NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, meanwhile, expressed doubt Thursday about Russia’s claim that it is withdrawing from the area around Kyiv, saying Moscow has lied about its intentions before and appears to be repositioning troops for fresh attacks.
Here’s what to know
Videos from before, after invasion show extent of damage in Mariupol
Return to menuDrone video published Wednesday and verified by The Washington Post shows widespread destruction in Mariupol, a strategic Ukrainian port city that has been under siege from Russian forces.
The drone video, compared with footage from 2021, shows the stark contrast of before and after the siege for the city, including the Mariupol Drama Theater that was bombed two weeks ago.
The extent of the damage has been shared in other drone videos, such as one published last week from Ukraine’s far-right Azov Battalion. About 100,000 people may still be trapped in the city, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last Tuesday. A temporary cease-fire was declared by Ukrainian and Russian officials Thursday for evacuation efforts.
Ukraine energy chief says Russian troops have withdrawn from main part of Chernobyl
Return to menuThe chief of Ukraine’s energy ministry said Thursday Russian soldiers are withdrawing from what he characterized as the “main part” of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site but noted some troops remain at the facility.
Minister German Galushchenko cautioned that “no one can predict their next steps.”
The remark came shortly after Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned atomic energy firm, said that Russian forces were handing over Chernobyl to Ukrainian authorities and withdrawing their troops. In a statement on Telegram, the company said Russian troops were moving toward the Ukrainian border with Belarus after announcing plans to leave the plant, site of a catastrophic 1986 environmental disaster.
The company also shared a letter on Telegram in which Russian and Ukrainian forces purportedly agreed to the “transfer of protection” of the power plant. The letter states that for more than five weeks Russian troops had “guarded and defended” the station in a “reliable” manner and that Ukrainians had no complaints against them.
Russian forces are also getting ready to withdraw its troops from the satellite city of Slavutych, Energoatom said, where many Chernobyl employees work.
The claims could not be independently verified. The International Atomic Energy Agency did not respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to The Washington Post that Russian troops had begun to depart Chernobyl. The Pentagon also said that about 20 percent of Russian troops around Kyiv also started moving north away from the capital, but warned the troops would be getting ready to reposition and resupply before being redeployed elsewhere.
Russian forces captured the Chernobyl plant site in February shortly after the war broke out.
Mariupol remains a focus of Russian airstrikes, Pentagon says
Return to menuThe contested port city of Mariupol is among several key areas that Russians have prioritized for devastating airstrikes, the Pentagon said Thursday, as both sides engineer a temporary humanitarian cease-fire.
The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, has also been slated for more airstrikes in recent days, as the Russian military reprioritizes its assets to bombard cities and reinforce the eastern Donbas region, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon.
There has been an increase in Russian sorties, totaling more than 300 in the past day, according to the Pentagon’s daily assessments, which are focused on the previous 24 hours. It was unclear to the Pentagon if the proposed cease-fire had an effect on strikes in Mariupol.
One potential strategy, the official said, was to seize Mariupol as a springboard into the Donbas region, where the Russians may try to envelop Ukrainian forces. Russian troops have increasingly tried to seize towns in the region, the Pentagon has said, and forces pulled from the north appear to be heading there.
Some Russian oligarchs are using U.K. data privacy law to sue
Return to menuRussian oligarchs and other powerful individuals are turning to an unusual method to protect their online images: data privacy laws.
Those laws, which were intended to prevent ads from tracking consumers too closely around the Internet, are now being used in the United Kingdom to sue anyone holding undesirable information on their devices. That could include a journalist‘s notes from an interview typed into a computer or a private investigator’s compromising photos stored on a phone.
The data privacy law covers a wide swath of real and truthful data that could be held on any device, not just things that could be libelous. Already, several high-profile cases have successfully tested the law’s potency against politicians and journalists, and parliamentarians have held hearings on the issue.
