Ukraine Update…290 days into the Russian move on the Ukraine

Russia criticized the visit Thursday, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying there “were no real calls for peace.” Responding to the U.S. decision to provide Ukraine with the Patriot missile system, the most advanced air-defense weapon in the American arsenal and one of Ukraine’s top requests, Peskov claimed that weapons shipments were “prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people.”

“There is always an antidote,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in remarks Thursday, in reference to the Patriot missiles.

Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.

• Both Biden and Zelensky cast Ukraine’s fight as a broader one that was important for democracies around the world. “We understand in our bones that Ukraine’s fight is part of something much bigger,” Biden said. “The American people know if we stand by with such blatant attacks on democracy and liberty … the world would surely face worse consequences.”
• After nearly 10 months of war, but referring to the brutal invasion of Ukraine instead as “a special military operation,” Putin on Thursday finally called it a “war” for the first time, setting off an uproar among antiwar Russians who have been prosecuted for merely challenging the Kremlin-approved euphemism.
• The Patriot delivery comes as part of a new $1.85 billion security assistance package for Ukraine announced by Biden. It brings the total U.S. military assistance for Ukraine to $21.9 billion since the beginning of the Biden administration. Russia’s ambassador in Washington warned that the Patriot air defense systems in Ukraine could be targeted. According to a transcript of his comments released by the embassy, Anatoly Antonov questioned whether the system would be operated by U.S. or NATO specialists, and warning that “everyone understands perfectly well what fate the personnel, manning these complexes on the territory of Ukraine, can face.”
• The United States on Thursday announced new sanctions Thursday targeting 10 institutes and companies linked to Russia’s navy.
• At least 230 cultural sites have been damaged in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February, according to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Among the damaged sites are monuments, libraries and historic buildings, Krista Pikkat, Director of UNESCO’s Culture and Emergencies Entity, said in an interview. The tally represents “the tip of the iceberg,” she said.
• Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on Thursday dismissed “rumors” about recent military activity near the country’s border with Ukraine, as concerns grow in Kyiv that Moscow could launch a new offensive from Belarus, but added: “If you want peace, prepare for war.” While Lukashenko said Thursday that drills for the country’s recently created joint military task force with Russia were taking place at “a larger scale due to the current situation and threats,” he insisted there was “no other plan, no conspiracy theories,” according to Belarus’ state news agency Belta. On Monday, Putin made a rare visit to Belarus, furthering speculation over Russia’s next plans for the war in Ukraine.
• A group of House and Senate Republicans have objected to a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act conference report that would allow the United States to transfer the proceeds of forfeited Russian property to Ukraine, according to people involved with the negotiations told The Washington Post’s Jacqueline Alemany and John Hudson.

• North Korea has sold, and delivered, infantry rockets and missiles directly to Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, a private army controlled by a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin’s that is playing an increasingly critical role in the war in Ukraine, the Biden administration said Thursday.
• A former Russian deputy defense minister was injured by shelling in Donetsk, Russia’s Tass news agency reported Thursday. The agency cited an aide to Dmitry Rogozin, who also used to head Russia’s space agency and is now serving as a military adviser in two eastern provinces of Ukraine known collectively as Donbas, as saying that Rogozin and several others were wounded after the hotel he and other advisers were staying in was hit by Ukrainian shelling. The Washington Post is unable to verify the claim.
• The capital Kyiv is still seeing the worst power supply issues in Ukraine, the head of the local grid operator said overnight. Some residents are still completely without power due to the most recent Russian shelling while others have only a few hours’ supply per day, Serhiy Kovalenko wrote on Facebook, noting that 60% of transformers are out of service. While repair works are ongoing, he expressed concern that the situation could further deteriorate if remaining parts of the system are damaged.
• Russia launched attacks in 16 settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of southeastern Ukraine, the general staff of the country’s armed forces said in its daily update Thursday. According to its spokesman, Russia also launched six missile and 15 airstrikes over the past day, including on civilian “objects” in the Zaporizhzhia region. The Post is unable to verify the reports….

More…

The Washington Post does a piece on the volunteer’s that media-vac injuries Ukrainan soldiers….