Category Archives: Ukraine

Zelenskyy met Slovenia's President Nataa Pirc Musar in Kyiv where the two leaders honoured the memory of fallen Ukrainian soldiers by laying wreaths at the Remembrance Wall in the heart of Ukraines capital.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says hes working on a "comprehensive plan" for how Kyiv sees the war with Russia ending.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv alongside Slovenia's President Nataa Pirc Musar, he said, "We do not want to prolong this war."

"We must come to a just peace as soon as possible. We have talked about the situation on the battlefield, in particular in the Kharkiv region where Russia tried to start a large-scale offensive. The occupiers did not manage this. Our Ukrainian forces have stabilized the situation and stopped the offensive, which was difficult. We will continue to do the same to strip Russia of the illusion that it can achieve something with this war," he said.

The focus of Zelenskyy's meeting with Pirc Musar was to discuss preparations for a second international peace summit, following a two-day event earlier this month in Switzerland.

"I am very happy about the progress at the first peacekeeping conference in Switzerland. And we agreed that there is no politician in Europe who does not want peace. We all understand the risks. But Ukraine is the one that has to decide when and under what conditions it will negotiate. And here we are on your side," she said.

Zelenskyy hosted that summit to rally international support for Ukraine in its two-year war with Russia.

Leaders and senior officials from more than 90 countries attended and the majority agreed to a final communique that said Ukraine's territorial integrity must be respected in any peace settlement.

But not everyone there agreed with the wording of the statement and refused to sign. Some countries such as India and Saudi Arabia said the effectiveness of the summit itself was limited by Russia's absence.

There is currently no official direct negotiation mechanism between Zelenksyy and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, but Ukraine has repeatedly said Russia must withdraw all its forces from within its border, including from the Crimean Peninsula which it annexed in 2014, before serious peace talks can begin.

But Russian troops are making some territorial gains on the battlefield and Zelenskyy has often complained about the slow supply of arms and munitions from Western allies.

On Friday, Zelenksyy posted on X that a Russian strike on a residential apartment block in Dnipro had destroyed four floors and injured three people.

Local authorities said one person was killed in the strike and two have been declared missing. The regional governor said a seven-month-old child was among the injured after inhaling smoke from the strike.

Zelenskyy called on European Union leaders on Thursday to live up to their promises to provide military equipment to his country as the bloc pledged long-term support to Kyiv.

Speaking at an EU Council Summit in Brussels on Thursday, Zelenskyy said he would put forward a "detailed plan" to bring about an end to the war in months.

"All those who really want peace must work together to develop an action plan to address all the security aspects that have been violated by Russia," he told reporters in Kyiv on Friday.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is working on 'comprehensive plan' for peace in Ukraine - Euronews

