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As the time approaches 9pm in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, here is a round-up of todays news.

Russia said its patience should not be tested over nuclear weapons in another repeat of hardline rhetoric over their use. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Russia will do everything to prevent the development of events according to the worst scenario but not at the cost of infringing on our vital interests. Vladimir Putin has previously made comments saying he wants to avoid nuclear war, but his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told a UN hearing on Monday that the world was possibly more dangerous than during the cold war.

The Kremlin said that relations with European countries are at their lowest possible level amid more expulsions of diplomats.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it welcomed anything that could hasten the end of the Ukraine conflict when asked about Wednesdays phone call between the Chinese and Ukrainian leaders.

Natos secretary general Jens Stoltenberg also welcomed the discussion between president Xi and president Zelenskiy and repeated the possibility of the war ending at the negotiating table.

Stoltenberg said 98% of promised combat vehicles have now been delivered to Ukraine. This comprises 1,550 armoured vehicles and 230 tanks. This equates to nine new Ukrainian brigades.

The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe has voted that the forced detention and deportation of children from Russian occupied territories of Ukraine is genocide, at a session on Thursday.

A resolution on deportations and forcible transfers of Ukrainian children and other civilians to Russian Federation or to Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied: create conditions for their safe return, stop these crimes and punish the perpetrators passed with 87 votes in favour, meaning an overwhelming majority. One representative voted against and another abstained.

Russias defence ministry has claimed that its forces had taken four blocks in north-western, western and south-western Bakhmut, Russia state-owned news agency RIA reported.

Russias foreign ministry has rejected a bid by the US embassy to visit the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in prison on 11 May. It said the measure was taken in response to Washingtons failure to process visas for representatives from the journalistic pool of the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, during his visit to the United Nations on Monday.

The Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, has invited Pope Francis to visit Ukraine during a visit to the Vatican. He asked the pontiff for help to return children from the east of Ukraine who have been forcibly taken to Russia by Kremlin forces.

Andrij Melnyk, Ukraines former ambassador to Berlin has said Germany was still failing to provide the support it should. The Germans are helping much more than they were, and for that we Ukrainians are very grateful, but the government is only delivering as much as it feels it should, he told Die Zeit in an interview in Kyiv.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russias Wagner, has said he was joking when he said the mercenary group would suspend fire in Bakhmut to allow Ukrainian forces on the other side of the frontline to show the city to visiting US journalists.

At least seven civilians were killed and 33 injured between Wednesday and Thursday, Ukraines presidential office has said, including one person killed and 23 wounded including a child when four Kalibr cruise missiles hit the southern city of Mykolaiv.

Russia has reinforced its defences ahead of a much-expected counterattack by Ukrainian forces, analysts have suggested. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that the 500 miles (800km) of Russian lines protecting occupied Ukraine have been triple-fortified and included a gush of manpower. The timing comes as the usual winter freeze has begun to thaw and dry, making mobilisation more likely.

Britains opposition Labour party has asked the government why there has been no new weapons announcement since February and no fresh update from ministers to parliament since January.

Thats all for today. Thanks for following along. Well be back tomorrow.

Updated at 13.50EDT

The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe has voted that the forced detention and deportation of children from Russian occupied territories of Ukraine is genocide, at a session on Thursday.

A resolution on deportations and forcible transfers of Ukrainian children and other civilians to Russian Federation or to Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied: create conditions for their safe return, stop these crimes and punish the perpetrators passed with 87 votes in favour, meaning an overwhelming majority. One representative voted against and another abstained.

In its resolution, the assembly called for immediate and urgent action to be taken to halt the practices of unlawful forcible transfer and deportation currently being carried out by the Russian Federation against the Ukrainian population, and especially its policy and practices relating to the removal of children from their families and homes and their subsequent absorption into Russian citizenship, identity and culture.

It added: The assembly highlights the need for the recording and monitoring of individual cases, both in order to permit mechanisms for rapid redress, and to collect evidence of accountability in order to bring the perpetrators, at all levels of responsibility, to justice.

The assembly called for the practice to stop immediately and unconditionally. It also demanded Russia give access to NGOs and charities, as well as information about where the children now are.

The international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in March in relation to the unlawful deportation of minors. One was also issued for Russias childrens rights commissioner Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova who is believed to have 18 adopted children, including a teenager from Mariupol.

