Russia’s Chernobyl seizure seen as nuclear risk ‘nightmare’

Here in the dirt of one of the world's most radioactive places, Russian soldiers dug trenches. Ukrainian officials worry they were, in effect, digging their own graves.  Thousands of tanks and troops rumbled into the forested Chernobyl exclusion zone in the earliest hours of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, churning

Russia launches fight for industrial heartland

After days of regrouping and reinforcing, the Russian military began a new and potentially climactic phase of the war in Ukraine by launching its long-feared, full-scale ground offensive to take control of the country’s industrial heartland, the Donbas, Ukrainian officials said. The stepped-up assaults began Monday along a broad front of

Russian missile kills 30 civilians at train station

Ukrainian leaders predicted more gruesome discoveries would be made in reclaimed cities and towns as Russian soldiers retreat to focus on eastern Ukraine, where officials said a Russian rocket attack on a packed train station used to evacuate civilians killed over 30 people Friday. Hours after warning that Ukraine’s forces already

Who’s a war criminal, and who gets to decide?

President Joe Biden on Wednesday flatly called Russia’s Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for the unfolding onslaught in Ukraine, where hospitals and maternity wards have been bombed. But declaring someone a war criminal is not as simple as just saying the words. There are set definitions and processes for determining

Russia-Ukraine war: Key things to know about the conflict

Russian forces are pounding Ukrainian cities and edging closer to the capital, Kyiv, in a relentless bombardment that keeps deepening the humanitarian crisis in this war, now in its third week. Still, a narrow diplomatic channel remains open, with a Ukrainian official saying Tuesday’s talks with the Russians were difficult, but

Zelenskyy vows to keep negotiating with Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he will continue negotiating with Russia and is waiting for a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for a meeting with Putin. But so far, his requests have gone unanswered by the Kremlin. Zelenskyy said Sunday during his nightly address to the nation

Russian airstrike hits base in western Ukraine, kills 9

A Russian airstrike on a military training base in western Ukraine killed at least nine people and wounded 57, a local official said Sunday. The assault brought the war closer to the border with Poland after a senior Russian diplomat warned that Moscow considered foreign shipments of military equipment to

UN council to meet on Russian claim of US labs in Ukraine

The U.N. Security Council scheduled a meeting Friday at Russia’s request to discuss what Moscow claims are “the military biological activities of the U.S. on the territory of Ukraine,” allegations vehemently denied by the Biden administration. “This is exactly the kind of false flag effort we have warned Russia might initiate

New Zealand passes Russia sanctions bill

New Zealand lawmakers have unanimously passed a bill to impose economic sanctions on Russia. Unlike many countries that had already imposed sanctions, New Zealand’s laws didn’t previously allow it to apply meaningful measures unless they were part of a broader United Nations effort. Because Russia has U.N. Security Council veto power,

Russia-Ukraine War: What to know on Russia’s war in Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its 12th day following what Ukrainian authorities described as increased shelling of encircled cities and another failed attempt to evacuate civilians from the besieged southern port of Mariupol. Russian and Ukrainian forces had agreed to an 11-hour cease-fire Sunday, but Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks quickly