Russian military has lost more than 10% of combat force sent to Ukraine; humanitarian convoy seized, Zelenskyy says: Live updates
The Russian military has lost more than 10% of the combat force that President Vladimir Putin sent to invade Ukraine, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday.
The Russian combat force has dipped slightly below 90% for the first time in a war that began less than a month ago, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe intelligence assessments. Not all of the more than 150,000 Russian troops in and around Ukraine are combat troops; many provide support functions.
Russian ground forces remain largely stalled across Ukraine, particularly around the capital of Kyiv, where their closest troops remain about 10 miles from the city’s center.
The official described Ukrainian resistance as quick and nimble – and for the first time in the war seeking to retake ground from the Russians.
In Mariupol, the besieged port city in southern Ukraine, Russian ships have been shelling from the sea for the first time, the official said. The shelling appears to be a sign that Russia continues to struggle on the ground against Ukrainian forces. Russian commanders instead are relying on long-range bombardment to take the cities, a tactic that often results in civilian casualties.
Russia continues to have problems supplying its troops in Ukraine with food, fuel and weaponry, the official said. Some soldiers have suffered frostbite because they don’t have proper cold-weather gear. There are signs Russia is having trouble keeping ships fueled at sea, the official said.
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Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army said it forced Russian troops out of Makariv, a strategically important Kyiv suburb, after a fierce battle. The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway to the west and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest.
But Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Russian forces battling toward Kyiv were able to partially take other northwest suburbs – Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin – some of which had been under attack almost since Russia’s military invaded late last month.
Latest developments
►White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that she has tested positive for COVID for the second time and will skip this week’s trip to Europe with President Joe Biden. Psaki said she’s vaccinated and has mild symptoms.
►Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov says he wants to auction off his 2021 Nobel Peace Prize medal to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees. In his independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, Muratov called for people to “share with refugees, the wounded and children who need urgent treatment.”
nine years in a maximum-security prison on Tuesday. He rejected the allegations as politically motivated.
►Four children being evacuated were among those wounded Monday when Russian forces shelled along a humanitarian border, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address.
Zelenskyy accuses Russian forces of stealing humanitarian convoy
In a nightly address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces blocked a humanitarian convoy attempting to reach Mariupol and also took rescue workers and bus drivers captive.
“We are trying to organize stable humanitarian corridors for Mariupol residents, but almost all of our attempts, unfortunately, are foiled by the Russian occupiers, by shelling, or deliberate terror,” Zelenskyy said in his address.
The president added that Russians had agreed to the route ahead of time.
More than 7,000 people were evacuated from Mariupol on Tuesday, but about 100,000 remain in the city “in inhuman conditions, under a full blockade, without food, without water, without medicine and under constant shelling, under constant bombardment,” Zelenskyy said.
— Charles Ventura, USA TODAY; Associated Press
Russian forces destroy laboratory at Chernobyl
A laboratory at the Chernobyl nuclear plant that works to improve the management of radioactive waste was destroyed, according to the Ukrainian agency in charge of the area surrounding the plant on Tuesday.
The laboratory contained “highly active samples and samples of radionuclides that are now in the hands of the enemy, which we hope will harm itself and not the civilized world,” the agency said in its statement.
Ukraine’s nuclear regulatory agency also said Monday that radiation monitors around the plant had stopped working.
Russia seized control of Chernobyl early on in its invasion of Ukraine, along with the Zaporizhzhia plant. Chernobyl is the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986 when a reactor exploded. The exclusion zone is the contaminated area around the plant.
Spokesman says Putin won’t rule out using nuclear weapons
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled out the possibility of using nuclear weapons in the nearly four-week-long war with Ukraine, his longtime spokesman said Tuesday in a CNN interview.
Asked by CNN’s chief international anchor, Christiane Amanpour, whether he’s convinced Putin won’t take that drastic step, press secretary Dmitry Peskov declined to dismiss that option.
“Well, we have a concept of domestic security, and, well, it’s public,” Peskov responded. “You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used. So, if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used, in accordance with our concept.”