Video has emerged of what may be the first M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) destroyed by Russia. The M270s, which can fire 227mm artillery rockets, as well as Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles, have been a bane to Moscows war efforts. Most recently, they were reportedly involved in a deadly ATACMS strike on Crimea earlier this week. The 69-second video, posted by the Russian The_Wrong_Side Telegram channel on Friday, showed a drone view of the M270 pulling out of a tree line then heading down a road. The drone followed the vehicle as it entered a building located in Shevchkove, a small village in Mikoliav Oblast about 40 miles north of the frontlines. Russian Forces seem to have successfully hit a Ukrainian M270/MARS II FARP(Forward Arming and Refuelling Point). The fires indicate possible fuel and missile reserves being stored there, as for once, we saw the MLRS drive into the facility.However the aftermath is again bad. pic.twitter.com/tzgKYCrXuW WarVehicleTracker (@WarVehicle) June 28, 2024 After cutting to a wider view, the video then showed what was claimed to be an Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile striking the building. A huge ball of flames erupted as a result. The building where the M270 was parked erupted in flames after a Russian missile strike Twitter screencap A superimposed arrow purportedly points to the burning M270, where nearby secondary explosions can be seen. A superimposed arrow claims to show the location of the M270 Twitter screencap The War Zone cannot independently verify the claim that the M270 was destroyed. However, the conflagration caused by the missile certainly seems powerful enough to have ruined whatever was inside the building, which appeared to have been a forward arming and refueling facility. Stored weapons and fuel would certainly add to the intensity of any explosion resulting from such a strike. The footage shows the result of another successful work of Russian intelligence officers, The_Wrong_Side bragged on Telegram Friday. For unknown reasons, the equipment did not carry out launches (probably a technical malfunction occurred), after which it was tracked to its home base. According to the already established tradition, the Iskander sent its greetings to Western equipment, completely destroying it, the escort vehicle, as well as at least 25 Ukrainian Armed Forces specialists working in the hangar, The_Wrong_Side claimed, which we also cannot verify. Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles are among Russias most valuable precision-guided standoff weapons. They are now being used for fast-reaction strikes for exactly these kinds of time-sensitive targets. Its really the only major precision strike munition Russia has capable of reliably hitting these kinds of high-value targets on very short notice as the Russian Air Forces has not achieved air superiority.We have seen repeated examples, for instance, of air defense systems found by Russian drones behind the front lines that are then struck by an Iskander-M. A Russian Telegram channel claims a building housing an M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) vehicle was destroyed by an Islander-M short-range ballistic missile like this one. Russian MoD Russian MOD There have yet to be any M270 losses recorded by the Oyrx open-source tracking group, however, they only tabulate things they can verify visually so it is possible that this was not the first. These vehicles have proven valuable on the battlefield because they can achieve devastating long-range effects. They are also highly mobile, enabling crews to fire, quickly move away to hide, and return to the battlefield rearmed. A large building like the one seen in the video would be an ideal location, close enough to the front to put GMLRS in range of targets but also away from Russian FPV drones and artillery, for such clandestine activities. The M270s feature a launch system mounted on a tracked chassis derived from the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Like its wheeled cousin the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, it can fire several different munitions. The aforementioned ATACMS can hit targets either 100 or 186 miles away depending on the variant. Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) rockets can strike up to about 50 miles away. It can also fired shorter-range unguided rockets. A single M270 can be loaded with two of the standard ammunition pods at a time, allowing it to fire up to 12 rockets or two ATACMS missiles before needing to be reloaded. Ukraine has received several of these weapons. U.S.-made M270s have been turned over to Ukraine by both the United Kingdom and Norway. The German government has provided five MARS II systems, a country-specific derivative of the M270. France has donated at least a half dozen LRU (Lance-Roquette Unitaire) MLRS, a French version of the M270. Russia claims to have destroyed an M270 MLRS like the one in this photo. Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin The loss of one M270 is a blow to Ukraine. It is likely that GMLRS rockets were stored there and even possibly some of Ukraines limited supply of ATACMS, as well. The video also points to another issue. That a drone could loiter unmolested for so long over such a key piece of equipment and especially a rearming/storage, shows the challenge that Ukraine faces when it comes to air defenses. The drone operating so far from the front lines would have required a relay or a large mast to keep in contact with its controller. Stil, Kyivs forces have so far been very fortunate when it comes to these donated MLRSs. According to information compiled by Oryx, there has only been one HIMARS destroyed and two HIMARS damaged. However, as we noted previously, that figure could be higher. You can read about repair efforts for one damaged HIMARS in our story here. Regardless, some equipment is bound to be lost in such a fierce conflict, even highly valued ones like M270s. Considering how big of a menace these vehicles have been to Russian forces, its impressive that so many have been able to survive for so long, especially as drone operations have expanded significantly beyond the front lines. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

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Ukraine May Have Lost An M270 MLRS For The First Time - Yahoo! Voices

