of time before they would arrive in Ukraine.

By making the change, the tanks will reach Ukraine "by the fall of this year," Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters last week, while initially officials thought it could take longer.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier this month that the U.S. and allies had collectively provided Ukraine with "more than nine brigades of tanks and other armored vehicles."

China's Xi leaves meeting with Putin without pledging military cooperation

Mike Brest

March 22, 11:29 AM March 22, 11:29 AM

Chinese leader Xi Jinping left Moscow on Wednesday after his multiday visit in which he and Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for continued and growing bilateral relations, but neither made any mention of military assistance.

Xi's highly anticipated and choreographed three-day trip projected unity for the growing partnership as both face an increasingly tense outlook with the West. Leaders globally were focused on the two leaders' discussion of Russia's war in Ukraine and whether Beijing would provide Russia with lethal aid, as U.S. officials have warned for about a month.

PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA SUPPORTS 'MANY OF THE PROVISIONS' IN CHINA'S UKRAINE PEACE PLAN

Beijing has repeatedly attempted to position itself as a neutral arbiter. However, it has not condemned the war and has often pushed Russia's account of the war, and a recently published peace plan from China was quickly dismissed as a nonstarter by Ukraine and its allies due to the tenets of the deal that would benefit Russia.

Putin said he supports "many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China" on Tuesday, which includes a ceasefire that would freeze the current battlefield positions in place, effectively solidifying Russia's gains, which U.S. officials have explained would provide Russia the opportunity to refit, resupply, and redeploy its troops for a future offensive.

The two leaders did not discuss Ukraine's peace plan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, according to Russian state media outlet Tass.

U.S. officials have denounced the Chinese peace plan and warned preemptively that Xi may seek to play the role of peacemaker in the war.

"I don't think you can reasonably look at China as impartial in any way," National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said on Tuesday. "They haven't condemned this invasion. They haven't stopped buying Russian oil and Russian energy."

While there was no public mention of military aid, the two leaders affirmed their country's growing partnership. They jointly signed and released the Joint Statement of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era.

“Russia reaffirmed that it was committed to restarting peace talks as soon as possible, and China expressed its approval,” an excerpt from the joint statement said. “Settlement of the Ukraine crisis must respect the reasonable security concerns of every country and prevent the formation of confrontational blocs that add fuel to the flames.”

The White House made a sharp rebuttal to the joint statement, accusing China of parroting Russian propaganda.

“If China wants to play a constructive role in this conflict, then it ought to press Russia to pull troops out of Ukraine,” Kirby added.

U.S. officials reiterated this week that they have not seen intelligence to suggest China has decided to provide Russia with lethal aid.

US announces $400 million military aid package for Ukraine

Mike Brest

March 03, 01:22 PM March 03, 01:22 PM

The Biden administration announced its newest military aid package for Ukraine on Friday worth an estimated $400 million and mainly consisting of ammunition for the weapons it has already provided.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the package, which is the 33rd drawdown of U.S. stockpiles for Ukraine since August 2021, saying in a statement, “We are again reminded of the boundless courage and steadfast resolve of the people of Ukraine as well as the strong support for Ukraine in the international community.”

TIMELINE OF RUSSIA'S YEARLONG WAR IN UKRAINE

“This military assistance package includes more ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS and howitzers, which Ukraine is using so effectively to defend itself, as well as ammunition for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges, demolitions munitions and equipment, and other maintenance, training, and support,” he added.

A day earlier, Blinken had a brief in-person conversation with his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in India. It was their first in-person meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago.

During the conversation, which the U.S. diplomat requested, Blinken reiterated the country's long-term support for Ukraine. He also urged Russia to reverse its decision to suspend its participation in the New START nuclear treaty between the two countries, and he pushed Moscow for the release of detained American Paul Whelan.

President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are set to meet at the White House later on Friday.

The leaders are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine as well as the possibility China could provide lethal aid to Russia for the war.

Biden administration officials have warned for weeks that Beijing was considering such an action, hoping that it could preempt the lethal assistance, but have reiterated that it hasn't seen Beijing do it yet. U.S. officials have threatened consequences if China goes through with it, but officials have declined to specify what that would entail.

"I certainly would expect in the context of talking about what's going on in Ukraine that the issue of a third-party support to Russia could come up," National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said on Thursday in reference to whether Scholz and Blinken would discuss sanctions against China.

Putin says he expects Xi to visit Moscow as he meets with China's top diplomat

Mike Brest

February 22, 10:31 AM February 22, 10:31 AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would visit Moscow in the coming months, while the United States and its allies remain concerned about their growing partnership.

Putin met with Wang Yi, China's highest-ranking diplomat, at the Kremlin on Wednesday, describing the relationship between the two countries as "reaching new frontiers."

US HAS 'GROWING CONCERN' OVER CHINA'S RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA

"We await a visit of the President of the People's Republic of China to Russia. We have agreed on this. Everything is progressing, developing. We are reaching new frontiers," Putin told Wang, according to Reuters, while the top Chinese diplomat said their relationship would "not succumb to pressure from third parties," a thinly veiled reference to the U.S. Wang also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Wang's visit gave both sides an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to one another, and it happened just before the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. China has, throughout the war, sought to remain a neutral party calling for peaceful solutions, while leaders also simultaneously made remarks supporting Russia.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Wednesday that he had no details to share about a possible Xi trip to China.

