Ukraine confronts labor shortage as need for soldiers drains workforce
Were it not for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, Tatyiana Ustymenko wouldn’t have this job. The coal mine in Pavlohrad allowed women to work underground for the first time in its history only after Russia invaded in February 2022. It was desperate to fill the many vacancies left by men who joined the military.
The mine is not the only workplace experiencing a critical labor shortage. Online job portals in Ukraine say they have never advertised so many openings. Millions of Ukrainians moved abroad to escape Moscow’s brutal bombardment, and of those who stayed, hundreds of thousands of men have traded their jobs for military service.
Now, with Kyiv ramping up its mobilization efforts, businesses expect that workers will be even harder to find, further straining Ukraine’s crippled economy. With more openings than jobseekers, many businesses have had to raise wages to compete — or they risk shutting down.
Read the full story here.
Were it not for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, Tatyiana Ustymenko wouldn’t have this job. The coal mine in Pavlohrad allowed women to work underground for the first time in its history only after Russia invaded in February 2022. It was desperate to fill the many vacancies left by men who joined the military.
The mine is not the only workplace experiencing a critical labor shortage. Online job portals in Ukraine say they have never advertised so many openings. Millions of Ukrainians moved abroad to escape Moscow’s brutal bombardment, and of those who stayed, hundreds of thousands of men have traded their jobs for military service.
Now, with Kyiv ramping up its mobilization efforts, businesses expect that workers will be even harder to find, further straining Ukraine’s crippled economy. With more openings than jobseekers, many businesses have had to raise wages to compete — or they risk shutting down.
Read the full story here.
How one Chinese machine tool maker is helping Russia’s war against Ukraine
When NATO this month accused China of being a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the bloc wasn’t referring to Chinese tanks, or ammunition, or troops.
The statement instead pointed to Chinese transfers of “dual use” equipment, like sophisticated machine tools, that have been used to make Russian weapons. China’s exports of those machine tools more than doubled last year, according to trade data collated by the United Nations.
One of the companies that has benefited from Russia’s hunger for these goods is a midsize laser machine tool company called Shandong Oree Laser Technology Co. — one of dozens of Chinese companies that the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned last month.
Read the full story here.
When NATO this month accused China of being a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the bloc wasn’t referring to Chinese tanks, or ammunition, or troops.
The statement instead pointed to Chinese transfers of “dual use” equipment, like sophisticated machine tools, that have been used to make Russian weapons. China’s exports of those machine tools more than doubled last year, according to trade data collated by the United Nations.
One of the companies that has benefited from Russia’s hunger for these goods is a midsize laser machine tool company called Shandong Oree Laser Technology Co. — one of dozens of Chinese companies that the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned last month.
Read the full story here.
F-16 fighter jets arrive in Ukraine but may not tip advantage against Russia
Long-awaited F-16 fighter jets are set to be flying in Ukraine within weeks, but Ukrainian and Western officials now caution that the aircraft, once championed by Kyiv as a game changer, are unlikely to make an immediate impact on the battlefield, where Russia is slowly advancing.
There are simply too few of the planes and too many Russian air defenses that can shoot them down. That means the first F-16s will likely serve to boost Ukraine’s air defenses — to shoot down aerial targets such as missiles, drones and aircraft — rather than strike Russia’s invading ground forces and other military assets near the front.
Officials have said that the planes, at least initially, are unlikely to fly too close to the front-line fighting, meaning it is unclear they will even be able to deter attacking enemy aircraft from crossing into Ukraine from Russian airspace.
Read the full story here.
Long-awaited F-16 fighter jets are set to be flying in Ukraine within weeks, but Ukrainian and Western officials now caution that the aircraft, once championed by Kyiv as a game changer, are unlikely to make an immediate impact on the battlefield, where Russia is slowly advancing.
There are simply too few of the planes and too many Russian air defenses that can shoot them down. That means the first F-16s will likely serve to boost Ukraine’s air defenses — to shoot down aerial targets such as missiles, drones and aircraft — rather than strike Russia’s invading ground forces and other military assets near the front.
Officials have said that the planes, at least initially, are unlikely to fly too close to the front-line fighting, meaning it is unclear they will even be able to deter attacking enemy aircraft from crossing into Ukraine from Russian airspace.
Read the full story here.
For Ukrainian diver, 10 meters from water, 1,500 miles from father at war
When the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee brought five athletes and one president to the Main Press Center last Friday, it was the wisp of a guy on the right end of the dais, born on Christmas Day 2005, who ushered the mind all the way to the reality and the heart all the way to the woodshed. For a long while of the hour, he barely spoke.