It’s not the first time a high-ranking Russian official has dangled a nuclear threat, likely to sow fear among adversaries. Three days after launching the Ukraine invasion Feb. 24, Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on high alert in response to tough sanctions from the West.
Here’s a clip of the interview, which is loaded with disinformation and outrageous claims from Peskov, among them that Ukrainian regiments were killing civilians trying to leave the besieged city of Mariupol and that some who escaped to Russia “simply tell us that they were used like a shield. … And now the main goal is to get rid of those bad guys there.”
New sanctions to be announced during Biden’s trip to Europe
Additional sanctions will be imposed on Russia by President Joe Biden and the transatlantic alliance when Biden travels to Europe for a series of meetings this week, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday.
A key part of the next round of sanctions will focus on enforcement, including stopping attempts by countries to help Russia evade the economic penalties.
“The West has been united,” Sullivan said. “The president is traveling to Europe to ensure that we stay united.”
Biden will also announce joint actions to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas and will discuss with NATO allies the levels of troops needed on Europe’s eastern flank in the longer term.
And Biden will outline new humanitarian assistance from the U.S. to help the Ukrainians under attack as well as the growing number of refugees, Sullivan said.
During Biden’s trip to Poland, after conferring with European leaders in Brussels, the president will interact with U.S. troops and meet with experts involved in the humanitarian response. The White House has not said whether Biden will also meet with Ukrainian refugees.
The Kyiv Independent reported Tuesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address remotely the leaders of NATO countries at the summit to stress the importance of boosting air defenses to stop Russian bombardment that has killed hundreds of civilians.
— Maureen Groppe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is prepared to negotiate a deal directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end a war that he said has left cities across his country bombed beyond recognition.
Authorities in Kharkiv said the Russian assault in that area has been intensifying with 84 artillery strikes reported in 24 hours. In beleaguered Mariupol, Russian aircraft dropped two more heavy bombs Tuesday, the City Council said in a social media post.
“The enemy continues to cynically destroy Ukrainian Mariupol,” the post said. “The city suffered even more damage.”
Zelenskyy spoke to Italian lawmakers Tuesday, telling them Mariupol has been utterly destroyed in the Russian onslaught.
Since the war began less than four weeks ago, about 3,780 residential buildings have been partially damaged, and 651 homes destroyed across the country, the Ukraine Emergency Service said.
In an interview with Ukrainian television channels, Zelenskyy said he would be willing to discuss a commitment from Ukraine to not seek NATO membership in exchange for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine’s security.
“It’s a compromise for everyone,” Zelenskyy said. He also repeated his call for direct talks with Putin – without them, it remains unknown whether Russia even wants to stop the war, Zelenskyy said.
are receiving care at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that the agency “supported airlift” of the kids and some of their immediate family members from Poland.
“They will receive the specialized care they desperately need, and their family members will be afforded sustenance, security, and support from St. Jude,” Price said.
Price said the U.S. was “proud to stand with European partners” who are also treating children whose life-saving care has been jeopardized. But he said thousands more children are missing treatments or otherwise dealing with compromised immune systems as their families are forced to flee their homes.
“That is why, together with our allies and partners, we will continue to support our Ukrainian partners as we seek to save lives and bring this needless war to a close,” Price said.
Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II.
With Russian munitions destroying cities and troops tightening a stranglehold, more displaced persons leave each day. They arrive at the border with only a bag of personal possessions and clothing, mostly women and children lining up in bitter cold for shelter, food and transport to destinations unknown.
Yet the uprooted Ukrainians may have advantages over millions who fled World War II and other past military conflicts.
An international refugee aid system developed at the end of World War II is more coordinated than at any time in history. Nonprofit relief agencies are bigger and more organized. And, at least for now, the Ukrainians are being welcomed into neighboring nations. Read more here.
– Dennis Wagner
Borys Romanchenko, survived the Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald, Peenemünde, Dora and Bergen-Belsen during World War II. The Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation confirmed Romanchenko’s death on Twitter Monday.
The foundation said Romanchenko’s granddaughter told them the multi-story building he was living in was hit by Russian shells, adding they were “deeply disturbed” by the news of his death.
– Jordan Mendoza
Contributing: The Associated Press