Ukrainian soldiers on the front line doubt that peace talks can end the war with Russia. Explosions from Russian weapons keep them almost always underground, and nothing on the Eastern Front suggests an end is near. Soldiers' skepticism over diplomatic peace efforts is rooted in months of what they see as broken U.S. promises to end the war quickly. Suggestions to exchange territories confuse and frustrate them. Some soldiers believe a brief pause in hostilities is more likely than peace. As the war drags on, soldiers train intensively, knowing there's no way back.
Russia's Belgorod region has come under increasing Ukrainian attacks this month as the invasion by Moscow grinds into its third year. There have been artillery strikes, drone attacks and incursions on the region that is on Russia's border with Ukraine. A particularly deadly strike came in the city of Belgorod, the regional capital of about 340,000 people, on the last weekend of 2023 amid New Year celebrations. But more have followed this month. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attacks were an attempt to scare residents, vowing the Ukrainian actions "won't go unpunished." The attacks have dealt a heavy blow to Putin's attempts to reassure Russians that their daily lives are largely untouched by the war.
The White House says funding for Ukraine has run out and it has been increasing pressure on Congress to pass stalled legislation to support the war against Russia. On Tuesday, however, President Joe Biden touted a new military aid package worth $200 million for Ukraine. That may seem contradictory, but it's due to the complex programs used to send aid to Ukraine. Under one of them, the money appeared to be gone, but the Pentagon determined it had overstated the value of the weapons it had already sent Ukraine. That effectively left Ukraine with a store credit, which now stands at around $4.4 billion.
By ZEKE MILLER, TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press
President Joe Biden's administration has decided to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine for the war against Russia, even though the United Nations urges the warring countries to avoid using them. Biden's administration announced the decision Friday. The Pentagon will send thousands of cluster munitions as part of a new military aid package worth up to $800 million. There are widespread concerns the bombs can cause civilian casualties. But the Pentagon says it will provide munitions with a reduced "dud rate." That means fewer unexploded rounds that can result in unintended civilian deaths. Cluster bombs open in the air to hit multiple targets at once.
By FELIPE DANA and JOANNA KOZLOWSKA Associated Press
The Russian military's top brass is under increasing scrutiny as more details emerge of how at least 89 Russian soldiers, and possibly many more, were killed in a Ukrainian artillery attack on a single building. The scene last weekend in the Russian-held eastern Ukrainian town of Makiivka, where the soldiers were temporarily stationed, appears to have been a recipe for disaster. Hundreds of Russian troops were reportedly clustered in a building close to the front line of the war, well within range of the enemy's Western-supplied precision artillery, possibly sitting close to an ammunition store, and perhaps unwittingly helping Kyiv's forces to zero in on them.