One might have wondered if this diver, Oleksii Sereda, would speak at all as he sat quietly while words rang from older compatriots such as tennis star Elina Svitolina, that exemplary spokeswoman for the 36 million Ukrainians, or Olga Kharlan, the fencer disqualified from the 2023 world championships because she refused to shake the hand of the Russian opponent she had defeated.
Read the full story here.
When the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee brought five athletes and one president to the Main Press Center last Friday, it was the wisp of a guy on the right end of the dais, born on Christmas Day 2005, who ushered the mind all the way to the reality and the heart all the way to the woodshed. For a long while of the hour, he barely spoke.
One might have wondered if this diver, Oleksii Sereda, would speak at all as he sat quietly while words rang from older compatriots such as tennis star Elina Svitolina, that exemplary spokeswoman for the 36 million Ukrainians, or Olga Kharlan, the fencer disqualified from the 2023 world championships because she refused to shake the hand of the Russian opponent she had defeated.
Read the full story here.
Have babies for Russia: Putin presses women to embrace patriotism over feminism
Vladimir Putin, who has long cultivated an aura of machismo as Russia’s strongman leader, is enlisting women to grow Russia’s population through childbirth and to rebuild his nation as a great power steeped in traditional family values — a campaign that is eroding equal rights and protections, human rights advocates and Russian feminists say.
Russian officials, echoing their leader, are telling women to start young — at 18.
As Putin seeks to restore Russia’s status as a superpower, his revanchist policies are rolling back women’s rights, Russian feminists say, with idealized roles fitted to the imperial era that predated communism. Women are being told to forgo education and careers to prioritize child-rearing, even as the war in Ukraine drains men from the workforce, creating critical labor shortages
Read the full story here.
Vladimir Putin, who has long cultivated an aura of machismo as Russia’s strongman leader, is enlisting women to grow Russia’s population through childbirth and to rebuild his nation as a great power steeped in traditional family values — a campaign that is eroding equal rights and protections, human rights advocates and Russian feminists say.
Russian officials, echoing their leader, are telling women to start young — at 18.
As Putin seeks to restore Russia’s status as a superpower, his revanchist policies are rolling back women’s rights, Russian feminists say, with idealized roles fitted to the imperial era that predated communism. Women are being told to forgo education and careers to prioritize child-rearing, even as the war in Ukraine drains men from the workforce, creating critical labor shortages
Read the full story here.
Breaking news: Evan Gershkovich, others to be freed in U.S.-Russia prisoner swap, Turkish presidency says
In the largest prisoner exchange since the height of the Cold War, officials of the United States, Russia, Germany and other countries met on an airfield tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday and were swapping at least two dozen people, the Turkish presidency said — capping months of painstaking diplomacy involving negotiations at the highest levels of multiple governments.
Those to be released included American journalist Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal, who was accused of espionage without any known evidence, and Paul Whelan, a former Marine jailed for more than five years after an espionage conviction the United States called baseless, as well as several Russian dissidents who demanded freedom and democracy or criticized the war in Ukraine, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post Opinions contributor.
Read more here.
In the largest prisoner exchange since the height of the Cold War, officials of the United States, Russia, Germany and other countries met on an airfield tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday and were swapping at least two dozen people, the Turkish presidency said — capping months of painstaking diplomacy involving negotiations at the highest levels of multiple governments.
Those to be released included American journalist Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal, who was accused of espionage without any known evidence, and Paul Whelan, a former Marine jailed for more than five years after an espionage conviction the United States called baseless, as well as several Russian dissidents who demanded freedom and democracy or criticized the war in Ukraine, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post Opinions contributor.
Read more here.
A list of people freed in prisoner swap deal with Russia
It’s the largest international prisoner exchange since the Cold War. Through this complicated deal, journalists, a former U.S. Marine and political activists were freed by Russia in exchange for the release of a convicted Russian assassin imprisoned in Germany and several Russian intelligence operatives and hackers held in the United States and Europe.
Here is a complete list of who was released as well as the Americans still being held in Russia.
Read the full story here.
It’s the largest international prisoner exchange since the Cold War. Through this complicated deal, journalists, a former U.S. Marine and political activists were freed by Russia in exchange for the release of a convicted Russian assassin imprisoned in Germany and several Russian intelligence operatives and hackers held in the United States and Europe.
Here is a complete list of who was released as well as the Americans still being held in Russia.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine watches warily as prisoner swap proves Moscow and West can negotiate
Ukrainian officials had no direct part in Thursday’s monumental prisoner exchange between Russia and the West. But as news of the swap spread, some wondered what the deal negotiated with Ukraine’s invading tormentor could mean for their country.
Top officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, did not comment on the trade. But the size, complexity and importance of the swap did not go unnoticed — a difficult and secret diplomatic process that involved officials in nine countries.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov squashed any speculation that the prisoner deal could lead to negotiations over ending the war in Ukraine. But there has long been anxiety in Kyiv that supporters, especially the United States, might begin secret talks with Moscow. Ukrainian officials insisted on Friday that they would hold President Biden to his oft-repeated promise: “Nothing about Ukraine, without Ukraine.”
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian officials had no direct part in Thursday’s monumental prisoner exchange between Russia and the West. But as news of the swap spread, some wondered what the deal negotiated with Ukraine’s invading tormentor could mean for their country.
Top officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, did not comment on the trade. But the size, complexity and importance of the swap did not go unnoticed — a difficult and secret diplomatic process that involved officials in nine countries.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov squashed any speculation that the prisoner deal could lead to negotiations over ending the war in Ukraine. But there has long been anxiety in Kyiv that supporters, especially the United States, might begin secret talks with Moscow. Ukrainian officials insisted on Friday that they would hold President Biden to his oft-repeated promise: “Nothing about Ukraine, without Ukraine.”
Read the full story here.
Kremlin hails return of spies but says swap won’t end fight over Ukraine
As journalist Evan Gershkovich and other Americans released in a historic prisoner exchange arrived in Texas for medical treatment, and freed members of the Russian opposition reunited joyfully in Cologne, Germany, the Kremlin on Friday voiced triumph at bringing home elite spies and an operative convicted of murder.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also swiftly squashed any suggestion that the swap — the most complex since the Cold War — marked any thawing of relations that could open the way for peace talks in the war against Ukraine. His remarks suggested that releasing prisoners was a low common denominator of mutual interests.
“If we are talking about Ukraine and more complex international problems, this is a completely different matter,” Peskov said, asked by The Post if the exchange was a sign that Russia would be ready to compromise and end the invasion of its neighbor.
Read the full story here.
As journalist Evan Gershkovich and other Americans released in a historic prisoner exchange arrived in Texas for medical treatment, and freed members of the Russian opposition reunited joyfully in Cologne, Germany, the Kremlin on Friday voiced triumph at bringing home elite spies and an operative convicted of murder.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also swiftly squashed any suggestion that the swap — the most complex since the Cold War — marked any thawing of relations that could open the way for peace talks in the war against Ukraine. His remarks suggested that releasing prisoners was a low common denominator of mutual interests.
“If we are talking about Ukraine and more complex international problems, this is a completely different matter,” Peskov said, asked by The Post if the exchange was a sign that Russia would be ready to compromise and end the invasion of its neighbor.
Read the full story here.
First F-16 fighter jets have arrived in Ukraine, Zelensky confirms
Ukraine has received and is already using its first batch of F-16 fighter jets, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday. Their arrival provides the country with a much-needed morale boost in its grinding war against Russia, though experts say they are unlikely to have a major impact on the battlefield.
“F-16s are in Ukraine. We made it happen,” Zelensky said in comments posted in a video on Telegram and on the official presidential website. “I am proud of all our guys who master with high quality these planes and have already started using them for our state.”
Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands have pledged to supply Ukraine with the American-made F-16s. Zelensky did not provide further details about how many planes had been delivered, which nations had supplied them or how they were being utilized.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine has received and is already using its first batch of F-16 fighter jets, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday. Their arrival provides the country with a much-needed morale boost in its grinding war against Russia, though experts say they are unlikely to have a major impact on the battlefield.
“F-16s are in Ukraine. We made it happen,” Zelensky said in comments posted in a video on Telegram and on the official presidential website. “I am proud of all our guys who master with high quality these planes and have already started using them for our state.”
Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands have pledged to supply Ukraine with the American-made F-16s. Zelensky did not provide further details about how many planes had been delivered, which nations had supplied them or how they were being utilized.
Read the full story here.
Mali cuts ties with Ukraine, claiming Kyiv’s involvement in rebel attacks
KYIV — Mali has announced that it has cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of involvement in attacks on Malian soldiers in the West African country in late July.
The Ukrainian government said no evidence was provided to support the allegation.
But the announcement came late Sunday after Andriy Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency the GUR, commented on fierce battles in northern Mali between Tuareg rebels and Malian and Russian paramilitary troops on Ukrainian government-backed TV.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Mali has announced that it has cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of involvement in attacks on Malian soldiers in the West African country in late July.
The Ukrainian government said no evidence was provided to support the allegation.
But the announcement came late Sunday after Andriy Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency the GUR, commented on fierce battles in northern Mali between Tuareg rebels and Malian and Russian paramilitary troops on Ukrainian government-backed TV.
Read the full story here.
Putin calls cross-border attack in Kursk region a ‘provocation’
Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had crossed the border into the Kursk region of western Russia and carried out an attack, describing the operation as a large-scale “provocation.”
“The Kyiv regime has launched another major provocation,” Putin told members of the Russian government at a meeting, claiming that Ukraine was “firing indiscriminately” using various types of weapons, including rockets, “at civilian buildings, residential houses, ambulances.”
Putin’s statement followed a Russian Defense Ministry announcement late Tuesday night that up to “300 Ukrainian militants” launched a cross-border attack on Tuesday morning and had entered Russian territory along with “11 tanks and more than 200 armored vehicles.”
Kursk borders Ukraine’s Sumy region. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Russian forces had repelled the attack.
Read the full story here.
Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had crossed the border into the Kursk region of western Russia and carried out an attack, describing the operation as a large-scale “provocation.”
“The Kyiv regime has launched another major provocation,” Putin told members of the Russian government at a meeting, claiming that Ukraine was “firing indiscriminately” using various types of weapons, including rockets, “at civilian buildings, residential houses, ambulances.”
Putin’s statement followed a Russian Defense Ministry announcement late Tuesday night that up to “300 Ukrainian militants” launched a cross-border attack on Tuesday morning and had entered Russian territory along with “11 tanks and more than 200 armored vehicles.”
Kursk borders Ukraine’s Sumy region. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Russian forces had repelled the attack.
Read the full story here.
Battles persist in Russia’s Kursk region; Ukraine said to occupy villages
In what appears to be Ukraine’s largest incursion into Russia more than two years after Russian forces invaded the country, fighting continued for a third day in the Kursk region.
Russian military bloggers claimed Ukrainian forces had occupied several border villages and part of the town of Sudzha.
The blogger reports could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian officials for days have declined to comment on the unusual operation.
Previous Ukrainian offensives into Russia were led by anti-Putin volunteer militias not formally affiliated with Ukraine’s Armed Forces. However, this assault appears to involve regular Ukrainian brigades, according to Russian officials, who claimed that some 1,000 troops with armored vehicles and tanks crossed the border on Tuesday from Ukraine’s Sunny region.
Read the full story here.
In what appears to be Ukraine’s largest incursion into Russia more than two years after Russian forces invaded the country, fighting continued for a third day in the Kursk region.
Russian military bloggers claimed Ukrainian forces had occupied several border villages and part of the town of Sudzha.
The blogger reports could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian officials for days have declined to comment on the unusual operation.
Previous Ukrainian offensives into Russia were led by anti-Putin volunteer militias not formally affiliated with Ukraine’s Armed Forces. However, this assault appears to involve regular Ukrainian brigades, according to Russian officials, who claimed that some 1,000 troops with armored vehicles and tanks crossed the border on Tuesday from Ukraine’s Sunny region.
Read the full story here.
The rescue worker and the opera star: Love and fear in wartime Ukraine
As Russia pummels Kharkiv with drones, missiles and glide bombs, Oleksii Skorlupin and his wife are each working to keep their city alive — in their own, very different ways.
He is a rescue worker who digs civilians out from rubble after Russian attacks. His wife, Yulia Antonova, is the lead singer of the Kharkiv Opera, performing for locals on a basement stage.
Under constant threat of airstrikes, the couple are raising their two young children in the vulnerable northeastern city, far from their hometowns and while separated from their parents and other relatives who are living under Russian occupation in Crimea and the southeastern city of Melitopol.
As Ukraine braces for international pressure to negotiate with Russia, the experience of people like Skorlupin and Antonova defies Russian President Vladimir Putin’s narrative that the land he aims to conquer belongs to Moscow.
Read the full story here.
As Russia pummels Kharkiv with drones, missiles and glide bombs, Oleksii Skorlupin and his wife are each working to keep their city alive — in their own, very different ways.
He is a rescue worker who digs civilians out from rubble after Russian attacks. His wife, Yulia Antonova, is the lead singer of the Kharkiv Opera, performing for locals on a basement stage.
Under constant threat of airstrikes, the couple are raising their two young children in the vulnerable northeastern city, far from their hometowns and while separated from their parents and other relatives who are living under Russian occupation in Crimea and the southeastern city of Melitopol.
As Ukraine braces for international pressure to negotiate with Russia, the experience of people like Skorlupin and Antonova defies Russian President Vladimir Putin’s narrative that the land he aims to conquer belongs to Moscow.
Read the full story here.
Russians evacuated from Kursk, as Putin grapples with Ukrainian incursion
Nearly a week into a stunning Ukrainian incursion into western Russia, the acting governor of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, told President Vladimir Putin and other security officials Monday the situation is “complicated,” with Kyiv’s forces having advanced 7½ miles into the country and now in control of more than two dozen villages.
“As of today, the enemy is in control of 28 communities, having advanced 12 kilometers into the Kursk region on a 40-kilometer-wide front,” Smirnov said, speaking via video conference. “For us, the problem is that there is no clear front line, no understanding of where the (Ukrainian) combat units are. It is very important to know where the enemy is and at what time.”
Putin, who convened the operational meeting with top security officials Monday, demanded that the military eject Ukrainian forces from Kursk and insisted that Russia would prevail.
Read the full story here.
Nearly a week into a stunning Ukrainian incursion into western Russia, the acting governor of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, told President Vladimir Putin and other security officials Monday the situation is “complicated,” with Kyiv’s forces having advanced 7½ miles into the country and now in control of more than two dozen villages.
“As of today, the enemy is in control of 28 communities, having advanced 12 kilometers into the Kursk region on a 40-kilometer-wide front,” Smirnov said, speaking via video conference. “For us, the problem is that there is no clear front line, no understanding of where the (Ukrainian) combat units are. It is very important to know where the enemy is and at what time.”
Putin, who convened the operational meeting with top security officials Monday, demanded that the military eject Ukrainian forces from Kursk and insisted that Russia would prevail.
Read the full story here.
Washington Post
Ukraine says captured Russian soldiers could be part of prisoner exchange
President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top military commander claimed more gains in advance in Kursk.
Ukraine says captured Russian soldiers could be part of prisoner exchange
KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top military commander boasted Tuesday of continued success in Ukraine’s surprise incursion into western Russia, claiming further territorial gains and the capture of Russian forces whom Zelensky said could be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The statements from Zelensky and Oleksandr Syrsky, made a day after Zelensky for the first time acknowledged the ongoing operations in Kursk, seemed to imply that the thrust into Russian territory was part of a strategy for future negotiations and not an indefinite occupation.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top military commander boasted Tuesday of continued success in Ukraine’s surprise incursion into western Russia, claiming further territorial gains and the capture of Russian forces whom Zelensky said could be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The statements from Zelensky and Oleksandr Syrsky, made a day after Zelensky for the first time acknowledged the ongoing operations in Kursk, seemed to imply that the thrust into Russian territory was part of a strategy for future negotiations and not an indefinite occupation.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine unleashes attacks on Russian airfields amid Kursk offensive
Ukraine’s military mounted its largest drone attack on Russian airfields since the 2022 invasion, targeting four key sites deep inside Russian territory with dozens of drones overnight, as its forces continued their advance in the Kursk region of southern Russia.
After rushing reinforcements to Kursk and announcing a “counterterrorism” operation led by top commanders, Russian forces have failed to halt the nine-day incursion, despite daily announcements from military officials that Ukrainian forces had been stopped.
A Ukrainian intelligence official said that Kyiv attacked an air base in Savasleyka, more than 400 miles from the Ukrainian border, near Nizhny Novgorod. The base houses MiG-31 warplanes that launch Kinzhal missiles, among Russia’s most advanced weapons. About 10 explosions were reported at the base, according to Russian independent media, quoting locals.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine’s military mounted its largest drone attack on Russian airfields since the 2022 invasion, targeting four key sites deep inside Russian territory with dozens of drones overnight, as its forces continued their advance in the Kursk region of southern Russia.
After rushing reinforcements to Kursk and announcing a “counterterrorism” operation led by top commanders, Russian forces have failed to halt the nine-day incursion, despite daily announcements from military officials that Ukrainian forces had been stopped.
A Ukrainian intelligence official said that Kyiv attacked an air base in Savasleyka, more than 400 miles from the Ukrainian border, near Nizhny Novgorod. The base houses MiG-31 warplanes that launch Kinzhal missiles, among Russia’s most advanced weapons. About 10 explosions were reported at the base, according to Russian independent media, quoting locals.
Read the full story here.