The resolution claims that Russia began moving children from the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk before its invasion on 24 February last year. In a report earlier this month, the Ukrainian government said it had collected reports of more than 19,000 children who had been deported.

Updated at 13.19EDT

The Ukrainian security service has given details of eight men of military age who had tried to leave Ukraine to avoid serving in the armed forces.

It said that a group was charging up to $7,000 (5,600) to help people illegally cross the border, including with false documents. Ten have been arrested in total across Ukraine.

One was a taxman in the Poltava oblast who sold fake medical certificates, and another in Kharkiv is suspected of helping people evade military service by posing as business travellers for defence firms.

Other schemes to smuggle people out include disguising them as truck drivers, the SBU reports.

Updated at 12.48EDT

Russia has reinforced its defences ahead of a much-expected counterattack by Ukrainian forces, analysts have suggested.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that the 500 miles (800km) of Russian lines protecting occupied Ukraine have been triple-fortified and included a gush of manpower.

The timing comes as the usual winter freeze has begun to thaw and dry, making mobilisation more likely.

The Russian defensive wall runs from Kherson, in Ukraines south, to the north-east of the country, spanning more than 500 miles. An autumn counterattack saw Ukrainian forces sweep across the south-east, retaking half of Kherson city.

These defensive lines consist of layered fortifications and trenches, said Brady Africk at US thinktank American Enterprise Institute.

They include anti-tank ditches, raised barriers, lines of pre-fabricated defences known as dragons teeth, landmines and trenches for personnel, he told AFP.

The Russian objective is to maintain control over occupied territory and to attempt to limit Ukraines ability to conduct a counteroffensive, he said.

Moscows strategy is to be able to absorb any attack, said Pierre Razoux at the Mediterranean Foundation of Strategic Studies, a French research body.

The attackers are likely to get stuck by the time they reach the second layer, and even if they get past it, the third is going to be very hard to breach, he said.

Russia will employ the time-honoured strategy of channelling attacking enemy troops onto ground of their choosing, said Andrew Galer at British strategy thinktank Janes.

But Ukraine meanwhile gets to decide where to attack Russian lines, he said, adding that Kyiv may not have made its choice yet.

Ukraine could well try to mislead Russia with a small-scale attack to pull defending forces there, and then direct the main attack elsewhere, he said.

Vassily Kashin, at the HSE university in Moscow, said Ukraine could pick the region of Bakhmut where battles have raged for 10 months for its attack, but acknowledged that the data we have are very limited.

Kashin said the balance of forces at the front is changing in favour of Russia. Ukraine can try to change this with a last desperate blow, he said.

Updated at 12.15EDT

More from Vladimir Putins speech at the launch of a Russian-built nuclear power plant in Turkey on Thursday.

Putin praised the leadership of the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoan ahead of an election where Erdoan is running to be re-elected.

Erdoan, 69, suspended all campaigning for Turkeys pivotal presidential and parliamentary elections on 14 May after falling ill while conducting a live TV interview on Tuesday.

While a member of Nato and sending arms to Ukraine, Turkey has maintained ties to Russia during the war and has hosted discussions between both sides.

The Russian president spoke virtually at the launch of a Russian-built nuclear plant in Turkey, using the opportunity to heap praise on Erdoan, saying Moscow was ready to extend the hand of friendship.

Putin said the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, Turkeys first, was a convincing example of how much you, President Erdoan, are doing for your country, for the growth of its economy, for all Turkish citizens.

I want to say it straight: you know how to set ambitious goals and are confidently moving towards their implementation, he added.

Putin stressed that Russia was one of the first countries to send rescue teams and medical personnel to Turkey in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in February.

We are always ready to extend the hand of friendship to our Turkish partners, Putin added.

Updated at 11.51EDT

Russia has destroyed a bridge in Chernihiv, according to the north-eastern oblasts governor.

Viacheslav Chaus told a telethon that Russian shelling had destroyed the crossing over the Sudost River. It connected the villages of Muravyi and Gremyach near Novgorod-Siversky.

Serhii Serhienko, the head of the Novgorod-Siversky district military administration said: For several weeks, the bridges over the rivers of the Novgorod-Siversk community have been shelled. This makes it impossible to provide services to the population in a normal format: to provide food and other things. And it limits movement to the central self-government bodies.

