Biden signs $40 billion Ukraine aid bill

The Russian military, mired in a war with no end in sight, is attempting to resuscitate its sputtering offensive in Ukraine, firing commanders, splitting combat units into smaller formations, and redoubling its reliance on artillery and other long-range weapons.

The shift comes nearly three months after Russian and American officials alike predicted a quick and decisive victory for Moscow. After the deaths of thousands of Russian soldiers and an avalanche of failures since the invasion began Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin has narrowed his objectives in a campaign viewed as unsustainable, unrealistic — and probably unwinnable.

That assessment is shared by an array of observers, including Western intelligence officials and independent analysts who have tracked the war closely. Russia, said Mikk Marran, director general of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service, is losing in Ukraine militarily, politically and morally.

MARYINKA, Ukraine — Shortly after the Ukrainian sniper team arrived, a Russian shell slammed close to the operations base, rattling the windows and shaking the earth. A second one crashed moments later, then a third. Two Ukrainian drone operators arrived on yellow bicycles. They, too, had narrowly avoided a mortar attack.

On this volatile morning, the snipers’ mission was to set up a forward position in this war-wrecked front-line town, vital to slowing down the Russian advance in eastern Ukraine. It required a risky 300-yard-dash across several street blocks, including a main road that the Russians were pounding. The unit had to avoid stepping on mines — or revealing themselves to locals who might tip off the Russians.

There was a lull in the artillery barrage. “Let’s go now,” declared Dmytro Pyatnikovskiy, 38, the leader of the five-member team.

But then another shell rammed into the ground.

On May 3, shortly after 8 p.m., Andrey Klen had a decision to make. Bombs had just dropped near his apartment in Lviv, Ukraine, but he had a conference call at 9 p.m. Klen was huddled, along with his dog, in his apartment hallway, trying to stay away from glass windows that could shatter.

As the clock struck 9, he decided to take the meeting.

Amid air raid sirens, flickering lights and family members texting to inquire whether he was safe, Klen — the founder of Petcube, a technology start-up that creates interactive cameras for pets — logged on and sped through the day’s agenda. After finishing, he scanned his phone trying to find out whether it was safe to take his dog outside for a much needed bathroom break before the 11 p.m. curfew.

“Unfortunately, that’s the new norm,” Klen said. “But it’s not like I’m a hero — we do this all the time.”

Canada says it will punish media magnate Alexander Lebedev, as well as more than a dozen other Russian oligarchs and their family members, for their connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin’s aggression in Ukraine.

The businesses of Lebedev, who owns the U.K.-based news outlets Evening Standard and the Independent, and other “close associates of the Putin regime” will be restricted in Canada, Ottawa announced Friday. Canada will also place a ban on the import and export of “targeted luxury goods” between their country and Russia.

“Canada, together with our allies, will be relentless in our efforts to maintain pressure on the Russian regime, until it is no longer able to wage war,” Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said.

Lebedev has not faced sanctions from the British government. Canada’s sanctions have increased political pressure on the British government to take a similar action, the Guardian reported.

Russian forces have destroyed a bridge to Severodonetsk, as the constant barrage of bombs on the eastern Ukrainian city has strained its three remaining doctors and left its hospital in ruins, officials say.

Kremlin-backed troops have pressed toward the city amid heavy fighting in the eastern provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk — known collectively as the Donbas region. On Saturday, Russians blew up a bridge between Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, the same overpass Russian forces destroyed when they invaded Ukraine in 2014, Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk region, wrote on Telegram.

“The situation with evacuation from Severodonetsk is getting a lot worse now, because even though there are still roads we can take, all of them are heavily shelled," Haidai said, referring to the bridge’s significance for delivering humanitarian aid cargo to Severodonetsk and evacuating people. “Despite that, we are not stopping or giving up.”

Russian troops are attempting to “siege and destroy” the city, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry tweeted Thursday. In heavy shelling this week, 12 civilians were killed and 40 were wounded. On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said “the situation in Donbas is extremely difficult.”

The city’s hospital was also “practically destroyed” during strikes, and unexploded ordnance remains nearby, head doctor Roman Vodyanyk said in a statement. Three doctors have stayed, assisted by five nurses, to take care of 20 patients. The medical team estimates that it has 10 days’ worth of medicine and food.

BONN, Germany — The financial leaders of the world’s most powerful countries warned this week of the potential for a global economic slowdown as the threats caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to multiply.

Globally, the war is sending energy and food prices soaring. In the United States, Britain and Europe, central banks determined to curb inflation are moving to hike interest rates, which risks pushing nations into recession. The developing world faces an emerging debt crisis on top of a growing hunger problem sparked by the war.

In the United States, as in much of the rest of the world, gasoline prices surged and stock markets plunged, with the S&P 500 index nearing a bear market, closing the week down 18 percent off its early January peak after a late Friday rally. Large retailers, including Target and Walmart, have reported lower-than-expected earnings and profits this week, blaming higher costs and excess inventory that piled up in response to supply chain problems.

Severodonetsk: Officials in this key city, the easternmost under Ukrainian control, are bracing for a major, drawn-out battle as experts anticipate a Russian bid to take control of it. “Significant Russian offensive operations are confined” to near Severodonetsk, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported Friday, adding that Russian forces made “marginal gains” to the north, west and south of the city. Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said that “the Russians are destroying Severodonetsk, like Mariupol.”

Kharkiv region: At least seven people were wounded, including an 11-year-old, in a Russian missile strike on a cultural center in Lozova, Zelensky said, referring to the violence as “absolute evil.” Regional governor Oleg Synegubov said the strike was deliberate. Russian forces had sought to encircle the city of Kharkiv, the second largest in Ukraine, but have been forced to retreat after Ukrainian troops mounted a successful counteroffensive.

Donetsk region: Russian forces aiming to encircle Ukrainian troops and capture the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have moved toward the city of Slovyansk. The Russians have tried to erect a pontoon bridge over the Severskyi Donets river and have conducted artillery strikes, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Moscow’s forces killed seven civilians and injured 10 others in the region Saturday, according to the head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration.

Mariupol: The last of the fighters at the Azovstal steel plant have surrendered, the Russian Defense Ministry said, marking the end of the resistance in the southeastern port city. Ukraine has not verified the plant’s capture.

Odessa region: A Russian missile struck an infrastructure facility in the region, causing a fire, Odessa regional military administration spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk said on Telegram. No one was hurt.

Russia claimed that high-precision missiles on Saturday destroyed a large number of weapons that were supplied to Ukraine by the United States and European countries.

Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov of the Russian Defense Ministry said in a news release that long-range Kalibr cruise missiles struck a supply of weapons in northwestern Ukraine.

“High-precision long-range sea-based missiles in the area of ​​the Malin railway station in the Zhytomyr region destroyed a large batch of weapons and military equipment delivered from the United States and European countries for the grouping of Ukrainian troops in Donbas,” Konashenkov said, according to the state media outlet RIA Novosti.

A Pentagon spokesperson told The Washington Post that the United States had no comment on Russia’s claim.

“The U.S. does not control weapons once they are given to Ukraine,” the spokesperson said. “We have no further information on this Russian claim.”

The United States continues to send billions of dollars in military equipment to Ukraine, including heavy artillery, drones and antitank missiles. President Biden on Saturday signed a $40 billion package of new military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

Konashenkov also claimed that cruise missiles destroyed facilities at the Odessa Port Plant that stored fuel for Ukrainian armored vehicles, according to state media.

The Washington Post has not independently verified Russia’s claims.

Shane Harris and Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.