“The way the law is being used by oligarchs to silence journalists is expressly not what parliament’s intention was,” said Liam Byrne, a member of parliament. “It’s all part of trying to murder the truth.”
‘Butcher of Mariupol’ earned reputation for brutality in Syria
Return to menuCol. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev long ago earned notoriety for exceptional brutality as a key commander of Russian forces in Syria, where much of the northern city of Aleppo was obliterated in a Russian-Syrian bombing campaign during the country’s civil war.
Now the three-star general, reputed to be one of President Vladimir Putin’s favorites, has a new nickname: the Butcher of Mariupol. Ukrainian and Western officials have identified him as the architect of a devastating siege of the southern Ukrainian port city that, according to its mayor, has killed thousands of civilians and destroyed many of its buildings.
“Remember him,” Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties, tweeted recently over a photo of the 59-year-old general, a man with close-cropped gray hair and pale blue eyes. “This is Mikhail Mizintsev. He is leading the siege of Mariupol. … He has huge experience of destroying cities in Syria.” She blamed him for the bombing of a maternity hospital, the Drama Theater and other buildings in Mariupol and vowed to see him tried for war crimes in The Hague.
Remember him. This is Mikhail Mizintsev. He is leading the siege of Mariupol. It was he who ordered the bombing of a children's hospital, the drama theatre etc. He has huge experience of destroying cities in Syria. We’ll take care of the meeting him in the Hague#RussianWarCrimes pic.twitter.com/9mWzoCnofl
— Oleksandra Matviichuk (@avalaina) March 23, 2022
Mizintsev, who heads Russia’s National Defense Control Center, was placed under sanctions Thursday by the British government, which said he was “responsible for planning and executing the siege and bombardment of Mariupol.”
The destruction of Mariupol has drawn comparisons with the siege of Aleppo in 2016, when Russian forces helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad crush rebels there in an eight-month campaign that featured the use of cluster bombs, chemical weapons and other banned munitions, in addition to heavy shelling and conventional airstrikes.
Yet Mizintsev is Russia’s point man in an agreement with the Ukrainians for a humanitarian cease-fire to allow beleaguered residents of Mariupol to evacuate and critical aid deliveries to enter the city, where more than 100,000 people are estimated to remain trapped. The cease-fire is “purely for humane purposes,” he said at a briefing Wednesday, the Interfax news agency reported.
New Treasury Department sanctions target Russia’s tech sector
Return to menuThe Treasury Department on Thursday announced new sanctions on Russia’s technology sector as the Biden administration seeks to punish the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions target parts of the Russian technology sector that enable Moscow to acquire technology critical for its military, including one firm that is Russia’s largest microchip producer, according to the department.
The Biden administration has come under increasing pressure to escalate its economic campaign against Russia amid signs that Moscow continues to make billions of dollars from energy sales and that the ruble has rebounded after an initial nosedive after the war began.
Ruling out military action, the White House has responded to the invasion of Ukraine by targeting Russia’s central bank reserves and its technology imports, and announcing a U.S. ban on Russian energy imports. But the administration has so far refrained from some of the most dramatic measures to hurt Russia’s economy, such as imposing “secondary sanctions” on other international firms outside the United States that trade with Russia.
“Russia not only continues to violate the sovereignty of Ukraine with its unprovoked aggression but also has escalated its attacks striking civilians and population centers,” Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said in a statement. “We will continue to target Putin’s war machine with sanctions from every angle, until this senseless war of choice is over.”
45 buses arrive to evacuate citizens from besieged city of Mariupol
Return to menuBuses arrived to the outskirts of the Russian-army-held city of Berdyansk to begin evacuating residents from the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, according Petro Andrushenko, an adviser to the mayor.
All 45 buses arrived Thursday evening, according to local officials, after officials from Russia and Ukraine agreed to a temporary cease-fire to allow civilians to evacuate and humanitarian aid to enter. Neither side specified when the cease-fire and humanitarian corridor would end, but Ukraine said its soldiers would “guarantee a full cease-fire regime.”
