International

Ukraine braces for new offensive as Russia reinforces military in east

Published

4 years ago

April 12, 2022

Ukraine and its international partners are bracing for Russia to launch a new offensive, with the Pentagon on Monday saying there are signs that the Kremlin has begun reinforcing and resupplying its forces in the eastern Donbas region as a top official in Moscow vowed there would be no letup in hostilities before the next round of peace talks.

U.S. intelligence has observed a massive Russian military convoy making its way south toward Izyum, a strategically important town in northeast Ukraine that Russia seized earlier this month and may use now as a staging point to carry out assaults on larger cities to the south, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. The expectation, Kirby added, is that the “same brutal tactics, that same disregard for civilian life and civilian infrastructure, will probably continue” as Russian military commanders concentrate on the Donbas.

The bleak U.S. assessment came amid renewed concerns about the potential for a chemical weapons attack, and as Austria’s chancellor, Karl Nehammer, became the first Western leader to meet face to face with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the incursion began in late February. Nehammer’s trip, according to officials in Vienna, was intended to convey to the Russian leader that, morally, Putin had already lost the war.

“This is not a friendly visit,” the chancellor said in a statement. “I have just come from Ukraine and have seen with my own eyes the immeasurable suffering caused by the Russian war of aggression.”

Amid the global outrage over accusations that Russian troops committed atrocities targeting civilians in areas around the capital, Kyiv, French law enforcement officials prepared to start working on related investigations after arriving in Ukraine on Monday. Prosecutors in France have opened multiple probes into potential war crimes committed against French nationals there.

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President Biden, meanwhile, met virtually with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him not to increase Russian energy imports, as the international community seeks to impose greater financial pressure on Moscow to call off its war. Biden said after the meeting that the United States and India are in “close consultation” in managing the “destabilizing” effects of Russia’s actions.

While Russia has pulled back from the suburbs of Kyiv and other parts of northern Ukraine, Putin’s forces continue to attack elsewhere.

Russia has continued to fire artillery, rockets and mortars at the northern city of Kharkhiv, Ukrainian military officials said. Russian forces, they said, attempted on Monday to storm the city of Sievierodonetsk in the Donbas region but were unsuccessful.

In a speech relayed via video to South Korean lawmakers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said the Russian buildup in eastern Ukraine includes “tens of thousands of soldiers and a huge amount of equipment.” With its new offensive, he said, Russia aims to “break our national resistance.”

Zelensky highlighted the destruction in Mariupol, a port city in the south that has been bombarded for weeks.

“There are tens of thousands of dead,” the Ukrainian leader said in his address. “But even despite this, the Russians do not stop the offensive. They want to make Mariupol a demonstratively destroyed city.”

The mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boychenko, said in an interview with the Associated Press that 10,000 civilians there have been killed. He estimated that the death toll could double amid the Russians’ unrelenting assault, which has made it difficult for rescue workers to reach the dead and the wounded.

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The Pentagon also assessed that the number of people killed in Mariupol could be as high as Zelensky described.

“I don’t think anybody’s really going to know until Ukrainian authorities are able to get in there and look and see,” Kirby said. “But if you just look at the imagery, and you see how much the Russians have pounded Mariupol from the air, it’s inconceivable to imagine that there aren’t going to be civilian casualties and that it could be a significant number.”

Zohra Bensemra/Reuters Rescuers search for bodies under the rubble of a building destroyed by Russian shelling in Borodyanka, Ukraine, on April 11.

Zelensky said in a separate video address released late Monday that the government in Kyiv takes “as seriously as possible” an apparent threat to unleash chemical weapons on the Ukrainian units remaining in Mariupol, which earlier in the day claimed on social media that such an attack had already occurred there.

Kirby acknowledged that U.S. officials were aware of those claims but were unable to confirm their veracity, saying that the Pentagon would closely monitor the situation. “These reports, if true, are deeply concerning and reflective of concerns that we have had about Russia’s potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine.”

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rescuers on Monday pulled seven more bodies from ruins in Borodyanka, an area northwest of Kyiv that was devastated by airstrikes. The dead there were found in the rubble of two apartment buildings, Ukraine’s emergency services agency said in a Telegram post. Nineteen victims have been removed from the rubble, according to the update, and rescue efforts continue.

A senior European Union official, Josep Borrell, said that he “witnessed the brutal, brutal aggression of the Russian troops against the civilian population” during an official visit to Kyiv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and that the E.U. would support the work of prosecutors from Ukraine and the International Criminal Court to collect evidence of possible war crimes committed by Russian forces.

Borrell, the E.U.’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, predicted that more bloodshed is in store as Russia masses forces in the east and prepares to intensify operations in the next days.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon, said that it was unclear when Russia may launch the new assault but that there were signs it was preparing to do so. So far, this official said, Russia has reinforced its military posture around the city of Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces have battled Russian separatists for several years, by adding artillery units to the southwest.

