Live updates on the war between Russia and Ukraine: Biden receives leaders in Finland, Sweden after NATO bid
Animals in the zoo remain in Mariupol after months of devastation
Those returning to the suburbs of Kiev face new difficulties: homelessness
IRPIN, Ukraine – Since pushing Russian forces out of the suburbs around Kyiv last month, Ukraine has been working remarkably fast to repair damaged infrastructure.
But rebuilding destroyed houses and multi-family houses while the country is still at war is proving to be a much more difficult task, leaving thousands of people on the run and in desperate need of help.
The crisis creates a gap among Ukrainians: Those with funds begin to pay for their own repairs, while those without money are left dependent on charities and aid groups to get protection.
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Zelenskyy mocks Russian announcement of a new laser weapon
“I mean Ukraine”: Bush is abusing in his speech, calling the invasion of Iraq “unjustified”
After delays, the Senate was ready to send $ 40 billion in Ukraine aid to Biden
WASHINGTON – After a week-long delay, the Senate on Thursday appeared ready to approve a $ 40 billion military, economic and humanitarian aid package for Ukraine.
Democratic and Republican leaders had hoped to quickly address the package approved by parliament last week, but Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., Protested and dragged out the process over a dispute over spending oversight.
Thursday’s big two-party vote, which will send the aid package to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature, represents an unmistakable signal to Kyiv that the United States is stuck in its corner. Paul’s stable tactics annoyed many colleagues who had warned that Ukraine is dangerously close to running out of weapons, food and other necessities.
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The fate of Azovfighters not known in Mariupol
Turkey’s Erdogan describes opposition to Sweden, Finland’s NATO bid
The Turkish president emphasized his opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO and said that Ankara would say no to their bid.
Speaking to a group of Turkish youths, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the two countries – and especially Sweden – of being “a focus for terror, home for terror.” The video of their conversation was released on Thursday.
Erdogan’s objection to Sweden and Finland stems from Turkey’s complaints against Stockholm – and to a lesser extent with Helsinki – perceived support for the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and an armed group in Syria that Turkey sees as an extension of the PKK. Turkey also accuses them of harboring supporters of the US-based Muslim priest Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says is behind a failed 2016 military coup attempt.
Turkey’s approval is crucial as the military alliance makes its decisions by consensus. Each of its 30 member states can veto who can join.
Russian forces control Mariupol
The Red Cross says it has registered hundreds of prisoners of war from Mariupol’s steelworks in Azovstal
The Red Cross said it registered hundreds of prisoners of war from Azovstal’s steel plant in Mariupol, where the last Ukrainian defenders stopped fighting earlier this week.
The registration of fighters leaving the facility, including the wounded, began on Tuesday under an agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement. “The operation continued on Wednesday and was still ongoing on Thursday,” it added.
The Geneva-based humanitarian agency noted that it did not transport the prisoners of war to “the places where they are being held.”
It did not say where it is, but buses have transported hundreds of fighter jets to Russian-controlled territory. Ukraine says it wants to exchange its warriors for Russian prisoners, but Russia has given no indication that it will.
The Russian military is embroiled in a “culture of blackmail and scapegoating,” Britain said
Russia’s military is likely to be hit by a “culture of blackmail and scapegoating” that is hampering its war in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense sa Thursday.
Russia has shut down one commander and likely suspended another due to failures, it claimed, adding that “many officials involved in the invasion of Ukraine are likely to be increasingly distracted by efforts to avoid personal blame for Russia’s operational setbacks.”
The British military said in a daily intelligence update that Lieutenant General Serhiy Kisel, who led Russia’s 1st Tank Army, had been suspended for failing to capture the city of Kharkiv. Britain also said that Russia’s commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Igor Osipov, was probably suspended after the sinking of the cruiser Moscow – the navy’s flagship – in April. Ukrainian and US officials have said it has been hit by Ukrainian missiles.
NBC News has not independently verified the reports. Russia has not announced any such measures.
Senate confirms new US ambassador to Ukraine
The Senate confirmed Bridget Brink as the US ambassador to Ukraine late Wednesday, filling the post as officials plan to return US diplomats to Kyiv during the nation’s continued fight against the Russian invasion.
The experienced foreign official, who has spent most of his career in the shadow of the former Soviet Union, was nominated for the post last month by President Joe Biden. She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate without a formal roll-call vote.