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Tag: unrest

  • Russia’s economy is hurting despite Putin’s bluster | CNN Business

    Russia’s economy is hurting despite Putin’s bluster | CNN Business

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    London
    CNN
     — 

    When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine one year ago, Western countries hit back with unprecedented sanctions to punish Moscow and pile pressure on President Vladimir Putin. The aim: to deal an economic blow so severe that Putin would reconsider his brutal war.

    Russia’s economy did weaken as a result. But it also showed surprising resilience. As demand for Russian oil fell in Europe, Moscow redirected its barrels to Asia. The country’s central bank staved off a currency crisis with aggressive capital controls and interest rate hikes. Military expenditure supported the industrial sector, while the scramble to replace Western equipment and technology lifted investment.

    “The Russian economy and system of government have turned out to be much stronger than the West believed,” Putin said in a speech to Russia’s parliament Tuesday.

    Yet cracks are starting to show and they will widen over the next 12 months. The European Union — which spent more than $100 billion on Russian fossil fuels in 2021 — has made huge strides in phasing out purchases. The bloc, which dramatically reduced its dependence on Russian natural gas last year, officially banned most imports of Russian crude oil by sea in December. It enacted a similar block on refined oil products this month.

    Those measures are already straining Russia’s finances as it struggles to find replacement customers. The government reported a budget deficit of about 1,761 billion rubles ($23.5 billion) for January. Expenditure jumped 59% year-over-year, while revenue plunged 35%. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced that Russia would cut oil production by about 5% starting in March.

    “The era of windfall profits from the oil and gas market for Russia is over,” Janis Kluge, an expert on Russia’s economy at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told CNN.

    Meanwhile, the ruble has slumped to its weakest level against the US dollar since last April. The currency’s weakness has contributed to high inflation. And most businesses say they can’t conceive of growing right now given high levels of economic uncertainty, according to a recent survey by a Russian think tank.

    These dynamics place the country’s economy on a trajectory of decline. And they will force Putin to choose between ramping up military spending and investing in social goods like housing and education — a decision that could have consequences both for the war and the Russian public’s support of it.

    “This year could really be the key test,” said Timothy Ash, an associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House, a think tank.

    In a bid to bring Russia to heel for its aggression, Western countries have used their sway over the global financial system, unveiling more than 11,300 sanctions since the invasion and freezing some $300 billion of the country’s foreign reserves. At the same time, more than 1,000 companies, ranging from BP

    (BP)     to McDonald’s

    (MCD)     and Starbucks

    (SBUX)    , have exited or curtailed operations in the country, citing opposition to the war and new logistical challenges.

    Russia’s economic output duly contracted by 2.1% last year, according to a preliminary estimate from the government. But the hit was more limited than forecasters initially expected. When sanctions were first imposed, some economists predicted a contraction of 10% or 15%.

    One reason for Russia’s unexpected pluck was its push toward self-sufficiency following Putin’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Through a policy known as “Fortress Russia,” the government boosted domestic food production and policymakers forced banks to build up their reserves. That created a degree of “durability,” said Ash at Chatham House.

    The swift intervention of Russia’s central bank, which jacked up interest rates to 20% after the invasion and implemented currency controls to buttress the ruble, was also a stabilizing force. So was the need for factories to increase production of military goods and replace items that had been imported from the West.

    But the greatest support came from high energy prices and the world’s continued thirst for oil and other commodities.

    Russia, the world’s second-largest exporter of crude, was able to send barrels that would have gone to Europe to countries like China and India. The European Union, which imported an average of 3.3 million barrels of Russian crude and oil products per day in 2021, was also still buying 2.3 million barrels per day as of November, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

    “It’s a question of natural resources,” Sergey Aleksashenko, Russia’s former deputy minister of finance, said at an event last month hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank. That meant the economy experienced a decline, but “not a collapse,” he added.

    In fact, Russia’s average monthly oil export revenues rose by 24% last year to $18.1 billion, according to the IEA. Yet a repeat performance is unlikely, presaging increasingly tough decisions for Putin.

    The price of a barrel of Urals crude, Russia’s main blend, fell to an average of $49.50 in January after Europe’s oil embargo — as well as a Group of Seven price cap — took effect. By comparison, the global benchmark stood around $82. That suggests that customers like India and China, seeing a smaller pool of interested buyers, are negotiating greater discounts. Russia’s 2023 budget is based on a Urals price of more than $70 per barrel.

    Finding new buyers for processed oil products, which are also subject to new embargoes and price caps, won’t be easy either. China and India have their own network of refineries and prefer to buy crude, noted Ben McWilliams, an energy consultant at Bruegel.

    Meanwhile, gas exports to Europe have plunged since Russia shut its Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

    A motorcyclist rides past an oil depot in New Delhi, India, on Sunday, June 12, 2022.

    Russia’s government relied on the oil and gas sector for 45% of its budget in 2021. As it plans to maximize defense spending, lower revenues inevitably mean trade-offs. Spending plans for 2023 finalized in December involved a decrease in expenditure on housing and health care, as well as a category that includes public infrastructure.

    “Whatever energy resources are obtained, they’ll be spent on military needs,” said Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, acting director of the Russia Institute at King’s College London.

    The International Monetary Fund still expects Russia’s economy to expand by 0.3% this year and 2.1% the next. Yet any outlook is contingent on what happens in Ukraine.

    “Whether the economy shrinks or expands in 2023 will be determined by developments in the war,” Tatiana Orlova, an economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday. Shortages of workers tied to military conscription and emigration pose a key risk, she noted.

    The impact of Western sanctions is poised to develop into a crisis over time. Bloomberg Economics estimates that Putin’s war in Ukraine will slash $190 billion off Russia’s gross domestic product by 2026 compared with the country’s prewar path.

    Sectors that rely on imports have been particularly vulnerable. Domestic car makers such as Avtovaz, which manufactures the iconic Ladas, have struggled with shortages of key components and materials.

    A man talks on his phone near a closed H&M store on December 15, 2022 in Moscow, Russia.

    Russia’s auto industry was already weakened after companies such as Volkswagen

    (VLKAF)    , Renault

    (RNLSY)    , Ford

    (F)     and Nissan

    (NSANF)     halted production and began to sell their local assets last year. Chinese firms have stepped up their presence, part of a broader trend. Even so, sales of new cars dropped 63% year-over-year in January, according to the Association of European Businesses.

    Across sectors, firms are struggling to plan for the future. A survey of more than 1,000 Russian businesses by the Stolypin Institute of Economic Growth in November found that almost half plan to maintain production over the next one to two years and aren’t thinking about growth. The group said this contributed to a high risk of “long-term stagnation of the Russian economy.”

    Given Putin’s ideological commitment to subsuming Ukraine, he’s unlikely to back down, according to Sharafutdinova at King’s College London. But his war chest “is likely, inevitably, to diminish,” she added.

    Prioritizing military spending will also come at a social cost, with a “slow and creeping” erosion of living standards, she added.

    “In normal times, we might have said that the population would protest against that,” Sharafutdinova said. “But of course, these are not normal times.”

    — Clare Sebastian and Olesya Dmitracova contributed reporting.

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  • Nikki Haley defended right to secession, Confederate History Month and the Confederate flag in 2010 talk | CNN Politics

    Nikki Haley defended right to secession, Confederate History Month and the Confederate flag in 2010 talk | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley defended states’ rights to secede from the United States, South Carolina’s Confederate History Month and the Confederate flag in a 2010 interview with a local activist group that “fights attacks against Southern Culture.”

    Haley, who was running for South Carolina governor at the time, made the comments during an interview with the now defunct “The Palmetto Patriots,” a group which included a one-time board member of a White nationalist organization.

    The former UN ambassador also described the Civil War as two sides fighting for different values, one for “tradition” and one for “change.”

    Haley announced last week she was running for president, becoming the first official major challenger to former President Donald Trump.

    The interview was posted on the group’s YouTube at the time and resurfaced over the years, most recently by Patriots Takes, an anonymous Twitter account that monitors right wing extremism. CNN’s KFile reviewed the interviews as part of a look into Haley’s early political career.

    One of the Palmetto Patriots’ interviewers was Robert Slimp, a pastor and member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and one-time board member and active member of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a White nationalist group. The CCC is a self-described White-rights group that opposes non-White immigration and advocates a White nationalist ideology. The group reportedly inspired Charleston shooter Dylann Roof, the White nationalist who killed nine people at a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.

    The shooting spurred Haley, then governor, to call for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds where it had been since being removed from the state’s Capitol dome in 2000.

    In a comment to CNN, Haley’s spokesperson cited her decision to help remove the flag from the grounds but declined to address Haley’s other comments.

    “Nikki Haley’s groundbreaking leadership on removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Capitol grounds is well known,” Ken Farnaso, her spokesperson, wrote in an email to CNN.

    Former Trump supporter tells ‘Daily Show’ contributor why he stopped supporting Trump

    In the 2010 interview, Haley said the Confederate flag was not “racist” but part of heritage and tradition within the state. She called the flag’s location a “compromise of all people, that everybody should accept a part of South Carolina.”

    “You know, for those groups that come in and say they have issues with the Confederate flag, I will work to talk to them about it,” Haley said. “I will work and talk to them about the heritage and how this is not something that is racist. This is something that is a tradition that people feel proud of and let them know that we want their business in this state. And that the flag where it is, was a compromise of all people that everybody should accept as part of South Carolina.”

    After the Charleston church mass shooting, Haley called on the state legislature to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol, becoming one of the defining moments of her governorship.

    “There is a place for that flag,” Haley said to CNN in July 2015 after the flag was removed. “It’s not in a place that represents all people in South Carolina.”

    But Haley’s later comments would complicate this legacy after she claimed that to some people the Confederate flag symbolized “service, sacrifice and heritage” for some South Carolinians until Roof “hijacked” it, sparking backlash.

    Following the backlash, Haley wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post defending her comments.

    “In South Carolina, as in much of the South, the Confederate flag has long been a hot-button issue,” Haley wrote. “Everyone knows the flag has always been a symbol of slavery, discrimination and hate for many people. But not everyone sees the flag that way. That’s hard for non-Southerners to understand, but it’s a fact.”

    SE CUpp unfiltered 0216

    SE Cupp: Nikki Haley promises youth, but will her policies reflect that?

    When asked about secession, Haley said that while she believed under the Constitution that states have the right to secede from the rest of the country. When asked if she would support the seccession of South Carolina, which was the first state to secede during the Civil War, she said she did not think “it’s gonna get to that point.”

    “The Union, I think that they do,” Haley inaccurately said. “I mean, the Constitution says that.”

    The Supreme Court ruled in 1869 that states do not have a constitutional right to unilaterally secede.

    Haley declined to say if she would support South Carolina if it “needed” to secede, when asked.

    “You know, I’m one of those people that doesn’t think it’s gonna get to that point,” Haley said before describing how she might rally governors to go to the federal government to settle disputes over “federal intrusion.”

    nancy mace nikki haley SPLIT

    Collins asks lawmaker from Nikki Haley’s home district if she’ll endorse her. See her response

    Haley also said she supported South Carolina’s “Confederate History Month” during the interview, comparing it to Black History Month.

    “Yes, it’s part of a traditional – you know, it’s part of tradition,” she said. “And so, when you look at that, if you have the same as you have Black History Month and you have Confederate History Month and all of those. As long as it’s done where it is in a positive way and not in a negative way, and it doesn’t go to harm anyone, and it goes back to where it focuses on the traditions of the people that are wanting to celebrate it, then I think it’s fine.

    Haley Trump SPLIT

    Smerconish: Why Trump wants Haley to run

    In her interview, Haley also described the Civil War in terms sympathetic to the southern cause and did not mention slavery.

    “I mean, again, I think that as we look in government, as we watch government, you have different sides, and I think that you see passions on different sides, and I don’t think anyone does anything out of hate,” Haley said. “I think what they do is, they do things out of tradition and out of beliefs of what they believe is right.”

    “I think you have one side of the Civil War that was fighting for tradition, and I think you have another side of the Civil War that was fighting for change,” she added. “You know, at the end of the day, what I think we need to remember is that you know, everyone is supposed to have their rights, everyone is supposed to be free, everyone is supposed to have the same freedoms as anyone else. So, you know I think it was tradition versus change is the way I see it.

    “Tradition versus change on what,” asked the interviewer.

    “On individual rights and liberty of people,” she responded.

    Haley later added she believed everyone was endowed with rights from “our creator” to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

    “Well, I think that for me, you know what I continue to remember is that you know we also know that our creator endowed the rights of everyone having you know, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” she said. ‘And so, when I look at it that way, I look at that’s still what needs to be what guides everybody, so that we make sure that we keep those three things in check.”

    CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the name of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

    SOTU LTG Haley_00002509.png

    Watch UN ambassador react to Nikki Haley’s position on China

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  • Biden’s trip to Kyiv delivers the starkest rebuke possible to Putin | CNN Politics

    Biden’s trip to Kyiv delivers the starkest rebuke possible to Putin | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    There is no more powerful symbol of Vladimir Putin’s failure.

    A year ago, the Russian leader launched a blitzkrieg against Ukraine, mocking its history and sovereignty, sending his tanks churning toward Kyiv to obliterate the democratically elected government led by a former comic actor. His purpose was clear: To crush once and for all Ukraine’s dreams of joining the West and to force it to return to the orbit of greater Russia.

    Back then, anyone predicting how the anniversary of the war would be marked might have mused about a Russian military parade and a visit by Putin himself to a puppet leader he installed in a nation again under Moscow’s iron fist.

    The reality is far different following heroic Ukrainian resistance bolstered by weapons sent by NATO members.

    The president of the United States, in overcoat and shades, strolled through Kyiv in daylight, visiting a historic church as air raid sirens wailed and standing exposed alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky in the city’s vast, open and iconic St. Michael’s Square.

    His presence sent a message of defiance to Putin most directly and a cherished sign of resolve and empathy for the people of Ukraine. His audience also included European powers in a western alliance that Biden has led and invigorated like no president since the end of the Cold War. And every time a commander-in-chief makes such an audacious splash on the world stage he’s also making a point to Americans – on whose support continuing extraordinary support for Ukraine’s war effort depends – and to his own fervent domestic critics.

    Biden deliberately contrasted the sense of then and now that his visit, just before the anniversary of Russia’s invasion, conjured.

    “That dark night one year ago, the world was literally at the time bracing for the fall of Kyiv,” Biden told Zelensky at a news conference flanked by the Stars and Stripes and Ukraine’s distinctive blue and yellow national flag. The event itself carried its own symbolism – it did not feature two leaders cowering in a bunker, but went ahead in an ornate room like any other leaders’ press conference in any other capital.

    “One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands,” he declared. “The Americans stand with you and the world stands with you.”

    Biden’s words might have lacked the poetry of “Ich bin ein Berliner,” or “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” But Biden’s visit instantly went down in history alongside two defining trips to divided Berlin by Presidents John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan that were flashpoints of the Cold War and each of which sent their own image of US resolve to the Kremlin.

    Those events made clear that the United States stood with its Western allies for as long as it took to prevail over the Soviet Union. Biden’s visit was meant to give similar historic heft to his comment Washington is there for “as long as it takes” — though it’s unlikely that it will assuage fears in Kyiv and Europe that a change in president might weaken that US vow.

    In photos: President Biden visits Ukraine and Poland

    Biden’s secret visit, which involved the president leaving the US unannounced and heading to an active war zone, matched some of the colorful stagecraft that Zelensky – a master of public relations – has used to maintain Western support for his people and the multi-billion-dollar pipeline of weapons and aid.

    During America’s Middle East wars of the last 20 years, Americans became accustomed to Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump leaving Washington in the dead of night and popping up in Baghdad or Kabul to visit US troops and US-backed leaders. And while those trips had their own measure of daring and danger, Biden’s visit went a step further – venturing into a foreign capital that is often under air attack and lacks the security offered by large garrisons of American troops and air assets. The US did inform Russia of the plans to visit for “deconfliction purposes,” according to Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

    Biden had always planned to visit Europe this week to mark the anniversary of the Russian invasion — though his public program mentioned only a trip to neighboring Poland. But a journey across the Atlantic that lacked a Ukrainian component would have been unsatisfactory given that fact that many European leaders have already visited Kyiv. Still, the security footprint of the US president is far greater than the one accompanying those leaders, and his position as the leader of the West leaves him far more exposed.

    But by not visiting Ukraine, Biden would have been implicitly admitting that there were some things that Putin could prevent him from doing – in effect showing US weakness.

