DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — Skimming the treetops, three Soviet-era attack helicopters bank and swoop down on a field after an early-morning mission to the front lines in the fight against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Each day, they might fly three or four sorties, says the commander, whose two-crew Mi-24 helicopter,...
Russian Strike on Ukraine Apartment Building Kills at Least 40
DNIPRO, Ukraine — Ukrainian emergency crews on Monday sifted through what was left of a Dnipro apartment building destroyed by a Russian missile, placing bodies from one of the war's deadliest single attacks in months in black bags and gingerly carrying them across steep piles of rubble. Authorities said the...
Rifts in Russian Military Command Seen Amid Ukraine Fighting
As Russian troops wage a ferocious house-to-house fight for control of strongholds in eastern Ukraine, a parallel battle is unfolding in the top echelons of military power in Moscow, with President Vladimir Putin reshuffling his top generals while rival camps try to win his favor. Bitter Rift Between Russian Defense...
‘What Madness Looks Like’: Russia Intensifies Bakhmut Attack
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces are escalating their onslaught against Ukrainian positions around the wrecked city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian officials said, bringing new levels of death and devastation in the grinding, monthslong battle for control of eastern Ukraine that is part of Moscow's wider war. “Everything is completely destroyed. There is...
Putin Orders 36-Hour Weekend Cease-Fire in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered Moscow’s armed forces to observe a 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine this weekend for the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday, the first such sweeping truce move in the nearly 11-month-old war. Putin did not appear to make his cease-fire order conditional on...
The US Begins New Get-Tough Policy With Iran
The Iranian Government continues to aid Russia in the war against Ukraine, shoots and imprisons protesters, and now says it will continue its nuclear enrichment program. This has pretty much ended the White House’s hopes for diplomacy and has started a new era of confrontation, including imposing sanctions on Tehran....
US Says 2 Soldiers Killed, 6 Wounded in Afghanistan Attack
KABUL, Afghanistan — Two U.S. soldiers were killed and six wounded in a so-called insider attack in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province late Saturday when an Afghan dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire, the U.S. military said. Afghanistan's defense ministry said one Afghan soldier was also killed and three...
Trump Authorizes Shift to Wider US Military Use of Land Mines
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday canceled an Obama-era prohibition on the use of anti-personnel landmines outside of the Korean peninsula. With potential future conflict with China and Russia in mind, the new policy specified no geographic limits on landmine use, declaring that the weapons offer an important war-fighting...
Iran Police Shoot at Those Protesting Plane Shootdown
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Online videos appeared to show Iranian security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas to disperse protests as popular anger swelled Monday over the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner and Iran's failed attempt to conceal its role in the tragedy. The unrest comes amid...
McEwen: Give Peace a Chance, but How Do We Get It With Iran?
About 75 people assembled on a northeast Fresno street corner on a cold Thursday evening to urge that the United States avoid a war with Iran at all costs. At exactly the same time, in Toledo, Ohio, President Donald Trump addressed a crowd of 8,000 at a campaign rally. As...