Updated at 10.21EDT

A former commander of Russias Wagner group who is seeking asylum in Norway has been convicted of carrying an air gun and being involved in a bar fight.

Andrei Medvedev was given a two-week sentence which has been suspended for two years. He was acquitted of violence against the police, Reuters reports.

I want to thank the court for a fair ruling, Medvedev told Reuters, adding he was looking to the future. I am studying Norwegian and I hope I will get asylum.

He crossed the Russian-Norwegian border in January and has spoken out about his time fighting in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to fighting outside an Oslo bar in February and preventing a police officer from doing his or her duty. He also pleaded guilty to carrying an air gun in public on a separate occasion on 14 March.

But Medvedev had pleaded not guilty to a fourth charge of committing violence against a police officer. He was acquitted on Thursday.

Separately, Medvedev will continue to speak with Norwegian police about his time with Wagner. Russia denies accusations of war crimes in the conflict.

Now he can avoid jail and focus on what he came [to Norway] for: explain [about his time] in the war in Ukraine, his lawyer, Brynjulf Risnes, told Reuters.

Updated at 10.11EDT

At least seven civilians were killed and 33 injured between Wednesday and Thursday, Ukraines presidential office has said, including one person killed and 23 wounded including a child when four Kalibr cruise missiles hit the southern city of Mykolaiv (see 05.49).

The governor of Mykolaiv province, Vitalii Kim, said 22 multi-storey buildings, 12 private houses and other residential buildings were damaged in the attack, Associated Press reports.

Defence officials said the Kalibr missiles were fired from somewhere in the Black Sea.

Updated at 10.07EDT

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russias Wagner, has said he was joking when he said the mercenary group would suspend fire in Bakhmut to allow Ukrainian forces on the other side of the frontline to show the city to visiting US journalists.

Prigozhin said in an audio message on Thursday: A decision has been taken to suspend artillery fire so that American journalists can safely film Bakhmut and go home.

In a later audio message, however, he said: Guys, this is military humour. Humour, and nothing more ... It was a joke, Reuters reported.

Wagner has been leading Russias assault on Bakhmut since the summer in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war, but Ukrainian forces have so far thwarted its attempts to take full control of the city.

Updated at 09.24EDT

Andrij Melnyk, Ukraines former ambassador to Berlin who was deeply critical of what he saw as Germanys hesitancy over providing material support to Ukraine from the start of Russias invasion has said Germany was still failing to provide the support it should.

The Germans are helping much more than they were, and for that we Ukrainians are very grateful, but the government is only delivering as much as it feels it should, he told Die Zeit in an interview in Kyiv.

Melnyk, who returned to Ukraine in October as deputy foreign minister, was perceived as something of a thorn in the side of the government of Olaf Scholz for his frequent interventions in debates on Ukraine, which he himself describes as often undiplomatic.

He said he regretted he was no longer able to use his influence on Berlin. A year ago we were powerful participants in the debate, and even steering it. But my successor does it differently, he said.

Now were simply swimming with the current, letting ourselves go with the flow.... Our offensive is going to happen, and the Germans think: Weve delivered 18 Leopards (tanks), ticked that off the list, finito. As if the war had been won with these tanks. The coalition government has convinced the German public that regarding military help, everything is sorted. Which is not true.

Instead of continuing to bang the drum, his successor, Oleksiy Makeev, was repeating mantra-like, Thankyou Germany, Melnyk said, adding that he was hardly in touch with Makeev, due to their very different points of view.

He denied his return to Ukraine where his particular responsibility is relations with Latin America - was an attempt to rein him in. My post there was long enough and it was a miracle that I was able to stay there when the war started, he said. But he admitted he had not wanted to leave.

It is no secret that I left Berlin against my will. I would have liked to have continued, because I had the feeling that I could have achieved a lot more for Ukraine despite the strong headwinds I faced.

Here in Kjiv the opposition was stronger still, because many didnt understand why I was often acting in this very unconventional, often undiplomatic way in order to pull the government out of its lethargy.

Updated at 11.16EDT

Heres some analysis of President Xi and President Zelenskiys call on Wednesday by our correspondent Helen Davidson in Taipei, and why it may have been hastened by problematic comments about sovereignty by a Chinese ambassador.