    Ukrainians understood the intent better than anyone.

    “The tipping point in this war will not be when we receive another set of weapons but when our alliance will stop playing reactive roles to what Putin will do,” Kira Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, told “CNN This Morning.”

    “President Biden has claimed the upper hand … and tomorrow Putin will have to reply to what happened today,” Rudik said, referring to a speech in which Putin is expected to rally the Russian people on Tuesday.

    Political symbolism is only effective if it gets results, drives policy and changes an entrenched situation.

    So, like the Berlin visits of Kennedy and Reagan, the true historic sweep of Biden’s perilous journey to Ukraine can only be judged in the light of subsequent events. In other words, his gesture will be an empty one if Russia – which appears to be mustering for a spring offensive – wins the war.

    And while the pictures of Biden in Kyiv were remarkable, they cannot disguise real questions and uncertainties surrounding the US approach to the war and differences with the Ukrainians. This plays out both in the types of weapons the US is prepared to offer and potentially in divergent scenarios about how the war could end. The phrase “as long as it takes” can mean different things to different people and there is every sign that this war, which Putin cannot afford to lose, could grind on for many bloody more years, testing Western resolve.

    The personal nature of the president’s rebuke to Putin is meanwhile likely to trigger a response from a ruthless leader who has shown no mercy to civilians and a cruel indifference to the value of human life – Russian as well as Ukrainian. One potential way Biden’s visit could backfire is that it could bolster Putin’s claim that he is really fighting a war against the West rather than an independent sovereign nation – a framing that is popular among some Russians and is one Biden has tried to avoid.

    The president’s visit only served to expose growing opposition to the war among conservative Republicans at home – which, if not yet near the levels that could force him to desert Ukraine, is sufficient to raise concerns about the size of future aid packages and what a new president after 2024 – Trump or a GOP leader who shares his “America First” tendencies – could mean for Ukraine.

    The most glaring difference between Biden and Zelensky lies in the kind of weapons the US president is willing to provide. The government in Kyiv is ratcheting up its campaign for the West to send F-16 jets and is now getting increasing buy-in from some influential bipartisan members of Congress.

    Biden has so far declined to agree to the request, which gets to the heart of a dilemma that defines his war strategy: How far to go to help Kyiv win while avoiding a direct clash between the West and Russia.

    Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, complained on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that Washington had taken too long to send game-changing weapons to Ukraine in the past and should not make the same mistake with warplanes. Asked if the Biden administration was now considering the dispatch of F-16 fighter planes, the Texas Republican replied: “I hope so,” and added, “I think the momentum is building for this to happen.”

    Sending US-made jets to Ukraine could be even more sensitive than the dispatch of the tanks to which the president just agreed.

    This is because they would enhance Ukraine’s capacity to potentially strike at Russian jets and air defense systems inside Russia. The use of NATO aircraft in such operations – even with Ukrainian pilots – could prompt the Kremlin to conclude the alliance has directly intervened in the war, increasing the risk of a disastrous escalation of the conflict Biden has tried to avoid.

    But retired US Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson told CNN’s Poppy Harlow Monday that Biden’s visit came at another turning point in the war.

    “This is a great show of leadership by President Biden. Good leaders always go to the sound of the guns.” But, Anderson added: “The United States needs to make a decision. Are we in it to ensure the Ukrainians simply not lose? Or are we in it so they can actually win?”

    Less importantly globally but still significantly, Biden’s trip to Ukraine had domestic political implications.

    A grueling and dangerous journey that required energy and endurance felt like a jab at critics who question whether Biden should be contemplating a reelection race at the age of 80.

    And like Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this month, his stagecraft infuriated the most extreme wing of the Republican Party, which Biden has said is a danger to US democracy and values. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, for instance, quickly slammed Biden for journeying to Ukraine and other GOP figures accused him of caring more for Kyiv’s borders than those in the US.

    “This is incredibly insulting. Today on our President’s Day, Joe Biden, the President of the United States chose Ukraine over America, while forcing the American people to pay for Ukraine’s government and war. I can not express how much Americans hate Joe Biden,” Greene said in a tweet.

    There are many Americans on the right who agree that Biden has not done enough to secure the southern border and the issue will be at the center of the 2024 election. But Greene’s comment did not just exemplify the deterioration in civility in US politics. It was revealing from a pro-Trump Republican who has been supportive of the insurrectionists who tried to destroy American democracy on January 6, 2021.

    There may be nothing more presidential than standing for the foundational US values of freedom and democracy and the right of a people to repel tyranny enforced at the point of the gun from a more powerful foreign oppressor whose fight for independence mirrors America’s own.

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  • Why the US is accusing Russia of crimes against humanity and what that means | CNN Politics

    Why the US is accusing Russia of crimes against humanity and what that means | CNN Politics

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    A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.



    CNN
     — 

    A year into Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the US has seen enough.

    “In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt: These are crimes against humanity,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at the Munich Security Conference this weekend.

    “To all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors who are complicit in those crimes, you will be held to account.”

    The declaration marks the strongest accusation yet from the US as it seeks to punish Moscow for its war of aggression.

    The US government declared last March that members of the Russian armed forces had committed war crimes in Ukraine. President Joe Biden has gone as far as saying that atrocities at the hands of Moscow’s troops qualify as “genocide.”

    While the “crimes against humanity” determination is significant, it remains largely symbolic for now. It does not immediately trigger any specific consequences, nor does it give the US the ability to prosecute Russians involved with perpetrating crimes.

    However, it could provide international bodies, such as the International Criminal Court, with evidence to effectively try to prosecute those crimes.

    Here’s what you need to know about how these kinds of crimes are prosecuted on the international stage.

    A crime against humanity is defined by the International Criminal Court as an act “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.”

    This can include, among other things, murder, extermination, torture, enslavement, sexual violence, deportation or forcible transfer of population or other inhumane acts.

    “We reserve crimes against humanity determinations for the most egregious crimes,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Saturday. “These acts are not random or spontaneous; they are part of the Kremlin’s widespread and systematic attack against Ukraine’s civilian population.”

    Harris in her speech outlined specific instances that have peppered news clips and official reports.

    “First, from the starting days of this unprovoked war, we have witnessed Russian forces engage in horrendous atrocities and war crimes,” Harris said.

    “Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population – gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation. Execution-style killings, beating and electrocution,” she added.

    “Russian authorities have forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine to Russia, including children. They have cruelly separated children from their families.”

    Harris’ speech cited evidence of indiscriminate Russian attacks that deliberately targeted civilians, including the bombing of a maternity hospital that killed a pregnant mother and of a theater in Mariupol, where hundreds were killed.

    The vice president spoke of the horrific images out of Bucha that showed men and women shot and left to rot in the streets and reports by the United Nations of a 4-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by a Russian soldier.

    As it was when the US government declared that Russia committed war crimes last March, it remains to be seen whether there will be any accountability and whether Russian President Vladimir Putin himself will be forced to bear any responsibility.

    “We will continue to support the judicial process in Ukraine and international investigations because justice must be served. Let us all agree, on behalf of all the victims, known and unknown: Justice must be served,” Harris said.

    Located in The Hague, Netherlands, and created by a treaty called the Rome Statute first brought before the United Nations, the International Criminal Court operates independently.

    Most countries on Earth – 123 of them – are parties to the treaty, but there are very large and notable exceptions. That’s key for this story, as neither Russia nor Ukraine — nor for that matter, the US — are part of the agreement.

    The court tries people, not countries, and focuses on those who hold the most responsibility: leaders and officials. While Ukraine is not a member of the court, it has previously accepted its jurisdiction. Accused Russian officials could theoretically be indicted by the court. However, the ICC does not conduct trials in absentia, so they would either have to be handed over by Russia or arrested outside of Russia. This seems unlikely.

    An ICC investigation could affect any diplomatic space for negotiations, with Putin and other accused perpetrators not wanting to risk arrest if they travel outside the country. It could also weaken Putin’s popularity at home, with Russians losing faith in his ability to lead.

    If justice in general moves slowly, international justice barely moves at all. Investigations at the ICC take many years. Only a handful of convictions have ever been won.

    A preliminary investigation into the hostilities in eastern Ukraine lasted more than six years – from April 2014 until December 2020. At the time, the prosecutor said there was evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Next steps were slowed by the Covid-19 pandemic and a lack of resources at the court, which is conducting multiple investigations.

    Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, cast the crimes against humanity accusation as an attempt to “demonize” Russia, according to state news agency TASS.

    “We consider such insinuations as an attempt, unprecedented in terms of its cynicism, to demonize Russia,” Antonov said this weekend.

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  • Michigan election denier who has yet to concede her 2022 loss will chair state GOP | CNN Politics

    Michigan election denier who has yet to concede her 2022 loss will chair state GOP | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Michigan Republicans have chosen Kristina Karamo, who has yet to concede last year’s secretary of state race, as their next chair, putting an election denier at the head of the party in a crucial battleground state.

    Karamo tweeted Sunday that she was “honored to lead the Michigan Republican Party.”

    On the heels of the GOP’s midterm losses in Michigan last year, the state party backed Karamo at its Saturday night convention over Matthew DePerno, who had former President Donald Trump’s backing in the race. DePerno ran unsuccessfully for attorney general last year.

    Trump congratulated Karamo on Truth Social Sunday, calling her a “a powerful and fearless Election Denier, in winning the Chair of the GOP in Michigan.”

    “If Republicans (and others!) would speak the truth about the Rigged Presidential Election of 2020, like FoxNews should, but doesn’t, they would be far better off,” he said.

    Karamo, a former community college professor, rose to prominence in Michigan after the 2020 election when she alleged to have witnessed fraud as a poll challenger during the state’s count of absentee ballots. She has falsely claimed Trump was the true victor in Michigan in 2020 and has spread the conspiracy theory that left-wing anarchists were behind the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

    Trump had backed Karamo in the 2022 secretary of state race, which she lost by 14 points to incumbent Democrat Jocelyn Benson.

    A CNN review in November 2021 of Karamo’s podcast and writings on her now defunct personal website revealed her declaring herself an “anti-vaxxer” in 2020 even before the Covid-19 vaccine became a political flashpoint. She opposed teaching evolution and called public schools “government indoctrination camps.”

    CNN’s KFile reported last year that Karamo called abortion “child sacrifice” and a “satanic practice.”

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  • Two Supreme Court cases this week could upend the entire internet | CNN Business

    Two Supreme Court cases this week could upend the entire internet | CNN Business

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    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    The Supreme Court is set to hear back-to-back oral arguments this week in two cases that could significantly reshape online speech and content moderation.

    The outcome of the oral arguments, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, could determine whether tech platforms and social media companies can be sued for recommending content to their users or for supporting acts of international terrorism by hosting terrorist content. It marks the Court’s first-ever review of a hot-button federal law that largely protects websites from lawsuits over user-generated content.

    The closely watched cases, known as Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh, carry significant stakes for the wider internet. An expansion of apps and websites’ legal risk for hosting or promoting content could lead to major changes at sites, including Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube, to name a few.

    The litigation has produced some of the most intense rhetoric in years from the tech sector about the potential impact on the internet’s future. US lawmakers, civil society groups and more than two dozen states have also jumped into the debate with filings at the Court.

    At the heart of the legal battle is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a nearly 30-year-old federal law that courts have repeatedly said provide broad protections to tech platforms but that has since come under scrutiny alongside growing criticism of Big Tech’s content moderation decisions.

    The law has critics on both sides of the aisle. Many Republican officials allege that Section 230 gives social media platforms a license to censor conservative viewpoints. Prominent Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have argued Section 230 prevents tech giants from being held accountable for spreading misinformation and hate speech.

    In recent years, some in Congress have pushed for changes to Section 230 that might expose tech platforms to more liability, along with proposals to amend US antitrust rules and other bills aimed at reining in dominant tech platforms. But those efforts have largely stalled, leaving the Supreme Court as the likeliest source of change in the coming months to how the United States regulates digital services.

    Rulings in the cases are expected by the end of June.

    The case involving Google zeroes in on whether it can be sued because of its subsidiary YouTube’s algorithmic promotion of terrorist videos on its platform.

    According to the plaintiffs in the case — the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, who was killed in a 2015 ISIS attack in Paris — YouTube’s targeted recommendations violated a US antiterrorism law by helping to radicalize viewers and promote ISIS’s worldview.

    The allegation seeks to carve out content recommendations so that they do not receive protections under Section 230, potentially exposing tech platforms to more liability for how they run their services.

    Google and other tech companies have said that that interpretation of Section 230 would increase the legal risks associated with ranking, sorting and curating online content, a basic feature of the modern internet. Google has claimed that in such a scenario, websites would seek to play it safe by either removing far more content than is necessary, or by giving up on content moderation altogether and allowing even more harmful material on their platforms.

    Friend-of-the-court filings by Craigslist, Microsoft, Yelp and others have suggested that the stakes are not limited to algorithms and could also end up affecting virtually anything on the web that might be construed as making a recommendation. That might mean even average internet users who volunteer as moderators on various sites could face legal risks, according to a filing by Reddit and several volunteer Reddit moderators. Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden and former California Republican Rep. Chris Cox, the original co-authors of Section 230, argued to the Court that Congress’ intent in passing the law was to give websites broad discretion to moderate content as they saw fit.

    The Biden administration has also weighed in on the case. In a brief filed in December, it argued that Section 230 does protect Google and YouTube from lawsuits “for failing to remove third-party content, including the content it has recommended.” But, the government’s brief argued, those protections do not extend to Google’s algorithms because they represent the company’s own speech, not that of others.

    The second case, Twitter v. Taamneh, will decide whether social media companies can be sued for aiding and abetting a specific act of international terrorism when the platforms have hosted user content that expresses general support for the group behind the violence without referring to the specific terrorist act in question.

    The plaintiffs in the case — the family of Nawras Alassaf, who was killed in an ISIS attack in Istanbul in 2017 — have alleged that social media companies including Twitter had knowingly aided ISIS in violation of a US antiterrorism law by allowing some of the group’s content to persist on their platforms despite policies intended to limit that type of content.

    Twitter has said that just because ISIS happened to use the company’s platform to promote itself does not constitute Twitter’s “knowing” assistance to the terrorist group, and that in any case the company cannot be held liable under the antiterror law because the content at issue in the case was not specific to the attack that killed Alassaf. The Biden administration, in its brief, has agreed with that view.

    Twitter had also previously argued that it was immune from the suit thanks to Section 230.

    Other tech platforms such as Meta and Google have argued in the case that if the Court finds the tech companies cannot be sued under US antiterrorism law, at least under these circumstances, it would avoid a debate over Section 230 altogether in both cases, because the claims at issue would be tossed out.

    In recent years, however, several Supreme Court justices have shown an active interest in Section 230, and have appeared to invite opportunities to hear cases related to the law. Last year, Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch wrote that new state laws, such as Texas’s that would force social media platforms to host content they would rather remove, raise questions of “great importance” about “the power of dominant social media corporations to shape public discussion of the important issues of the day.”

    A number of petitions are currently pending asking the Court to review the Texas law and a similar law passed by Florida. The Court last month delayed a decision on whether to hear those cases, asking instead for the Biden administration to submit its views.

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  • Top House Republicans call on Biden to increase military support for Ukraine | CNN Politics

    Top House Republicans call on Biden to increase military support for Ukraine | CNN Politics

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    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    Two leading House Republicans have called on President Joe Biden to increase military support to Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion and reiterated support on both sides of the aisle for continuing to fund the Ukrainian war effort.

    Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN’s Pamela Brown on “State of the Union” in a joint interview with House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner that aired Sunday that bipartisan support for Ukraine is “still very strong.”

    But as the one-year anniversary of the war approaches, McCaul warned that hedging support for Ukraine could prolong the conflict, which could play into Russia’s advantages and allow anti-Ukraine dissent to build.

    “The longer (Biden administration officials) drag this out, they play into (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin’s hands. He wants this to be a long, protracted war because he knows that potentially, he will lose – we could lose the will of the American people and therefore the Congress,” the Texas Republican told CNN, speaking from the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

    The US and its allies have already sent nearly $50 billion in aid and equipment to Ukraine’s military over the past year. To keep that up, and to rebuild its own stockpiles, the Pentagon is racing to re-arm, embarking on the biggest increase in ammunition production in decades and putting portions of the US defense industry on a war-footing despite America technically not being at war.

    Asked by Brown if he believes the US is considering sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, McCaul replied, “I hope so,” and reiterated his concern over a drawn-out conflict between Russia and Ukraine while noting, “I think the momentum is building for this to happen.”

    “The fact is, the longer they wait, the longer this conflict will prevail,” McCaul said.

    US Sen. Lindsey Graham echoed that message, telling ABC in an interview that aired Sunday that US lawmakers attending the Munich Security Conference were in “virtually unanimous belief” that the US should begin training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

    “I believe a decision will be imminent when we get back to Washington, that the administration will start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16. They need the weapons system,” Graham said.

    Asked by CNN whether the Biden administration has ruled out sending F-16s to Ukraine, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said officials were “working very closely and directly with the Ukrainians on identifying what their needs are and when they need them.”

    “We’re also working to ensure that they have the training and the capacity to use whatever weapon systems we provide for them. So, this discussion is continuing,” she said in a separate interview on “State of the Union.”

    Turner, an Ohio Republican, defended congressional support for Ukraine despite several of his fellow House GOP colleagues co-signing a “Ukraine Fatigue” resolution calling for the US to end military and financial aid to the country. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told CNN last week he opposes the resolution.

    Turner equated the resolution to a letter more than two dozen progressive House Democrats sent the White House last fall, asking it to pursue diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine. The letter was retracted shortly after.

    “You have a handful on both sides, both sides, Pamela, who have been cautious or who have said that they don’t support, or they want support to come to an end,” he said from Munich. “There are 435 members of Congress. There are probably 400 that are for continuing this direction and this path.”

    McCaul also told CNN that the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over US airspace before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month contained parts manufactured in the United States and urged the US to restrict the flow of weapons technology to China.

    “This balloon, by the way, had a lot of American parts in it. We know that the hypersonic missile that went around the world with precision was built on the backbone of American technology,” McCaul said, referring to Beijing’s test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in 2021.

    “They steal a lot of this from us. But we don’t have to sell them the very technology they can put in their advanced weapons systems to then turn against either Taiwan in the Pacific or eventually, possibly the United States of America. I think there’s great bipartisanship on this issue,” he added.

    Turner and McCaul also said they want to see Biden take a more serious position toward China following the a balloon incident.

    McCaul said that the tension between the two countries “is very high right now” and that both Democrats and Republicans are aligned in wanting to confront Chinese threats.

    “I think we have a unique opportunity to be bipartisan on this issue of national security against one of the greatest threats to this country, and the world, for that matter,” McCaul said.

    Turner, meanwhile, said there is an opportunity for the Biden administration to “get back to a normal dialogue with China.”

    “No one, of course, wants a cold war, but that isn’t the issue. What we want is a China that is not going to be an aggressor state, that’s not going to be building up its military and threatening the United States, and certainly not making the negative comments that it’s making instead of just openly apologizing for sending a spy balloon over our most sensitive military sites,” Turner said.

    Adding to the tension between Washington and Beijing, the US has recently begun seeing “disturbing” trendlines in China’s support for Russia’s military, and there are signs that Beijing wants to “creep up to the line” of providing lethal military aid to Russia without getting caught, US officials familiar with the intelligence told CNN.

    The officials would not describe in detail what intelligence the US has seen suggesting a recent shift in China’s posture, but said US officials have been concerned enough that they have shared the intelligence with allies and partners at the Munich Security Conference over the last several days.

    “The most catastrophic thing that could happen to US-China relationship, in my opinion, is for China to give lethal weapons to (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin and his crime against humanity,” Graham told ABC.

    “If you jump on the Putin train now, you’re dumber than dirt. It would be like buying a ticket on the Titanic after you saw the movie. Don’t do this,” he said.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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  • Fox News executives refused to let Trump on-air when he called in during January 6 attack, Dominion says | CNN Politics

    Fox News executives refused to let Trump on-air when he called in during January 6 attack, Dominion says | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Former President Donald Trump tried to call into Fox News after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, but the network refused to put him on air, according to court filings from Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation case against the company.

    The House select committee that investigated the January 6 attack did not know that Trump had made this call, according to a source familiar with the panel’s work.

    The panel sought to piece together a near minute-by-minute account of Trump’s movements, actions and phone calls on that day. His newly revealed call to Fox News shows some of the gaps in the record that still exist, due to roadblocks the committee faced.

    “The afternoon of January 6, after the Capitol came under attack, then-President Trump dialed into Lou Dobbs’ show attempting to get on air,” Dominion lawyers wrote in their legal brief.

    ‘He could easily destroy us’: See Tucker Carlson’s private text about Trump

    “But Fox executives vetoed that decision,” Dominion’s filing continued. “Why? Not because of a lack of newsworthiness. January 6 was an important event by any measure. President Trump not only was the sitting President, he was the key figure that day.”

    The network rebuffed Trump because “it would be irresponsible to put him on the air” and “could impact a lot of people in a negative way,” according to Fox Business Network President Lauren Petterson, whose testimony was cited by Dominion in the new filing.

    Dobbs’ show on Fox Business – in which he routinely promoted baseless conspiracies about the 2020 election – was canceled a few weeks after the January 6 insurrection.

    Fox News and its parent company have denied all wrongdoing and are aggressively fighting Dominion’s defamation lawsuit. In a previous statement, a Fox spokesperson claimed that Dominion “mischaracterized the record” in its court filing and “cherry-picked quotes” that were “stripped of key context.”

    The most prominent stars and highest-ranking executives at Fox News privately ridiculed claims of election fraud in the 2020 election, despite the right-wing channel allowing lies about the presidential contest to be promoted on its air, damning messages contained in a Thursday court filing revealed.

    General view of Fox Plaza on February 8, 2023 in New York City.

    Haberman describes ‘striking’ claim that stood out to her from court documents

    The messages showed that Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham brutally mocked lies being pushed by Trump’s camp asserting that the election had been rigged.

    In one set of messages revealed in the court filing, Carlson texted Ingraham, saying that Sidney Powell, an attorney who was representing the Trump campaign, was “lying” and that he had “caught her” doing so. Ingraham responded, “Sidney is a complete nut. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy [Giuliani].”

    giuliani screengrab

    Court filings show Fox stars ridiculed Giuliani over 2020 election fraud claims

    The messages also revealed that Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corporation, did not believe Trump’s election lies and even floated the idea of having Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham appear together in prime time to declare Joe Biden as the rightful winner of the election.

    Such an act, Murdoch said, “Would go a long way to stop the Trump myth that the election stolen.”

    The court filing offered the most vivid picture to date of the chaos that transpired behind the scenes at Fox News after Trump lost the election and viewers rebelled against the channel for accurately calling the contest in Biden’s favor.

    Dominion filed its mammoth lawsuit against Fox News in March 2021, alleging that during the 2020 presidential election the network “recklessly disregarded the truth” and pushed various pro-Trump conspiracy theories about the election technology company because “the lies were good for Fox’s business.”

    Fox News has not only vigorously denied Dominion’s claims, it has insisted it is “proud” of its 2020 election coverage.

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  • Faint cracks emerge in the facade of Putin’s rule, one year after Ukraine invasion | CNN

    Faint cracks emerge in the facade of Putin’s rule, one year after Ukraine invasion | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is fond of a phrase, “the wonderful Russia of the future,” his shorthand for a country without President Vladimir Putin.

    But in the year that has passed since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has gone back to a dark, repressive past.

    Over the last 12 months, Putin’s government has crushed the remnants of Russia’s civil society and presided over his country’s first military mobilization since World War II. Political opponents such as Navalny are in prison or out of the country. And Putin has made it clear that he seeks to reassert Russia as an empire in which Ukraine has no place as an independent state.

    The war in Ukraine drew a bright line under the period of High Putinism, a decade that began with Putin’s controversial return to the presidency in 2012. That era, in hindsight, was a prelude to the current war: Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and backed armed separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region, while Putin’s technocrats worked on sanction-proofing the Russian economy.

    Since last February’s invasion, Putin has shrugged off protests and international sanctions. Independent media and human rights groups have been branded as foreign agents or shut down entirely.

    Russia is now in an uncertain new phase, and it’s clear there will be no rewind, no return to the status quo ante, for ordinary citizens.

    So is Putin’s grip on power unchallenged? Rumors are now flying inside the country about another wave of mobilization. And in Moscow, signs of elite competition are beginning to emerge, even as some Russians are seeing through the cracks in the wall of state propaganda.

    On February 2, Putin paid a visit to the southern Russian city of Volgograd to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory at what was then called Stalingrad, a crucial turning point in what the Russians call the Great Patriotic War.

    In his speech at a gala concert in Volgograd, Putin made a direct link between the Battle of Stalingrad – the moment when the momentum shifted on the Eastern Front against Nazi Germany – and the war in Ukraine, warning that Russia faced a similar threat from a “collective West” bent on its destruction.

    “Those who draw the European countries, including Germany, into a new war with Russia – and all the more irresponsibly declare this as a fait accompli – those who expect to win a victory over Russia on the battlefield, apparently do not understand that a modern war with Russia will be completely different for them,” he warned.

    Invoking Stalingrad was a response to Germany’s decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, something Putin complained was “unbelievable, but true.” But the President’s visit to Volgograd had an element of what well-known Russian political scientist Kirill Rogov described as the “cosplay” – costume play – that Russia’s ruling class uses to drape their policies in the garments of a heroic past.

    “Putin arrived in Volgograd, which was renamed Stalingrad for a few days on the occasion of the anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad,” Rogov wrote on Telegram. “The anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, which is perceived as a turning point in the Patriotic War, is, of course, used as a great allusion and patriotic warm-up before the decisive second offensive against Ukraine that is being prepared.”

    Ukrainian officials have been warning for weeks that Russia may be preparing a major new assault, perhaps to coincide with the anniversary of the 2022 invasion. Back in September, Putin ordered a “partial mobilization” after a swift and unexpected Ukrainian counteroffensive that chased Russian forces out of the northeastern Kharkiv region and set the stage for Ukraine’s recapture of the southern city of Kherson. Many of those troops have now gone through the training pipeline, further fueling speculation that Russia is committed to a manpower-intensive war of attrition.

    Observers also note that Russia’s military has been adapting. While Putin never got the victory parade in Kyiv his generals were planning for, he has appointed a new battlefield commander, signaling another change in strategy.

    “After the failure of the (2022) blitzkrieg, Russia adapted and placed its bets on a long war, relying on its superior numbers in population, resources, military industry and the size of its territory beyond reach of enemy strikes,” Russian political observer and commentator Alexander Baunov wrote in a recent Telegram post. “This is a war of attrition that can be won without involving too many people … On the strategy of ‘wait them out, add pressure, put the squeeze on.’”

    War, however, is fluid and unpredictable. As Baunov noted, the recent decision by Germany, the United States and other European allies to deliver main battle tanks to Ukraine may test Putin’s long game.

    “A return to rapid warfare with tanks ruins this new strategy that Russia has just set its sights on,” Baunov wrote. “New people may also be needed to hold the front, and this is risky.”

    Cars burn after a <a href=Russian military strike in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 10. At least 19 people were killed and more than 100 injured in Russian missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Monday as Moscow targeted critical energy infrastructure.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1128″ width=”2000″/>

    A fireman helps an injured civilian after several explosions hit the Shevchenkivskyi district of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on October 10.

    Firefighters conduct work on a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on October 10.

    A huge blast severely damaged the only bridge connecting annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland on October 8. At least three people were killed in the explosion, which caused parts of Europe's longest bridge to collapse, according to Russian officials.

    Ukrainian soldiers ride on an armored vehicle near the recently retaken town of Lyman in Donetsk region on October 6, as the <a href=Ukrainian military continues to advance into several of the areas Russia now claims as its own.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1953″ width=”2930″/>

    Ukrainian firefighters attend to the site of a missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on October 6.

    Ukrainian soldiers prepare to fire a BM-21 'Grad' multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions in the Kharkiv region on October 4.

    Ukrainian servicemen carry a body bag at the site of a missile <a href=strike on a convoy of civilian cars that killed at least 30 people near Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 30.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1331″ width=”2000″/>

    Head of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin, left, and Secretary of the United Russia Party's General Council Andrey Turchak attend a news conference on preliminary <a href=results of a referendum on the joining of the DPR to Russia, in Donetsk, Ukraine, on September 27.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1250″ width=”2000″/>

    Anton Krasyvyi rows passengers across the Siverskyi-Donets river in front of a destroyed bridge, so they can visit relatives in Staryi-Saltiv, Ukraine, on September 27.

    People wait for food aid distributed by the local branch of Caritas Internationalis, a Catholic charity organisation, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on September 27.

    A man glues a <a href=referendum poster reading “Yes” in Berdyansk, Ukraine, on September 26. Russia is attempting to annex up to 18% of Ukrainian territory, with President Vladimir Putin expected to host a ceremony in the Kremlin to declare four occupied Ukrainian territories part of Russia.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    Forensic technicians operate at the site of a <a href=mass grave in a forest on the outskirts of Izyum, eastern Ukraine on September 18. Ukrainian authorities discovered hundreds of graves outside the formerly Russian-occupied city.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1129″ width=”2000″/>

    Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighters put out a fire after a Russian rocket attack hit an electric power station in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on September 11.

    Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks to the press at his hotel before leaving to <a href=inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 1.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1501″ width=”2461″/>

    Graves of fallen soldiers in Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv, as Ukrainians celebrate Independence Day, and mark the <a href=six month anniversary of the Russian invasion, on August 24. ” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    Rockets launched from the Belgorod region in Russia are seen at dawn in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on August 15.

    Valentyna Kondratieva, 75, left, is comforted by a neighbor as they stand outside her damaged home, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on August 13, after a rocket attack.

    The bulk carrier NAVI STAR, transporting a cargo of corn, is seen <a href=leaving port of Odesa, Ukraine, on August 5. ” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1356″ width=”2000″/>

    A young girl holds her dog as an <a href=evacuation train departs from Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, on August 2.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1724″ width=”2500″/>

    Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighters attend to a fire at an oil depot in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on August 2.

    A firefighter extinguishes a burning hospital building hit by a <a href=Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on August 1.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1667″ width=”2500″/>

    Russian tanks near the settlement of Olenivka in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on July 29.

    Students at a military school write letters to Ukrainian servicemen during a lesson in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 27.

    Firefighters rest as their colleagues remove debris during the search for bodies at the Central House of Culture, in Chuhuiv, Ukraine, after an air strike on July 25.

    A man holds the hand of his 13 year-old son, killed by a Russian military strike, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on July 20.

    Ukrainian service members fire a shell from a towed howitzer FH-70 at the front line in the Donbas region, Ukraine, on July 18.

    Firefighters and members of a rescue team clear the scene after a building was shelled in Chasiv Yar, eastern Ukraine, on July 10. <a href=At least 29 people have been confirmed dead.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1407″ width=”2500″/>

    Local residents look on as smoke rises after shelling in Donetsk, Ukraine, on July 7.

    A wounded woman is transported to an ambulance in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on July 7.

    A farmer drives a combine harvester past a crater suspected to be caused by an air strike near Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on July 7.

    A Ukrainian soldier with the 14th Mechanized Brigade of Prince Roman the Great works in his tank as the unit awaits their next mission on July 1.

    An aerial view of rescue workers after a <a href=missile attack in the Serhiivka district of Odesa, Ukraine, on July 1.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1881″ width=”3000″/>

    People attend a funeral ceremony for Ukrainian serviceman Volodymyr Kochetov, 46, in the village of Babyntsi, Ukraine, on June 30.

    Firefighters clear rubble at the Amstor shopping mall in Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, Ukraine, on June 28.

    Ukrainian State Emergency Service firefighters work to take away debris at a shopping mall after a <a href=rocket attack in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, on June 28.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1395″ width=”2322″/>

    Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a working <a href=session of G7 leaders via video link from his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday June 27.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2001″ width=”3000″/>

    An apartment building in the Shevchenkivskiy district of Kyiv, Ukraine, is damaged during a Russian airstrike, on June 26. Several explosions rocked the west of the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Sunday morning, with at least two residential buildings struck, according to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko.

    Ukrainian service members patrol an area in the city of <a href=Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on June 20.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2000″ width=”3000″/>

    People light flares in memory of the Ukrainian activist Roman Ratushnyi during a farewell ceremony at Baikove cemetery, Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 18.

