In an indication of where Moscow is directing its efforts in Ukraine, a Kremlin spokesman on Friday said that a top priority task is to eliminate “nationalist battalions.”   “The main task is to liberate [Ukraine] from these nationalist battalions after all,” Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “The operation continues and …

An additional $800 million package of security assistance is on its way to Ukraine. Efforts to get the newly authorized equipment and supplies to the Ukrainian military will begin immediately, the Pentagon said.  The Defense Department is still delivering equipment from the last $800 million package for Ukraine, and Kirby …

Moscow confirmed on Thursday that its Black Sea flagship, Moskva, has sunk. The report follows another from the Kremlin saying the ship had suffered serious damage from a fire following onboard explosions, and that the crew has been evacuated. “The fire on the guided missile cruiser Moskva has been localized,” …

The besieged city of Mariupol has been destroyed by Russian forces, according to witnesses inside Ukraine. “The city is smashed to pieces,” said Mariupol journalist Yulia Harkusha, who completed the hazardous journey from Azov Sea port city to territory held by the Ukrainian military. “There is nothing left [for the …

Attacks on health care personnel and facilities by Russian forces in Ukraine are impeding efforts to provide life-saving medical care to the beleaguered population, health officials report. Since the start of the war, there have been 108 incidents of attacks on health care, including hospitals, medical personnel, ambulances, supplies, and …

A young Yazidi woman testified on Monday that she climbed out a window and onto a generator to get over a wall and run to safety, and to report the capture of American aid worker Kayla Mueller. American aid worker Kayla Mueller told fellow captive Lia Mulla she was raped …

President Joe Biden aims to ban kits for so-called “ghost guns,” and will nominate a former federal prosecutor to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the White House said on Monday.  Biden’s choice for ATF director is Steve Dettelbach, who will need to be confirmed by the …

The forthcoming action in the Donbas region of Ukraine will be a “knife fight,” according to a senior U.S. defense official.  After the failure of the Kyiv campaign, the Russians are moving units to the east and beginning to feed them into the fight for the Donbas. “This will be …

Amid war setbacks in the face of fierce resistance, Moscow has placed a new commander in charge of the invasion of Ukraine, according to U.S. officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin has brought in one of his most experienced wartime commanders, Gen. Alexander Dvornikov, who directed military action in Syria, officials …