They first appeared as a cloud of dust on the horizon. A few seconds later, the motorcycles carrying Russian soldiers sped into view, zigzagging across a field, kicking up dust, attempting a noisy, dangerous run at a Ukrainian trench. "They moved fast, they spread out and they swerved," said Lt. Mykhailo Hubitsky, describing the Russian motorcycle assault he witnessed. It's a type of attack that has been proliferating along the frontline this spring, adding a wild new element to the already violent, chaotic fighting. Russian soldiers riding motorcycles, dirt bikes, quadricycles and dune buggies now account for about half of all attacks in some areas of the front, soldiers and commanders say, as Moscow's forces attempt to use speed to cross exposed open spaces where its lumbering armoured vehicles are easy targets. These nonconventional vehicles have been turning up with such frequency that some Ukrainian trenches now overlook junk yards of abandoned, blown up off-road vehicles, videos from reconnaissance drones show. The new tactic is the latest Russian adaptation for a heavily mined, continually surveilled battlefield, as Moscow's forces work to achieve small tactical gains, often of just a few hundred yards. The Russians' farthest advance in the region is 15 miles from its starting point. "We are fighting a war over every metre," said Captain Yaroslav, an artillery commander with 80th air assault brigade. With reconnaissance drones ubiquitous in the skies over the Donbas, the armoured vehicles of both armies are easy targets. The faster-moving motorcycles and buggies are harder to hit with artillery and they can swerve to avoid mines that armoured vehicle operators might not see. The use of cheap, disposable dirt bikes and buggies also helps conserve Russian armoured vehicles. The drawback is that they provide no protection for Russian soldiers, who are exposed to a hail of machine gun fire as they approach the trenches. If they make it across a field, the riders cast aside their bikes, enter the Ukrainian trench and engage in close combat on foot. "How they find people willing to do this, I don't know," said Volodymyr, a Ukrainian sergeant. "Sometimes, none of them will make it, sometimes all of them." That hasn't deterred Russian commanders from continuing to employ the tactic. "All the tree lines," said Sapsan, a sergeant in the 47th Brigade, "are now full of these buggies and motorcycles."

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Fast and furious: Russia using bikes to stir chaos in Ukraine - The Times of India

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland will almost certainly sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine before July's NATO summit in Washington, the Polish prime minister said on Friday.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that before the NATO summit in Washington, which starts on July 9, talks will be held in Warsaw with the president of Ukraine.

"I must, together with the defence minister, determine how we can continue to help Ukraine, but we cannot weaken Poland's defence capabilities," Tusk told reporters.

"There is a 99% chance that we will sign this agreement with President Zelenskiy (before the summit)."

Tusk said that the agreement was practically "finished" and only a few details and wordings needed to be clarified.

The European Union and two of its member countries, Lithuania and Estonia, signed security agreements with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz; editing by Miral Fahmy)

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Poland very likely to sign security deal with Ukraine before NATO summit, says PM - Yahoo! Voices

First it was Frances president, Emmanuel Macron, who angered his NATO allies by suggesting that soon the West could be forced to send troops to Ukraine, portending a direct confrontation with Russian forces that the rest of the alliance has long rejected.

Then Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany took his own turn exposing new divisions. Trying to justify why Germany was withholding its most powerful missile, the Taurus, from Ukrainian hands, he hinted that Britain, France and the United States may secretly be helping Ukraine target similar weapons, a step he said Germany simply could not take. While neither Britain or France has commented officially they almost never discuss how their weapons are deployed Mr. Scholz was immediately accused by former officials of revealing war secrets.

Scholzs behavior has showed that as far as the security of Europe goes he is the wrong man in the wrong job at the wrong time, Ben Wallace, Britains former defense minister, told The Evening Standard, a London daily. Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative who once chaired a key defense committee in the House of Commons was widely quoted in the British press calling the statement a flagrant abuse of intelligence.

Coming in a week when President Vladimir V. Putin threatened nuclear escalation if NATO troops entered the conflict, the tensions among Western allies underscored the ways they are struggling to maintain unity at a moment of apparent stalemate in the war and of flagging support, particularly in Washington.

For NATO the challenge now is to find some combination of new weapons and financial support without prompting a direct confrontation with Mr. Putin, never knowing precisely where that line is. It is a particularly difficult dance for Mr. Scholz.

Germany has provided more arms and promised more aid to Ukraine than any nation bar the United States but Mr. Scholz has drawn the line at the Taurus, whose powers, he fears, could particularly provoke Mr. Putin.

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Now It's Germany's Turn to Frustrate Allies Over Ukraine - The New York Times

Russian grain producers recently boasted that they doubled their exports to the EU last year and are on course to reap another record harvest.

And Russia is using its prodigious exports to drive down international grain prices, which in turn has pushed prices in the EU to their lowest levels since 2020. That has made it less profitable for Polish farmers to sell their own grain. Instead of blaming Moscow, however, they have turned their anger on Kyiv.

In any case, an embargo on Russian goods just like the existing Ukrainian one, which was imposed by the previous Polish government but maintained when Tusk took over in December would do nothing to ease their situation because the amounts entering Poland are too small to cause market problems, according to Olipra, from Credit Agricole.

"This is a very short-term solution that puts out part of the fire, but let's not forget what the source of this fire is," he said, referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which exposed the extreme vulnerability of Poland's agricultural sector to foreign competition due to decades of political neglect and a lack of structural reforms.