    Oleksiy Chernyshov, Ukrainian President Zelensky's special envoy for EU accession, walks with <a href=French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian PM Mario Draghi past destroyed buildings in Irpin, Ukraine, on June 16.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1677″ width=”3000″/>

    <a href=Young people swing in front of destroyed residential buildings in Borodyanka, Ukraine, on June 15.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1297″ width=”2000″/>

    A Ukrainian bomb disposal expert looks at an ordnance shell during a mine clearance operation in Solonytsivka, near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on June 15.

    Ukrainian servicemen fire a French 155mm CAESAR self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 15.

    A forensic technician inspects a <a href=mass grave near the village of Vorzel in the Bucha district near Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 13.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1306″ width=”2000″/>

    Russian servicemen guard an area of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, on June 13.

    Local residents walk along an empty street as smoke rises in the background in the town of Lysychansk, Ukraine, on June 10.

    A Ukrainian soldier takes cover during heavy fighting at the <a href=front line in Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 8.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    Ukrainian troops fire surface-to-surface rockets from <a href=MLRS towards Russian positions at the front line in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 7.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    A Ukrainian soldier holds a next generation light anti-tank weapon (NLAW) at a position on the front line near Bakhmut in the Donbas region of Ukraine on June 5.

    U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, left, listens to Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktov during a tour of Borodyanka, Ukraine, on June 4.

    Local residents examine a destroyed Russian tank outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, May 31. It has now been 100 days since Russia invaded.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, third from left, visits front-line positions during a trip to the Kharkiv region on Sunday, May 29.

    Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin, 21, is <a href=sentenced to life in prison by a Ukrainian court in Kyiv on May 23. He was convicted of killing an unarmed civilian. It was the first war crimes trial arising from Russia’s invasion.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2667″ width=”4000″/>

    Buses with Ukrainian servicemen <a href=evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant wait near a prison in Olyonivka on May 17. The steel plant was the last holdout in Mariupol, a city that had become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance under relentless Russian bombardment.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    Ukrainian servicemen fire mortars toward Russian positions in the east Kharkiv region of Ukraine on May 17.

    A woman named Tatyana searches for her husband's grave in the settlement of Staryi Krym, outside Mariupol, on May 15.

    Ukrainian service personnel work inside a basement used as a command post in the Kharkiv region on May 15.

    Grieving relatives attend the funeral of Pankratov Oleksandr, a Ukrainian military serviceman, in Lviv, Ukraine, on May 14.

    Ukrainian people evacuated from Mariupol arrive on buses at a registration and processing area for <a href=internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on May 8.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1224″ width=”2000″/>

    Ukrainian serviceman and emergency workers carry the body of a Russian soldier into a refrigerated train in Kharkiv on May 5. The bodies of more than 40 Russian soldiers were being stored in the refrigerated car.

    Smoke rises from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on May 5.

    Ukrainian soldiers clear mines at the <a href=Antonov Airport in Hostomel, Ukraine, on May 5.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1625″ width=”2437″/>

    Vehicles are on <a href=fire at an oil depot in Makiivka, Ukraine, after missiles struck a facility in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces on May 4.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1101″ width=”1854″/>

    Natalia Pototska cries next to her grandson Matviy as they arrive at a center for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia on May 2.

    Pro-Russian troops stand guard next to a bus transporting evacuees near a temporary accommodation center in the Ukrainian village of Bezimenne on May 1.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, center, meets with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a congressional delegation visited Kyiv on April 30. Pelosi is <a href=the most senior US official to meet with Zelensky since Russia invaded Ukraine.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    A man stands on the balcony of his apartment after a missile strike damaged a residential building in Ukraine's Donetsk region on April 30.

    A woman walks through the site of an explosion in Kyiv on April 29. Russia <a href=struck the Ukrainian capital shortly after a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1953″ width=”2930″/>

    Guterres speaks during his meeting with Zelensky on April 28.

    A team member with the International Atomic Energy Agency arrives at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on April 26. Russian forces withdrew from Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, in March.

    Maria, 13, holds a photograph of her father, Yurii Alekseev, as she and her godfather, Igor Tarkovskii, attend Alekseev's funeral in Bucha, Ukraine, on April 26. Alekseev, 50, was a territorial defense member who was killed by Russian soldiers, according to his family.

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin <a href=attend a meeting in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 24.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1684″ width=”3000″/>

    A couple looks at a memorial wall in Lviv on April 24. The wall shows Ukrainian civilians who have been killed during the Russian invasion.

    People pray during an <a href=Easter church service at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Kyiv on April 24.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2336″ width=”3500″/>

    Women walk between sandbags and anti-tank barricades in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, to attend a blessing of traditional Easter food baskets on April 23.

    Members of the Ukrainian Red Cross talk before moving an elderly woman to an ambulance in a bunker under a factory in Severodonetsk, Ukraine, on April 22.

    A woman who recently evacuated Mariupol cries after arriving at a registration center for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia on April 21.

    Emergency workers remove the body of a person killed during the <a href=Russian attack on Mariupol.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1511″ width=”2257″/>

    Vova, 10, looks at the body of his mother, Maryna, lying in a coffin as his father, Ivan, prays during her funeral in Bucha on April 20. She died during Russia's occupation of the city, as the family sheltered in a cold basement for more than a month.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, speaks with European Council President Charles Michel during a meeting in Kyiv on April 20.

    A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a multiple rocket-launch system in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on April 20.

    Firefighters work in Lviv after a civilian building was hit by a Russian missile on April 18.

    Smoke rises above Mariupol on April 18.

    Women clean inside a damaged building at the Vizar company military-industrial complex in Vyshneve, Ukraine, on April 15. The site, on the outskirts of Kyiv, was hit by Russian strikes.

    Firefighters work at a burning building in Kharkiv following a missile attack near the Kharkiv International Airport on April 12.

    Mourners react in Stebnyk, Ukraine, during the funeral ceremony of Ukrainian serviceman Roman Tiaka. Tiaka was 47.

    Ukrainian forces fire rockets toward Russian positions in Ukraine's Donbas region on April 10.

    A man works to catalog some of the bodies of civilians who were killed in and around Bucha. <a href=Shocking images showing the bodies of civilians scattered across the suburb of Kyiv sparked international outrage and raised the urgency of ongoing investigations into alleged Russian war crimes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Russian leaders to be held accountable for the actions of the nation’s military. The Russian Ministry of Defense, without evidence, claimed the extensive footage of Bucha was “fake.”” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1668″ width=”2500″/>

    Search-and-rescue teams remove debris after the Ukrainian army regained control of Borodianka, Ukraine, on April 6.

    People wait to board a train as they flee Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on April 5.

    Destruction is seen in Borodianka on April 5. Borodianka was home to 13,000 people before the war, but most fled after Russia's invasion. <a href=What was left of the town, after intense shelling and devastating airstrikes, was then occupied by Russian forces.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1688″ width=”3000″/>

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media about the alleged atrocities in Bucha on April 4. Zelensky emphasized as he stood in the town, surrounded by security.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2989″ width=”5045″/>

    Anna Zhelisko touches the casket of her grandson, Ukrainian soldier Dmitry Zhelisko, as it arrives for his funeral in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on April 3. He died fighting the Russian army near Kharkiv.

    Smoke rises over Odesa, Ukraine, on April 3. The Russian defense ministry <a href=confirmed a strike on an oil refinery and fuel storage facilities in the port city.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1099″ width=”1953″/>

    Bodies lie on a street in Bucha on April 2. Images captured by Agence France-Presse showed at least 20 civilian men dead.

    A Ukrainian serviceman stands with a handcuffed Russian soldier in Kharkiv on March 31.

    A satellite image shows a shelled warehouse that was being used by the Red Cross in Mariupol on March 29.

    Russian and Ukrainian delegations <a href=meet in Istanbul for talks on March 29. Russia said it would “drastically reduce” its military assault on the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv. The announcement came after Ukrainian and Western intelligence assessments recently suggested that Russia’s advance on Kyiv was stalling. The talks also covered other important issues, including the future of the eastern Donbas region, the fate of Crimea, a broad alliance of security guarantors and a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1953″ width=”2930″/>

    A woman named Julia cries next to her 6-year-old daughter, Veronika, while talking to the press in Brovary, Ukraine, on March 29.

    The regional government headquarters of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, is damaged <a href=following a Russian attack on March 29. At least nine people were killed, according to the Mykolaiv regional media office’s Telegram channel.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1703″ width=”3000″/>

    An armored convoy of pro-Russian troops travel on a road leading to Mariupol on March 28.

    A volunteer weaves a bulletproof vest in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 28.

    A woman lights a candle during the Sunday service at a monastery in Odesa on March 27.

    A Ukrainian serviceman stands in a heavily damaged building in Stoyanka, Ukraine, on March 27.

    Orphaned children travel by train after fleeing the Russian-controlled town of Polohy, Ukraine, on March 26.

    A man recovers items from a burning shop following a Russian attack in Kharkiv on March 25.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses world leaders via video at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, on March 24. Zelensky stopped short of issuing his usual request for a no-fly zone, but he did say Ukraine needs fighter jets, tanks and better air defenses.

    A child holds a Ukrainian flag in front of the Taras Shevchenko monument as members of the Ukrainian National Guard band perform in Lviv on March 24.

    A firefighter sprays water inside a house that was destroyed by shelling in Kyiv on March 23.

    Svetlana Ilyuhina looks at the wreckage of her home in Kyiv following a Russian rocket attack on March 23.

    Pictures lie amid the rubble of a house in Kyiv on March 23.

    A woman cleans up a room March 21 in a building that was damaged by bombing in Kyiv.

    The Retroville shopping mall is seen in Kyiv after Russian shelling on March 21.

    People share dinner and sing

    Former Ukrainian Parliament member Tetiana Chornovol, now a service member and operator of an anti-tank guided missile system, examines a Russian tank she destroyed in a recent battle in the Kyiv region.

    A Ukrainian serviceman stands among debris after shelling in a residential area in Kyiv on March 18.

    US President Joe Biden holds a virtual meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in this photo that was released by the White House on March 18. Biden sought to use <a href=the 110-minute call to dissuade Xi from assisting Russia in its war on Ukraine.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2000″ width=”3000″/>

    Staff members attend to a child at a children's hospital in Zaporizhzhia on March 18.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a rally at a stadium in Moscow on March 18. Speaking from a stage in front of a banner that read the celebration, which commemorated the eighth year of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2279″ width=”3876″/>

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky receives a standing ovation as he virtually addresses the US Congress on March 16. <a href=The historic speech occurred as the United States is under pressure to provide more military assistance to the embattled country.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1186″ width=”2000″/>

    An elderly woman is helped by police officers after she was rescued from an apartment that was hit by shelling in Kyiv on March 15.

    Firefighters work to extinguish flames at an apartment building in Kyiv on March 15.

    Military cadets attend a funeral ceremony at a church in Lviv on March 15. The funeral was for four of the Ukrainian servicemen who were killed during <a href=an airstrike on the Yavoriv military base near the Polish border. Local authorities say 35 people were killed.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    A woman walks past a damaged window to lay flowers at a makeshift memorial for victims in Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 15.

    Ukrainian soldiers take cover from incoming artillery fire in Irpin, Ukraine, on March 13.

    A Ukrainian soldier surveys a destroyed government building in Kharkiv on March 13.

    A mother and son rest in Lviv, Ukraine, while waiting to board a train to Poland on March 12.

    An explosion is seen at an apartment building in Mariupol on March 11. The city in southeastern Ukraine has been <a href=besieged by Russian forces.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”909″ width=”1616″/>

    Mariana Vishegirskaya's husband, Yuri, holds <a href=their newborn daughter, Veronika, at a hospital in Mariupol on March 11. Vishegirskaya survived the maternity hospital bombing in the city earlier in the week.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1336″ width=”2000″/>

    People pay their respects during <a href=a funeral service for three Ukrainian soldiers in Lviv on March 11. Senior Soldier Andrii Stefanyshyn, 39; Senior Lt. Taras Didukh, 25; and Sgt. Dmytro Kabakov, 58, were laid to rest at the Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church. Even in this sacred space, the sounds of war intruded: an air raid siren audible under the sound of prayer and weeping. Yet no one stirred. Residents are now inured to the near-daily warnings of an air attack.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1331″ width=”2000″/>

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gives a news conference after meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10. Two weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, <a href=Lavrov falsely claimed that his country “did not attack” its neighbor.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1278″ width=”2000″/>

    A resident takes shelter in a basement in Irpin on March 10. <a href=Due to heavy fighting, Irpin has been without heat, water or electricity for several days.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    Emergency workers carry an injured pregnant woman outside of a<a href= bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol on March 9. The woman and her baby later died, a surgeon who was treating her confirmed. The attack came despite Russia agreeing to a 12-hour pause in hostilities to allow refugees to evacuate.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1125″ width=”2000″/>

    Dead bodies are placed into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol on March 9. With overflowing morgues and repeated shelling, the city has been <a href=unable to hold proper burials.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2667″ width=”4000″/>

    Cars drive past a destroyed Russian tank as civilians leave Irpin on March 9. A Ukrainian official said lines of vehicles <a href=stretched for miles as people tried to escape fighting in districts to the north and northwest of Kyiv.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is displayed on a screen as he <a href=addresses British lawmakers via video on March 8. “We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight until the end at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost,” he said in his comments translated by an interpreter. The House of Commons gave Zelensky a standing ovation at the end of his address.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    A firefighter works to extinguish flames after a chemical warehouse was reportedly hit by Russian shelling near Kalynivka, Ukraine, on March 8.

    Members of the Red Cross help people fleeing the Kyiv suburb of Irpin on March 7.

    The dead bodies of civilians killed while trying to flee are covered by sheets in Irpin on March 6. CNN determined they were killed in <a href=a Russian military strike.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1297″ width=”2000″/>

    Civilians seek protection in a basement bomb shelter in Kyiv on March 6.

    Local residents help clear the rubble of a home that was destroyed by a suspected Russian airstrike in Markhalivka, Ukraine, on March 5.

    George Keburia says goodbye to his wife and children as they board a train in Odesa on March 5. They were heading to Lviv.

    Ukrainian officials say several people were injured in a<a href= Russian missile attack on Kyiv on Thursday, April 28, which occurred as the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres was finishing a visit to the Ukrainian capital.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1875″ width=”2500″/>

    Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres before <a href=their meeting, in Kyiv, on April 28. ” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1668″ width=”2500″/>

    A statue is covered in Lviv on March 5. <a href=Residents wrapped statues in protective sheets to try to safeguard historic monuments across the city.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2000″ width=”3000″/>

    Ukrainians crowd under a destroyed bridge as they try to flee across the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 5.

    Marina Yatsko runs behind her boyfriend, Fedor, as they arrive at the hospital with her <a href=18-month-old son, Kirill, who was wounded by shelling in Mariupol on March 4. Medical workers frantically tried to save the boy’s life, but he didn’t survive.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2000″ width=”3000″/>

    People remove personal belongings from a burning house after shelling in Irpin on March 4.

    Oksana and her son Dmytro stand over the open casket of her husband, Volodymyr Nezhenets, during his funeral in Kyiv on March 4. <a href=According to the Washington Post, he was a member of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, which is comprised mostly of volunteers.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1334″ width=”1941″/>

    People crowd on a platform as they try to board a westbound train in Kyiv on March 4.

    A bullet-ridden bus is seen after an ambush in Kyiv on March 4.

    People take shelter on the floor of a hospital during shelling in Mariupol on March 4.

    A member of the Ukrainian military gives instructions to civilians in Irpin on March 4. They were about to board an evacuation train headed to Kyiv.

    Surveillance camera footage shows a flare landing at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine, during shelling on March 4. Ukrainian authorities said <a href=Russian forces have “occupied” the power plant.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2014″ width=”3584″/>

    A Ukrainian child rests on a bed at a temporary refugee center in Záhony, Hungary, on March 4.

    A residential building destroyed by shelling is seen in Borodyanka, Ukraine, on March 3. Russian forces have shown a a senior US defense official told reporters.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1202″ width=”2000″/>

    Leos Leonid recovers at a hospital in Kyiv on March 3. The 64-year-old survived being crushed when an armored vehicle drove over his car. <a href=Video of the incident was widely shared on social media.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1334″ width=”2000″/>

    A Ukrainian soldier carries a baby across a destroyed bridge on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 3.

    Residents react in front of a burning building after shelling in Kharkiv on March 3.

    A Ukrainian soldier who says he was shot three times in the opening days of the invasion sits on a hospital bed in Kyiv on March 3.

    People form a human chain to transfer supplies into Kyiv on March 3.

    A cemetery worker digs graves for Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv on March 3.