"China and Russia have maintained close communication at all levels on advancing the development of bilateral relations and contributing to world peace and development. As for interactions between the two presidents, I have nothing to share at the moment," he said.

Days ago, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China appeared to be "considering" taking a more active role in supporting Russia by providing them with "lethal weapons."

"China’s having — trying to have it both ways," he said in an interview last weekend on Meet The Press. "Publicly, they present themselves as a country striving for peace in Ukraine, but privately, as I said, we’ve seen already over these past months the provision of nonlethal assistance that does go directly to aiding and abetting Russia’s war effort. And some further information that we are sharing today and that, I think, will be out there soon that indicates that they are strongly considering providing lethal assistance to Russia."

He emphasized that they hadn't seen China “cross that line” of providing lethal aid to Russia, though they “see them considering this.”

China and Russia released a communique prior to Moscow's invasion that outlined a wide range of plans for economic and diplomatic cooperation, though the war has stressed their relationship. Now though, Russia is more dependent upon China as it has become a pariah on the international stage, while Russia is also able to cast the war in Ukraine as a West vs. Asia battle.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said last week that the relationship between the Kremlin and the Chinese Communist Party has "no-limits."

“My assessment is the PRC [People's Republic of China] is trying to both increase its standing in the international community by saying that it's willing to mediate and help bring this horrifying invasion to an end. And at the same time, they are committed to their no-limits partnership with Russia,” Sherman added. “And we have, certainly, concern and growing concern about that partnership and the PRC’s support for this invasion.”

Blinken and Wang Yi met last week on the sidelines of the Munich Security Forum, where Blinken "warned about the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia or assistance with systemic sanctions evasion," according to State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a readout of the meeting.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said in response to the claim that the U.S. is not in a position to dictate its relationship with Russia.

As Wang Yi visited Moscow, President Joe Biden was in Europe reaffirming his support for Ukraine. He secretly traveled to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday before meeting with allies in Warsaw, Poland.

Additionally, America's relationship with China has continued to plummet through various incidents over the Biden administration, most recently China's possible increased support for Russia and the spy balloon that traversed the U.S. weeks ago before the military shot it down over the Atlantic Ocean. U.S. officials have also described China's recent actions as more provocative and have argued they're trying to rewrite aspects of the Chinese-U.S. relationship unilaterally.

'Kyiv stands tall': Biden vows to remain steadfast against Putin in Ukraine

Christian Datoc

February 21, 12:54 PM February 21, 12:54 PM

President Joe Biden sought to reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine and targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin in a speech delivered in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday.

Biden's remarks, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, came one day after a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, where he visited with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Earlier on Tuesday, Biden held bilateral talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw.

SEE IT: BIDEN VISITS UKRAINE AHEAD OF ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF RUSSIAN INVASION

"I've just come from a visit to Kyiv," the president declared in his opening remarks. "Kyiv stands proud. It stands tall, and, most importantly, it stands free."

"When Russia invaded, it wasn't just Ukraine being tested. The whole world faced a test for the ages. Europe was being tested. America was being tested. NATO was being tested. All democracies were being tested. The questions we faced are as simple as they were profound. Would we respond?" he said. "One year later, we know the answers. Yes, we would stand up for sovereignty, and we did. Yes, we would stand up for the right of people to live free from aggression, and we did, and we will stand up for democracy, and we did. And yesterday, I had the honor to stand with President Zelensky in Kyiv to declare that we will keep standing up for these same things, no matter what."

Biden named Putin multiple times throughout his remarks and contrasted his miscalculations in the lead-up to the war with the "courage" of Zelensky, "forged" through "fire and steel."

"President Putin is confronted with something today that he didn't think was possible a year ago. The democracies of the world have grown stronger, not weaker, but the autocrats of the world have gotten weaker, not stronger," he said.

The Biden administration has stopped short of advocating regime change in Russia, but the president demanded that autocrats "must be opposed" on Tuesday.

"Tonight, I speak once more to the people of Russia. The United States and the nations of Europe do not seek to control or destroy Russia. The West was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today. And the millions of Russian citizens who only want to live in peace with their neighbors are not the enemy," the president said. "This war is never a necessity. It's a tragedy. President Putin chose this war."

Biden's speech came ahead of an expected reelection campaign announcement and as some critics in the U.S. have questioned his handling of the war, specifically his seemingly open-ended pledge to support Ukraine's resistance for "as long as it takes."

National security adviser Jake Sullivan previewed Biden's remarks to reporters Tuesday morning and claimed the president will "speak to the larger contest between those aggressors who are trying to destroy fundamental principles and those democracies who are pulling together to try to uphold them."

"That tells you everything you need to know about who is responsible for this war," Sullivan stated. "This was a war of choice. Putin chose to fight it. He could have chosen not to, and he can choose even now to end it, to go home. No one is attacking Russia. There’s an absurdity to the notion that Russia was under some kind of military threat from Ukraine or anyone else."

