‘War crime’ killings near Kyiv raise international outcry, as frontline shifts

Ukrainian soldiers examine destroyed Russian military vehicles following a battle in Bucha, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. (AP)
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Updated 04 April 2022
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‘War crime’ killings near Kyiv raise international outcry, as frontline shifts

  • The deaths in Bucha are likely to galvanize the US and Europe into additional sanctions against Moscow
  • Discoveries overshadowed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine that were due to resume on Monday

BUCHA: International outrage spread on Monday over civilian killings in northern Ukraine, where a mass grave and tied bodies of people shot at close range were found in a town taken back from Russian forces, as Moscow shifted the focus of the fighting elsewhere.
The deaths in Bucha, outside Kyiv, are likely to galvanize the United States and Europe into additional sanctions against Moscow, possibly including some restrictions on the billions of dollars in energy that Europe still imports from Russia.
The discoveries overshadowed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine that were due to resume on Monday against a backdrop of artillery barrages in Ukraine’s south and east, where Moscow says it is now focusing its operations after it fell short in attempts to take any major cities in the heart of the country.
“These are war crimes and will be recognized by the world as genocide,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on a visit to Bucha. It had become harder, he said, for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia since the scale of alleged atrocities emerged.
Taras Shapravskyi, deputy mayor of the town some 40 km (25 miles) northwest of the capital Kyiv, said around 50 victims of extra-judicial killings by Russian troops had been found there after Kremlin forces withdrew late last week.
Reuters saw one man sprawled by the roadside, his hands bound behind his back and a bullet wound to his head. Hands and feet poked through red clay at a mass grave by a church where satellite images showed a 45-foot-long trench.
The Kremlin categorically denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians, including in Bucha. “This information must be seriously questioned,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “From what we have seen, our experts have identified signs of video falsification and other fakes.”

Makeshift burials 
Ukrainian authorities said they had found 421 civilian casualties near Kyiv by Sunday and were investigating possible war crimes in Bucha, a description also used by French President Emmanuel Macron and, in reference to Russia’s broader offensive, by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Reuters saw more makeshift burials elsewhere but could not independently verify the number of dead or who was responsible.
In the village of Motyzhyn, west of Kyiv, Reuters reporters saw three bodies in a forest grave. An adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry said the victims were the village’s leader, Olha Sukhenko, her husband Ihor and son Oleksandr.
Ihor, a local resident who said he was a relative of the family and did not give his surname, told Reuters: “I don’t know what they were killed for. They were peaceful, kind people.”
Zelensky has used the term genocide at various times during the war, decrying what he calls an intent to eliminate the nation by Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who has questioned Ukraine’s legitimate, independent history from Russia.
US President Joe Biden on Monday repeated his accusation that Putin was a war criminal and he called for a war crimes trial. Putin “is brutal. And what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone’s seen it,” Biden told reporters.
“We have to gather the information. We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue the fight. And we have to get all the detail so this can be an actual, have a war crimes trial.”
Russia has previously denied targeting civilians and rejected allegations of war crimes in what it calls a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarising and “denazifying” Ukraine. Ukraine says it was invaded without provocation.

Flattened by shelling 
On the other side of the country in Mariupol, a southeastern port that has been under siege for weeks, Reuters images showed three bodies in civilian clothes lying in the street, one against a wall sprayed with blood. Outside a damaged apartment building, residents buried other dead in a shell crater.
“It is easier to dig here,” a resident said, saying four bodies were in the improvised grave. Nearby, the skeletal remains of residential tower blocks and other buildings surrounded by dust and debris dominated the skyline.
Ukraine says it has evacuated thousands of civilians in the past few days from the city, which is surrounded by areas held by Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region.
Several attempts by International Committee of the Red Cross teams to reach the besieged city in recent days have been unsuccessful, and a spokesman for the organization said it was again unable to enter on Monday to evacuate civilians.

Russian redeployments 
Ukraine was preparing for what its general staff said were about 60,000 Russian reservists called in to reinforce Moscow’s offensive in the east, after Russian forces bogged down elsewhere in the face of unexpectedly lethal and mobile Ukrainian resistance using Western anti-tank weaponry.
Officials in Ukraine’s northern regions, nearest Russia, said Russian troops there had fully withdrawn or significantly reduced in number, leaving mines and damaged military vehicles behind.
Over the weekend Ukraine said its forces had wrested back all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched its onslaught.
On Monday, a senior US defense official said Russia had repositioned about two-thirds of its forces from around Kyiv, with many consolidating in close ally Belarus where they were expected to be refit, resupplied and be redeployed elsewhere in Ukraine.
British military intelligence also said Russian troops, including contractors from the Wagner private military company, were moving to the east.
Reuters could not independently confirm the statements about Russian troop movements. Reuters correspondents saw convoys of armored vehicles belonging to pro-Russia forces near Mariupol.

Sanctions on Russian energy?
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Putin and his supporters would “feel the consequences” of events in Bucha. Western allies would agree further sanctions against Moscow in coming days, he said, though their timing and reach were not clear.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said the European Union must discuss banning Russian gas, though other officials urged caution around measures that could touch off a European energy crisis. More than half of Germany’s gas came from Russia last year.
France’s Macron suggested sanctions on oil and coal.


Russia’s Putin calls for quick development of drone forces

Updated 6 sec ago
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Russia’s Putin calls for quick development of drone forces

  • Drones have played a leading role for both sides

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that drones had played a major role in the conflict in Ukraine and called for the rapid development and deployment of separate drone forces within the military.
“We are currently creating unmanned systems troops as a separate branch of the military and we need to ensure their rapid and high-quality deployment and development,” Russian news agencies quoted him as saying at a meeting on arms development.
Drones have played a leading role for both sides in the more than three-year-old conflict pitting Moscow against Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has since the outbreak of the war in February 2022 stressed the importance of developing a domestic drone development and production industry.
Putin told the second day of the gathering that Russia was well aware how Ukraine was dealing with the issue.
“But on the whole, I do not believe we are lagging behind on anything,” he was quoted as saying. “More to the point, it seems to me we are bringing together good experience with a view to creating just such forces.”
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov proposed the creation of a drone force late last year, setting a target date of the third quarter of 2025.
Putin also stressed developing air defenses, which he said had destroyed more than 80,000 targets during the conflict that Russia still calls a special military operation.
“In this respect, a new state armaments program must ensure the construction of a versatile air defense system capable of operating in any circumstances and efficiently striking air attack weapons, regardless of their type,” he said.
On the opening day of the meeting, Putin called for due attention to be paid to the nuclear triad of land-based, sea-based and aircraft-launched weapons.


Americans split on Trump’s use of military in immigration protests, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Updated 7 min 42 sec ago
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Americans split on Trump’s use of military in immigration protests, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

  • Poll shows partisan divide on military use in protests
  • Few approve of Trump’s handling of Los Angeles protests
  • Support for increased deportations remains mainstream in US

WASHINGTON: Americans are divided over President Donald Trump’s decision to activate the military to respond to protests against his crackdown on migrants, with about half supportive of the move, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Thursday.
Some 48 percent of respondents in the two-day poll agreed with a statement that the president should “deploy the military to bring order to the streets” when protests turn violent, while 41 percent disagreed. Views on the matter split sharply along partisan lines, with members of Trump’s Republican Party overwhelmingly backing the idea of calling in troops while Democrats were firmly opposed.
At the same time, just 35 percent of respondents said they approved of Trump’s response to the protests in Los Angeles, which has included sending National Guard troops and US Marines to the city and also threatening to arrest Democratic officials, including the governor of California. Some 50 percent of people in the poll said they disapproved of Trump’s response.
Trump has argued the military deployment in Los Angeles was needed due to protests there following a series of immigration raids in the city. Some of the demonstrations in Los Angeles have turned violent — leaving burned out cars on city streets — and 46 percent of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said protesters opposing Trump’s immigration policies had gone too far, compared to 38 percent who disagreed with that view.
The protests have spread to other US cities including New York, Chicago, Washington and San Antonio, Texas — all of which have large immigrant populations and tend to vote for Democrats rather than Republicans.
Trump campaigned and won last year’s election on a promise to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants and Reuters/Ipsos polls have shown that his support on immigration policy has been consistently higher than on other matters, such as his stewardship of the US economy.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which surveyed 1,136 Americans nationwide and has a margin of error of about 3 percentage points, showed wide support for increased deportations. Some 52 percent of respondents — including one in five Democrats and nine in 10 Republicans — backed ramping up deportations of people in the country illegally. Still, 49 percent of people in the poll said Trump had gone too far with his arrests of immigrants, compared to 40 percent who said he had not done so.
The most heated protests have taken place in Los Angeles County, where one in three residents are immigrants and about half of people born abroad are naturalized US citizens, according to US Census estimates.
Nationwide, Americans took a generally dim view of Trump’s threats to arrest Democratic officials like California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. Just 35 percent of respondents said Trump should order arrests of state and local officials who try to stop federal immigration enforcement.


Nationwide protests against immigration raids escalate, leading to arrests and curfews

Updated 35 min 9 sec ago
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Nationwide protests against immigration raids escalate, leading to arrests and curfews

  • Volatile protests prompted city officials to enforce curfews in Los Angeles and Spokane, Washington state
  • Activists are planning “No Kings” events across the country on Saturday to coincide with Trump’s planned military parade in the US capital

AUSTIN, Texas: Protests over federal immigration enforcement raids are flaring up around the country, as officials in cities from coast to coast get ready for major demonstrations against President Donald Trump over the weekend.
While many demonstrations against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency have been peaceful, with marchers chanting slogans and carrying signs, others have led to clashes with police who have sometimes used chemical irritants to disperse crowds. Hundreds have been arrested.
Volatile protests prompted city officials to enforce curfews in Los Angeles and Spokane. And Republican governors in Texas and Missouri mobilized National Guard troops to be ready to help law enforcement manages demonstrations in those states.
Activists are planning “No Kings” events across the country on Saturday to coincide with Trump’s planned military parade in Washington, D.C. While those were already scheduled, they will happen amid the rising tensions of the week.
The Trump administration said immigration raids and deportations will continue regardless.
A look at some recent protests and reactions across the country:
Las Vegas
Police said 94 people were arrested on “various criminal and traffic” charges, and four officers were injured in a Wednesday night protest. Some in the estimated crowd of about 800 threw bottles and rocks at law enforcement, police said.
A large crowd gathered on Las Vegas Boulevard near the city’s federal courthouse and blocked several streets before police deemed the gathering an unlawful assembly. Police announced in English and Spanish that protesters must leave the area. Local media reported that tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets were used to disperse the crowds.
Chicago
Hundreds of demonstrators packed a park plaza near Lake Michigan on Thursday. Veronica Castro, an organizer with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, urged people to learn how to protect themselves and elected officials to speak out.
Demonstrators chanted “No hate, no fear.”
The group later marched along the city’s iconic Michigan Avenue, flanked by their own security marshals and Chicago police officers on bicycles and in slow-moving patrol cars.
The crowd, including parents with strollers, students and longtime organizers chanted, “Power to the people, no one is illegal.”
Seattle
Hundreds of protesters marched through downtown Seattle Wednesday evening to a federal building where immigration cases are heard. Some of them dragged a dumpster nearby and set it on fire. The building was covered in graffiti, with “Abolish ICE Now” written in large letters across its front window. They moved electric bikes and cones to block its entrance.
Dozens of officers squared off with protesters near the federal building, with some shooting pepper spray. Police worked to move the crowd away and some protesters threw fireworks and rocks at officers, according to the Seattle Police Department.
Spokane, Washington
Mayor Lisa Brown imposed an overnight curfew in downtown Spokane after a protest Wednesday afternoon outside an ICE office that ended with more than 30 arrests and police firing pepper balls at the crowd.
Brown said the curfew would “protect public safety,” and that the majority of protesters were peaceful.
“We respect their right to peacefully protest and to be upset about federal policies,” she said. “I have been that person who has protested federal policies and that is a right we have.”
San Antonio
Several hundred protesters marched through downtown San Antonio and near the historic Alamo mission. Although Texas National Guard troops were seen in the area, the demonstration was mostly peaceful with no significant clashes with law enforcement.
The Alamo building and plaza, among the most popular tourist attractions in the state, was closed to the public early and police guarded the property as the crowd gathered and marched nearby.
Tuscon, Arizona
A protest Wednesday outside an ICE office in Tuscon, Arizona, turned into a clash between masked security officers and demonstrators who blocked a roadway, threw balloons filled with paint and spray painted anti-ICE graffiti on the gates and walls of the facility.
Video clips showed a security officer who was hit with a water bottle. Masked protesters held makeshift shields as they inched toward the security team, and a member of the security team set off what appeared to be a flash-bang device.
At one point, a security officer sprayed a chemical irritant at protesters and a protester responded by firing irritant back at the officers. It was unclear if the officers were private security or federal agents. The Associated Press left messages with the Tucson Police Department and ICE’s operation in Arizona.
‘No Kings’
This week’s protests are leading into the scheduled “No Kings” demonstrations that organizers say are planned in nearly 2,000 locations around the country, from city blocks to small towns, courthouse steps to community parks, according to the movement’s website.
Organizers plan a flagship march and rally in Philadelphia, but no protests are scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., where the military parade will be held.
In Florida, state Attorney General James Uthmeier warned that any “No Kings” protesters who become violent will be dealt with harshly.
“If you want to light things on fire and put people in danger, you are going to do time. We do not tolerate rioting,” said Uthmeier said Thursday.
Federal prosecutors are watching as well.
In a message sent Thursday, a Justice Department official told US attorneys across the country to prioritize cases against protesters who engage in violence and destruction. The email cites several potential federal charges, including assault, civil disorder and damage of government property.
Governors and the Guard
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe mobilized National Guard troops in their states ahead of the weekend demonstrations.
Abbott said more than 5,000 guard troops and more than 2,000 state police would be ready to assist local law enforcement if needed.
Several “No Kings” rallies are planned in Texas, including in San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Austin. There were brief clashes between protesters and police who used chemical irritants during demonstrations in Austin and Dallas earlier in the week. Police in Austin made about a dozen arrests.
Mayors in San Antonio and Austin have said they didn’t ask for help from the National Guard.
Kehoe’s announcement called his decision a “precautionary measure” and did not provide specific troop levels or duties. His order authorized guard leadership to call up as many members as necessary.
Abbott and Kehoe stand in sharp contrast to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has publicly sparred with Trump over the president’s decision to send National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles, where volatile demonstrations have mostly been contained to a five-block section of downtown.
All 22 other Democratic governors signed a statement backing Newsom, calling the Guard deployment and threats to send in Marines “an alarming abuse of power.”
 


Trump administration hit with second lawsuit over restrictions on asylum access

Updated 57 min 38 sec ago
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Trump administration hit with second lawsuit over restrictions on asylum access

  • CIvil lawsuit was filed in a Southern California federal court by four civil rights advocates
  • Lawsuit focuses on people who are not on US soil and are seeking asylum at ports of entry

MCALLEN, Texas: Immigration advocates filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday over the Trump administration’s use of a proclamation that effectively put an end to being able to seek asylum at ports of entry to the United States.
The civil lawsuit was filed in a Southern California federal court by the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, the American Immigration Council, Democracy Forward and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The lawsuit is asking the court to find the proclamation unlawful, set aside the policy ending asylum at ports of entry and restore access to the asylum process at ports of entry, including for those who had appointments that were canceled when President Donald Trump took office.
Unlike a similar lawsuit filed in February in a Washington, D.C., federal court representing people who had already reached US soil and sought asylum after crossing between ports of entry, Wednesday’s lawsuit focuses on people who are not on US soil and are seeking asylum at ports of entry.
US Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment, but the agency does not typically comment on litigation. The Department of Homeland Security, another agency among the listed defendants, did not respond to a request for comment either.
Trump’s sweeping proclamation issued on his first day in office changed asylum policies, effectively ending asylum at the border. The proclamation said the screening process created by Congress under the Immigration and Nationality Act “can be wholly ineffective in the border environment” and was “leading to the unauthorized entry of innumerable illegal aliens into the United States.”
Immigrant advocates said that under the proclamation noncitizens seeking asylum at a port of entry are asked to present medical and criminal histories, a requirement for the visa process but not for migrants who are often fleeing from immediate danger.
“Nothing in the INA or any other source of law permits Defendants’ actions,” the immigrant advocates wrote in their complaint.
Thousands of people who sought asylum through the CBP One app, a system developed under President Joe Biden, had their appointments at ports of entry canceled on Trump’s first day in office as part of the proclamation that declared an invasion at the border.
“The Trump administration has taken drastic steps to block access to the asylum process, in flagrant violation of US law,” the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies stated in a press release Wednesday.