    A mother cares for her two infant sons in the underground shelter of a maternity hospital in Kyiv on March 3. She gave birth a day earlier, and she and her husband haven't yet decided on names for the twins.

    A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces sits with a weapon in Kyiv on March 2.

    Paramedics treat an elderly woman wounded by shelling before transferring her to a hospital in Mariupol on March 2.

    Residents of Zhytomyr work in the remains of a residential building on March 2. The building was destroyed by shelling.

    A woman reads a story to children while they <a href=take shelter in a subway station in Kyiv on March 2.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1667″ width=”2500″/>

    A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces inspects damage in the backyard of a house in Gorenka on March 2.

    A Ukrainian woman takes her children over the border in Siret, Romania, on March 2. Many Ukrainians are fleeing the country at a pace that could turn into

    Militia members set up anti-tank barricades in Kyiv on March 2.

    People wait at a train station in Kyiv on March 2.

    People shelter in a subway station in Kyiv on March 2.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky poses for a picture in a Kyiv bunker after <a href=an exclusive interview with CNN and Reuters on March 1. Zelensky said that as long as Moscow’s attacks on Ukrainian cities continued, little progress could be made in talks between the two nations. “It’s important to stop bombing people, and then we can move on and sit at the negotiation table,” he said.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1334″ width=”2000″/>

    An explosion is seen at a TV tower in Kyiv on March 1. <a href=Russian forces fired rockets near the tower and struck a Holocaust memorial site in Kyiv hours after warning of “high-precision” strikes on other facilities linked to Ukrainian security agencies.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1667″ width=”2500″/>

    Ukrainian soldiers attend Mass at an Orthodox monastery in Kyiv on March 1.

    Medical workers show a mother her newborn after she gave birth at a maternity hospital in Mariupol on March 1. The hospital is now also used as a medical ward and bomb shelter.

    An administrative building is seen in Kharkiv after Russian shelling on March 1. Russian forces have scaled up their bombardment of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.

    Ukrainian emergency workers carry a body of a victim following shelling that hit the City Hall building in Kharkiv on March 1.

    A woman named Helen comforts her 8-year-old daughter, Polina, in the bomb shelter of a Kyiv children's hospital on March 1. The girl was at the hospital being treated for encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.

    Ukrainian refugees try to stay warm at the Medyka border crossing in Poland on March 1.

    Volunteers in Kyiv sign up to join Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces on February 28.

    A member of the Territorial Defense Forces loads rifle magazines in Kyiv on February 28.

    Delegations from Russia and Ukraine <a href=hold talks in Belarus on February 28. Both sides discussed a potential “ceasefire and the end of combat actions on the territory of Ukraine,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhaylo Podolyak told reporters. Without going into detail, Podolyak said that both sides would return to their capitals for consultations over whether to implement a number of “decisions.”” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1475″ width=”2500″/>

    A displaced Ukrainian cradles her child at a temporary shelter set up inside a gymnasium in Beregsurány, Hungary, on February 28.

    Ukrainian forces order a man to the ground on February 28 as they increased security measures amid Russian attacks in Kyiv.

    The lifeless body of a 6-year-old girl, who <a href=according to the Associated Press was killed by Russian shelling in a residential area, lies on a medical cart at a hospital in Mariupol on February 27. The girl, whose name was not immediately known, was rushed to the hospital but could not be saved.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    Smoke billows over the Ukrainian city of Vasylkiv, just outside Kyiv on February 27. A fire at an oil storage area was seen raging at the Vasylkiv Air Base.

    People wait on a platform inside the railway station in Lviv on February 27. Thousands of people at Lviv's main train station attempted to board trains that would take them out of Ukraine.

    A Russian armored vehicle burns after fighting in Kharkiv on February 27. Street fighting broke out as Russian troops entered Ukraine's second-largest city, and residents were urged to stay in shelters and not travel.

    Local residents prepare Molotov cocktails in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, on February 27.

    Cars line up on the road outside Mostyska, Ukraine, as people attempt to flee to Poland on February 27.

    Ukrainian troops in Kyiv escort a prisoner February 27 who they suspected of being a Russian agent.

    Ukrainian forces patrol mostly empty streets in Kyiv on February 27. Mayor Vitali Klitschko <a href=extended a citywide curfew.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2000″ width=”3000″/>

    Ukrainian service members take position at the Vasylkiv Air Base near Kyiv on February 27.

    A woman sleeps on chairs February 27 in the underground parking lot of a Kyiv hotel that has been turned into a bomb shelter.

    An apartment building in Kyiv is seen after it was damaged by shelling on February 26. The outer walls of several apartment units appeared to be blown out entirely, with the interiors blackened and debris hanging loose.

    People in Kyiv take cover as an air-raid siren sounds February 26 near an apartment building <a href=that was damaged by shelling.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1305″ width=”2000″/>

    A police vehicle patrols the streets of Kyiv on February 26.

    Following a national directive to help complicate the invading Russian Army's attempts to navigate, a road worker removes signs near Pisarivka, Ukraine, on February 26.

    A man kneels in front of a Russian tank in Bakhmach, Ukraine, on February 26 as Ukrainian citizens attempted to stop the tank from moving forward. <a href=The dramatic scene was captured on video, and CNN confirmed its authenticity. The moment drew comparisons to the iconic “Tank Man” of Tiananmen Square.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1067″ width=”1600″/>

    People in Kyiv board a train heading to the west of the country on February 26. Kelly Clements, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, <a href=told CNN that more than 120,000 people had left Ukraine while 850,000 were internally displaced.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    Ukrainian service members look for and collect unexploded shells after fighting in Kyiv on February 26.

    Smoke and flames are seen near Kyiv on February 26. <a href=Explosions were seen and heard in parts of the capital as Ukrainians battled to hold back advancing Russian troops.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1125″ width=”2000″/>

    The body of a Russian soldier lies next to a Russian vehicle outside Kharkiv on February 25.

    <a href=Newly married couple Yaryna Arieva and Sviatoslav Fursin pose for photo in Kyiv on February 25 after they joined the Territorial Defense Forces.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    Members of the Ukrainian National Guard take positions in central Kyiv on February 25.

    People walk past a residential building in Kyiv that was hit in an alleged Russian airstrike on February 25.

    The body of a school employee, who according to locals was killed in recent shelling, lies in the separatist-controlled town of Horlivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region on February 25.

    Kyiv residents take shelter in an underground parking garage on February 25.

    The body of a rocket remains in an apartment after shelling on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv on February 24.

    A wounded woman stands outside a hospital after an attack on the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuhuiv, outside of Kharkiv, on February 24.

    A boy plays with his tablet in a public basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv on February 24.

    Sviatoslav Fursin, left, and Yaryna Arieva kneel during <a href=their wedding ceremony at the St. Michael’s Cathedral in Kyiv on February 24. They had planned on getting married in May, but they rushed to tie the knot due to the attacks by Russian forces. “We maybe can die, and we just wanted to be together before all of that,” Arieva said.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1875″ width=”2500″/>

    Ukrainian service members sit atop armored vehicles driving in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region on February 24.

    People in Kyiv try to board a bus to travel west toward Poland on February 24.

    US President Joe Biden arrives in the East Room of the White House to <a href=address the Russian invasion on February 24. “Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Biden said, laying out a set of measures that will “impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time.”” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1667″ width=”2500″/>

    Smoke rises from a military airport in Chuhuiv on February 24. <a href=Airports were also hit in Boryspil, Kharkiv, Ozerne, Kulbakino, Kramatorsk and Chornobaivka.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”3257″ width=”4885″/>

    People seek shelter inside a subway station in Kharkiv on February 24.

    Russian military vehicles are seen at the Chernobyl power plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, on February 24. Russian forces <a href=seized control of the the plant, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1581″ width=”2500″/>

    People wait after boarding a bus to leave Kyiv on February 24.

    Ukrainian President Zelensky holds an emergency meeting in Kyiv on February 24. <a href=In a video address, Zelensky announced that he was introducing martial law. He urged people to remain calm.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”2000″ width=”3000″/>

    Police officers inspect the remains of a missile that landed in Kyiv on February 24.

    A staff member of a Kyiv hotel talks on the phone on February 24.

    Smoke rises from an air defense base after an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol on February 24. A CNN team in Mariupol reported hearing <a href=a barrage of artillery.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1670″ width=”2500″/>

    People wait in line to buy train tickets at the central station in Kyiv on February 24.

    A long line of cars is seen<a href= exiting Kyiv on February 24. Heavy traffic appeared to be heading west, away from where explosions were heard early in the morning.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1335″ width=”2000″/>

    A photo provided by the Ukrainian President's office appears to show an explosion in Kyiv early on February 24.

    People in Moscow watch a televised address by Russian President Vladimir Putin as he <a href=announces a military operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on February 24. “Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never experienced in your history,” he said.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1219″ width=”2000″/>

    <a href=An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is held in New York to discuss the crisis on February 23. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop “attacking Ukraine” and to give peace a chance.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1125″ width=”2000″/>

    A convoy of Russian military vehicles is seen February 23 in the Rostov region of Russia, which runs along Ukraine's eastern border.

    Ukrainian soldiers talk in a shelter at the front line near Svitlodarsk, Ukraine, on February 23.

    Smoke rises from a damaged power plant in Shchastya that Ukrainian authorities say was hit by shelling on February 22.

    A damaged house is worked on after shelling near the Ukrainian front-line city of Novoluhanske on February 22.

    Mourners gather at a church in Kyiv on February 22 for the funeral of Ukrainian Army Capt. Anton Sydorov. The Ukrainian military said he was <a href=killed by a shrapnel wound on February 19 after several rounds of artillery fire were directed at Ukrainian positions near Myronivske.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1334″ width=”2000″/>

    A sign displays conversion rates at a currency exchange kiosk in Kyiv on February 22. <a href=Global markets tumbled the day after Putin ordered troops into parts of eastern Ukraine.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1334″ width=”2000″/>

    Russian howitzers are loaded onto train cars near Taganrog, Russia, on February 22.

    People who left a separatist-held region in eastern Ukraine watch <a href=an address by Putin from their hotel room in Taganrog, Russia, on February 21. Putin blasted Kyiv’s growing security ties with the West, and in lengthy remarks about the history of the USSR and the formation of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, he appeared to cast doubt on Ukraine’s right to self-determination.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1573″ width=”2500″/>

    <a href=Putin signs decrees recognizing the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic in a ceremony in Moscow on February 21. Earlier in the day, the heads of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian republics requested the Kremlin leader recognize their independence and sovereignty. Members of Putin’s Security Council supported the initiative in a meeting earlier in the day.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1617″ width=”2500″/>

    Protesters demanding economic sanctions against Russia stand outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv on February 21. Only a small number of protesters showed up to demonstrate.

    Activists hold a performance in front of the Russian embassy in Kyiv on February 21 in support of prisoners who were arrested in Crimea. They say the red doors are a symbol of the doors that were kicked in to search and arrest Crimean Tatars, a Muslim ethnic minority.

    Ukrainian servicemen shop in the front-line town of Avdiivka, Ukraine, on February 21.

    People lay flowers at the Motherland Monument in Kyiv on February 21.

    A couple arrives at the city council to get married in Odesa on February 20. As Ukrainian authorities reported further ceasefire violations and top Western officials warned about an impending conflict, life went on in other parts of the country.

    Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy, left, visits soldiers at a front-line position in Novoluhanske on February 19. Minutes after he left, <a href=the position came under fire. No one was injured.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1406″ width=”2500″/>

    A woman rests in a car near a border checkpoint in Avilo-Uspenka, Russia, on February 19.

    A Ukrainian service member walks by a building on February 19 that was hit by mortar fire in the front-line village of Krymske, Ukraine.

    Fighter jets fly over Belarus during a joint military exercise the country held with Russia on February 19.

    Ukrainian soldiers stand guard at a military command center in Novoluhanske on February 19.

    People sit on a bus in Donetsk on February 18 after they were ordered to evacuate to Russia by pro-Russian separatists.

    The remains of a military vehicle are seen in a parking lot outside a government building following an explosion in Donetsk on February 18. Ukrainian and US officials said the vehicle explosion was <a href=a staged attack designed to stoke tensions in eastern Ukraine.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1068″ width=”1600″/>

    A memorial service and candlelight vigil is held at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv on February 18. They honored <a href=those who died in 2014 while protesting against the government of President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian leader who later fled the country.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1307″ width=”2000″/>

    A kindergarten that officials say was <a href=damaged by shelling is seen in Stanytsia Luhanska, Ukraine, on February 17. No lives were lost, but it was a stark reminder of the stakes for people living near the front lines that separate Ukrainian government forces from Russian-backed separatists.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>

    Children play on old Soviet tanks in front of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv on February 16.

    Ambassadors of European countries lay roses at the Wall of Remembrance in Kyiv on February 16. The wall contains the names and photographs of military members who have died since the conflict with Russian-backed separatists began in 2014.

    US troops walk on the tarmac at the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland on February 16. US paratroopers landed in Poland as part of a deployment of several thousand sent to bolster NATO's eastern flank in response to tensions with Russia.

    A 200-meter-long Ukrainian flag is unfolded at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv on February 16 to mark a

    Travelers wait in line to check in to their departing flights February 15 at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv. US President Joe Biden<a href= urged Americans in Ukraine to leave the country, warning that “things could go crazy quickly” in the region.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1336″ width=”2000″/>

    A location of Oschadbank, a state-owned bank, is seen in Kyiv on February 15. The websites of Oschadbank and PrivatBank, the country's two largest banks, <a href=were hit by cyberattacks that day, as were the websites of Ukraine’s defense ministry and army, according to Ukrainian government agencies.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ height=”1334″ width=”2000″/>

    A woman and child walk underneath a military monument in Senkivka, Ukraine, on February 14. It's on the outskirts of the Three Sisters border crossing between Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

    Ukrainian service members talk at a front-line position in eastern Ukraine on February 14.

    Members of Ukraine's National Guard look out a window as they ride a bus through the capital of Kyiv on February 14.

    Satellite images taken on February 13 by Maxar Technologies revealed that dozens of helicopters had appeared at a previously vacant airbase in Russian-occupied Crimea.

    Pro-Russian separatists observe the movement of Ukrainian troops from trenches in Ukraine's Donbas area on February 11.

    Ukrainian service members unpack Javelin anti-tank missiles that were delivered to Kyiv on February 10 as part of a US military support package for Ukraine.

    Ukrainian service members walk on an armored fighting vehicle during a training exercise in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region on February 10.

    In pictures: Russia invades Ukraine

    Exactly why this is risky should be clear: The first mobilization caused major tremors in Russian society. Hundreds of thousands of Russians voted with their feet. Protests erupted in ethnic minority regions such as Dagestan where police faced off against anti-mobilization demonstrators in multiple cities. Russian social media saw a surge of videos and public complaints about the lack of equipment and appalling conditions for newly mobilized recruits.

    Putin was able to weather the unrest with his formidable and well-funded security apparatus, much as he was able to crack down on antiwar protests that broke out right after the February 24 invasion. And in the months that followed mobilization, Russia made some slow, grinding advances in Ukraine’s Donbas region, particularly around the embattled city of Bakhmut.

    Many of those advances have been led by soldiers of the Wagner Group, a private military company headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. Many reports on Wagner have focused on the group’s brutal tactics, including human-wave attacks and summary execution for waverers or deserters.

    Many of Russia's recent advances have been led by soldiers of the Wagner Group, a private military company headed by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin.

    But Wagner’s methods are also a flashback to a bleak chapter of Soviet history. Prigozhin has recruited thousands of prisoners with the promise of amnesty or a pardon, a practice that mirrors Stalin’s use of penal battalions and convicts to take on desperate or suicidal missions in the toughest sectors of the front, using human-wave attacks to overwhelm enemy defenses, regardless of the human cost.

    The mercenary group says it is no longer recruiting prisoners, but Wagner’s costly battlefield successes have raised Prigozhin’s profile. While the oligarch has no official government office or administrative power, his ability to deliver some results and his swaggering PR operation have vaulted him significantly closer to Putin.

    How close, exactly, is a matter of intense debate. In an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Russian author and journalist Mikhail Zygar called Prigozhin’s ambitions “the most hot topic for speculation in Moscow,” noting that he is accumulating a political following that would potentially allow him to challenge Putin.

    “He’s the first folk hero (in) many years,” Zygar said. “He’s a hero for the most ultraconservative – the most, I would say, fascist – part of Russian society, as long as we don’t have any liberal part in Russian society, because most of the leaders of that part of Russian society have left, he’s an obvious rival to President Putin.”