Just prior to Biden's speech, the White House released a fact sheet outlining U.S. support for Ukraine throughout the first year of the war.

In total, the U.S. has supplied Ukraine nearly $45 billion in security and other aid, buttressed the country's frequently targeted energy system, and placed or expanded sanctions on more than 2,000 Russian people and entities. Furthermore, Biden said that the U.S. and allies will announce new sanctions next week in conjunction with the NATO summit in Washington, D.C.

The Biden administration, however, has not met Ukraine's request for F-16 fighter jets to patrol the skies over Kyiv and potentially go on the offensive against Russian forces.

You can watch Biden's remarks in full below.

How Biden's sneaky trip to Ukraine came together

Misty Severi

February 20, 09:02 PM February 20, 09:02 PM

President Joe Biden's "surprise" trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday was actually months in the making, U.S. officials revealed to Politico.

The president traveled to Kyiv to reaffirm his “unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity” amid Ukraine's conflict with Russia and ahead of the war's one-year anniversary.

SEE IT: BIDEN VISITS UKRAINE AHEAD OF ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF RUSSIAN INVASION

“Coming over, the president was very focused on making sure he made the most of his time on the ground, which he knew was going to be limited,” Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters. “He was excited about making the trip.”

The unprecedented journey was organized through a handful of people across multiple agencies, including the White House chief of staff’s office, the National Security Council, the White House military office, the Pentagon, the Secret Service, and the intelligence community. The White House itself did not address the president's travel until he had safely arrived in Poland.

The trip itself started at 4:15 a.m. Saturday, when the president departed Joint Base Andrews to fly to Germany and then Poland. From Poland, Biden boarded an eight-car train for the overnight trip into Ukraine.

He arrived just after 8 a.m. Monday, according to Politico. Biden is expected to return to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

The trip included a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the unveiling of a new aid package to Ukraine that's valued at $500 million.

Jonathan Finer, the deputy national security adviser, served as the logistical point man for the trip. The final decision to go to Ukraine was not made until Friday after the president met with his national security team in the Oval Office.

“His security team was able to bring risk to a manageable level, and that was what ultimately led him to make the call to go,” Sullivan said. “He got a full presentation of a very good and very effective operational security plan. He heard that presentation, he was satisfied that the risk was manageable, and he ultimately made the determination.”

The White House informed Russia of Biden's visit to Ukraine ahead of time, Sullivan said, in an attempt to avoid conflict.

The rest of Biden's European trip is expected to take place in Poland, where he will make a speech. However, other members of the Biden administration are visiting other countries across Eurasia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently in Greece.

Russia launches 'one of the most massive missile attacks' in the war, Ukraine says

Mike Brest

December 29, 11:26 AM December 29, 11:26 AM

Russian forces launched one of their largest aerial campaigns on Thursday, though Ukraine's military said it was able to shoot down 65 missiles.

Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that infrastructure in Kyiv, in the north-central part of the country, and Odesa, in the south, were damaged in a missile barrage and subsequently were experiencing emergency power outages.

YEAR IN REVIEW: THE PENTAGON'S 2022 DEFINED BY HELPING UKRAINE IN WAR WITH RUSSIA

"Today the enemy carried out another massive attack on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine," Halushchenko said in a post on Facebook. "Unfortunately, there is some damage to generation facilities and power grids."

Earlier this week, Halushchenko said that the power situation across the country remains “really difficult” and warned that New Year's Eve could see "maximum damage to the energy system."

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said they were able to shoot down 65 drones, composed of both Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones that have been provided to Russia.

"Russian terrorists have been saving one of the most massive missile attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion for the last days of the year. They dream that Ukrainians will celebrate the New Year in darkness and cold. But they cannot defeat the Ukrainian people," Ukraine's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Twitter. "Today, Ukraine's Air defense forces shot down 54 Russian missiles and 11 Shahed-131/136 drones."

For three months, Russia has launched waves of missile attacks at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in what U.S. and Western officials say is a strategy designed to weaponize the winter climate to demoralize the population. The strikes, which are launched on roughly a weekly basis, frequently result in parts of the country losing electricity, heat, and running water, and the ensuing damage is putting extraordinary strain on Ukraine's energy grid.

The Western world has pledged more than a billion dollars to support Ukraine's efforts to secure and rebuild its power grid.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said earlier this week United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres should mediate a “peace” summit between his government and the Kremlin, and he'd like to see it happen by the end of February. However, he demanded that Moscow would need to face prosecution for war crimes in an international court before Ukraine would extend an invitation to the Kremlin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Kuleba’s proposal, telling state media Ria Novosti that they “never followed conditions set by others. Only our own and common sense.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin also claimed days ago that he’s ready to engage in talks to end the war and blamed Kyiv for not taking that step, saying in a state television interview that Russia is “prepared to negotiate some acceptable outcomes with all the participants of this process,” and he argued, “It’s not us who refuse talks, it’s them.”

What is the Patriot missile defense system Biden promised to Ukraine?

Misty Severi

December 22, 03:09 PM December 22, 03:12 PM

President Joe Biden promised to supply Ukraine with a Patriot missile defense system on Wednesday, which will help Ukraine defend itself against missiles from Russia.

