The U.S. Embassy in Belarus urged Americans to leave the country “immediately,” citing spillover risks from the war in Ukraine.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Mitsotakis “unreservedly condemned” Russian war crimes in Ukraine, saying they “must be punished under international law.” After their Monday news conference, Zelensky met Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, before attending a dinner with top officials from nine Balkan nations, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel.
The region around Russia’s capital was targeted by drones overnight for the fifth consecutive day. Regional Gov. Andrey Vorobyov said Russian air defense forces intercepted two drones near Moscow on Tuesday. One occurred west of Moscow and the other hit a 25-story apartment building near Krasnogorsk, Moscow’s satellite city, where the blast “shattered windows” and “damaged cars” but caused no casualties, Vorobyov said. Moscow closed three airports early Tuesday, but they resumed operations within a few hours, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported.
The U.S. Embassy in Belarus said Americans should avoid traveling to Belarus because of a buildup of Russian military forces there, the “arbitrary enforcement of local laws,” and the risk of detention and civil unrest. The embassy noted that Lithuania closed two border crossings last week, potentially limiting ways out of Belarus, and that Lithuania, Poland and Latvia were considering closing more border crossings.
Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade claimed to have entered Robotyne, a strategic village in the Zaporizhzhia region that Ukrainian and Russian troops have been fighting over for weeks as part of Ukraine’s counteroffensive. One of the key goals of the counteroffensive is for Ukrainian forces to recapture Melitopol, a southeastern city that serves as a vital Russian transit hub. Taking Robotyne could bring them one step closer — though the 56 miles that separate them will be challenging for Ukrainian forces to breach. As The Washington Post recently reported, the U.S. intelligence community has assessed that Ukraine’s counteroffensive will fail to reach Melitopol, and that its forces will instead remain several miles outside of the city.
The British Defense Ministry said there is evidence that some drone strikes against Russian military targets “are being launched from inside Russian territory.” The ministry in its daily intelligence assessment Tuesday cited a Saturday attack against a Russian air base more than 400 miles from Ukraine’s border. Russian authorities said the attack, which “highly likely destroyed” a Russian bomber aircraft, was carried out by a so-called “helicopter-style” drone. The British defense ministry said those drones “are unlikely to have the range to reach [the air base] from outside Russia,” suggesting it may have been launched inside Russia.
The United States is ready to authorize the third-party transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine when “certain criteria” are met, including English-language training and logistics, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said at a Monday briefing. She said the United States would also be willing to participate in the training of Ukrainian pilots, but only “if capacity is reached in Europe.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense systems detected two drones over the Bryansk region of western Russia overnight. The ministry said they jammed the drones, which crashed in the region, and blamed Ukraine for the attack. The Post could not independently verify the claims.
The Russian Defense Ministry said two other drones crashed in the Black Sea northwest of Crimea Monday night after being jammed by electronic systems. Moscow accused of Kyiv of being behind the drone attacks. The Post could not verify the claims.
Russian shelling damaged four multistory buildings in the city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Anatolii Kurtiev said on Telegram. No casualties were reported.
Zelensky said he had an “open, honest and fruitful meeting” with his Serbian counterpart at a summit of Balkan nations and Ukraine. Zelensky said in a tweet Tuesday that he and Aleksandar Vucic spoke about “respect for the U.N. Charter and the inviolability of borders,” about their countries’ “shared future in the common European home” and about “developing our relations, that is in our mutual interest.” Their meeting is significant because Serbia has deep cultural and economic ties with Russia, and Vucic has resisted calls from Western countries to impose sanctions on Moscow. However, a leaked U.S. intelligence document suggested a few months ago that Serbia had provided or committed to provide lethal aid to Ukraine — a claim Belgrade denied.
The U.S. State Department has greenlighted a sale of 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters valued at up to $12 billion to Poland, the Pentagon said on Monday. Poland, which has sought to shore up its borders after Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, also requested 1,844 Hellfire missiles and 508 Stinger missiles, the Pentagon said.
The company that oversees the Domino’s Pizza brand in Russia said it will file for bankruptcy there, signaling an end to its operations nearly 18 months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, The Post reports. The U.S.-based Domino’s Pizza has said it cut off financial support for the Russian business in December 2022.
Ukraine evacuates civilians as Russia tries to retake liberated city: For weeks, Russia has ramped up its attacks on Kupyansk, trying to win back a city it lost last year. The near-constant shelling is killing between five and 10 civilians in the city and surrounding area each week, the regional governor said. Although officials here are reluctant to acknowledge the looming risk of a second Russian occupation, they say they can no longer guarantee the safety of people who choose to stay, Siobhán O’Grady, Heidi Levine and Serhii Korolchuk report.
Those who have agreed to clear out are being evacuated by a coalition of volunteer groups. Some drove an ambulance through Kupyansk last week to reach Oleksandr and Natalya Mikolovich in their fourth-floor apartment on the city’s east side. On their way, they passed a home engulfed in flames after a Russian artillery strike. Many of those who were still in Kupyansk when the evacuation order was announced were already vulnerable. They include many elderly people who survived Russian occupation last year and are reluctant to uproot their lives now.
John Hudson and Alex Horton contributed to this report.
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