Instead of letting the protesters direct their anger at Ukraine, Tusk and his government would be better off pursuing more pragmatic solutions, such as improving infrastructure and securing better contracts for farmers, according to Przemysaw Baejewski, an agricultural commodities broker at BST Brokers.

We are treating the situation by sticking on more Band-Aids, Baejewski wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

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Putin the only winner as Poland's Tusk flounders over Ukraine border fight - POLITICO Europe

KYIV Even as he promises international partners that Ukraine will handle the fighting if given needed weapons and other support, President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top military commanders have failed so far to come up with a clear plan to conscript or recruit many thousands of new soldiers critically needed to defend against Russias continuing attacks.

Zelenskys inability to forge a political consensus on a mobilization strategy despite months of warnings about a severe shortage of qualified troops on the front has fueled deep divisions in Ukraines parliament and more broadly in Ukrainian society. It has left the military relying on a hodgepodge of recruiting efforts and sown panic among fighting-age men, some of whom have gone into hiding, worried that they will be drafted into an ill-equipped army and sent to certain death given that aid for Ukraine remains stalled in Washington.

The quandary over how to fill the ranks has confronted Zelensky with perhaps the greatest challenge to his leadership since the start of the February 2022 invasion. The lack of a clear mobilization strategy or even agreement on how many more troops Ukraine needs factored into Zelenskys dismissal of his top general in February, but the new commander in chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, so far has brought no new clarity.

Syrsky has been tasked with auditing the existing armed forces to find more combat-eligible troops, after Zelenskys office recently announced that of the 1 million people who have been mobilized, only about 300,000 have fought at the front lines. But nearly a month after his promotion, no one in the military leadership or the presidential administration has explained where those 700,000 are or what they have been doing.

Ukrainian lawmakers say the lack of a unified message from the president and the military has added confusion over next steps.

I dont know why Zelensky or his team still try to convince society that everything is always fine, said Solomiia Bobrovska, a lawmaker from Holos, a liberal opposition party. Its not especially with the army.

Ukraines dwindling number of battle-ready troops is now a strategic crisis that was at least partially to blame for its recent retreat from the eastern city of Avdiivka and surrounding villages, where Ukrainian forces were far outnumbered.

Oleksiy Bezhevets, an adviser to the Defense Ministry on recruitment, said civilians of fighting age must accept that theres no time for you left to sit home.

Its quite possible Russians will move much closer quite soon if theres nobody to stop them, Bezhevets said. If, in addition to the lack of ammunition, weapons, shells and so on, weve got a lack of personnel, its a tragedy, he added.

But after two years of all-out war, the sense of public urgency that spurred new troops to the battlefield and fueled Ukraines early successes has faded. Many soldiers are wounded or exhausted.

For all this time, men between the ages of 18 and 60 have been banned from leaving the country, and men 27 and older have been eligible to be drafted, with some exceptions. Civilians between 18 and 27 can sign up on their own. Parliament has now spent months heatedly debating a bill that would change the mobilization process and widen the scope of the draft, in part by lowering the eligibility age to 25.

More than 4,000 amendments have been made to the mobilization bill, and some lawmakers see the measure as an attempt by Zelensky to pass off responsibility to parliament for inevitably unpopular decisions.

Its time to start an adult conversation with society and not to be afraid of it, Bobrovska said. Its not 2022, when emotions took over.

Zelensky has long tried to control public messaging about the state of the war to preserve public morale. He publicly announced a death toll for Ukrainian troops for the first time last weekend, saying that 31,000 have been killed since February 2022 a number that could not be independently confirmed.

Zelensky is also facing mounting pessimism at home and abroad about Ukraines chances of holding off the Russian onslaught without more help from the United States. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has refused to take up legislation that includes some $60 billion in aid for Ukraine.

Its time for serious talks with society serious and honest talks and to explain what we have to do without any artificial bravery, said Volodymyr Aryev, a lawmaker from the opposition European Solidarity party.

Bobrovska is backing proposed changes to the bill that would ensure the demobilization of troops who have already served lengthy stints in front-line positions. As it stands, she said, the only way to be back is injured or killed.

War is math, she added. We have to count our resources.