A long-awaited phone call between Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been cautiously welcomed, but China analysts say the timing suggests it could be partly an act of damage control after controversial comments by Chinas ambassador to France.

Ambassador Lu Shaye, one of Chinas wolf warrior diplomats with a history of fiery remarks, caused outrage across Europe this week when he denied the sovereignty of former Soviet states, saying they did not have effective status. The comments were roundly condemned, with several European nations summoning Chinese envoys for rebuke, and politicians suggesting it demonstrated Chinas untrustworthiness as a neutral party in the Ukraine war.

Beijing, which counts Russia as its closest major ally, has sought to present itself as neutral and a potential peacemaker and there have been signs that Xi was unhappy with Russias actions, but in practice China has largely supported Russias stance.

At a time when there is already significant concern about Russian ambitions and PRC [Peoples Republic of China] support for them, Lus comments seemed to suggest that Beijing is open to continued, perhaps even expanded, Russian aggression, said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.

Read more:

Updated at 08.42EDT

Russias foreign ministry has rejected a bid by the US embassy to visit the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in prison on 11 May.

It said the measure was taken in response to Washingtons failure to process visas for representatives from the journalistic pool of the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, during his visit to the United Nations on Monday.

Lavrov led a session of the UN security council on multilateralism, in which he said the world was at its most dangerous since the cold war. He had requested to bring journalists with him from Russia, but they were barred from entering the US.

It was particularly emphasised [to the US diplomat] that such sabotage, intended to prevent normal journalistic work, would not go unanswered, the foreign ministry said in its statement.

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Forced deportation of children from Ukraine by Moscow is genocide, Council of Europe says as it happened - The Guardian

Yevgeny Prigozhin blames Russia for a lack of ammunition and warns that Ukraine is sending its best units to Bakhmut.

The head of Russias Wagner Group said Ukraines counteroffensive will likely start after May 2 as he warned that his mercenary fighters do not have enough ammunition.

Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Wednesday in an audio message posted to the Telegram app that Ukrainian counterattacks were inevitable and that Kyiv is sending well-trained units to the besieged city of Bakhmut, where bloody battles have raged for months.

But we will advance at any cost, just to grind down the Ukrainian army and disrupt their offensive, he said.

Ukrainian troops will start attacking next month, when the weather improves and the ground hardens, he added.

He also questioned why Russian forces had yet to launch missions to take the nearby cities of Sloviansk or Kramatorsk to relieve pressure on Bakhmut.

Ukraines counteroffensive is expected this spring and in recent weeks, officials in Kyiv have said large-scale attacks could happen at any moment.

On April 11, Prigozhin said more than 80 percent of Bakhmut was controlled by his Wagner forces, which Ukraine has denied.

Kyiv has also downplayed the strategic significance of Bakhmut for Moscow, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly refused to withdraw his forces.

If Moscow successfully takes the city, it would be Russias first major advance since a series of losses in the northeastern Kharkiv and southern Kherson regions last year.

Originally posted here:
Ukraines counteroffensive to begin next week, says Wagner boss - Al Jazeera English

Ukrainian forces based on the western side of the Dnipro River are frequently carrying out raids on the eastern bank near the city of Kherson to try to dislodge Russian troops, a regional official said on Tuesday. Yuriy Sobolevskiy, the deputy head of the Kherson regional administration, said the raids were intended to reduce the combat capability of Russian troops who have been shelling Kherson city since being forced to retreat. Our military visit the left [eastern] bank very often, conducting raids. The Ukrainian armed forces are working, and working very effectively, Sobolevskiy told Ukrainian television.

One person has been killed and 10 wounded in a strike on a museum in Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said: The terrorist country is doing everything to destroy us completely. Our history, our culture, our people. Killing Ukrainians with absolutely barbaric methods.

Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of Kharkiv oblast, said: Rescue operations are ongoing at the site of the rocket attack in the center of Kupyansk. Unfortunately, the woman who was under the rubble died. Rescuers have just recovered her body. According to our information, one more person may be under the rubble. Special services are doing everything possible to find her. There are no military facilities near the museum building, which was hit by an enemy S-300 missile. The enemy is deliberately hitting civilian infrastructure and terrorising the civilian population.