The convoy now pressing south from the Russian border includes a command element, a support battalion, helicopter support and infantrymen for security, the U.S. official said, calling it “clear evidence” that Russia already is pursuing its goal to seize the Donbas after failing to take Kyiv. Russia has focused the majority of its airstrikes in recent days on the Donbas region, the official said.

Moscow’s decision to name Gen. Alexander Dvornikov as its top commander in Ukraine is unlikely to alter Russia’s tactics, U.S. officials said. Dvornikov has been dubbed the “butcher of Syria” for the violence his forces inflicted during Russia’s military campaign there in the last few years.

“We’re probably turning another page in the same book of Russian brutality,” Kirby told reporters Monday.

Russia will not pause its military operations in Ukraine before the next rounds of peace talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday in an interview with state TV channel Rossiya 24. He added that while Putin had ordered a temporary halt in military action during an early round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegates, Moscow has since changed its stance.

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“After we became convinced that the Ukrainians were not planning to reciprocate, a decision was made that during the next rounds of talks, there would be no pause until a final agreement is reached and signed,” Lavrov said.

In the interview, Lavrov also appeared to recast Moscow’s goals, saying its operations in Ukraine are meant to end a course by the United States “towards world domination.” Russian officials previously justified their invasion by calling it an effort to “denazify” Ukraine.

Amid the bloodshed, the U.N. Development Program announced a new initiative to support Ukraine over the next two years as it seeks to deal with the devastation and rebuild its institutions for a possible postwar future.

The program will provide on-the-ground services including infrastructure repair, debris removal and new ways to generate income for those who have lost their jobs, U.N. officials said. They cited earlier research finding that the war could wipe out 18 years of socioeconomic progress in Ukraine if it is not resolved decisively, and soon.

“The war in Ukraine continues to inflict immense human suffering,” UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said in a statement. Early estimates, he said, “project that close to two decades of socio-economic progress could be lost if the war continues — with 9 out of 10 people at risk of falling into poverty.”

THE WASHINGTON POST

Related Topics:east military offensive Russia Ukraine

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International

US Military Says It Has Struck Nearly 2,000 Targets in Iran as War Escalates

Published

33 minutes ago

March 4, 2026

Trends Admin

US Military Says It Has Struck Nearly 2,000 Targets in Iran as War Escalates

The United States military says it has struck nearly 2,000 targets inside Iran as part of a large‑scale military campaign launched over the past week, marking one of the most intense offensives in the region in decades. The operation — coordinated with Israel — has rapidly expanded the conflict, drawing in multiple fronts and prompting sharp responses from Tehran.

According to Admiral Brad Cooper, head of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), American forces have carried out sustained day‑and‑night strikes using more than 2,000 munitions against Iranian military and strategic infrastructure. “We’ve already struck nearly 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions,” Cooper said in an operational update, adding that the US has severely degraded Iran’s air defenses and destroyed hundreds of ballistic missiles, launchers, and drones.

The strikes form part of what CENTCOM officials are calling an unprecedented operation, described by some military analysts as the largest build‑up of firepower in the Middle East in a generation. Cooper said the US campaign has targeted a wide range of military assets, including missile batteries and launchers, air defence systems and radar sites, naval vessels — including 17 Iranian ships and a submarine — command and control centres, and drone and UAV facilities. Cooper also asserted that the Iranian navy has been effectively neutralised in key waterways. “Today, there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman,” he said, highlighting the sweeping impacts of the strikes.

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The Pentagon has compared the pace and scale of the initial strikes to the “shock and awe” campaign during the 2003 Iraq invasion, with the number of targets hit in the first 24 hours described as nearly double that earlier offensive. US officials say the current campaign — sometimes referred to as Operation Epic Fury — continues around the clock as forces aim to eliminate Tehran’s ability to project power.

Iran has responded vigorously, launching hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones at US bases and allied positions across the Gulf region, including strikes against American facilities in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The volatility has sparked fears of a wider regional conflict, with both sides trading increasingly severe attacks. Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard has made conflicting claims about control of strategic waterways like the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that Iran maintains dominance even as US and allied forces press their assault. Independent verification of these claims remains difficult amid the fog of war.

Beyond military dynamics, the conflict has disrupted global energy markets and raised concerns about the safety of key shipping lanes. President Donald Trump has indicated that the US Navy may escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary, aiming to keep energy flows stable and reassure global markets. The massive number of targets hit reflects the breadth of the US strategy, which combines air, naval, missile and cyber capabilities to degrade Iran’s defence posture. CENTCOM has deployed tens of thousands of troops, hundreds of aircraft, carriers, and bombers to sustain the pressure.