The PATRIOT, which is short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a surface-to-air missile defense system that was built by Raytheon Technologies. It was first implemented in the Gulf War in 1991.

‘YOUR MONEY IS NOT CHARITY’: ZELENSKY TELLS CONGRESS WAR AID CAN SECURE VICTORY FOR UKRAINE

The Patriot system is regarded as one of the best air defense systems that the United States owns, and it will aid Ukraine by intercepting incoming missiles and enemy aircraft. The Patriot systems have four operational functions: communications, command and control, radar surveillance, and missile interceptor guidance, according to a NATO fact sheet.

It is also capable of using two possible interceptors, including the PAC-2 interceptor, which triggers a blast-fragmentation warhead, and the PAC-3 missile, which is more advanced and hits a target more directly.

"This is a very important step to create a secure air space for Ukraine. That’s the only way we would be able to deprive [Russia] and their terror attack to strike our energy structure, our people," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference with Biden.

Patriot systems cost the U.S. between $450 million and $550 million, and they usually come equipped with one radar unit, four to eight missile launching stations, a command and control center, and power and support vehicles, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary, told reporters.

"In terms of integration with other air defense systems, the Patriot will help Ukraine strengthen its layered, integrated approach to air defense," Ryder said. "In addition to Ukraine’s own legacy capabilities such as the S-300, PATRIOT will complement a range of medium- and short-range air defense capabilities that the U.S. and our international allies and partners have provided to Ukraine."

The technology will arrive in Ukraine in the next few months. But first, it will be sent to Germany, where the U.S. military will train Ukrainians on how to operate the new defense system. U.S. forces have been training Ukrainians in Germany since 2015, but they have revitalized the training after Russia invaded Ukraine. The first Ukrainian forces trained on U.S.-based weapon systems since the war began returned to Ukraine in May. Roughly 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in Germany now.

The recently passed National Defense Authorization Act also includes an additional $45 billion in security aid to Ukraine.

Raytheon has built more than 240 Patriot systems so far, which are used by 18 countries, including the U.S.

'We will find you': Russians using hit lists to hunt down influential Ukrainians

Rachel Schilke

December 21, 02:57 PM December 21, 03:02 PM

Several influential Ukrainians have been the targets of Russian forces as war between the two countries continues to escalate.

An investigation determined the Russians have been systemically targeting Ukrainians nationally and locally through torture, detention, and executions. The Ukrainians were hunted by name, and they held various positions, including government officials, journalists, activists, veterans, religious leaders, and lawyers, per the outlet.

RUSSIAN FORCES 'BREAKING' THEMSELVES, ZELENSKY SAYS IN VISITS TO FRONT LINES

Through the investigation, the news outlet examined a sample of 61 cases using documented written and photographed evidence, as well as interviews with family, friends, and activists. Members of Russian intelligence had compiled "hit lists" for months before the invasion in February, according to U.S. intelligence leaks and national security analysis from the United Kingdom. Russian agents made note of influential Ukrainians who could either become collaborators or "unreliable elements" who would be intimidated or even killed, per WHD.

In one case, Andrii Kuprash, the head of a village north of Kyiv, got a call from a man speaking Russian asking if he was the village head.

Lying, Kuprash said, "No, you've got the wrong number."

"We will find you anyway. It’s better to cooperate with us," the man said in response.

The outlet obtained copies of five hit lists with 31 people on it, including people's full names and often nicknames, dates of birth, and addresses. The list contained "eight soldiers, seven veterans, seven apparent civilians, and nine people accused of helping the Ukrainian military or intelligence services," according to the report.

Even those who have no influential ties are targets, as well. Oleksandra Matviichuk, the head of the Center for Civil Liberties, said she is seeing over 770 cases of civilian captivities. What's surprising to her, she told WHD, is that some of the people taken captive have no ranking titles or connection to aiding intelligence services.

"Everybody can be a target. It shocked me. We were prepared for political persecution. ... We weren’t prepared for terror," Matviichuk said.

Kuprash had plenty of experiences with terror. After receiving that call, Kuprash fled into the woods to a hiding spot. Shortly after, Russians arrived at his home and held a knife to his son, 15, threatening to kill him if he did not give up his father's location.

Three weeks later, a Russian commander appeared at his home. Kuprash was sat down at gunpoint and promised "a great life" if he gave them information on Ukrainian positions and names of veterans and fighters. He told the commander repeatedly that he did not have access to the information.

BLINKEN ATTACKS WAGNER GROUP TO PUT RUSSIA ON DEFENSE IN AFRICA

Human rights lawyers told WHD that under the laws of war, Russians could detain spotters, those who were giving up precise locations of forces, in humane conditions, but not make them disappear or torture them. It is evident, the WHD found, that Russians are ignoring these laws.

Kuprash and several others accused of being spotters have been taken by Russian forces and brought to remote locations. They are subjected to jeering, humiliation, and torture.

Oleksii Dibrovskyi, a deputy of the Polohy City Council, was taken from his village after Russians found he had been sending Russian troop positions to the Ukrainian military. After removing him from his home, he was taken to a basement, a garage, and then a detention center, where he was beaten repeatedly.

