As many as 15,000 Russian troops have been killed since the invasion of Ukraine began four weeks ago, according to NATO’s first estimate.
Russia has suffered 30,000 to 40,000 battlefield casualties, including 7,000 to 15,000 killed, a senior NATO military officer said in a briefing Wednesday from the alliance’s military headquarters in Belgium.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said Wednesday that the U.S. has determined Russian military forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.
The senior military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by NATO, said the estimated deaths are based on information from the Ukrainian government, indications from Russia and open-source information. The officer said the number of fatalities came from a calculation of three wounded soldiers for every soldier killed. Casualties include killed, wounded or missing in action as well as those taken prisoner.
Earlier this week, a senior Pentagon official estimated the Russian military had lost more than 10% of the combat force in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s military, staggered in the early days of the war by the brutal fury of Russia’s invasion, has gained footing and begun the arduous task of taking back territory overrun by Russia’s initial onslaught.
The Ukraine Defense Ministry claims its forces have driven occupying Russian troops out of Makariv – a small Kyiv suburb that’s crucial because it provides control of a highway to the west. The effort also blocked Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest and provided the Ukrainian military with a much-needed success story.
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An assessment released Wednesday by the British Defense Ministry described the battlefield across northern Ukraine as “largely static.” Russian forces are likely reorganizing before resuming large-scale offensive operations, the ministry said in a tweet.
President Joe Biden embarked Wednesday on a multi-day trip to Europe, where he’ll talk with allies about the ongoing response to Russia’s invasion, including military assistance for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said the president is working on long-term efforts to boost defenses in Eastern Europe and reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian energy.
Latest developments
►Dancers who have fled Ukraine – and Russia – because of the war have found a temporary home in Berlin’s top ballet company, State Ballet, which helps with practice space, housing and even shoes.
►Putin aide Anatoly Chubais resigned, left Russia because of the war and has no intention of returning, according to multiple media outlets. Chubais, a special envoy for ties with international organizations, is the highest-profile figure to step down since the war began, Reuters reports.
►Poland says it’s seeking to expel 45 Russian intelligence officers using diplomatic status as cover to stay in country. Tweeted Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński: “We are breaking up the agents of the Russian secret services in our country.”
►In a nightly address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 100,000 civilians remained in the port city of Mariupol, which has also come under naval attack after weeks of air and land strikes.
►The United Nations on Wednesday will now consider three resolutions on the worsening humanitarian situation in Ukraine after Russia decided to call for a vote on its Security Council resolution, which makes no mention of Russian aggression against its smaller neighbor.
Blinken: US has determined Russia has committed war crimes
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the United States has determined Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.
“Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the U.S. government assesses that members of Russia’s forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement.
He said the assessment is based on “a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources.”
Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion has unleashed “unrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across Ukraine.” He cited reports of indiscriminate attacks, including those deliberately targeting civilians, among other atrocities.
“Russia’s forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded,” Blinken said, pointing to the attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, among other incidents.
“As with any alleged crime, a court of law with jurisdiction over the crime is ultimately responsible for determining criminal guilt in specific cases,” Blinken said. “The U.S. government will continue to track reports of war crimes and will share information we gather with allies, partners and international institutions and organizations, as appropriate. We are committed to pursuing accountability using every tool available, including criminal prosecutions.”
– Deirdre Shesgreen
NATO leaders to call out China for not condemning Russia’s invasion
NATO leaders will pressure China to condemn Russia’s invasion and not provide military support to its ally, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.
“I expect leaders will call on China to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the U.N. Security Council,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference previewing Thursday’s emergency NATO meeting on Ukraine in Brussels, which President Joe Biden will attend.
Stoltenberg said Beijing has joined Moscow in questioning the right of independent nations to choose their own path. And he charged China with providing political support to Russia by “spreading blatant lies and disinformation” about the war.
“China has not been able to condemn the invasion,” he said.
Stoltenberg said China should do so now and “engage in diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful way to end this war as soon as possible.”
– Maureen Groppe
WNBA star Brittney Griner in ‘good condition’ in Russian custody
State Department spokesman Ned Price said U.S. Embassy officials in Russia were finally granted consular access to Brittney Griner and that the WNBA star was in “good condition.” Griner, who also plays professionally in Russia, has been in custody since last month after Russian officials accused her of trying to enter the country with vape cartridges containing hashish oil. A conviction could keep her in a Russian prison for 10 years. Griner has been ordered held in pre-trial detention until May 19.
NATO to add 4 battlegroups
President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders meeting Thursday in Brussels will likely agree to strengthen the alliance’s position on land, at sea and in the air, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.
Stoltenberg said NATO will deploy four new battlegroups, which usually involved more than 1,000 troops each, in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Added to existing forces in the Baltics and Poland, NATO will have eight multinational NATO battlegroups along the eastern flank from the Baltic to the Black Sea, he said.
“We face a new reality for our security,” Stoltenberg said. “So we must reset our deterrence and defense for the longer term.”
Growing number of Ukrainian refugees returning home: ‘Everything we have is there’
Amid the more than 3.5 million refugees who have left their homes in Ukraine for the safety of other countries because of the Russian invasion, a small but growing number are heading back.
Many plan to stay only briefly, to check on their homes or to collect clothing more suited for the coming spring weather. Others say they’re tired of living in fear and are confident the Ukrainian military will ultimately prevail, thanks in part to the weapons, supplies and intelligence being provided by the United States and its allies.
International aid workers said the number of eastbound returnees to Ukraine is increasing daily, most of them women and children because men of fighting age had to stay behind to defend the country.
“Everything we have is there,” said Karina Hoderan, an engineer who was heading home to Odesa with her family to pick up clothes and wasn’t sure whether they would go back to Moldova for refuge. “And we are too tired to be nervous.”
Trevor Hughes
Biden warns of ‘real threat’ of chemical warfare
President Joe Biden warned Wednesday of the threat of chemical warfare in Ukraine as he departed for a four-day trip to Europe for meetings with key U.S. allies.
“I think it’s a real threat,” Biden told reporters on the White House South Lawn.
Biden is heading to Brussels for a summit of NATO leaders and a meeting with the European Council as leaders seek to reaffirm their unity amid Russia’s ongoing assault on Ukraine. Biden is expected to coordinate with allies on military assistance for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia.
On Friday, Biden will travel to Warsaw, Poland, for a bilateral meeting with President Andrzej Duda. The two leaders are expected to discuss how allies are responding to the humanitarian crisis sparked by the war.
– Michael Collins
Ukraine says Russia seized relief workers in Mariupol convoy
Ukrainian leaders accused Russia of seizing 15 rescue workers and drivers from a humanitarian convoy of 11 buses that had been expected to evacuate residents.
“Employees of the state emergency service and bus drivers have been taken captive,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “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.”
He estimated 100,000 civilians remained in Mariupol, once home to more than 400,000 people, after weeks of shelling that have battered the city.
“They bombed us for the past 20 days,” said Viktoria Totsen, 39, who fled into Poland. “During the last five days, the planes were flying over us every five seconds and dropped bombs everywhere – on residential buildings, kindergartens, art schools, everywhere.”
Ukrainian agency: Russian forces destroyed 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.
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 the Chernobyl plant early 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.
Putin won’t rule out using nuclear weapons, spokesperson says
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.
Contributing: The Associated Press