Ukraine President Zelensky is looking for money for the countries economy….
The World Bank will chip in $200 Million for the Ukraine to rebuild it’s energy grid…..
The Ukraine work’s EU ties….
The Ukraine power grid has withstood Russian attacks …..
Several US Senator’s visit Kyiv and express support from the America for the Ukraine against Russia…
US Defense Sec turn’s a deaf ear to another request for F-16 Fighter jets by the Ukraine….
President Biden IS STRONGLY against such a move now….
Maybe after a ceasefire and peace frame work…
The Russian forces are on the defensive , wait for the Ukraine Spring Offensive….
It does appear that Russian (Wagner ) forces ARE making progress in overtaking Bakhmut…..
In a meeting with the I.M.F. and World Bank, the Ukrainian leader also urged the world to use seized Russian assets to help rebuild his war-damaged nation. Here is what we’re covering:
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Zelensky asks G7 finance officials to expand support for Ukraine’s economy.
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Ukraine investigates after a video appears to show the beheading of a prisoner of war.
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About 100 special forces troops from the West were in Ukraine in February, a leaked U.S. document says.
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Leaked document says Russia’s ally Serbia is sending arms to Ukraine.
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In a crowded commercial kitchen, a unique charity responds to the war effort.
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The U.S. and Britain target Russian oligarchs with new sanctions.
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Some Russian officials cancel Victory Day parades, reflecting anxiety over possible attacks.
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Ukrainian lawmakers held a joint meeting with the European Parliament in a show of unity….
The Power Grid story…
Ukraine’s ability to survive the war on its grid was made possible by a combination of new air defense systems provided by Western allies, prewar planning to reduce a longstanding dependence on Russian energy, and deft problem solving by engineers.
The country was also helped by a robust grid — a legacy of the Soviet infrastructure design — international donations of critical supplies and the dedication of utility workers who often worked around the clock and under great risk. Dozens of energy workers have been killed in missile strikes and mine explosions, and hundreds more injured, Ukrainian officials say.
The first wave of missiles left Ukrainian power workers stunned.
“Everyone had big eyes,” said Ihor, the chief engineer at a critical substation.
But after two to three weeks, he said, the pattern of Russian airstrikes became clear, and utility workers learned measures to protect some of the most vital equipment.
“The next attacks were scary, but we already knew what to do,” Ihor said. “We felt much more confident.”…
In Washington, officials continued to scramble to assess the diplomatic fallout and possible battlefield implications of the leak of Pentagon documents, including the apparent intelligence assessments on the war in Ukraine.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
- Ukraine and Spain denied allegations stemming from a leaked Pentagon report that NATO troops are in Ukraine fighting against Russia. “It is totally false that there are NATO troops in Ukraine,” Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said Wednesday during a news conference in Spain, where she met with her Ukrainian counterpart, CNN reported.
- A video circulating on Russian-language Telegram channels appears to show the beheading of a restrained prisoner wearing symbols associated with the Ukrainian military, prompting horrified responses. The video, which lasts 1 minute 40 seconds and could not be independently verified by The Washington Post, shows a masked Russian-speaking soldier using a knife to saw at the restrained man’s neck, eventually decapitating the prisoner.
- A bipartisan group of senators called for continued U.S. support for Ukraine at a news conference Wednesday in central Kyiv, rejecting calls by some Republican presidential hopefuls to rein in aid. “This cannot be a partisan split,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters. She traveled to Ukraine with Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).
- The World Bank and Ukraine have agreed on a $200 million loan to help rebuild the country’s energy sector. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a tweet Wednesday that the money would be used to restore Ukraine’s power system. A “military risk insurance project for foreign investors” was also being developed, he said.
- The U.S. ambassador to Hungary expressed concerns Wednesday over Hungary’s “eagerness” to uphold ties with Russia. The U.S. Treasury Department also took the rare step of imposing sanctions on an entity associated with an ally, blacklisting the Hungary-based International Investment Bank, dubbed Russia’s “spy bank.” “The United States is demonstrating that we will take action in response to Hungary’s choices,” Ambassador David Pressman said at a news conference in Budapest. Treasury also levied sanctions against some 100 other people and entities for their ties to Russia and the war.
- The Serbian government on Wednesday rejected claims that it had sent weapons to Ukraine and doubled down on its policy of noninvolvement in the war, after a leaked U.S. intelligence document, the authenticity of which could not be verified, appeared to indicate that the Balkan country provided lethal aid to Kyiv.
- Top Biden administration officials spoke publicly for the first time about the leak on Wednesday, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promising to “turn over every rock until we find the source of this.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. government has spoken with its allies in recent days “to reassure them about our own commitment to safeguarding intelligence and … to our security partnerships.”…
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- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin did not respond to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal’s direct request for Washington to send Ukraine F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, as well as longer-range missiles. Shmyhal made the request in remarks before a meeting between the two Wednesday at the Pentagon. The Biden administration has repeatedly rejected Ukraine’s requests for fighter jets. “We will keep investing in our own defense industrial base to further ramp up production,” Austin said in response.
- Russia has spent the past few weeks building up “extensive” defenses in the Zaporizhzhia regionbecause “it is convinced Ukraine is considering an assault toward the city of Melitopol,” Britain’s Defense Ministry said. The defenses in Ukraine’s southeast, which are probably manned by Russia’s Southern Grouping of Forces, “have the potential to be formidable obstacles, but their utility almost entirely depends on them being supported by sufficient artillery and personnel,” the ministry said.
- Austin spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov. The U.S. defense secretary said Ukraine is working toward its anticipated spring offensive and that its forces have “much of the capability that they need to continue to be successful.” Those remarks appeared to contradict one leaked document conveying U.S. doubts that the Ukrainian offensive would yield big gains.
- The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group claims his forces now control about 80 percent of the embattled city of Bakhmut. “The whole administrative center, factories, warehouses, the administration of the city” are under Wagner’s control, Yevgeniy Prigozhin said, according to Reuters. Ukraine’s military said that “violent fighting” continues in the city as Russia attempts to wrest “full control.”