At one point, they forced him into a safe with little breathability and later to a filtration and detention center, where he saw several others beaten and treated inhumanely.

Both Kuprash and Dibrovskyi survived. Kuprash said he was taken back to the village, where the commander said, "Live," before driving off. Dibrovskyi was forced to say in a video before he was released that he was treated well, with the brutal injuries being from a fall.

With stockpiles of evidence into torture and capture from Russia, several intelligence analysts and human rights specialists have cause to believe that Russia's actions are grounds for an investigation into genocide.

"This is where the investigation of genocide should start,” Wayne Jordash, the director of Global Rights Compliance, said. "It’s how the Russians intended to take over and extinguish identity.”

Russia launches a new massive wave of strikes against Ukraine

Mike Brest

December 16, 10:50 AM December 16, 10:50 AM

Russian forces launched their latest barrage of missiles across Ukrainian territory, damaging Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in several regions on Friday.

Ukraine’s ministry of defense said it had destroyed 60 of the 76 air and sea-based cruise missiles fired at targets across the country from Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv, as well as in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the central city of Kryvyi Rih. Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, and Sumy all reported strikes.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said “nine power generation facilities” were damaged in Friday’s attacks. The damage will lead to “restrictions of electricity production at nuclear generation facilities,” he added.

RUSSIA AND IRAN DEVELOPING 'FULL-FLEDGED DEFENSE PARTNERSHIP,' WHITE HOUSE SAYS

At least two people were killed, and eight more were injured, when a residential building was hit by one of the strikes in Kryvyi Rih, officials said, according to the Washington Post. Most of the missiles had been targeted at Kyiv.

White House National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told reporters on Friday that the attacks hit “largely civilian infrastructure.” Kirby said Russia is “again trying to put fear into the hearts of the Ukrainian people and to make it that much harder on them as winter is now upon them.”

The United States announced late last month that it would provide more than $53 million to Ukraine to support efforts to repair the destroyed critical infrastructure that Russia has spent weeks deliberately targeting. Kirby said that the first tranche had “arrived in Ukraine.”

“It includes the kinds of equipment that they need to make emergency repairs, such as relays, and bus bars, and surge arresters, disconnectors, [and] circuit breakers, that kind of thing,” he said. “So this first tranche is really designed to assist them with emergency repairs, but it's just the first tranche. There will be more coming in, in coming weeks, to fulfill that pledge of more than $50 million.”

Kirby did not announce new military aid despite reports that the administration is finalizing plans to send Ukraine the Patriot missile defense system. While the highly sophisticated U.S. system that is designed to track and intercept incoming ballistic and cruise missiles would help Ukraine, it would also likely take weeks or months of training in a third country before Ukrainians would have the system on the battlefield.

World leaders connect Stalin's crimes to Ukraine's current plight

Mike Brest

November 24, 04:00 AM November 24, 04:00 AM

Leaders from around the world are honoring the Ukrainian victims on the anniversary of the Holodomor — “death by hunger” — brought on by the Stalin regime in the 1930s and comparing those circumstances to the present day.

The Holodomor was a man-made famine in then-Soviet Ukraine in 1932-1933 brought on by Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s policies that resulted in the deaths of millions of Ukrainians.

RUSSIA TARGETS UKRAINIAN INFRASTRUCTURE AHEAD OF LONG, HARD WINTER

Ukraine commemorates the anniversary of the start of the family on the fourth Saturday of November, and this year will be the 90th anniversary.

“This November marks the anniversary of the Holodomor — ‘death by hunger.’ During his regime, Joseph Stalin imposed harsh and repressive policies on Ukraine, including creating a deliberate famine in 1932-33 that caused millions of innocent Ukrainian women, men, and children to perish,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “We commemorate all the lives lost in this senseless tragedy, and we pay tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people who endured devastation and tyranny to ultimately create a free and democratic society.“

The president also tied in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has taken the lives of thousands and displaced millions in the nearly nine months of the war.

“Even as the brave Ukrainian people continue to defend their democracy and freedom from Russia’s brutal aggression, we pause to also honor the victims of past injustices and horrors inflicted on Ukraine,” the president added.

The Holodomor is recognized as a genocide by only 16 countries, including the United States and the Vatican City.

Pope Francis also made a similar comparison in comments to thousands of people in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, according to the .

“Saturday begins the anniversary of the terrible genocide of the Holodomor, the extermination by starvation artificially caused by Stalin between 1932-1933,” Francis said. “Let us pray for the victims of this genocide and let us pray for so many Ukrainians — children, women, elderly, babies — who today are suffering the martyrdom of aggression.”

Russian forces have been targeting Ukraine's critical infrastructure for weeks ahead of the winter, putting millions of civilians at risk of facing the cold without electricity, heat, or running water. U.S. officials have accused the Russians of war crimes, and targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure could amount to war crimes.

Andrew Weinstein, U.S. Public Delegate of the United States to the General Assembly of the United Nations, spoke at the Holodomor Remembrance Prayer Service earlier this week at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, and he said this year’s commemoration “is set against the backdrop of yet another tragedy against the Ukrainian people.”