The number of daily casualties Russia is suffering has fallen by about 30% in April, UK intelligence has said. In its daily intelligence briefing, the Ministry of Defence reported that the drop was probably due to the end of Russias winter offensive, which, it added, had largely failed. The MoD also said Russia was now likely to be preparing its troops for Ukraines counteroffensive.

Kyiv admitted it was behind a drone attack in the bay of Sevastopol, Ukrainian authorities confirmed. However, officials rejected Russian claims that the attack had put the operation of the grain corridor at risk.

Russia has switched to defensive positions in all its areas of combat apart from Bakhmut, according to the Ukrainian head of intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov. In an interview with RBC Ukraine on Monday, he said: The only places on the frontline where they are making attempts are in the city of Bakhmut, an attempt to cover the city of Avdiivka from the north, and localised fighting in the city of Marinka. Both in Avdiivka and Marinka the tactics are identical to those in Bakhmut just an attempt to wipe the settlement off the face of the Earth.

The UN secretary-general, Antnio Guterres, has proposed to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, a way forward aimed at the improvement, extension and expansion of a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain, which Moscow has threatened to terminate from 18 May. Russias defence ministry meanwhile accused Ukraine of attempting to attack its ships in the Black Sea, and said this was threatening prospects of extending the deal.

Russias foreign ministry has said it is expelling a Moldovan diplomat in what it cast as retaliation for the expulsion last week of a Russian diplomat in Moldova. The ministry said in a statement it had summoned Moldovas ambassador in Moscow to announce the expulsion, as well as to protest against what it called unfriendly steps towards Russia and regular anti-Russian statements from Chiinu.

Sweden is expelling five Russian diplomats, its foreign minister told public broadcaster SVT on Tuesday.

Lithuanias parliament voted on Tuesday in favour of allowing border guards to turn back migrants who illegally enter the country. Lithuania borders fellow EU states Latvia and Poland, as well as Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. In 2021, Latvia declared a state of emergency and Lithuania began planning a razor-wire fence to stop record numbers of migrants crossing its border from Belarus. Authorities in the two Baltic states and Poland accused the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, of orchestrating the crossings in a form of hybrid warfare.

A former commander in Russias Wagner mercenary group seeking asylum in Norway has pleaded guilty to being involved in a fight outside an Oslo bar and carrying an air gun in public and said he felt very ashamed. Andrei Medvedev, 26, crossed the Russian-Norwegian border in January and has spoken out about his time fighting with Russian invasion forces in Ukraine.

Ukraine has rescued 138 civilians, including its own nationals and citizens of Georgia and Peru, who were trapped by fighting in Sudan, Ukraines military intelligence said.

Britain and Frances sports ministers insisted on Tuesday that Russian and Belarusian athletes must never compete as neutrals as recommended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) because they could still be funded by their governments.

A court in Russia has convicted a former police officer of publicly spreading false information about the countrys military after he criticised the war in Ukraine to his friends over the phone. The ex-officer, Semiel Vedel, was sentenced on Monday to seven years in prison and barred from working in law enforcement for four years after his release.

Risks of a direct military confrontation between the two nuclear powers, Russia and the United States, are steadily growing, the Tass news agency quoted a senior Russian diplomat as saying on Tuesday. Vladimir Yermakov, the foreign ministrys head of nuclear non-proliferation, told the Russian state news agency that Washington was escalating the risks through its conduct with Moscow.

The world may have reached the dangerous, possibly even more dangerous, threshold than it did during the cold war, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, told the UN security council at a meeting he chaired as part of Russias rotating presidency of the body on Monday. Guterres said the invasion of Ukraine was causing massive suffering and devastation.

A woman charged with killing a pro-war Russian military blogger using explosives was denied bail by a Russian court on Monday. Darya Trepova, 26, is accused of killing Vladen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, on 2 April. He was presented with a statuette containing a bomb while giving a talk at a cafe in St Petersburg.

Ukrainian authorities said on Monday that Russian forces were forcibly evacuating civilians in the parts of the Kherson region that they still occupy, a day after it was claimed Ukrainian forces had established a bridgehead on the east bank of the Dnipro River. The claim cannot be verified, but it comes amid an apparent increase in Ukrainian military activity in the south of the country which some analysts have interpreted as a potential precursor to Kyivs long-anticipated counteroffensive.

