Latest news, headlines and top stories you need to know RIGHT NOW about Russia, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, on Tuesday, confirmed that NATO and its members want Ukraine to eventually join the military alliance at some point in the future. “NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but at the same time that that is a long-term perspective,” Stoltenberg said.
A top Department of Defense (DOD) official confirmed on Tuesday that American weapons provided to Ukraine have been captured by Russian forces on the battlefield. The U.S. has provided Ukraine with almost $45 billion in military aid over the past year.
Top Zelensky officials are considering a potential ‘strategic pullback’ from the beleaguered eastern city of Bakhmut. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted that he is not prepared to order the continued defense of the city at all costs. Both Ukraine and Russia are suffering tremendous casualties in the fight for the city, but Russia has superior artillery fire, which it has been using nonstop around the clock. The city is almost completely surrounded by Russian troops.
According to a retired U.S. Marine fighting in Ukraine, the frontlines are a “meat grinder,” and soldiers typically live an average of “four hours.”
On Tuesday, Russia came under attack by multiple drones, with one reportedly setting an oil depot on fire in the southern region of the country and another striking outside Moscow.