Today at 12:20 a.m. EDT|Updated today at 4:49 a.m. EDT
Today at 12:20 a.m. EDT|Updated today at 4:49 a.m. EDT
President Biden for the first time said that Russia was carrying out a “genocide” in Ukraine, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky late Tuesday to call his remarks the “true words of a true leader.” Top U.S. officials have resisted using the term, even amid evidence of brutal torture and killings and growing accusations that Russia has committed war crimes against Ukrainians.
The results of an investigation by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe into alleged human rights violations by Russia in Ukraine are set to be publicly released Wednesday. Forty-five OSCE member states — including Germany, France, Britain and the United States — invoked the body’s “Moscow Mechanism” to investigate the allegations. The heads of state of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — four of Ukraine’s most vocal supporters within NATO — have traveled to Kyiv to meet Zelensky.
Satellite images captured in recent days by U.S. firm Maxar Technologies show Russian forces repositioning in Ukraine’s east, likely supplying more troops and military equipment in preparation for a fresh round of offensives in the region. A bird’s-eye view of several towns in Kharkiv and Luhansk, two provinces that sit near Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia, revealed Russian convoys with more than 200 vehicles traveling along the highway. Meanwhile, the United States is readying a dramatic expansion of its weapons assistance to Ukraine, U.S. officials told The Washington Post.
Here’s what to know
- Zelensky proposed swapping Ukrainians in Russian detention with Putin’s trusted Ukrainian ally, oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, who was recaptured by Ukraine’s internal security service after weeks in hiding.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday said that while the suffering in Ukraine was “a tragedy,” he had “no choice” but to start the war. He said the invasion — which he calls a “special military operation” — was going to plan, despite Russia’s failed efforts to take the capital, Kyiv, and reports of struggles with unskilled fighters and low morale.
- As the United States, Britain and Australia monitor unconfirmed reports that Russia may have used chemical weapons during its siege of Mariupol, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons notes that Russia and Ukraine are part of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits developing, acquiring or using chemical weapons. Heavy fighting has impeded investigations.
- The Post has lifted its paywall for readers in Russia and Ukraine. Telegram users can subscribe to our channel for updates.
UNDERSTANDING THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT
Putin defends war as possible use of chemical weapons is investigated
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called the war in Ukraine a “tragedy” but insisted the invasion will continue unabated, as the United States and its allies launched investigations into reports of a possible chemical attack ahead of an imminent Russian offensive in the country’s east.
Putin said there was no clear end to the conflict and “no choice” but to forge ahead with the invasion. Speaking during a visit to the Amur region in Russia’s far east with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, he also brushed off the impacts of punitive sanctions.
“We will act rhythmically, calmly, according to the plan that was originally proposed by the General Staff,” Putin said.
“What is happening in Ukraine is a tragedy, no doubt about that. But we had no choice. It was just a matter of time” before an attack on Russia, he added.
U.S. took risks by sharing intelligence in run-up to war, spy chief says
The U.S. intelligence community took more risks than usual in the run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by releasing information with the aim of countering Russian disinformation and rallying European support, according to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
Washington will continue to monitor whether the approach compromised its intelligence-gathering channels, Haines said during a Tuesday event hosted by the Washington-based Meridian International Center.
“We are cautious but continue to look to see whether or not we made the right calculation in doing that, because it’s a long-term thing to see whether or not you actually burn your sources and methods through disclosures,” she said.
U.S. officials repeatedly warned before the Feb. 24 invasion that Russian President Vladimir Putin was planning a military assault on neighboring Ukraine. The Biden administration closely tracked the Kremlin’s troop buildup along the border and cautioned that Moscow might manufacture pretexts for its attack.
Sharing these intelligence findings — many of which later materialized — helped convince European allies and lay the groundwork for sanctions against Russia, Haines said, adding that the intelligence community should present its assessments without becoming “a tool of policy.”
“We don’t have a dog in the fight. We are not looking to convince you of a particular outcome,” Haines said.
Chemical weapons watchdog says it is monitoring Ukraine war ‘closely’
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said its technical secretariat is “monitoring closely the situation in Ukraine” amid unconfirmed reports that Russia used chemical weapons in the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol.
The organization was developed to run a chemical weapons disarmament plan after the Chemical Weapons Convention took effect in 1997.
“The use of chemical weapons anywhere by anyone under any circumstances is reprehensible and wholly contrary to the legal norms established by the international community against such use,” the OPCW said in a statement. It noted that Ukraine and Russia are parties to the pact against making, acquiring or using chemical weapons.
Confirming the suspected use of chemical weapons in Ukraine will be difficult, U.S. officials and weapons experts told The Washington Post, because gathering evidence is cumbersome and dangerous in an active war zone. Mariupol has been subjected to particularly heavy fighting in recent days.