Estonias prime minister, Kaja Kallas, voiced hope that EU membership talks with Kyiv could begin this year, during a visit on Monday to the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr. It will be a hard process and the requirements need to be fulfilled 100%, she said, speaking alongside Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Estonia has been one of Ukraines largest donors per capita and this was Kallass first visit after her party won a landslide victory for her pro-Ukraine platform last month.

South Africas president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said his ruling ANC party has resolved to quit the international criminal court, which last month issued an arrest warrant against Putin. The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March, meaning Pretoria, which is due to host the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit this year, would be required to detain him on arrival.

Two German companies that between them build the Leopard 2 one of the worlds most advanced battle tanks have become embroiled in a legal spat over its intellectual property rights. Rheinmetall AG, which was thrust into the spotlight last year as Germany ramped up its defence spending, is being taken to court by its peer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), with a hearing due at a Munich court on 2 May.

Calls for a boycott of Beefeater Gin have been made after its French wine and spirits owner resumed selling the British brand to Russia. Many companies, in our industry and in others, have made the same choice to maintain a limited presence in the market, a spokesperson for the company, Pernod Ricard, told the Guardian.

It is time for the Nato alliance to stop making excuses and accept Ukraine as a member as the country has demonstrated its readiness and has much to offer, Ukraines foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba said. Writing in Foreign Affairs, Kuleba said the political will of the alliance had been sorely lacking on the issue of admitting Ukraine.

Russian human rights groups have filed complaints to seek the repeal of a law that bans people from speaking out against the countrys invasion of Ukraine, Sky News reported.

Speaking during a news conference at the United Nations, Russias foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the situation related to the Black Sea grain deal had reached a deadlock, adding there were still obstacles blocking Russian exports.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv admits it was behind Sevastopol drone attack as it happened - The Guardian

More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his war of choice against Ukraine, Ukraine continues to fight, and allies and partners continue to support and stand behind the nation, Army Gen. Mark A. Milley said at Ramstein Air Base, Germany today.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III participated in the 11th iteration of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The two men spoke to the news media following the meeting of about 50 nations.

Milley said the Russian president thought he would have an easy time invading Ukraine, toppling its government and incorporating the sovereign nation into Russia. "He thought he could fracture NATO, as he launched an unprovoked war of aggression with hundreds of thousands of Russian forces crossing the border on multiple avenues of approach. He was wrong," the chairman said.

"Ukraine's spirit remains unbroken," he continued. "There are now 31 members of NATO, and NATO is even stronger than ever united in the face of Russia's aggression and attack on the rules-based order."

The United States and the members of the contact group remain committed to supporting Ukraine as a fight for freedom against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion.

The United States has been one of the leaders of the effort to support Ukraine's fight for its existence. The United States has committed more than $35 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, including millions of tank and artillery rounds, tens of thousands of antitank weapons, and air defense systems. The United States is also supplying tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, logistics vehicles and specialty capabilities to counter drones, Milley said.

The training effort has also been effective and ongoing. Milley noted there are about 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers participating in training in Germany; 8,800 more have completed the training and returned to Ukraine.

Milley said the Ukrainian forces have acquitted themselves well against the far larger Russian forces. He said Russia has continued to expend significant manpower in the battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut for very little gain. Russia has resorted to launching indiscriminate rockets and shelling of urban areas.

"Russia continues to pay severely for its war of choice," the general said. "Unlike Ukrainian forces who are highly motivated to fight for their country, their freedom, their democracy and their way of life the Russians lack leadership, and they lack will."

Milley said Russian morale is poor and their discipline is eroding. "Russia has resorted to tightening conscription laws as they indiscriminately feed their citizens into the chaos of war," he said. "And, so far, they've been quite ineffective in the coordination or direction of combined arms maneuver on the battlefield."

Even as Russia has lost tens of thousands of service members in battle in Ukraine, even more Russian men have fled their country. "They are trying to avoid fighting in Putin's war," he said.

Russia continues to fail in achieving its strategic objectives. "They failed to seize Kyiv, they failed to topple the Ukrainian government, and they failed to fracture NATO," Milley said. "In fact, they've done just the opposite. Kyiv stands. The people of Ukraine are emboldened, and NATO has never been stronger."

