Russian missile strike in shopping mall called ‘terrorist attack,’ ‘war crime’: Live Ukraine updates
Russia intensified its campaign of terror Monday with a missile strike that killed or injured scores of people in a crowded shopping mall in the central Ukraine city of Kremenchuk, an act President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called “one of the most daring terrorist attacks in European history.”
At least 15 people were dead and more than 40 were wounded, said regional governor Dmytro Lunin. Zelenskyy said the number of possible victims out of the more than 1,000 civilians at the mall was “unimaginable,” adding that the target presented “no threat to the Russian army” and had “no strategic value.” Another missile hit a local sports arena, an Ukrainian official said.
Group of Seven leaders meeting in Germany issued a statement condemning the attack as “a war crime” and adding, “Russian President (Vladimir) Putin and those responsible will be held to account.”
Soldiers and emergency crews worked into the night removing debris and looking for survivors amid clouds of dark smoke still emanating from the ruins several hours after the attack.
Russia launched 60 missiles into Ukraine over the weekend — a barrage that killed civilians and destroyed and damaged apartment buildings — in what could be a protest of the G-7 meetings or the arrival of U.S.-rocket artillery for Ukrainian troops, a senior Defense Department official said Monday. The weekend’s missile launches are part of an uptick in such attacks in recent weeks, said the official, who’s not authorized to speak publicly about intelligence assessments.
Latest updates:
►The newly arrived High Mobility Rocket System sent by the U.S., which doubles the artillery range for Ukrainian forces to 40 miles, has been used in its first attacks to good effect against the Russians in eastern Ukraine, the senior Defense Department official also said.
►White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Ukraine will receive urgently needed air-defense systems to target incoming missiles. (Read more below)
►NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said member countries will agree to deliver further military support to Ukraine when they convene in Madrid starting Tuesday. He added that the alliance wants to increase the number of its rapid-reaction forces from the current 40,000 troops to 300,000.
►In his first public foreign trip since ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to two former Soviet republics where he figures to get a friendly reception — Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — beginning Tuesday.
►There are signs of growing resistance to Russian occupation in southern Ukraine with the assassination of local officials installed by Russia, the Pentagon official said.
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New Ukraine aid package to include advanced air defense systems
A new aid package for Ukraine will include new air-defense systems, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Monday. Sullivan said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the G-7 about Sunday’s missile attacks on Kyiv and asked for additional air-defense capabilities that could shoot down missiles.
“We do intend to finalize a package that includes advanced medium- and long-range air- defense capabilities for the Ukrainians, along with some other items that are of urgent need, including ammunition for artillery and counter-battery radar systems,” Sullivan said, according to a pool report. “What we’re trying to do with this point is tailor our military assistance to the particular, immediate needs of Ukrainians on the battlefield.”
Sullivan said Zelenskyy made clear to officials that a lengthy, grinding conflict is not in the interest of the Ukrainian people. Zelenskyy, Sullivan said, wants to see his military and Western allies who are supporting it use the next few months to get Ukraine “in as good a position as they can possibly be in.”
$325 million yacht seized from Russian oligarch docks in San Diego
A $325 million superyacht seized from a sanctioned oligarch docked Monday in San Diego, destined for a change of hands after auction.
The 348-foot-long Amadea flew an American flag as it sailed past the retired aircraft carrier USS Midway and under the Coronado Bridge. Earlier this month, U.S. authorities won a legal battle in Fiji to take the luxury ship, linked to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov.
The vessel “will remain in the custody of the U.S. government, pending its anticipated forfeiture and sale,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.
G-7 leaders may cap prices for Russian oil
The Group of Seven nations are moving closer to capping the price that countries can pay for Russian oil, a senior U.S. official said. The official said leaders aim to further restrict President Vladimir Putin’s cash flow, bring down prices at the gas pump and provide greater stability to energy markets.
Leaders were said to be zeroing in on the way Russian oil is shipped. The U.S. official said G-7 leaders are planning to direct their governments to take urgent steps to design a price cap mechanism for countries that do not participate in the economic alliance.
No additional details on a potential price cap and how it would work were immediately available. Read more here.
At the G-7 meeting his country is hosting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russia’s invasion broke the rules of international cooperation and “in relations with Russia, there can be no way back to the time before the Russian attack on Ukraine.”
– Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY
Brittney Griner trial to begin Friday in Russia
The criminal trial for WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner, held in a Russia jail for four months since her arrest at a Moscow airport, will begin Friday, a court in the suburban Moscow city of Khimki ruled Monday.
Griner, who appeared at her preliminary hearing in handcuffs, could face 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of transporting drugs.
Griner, 31, has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17, when she was stopped at Sheremetyevo International Airport for allegedly carrying vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her carry-on luggage. A week later Russia sent troops into Ukraine and already strained U.S.-Russian relations grew worse.
Last month, the State Department classified Griner as wrongfully detained and shifted oversight of her case to its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs — effectively the U.S. government’s chief negotiator.
Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted.
Lysychansk is latest Ukraine city to be blasted by Russian artillery
Russian missiles and artillery pounded the eastern city of Lysychansk on Monday, bringing “catastrophic destruction” to the last city in the Luhansk region not controlled by the invading forces.
Gov. Serhiy Haidai said at least five high-rise buildings were destroyed, one of them holding 10 apartments.
“The Russians do not stop destroying housing, industrial and administrative facilities,” he said on Russians moving into homes left vacant by Ukrainians who fled carnage
About 7,500 civilians remain in Sievierodonetsk, two days after the last sections of the city fell to Russian troops, Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said. Russian soldiers have begun moving into houses left vacant by Ukrainians who fled the city, he said.
“They put their soldiers and officers into the houses,” Striuk said. “They act like the city belongs to them.”
Last week, Gov. Serhiy Haidai announced that Ukrainian troops would conduct a “tactical withdrawal” from the charred ruins of a city that just months ago was home to over 100,000 people.
Sen. Risch visits Kiev, marvels at Ukraine resiliency
Sen. James Risch of Idaho, the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Monday after a covert visit to Ukraine that the U.S. ally needs more heavy weapons to fend off Russia.
The Ukrainians are still fighting hard, but they could use more missiles, advanced rocket systems and artillery, Risch said in a phone interview as he completed his trip. Risch said he spent about 90 minutes Sunday talking with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the country’s needs.
“On the battlefield, they’ve got to match what the Russians have. They know that. Everyone knows that,” Risch said. “But I think ours was much more of a discussion about how we move forward. We had a very constructive conversation.”
Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian city of Kyiv on Sunday just before Risch arrived. The Ukrainian government said the attack killed one person and wounded six others.
“Yet by Sunday afternoon, people were out, going into the parks, restaurants were full up, full traffic on the street,” Risch said. “I’ve been to war zones before, and I’ve never seen reconstruction going on while the war was still going on. The bridges that had been taken out, virtually all of them have already been repaired.”
Russian hackers claim responsibility for Lithuania cyber attacks
Lithuania was hit with cyber attacks Monday, days after Moscow promised to retaliate over transit sanctions that cut off some goods from Russia’s Kaliningrad region.
Lithuania’s Defense Ministry said an “intensive” attack was targeting “the secure national data network, other Lithuanian public authorities and private companies.”
Killnet, a Russia-affiliated hacker group, says it launched the attacks in retaliation for the restrictions imposed by Lithuania, which cited European Union sanctions. Lithuania restricted the transit of sanctioned steel and ferrous metals to Kaliningrad, cut off from Russia but sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. Russia has accused Lithuania and the EU of violating international agreements.
Russia defaults on foreign debt for 1st time since 1917 Bolshevik Revolution
Russia missed payments on two foreign currency bonds Sunday evening,
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