“90 years ago, we saw a complete disregard for human life and the weaponization of food. Today, we see the same,” he added. “The Holodomor included deliberate acts to impose suffering and repress dissent. And today, we see the Kremlin create the exact same misery and deploy policies to suppress the ability of Ukrainians to express their separate identity and attempt to impose 'Russification' and annexation."

Russia targets Ukrainian infrastructure ahead of long, hard winter

Mike Brest

November 18, 04:00 AM November 18, 04:00 AM

Russian forces have continued to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, setting the conditions for a brutal winter for civilians.

Russia has repeatedly lost occupied territory in Ukraine, though it continues to pummel its southern neighbor aerially. That includes launching missiles targeting Ukraine’s energy grid, which Russian leaders argue are legitimate military targets. On Nov. 14, Russia launched an estimated 60 to 100 missiles at various Ukrainian cities, Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the next day.

US CONFIRMS POLAND STRIKE 'LIKELY THE RESULT OF A UKRAINIAN AIR DEFENSE MISSILE'

“With the onset of winter, families will be without power, and more importantly, without heat. Basic human survival and subsistence is going to be severely impacted, and human suffering for the Ukrainian population is going to increase,” Milley said. “These strikes will undoubtedly hinder Ukraine's ability to care for the sick and the elderly. Their hospitals will be partially operational. The elderly are going to be exposed to the elements.”

The Pentagon thinks roughly a quarter of Ukrainian civilians are now without electricity, Milley said, and Ukrainian officials have said that roughly 30% of the country’s power stations have been destroyed.

Milley called Russia's deliberate targeting of Ukraine's civilian power grid "a war crime.” Milley, the highest-ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, also noted that Russia occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine's territory. This includes much of the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as Crimea, which Russia annexed illegally in 2014.

Ukrainian officials have asked for assistance from American officials and their counterparts in a half-dozen European allied nations in order to prepare for an extended time with limited gas and electricity. In the U.S., Milley, the Joint Chiefs chairman, warned that Russia’s latest aerial attack would continue and the potential onslaught could overwhelm the country's ability to bring heat and power back online.

"The Russians are striking throughout the depth and breadth of all of Ukraine with air-launched cruise missiles, with Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles, and with other types of munitions. They are striking the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, and it has little or no military purpose," Milley said. "These missiles, again, they targeted intentionally and damaged civilian power generation facilities to cause unnecessary suffering with the civilian population."

The U.S. has sought to provide Ukraine with gear for the winter season, as have other allies. The U.S. has committed approximately 50,000 parkas, 4,700 trousers, and 39,000 fleece hats, as well as more than 23,000 boots, 18,000 gloves, and 6,000 tents, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said last month.

Russian battlefield failures

As Russia continues its monthslong on-and-off air assault across Ukraine, its forces have continued to lose ground in the eastern part of Ukraine. Russian forces recently retreated from the strategically key city of Kherson, which was the only regional capital that Russian forces had captured and occupied. They had held the city since the start of the war, which began in February.

Kherson was one of four regions that the Kremlin sought to annex. While the Russian occupiers went through the motions of a referendum, which they declared overwhelmingly went in favor of joining the Russian Federation, the U.S. and its Western allies unanimously and immediately denounced it as a violation of international law.

Russia’s likelihood of achieving its initial goal of overthrowing the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is “close to zero,” Milley said.

“I can suppose theoretically it’s possible, maybe, but I don’t see it happening militarily,” Milley said. He later tempered this optimistic appraisal by saying the probability of a full Ukrainian military victory “happening anytime soon is not high.”

Nevertheless, Milley praised the Ukrainian forces' determination and resolve.

“They wanted to overrun all of Ukraine, and they lost. They didn't achieve those objectives. They failed to achieve their strategic objectives, and they are now failing to achieve their operational and tactical objectives. The Ukrainians have achieved success after success after success, and the Russians have failed every single time. They've lost strategically, they've lost operationally, and I repeat, they lost tactically. What they've tried to do, they failed at. They started this war and Russia can end this war," he said.

Through nearly nine months of the war, Russia likely has "well over 100,000" soldiers killed or wounded, Milley said earlier this month, and Ukraine likely has sustained a similar number of casualties, he added.

“The fighting is not going to stop,” Milley said. But both sides will use the winter as an “opportunity to get some rest to do some training to get resupplied.”

Diplomatic efforts

The lull in the fighting does open the possibility of a return to diplomacy. And Ukraine's latest battleground gains are likely to improve their negotiating hand.

“Politically, there may be a political solution where politically the Russians withdraw. That's possible. You want to negotiate from a position of strength. Russia, right now, is on its back,” Milley added. “The Russian military is really hurting bad. So, you want to negotiate at a time when you're at your strength and your opponent is at their greatest weakness. And it's possible, maybe, that there will be a political solution.”

The winter months will also diminish the fighting between both sides as the conditions worsen.

Last week, Colin H. Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters that the “sloppy weather in Ukraine” is already slowing the fighting, at least a bit.

"It's getting really muddy, which makes it hard to do large-scale offensives. I think that that challenge is going to get worse in the coming weeks. So we'll have to see whether the fighting slows down as a consequence of that," he said.

White House asks Congress for more than $37 billion in new Ukraine aid

Mike Brest

November 15, 04:24 PM November 15, 04:34 PM

The White House requested Congress approve another $37.7 billion in additional aid for Ukraine on Tuesday.