    Recent speculation has centered on whether rivals within Russia’s power elite have been trying to clip Prigozhin’s wings. Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya recently offered a skeptical take on Prigozhin’s rise that factors in some of those considerations. In a recent article published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, she noted that Prigozhin has rivalries with Russia’s power ministries and doesn’t have much showing in polls.

    “Is Prigozhin ready to challenge Putin?” she wrote in a recent piece. “While the answer is negative, there is one important ‘but.’ It is difficult to remain balanced and sane after going through bloody meat grinders and losing a significant part of one’s personnel. As long as Putin is relatively strong and able to maintain a balance between groups of influence, Prigozhin is safe. But the slightest easing could provoke Prigozhin to challenge power, even if not directly to Putin at first. War breeds monsters, whose recklessness and desperation can become a challenge to the state.”

    Part of the fascination with Prigozhin has to do with the fact that Putin, until a year ago, enjoyed a secure monopoly on power. The authorities were well practiced in quashing street protests, and any meaningful political opposition had been effectively neutered. That’s fueled speculation – or perhaps wishful thinking – that the collapse of Putinism might be brought on by some fissure within the elite. The so-called siloviki (the hardcore authoritarians in Putin’s inner circle) remain publicly loyal, but further setbacks in Ukraine may create a potential scramble for power.

    Since last February's invasion, Putin has shrugged off protests and international sanctions.

    Against that backdrop, some Russians have taken refuge in a form of political apathy. CNN recently spoke to several Muscovites about how their lives have changed since last year, on condition that their surnames not be used over the risks of publicly criticizing the government.

    “There have been a lot of changes (in Russia), but I can’t really make a difference,” said Ira, a 47-year-old who works for a business publication. “I just try to keep some internal balance. Maybe I’m too apolitical, but I don’t feel it (further mobilization) is going to happen.”

    Ira said she felt acute anxiety in February and March of last year, immediately after the invasion. She had just bought an apartment and was worried that work might dry up and she wouldn’t be able to pay her mortgage.

    “It got a lot worse in the spring,” she said. “Now it seems we’ve gotten used to a new reality. I started to meet and go out with girlfriends. I started to buy a lot more wine.”

    The restaurants are now full, she said, but added: “The faces look completely different. The hipsters – you know what hipsters are? – there are less of them.”

    Ira doesn’t have a son, so she does not have to worry about him being mobilized. But she did say that her 21-year-old daughter has started going out to kvartirnik – informal, word-of-mouth gatherings in private apartments, somewhat reminiscent of the underground performances held in the Soviet era.

    Olya, a 51-year-old events organizer with two teenage children, said her family had opted for more domestic holidays. Europe is largely closed to direct flights from Russia, and opportunities to travel abroad are more limited.

    “We started to travel around the country more,” she said.

    Olya and her family travel with a group of friends, but some topics are off-limits in that circle.

    “We know in our group what everyone thinks about it (the war) but we don’t talk about it, otherwise we’ll end up squabbling,” she said.

    Life carries on, Olya said, even though there is a war on. “I can’t influence the situation,” she said. “My friends say, we do what we can, what’s possible. It doesn’t help to get depressed.”

    Helping matters for the Russian government is the unexpected durability of parts of the Russian economy, despite heavy Western sanctions. The war has been costly for the government – the country’s Finance Ministry recently admitted it ran a higher-than-expected deficit in 2022, in large part due to a 30% increase in defense spending over the previous year – but the International Monetary Fund is projecting a small return to GDP growth for Russia in 2023 of 0.3%.

    A 38-year-old entrepreneur named Georgy told CNN that from the perspective of his businesses, things appeared to be picking up.

    “Those who adapted quickly reorganized, they are seeing growth,” he said. “In January we concluded an unusual number of deals, and most of our activity usually picks up in February.”

    Georgy spoke to CNN while in a Moscow traffic snarl, evidence that life in the capital has resumed some of its normal rhythm.

    “In terms of everyday life, practically nothing has changed,” he said, talking about the cutoff of Western imports. “If we’re talking parts for a (Mercedes Benz) G-Class, it might be trickier.”

    Asked if his business was affected by the exodus of Russians since the beginning of the war, Georgy said no.

    “Those I know personally who left? Probably about five people,” he said. “I have a patriotic social circle.”

    Georgy said he was skeptical of state media, saying he looked for other sources of information. And he acknowledged that he could theoretically be called up in another wave of mobilization.

    “My attitude is somewhat philosophical,” he said. “Of course, I’d prefer not to.”

    Before last February, Russia’s budding middle class could benefit from Putin’s social contract: Stay out of politics, and you’ll enjoy life in a European-style Moscow or St. Petersburg. Now that the bargain is out the window. Russia is further than ever from Europe, and it remains to be seen if support for an open-ended war can be sustained.

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  • US conducts helicopter raid in Syria capturing ISIS official | CNN Politics

    US conducts helicopter raid in Syria capturing ISIS official | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    The US military and Syrian Democratic Forces conducted a helicopter raid in eastern Syria early Saturday, capturing an ISIS official, according to a statement from US Central Command.

    Batar, “an ISIS Syria Province Official involved in planning attacks on SDF-guarded detention centers and manufacturing improvised explosive devices,” was captured in the raid, CENTCOM said in the statement.

    The US did not provide any additional information or evidence regarding its claims about Batar.

    No civilians, SDF or US forces were killed or injured in the raid, according to CENTCOM.

    The development comes on the heels of an earlier helicopter raid in Syria on Thursday night that the US military said killed Hamza al-Homsi, a senior ISIS leader, as well as wounded four US troops and a working dog.

    Officials told CNN that US forces were “close to” al-Homsi when an explosion occurred, killing al-Homsi and wounding the US service members. It is unclear at this point if the explosion was the result of a suicide vest, a booby trap or something else, two officials said.

    Separately, US Central Command said in a statement Saturday evening that two rockets had landed near a coalition base in northeast Syria.

    No US or coalition troops were injured and no damage to equipment or infrastructure occurred during the rocket attack that targeted Green Village, a coalition base in northeast Syria.

    US forces are investigating the incident.

    This story has been updated with additional developments.

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  • Blinken and Chinese counterpart meet in first face-to-face since spy balloon shot down | CNN

    Blinken and Chinese counterpart meet in first face-to-face since spy balloon shot down | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Saturday, in the first face-to-face between senior US and Chinese officials since the US military shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon earlier this month.

    In a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Blinken “directly spoke to the unacceptable violation of US sovereignty and international law” and said incidents like the surveillance balloon, which hovered over US airspace for days before the US shot it down off the coast of South Carolina, “must never occur again,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said statement.

    Blinken, who a senior State Department official characterized as “very direct and candid throughout,” began the hourlong meeting by stating “how unacceptable and irresponsible” it was that China had flown the balloon into US airspace. The secretary later expressed disappointment that Beijing had not engaged in military-to-military dialogue when the Chinese balloon incident occurred, the senior official told reporters.

    “He stated, candidly stated, our disappointment that in this recent period that our Chinese military counterparts had refused to pick up the phone. We think that’s unfortunate. And that is not the way that our two sides ought to be conducting business,” the official said.

    There was “no formal agreement” reached, however, on any kind of mechanism to increase dialogue between the two countries.

    The diplomatic fallout from the balloon has been swift, with Washington accusing China of overseeing an extensive international surveillance program. Beijing, meanwhile, has denied those claims, and in turn accused the US, without providing evidence, of flying balloons over its airspace without permission. China maintains that its balloon, which US forces identified and then downed earlier this month, was a civilian research aircraft accidentally blown off course.

    Wang confirmed what he called an “informal” meeting with Blinken on Saturday and called on the US to repair the “damage” to the countries’ relations, according to a press release broadcast by CGTN, which is a Chinese state media outlet. Earlier, Wang had criticized the United States’ handling of the incident, calling the response “absurd and hysterical” and “100% an abuse of the use of force.”

    The incident had an immediate impact on what had been seen as an opportunity for the US and China to stabilize relations. In early February, Blinken postponed an expected visit to Beijing, after the balloon – floating over the US in plain sight – dominated media headlines and public attention.

    The visit would have been the first to China by a US secretary of state since 2018, on the heels of a relatively amicable face-to-face between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in November.

    Biden said Thursday that he expects to speak with Xi about the balloon but that he will not apologize for shooting it down. “I hope we are going to get to the bottom of this, but I make no apologies for taking down that balloon,” he said.

    Blinken raised a possible conversation between Biden and Xi, according to the State Department official, who said US officials have not heard anything in recent days that would change the US assessment that the balloon was for Chinese surveillance.

    “We haven’t heard anything that provides any kind of a credible explanation for what this balloon was. The US stands firmly behind our assessment,” the official said.

    Some analysts believed that Beijing, economically drained by its now-abandoned zero-Covid strategy, had been softening its tone on foreign affairs and upping its diplomacy with Western governments in a bid to win back lost ground.

    While expectations for substantial breakthroughs were low, Blinken’s trip was supposed to build a floor for fraught US-China relations and prevent tensions from veering into open conflict – guardrails intended to keep incidents like the suspected surveillance balloon from escalating into a full-blown diplomatic crisis.

    CNN reported Wednesday that US intelligence officials are assessing the possibility that the balloon was not deliberately maneuvered into the continental US by the Chinese government and are examining whether it was diverted off course by strong winds, according to multiple people briefed on the intelligence.

    Any intelligence suggesting that the balloon’s path into the US may have been unintentional could potentially ease tensions between the two nations.

    Wang, who was named Xi’s top foreign policy adviser last month, has already visited France and Italy this week and is expected to visit Russia after the Munich conference.

    The trip will be a test of Beijing’s attempt to strike a diplomatic balancing act between boosting relations with the West and maintaining close ties with Moscow.

    Blinken and Wang on Saturday discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the US secretary of state warning “about the implications and consequences” if China increases its support for Russia’s war effort, according to Price’s readout of the meeting.

    US officials familiar with the intelligence told CNN earlier Saturday that the US has recently begun seeing “disturbing” trendlines in China’s support for Russia’s military and there are signs that Beijing wants to “creep up to the line” of providing lethal military aid to Russia without getting caught.

    Those officials would not describe in detail what intelligence the US has seen suggesting a recent shift in China’s posture, but said US officials have been concerned enough that they have shared the intelligence with allies and partners in Munich over the last several days.

    China’s relationship with Europe has come under significant stress in the wake of the Ukraine war. Beijing has refused to condemn the invasion outright or support numerous measures against it at the United Nations. China has also continued to partner with the Russian military during large-scale exercises, while boosting its trade and fuel purchases from Moscow.

    According to China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang’s visit to Moscow will provide an opportunity for China and Russia to continue to develop their strategic partnership and “exchange views” on “international and regional hotspot issues of shared interest” – a catch-all phrase often used to allude to topics, including the war in Ukraine.

    The Foreign Ministry did not specify whether Wang would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    “China is ready to take this visit as an opportunity and work with Russia to promote steady growth of bilateral relations in the direction identified by the two heads of state, defend the legitimate rights and interests of both sides, and play an active role for world peace,” spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

    Wang’s visit may also foreshadow a state visit by Xi to Moscow later this year. Putin extended an invitation to Xi during a customary end-of-year call between the two leaders, but China’s Foreign Ministry has yet to confirm any plans.

    Blinken, who reiterated Saturday the US’ unchanging policy regarding Taiwan and “underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability” with the democratically ruled island, reinforced statements from Biden that the US does not seek a conflict with China but will continue to “stand up for our values.”

    “The Secretary reiterated President Biden’s statements that the United States will compete and will unapologetically stand up for our values and interests, but that we do not want conflict with the PRC and are not looking for a new Cold War,” Price said in the statement. “The Secretary underscored the importance of maintaining diplomatic dialogue and open lines of communication at all times.”

    This story has been updated with additional developments.

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  • Opinion: ‘The arc of history will not go Putin’s way.’ 7 voices on one year of war | CNN

    Opinion: ‘The arc of history will not go Putin’s way.’ 7 voices on one year of war | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    It’s the evening of February 23, 2022. In Kyiv, the boss of a news site relaxes with a bath and candles. In Zaporizhzhia, a young woman goes to bed planning to celebrate her husband’s birthday in the morning. In Moscow, a journalist happens to postpone his travel plans to Kyiv.

    Within hours, their lives are dramatically and radically transformed. The next day, Russian President Vladimir Putin launches his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    In the space of a year, the war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions more. It has unleashed unfathomable atrocities, decimated cities, driven a global food and energy crisis and tested the resolve of western alliances.

    We asked seven people close to the conflict – from “fixers” in Ukraine, to commentators in Moscow – to reflect on the first anniversary of the invasion. The views expressed in this commentary are their own.

    Opinion by Diliara Didenko

    Diliara Didenko is a PhD candidate in sociology and a mother of two. She works in social media marketing.

    Zaporizhzhia, February 23, 2022. I went to bed thinking that I would celebrate my husband’s birthday the next day. Our life was getting better. My husband was running his own business. Our daughter had started school and made friends there. We were lucky to have arranged support services and found a special needs nursery for our son. I finally had time to work. I felt happy.

    Could I imagine that, 22 days later, I would be starting my life over in the Czech Republic, and my country would be set on fire?

    Completely exhausted, crushed and scared, we had to brace ourselves and come to terms with our forced displacement. I will be forever grateful to all those who helped us come to Prague and adjust to a new life in a foreign land.

    Thanks to the opportunities for Ukrainians provided by the Czech Republic, my husband got a job. I found special needs classes for my son. He now attends an adaptation group for Ukrainian children and has a learning support assistant. My daughter goes to a Czech school while studying in her Ukrainian school remotely.

    We are trying to live in the here and now. But the truth is, we are heartbroken. While physically we are in Prague, our hearts have remained in Ukraine.

    Mikhail Zygar headshot

    Opinion by Mikhail Zygar

    Mikhail Zygar is a journalist and former editor in chief of the independent TV news channel Dozhd. He is the author of “All the Kremlin’s Men: Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin” and upcoming book “War and Punishment. Putin, Zelensky, and the Path to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine.”

    On February 24, 2022, I was supposed to be in Kyiv. But a few days before that, my husband broke his shoulder and we had to stay in Moscow. At 9:00 a.m. that day he had surgery.

    That morning we woke up to learn that the invasion started. I wrote an open letter denouncing the war, which was co-signed by 12 Russian writers, directors and cultural figures. Soon it was published, and tens of thousands of Russian citizens added their signatures.

    On the third day we, my husband and I, left Russia. I felt that it was some kind of moral obligation. I could no longer stay on the territory of the state that has become a fascist one.

    We moved to Berlin. My husband went to work as a volunteer at the refugee camp next to the main railway station, where thousands of Ukrainians had been arriving every day. And I started writing a new book. It starts like this:

    “This book is a confession. I am guilty for not reading the signs much earlier. I too am responsible for Russia’s war against Ukraine. As are my contemporaries and our forebears. Regrettably, Russian culture is also to blame for making all these horrors possible.”

    I know that Russian people are infected with imperialism. We failed to spot just how deadly the very idea of Russia as a “great empire” was – now we have to come a long way, healing our nation from that disease.

    Michael Bociurkiw headshot

    Opinion by Michael Bociurkiw

    Michael Bociurkiw is a global affairs analyst who in summer relocated from Canada to Ukraine. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

    As I write, Russia has just fired dozens of Kalibr missiles towards several cities in Ukraine, including my adopted city of Odesa. Air raid sirens blare as we bolt for shelter into enclosed hallways. My landlady brings me a pot of borscht to help create a sense of normalcy.

    If anything, for me, the son of Ukrainian immigrants in Canada, this has been a war of history repeating itself – from the forced deportation of upwards of 2.5 million Ukrainians, including 38,000 children, to the stealing of Ukrainian grain to the wanton destruction of Ukrainians museums, libraries, churches and monuments.

    Time and again since the Russian invasion started, I’m haunted by the darkness in my father’s eyes during the re-telling of chilling dinnertime stories of relatives shipped off to the Soviet gulag, never to return. Stories of millions of Ukrainians who starved to death in Stalin’s manmade famine of 1932-33.

    What’s changed since Russian missiles first began falling on February 24, 2022? The fear felt by Ukrainians has been replaced with anger as they stand up to barrages of rockets and drones.

    An expert from the prosecutor's office examines collected remnants of shells and missiles used by the Russian army to attack the second largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, on Decmber 7.

    Whether it’s going through with a wedding in the aftermath of a rocket attack, pitching in to make Molotov cocktails, shifting classes to a Kyiv subway station as missiles fly or keeping a family business open against all odds, one thing Putin’s invasion has done is galvanize the Ukrainian people like never before.

    It’s an unmistakable, irrepressible resilience that convinces me the arc of history will go anything but Putin’s way.

    Opinion by Sasha Dovzhyk

    Sasha Dovzhyk is a special projects curator at the Ukrainian Institute London and associate lecturer in Ukrainian at the School of Slavonic and East-European Studies, University College London. She divides her time between London and Ukraine where she works as a “fixer“– a translator and producer for foreign journalists.

    A year into the full-scale invasion, my passport is a novel in stamps. My life is split between London, where I teach Ukrainian literature, and Ukraine, where I get my lessons in courage.

    My former classmates from Zaporizhzhia whom, based on our teenage habits, I expected to perish from addictions a long time ago, have volunteered to fight. My hairdresser, whom I expected to remain a sweet summer child, turned out to have fled on foot from the Russia-occupied town of Bucha through the forest with her mother, grandmother and five dogs.

    Sasha Dovzhyk's work on Ukraine is supported by the IWM project, Documenting Ukraine.

    My capital, which the Kremlin and the West expected to fall in three days, has withstood 12 months of Russia’s terrorist bombings and energy blackouts. These dark winter nights, one sees so many stars over Kyiv which the Russians have only managed to bring closer to eternity.

    Ukrainians have learned that they are stronger than was expected of them. Have those who have underestimated them learned their lessons? Military aid has been enough for Ukraine to survive but not to crush the enemy.

    For the outside world, the idea of a defeated Russia is still scarier than the sight of Ukraine half-ruined. Just like a year ago, Ukraine is calling on the rest of the world to find courage.

    Andrei Kolesnikov headshot

    Opinion by Andrei Kolesnikov

    Andrei Kolesnikov is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is the author of several books on the political and social history of Russia, including “Five Five-Year Liberal Reforms.” Origins of Russian Modernization and Egor Gaidar’s Legacy.”

    It seems that since February 2022 we have experienced several eras. The first was euphoric, when Putin suddenly, after a significant time of stagnant ratings, received more than 80% approval from the population.

    It seemed to many at the time that the campaign would be short, like the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

    Then, beginning in late spring, came a period of apathy, when people tried not to pay attention to what was being done in Ukraine.

    And in the fall, public demobilization was replaced by mobilization – Putin demanded that citizens share responsibility for the war with him with their bodies. This provoked unprecedented anxiety, but instead of serious protests, the bulk of the population again preferred adaptation.

    Among Putin’s supporters there is also a group of aggressive conformists who have become supporters of total war.

    Veterans and guests attend the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow on May 9, 2022.

    But everyone experienced the shock of war differently. For millions of people in Russia, what happened was an absolute catastrophe: Putin not only destroyed all the achievements of previous life, he aborted the country’s history.

    By aborting the past, he canceled the future. Those who were disoriented, preferred to support Putin: it is easier to live this way when your superiors decide everything for you, and you take for granted everything you are told by propaganda.

    For me personally and my family, what happened was a catastrophe to which it is impossible to adapt. As an active commentator on the events, I was labeled by the authorities as a “foreign agent,” which increased personal risk and reinforced the impression of living in an Orwellian anti-utopia.

    Daryna Shevchenko head shot

    Opinion by Daryna Shevchenko

    Daryna Shevchenko is chief executive officer of The Kyiv Independent, an English-language news site in Ukraine.

    On the evening of February 23 I washed my dog, cleaned the house, took a bath and lit candles. I have a cozy, one-bedroom apartment in a northern district of Kyiv. I loved taking care of it. I loved the life I had. All of it – the small routines and the struggles. That night was the last time my life mattered.

    The next morning my phone was buzzing from all the messages and missed calls. A red headline in all caps on the Kyiv Independent website read: “PUTIN DECLARES WAR ON UKRAINE.”

    I remember talking to colleagues, trying to assemble and coordinate a small army of volunteers to strengthen the newsroom. And calling my parents to organize buying supplies.

    We’d been expecting a battle for quite some time and knew it would be an uphill one. I had a solid plan, and it was working.

    The aftermath of a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Dnipro, in January 2023.

    The life I knew started falling apart soon after, starting with the small things. It no longer mattered what cup I used to drink my morning tea, or how I dressed, or whether or not I took a shower. Life itself no longer mattered, only the battle did.

    Just a few weeks into the full-scale invasion it was already hard to remember the struggles, sorrows and joyful moments of the pre-war era. I would remember being upset about my boyfriend, but I could no longer relate. My life didn’t change on February 24, it was stolen from me on that day.

    And besides the obvious battles, there was another one to fight – trying to claim my life back. The life Russia stole from me and millions of Ukrainians.

    Anna Ryzhykova profile picture

    Opinion by Anna Ryzhykova

    Anna Ryzhykova is a Ukrainian track and field athlete, Olympic bronze medalist and multiple European Championships medalist.

    By March, my initial shock and fear of the war turned into a desire to act through sports. Athletes could fight against Russian propaganda in the best way. We just had to tell the truth about the war and Ukrainians – how strong, kind and brave we are. How we have united to defend our country.

    I was no longer concerned with my personal ambitions. Only the common goal was crucial – to raise our flag and show that we are fighting even under these circumstances.

    I couldn’t enjoy my victories on the track. They were only possible because so many defenders had laid down their lives. But I got messages from soldiers on the frontline. They were so happy to follow our achievements, and it was my primary motivation to continue my career.

    This whole year has been full of tears and worries. I read the news about people close to me killed by Russians – a teammate, the director of a sports school, or a friend’s parents.

    After each attack, I call my family and friends to ensure they are alive. The seconds of waiting for their voices are excruciating.

    Life values have changed. Like never before, I enjoy every opportunity to see or talk to relatives and friends. And like other Ukrainians, I believe in our victory and that all of us will return to our beloved country. But we need the world’s help.

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  • North Korea tests long-range ballistic missile, Seoul says | CNN

    North Korea tests long-range ballistic missile, Seoul says | CNN

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    Seoul, South Korea
    CNN
     — 

    North Korea launched a presumed long-range ballistic missile Saturday afternoon, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a day after Pyongyang warned of “unprecedented strong responses” if the US and South Korea go ahead with planned military exercises.

    Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the missile landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone west of the northern main island of Hokkaido, sparking condemnation from the United States.

    Japan’s Defense Ministry said the missile reached an altitude of 5,700 kilometers (3,541 miles) and flew a distance of about 900 kilometers (559 miles). It was launched from Pyongyang’s Sunan area around 5:22 p.m. local time Saturday, the South Korean JCS said.

    Japanese officials said the missile flew for more than 60 minutes.

    North Korea launched a missile last March with a slightly longer flight distance and time. That projectile was believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), its first test of such a missile since 2017.

    In November, after another similar launch, Pyongyang announced the “test firing of a new kind” ICBM, which it called the Hwasong-17.

    Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said at the time it had the potential to reach the US mainland. “The ICBM-class ballistic missile launched this time could have a range of over 15,000 km when calculated based on the flight distance of this ICBM,” Hamada said in a statement. “It depends on the weight of the warhead, but in that case, the US mainland would be included in the range.”

    North Korea tests its missiles at a highly lofted trajectory. If they were fired at a flatter trajectory, they would in theory have the ability to reach the US mainland.

    The US government described Saturday’s missile launch as “a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” according to a statement from White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

    “While [the US Indo-Pacific Command] has assessed it did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory, or to our allies, this launch needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region,” Watson said. “It only demonstrates that the DPRK continues to prioritize its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs over the well-being of its people.”

    Watson said the US is urging other countries “to condemn these violations and call on the DPRK to cease its destabilizing actions and engage in serious dialogue.”

    Earlier this month, the Kim Jong Un regime showcased almost at least 11 advanced ICBMs at a nighttime military parade in Pyongyang in the biggest display yet of what its state-run media described as North Korea’s “nuclear attack capability.”

    Analysts said those missiles appeared to be Hwasong-17s.

    Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said on social media that if each missile in the parade were equipped with multiple nuclear warheads, they could represent enough volume to overwhelm US ballistic missile defenses.

    Saturday’s test came after the North Korean Foreign Ministry lashed out at the United States and South Korea on Friday over their plans for upcoming military exercises.

    Washington and Seoul are expected to hold nuclear tabletop drills next week at the Pentagon, the South Korean Defense Ministry said Friday. The allies are also expected to hold military drills next month in the Korean Peninsula.

    North Korea, in the same statement, also said it would consider additional military action if the UN Security Council continues to pressure Pyongyang “as the United States wants.”

    In January, Kim Jong Un called for “an exponential increase of the country’s nuclear arsenal” and highlighted the “necessity of mass-producing tactical nuclear weapons,” according to the country’s state media KCNA.

    Kim had called for the development of a new “Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system,” capable of a rapid nuclear counterstrike, according to the KCNA report.

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  • At least two killed as militants storm Karachi police headquarters | CNN

    At least two killed as militants storm Karachi police headquarters | CNN

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    Islamabad, Pakistan
    CNN
     — 

    Two people were killed after militants stormed the police headquarters in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, according to ambulance officials.

    A police officer and a janitor died in the attack while four police rangers were also injured, Edhi Ambulance Service said.

    Up to 10 militants attacked the police station with hand grenades and shots were fired, an eyewitness told CNN. The Sindh provincial minister for labor, Saeed Ghani, confirmed the attack to CNN, adding the incident was ongoing.

    Multiple shots could be heard ringing through the area where the headquarters is located, according to footage from the scene, and eyewitnesses described hearing multiple explosions.

    The attack prompted the Sindh provincial government to declare a state of emergency in Karachi, according to its spokesperson, Sharjeel Memon.

    Pakistan’s Taliban, known as Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack, according to spokesman Mohammad Khorasani.

    Pakistan’s Taliban have been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department since September 2010.

    Pakistani authorities have yet to confirm any group’s involvement.

    Rescue teams have reached the site of the attack, according to video released by Chhipa Ambulance Service, in which gunfire could be heard.

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  • Isolated Iran finds ally China reluctant to extend it a lifeline | CNN

    Isolated Iran finds ally China reluctant to extend it a lifeline | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in today’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, CNN’s three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here.


    Abu Dhabi, UAE
    CNN
     — 

    Shortly before leaving for his first state visit to China on Tuesday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi issued a thinly veiled criticism of his powerful ally, saying the two countries’ relationship has not lived up to expectations.

    The first Iranian president to arrive in China on a state visit in two decades, Raisi was keen to tell Beijing that it has not given enough support to Tehran, especially economically.

    “Unfortunately, I must say that we have seriously fallen behind in these relations,” he said, referring to trade and economic ties. Part of his mission, he said, was to implement the China-Iran Strategic Partnership Plan (CISPP), a pact that would see Beijing invest up to $400 billion in Iran’s economy over a 25-year period in exchange for a steady supply of Iranian oil.

    Raisi said that economic ties had regressed, and that the two nations needed to compensate for that.

    The public criticism on the eve of the landmark trip demonstrated the heavily-sanctioned Islamic Republic’s disappointment with an ally that has in many ways become one of its few economic lifelines.

    The speech was likely “a reflection of Tehran’s frustration with China’s hesitancies about deepening its economic ties with Iran,” Henry Rome, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told CNN. “The same issues that have constrained China-Iran relations for years appear to remain.”

    Analysts said Raisi’s speech was a clear call for China to live up to its end of the relationship, seeking economic guarantees from the Asian power so he can have something to show at home amid a wave of anti-government protests and increasing global isolation.

    “The mileage Raisi will get for having a visit is going to be very limited if that visit doesn’t produce anything,” said Trita Parsi, vice-president of the Quincy Institute in Washington, DC. “The Iranians are not in a position right now in which a visit in and of itself is sufficiently good for them…They need more.”

    Whether Iran is satisfied with what China offered it, however, is yet to be seen.

    “Though more substance may be achieved following the visit, the reality is that Raisi needs both the substance and the announcement of concrete agreements,” said Parsi. He added that China, on the other hand, appears to be inclined to “play matters down” as it balances the partnership with its ties with Gulf Arab states at odds with Iran, as well as its own fraught relations with the US.

    In a joint statement, both China and Iran said they are “willing to work together to implement” the CISPP and “continue to deepen cooperation in trade, agriculture, industry, renewable energy, infrastructure and other fields.”

    On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who accompanied Raisi to China, said that the two countries agreed to remove obstacles in the way of implementing the CISPP, adding that Iran was “optimistic at the results of the negotiations,” according to state news agency IRNA.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping also accepted an invitation to visit Iran on a future date.

    Raisi’s trip comes as Beijing strengthens its ties with Iran’s foe Saudi Arabia, and as cheap Russian oil potentially threatens Iran’s crude exports to China.

    Less than two years after he took power, Raisi’s term has witnessed growing isolation from the West – especially after Iran supplied Russia with drones to use in its war on Ukraine – and failed efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal that removed some barriers to international trade with the Islamic Republic.

    As Western sanctions cripple its economy, Beijing has helped keep Tehran afloat economically. China is Iran’s biggest oil customer, buying sanctioned but cheap barrels that other nations would not touch.

    Tehran’s other ally, Russia, has however been biting into its Asian oil market as China buys more Russian barrels – also sanctioned by the West – for cheap, threatening one of Iran’s last economic lifelines.

    The visit is therefore a strategic one, analysts say, and an attempt by Iran pull itself back up from domestic instability and worsened isolation from the West.

    “(It) is an opportunity for Raisi to try to draw a line under the past five months of domestic unrest and project a sense of normalcy at home and abroad,” said Rome.

    But Jacopo Scita, a policy fellow at the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation in London, said he did not expect the visit to result in much more than a recognition of China’s partnership with Iran.

    “Raisi will hardly get much from the economic perspective, except for a new series of memoranda of understanding and some minor deals,” he told CNN.

    Iran has also been reminding its people that looking eastward is the right path toward economic revival as prospects of returning to nuclear agreement fade, said Parsi. The government has been keen to show that it has “an eastern option” that is supportive and lucrative, he said.

    Scita said that China is unlikely to live up to Iran’s expectations, however.

    “I don’t believe that Beijing can offer guarantees to Tehran except a pledge to continue importing a minimum amount of crude regardless of the global market situation and China’s domestic demand,” he told CNN.

    How Raisi’s visit will be received back at home remains unclear. If the trip yields no concrete results in the coming days, then Iran’s move eastward could prove to be “a huge strategic mistake that the Raisi government has really rushed into,” said Parsi.

    Additional reporting by Adam Pourahmadi and Simone McCarthy

    Turkey’s earthquake left 84,000 buildings either destroyed or in need of demolition after sustaining heavy damage, Turkish Urban Affairs and Environment Minister Murat Kurum said Friday, according to state media.

    The deadly earthquake – which sent shockwaves across the region – has so far killed more than 43,000 across both Turkey and Syria.

    At least 38,000 people died in Turkey, according to Turkey’s governmental disaster management agency, AFAD. The death toll in Syria remains at least 5,841, according to the latest numbers reported Tuesday by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

    Here’s the latest:

    • Since the February 6 earthquake, a total of 143 trucks loaded with aid provided by six UN agencies have crossed from Turkey to northwest Syria through two border crossings, a OCHA statement said Friday.
    • Two men were rescued in Hatay ten days after the earthquake struck, said Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Friday. And late on Thursday, a 12-year-old boy was rescued from rubble in southern Hatay 260 hours after the earthquake hit, according to CNN Turk, which reported live from the scene.
    • World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said upon returning from Syria on Tuesday that more than a decade of war in the region has left towns destroyed, with the health system unable to cope with this scale of emergency. “Survivors are now facing freezing conditions without adequate shelter, heating, food, clean water or medical care,” he said.
    • Turkey added Elazig as the 11th province in the list of those impacted by the quake, the ruling party spokesman said.
    • A Turkish family was reunited with the ‘miracle baby’ that was found in the rubble of the quake after they had given up hope.
    • A confused woman asked her rescuers “What day is it?” when pulled alive from the rubble of last week’s earthquake after 228 hours.
    • After attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel on to Turkey and Greece on Sunday to see US efforts to assist with the earthquake and to meet with Turkish and Greek officials, the State Department said Wednesday.