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Milley Says Ukraine Has Leadership, Morale to Beat Russia - Department of Defense

Days after traveling into the heart of a war-torn Ukraine, Brad Paisley isn't sure how to describe what he saw.

Earlier this month, Paisley rode the rain-soaked roads of capital city Kyiv in an armored car. He watched as dog-walking citizens trekked between street blocks. Children in raincoats tossed bookbags across shoulders as they hopped off school buses to return to parents.

As Paisley recalled these images, one word came to mind: Emotional.

"... A reoccurring theme everywhere I went was they [aren't] willing to leave the devastation, because they want to live," said Paisley, a three-time Grammy Award-winning country artist. "They are fixing things as fast as [Russia] blows them up."

He continued, "I'm tellin' ya, that's a very emotional thing, to see that kind of fierce normalcy in the middle of what is a tragic situation. It's defiant life. They are gonna breathe free air at all costs."

Paisley visited Ukraine for twelve hours on April 12, weeks after releasing "Same Here," a country single about what unites humanity in a world often defined by division. Paisley enlisted Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a spoken-word feature on the song; proceeds from the track benefit United24, a non-profit campaign to help rebuild homes in Ukraine. "Same Here" debuted on Feb. 24, the one-year anniversary of Russia invading the country.

On behalf of United24, Paisley traveled to Ukraine with a delegation of bipartisan U.S. Senators: Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mark Kelly (D-Arizona). While visiting St. Michael's Square in Kyiv where the country displays destroyed Russian military equipment Paisley performed "Same Here" and beloved Ukrainian folk song "Chervona Ruta" at a press conference alongside the U.S. delegation.

"[It] was my pleasure to travel with West Virginian and United24 ambassador Brad Paisley and witness his performance that truly lifted the spirits of everyone present," Manchin said in a press statement. "The level of patriotism, professionalism and sheer endurance of the Ukrainian people is inspiring. After this visit, I am even more convinced that defeating Vladimir Putin and ending his ruthless war against the Ukrainian people must remain our top priority."

As with most stories in Nashville, Paisley's trip to Ukraine started with a recording session. Paisley co-wrote "Same Here" last year with hopes of finding a Ukrainian singer to guest on the single. After a few calls, he instead pitched another idea: What if Zelenskyy shared a few words on the song? Zelenskyy's leadership team bought into the idea and after a handful of rescheduled meetings the two connected via Zoom.

On "Same Here," listeners hear a bite of the conversation.

"We speak different languages in our life," Zelenskyy said on the recording. "Yes, but I think we appreciate the same things: Children, freedom, our flag, our soldiers, our people. The biggest treasure we have. And friends. And we're proud of our army who defends our freedom and will defend our lives."

Before the 45-minute meeting ended, Zelenskyy invited Paisley to Ukraine. He needed to see the rebuilding efforts "Same Here" would help fund.

Paisley took the invitation to heart, and weeks later traveled overnight via train from the Polish border to shake hands with the international leader. As he stood on newly repaved street corners leveled by missiles last year, Paisley said he marveled at how quickly Ukrainians rebuilt war-struck buildings and roads.

"One of the things in the middle of the call was, he basically said, 'You need to come over and see our people. To meet these people in this country,'" Paisley said. He added, "He's right. These people are unlike anyone I've ever seen. I don't know where their grit comes from."

During his visit, Paisley exchanged hugs with officials who helped organize the "Same Here" collaboration before shaking hands with Zelenskyy and singing "Chervona Ruta," a communal song about blooming happiness he linked to "Country Roads," the time-tested ode to Paisley's home state, West Virginia.

"I was having a little bit of doubt about whether I should try to sing that," Paisley said. "Is it going to be offensive? Am I going to butcher this language? I probably did. But they certainly were appreciative of the attempt.

And after more than a year of war, he would understand if a bitter, tired congregation greeted Paisley and company. Instead, he met people focused and optimistic about the future of their country.

"The question I asked is how similar are we? And how much do we share, ad far as people go? The answer is limitless," Paisley said. "They want exactly what we have every day, which is the ability to chose your faith. Freedom and democracy and the stability that comes with that."

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Brad Paisley went to Ukraine. Here's what he saw - Tennessean