Humanitarian organisations estimate that hundreds of Iranian civilians have been killed, and thousands more injured, as the conflict continues to escalate, drawing international concern over civilian harm and the legal basis for such large‑scale offensive operations. As the military campaign unfolds, analysts warn that the conflict has the potential to widen, involving more actors across the Middle East and prompting further diplomatic and economic fallout.

US Military Says It Has Struck Nearly 2,000 Targets in Iran as War Escalates

International

Trade Row Looms as Trump Threatens Spain After Refusal to Support Iran Strikes

Published

57 minutes ago

March 4, 2026

Trends Admin

US President Donald Trump

Trade Row Looms as Trump Threatens Spain After Refusal to Support Iran Strikes

US President Donald Trump has threatened to halt all trade with Spain after Madrid refused to allow US military aircraft to use Spanish bases for operations linked to recent strikes on Iran, escalating tensions with a key NATO ally. The warning came during a White House meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, where Trump also criticised the United Kingdom for what he described as limited cooperation.

Spain’s leftist administration under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez maintained that US forces could only use bases in Rota and Morón for operations consistent with the United Nations Charter, noting that the bases were not involved in recent strikes. Trump dismissed this position, calling Spain “terrible” and asserting that he had directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to suspend all economic dealings with Madrid.

Trump also targeted Spain for not meeting his preferred NATO defence spending target of 5% of GDP, arguing that the US bears too much of the alliance’s costs. “So we’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” Trump said, claiming he could terminate business ties immediately.

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Legal experts have questioned the feasibility of Trump’s threat, noting that trade agreements with Spain are negotiated through the European Union, limiting any unilateral action. Madrid responded by describing its US trade relationship as mutually beneficial, emphasizing adherence to international law, EU agreements, and the ability to mitigate potential economic impacts while diversifying supply chains.

Sánchez has consistently called for diplomatic solutions to the Iran conflict, arguing that opposing repressive regimes does not justify military escalation. Spain has also been critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, accusing its government of genocide — a claim Israel denies.

Trump’s criticism of the United Kingdom focused on restrictions regarding the use of UK bases in Cyprus and Diego Garcia, which are limited to “specific and defensive” operations. He also expressed frustration over the UK’s agreement to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, home to the Diego Garcia base.

The dispute highlights mounting strains in transatlantic relations, exposing disagreements over military strategy, defence spending, and the conduct of operations in the Middle East. Analysts warn that such tensions could complicate NATO coordination and EU‑US relations if left unresolved.

Trade Row Looms as Trump Threatens Spain After Refusal to Support Iran Strikes

International

UK, France Deploy Warships, Anti‑Drone Helicopters to Cyprus After RAF Akrotiri Strike

Published

1 hour ago

March 4, 2026

Trends Admin

UK, France Deploy Warships, Anti‑Drone Helicopters to Cyprus After RAF Akrotiri Strike

The United Kingdom and France have bolstered their military presence in Cyprus following a suspected Iran‑made drone strike on the British RAF Akrotiri airbase, in a move reflecting escalating Middle East tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that London is deploying the Royal Navy’s HMS Dragon, one of the world’s most capable Type 45 air‑defence destroyers, along with AW159 Wildcat helicopters equipped with counter‑drone systems. The deployment follows a conversation with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and is aimed at ensuring the security of British personnel and bases in Cyprus.

Starmer emphasised that the UK remains “fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there” and that the reinforcements are defensive measures rather than a step toward wider conflict. The HMS Dragon, crewed by over 200 personnel, can launch up to eight missiles in under ten seconds and is equipped to neutralise aerial threats, including drones and missiles.

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The drone attack on March 2, 2026, caused only minor damage at RAF Akrotiri, with no casualties reported. Two additional drones were reportedly intercepted by RAF aircraft shortly afterward, highlighting the growing threat posed by unmanned aerial systems in the region.

In parallel, France has dispatched a frigate and air‑defence systems to Cyprus, while President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to send the Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the Eastern Mediterranean. The French deployment aims to strengthen Cypriot defences and demonstrate France’s commitment to allies and its strategic partnership with Cyprus.

Other European allies, including Greece, have also contributed to regional security by sending F‑16 fighter jets and naval frigates equipped with anti-drone jamming systems, creating a coordinated European defence posture in response to potential threats from Iran and its allied militias.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey described the incident as evidence of “dangerous and indiscriminate attacks” and said the deployments are essential to protect allied personnel, airbases, and regional security. The European reinforcements underscore Cyprus’ role as a key strategic location amid rising tensions from the US-Israel-Iran conflict.

With air‑defence destroyers, anti-drone helicopters, frigates and missile systems now operational in the region, the UK and France are signalling a strong deterrent posture, aimed at safeguarding personnel while preventing escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean.