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Ukrainian forces raided Crimea and “inflicted fire on the Moscow occupiers,” according to Ukrainian officials, in a campaign to build military pressure on Russia’s forces in the vital occupied peninsula. "There was a battle with the Russian occupiers; many were killed and wounded among the invaders' personnel,” Ukrainian Defense Intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told a Ukrainian outlet. “Unfortunately, there are losses among Ukrainian defenders too, though these are still not as many as among the Russians.” Yusov offered that statement after his colleagues released a video that purports to show Ukrainian special forces members riding jet skis to the Crimean...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russia is far from a failure, but the fight ahead will be long and bloody, the top U.S. general said on Tuesday, even as casualties on both sides mount and the front lines have moved only incrementally.The United States and other allies have spent months building Ukraine a "mountain of steel" of weaponry and training Ukrainian forces in combined arms techniques to help Kyiv pierce formidable Russian defenses during its counter-offensive.Asked whether the counter-offensive was a failure, at least so far, General Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said: "It is...

Russia is taking 'appropriate' measures in response to the possible accession of Sweden and Ukraine to NATO, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today. Lavrov said Russia would protect its own 'legitimate security interests' as world leaders met in Vilnius, Lithuania for the first day of a NATO summit. The summit is expected to send a 'positive' message about Ukraine's hopes of one day joining the alliance, as Sweden makes progress after months of deliberation. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for immediate action, saying it was 'unprecedented and absurd' not to have a timetable in place. NATO membership can...

The Biden administration is actively considering sending cluster munitions to Ukraine to help Kyiv’s counteroffensive punch through Russia’s defenses, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the debate said. The discussion to send dual-purpose improved conventional munitions has intensified in recent days as Ukraine’s effort to break through Russia’s frontline has stalled. The belief among some senior U.S. officials is that the munitions could be one of many tools that makes Ukraine’s campaign more successful. Late last year, the administration said it had “concerns” about delivering the munitions to Ukraine, mainly for humanitarian reasons and also the U.S. didn’t...