    Palestinian activist beaten by Israeli soldier says he is scared for his life

    Palestinian activist Issa Amro, who was filmed being assaulted by an Israeli soldier on Monday, told CNN Thursday that he is physically and psychologically affected by the attack and fears for his life.

    • Background: Lawrence Wright, a writer for the New Yorker magazine, posted video of the assault on Twitter. It showed two IDF soldiers manhandling well-known activist Amro, throwing him onto the ground, and one soldier kicking him, before that soldier is pushed away by other troops. The Israeli soldier who was filmed assaulting Amro in Hebron was sentenced to 10 days in military jail. In response to CNN’s interview with Amro, Israel Defense Forces international spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said there was “no justification” for the soldier’s behavior, but suggested Amro had provoked the incident.
    • Why it matters: Amro said he is afraid for his life and for the lives of the people in the area, but added that, “unfortunately what happened to me is happening almost every day.” He said he filed many complaints to the Israeli police about soldier and settler violence, but had gotten no accountability. Amro also said he wants the Biden administration to reopen the Palestinian consulate in East Jerusalem.

    Protesters set fire to ATMs as Lebanese lira hits 80,000 against the dollar in new record low

    Lebanon’s national currency has hit a new record low of 80,000 Lebanese lira against the US dollar, according to values sold on the black market on Thursday. On Thursday, protesters blocked roads across Beirut and set fires to ATMs and bank branches, according to videos posted on social media by the organizers, United for Lebanon and the Depositors Outcry Association, who are both advocating for the release of depositor savings.

    • Background: The lira has been on an exponential fall since January 20 when the Lebanese central bank (BDL) adjusted the official exchange rate for the first time in decades, from LL1,500 to LL15,000. Lebanese banks have been closed since Tuesday due to a strike announced by the Association of Banks in Lebanon. Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a statement Thursday that “efforts are continuing to address the financial situation.”
    • Why it matters: Lebanon has been in a deepening financial crisis since 2019. The country moved toward securing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout in April 2022, but the deal is yet to be finalized.

    Iran denies links to new al-Qaeda leader, calls US claim ‘Iranophobia’

    Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Thursday denied claims by the US that al-Qaeda’s new leader, Seif al-Adel, is living in his country. “I advise White House to stop the failed Iranophobia game,” wrote Abdollahian on Twitter. “Linking Al-Qaeda to Iran is patently absurd and baseless,” he said.

    • Background: US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Wednesday told reporters that the US backs a UN report linking al-Adel to Iran. “Our assessment aligns with that of the UN, the assessment that you (a reporter) referenced that Saif al-Adel is based in Iran,” said Price during a press briefing, adding that “offering safe haven to al-Qaeda is just another example of Iran’s wide-ranging support for terrorism, its destabilizing activities in the Middle East and beyond.”
    • Why it matters: Tensions between Iran and the US have only worsened in recent months, as the Islamic Republic supplies drones to Russia for use in its war on Ukraine and negotiations to revive a 2015 deal remain frozen. The US said it killed al-Qaeda’s former leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a drone strike on Kabul, Afghanistan last year.

    A Roman-era lead sarcophagus was uncovered on Tuesday at the site of a 2000-year-old Roman necropolis in the Gaza Strip. The necropolis is along the Northern Gaza coast and 500 meters (0.3 miles) from the sea.

    The sarcophagus may have belonged to a prominent individual based on where it was found, the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ director of excavation and museums, Jehad Yasin, told CNN on Thursday.

    Yasin said the ancient Roman cemetery was discovered in 2022 “as excavations were carried out at the site in cooperation with Premiere Urgence Internationale and funded by the British Council.”

    Premiere Urgence Internationale, a French humanitarian organization, has collaborated on “Palestinian cultural heritage preservation” projects in Gaza under a program called INTIQAL.

    The coffin was exhumed from the site to perform archaeological analysis for bone identification, which will take around two months, according to Yasin.

    A team of experts in ancient funerary will unseal the coffin in the coming weeks.

    While Gaza is a site of frequent aerial bombardment and a land, air, and sea blockade imposed by Israeli and Egyptian officials, the sarcophagus remains intact.

    “The state of preservation of the sarcophagus is exceptional, as it remained sealed and closed,” read a press release from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

    French and Palestinian archaeologists have uncovered eighty-five individual and collective tombs in the 3,500-square-meter Roman acropolis since its discovery last year, while ten of them have been opened for excavation.

    Beyond the rubble of the coastal enclave lay dozens of artifacts and burial sites from the Roman, Byzantine and Canaanite eras.

    Last year a Palestinian farmer discovered the head of a 4,500-year-old statue of Canaanite goddess Anat while another Palestinian farmer discovered a Byzantine-era mosaic in his orchard.

    In 2022 the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities released their first Arabic archaeological guide titled “Gaza, the Gateway to the Levant.” The guide charts 39 archaeological sites in Gaza, including churches, mosques and ancient houses that date back to 6,000 years.

    The ministry expects more archaeological findings at the necropolis.

    Further sarcophagi are likely to be uncovered in the following months, said Director Yasin.

    By Dalya Al Masri

    A man and woman walk along a damaged street at night in earthquake- stricken Hatay, Turkey on Thursday.

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  • Trump’s former national security adviser Robert O’Brien appears before federal grand jury | CNN Politics

    Trump’s former national security adviser Robert O’Brien appears before federal grand jury | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Former national security adviser Robert O’Brien is appearing Thursday before a grand jury in the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, where several Trump-related investigations are being conducted.

    O’Brien had been subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith as part of investigations both into classified documents found at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and the probe related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, CNN previously reported.

    CNN spotted two grand juries meeting at the DC federal courthouse on Thursday – one of which has heard testimony related to the documents probe, while the other has been handling the investigation into efforts by Trump and his allies to undermine the election results.

    It is not clear which grand jury O’Brien is appearing in front of, or whether he is scheduled to testify before both grand juries. O’Brien identified himself to a CNN reporter but did not disclose any other details about his testimony.

    O’Brien could have knowledge of how classified documents were stored at Mar-a-Lago because the National Security Council should be involved in handling those documents at the end of a presidency.

    According to CNN reporting, O’Brien considered resigning over Trump’s response to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol but ultimately decided not to.

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  • Amnesty accuses Peruvian authorities of ‘marked racist bias’ in protest crackdown | CNN

    Amnesty accuses Peruvian authorities of ‘marked racist bias’ in protest crackdown | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Amnesty International has accused Peruvian authorities of acting with “a marked racist bias” in its crackdown on protests that have roiled the country since December, saying “populations that have historically been discriminated against” are being targeted, according to a report released on Thursday.

    Drawing on data from the Peruvian Ombudsman’s Office, Amnesty says it “found that the number of possible arbitrary deaths due to state repression” were “disproportionately concentrated in regions with largely Indigenous populations.”

    Amnesty also says that areas with majority indigenous populations have accounted for the majority of deaths since the protests began. “While the regions with majority Indigenous populations represent only 13% of Peru’s total population, they account for 80% of the total deaths registered since the crisis began,” Amnesty wrote.

    The Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the report, telling CNN that there is an ongoing investigation being carried out by the country’s public prosecutor office, with which they are collaborating.

    “Not only have we delivered all the requested information, but we have supported the transfer of (the public prosecutor’s) personnel (experts and prosecutors) to the area so that they can carry out their work. The Ministry of Defense is awaiting the results of the investigations,” the ministry’s spokesperson added.

    CNN also reached out to the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, for comment.

    The Andean country’s weeks-long protest movement, which seeks a complete reset of the government, was sparked by the impeachment and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo in December and fueled by deep dissatisfaction over living conditions and inequality in the country.

    While protests have occurred throughout the nation, the worst violence has been in the rural and indigenous south, which saw Castillo’s ouster as another attempt by Peru’s coastal elites to discount them.

    “In a context of great political uncertainty, the first expressions of social unrest emerged from several of Peru’s most marginalized regions, such as Apurímac, Ayacucho and Puno, whose mostly Indigenous populations have historically suffered from discrimination, unequal access to political participation and an ongoing struggle to access basic rights to health, housing and education,” Amnesty wrote.

    Protests have spread to other parts of the country and demonstrators’ fury has also grown with the rising death toll: As of Tuesday, at least 60 people have died in the violence, according to Peru’s Ombudsman’s Office, including one police officer.

    Castillo’s successor, President Dina Boluarte, has so far refused to resign, while Peru’s Congress has rejected motions for early elections this year – one of the protesters’ main demands.

    Peruvian President Dina Boluarte gives a press conference at the government palace in Lima, Peru, on February 10, 2023.

    The human rights group accuses security forces of using firearms with lethal ammunition “as one of their primary methods of dispersing demonstrations, even when there was no apparent risk to the lives of others” – a violation of international human rights standards.

    Amnesty says it documented 12 fatalities in which “all the victims appeared to have been shot in the chest, torso or head, which could indicate, in some cases, the intentional use of lethal force.”

    There have also been instances of violence by some demonstrators, with the use of stones, fireworks and homemade slingshots. CNN has previously reported on the death of a policeman who was burned to death by protesters. Citing Health Ministry figures, Amnesty found that “more than 1,200 people have been injured in the context of protests and 580 police officers have been wounded.”

    But overall, police and army have responded disproportionately, firing “bullets indiscriminately and in some cases at specific targets, killing or injuring bystanders, protesters and those providing first aid to injured people,” Amnesty said.

    It cites the death of 18-year-old student John Erik Enciso Arias, who died in December 12 in the town of Andahuaylas, in the Apurímac region, where citizens had gathered to observe and film the protests. Erik’s death has been confirmed by the Peruvian ombudsman.

    According to Amnesty, “videos and eyewitness accounts suggest that several police officers fired bullets from the rooftop of a building in front of the hill that day. State officials confirmed to Amnesty International the presence of police on the rooftop and the organization has verified footage showing that John Erik was not using violence against the police when he was killed.”

    In another incident, as CNN has previously reported, Leonardo Hancco, 32, died after being shot in the abdomen near Ayacucho’s airport, where protesters had gathered with some trying to take control of the runway.

    “Witnesses indicated that the armed forces fired live rounds for at least seven hours in and around the airport, at times chasing demonstrators or shooting in the direction of those helping the wounded,” Amnesty said of its investigation into the December 15 incident.

    CNN has not verified the circumstances of each death as described by Amnesty.

    Demonstrators hold a protest against the government of President Dina Boluarte and to demand her resignation, in Puno, Peru, on January 19, 2023.

    Relatives and friends of victims of recent clashes with the Peruvian police -- within protests against President Dina Boluarte -- carry pictures of their loved ones during a march commemorating one month of their death on February 9, 2023, in Juliaca, Puno region.

    The report also cites the death of 17 civilians, who were killed during a protest in the southeastern Puno region on January 9 “where a high percentage of the Indigenous population is concentrated,” it writes.

    The city’s head of legal medicine told CNN en Español that autopsies of the 17 dead civilians found wounds caused by firearm projectiles.

    “The Attorney General’s office itself declared that the deaths were caused by firearm projectiles, provoking one of the most tragic and disturbing events in the whole country,” Amnesty wrote.

    “The grave human rights crisis facing Peru has been fueled by stigmatization, criminalization and racism against Indigenous peoples and campesino (rural farmworkers) communities who today take to the streets exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and in response have been violently punished,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Americas Director, said in a statement.

    “The widespread attacks against the population have implications regarding the individual criminal responsibility of the authorities, including those at the highest level, for their action and omission to stop the repression.”

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  • 1 dead, 3 injured in shooting at El Paso shopping mall | CNN

    1 dead, 3 injured in shooting at El Paso shopping mall | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Four people were shot Wednesday evening at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, according to police. One person died, said Sgt. Robert Gomez.

    “We have one person in custody. We do believe there could be one outstanding. That’s why the extensive search of the mall is being done right now,” Gomez said.

    Police did not comment on a possible motive and did not provide details on the conditions of the three victims who were hospitalized.

    “It was chaotic. People did flee. They were scared,” said Gomez.

    Earlier, police asked people to avoid Cielo Vista Mall after getting reports that shots have been fired in the food court.

    “Mall scene is still active please avoid the area. Multiple agencies responding to the area,” EPPD said in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.

    The mall is adjacent to a Walmart where a mass shooting in 2019 killed 23 and left nearly two dozen more injured.

    Robert Gonzalez was in the mall and told CNN he “saw people running to the exit.”

    Videos taken by Gonzalez show several mall storefronts closed with their security gates down and police parked outside. He said he was able to make it safely to his car, where he was waiting to leave as he spoke with CNN.

    Gonzalez recalled the 2019 mass shooting, saying today’s experience “just brought back bad memories.”

    This is a developing story and will be updated.

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  • Pence says he’s willing to take fight against DOJ subpoena in Trump probe to Supreme Court | CNN Politics

    Pence says he’s willing to take fight against DOJ subpoena in Trump probe to Supreme Court | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that he is willing to take his fight against a subpoena for his testimony in the Justice Department’s 2020 election subversion investigation all the way to the Supreme Court.

    “I am going to fight the Biden DOJ subpoena for me to appear before the grand jury because I believe it’s unconstitutional and unprecedented,” Pence told reporters after making a speech in Iowa.

    He said he expects former President Donald Trump to bring his own challenge to the subpoena that will raise executive privilege claims. Pence, however, intends to fight the subpoena under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, which shields legislators from certain law enforcement actions targeting conduct related to their legislative duties.

    While other witnesses have raised Speech or Debate Clause argument in efforts to resist subpoenas in the DOJ probe and in the other investigations into January 6, 2021, Pence plans to invoke the clause in relation to his role as president of the Senate – which is believed to be untrod legal ground.

    In that role, he presided over Congress’ certification of the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021.

    “On the day of January 6, I was acting as President of the Senate, presiding over a Joint Session, described in the Constitution itself,” Pence said. “And so, I believe that that Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution actually prohibits the executive branch from compelling me to appear in a court, as the Constitution says, or in any other place. And we’ll stand on that principle and we’ll take that case as far as it needs to go, if need be to the Supreme Court of the United States, because to me, it’s – it’s an issue of the separation of powers.”

    He said that over the last “several months,” his team had made it clear to the Justice Department that he believed the Speech or Debate Clause precluded a subpoena for his testimony.

    CNN previously reported on Pence’s plans to raise claims under the Speech or Debate Clause.

    Pence also noted that he has written and spoken publicly about the events leading up to the January 6 certification vote. But, he said, “if we were to accede to accept a subpoena for appearance before a grand jury or a trial, I believe that would diminish the privileges enjoyed by any future vice president, either Democrat or Republican. I simply will not do that.”

    Pence first spoke publicly about his plans to fight the subpoena at an event in Minneapolis earlier Wednesday, saying that his fight was about ” separation of powers” and “defending the prerogatives that I had as president of the Senate.”

    “My fight is on the separation of powers. My fight against the DOJ subpoena very simply is on defending the prerogatives that I had as president of the Senate to preside over the Joint Session of Congress on January 6,” Pence told reporters in Minneapolis.

    “For me this is a moment where you have to decide where you stand and I stand on the Constitution of the United States,” he added.

    Pence is one of several former members of Trump’s inner circle whose testimony federal investigators have sought, as they scrutinize the events leading up to and during the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. That probe, as well as the federal investigation into Trump’s handling of documents from his White House that were found at Mar-a-Lago, have taken a more aggressive tack since special counsel Jack Smith took over both investigations.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

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  • Pence to fight subpoena on separation of powers grounds because he was president of Senate | CNN Politics

    Pence to fight subpoena on separation of powers grounds because he was president of Senate | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Former Vice President Mike Pence is expected to fight a recent subpoena from the special counsel based on the grounds that he was president of the Senate at the time and therefore shielded from the order, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

    Pence is expected to address the subpoena and his response to it during a trip to Iowa on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with his plans.

    Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating former President Donald Trump and his role in January 6, 2021, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Special counsel Jack Smith’s office is seeking documents and testimony, the source said. Investigators want the former vice president to testify about his interactions with Trump leading up to the 2020 election and the day of the attack on the US Capitol.

    The subpoena marks an important milestone in the Justice Department’s two-year criminal investigation, now led by the special counsel, into the efforts by Trump and allies to impede the transfer of power after he lost the 2020 election. Pence is an important witness who has detailed in a memoir some of his interactions with Trump in the weeks after the election, a move that likely opens the door for the Justice Department to override at least some of Trump’s claims of executive privilege.

    This story has been updated with additional details.

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