Aryev voted against an earlier draft of the mobilization bill that he deemed too punitive. He opposes measures like suspending drivers licenses and seizing bank assets of citizens who do not register for the draft. In January, fearing such measures, account holders rushed to withdraw their money, taking out more than $700 million in a single month the most withdrawn since February 2022.

The priority, Aryev said, should be to guarantee to people who will be mobilized for military service that they will not be sent to the front line without trainings and without proper equipment. Its really scaring people and creates a lack of trust [in] the government.

Those fears are driving some draft-eligible men to take evasive steps.

One 31-year-old man, whose parents are living under Russian occupation in eastern Ukraine, said he is hiding in an apartment in Kyiv, fearful that he will be drafted and sent to the front unprepared and ill-equipped. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concerns for his safety.

In December, while visiting the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, soldiers stopped him on the street and handed him a draft notice. He left without visiting the recruitment office there, hoping his case would disappear into a disorganized bureaucratic system.

But a month later, police in Kyiv stopped him for a random check. When they searched his name in their database, he saw the word WANTED pop up in big red letters. Officials in Vinnytsia had registered his failure to appear.

He was ordered to appear at a recruitment office the next morning, but had a panic attack and did not go. He has no military experience. You cannot imagine a person who is further from the army or military stuff, he said. It just doesnt really make sense to me to hunt me like that.

In November, the Defense Ministry partnered with Lobby X, a recruiting platform that posts job openings in the military, ranging from front-line roles to rear-end logistics or IT.

People first of all want to control their future as much as possible and want to have clarity about what they will do in the army, said Vladyslav Greziev, co-founder of Lobby X. While applications have soared for less risky posts, the challenge is to fill the combat positions, Greziev said.

The 31-year-old in hiding said he considered applying for a noncombat role but fears that once enrolled, he could be transferred to combat duty. For now, he plans to stay inside indefinitely until a lawyer can help resolve his case. Its still better than going there and dying in a week, which is my maximum, I think, he said.

Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a member of parliament from the Holos party, said lawmakers are seeking an appropriate motivation mechanism to encourage enlistment, including bonuses for destroying Russian equipment and new financial benefits for veterans.

Its a hard discussion because previously we mobilized people who have this feeling of duty, Yurchyshyn said. Now we must motivate our people to serve in the army.

Bezhevets, the adviser to the Defense Ministry, said, The country has a future up to the moment where there are people who are ready to fight for it and to die for it.

I dont like to die for it its better to kill for it, he added. But despite the existential threat to Ukraine, many civilians, he said, are just dust in the wind.

Kostiantyn Khudov and Serhiy Morgunov in Kyiv contributed to this report.

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Ukraines Zelensky struggles to draft more troops as Russia advances - The Washington Post

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska was invited to attend President Biden’s State of the Union address but is unable to come, according to the White House.

Zelenska was invited by the White House to sit with first lady Jill Biden on Thursday during Biden’s address to Congress, but she declined.

The effort to have her present comes as the president has been pushing lawmakers to pass more aid to Ukraine for its war effort, a push he is expected to make during his speech because the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion into the region recently passed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington in December to call for more aid and to urge unity in Congress against Russian aggression.

The White House had also invited Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, but she was also unable to come, according to the White House.

Biden met Navalnaya and her daughter, Dasha, in San Francisco last month shortly after Navalny died in a Russian prison on Feb. 16.

The first lady will sit at the address with Kate Cox, who sued for the right to terminate a nonviable pregnancy in Texas and later left the state to receive abortion care.

Also in attendance for the address will be the parents of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who were invited by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

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Ukraine first lady declines State of the Union invitation - The Hill

Ukraine stepped up attacks behind Russian lines on Wednesday with the apparent killing of a Russian election official in a car bomb and a drone assault on a metals plant.

Strikes also rocked the Ukrainian port city of Odesa during a visit by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was holding talks in the city with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Both Russia and Ukraine have increased their aerial attacks as Moscow's troops advance on the frontlines and Kyiv faces a shortage of manpower and weapons.

"We heard the sound of sirens and explosions that took place near us. We did not have time to get to a shelter. It is a very intense experience," Mitsotakis said through a translator in Odesa.

Zelensky said the strike had left "dead and wounded", but he did not have figures.

"You can see who we are facing. They don't care where they strike," he he told the joint press conference.

The apparent hit comes just days after 12 people, including five children, were killed when a Russian drone hit an apartment block in the Black Sea city, one of the deadliest attacks on civilians for weeks.

