General Stephen J. Townsend

09/16/2023

Dad is coming 💐

09/02/2023

White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Friday that Ukraine has achieved “notable progress” in recent days in its counteroffensive to retake territory in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. “They have achieved some success along that second line of Russian defenses,” he said at a news conference. It “is not beyond the realm of the possible that Russia will react” to Ukraine’s push.

08/15/2023

Ukraine Makes ‘Tactically Significant’ Progress in Its Counteroffensive Troops advanced several miles along two main lines of attack in Kyiv’s drive to reach the southern coast and sever Russian supply lines, while explosions echoed at the vital Kerch Strait Bridge.

08/12/2023

People stand near the site of a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia on Thursday, August 10, 2023. Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuter Two people killed in a Russian missile strike on Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday were young women who gave concerts to raise money for Ukrainian troops, according to officials. Lina Fesenko, a spokesperson for a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, told CNN that the missile attack — which happened just before 8 p.m. local time on Wednesday — killed the two women soon after they'd given an impromptu performance in the square where the missile landed. Kristina Spitsyna was 21-years-old. She was the daughter of a National Guardsman, Oleksandr Spitsyn, who volunteered soon after the Russian invasion began, according to Fesenko. Fesenko said that Kristina and her friend Svitlana Semeikina, 19, had just finished performing a street concert for local residents and had raised money to support the military. Semeikina was killed instantly; Kristina succumbed to her injuries in hospital Thursday morning. The two friends had formed a duo called "Similar Girl", and their songs included a tribute to the National Guard on Father's Day. The video of the song has received about one and a half million views on various social networks.

07/02/2023

Zelensky attends a press conference in Kyiv on Saturday. Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he's afraid to lose bipartisan support from the United States, following what he called "dangerous messages coming from some Republicans. Mike Pence has visited us, and he supports Ukraine. First of all, as an American, and then as a Republican,” Zelensky said in a news conference with Spanish media in Kyiv on Saturday. “We have bipartisan support. However, there are different messages in their circles regarding support for Ukraine. There are messages coming from some Republicans, sometimes dangerous messages, that there may be less support.
Zelensky said that regardless of who wins the next US Presidential election, maintaining bipartisan support is "the most important thing for Ukraine. During the same news conference, Zelensky was asked if he fears for his own life, to which he replied that he thinks "it is more dangerous for Putin" due to the Russian president's growing number of international adversaries.

07/02/2023

Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 494of the invasion. Putin’s admission of funding Wagner could open doors for war crimes trial; Zelenskiy warns of ‘serious threat’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

07/01/2023

Good morning ☀️ to everyone 🇺🇲

06/08/2023

As long as you're not hurting anybody else, as long as you're being kind to people and you're doing what you love, only good things can come of it.🇺🇲🇺🇸😍

05/12/2023

To all the military spouses out there, on this special day, please know that we appreciate you! All of you!

Thank you, love - U.S. Army Europe and Africa

05/12/2023

HOHENFELS, Germany – Members of the U.S. Department of State participated in the U.S. Army exercise Combined Resolve 18 as role-players in Hohenfels, Ge...

05/10/2023

Russia-Ukraine war live: Russian forces in Bakhmut pushed back by up to 2km in some areas, claims Ukraine military commander Ukraine’s military says Russia increasingly relying on regular forces after heavy losses to mercenary group in eastern city Russia-Ukraine war at a glance.

04/26/2023

🌷🌷🌷

04/24/2023

A view of the destroyed Antonivsky Road Bridge over the Dnipro River in Kherson, Ukraine. Russia has denied reports that Ukrainian forces have crossed the river, which is seen as a potential goal for an anticipated counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces.