The Biden administration is requesting $21.7 billion in defense aid to continue providing equipment to Ukraine and to replenish depleted U.S. stockpiles, $14.5 million for direct budget support, $626 million to provide nuclear security support, and another $900 million for healthcare and support services.

RUSSIA LAUNCHES NEW WAVE OF MISSILE STRIKES FOLLOWING KHERSON RETREAT

“Since the beginning of Putin’s war, the United States has rallied the world to support Ukraine,” Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) requesting the funds. “Together, with strong, bipartisan support in Congress, we have provided significant assistance that has been critical to Ukraine’s success on the battlefield — and we cannot let that support run dry.”

Young said that roughly 75% of the money previously allocated by Congress for Ukraine has been disbursed or committed, with more expected to follow by the year's end, and, "That is why we are urging the Congress to provide additional appropriations to ensure Ukraine has the funding, weapons, and support it needs to defend itself, and that vulnerable people continue to receive lifesaving aid."

The request from the administration comes as Republicans are on the verge of clinching a majority in the House following last week’s midterm elections. There have been some House Republicans who have opposed providing additional aid to Ukraine, though a significant majority of the caucus voted in favor of previous aid bills.

“These guys don’t get it. It’s a lot bigger than Ukraine,” President Joe Biden said in response to comments from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) about not providing Ukraine with a "blank check," last month. “It’s Eastern Europe. It’s NATO. It’s really serious, serious consequential outcomes.”

The Biden administration has provided more than $18 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in late February. The U.S. most recently announced its latest package on Friday valued at roughly $400 million.

The White House also requested an unspecified amount of aid for natural disaster relief to help Florida and Puerto rebuild from national disasters.

US military inspectors in Ukraine to keep track of weapons and equipment

Mike Brest

November 01, 02:55 PM November 01, 02:56 PM

American military personnel are in Ukraine to help track and maintain the billions of dollars of military aid the United States has provided to Ukrainian forces, according to U.S. officials.

The Biden administration has provided more than $18 billion of military equipment to Ukraine since Russia invaded in late February after U.S. military personnel had left the country. Administration officials have repeatedly said they will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine as the war goes on.

WHITE HOUSE: IRAN AND RUSSIA HAVE GROWN CLOSER SINCE INVADING UKRAINE

The U.S. recently resumed “on-site inspections to assess weapon stocks in country whenever and wherever the security conditions allow,” a senior U.S. defense official told reporters on Monday. Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder could not say when the inspections resumed during Tuesday’s briefing.

The return of the U.S. defense attache, led by Brig. Gen. Garrick Harmon, to Ukraine and the Office of Defense Cooperation personnel have allowed these inspections to restart, the official explained, adding that the Defense Department is “conducting hands-on training with the Ukrainian Armed Forces on U.S. best practices so they can provide better data, for example, from the sites close to the front lines that U.S. personnel cannot visit.”

"There have been several of these inspections," the official noted.

There are several areas that the Defense Department attempts to monitor, according to the official: keeping comprehensive records of U.S. weapons distributions prior to transferring them to Ukrainian hands where they then log and track the security assistance (they also provide expenditure and damage reports), training them on how to provide better data, and then the U.S. inspections.

Ryder insisted that the department has “no indication that there has been any type of illicit spread.”

Last week, the State Department announced a new plan to ensure that weapons provided to Ukraine don’t fall into malign actors. While the Ukrainian government “has committed to appropriately safeguard and account for transferred U.S.-origin defense equipment,” keeping these weapons out of the hands of bad actors “is essential to post-conflict recovery and regional security.”

UN nuclear watchdog begins investigation of alleged ‘dirty bomb’ in Ukraine

Mike Brest

November 01, 12:06 PM November 01, 12:08 PM

The United Nations's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has begun its investigation into Russia’s allegation that Ukraine is producing a “dirty bomb” to use in the war.

Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Monday that the inspections of two sites “had begun” and “would soon complete,” according to a readout from the agency. Ukraine had requested the independent inspection following Russia’s claims of a “dirty bomb,” which was quickly repudiated by Western leaders.

WHITE HOUSE: IRAN AND RUSSIA HAVE GROWN CLOSER SINCE INVADING UKRAINE

Western leaders took Russia’s accusation, which came from Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin leaders, seriously as Russia has a history of accusing its adversaries of actions or plans it is about to take itself.

Similarly, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg noted last week that “Russia often accuses others of what they intend to do themselves. We have seen this pattern before,” and he also added that “Russia must not use false pretexts for further escalation. The world is watching closely.”

A dirty bomb is a conventional bomb that includes radioactive, biological, or chemical agents that disperse upon detonation, creating a much larger impact radius.

"A dirty bomb is a bomb where you use conventional explosives to expand and scatter and to release agents which can cause more widespread and long-standing injuries beyond just the explosive blast," National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters last week. "In the case of this particular allegation, it's really about radioactive material."

The IAEA said in a statement last week that it previously did an inspection of “one of the two locations a month ago and no undeclared nuclear activities or materials were found there.”

Russian strikes caused ‘widespread impact’ on Ukraine’s power grid, US says

Mike Brest

October 31, 02:45 PM October 31, 02:45 PM

The barrage of Russian strikes across Ukraine has had a “widespread impact" on the power grid, a senior U.S. military official said.

The official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity Monday afternoon, declined to provide percentages regarding the damage and noted that the department is still gathering information on the latest strikes that took place on Monday.

WHITE HOUSE: IRAN AND RUSSIA HAVE GROWN CLOSER SINCE INVADING UKRAINE

"In terms of the infrastructure, by virtue of the electrical grid being impacted, we are seeing impacts in terms of water supply systems, water treatment, things like that, which is affecting access to water among the civilian population," the official added.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said there had been strikes on 18 targets in 10 regions, making it the most significant and widespread missile campaign since a barrage roughly two weeks ago, according to the Washington Post.

DOD officials could not provide information about the latest strikes but spoke broadly about what they had seen recently.

“We’re still kind of gathering information on the latest strikes,” a senior defense official added. “And I don't have anything more than what you're seeing in media reporting regarding the most recent strikes. When it comes to the question of the power grid and repairs for Ukraine's critical infrastructure. I can tell you that that is a topic that we're talking a lot about inside of the U.S. government.”

Monday’s barrage came in response to an incident this weekend in which Ukrainian drones swarmed Russian warships in the port of Sevastopol, which is in Russian-occupied Crimea. The defense officials did not provide additional information regarding the attack.

Over the last couple weeks, Russian forces have repeatedly targeted Ukraine's power grid, which they argue are legitimate military targets, despite that there are parts of the country where civilians are without power or water as a result.

Ukraine reports Russian strikes on key infrastructure

Shana Donahue

October 31, 05:07 AM October 31, 05:07 AM

Officials in Ukraine reported a barrage of Russian strikes on critical infrastructure in several cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said part of the Ukrainian capital was cut off from power and water supplies due to the attacks.

PEACE IN NORTHERN ETHIOPIA — LOOKING FOR THE END OF THE RAINBOW

In Kharkiv, two strikes hit critical infrastructure facilities, according to the authorities, and the subway stopped operating. Officials also warned about possible power outages in the city of Zaporizhzhia resulting from the strikes there, according to the .

A video that reportedly shows black smoke rising from a dam substation after an attack was posted to Twitter on Monday. The hydroelectric plant is located in Zaporizhzhia.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to President Zelensky, said around 40 missiles had been fired at Ukraine in the early hours, the Daily Mail reported.

Deputy head of the presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said emergency power outages were being implemented due to “massive shelling of critical infrastructure.”

This is the second time this month Russia has attacked Ukrainian infrastructure.

“Another batch of Russian missiles hits Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Instead of fighting on the battlefield, Russia fights civilians. Don’t justify these attacks by calling them a ‘response’. Russia does this because it still has the missiles and the will to kill Ukrainians,” Dmytro Kuleba, minister of foreign affairs for Ukraine, said in a tweet.

Defense Department announces $275 million military aid to Ukraine

Mike Brest

October 28, 12:49 PM October 28, 12:49 PM

The Department of Defense announced its latest military aid package to Ukraine, valued at roughly $275 million.

Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh announced the new package during Friday’s press briefing, noting that this is the 24th presidential drawdown and that the Biden administration has now provided more than $18.5 billion in security assistance since the beginning of the administration.

WHITE HOUSE: IRAN AND RUSSIA HAVE GROWN CLOSER SINCE INVADING UKRAINE

This aid does not include any significant new weapons, but it does include additional ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, 500 precision-guided artillery rounds, 2,000 155 millimeter rounds of remote anti-armor mind systems, more than 1,300 anti-armor systems, 2.75 million rounds of small-arms ammunition, four satellite communications antennas in total, and 125 humvees.

A day earlier, the State Department announced a new plan to ensure that weapons provided to Ukraine don’t fall into maligned actors. While the Ukrainian government “has committed to appropriately safeguard and account for transferred U.S.-origin defense equipment,” but keeping these weapons out of the hands of bad actors “is essential to post-conflict recovery and regional security.”

The policy specifically calls for the U.S. to enable Ukraine to document and account for weapons from allies properly, surging relevant training for officials in key roles regarding the safeguarding of these weapons, monitoring and investigating suspected weapons traffickers, and building the capacity of law enforcement officials and analysts in Ukraine and neighboring states.

"Intense internal demand for use on the battlefield by Ukrainian military and security forces within Ukraine is assessed to be impeding black-market proliferation of small arms and guided infantry weapons such as MANPADS and ATGMs from Ukraine," the release said. "Pro-Russian forces’ capture of Ukrainian weapons – including donated materiel – has been the main vector of diversion so far and could result in onward transfers. Russia probably will also use these weapons to develop countermeasures, propaganda, or to conduct false-flag operations."

“As in any conflict, we remain vigilant to the possibility that criminal and non-state actors may attempt to illicitly acquire weapons from sources in Ukraine, including members of the Russian military, during or following the conflict,” the State Department said in a statement about the release.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shot down the possibility of providing Ukraine with longer-range weapons during a press briefing on Thursday, saying that the weapons already provided allow it to hit all necessary targets anyway.