- Car bomb -

Authorities in the Russian-occupied city of Berdyansk in southern Ukraine said a local election official had been killed in a car bombing it blamed on Kyiv.

"A homemade explosive device was planted under the vehicle of a member of the precinct election commission," the Investigative Committee said in a statement.

"The victim died from her injuries," it added, publishing a video of a blown-out small beige car parked on a dirt track.

The attack came with early voting already underway across occupied Ukraine for this month's Russian presidential election.

The Moscow-installed head of the Zaporizhzhia region Yevgeny Balitsky blamed Ukrainian authorities for the attack and said they were trying to "intimidate" residents ahead of the ballot.

A number of Russian-installed officials have been targeted since Moscow launched its full-scale military operation in Ukraine two years ago.

Russia also said Ukraine hit a fuel tank at a metals plant in the Kursk region in an early morning drone strike.

"A drone attacked a fuel and lubricants warehouse," at the Mikhailovsky Mining and Processing Plant in the city of Zheleznogorsk, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border with Ukraine, Kursk governor Roman Starovoyt said.

Videos posted on Russian social media showed thick grey smoke billowing as a fire raged inside a cylindrical fuel storage tank.

- Fortifications -

Ukrainian forces have launched a wave of drone attacks at Russian energy facilities in recent months, trying to target the country's vital energy and gas sector that it says fuels the invasion.

Meanwhile, Russian-installed officials said a Ukrainian artillery strike on Kreminna, a town in Ukraine's Lugansk region, killed two people.

Five more were killed when a bus drove over a mine in Kirovsk, also in Lugansk, the Moscow-appointed head of the region said.

Lugansk is one of the four Ukrainian regions -- along with Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia -- that Russia claimed to annex in 2022.

The region has been at war since 2014 when Russian-backed separatists tried to secede following a pro-EU revolution in Kyiv.

On the frontlines, the Ukrainian army said Wednesday it had built an "extensive system" of fortifications near the town of Adviivka -- captured last month by Russia -- in a bid to stop further Russian advances.

Hold-ups to Western aid, mainly a crucial $60-billion package from the United States, have left Ukraine's troops in a vulnerable position, forced to ration ammunition and unable to mount large-scale offensives.

- 'Active combat zone' -

Russian President Vladimir Putin also held talks with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, in Sochi to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The facility, Europe's largest nuclear energy site, was seized by Russian troops in the first days of the war.

Speaking to AFP ahead of the meeting, Grossi rejected Russian suggestions that the plant could be put back online.

"That is not imminent," he told AFP in response to suggestions by the Russian operator that it could be switched back on.

"First of all, this is an active combat zone, and this cannot be forgotten. Secondly, this plant has been in shutdown for a prolonged period of time," he added.

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Ukraine hits behind frontlines as Odesa blasts rock Greek PM visit - Yahoo! Voices

WASHINGTON (AP) Senators have come out with a carefully negotiated $118 billion compromise that pairs tens of billions of dollars in wartime aid for Ukraine with new border laws aimed at shrinking the historic number of people who have come to the U.S. border with Mexico to seek asylum.

The legislation faced immediate opposition from many Republicans in both chambers, and House GOP leaders said it would not even receive a vote. But bipartisan negotiators are laboring to sell the package as part of a last-ditch effort to approve money for Ukraines defense against Russia, emphasizing that Congress has the best chance in years to make changes to U.S. immigration law.

The bill would also send military aid to Israel, funding for allies in the Asia-Pacific and humanitarian aid for refugees fleeing Gaza.

While President Joe Biden has worked toward the deal with Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate, it faces a difficult, if not impossible, path to passage. Echoing opposition from their House counterparts, Republican senators have said the border policy doesn't go far enough and questioned additional aid to Ukraine. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called it an easy NO.

The package has also drawn strong opposition from Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee.

Some Democrats are also expected to oppose the deal. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said he opposes changes that it would make to the asylum process. This border deal misses the mark, Padilla said in a statement.

Here's what to know about the package:

Billions for U.S. Allies and National Security

The package contains $60 billion in aid for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel. It would invest in domestic defense manufacturing, bolster humanitarian assistance and manage the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition, $10 billion would aid humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and other places.

The package would also send $20 billion to immigration enforcement, providing money to hire thousands more officers to evaluate asylum claims, add hundreds of more Border Patrol agents and help stop the flow of fentanyl.

Toughened Asylum Process

The bill would overhaul the asylum system with tougher standards and faster enforcement.

Asylum offers protection to people fleeing persecution for race, religion, political affiliation or membership in a discriminated group. It is part of international law and helps the U.S. protect human rights, but the system has become overwhelmed in recent years with historic numbers of people seeking asylum at the border with Mexico.

Under the proposal, migrants would have to show during initial screenings that they have a reasonable possibility of being granted asylum. Migrants would also be barred from making an asylum claim if they are found to have a criminal history, resettled in another country or could have found safety if they had resettled in their home country.

Migrants who cross the border illegally between a port of entry would be detained and receive a screening within 10 to 15 days.

Migrants who pass the new screening would then receive a work permit, be placed in a supervision program and have their asylum case decided within 90 days. And migrants who seek asylum in between ports of entry would be put into detention while they await the initial screening for an asylum claim. The proposal calls for a large growth in detention capacity.

The proposal also calls for a large expansion of a Biden administration program that tracks families who arrive at the border while they await the screenings for their asylum claim. The program was developed as an alternative to detention for families.

Immigration advocates have raised concerns about the asylum changes, saying the current standard is deliberately low because migrants are often fleeing desperate conditions, dont have legal representation and are still shaken by their journeys.

Border Enforcement

Under the proposal, migrants would not be able to apply for asylum at all if illegal border crossings reach certain numbers.

The policy is similar to one first used by President Donald Trump. Known as Title 42, it justified the quick expulsion of migrants from the country in the name of stopping the spread of COVID-19.

The bill proposes a similar expulsion authority if the number of migrant encounters tallied by Customs and Border Protection reaches 4,000 a day over a five-day average across the Southern border. Once the number of encounters reaches 5,000, expulsions would automatically take effect. For context, border encounters topped 10,000 on some days during December, which was the highest month on record for illegal crossings.

Under the proposal, migrants could still apply at ports of entry. And once the average of illegal crossings dropped by 75%, the administration would have two weeks to end the use of the emergency authority.

Supporters of Title 42's use say it was a necessary tool that allowed border officials to expel migrants quickly and freed them up to patrol the territory they were supposed to protect. But critics have questioned how effective Title 42 really was. They say it's hard to get an accurate picture because migrants ejected under Title 42 would try repeatedly to cross the border. Critics also say it empowered cartels that preyed on the buildup of migrants south of the border.

If migrants facing expulsion raise concerns with border patrol officers that they could be persecuted if returned specifically to Mexico, they could still be allowed to apply for asylum.

Limits on Presidential Immigration Authority

The legislation would place limits on how presidential administrations can use parole to allow migrants into the country at the border. It would eliminate parole as it is used when migrants cross the border illegally or show up at ports of entry, and instead place them into the new system for evaluating asylum claims.

The Biden administration would still be able to schedule asylum screenings through an app. Also, the administration's authority to allow people into the country when they are fleeing unrest or war would be preserved. The authority, known as humanitarian parole, had been a sticking point in the negotiations.

Aid for Migrants, Cities, States

While progressive and Hispanic Democrats have raised concerns that the package will harm migrants seeking asylum, the legislation offers some measures aimed at helping migrants already in the U.S. and the cities and states where they've gone. It would send $1.4 billion to local programs like shelters that have seen large influxes of migrants and speed work permits for migrants awaiting an asylum claim.

The legislation would also authorize sanctions and anti-money laundering tools against criminal enterprises that traffic fentanyl into the U.S. And it would provide 50,000 visas for employment and family-based immigration each year for the next five years.

However, the bill does not contain broad immigration reforms or deportation protections for unauthorized immigrants that were foundational to previous Senate deals.

Pathway for Afghan Allies

The legislation would also have a pathway to residency for Afghans who worked alongside U.S. soldiers in Americas longest war. Nearly 76,000 Afghans who worked with American soldiers since 2001 as translators, interpreters and partners arrived in the U.S. on military planes after American troops were removed from Afghanistan in August 2021.

The provision would eventually enable qualified Afghans to apply for U.S. citizenship and adjust the status of eligible evacuees to provide them with lawful permanent resident status after vetting and screening procedures.

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What's in the bipartisan Senate package to aid Ukraine, secure U.S. border - Yahoo News