 


After feud with Trump, role of Musk’s SpaceX in Golden Dome missile shield in question

Updated 13 June 2025
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After feud with Trump, role of Musk’s SpaceX in Golden Dome missile shield in question

  • Trump in May said the defense shield should be operational by the end of his presidency, January 2029
  • The White House had considered a plan for SpaceX to play a key role in Trump's “Golden Dome" program

WASHINGTON: The role of Elon Musk’s SpaceX in an ambitious new US missile defense system is in question following the dramatic feud last week between the billionaire entrepreneur and President Donald Trump, according to three people familiar with the project.
The White House until recently had considered a plan for SpaceX, Musk’s rocket and satellite venture, to partner with software maker Palantir and drone builder Anduril to construct crucial elements of the project, dubbed “Golden Dome.” The administration had instructed the Pentagon to prioritize a network of satellites for the purpose, these people said.
But a new framework for the system, which would seek to track and prevent possible missile attacks against the United States, is now being considered that could reduce the role of SpaceX. One possibility, the three people said, could initially forego SpaceX’s satellite capabilities and focus on the expansion of existing ground systems for missile defense instead.
In a statement, a White House spokesman said “the Trump Administration is committed to a rigorous review process for all bids and contracts.” A senior Defense Department official said the Pentagon “has no announcements regarding future contracts associated with the Golden Dome effort.”
SpaceX, Anduril and Palantir didn’t respond to requests for comment.
A reduced role for SpaceX would represent the first known setback to Musk’s huge volume of business with the US government since his break with Trump last week. The shift in plans, especially for a project that Trump has touted as paramount for US defense strategy, also underscores the highly personalized nature of the president’s leadership, aerospace and defense experts said.
“That people guiding the program or building it are approved based on their political affiliation signals a real concern that the project itself is very politicized and not being conducted on the technical merits,” said Laura Grego, a missile defense expert and research director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In its statement to Reuters, the White House said any decision would be made “prioritizing the best deal for America and leveraging the most advanced and innovative technology.”
Trump in May said the defense shield should be operational by the end of his presidency, January 2029. But industry experts have said that timeframe, and a projected cost of some $175 billion, could be too optimistic.
The change in the proposed “architecture” of the system, the three people said, could have the political advantage of allowing the current administration to deliver at least a portion of it. It isn’t clear how soon a final decision on the project could come or whether the ultimate role of any company, including SpaceX, has been determined.
Trump’s efforts to roll out the project fast have led to uncertainty about the project’s details and a scramble by contractors to be involved, industry experts and some of those involved in its development told Reuters. “To this day, no one knows what the requirements are,” said one of the people familiar with the process. “There isn’t a coordinated effort with a true vision. All of these companies are just grabbing at this pot of money.”
SpaceX, Anduril and Palantir were all founded by entrepreneurs who have been major political supporters of Trump. The three companies had previously met with top administration officials and decisionmakers from the Defense Department to discuss Golden Dome, according to people familiar with those discussions.
Before his high-profile falling out with the president, Musk served as a key Trump adviser and donated more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect him. But the recent dispute, which included Musk calling for Trump’s impeachment and accusing the president of improper involvement with disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, triggered the change in direction, the three people told Reuters.
“Because of the blowup, the Pentagon has been given the space to look at other alternatives,” one of the people said.
In recent days, Musk has sought to temper the dispute, saying he regretted some of his comments and taking down some of his social media criticism of Trump, including the call for impeachment. Earlier this week, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump appreciated Musk’s apology and that she was unaware of any administration efforts to review Musk contracts because of the dispute.
Reuters couldn’t determine whether Musk’s conciliatory overtures might improve SpaceX’s chances of winning Golden Dome contracts or securing further new business with the US government.
SpaceX had pitched for a part of the Golden Dome initiative called the “custody layer,” a constellation of between 400 and 1,000 satellites that would detect missiles, track their trajectory, and determine if they are heading toward the US, Reuters reported in April. In a January 27 executive order, Trump mandated the selection of a proposed “architecture” for Golden Dome and an implementation plan by the end of March.
The order called a missile attack “the most catastrophic threat facing the United States.”