Volodymyr yermolenko

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 14 DNIPRO, Ukraine - Two hours after a Russian missile slammed into a Ukrainian apartment complex on Saturday, shocking the city that has served as a relatively safe haven for the war's displaced, rescue workers digging through rubble spotted a sudden movement from above. On the eighth floor, they could see the arm of a bloodied elderly woman, so buried in debris she could barely move, waving a piece of red fabric. Below her, dozens of apartments had collapsed, swallowing residents into some 30 feet of rubble. From inside the damaged building, she was somehow alive - and calling for help. Russia's blatant attack on civilians here - the worst to strike this city since Russia invaded Ukraine last February - came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed his most senior military officer, Gen. Valery … [Read more...] about When Russia bombs a building full of people, this is the aftermath

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 DNIPRO, Ukraine - Anger and grief consumed this central Ukrainian city Sunday as rescue workers continued to dig for survivors in the wreckage of an apartment block that collapsed when a Russian missile struck it the day before, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens of others, including children. The brazen, midday attack on civilians in their homes has renewed urgent calls for Ukraine's allies to immediately provide the country with upgraded air defenses that can help repel the missiles used in the attack, which officials here said their current system cannot detect. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said the death toll from the attack had risen to at least 30, added Sunday that another 30 residents were unaccounted for. Hundreds of civilians gathered at the scene Sunday, rattled by the strike on Dnipro, which has been known as a relatively safe haven for the past … [Read more...] about As Dnipro deaths mount, survivors plead for anti-missile defense

GRAFENWOEHR TRAINING AREA, Germany - The Pentagon's top general on Monday visited two sites in Germany used by the U.S. military to enhance the fighting skills of their Ukrainian counterparts, offering encouragement to those on the training field and directing the American soldiers instructing them to squeeze as much as possible into the newly established program before the Ukrainians return to war. "This is not a run-of-the-mill rotation," Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said of the curriculum. "This is one of those moments in time where if you want to make a difference, this is it." The general's visit marked his first trip to this facility in the muddy Bavarian countryside since Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago. The base, covering roughly 90 square miles, began hosting Ukrainian forces in 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. It's now the site of a newly expanded regimen for the Ukrainian military, which sent a … [Read more...] about Pentagon’s top general meets Ukrainians training with U.S. troops

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 15 DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Ukraine’s first lady on Tuesday pressed world leaders and corporate executives at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering to do more to help her country at a time when Russia's invasion is leaving children dying and the world struggling with food insecurity. As the anniversary of the war nears, Olena Zelenska said parents in Ukraine are in tears watching doctors trying to save their children, farmers are afraid to return to their fields filled with mines and “we cannot allow a new Chernobyl to happen,” referring to the 1986 nuclear disaster as Russian missiles have pounded Ukrainian energy infrastructure for months. “What you all have in common is that you are genuinely influential," Zelenska told attendees. “But there is something that separates you, namely that not all of you use … [Read more...] about At Davos, Ukraine’s first lady urges support for her nation

On Friday, when U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and a pair of his Senate colleagues arrived in Kyiv for a secret visit with top Ukrainian officials, the shocking scenes of bombed-out apartment buildings, downed power transformers and other signs of the Russian siege, he was reminded of images of London during the Nazi blitz of World War II. And like London during the Battle of Britain in 1940, amid the stark reminders of the Russian attacks, people went about their daily business in the embattled Ukrainian capital. During day-long meetings on Friday, Blumenthal along with Sen. Lindsey Graham , R-S.C. and Sen. Sheldon Whitehorse, D-R.I. became even more convinced of the need for the United States to increase aid, including longer-range missiles and M1 Abrams battle tanks. “We have to break the gridlock on the tanks and the Biden administration is the key,” Blumenthal said in a late-night phone interview Saturday from a snowy Munich, Germany. “We should be supplying Abrams, … [Read more...] about Blumenthal, back from secret Ukraine trip, says longer-range missiles, tanks needed from U.S.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 9 KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Poland has officially requested permission from Germany to transfer its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine where they can help fight Russia's invasion, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said Tuesday. German officials confirmed to the dpa news agency they had received the application and said it would be assessed “with due urgency.” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Sunday that Berlin, which builds the tanks, wouldn’t seek to stop Poland from providing the high-tech armor to Kyiv. The development came as Ukrainian authorities moved to crack down on alleged corruption, with almost a dozen senior officials departing Tuesday. Błaszczak, the Polish defense minister, appealed to Germany “to join the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks” — a reference to recent pressure on Berlin to … [Read more...] about Poland asks Berlin to OK Ukraine tanks; Kyiv targets graft

LONDON (AP) — Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that President Vladimir Putin didn’t seem serious about avoiding war in the days before Russia invaded Ukraine — and at one point told the British leader it would be easy to kill him with a missile. The Kremlin denied Putin made any such threat. In a documentary released Monday, Johnson says he called Putin in February 2022 and tried to dissuade him from war, telling him Ukraine would not be joining NATO in the foreseeable future – a longstanding concern of the Russian leader – and warning invasion would bring “massive” Western sanctions. “From the very relaxed tone that he was taking, the sort of air of detachment that he seemed to have, he was just playing along with my attempts to get him to negotiate,” Johnson says in the BBC series “Putin vs the West.” Johnson says that Putin “threatened me at one point and said, ‘Boris, I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute’, or something … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson says Putin said he could hit him with missile

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Tuesday that he wouldn’t seek his state’s open U.S. Senate seat next year, ending weeks of speculation about whether he would enter a vicious Republican primary fight against a combative defender of former President Donald Trump. The decision by the 73-year-old Daniels comes two weeks after U.S. Rep. Jim Banks announced he was running for the seat being vacated by GOP Sen. Mike Braun as he makes a 2024 run for governor. “With full credit and respect for the institution and those serving in it, I conclude that it’s just not the job for me, not the town for me, and not the life I want to live at this point,” Daniels said in a statement released by a longtime adviser. The Washington-based anti-tax Club for Growth had already endorsed Banks and criticized Daniels as an insufficiently conservative “old guard Republican,” signaling a line of attack for a nasty intraparty race in the GOP-dominated state. Daniels, who … [Read more...] about Ex-Indiana Gov. Daniels won’t seek state’s open Senate seat

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 20 KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — It used to be that visitors would browse through Bakhmut’s late 19th century buildings, enjoy walks in its rose-lined lakeside park and revel in the sparkling wines produced in historic underground caves. That was when this city in eastern Ukraine was a popular tourist destination. No more. The longest battle of Russia's war has turned this city of salt and gypsum mines into a ghost town. Despite bombing, shelling and attempts to encircle Bakhmut for six months, Russia's forces have not conquered it. But their scorched-earth tactics have made it impossible for civilians to have any semblance of a life there. “It’s hell on earth right now; I can’t find enough words to describe it,” said Ukrainian soldier Petro Voloschenko, who is known on the battlefield as … [Read more...] about War’s longest battle exacts high price in ‘heart of Ukraine’