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Russian President Vladimir Putin mixed bravado with questionable claims and the possibility of peace talks Tuesday in a rare wide-ranging discussion with war correspondents and bloggers about the so-called “special military operation’’ in Ukraine.
Answering questions for more than two hours, Putin said Ukraine has sustained “catastrophic’’ losses during its nascent counteroffensive, such as 10 times more casualties than Russia and three times as many disabled battle tanks, 160 to 54.
German tanks and American infantry fighting vehicles “are burning really well,” he said, smirking.
Putin also suggested his forces might make another attempt at overtaking Kyiv after being pushed away from the Ukrainian capital in March 2022, the war’s second month.
“Should we come back there or not?” he said. “Only I could give an answer.”
The Russian leader accused the West of scuttling a peace deal the warring parties negotiated in March 2022, and said the fighting would end quickly if U.S. and NATO would only stop providing military assistance to Ukraine.
“If they want to see a negotiated solution to the conflict,’’ he said, “it’s enough for them to stop weapons supplies.”
Developments:
∎ Russia’s overnight attacks also targeted Ukraine’s two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv. Kyiv officials said its air defenses repelled Moscow’s missiles, but Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a drone strike damaged a utilities business and a warehouse in the city’s northeast.
∎ Small amounts of E. coli and cholera have been found in the floodwaters near the city of Kherson caused by the Kakhovka Dam disaster, along with fuel and other toxic chemicals, the Kyiv Independent reported.
∎ Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday his country has already has received some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons and warned that he would use them if Belarus faced an act of aggression. Putin has said the nuclear weapons would be sent in July and remain under Russian control.
CIA warned Ukraine in June 2022 not to attack Nord Stream pipelines, report says
The CIA warned Ukraine in June 2022 not to sabotage the Nord Stream pipelines used to send Russian natural gas to Germany after getting a tip from a Dutch military intelligence agency, the Dutch public broadcasting organization NOS reported Tuesday.
Plans to blow up the pipelines were called off, NOS said, but three months later explosions rocked Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, spilling natural gas into international waters in the Baltic Sea where Sweden and Denmark have some commercial rights. A culprit has not been identified, and Ukraine has denied involvement.
NOS, which partnered with two German media outlets in conducting an investigation, said the Dutch agency − known as MIVD − learned of the planned attack from an unnamed Ukrainian source.
11 dead from missile strikes in Zelenskyy’s hometown
Russia brought the war strikingly close to home for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, launching an overnight attack that killed 11 people and injured 36 in his native Kryvyi Rih, officials said.
The central Ukrainian city was the target of six cruise missiles that hit a five-story residential building and four other non-military targets, damaging dozens of other structures in the area, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, chairman of the City Defense Council. Vilkul said four of the victims died in the residential building and seven in a warehouse that stored water and other drinks.
“The civilized world must see the barbarism of the Russians,” Gov. Serhiy Lysak of the Dnipropetrovsk province said in a posting with a video of him holding a news conference in front of a heavily damaged building. “We tell the (local) and world media the details of the bloody terrorist attack committed by the Kremlin against the civilians of the Ukrainian city.”
Dnipropetrovsk is among the regions grappling with last week’s collapse of the Kakhovka Dam, which Ukraine blames on Russian forces.
“Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that included a video showing the residential building in flames and several charred cars nearby. “Terrorists will never be forgiven, and they will be held accountable for every missile they launch.”
On Monday, Putin denounced Ukraine for striking civilian targets in his country in a speech delivered less than four weeks after the United Nations issued a report saying at least 23,600 Ukrainian civilians had been killed or injured since Russia invaded its neighbor.
$325 million US aid package to Ukraine includes defense missiles
The Pentagon announced a $325 million military aid package for Ukraine, the second announcement of weapons for the country in less than a week.
The new package includes anti-aircraft missiles to defend Ukraine against the regular barrages of missiles and drones from Russia, which launched its invasion in February 2022. Since then, the Biden administration has provided Ukraine with $40 billion in weapons, ammunition and training.
The Pentagon will also provide Ukraine 15 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and 10 Stryker armored personnel carriers to protect troops who have begun a long-awaited offensive against dug-in Russian troops in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops will also receive 22 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades for the assault that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told USA TODAY is expected to be difficult and bloody.
− Tom Vanden Brook
Biden, Stoltenberg support requiring 2% of GDP for NATO members
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. will push for NATO member nations to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense when the alliance meets next month in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Biden’s support for the initiative came during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“I expect allies to agree that 2% of GDP for defense has to be a minimum of what allies have to invest in our shared security,” Stoltenberg said.
NATO allies will meet July 11-12 to discuss the future of the alliance and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
− Francesca Chambers
NATO chief touts Ukrainian forces, warns of tough fight ahead
In an interview with USA TODAY, Stoltenberg noted the gains Ukraine has made in the early days of its counteroffensive, including reclaiming seven villages and small towns.
That progress points to the impact of the weapons and training the West has provided Kyiv’s forces as they battle an enemy with a significant manpower advantage. Stoltenberg praised the courage and determination the Ukrainians have demonstrated over more than 15 months of war, but he warned of the tough road ahead against Russian troops that have dug in over a 600-mile front to defend territory the Kremlin has annexed.
“We need to be prepared that this offensive will be bloody and difficult,” he said. “The Russians have had time to build − they’re quite heavy defensive lines, and to breach them is a demanding task.”
− Tom Vanden Brook and Francesca Chambers
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant not in ‘immediate danger’ after dam breach
The water level of the reservoir that feeds the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been dropping steadily since last week’s breach of the Kakhovka Dam, but that doesn’t present an “immediate danger,” the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv before traveling to Zaporizhzhia to inspect the plant, which has been under Russian control since shortly after the war began in February 2022. Fighting near the facility has cut off power several times and required use of emergency diesel generators to cool the reactors, raising concerns about a nuclear accident.
The dam, further down the Dnieper River, helped keep water in a reservoir that cools the plant’s reactors.
“It is a serious situation because you are limited to the water you have there,” Grossi told reporters. “If there was a break in the gates that contain this water or anything like this, you would really lose all your cooling capacity.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
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