A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross told The Washington Post it was “desperately important” that the cease-fire occurred and said that their teams would travel with the convoy “to facilitate the safe passage of civilians out of Mariupol.”
The city, which has so far borne the brunt of Russia’s invasion, was once home to 450,000 people, and 100,000 or so may still be trapped.
Previous humanitarian corridors in the country have been fragile, with both sides accusing the other of violating cease-fires and obstructing supplies. Since the start of the conflict, 80,000 residents have been evacuated from the city using buses and private transport, according to the local government
Despite the agreement, part of the convoy was fired upon Thursday afternoon while driving toward the Russian-held city of Berdyansk, as the column of the buses approached a checkpoint, damaging at least one vehicle, according Tetiana Ignatenkova, a spokeswoman for the Donetsk regional administration.
The thousands of expected evacuees will be brought to the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia.
Eugene Lakatosh and Kim Bellware contributed to this report.
Russian soldiers in Ukraine sabotaged own equipment, U.K. spy chief says
Return to menuRussian soldiers short on morale and weapons have refused orders, sabotaged their own equipment and shot down one of their own aircraft, Britain’s spy chief said Thursday, painting a picture of chaos on Russia’s front lines as the war in Ukraine drags into its second month.
The efforts are evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s miscalculation when he decided to invade Ukraine, Jeremy Fleming, head of Britain’s signals intelligence agency, said in a speech Thursday at Australian National University. U.S. and British officials have said Putin, more isolated than ever, was misinformed by his aides, further stoking tensions.
“It’s clear he misjudged the resistance of the Ukrainian people,” Fleming said. “He underestimated the strength of the coalition his actions would galvanize. He underplayed the economic consequences of the sanctions regime. He overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory.”
But other observers have cautioned against dismissing the strength of the Russian military, warning that the Kremlin has shown little sign of backing down from its war efforts. “We are now running into the risky business of simply underestimating the quality and capacity of the Russian force,” said Alexey Muraviev, a national security expert at Australia’s Curtin University.
Putin says ‘unfriendly countries’ must pay for natural gas in rubles
Return to menuRussian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that he has signed a decree requiring “unfriendly countries” to pay for natural gas in rubles through Russian banks.
“The existing gas supply contracts will be terminated if buyers from unfriendly countries do not comply with the new payment terms,” he said in broadcast remarks from a meeting with officials on air transport development. “If payments are not made, we will consider it a default on the part of the buyer. With all the implications that follow.”
According to the decree, buyers will need to open two accounts: one for foreign currency and another for rubles. Funds would first be transferred in euros to the foreign currency account, and then Gazprombank, a private Russian bank, will exchange them into rubles at auction.
The stipulation takes effect Friday, a day later than the initial deadline. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday had indicated a longer timeline, saying that implementing payment and supply rules is a “time-consuming process.”
Putin’s hard-line stance is an apparent effort to help stabilize the Russian currency that has been shored up after Western sanctions at the start of the invasion sent its value plummeting.
White House announces plans to release oil from strategic reserve
Return to menuBiden is scheduled to speak at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time from the White House.
The plan underscores the White House’s continuing efforts to blame U.S. gasoline prices on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
“Because of Putin’s war of choice, less oil is getting to market, and the reduction in supply is raising prices at the pump for Americans,” the White House said in a fact sheet. “President Biden is committed to doing everything in his power to help American families who are paying more out of pocket as a result.”
Besides the “historic” release from the petroleum reserve, the White House says Biden is also focused on increasing domestic production of oil and is taking aim at “too many companies” that “aren’t doing their part and are choosing to make extraordinary profits.”
Biden will call on Congress to make companies pay fees on wells from leases that they haven’t used in years and on acres of public lands that they are “hoarding” without producing, the White House said.
Death toll climbs to 20 in strike on Mykolaiv administration building
Return to menuThe death toll has risen to 20 in Tuesday’s Russian missile strike on the regional government headquarters in the southern city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.
In a Facebook post Thursday, the agency said rescuers have removed 19 bodies from the scene and that one person died in intensive care. Dozens more were injured.
The attack, which unfolded around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, devastated the nine-story building, leaving a gaping hole in its middle section. Emergency services said rescuers have been working around-the-clock to search the rubble.
“The work continues,” the Facebook post said.
Included were photographs of first responders combing through the ruins of the facility with the help of heavy machinery. Rubble was piled in front of the now-windowless building, and inside, floors were collapsed, with twisted rebar jutting out.
David Stern contributed to this report.
Zelensky criticizes Belgium for continuing to import Russian diamonds
Return to menuUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called out Belgium for continuing to buy Russian diamonds while the fighting rages in Ukraine.
“Here we fight against tyranny, the tyranny which wants to divide Europe, which wants to divide everything that unites us today,” he said in an address to Belgium’s Parliament on Thursday, “But there are others for whom Russian diamonds, sold sometimes in Antwerp, are more important.”
“I think peace has much more value than diamonds,” he continued, "... than Russian boats in ports, than Russian oil and gas.”
The city of Antwerp is a major diamond hub. Russia last year exported $1.8 billion dollars worth of rough diamonds to the city, according to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.
European Union sanctions have banned the export of luxury goods, including diamonds, to Russia, but the import of diamonds continues. E.U. countries have thus far opposed closing ports to Russian ships.
In a response to Zelensky, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo did not address the diamond trade, but did promise additional support for Ukraine.
“As we speak, new aid from Belgium is on the way,” he said. “During the last NATO summit and European Council, you asked for additional military support. I can inform you that the Belgian army has ordered new weapons for Ukraine. And we will continue our support as long as needed, as long as your country is under assault.”
In Ukraine war, Russia builds on tactics it used in Syria, experts say
Return to menuThe stories from people fleeing Mariupol are harrowing: dwindling food supplies. No electricity or water. Russian tanks roaming the streets. Nights punctuated by shelling.
For Syrians, the accounts of life in the southeastern Ukrainian city, besieged by Russian forces, sound eerily familiar. Human rights groups, officials and observers have drawn comparisons to the brutal tactics Russia employed to turn the tide of the Syrian civil war in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The conflicts are not the same: In Ukraine, Russia launched a ground invasion and has sustained significant casualties, while in Syria, where Russia intervened in 2015, it mostly offered air support. But Russia continues to employ weapons and strategies honed on Syrian cities to deadly effect.
Ukrainian officials have warned that Mariupol is “becoming a second Aleppo.” Manolis Androulakis, Greece’s consul general in Mariupol, who became the last European Union diplomat to leave the city this month, said Mariupol will join Aleppo as “part of a list of cities that were completely destroyed by war.”
Oil prices slide as Biden eyes strategic reserves
Return to menuOil prices tumbled Thursday on reports that the Biden administration might tap the nation’s strategic reserves in an attempt to bring down gas prices.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, dropped 6.6 percent to $100.88 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 5.7 percent to $105 per barrel.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday night that the White House is expected to call for the release of 1 million barrels per day on an ongoing basis for several months from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stockpile of crude oil that the nation keeps at the ready in case of a disaster. The reserve holds roughly 568 million barrels of oil.
Oil prices have been volatile since Russia invaded Ukraine, surging above $130 per barrel in early March. Though prices have eased, they remain elevated and consumers have been feeling it at the pump. On Thursday, the U.S. average for a gallon of gasoline stood at $4.22, according to AAA. That’s 61 cents higher than a month ago and $1.41 more than a year ago.
Stocks, meanwhile, were little changed in premarket trading, with Dow and S&P 500 futures nearly flat and Nasdaq futures up 0.2 percent.
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