Ukrainian first lady says she hasn’t seen Zelensky in over a month
Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said she has not seen her husband for more than a month, according to a CNN email interview published on Tuesday. She and the couple’s children were prohibited from staying near the presidential office, where Zelensky works, due to safety concerns. “For more than a month we communicate only by phone,” Zelenska said in the interview.
No humanitarian corridors today, Ukrainian deputy prime minister says
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said there would be no humanitarian corridors on Wednesday for civilians seeking to flee war zones in southern and eastern Ukraine because Russian forces were blocking evacuation buses or violating cease-fire agreements.
Russia’s military not only disregards norms of international humanitarian law, but also cannot properly control its troops on the ground, she added. “All this creates such a level of danger on the routes that we are forced to refrain from opening humanitarian corridors,” she said.
Thousands have successfully left urban centers under Russian siege via the corridors.
Pentagon looks to vastly expand weapons for Ukraine
The Biden administration is poised to dramatically expand the scope of weapons it is providing Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday, with the Pentagon looking to transfer armored Humvees and a range of other sophisticated equipment.
The new aid package could be worth $750 million, these people said. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity because the transfer has not yet been finalized.
Preliminary plans circulating among government officials and lawmakers in Washington also included Mi-17 helicopters, howitzer cannons, coastal defense drones and protective suits to safeguard personnel in the event of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack, the officials said, though they cautioned that it was not immediately clear if all of those items would end up in the final aid package.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to comment. On Tuesday night, after this article was published, another U.S. defense official said the Russian-made helicopters would not be included.
European body to unveil results of probe into alleged Russian abuses
The results of an investigation by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe into alleged human rights violations by Russia in Ukraine are set to be released Wednesday.
The OSCE Permanent Council is set to convene in Vienna on Wednesday morning. OSCE member states received the report Tuesday afternoon and Ukraine received it last week, as it is the subject of the report, said Veronika Sperl, a spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the OSCE.
The investigation began after 45 OSCE member states on March 3 invoked the body’s “Moscow Mechanism” to send experts to Ukraine to investigate the Russian invasion. Since then, evidence of torture, beheadings and other brutal killings by Russian forces have come to light, in addition to a slew of Russian missile strikes, including one that killed dozens in a train station crowded with evacuees last week. Russia has denied culpability.
The Moscow Mechanism, named for a 1991 conference held in the Russian capital, allows member states to send independent experts on missions to another member state to resolve issues of “human rights and democracy,” according to the OSCE. The mechanism has been used nine times before, first in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992 and most recently in Belarus in 2020, when 17 member states invoked it.
Bosnia, Germany, Britain, France and the United States were among the member states that invoked the mechanism last month. Russia and Moscow-aligned Belarus are members of the body and were not among those that called for the investigation.
Polish and Baltic leaders head to Kyiv for meeting with Zelensky
The heads of state of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are headed to Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A spokesman for the Polish president shared photos on social media of the four leaders, apparently in a train carriage. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda wrote on Twitter that he was going to the Ukrainian capital “with a strong message of political support and military assistance.”
The four countries are some of Ukraine’s most vocal backers within NATO. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Zelensky during a surprise visit to Kyiv last week. A top-level European Union delegation and the Austrian chancellor also made stops that week.
Human rights and democracy eroding worldwide, U.S. finds
Respect for human rights and democratic norms eroded around the world in 2021, as repressive states increasingly detained opponents and struck out beyond their borders at those seen posing a threat, the Biden administration said on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken described what he called a continued “recession” in basic rights and the rule of law over the past year as he unveiled the U.S. government’s annual assessment of the global human rights situation.
“Governments are growing more brazen, reaching across borders to threaten and attack critics,” Blinken said, citing an alleged effort by Iran’s government to abduct an Iranian American journalist from New York; efforts by the Assad regime to threaten Syrians cooperating with German steps to try former regime officials; and Belarus’s diversion of a commercial flight to seize a journalist.
Blinken said the jailing of political opponents had become more common in 2021, with more than a million political prisoners detained in more than 65 countries.
Images show Russian troop buildup on both sides of Ukraine’s eastern front
Satellite images captured in recent days by U.S. firm Maxar Technologies show Russian forces repositioning in Ukraine’s east, likely supplying more troops and military equipment in preparation for a fresh round of offensives in the region.
A bird’s-eye view of several towns in Kharkiv and Luhansk, two provinces that sit near Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia, revealed Russian convoys with more than 200 vehicles traveling along the highway. The procession included tanks, armored personnel carriers, towed artillery and support equipment, according to Maxar.
Across the border, Maxar’s images also showed a buildup of Kremlin forces near Russian towns, with the deployments consisting of dozens of armored vehicles, troops with tents and support equipment. Some of these towns are close as five miles east of the Ukrainian border.
In addition to Ukraine’s eastern flank, the Kremlin’s forces are expected to pivot their firepower to cities in the south. Buildings in Mariupol could still be seen engulfed in smoke, as the besieged port city struggles to fend off Russian attacks. A large assortment of Russian vehicles and equipment were also seen parked in a resupply and maintenance area in a northern Crimean town, Maxar said. Annexed by Moscow in 2014, Crimea has been used as a launchpad for Russian attacks during the invasion.
Europe seizes yachts and properties in enforcing Russian sanctions
European authorities said they had seized luxury homes, yachts and helicopters suspected to belong to Russian oligarchs, local media reported on Tuesday.
The Dutch government said it had barred another six yachts from leaving the Netherlands on grounds they could be owned by Russian oligarchs. Dutch authorities said last week that they had banned 14 yachts from departing.
The French Finance Ministry said it had seized four yachts, six helicopters and 33 properties, including a chateau owned by Roman Abramovich, who is connected to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the owner of the English Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club.
Abramovich has said he would sell the soccer club. Final bids are being prepared, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
Zelensky proposes exchanging Putin’s friend for captured Ukrainians
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a Wednesday morning video offered to exchange Viktor Medvedchuk, a trusted Ukrainian ally and friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for Ukrainians that have been captured by Moscow.
Medvedchuk, who has said Putin is the godfather to his daughter, was charged with treason last year. Ukrainian officials say he escaped house arrest in February as the war broke out.
On Tuesday, he was taken into custody again by Ukraine’s internal security service, looking disheveled and wearing Ukrainian military camouflage. Zelensky slammed Medvedchuk for attempting to pass himself off as a Ukrainian soldier, calling it “especially cynical.”
“Even the former oligarch did not escape, not to mention much more ordinary criminals from the Russian boondocks,” Zelensky said. “We will get everyone.”
In the same video, Zelensky also addressed unconfirmed reports that Russian troops have used chemical weapons in Mariupol. The president said it was not yet possible “to draw 100 percent conclusions,” especially when the southern port city is still under siege.
The latest on key battlegrounds in Ukraine
Russian-held areas and troop movement
BELARUS
RUSSIA
POL.
Chernihiv
Separatist-
controlled
area
Kyiv
Lviv
Kharkiv
UKRAINE
Mariupol
Odessa
ROMANIA
200 MILES
Control areas as of April 12
Sources: Institute for the Study of War,
AEI’s Critical Threats Project, Post reporting
THE WASHINGTON POST
Russian-held areas
and troop movement
BELARUS
RUSSIA
Chernihiv
POLAND
Chernobyl
Kyiv
Sumy
Lviv
Kharkiv
UKRAINE
Separatist-
controlled
area
Odessa
Mariupol
Berdyansk
ROMANIA
Kherson
Crimea
Annexed by Russia
in 2014
100 MILES
Black Sea
Control areas as of April 12
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project, Post reporting
Russian-held areas
and troop movement
BELARUS
RUSSIA
Chernihiv
POLAND
Chernobyl
Kyiv
Sumy
Lviv
Kharkiv
Separatist-
controlled
area
UKRAINE
Mykolaiv
Mariupol
Berdyansk
Kherson
ROMANIA
Odessa
Kherson
Crimea
Annexed by Russia
in 2014
100 MILES
Control areas as of April 12
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project, Post reporting
Mariupol: Fierce fighting continues in this key port city in the country’s southeast, where officials say the civilian death toll tops 10,000. Western and Ukrainian intelligence agencies said they were working to confirm unverified reports that Russia may have used chemical weapons. The city’s deputy mayor said a Russian drone was responsible for a “chemical poisoning” but did not offer any further information.
Kharkiv Oblast: In this eastern region, which borders Russia to the north, Moscow has been amassing troops, military vehicles and equipment in preparation for its expected assault on the neighboring Donbas region. The miles-long Russian military convoy moving south from the border is now just 37 miles north of Izyum, a town believed to be a crucial staging ground for Russia’s attacks, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Luhansk Oblast: This region is part of Donbas and controlling it is now one of Russia’s central objectives, analysts say. Even as Moscow has repositioned troops elsewhere in Ukraine, it has continued to launch attacks here and in nearby Donetsk Oblast. However, Russian forces have failed to make significant progress here during recent assaults, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research group. The Ukrainian military claimed Tuesday to have destroyed several Russian tanks, armored vehicles and artillery systems in the area.
Land mines create a deadly legacy for Ukraine and possibly beyond
As the focus of Russia’s war in Ukraine shifts east the terrain is being littered with land mines, threatening to upend broad international efforts to regulate such weapons in that region and beyond, military analysts and human rights groups say.
Russian troops have scattered mines like breadcrumbs along their path of retreat from northern Ukraine, including variants capable of detecting seismic activity and being timed to explode. That many have been placed indiscriminately around populated areas is evidence, observers say, of Moscow’s intent to sow destruction and fear. And they worry other countries are taking note.
“This is going to legitimize the use of land mines, if militaries see that they’re effective,” said Ken Rutherford, a political science professor at James Madison University who is both an expert on such weapons and a survivor of a land mine blast in Somalia in 1993. “What we’re seeing now is the unleashing of moral restrictions … because these are professional armies, not ISIS.”