Ukrainian forces have the weapons, the training and the “right plans” ahead of an expected counteroffensive, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, even as his UK counterpart warned that the conflict could drag on.
Washington announced a $1.2 billion package to further bolster Ukraine’s air defenses and supply ammunition as President Vladimir Putin reinforced his war aims at a parade marking Russia’s World War II Victory Day holiday on Tuesday.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hosted European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who said the European Union is doing everything it can “to erode Putin’s war machine and his revenues.”
Key Developments
- Blinken Says Ukraine Has What It Needs to Take Back Territory
- Russian Twitter Drive Has Zuma Daughter at Center, Study Claims
- Putin Vows Victory in Ukraine at Scaled-Back Red Square Parade
- Stop Hyping Up Ukraine’s Spring Offensive: Andreas Kluth
(All times CET)
Putin Requests Parliament Approval to Leave Arms Pact (11:35 a.m.)
The Russian president asked parliament to approve a formal withdrawal from a European conventional arms pact that Moscow largely abandoned in 2007.
The 1990 treaty, negotiated in the final years of the Cold War, placed limits on NATO and Warsaw Pact conventional forces to prevent either alliance from waging a full-scale offensive that could have triggered a nuclear response.
Ukraine Crop Shipments Slow to a Crawl Before Talks (10:43 a.m.)
Ukraine’s crop shipments are being throttled, even before the latest negotiations over extending an export deal that’s provided farmers with a vital outlet after Russia’s invasion.
Vessel inspections have been repeatedly disrupted, leaving grain flows through the Black Sea lagging behind previous months. That’s adding to restrictions on cargoes bound for eastern Europe, which is hampering sales ahead of the next harvest.
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Suffers Staff Shortage (10:27 a.m.)
Ukraine’s nuclear power operator Energoatom said Russia was planning to relocate more than 3,000 people from Enerhodar, a town near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
The plant, which is currently occupied by Russia, is suffering from a personnel shortage, which Energoatom is preparing to remedy in the expecation that Ukrainian forces will retake the area.
NATO Chief Expects Boost to Spending Objectives (9:21 a.m.)
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, said he expects leaders to aim for higher defense spending when they hold a summit in Vilnius in July.
He told a meeting of NATO military chiefs in Brussels that he expects they will agree to establish the alliance’s target of 2% of gross domestic product as “a minimum we have to invest in our defense.” He added that he expects leaders to endorse “a new NATO defense production action plan.”
Russian Twitter Drive Has Zuma Daughter at Center, Study Shows (8 a.m.)
A daughter of South Africa’s disgraced former President Jacob Zuma has been placed at the center of a Russian-backed Twitter campaign to bolster support for the attack on Ukraine, according to the Centre for Information Resilience.
A study backed by the London-based nonprofit group alleges that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla was at the forefront of Russia’s drive to sway public opinion to its side in South Africa and beyond. Posts bearing her name were reused in other regions in the #IStandWithRussia and #IStandWithPutin Twitter campaigns, according to the CIR.
South Africa has been criticized by the US and European nations — among its biggest trading partners — for refusing to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine by backing United Nations’ resolutions and hosting exercises with the Russian navy over the one-year mark of the invasion.
Ukraine Has What It Needs for Counteroffensive, Blinken Says (9 p.m.)
Thanks to Western support, Ukraine has what it needs to continue retaking territory seized by Russian forces since the invasion, Blinken said after meeting UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in Washington.
At the same time, Cleverly warned that the world — including state and non-state actors — was watching the West’s resolve and “strategic endurance” in sticking with Ukraine as the war continues to grind on, and that the West needed to send a strong message of continuing support.
“This is not a film, there are no certainties when it comes to conflict,” Cleverly said. “We need to continue to support them, irrespective of whether this forthcoming offensive generates huge gains on the battlefield.”
US, Allies Dismantle Russian ‘Snake’ Malware Spying Operation (5 p.m.)
The US and allied countries have disrupted a wide-ranging Russian hacking operation that spied on its adversaries over some 20 years, the Justice Department announced.
Law enforcement agencies penetrated a global network of computers infected with malicious software that the US said Russia’s federal intelligence service used to spy on computers in at least 50 countries, including governments belonging to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
Read More: US, Allies Dismantle Russian ‘Snake’ Malware Spying Operation
EU’s Von Der Leyen Backs ‘Dedicated’ Tribunal for Russian Crimes (4:59 p.m.)
The commission chief endorsed the creation of a “dedicated tribunal for the crime of aggression” to address Russian actions in Ukraine and said the support of the international community is essential.
“Justice means accountability for Russian war crimes,” von der Leyen said in a speech during a visit to Kyiv. She didn’t specify the exact format of the tribunal or where it should be located. The EU is already working to set up an international center to help collect and analyze evidence related to such crimes.
Pentagon Package Includes Air Defense, Ammunition (3:11 p.m.)
The US Defense Department’s $1.2 billion package to Kyiv includes air-defense systems, munitions, equipment to integrate western systems, satellite-imagery services and ammunition, it said in a statement.
The package “underscores the continued U.S. commitment to meeting Ukraine’s most urgent requirements by committing critical near-term capabilities,” the statement said.