(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with troops crossing the border from Belarus and Russia. Moscow’s forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
Russian forces retreated last week from the Kyiv suburbs, leaving behind a trail of destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, U.S. and European officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 07, 9:08 am
US Senate votes to resurrect WWII-era program to help Ukraine fight Russia
The United States Senate unanimously approved major legislation late Wednesday to resurrect a World War II-era policy that gives President Joe Biden the authority to expedite the delivery of weapons and other supplies to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.
The so-called Lend-Lease program was created during the Second World War and allowed the U.S. to swiftly resupply allies without bureaucratic barriers in the fight against Nazi Germany. The bill that passed in the Senate on Wednesday night would enable the U.S. to stay physically out of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine while providing allies with weapons and military equipment.
In a brief, late-night speech on the Senate floor in Washington, D.C., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military forces of carrying out “genocide” in Ukraine, calling the alleged atrocities “pure evil.”
“When we murder wantonly innocent civilians because of who they are, whether it be their religion, their race, or their nationality, that is genocide,” Schumer said, “and Mr. Putin is guilty of it.”
The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022, as it’s called, would be specific to Ukraine and Eastern European nations to help remove obstacles to lending arms. The legislation would not create a new program, but would streamline the president’s current authority to lend the defense articles needed by Ukraine and Eastern European countries and expedite the delivery of defense articles to Ukraine. It would remain in effect through fiscal year 2023, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation and a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Shaheen introduced the bill with Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) in January. It will now be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Apr 07, 5:21 am
Ukraine’s NATO agenda: ‘Weapons, weapons and weapons’
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba said his country had a “simple” agenda for Thursday’s NATO meeting.
“It has only three items on it. It’s weapons, weapons and weapons,” Kuleba told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
NATO foreign ministers are meeting this week to discuss the situation in Ukraine, including whether to implement new sanctions and supply additional weapons, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who spoke alongside Kuleba.
“So we are providing support, but, at the same time, working hard to prevent the escalation of the conflict,” Stoltenberg said.
Kuleba called on “all allies to put aside their hesitations” in aiding Ukraine.
“We are confident that the best way to help Ukraine now is to provide it with all necessary to contain [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, and to defeat Russian army in Ukraine, in the territory of Ukraine, so that the war does not spill over further,” Kuleba said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to meet with Kuleba on Thursday, according to his office.
“The G7 is committed to holding President Putin to account for his unprovoked war of choice and ensuring he endures a strategic defeat in Ukraine,” Blinken said on Twitter on Thursday.
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