04/18/2023

❤️🌹

04/15/2023

Russia accuses Ukraine of killing four children in shelling attack on Moscow-controlled town Four people have been killed and 10 wounded by Ukrainian shelling in a residential area in a Russian-controlled town, a top Moscow-installed official in the region has said. A seven-year-old girl was among those wounded in the town of Yasynuvata, just north of Donetsk, said Denis Pushilin. Yasynuvata is about 80 km (50 miles) south of Sloviansk, where Russian missiles hit residential buildings yesterday and killed at least nine people, including a two-year-old child. Russia took control of most of the Donetsk region late last year, and both sides have been engaging in combat around the area ever since. The so-called Donetsk People's Republic is one of four areas in Ukraine that Moscow annexed in September in an exercise Ukraine and its allies denounced as a "sham" coercive referendum.

04/09/2023

A Ukrainian service member stands next to a tank at a military training ground near a front line in Zaporizhzhia region Reuters.

03/21/2023

03/15/2023

I love American ❤️❤️

03/15/2023

Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry’s chief spokesman, in Moscow last year. He justified the actions of Russian pilots.Credit...Natalia Kolesnikova/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, said on Wednesday that Russia was trying to retrieve the wreckage. John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, said that because of the depths of the waters where the drone came down, “I’m not sure that we’re going to be able to recover it. We’re still assessing whether there can be any kind of recovery effort mounted. There may not be,” Mr. Kirby said on CNN. The Pentagon said the incident was an example of Russian incompetence. U.S. officials said they did not believe that the Russians had intended to clip the propeller of the drone with their plane, a risky move that endangered the Russian plane as well.

03/15/2023

Anatoly Antonov, center, the Russian ambassador to the United States, after a meeting at the State Department on Tuesday.Credit...Patrick Semansky/Associated Press Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said on Wednesday that the United States would continue to conduct surveillance flights after an American reconnaissance drone was struck by a Russian warplane and downed over the Black Sea. Make no mistake, the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows,” Mr. Austin said in remarks at the beginning of a virtual meeting of some 50 nations supporting Ukraine’s efforts in the war against Russia. This hazardous episode is a part of a pattern of aggressive and risky, and unsafe actions by Russian pilots in international airspace,” Mr. Austin said. It is incumbent upon Russia to operate its military aircraft in a safe and professional manner. The incident, the first known physical contact between the Russian and U.S. militaries since the war in Ukraine began, has raised tensions between the superpowers, although there were signs on Wednesday that both nations were trying to contain the fallout.

03/15/2023

Daily Briefing: War in UkraineDrone Flights Will Go On, U.S. Says, as Tensions Flare With Russia

03/12/2023

Soldiers of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army hold their positions at the front line near Bakhmut, on Sunday. (Sergey Shestak/AFP/Getty Images. There have been no confirmed advances by Russian forces in Bakhmut, according to think tank the Institute for the Study of War. The report published late Saturday said that despite Russian forces and units from the paramilitary Wagner Group launching continued ground attacks in the city, there is no evidence that they made any progress. Russian forces did not make any confirmed advances within Bakhmut on March 11. Ukrainian and Russian sources continue to report heavy fighting in the city, but Wagner Group fighters are likely becoming increasingly pinned in urban areas, such as the AZOM industrial complex, and are therefore finding it difficult to make significant advances

03/12/2023

Destruction in Russian-shelled Donetsk region Images are emerging from the Donetsk region in Ukraine, which has been subject to more Russian shelling. Large parts of the eastern region are controlled by Russia. Destruction in Russian-shelled Donetsk region Images are emerging from the Donetsk region in Ukraine, which has been subject to more Russian shelling. Large parts of the eastern region are controlled by Russia.

03/09/2023

03/07/2023

The head of Russia's Wagner private army says it is not getting the ammunition it needs from Moscow, as it seeks to gain control of Bakhmut. The eastern city has seen months of intense fighting, as Wagner and regular Russian troops try to seize it. But Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin says his army's lack of ammunition could be "ordinary bureaucracy or a betrayal. Ukraine's president and military commanders have agreed to strengthen their defence of Bakhmut.

03/05/2023

A man watches a news broadcast showing military operations near Taiwan by the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA), in Beijing, China, on August 3, 2022.Thomas Peter/Reuters Western leaders and officials have repeatedly warned that China is closely observing Ukraine for lessons regarding Taiwan, which Beijing views as a breakaway province. There are worries that if Ukraine eventually falls — which appears unlikely as things stand — then China will view this as a signal that the time is right to follow Putin's lead and move to seize the self-governing island democracy by force. Though China claims to be neutral in the war, it announced a "no limits" partnership with Russia last year and has refused to condemn the Kremlin over the invasion. Chinese state media has echoed the Kremlin's propaganda on the war and the Chinese government has slammed the West for sanctioning Russia. In a sign of the deepening ties between Moscow and Beijing, China's top diplomat traveled to the Russian capital last week — as US President Joe Biden visited Kyiv.

03/05/2023

After largely staying on the sidelines during the first year of the Ukraine war, China is creeping toward increased involvement in the conflict. China offering full support to the Kremlin or providing Russia with weapons like drones and artillery could catalyze a wave of consequences on and off the stalemated battlefield.

03/05/2023

A maternity and children's hospital in Mariupol was hit by a Russian air strike in March 2022 Russia claimed the Donbas town of Soledar, about 10km (6.2 miles) from Bakhmut, in January following a long battle with the Ukrainian forces. Soledar, too, was reportedly reduced to a wasteland of flattened buildings and rubble by the time the Ukrainian army retreated. On Friday, President Zelensky stressed that artillery and shells were needed to stop Russia .US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the country's latest package included high-precision Himars artillery rockets and howitzers "which Ukraine is using so effectively.

02/28/2023

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02/22/2023

China’s most senior diplomat and Russia’s security chief have met in Moscow. The official readout says they were promoting peace and stability - yet their talks come almost a year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Wang Yi and Nikolai Patrushev say they opposed the introduction of a cold war mentality”, yet Beijing has been accused of already sending dual use technology to support Russia’s war effort. As the two spoke Washington has been trying to apply more pressure on Russia to stop the war with fresh sanctions. To this, they replied that China and Russia oppose all forms of unilateral bullying. Wang Yi will also meet Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and could sit down with President Vladimir Putin.

02/22/2023

Another major meeting is coming up later today - between US President Joe Biden, who's on the final day of his Poland trip, and leaders of the Bucharest Nine. This is a group consisting of members of Nato's eastern flank: Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania. he members are among the strongest supporters of military aid to Ukraine and today's talks will focus on supplying regional defence and more aid. hese nine eastern European nations joined the Nato alliance after years of Cold War domination by the then Soviet Union. hey've been critical of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine since the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

02/19/2023

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02/15/2023

Russia is trying to deprive Ukrainians of access to water supplies — with dangerous implications for water storage facilities needed to operate nuclear power plants Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday. We are losing thousands of cubic meters of water due to the Kakhovka HPP [Hydroelectric Power Plant] floodgates being partially damaged and then intentionally opened by the Russians, Shmyhal said in a Telegram post. Some of the settlements that are getting water from the Dnipro river may be left without access to drinking water. Shmyhal said the threat to Ukraine's nuclear power plants is even bigger, adding, "A drop in the water level in the storage facility could lead to improper operation of cooling systems at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

02/12/2023

🤔🤔🤔

02/11/2023

Happy birthday

02/09/2023

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, joins French President Emmanuel Macron for a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on February 8. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters) German chancellor Olaf Scholz has arrived in Paris, according to a CNN team on the ground who spotted the German leader at the Elysee Palace. Scholz will meet with French and Ukrainian presidents, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky, Wednesday evening. Zelensky is expected to arrive in Paris soon after making his first visit to the United Kingdom since the Russian invasion of his country.

02/09/2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands during a joint statement with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Elysee Palace in Paris on February 8. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters) French President Emmanuel Macron told his visiting Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that France is “determined” to assist Ukraine in its war against Russia. We stand by Ukraine, determined to help it to victory,” Macron said. “Ukraine can count on France and its allies to win the war, Russia should not and will not win the war. Macron affirmed to Zelensky that France will continue to provide military support to Ukraine and Paris will adapt and re-adapt" to Kyiv’s needs. Ukraine can count on us to build peace, the French leader said, speaking alongside Zelensky and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris.