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Explosions rocked two Russian air bases hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian border on Monday morning, Russian media reported.

Driving the news: Russia's Defense Ministry on Monday said it shot down Ukrainian drones that had attacked military airfields in Russia's Saratov and Ryazan regions, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.

Russian forces say they intercepted the drones, but the explosions killed three military technical personnel and injured four others, in addition to slightly damaging two aircraft.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the explosions. Other explosions have occurred within Russian territory, though those were much closer to the Ukrainian border.

State of play: The Engels air base houses strategic bombers that have previously been used to launch strikes on Ukraine and are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Ryazan air base is a hub for long-range flight tankers that can refuel bombers while in the air, per AP.

The big picture: Russia launched a fresh wave of missile strikes across Ukraine on Monday, continuing attacks on critical infrastructure as the war stretches into winter.

"The enemy is again attacking the territory of Ukraine with missiles," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the president's office, wrote in a Telegram post. 

Russian strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region killed two people and injured three others, Tymoshenko wrote on Telegram. Several private houses were destroyed, he added.

The cities of Odesa, Cherkasy and Kryvyi Rih also reported explosions. In Odesa, a missile strike left the city without water after cutting the power supply to pumping stations, AP reported.

"Unfortunately, there are already hits on energy infrastructure facilities and related emergency power outages," Ukraine's electric utility, Ukrenergo, wrote in a Facebook post Monday.

 Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Explosions reported at two air bases deep inside Russia

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the explosions.

Satellite image of Russia's Engels air base.

Satellite image of Russia's Engels air base on Nov. 29. Photo: Planet Labs PBC

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russia

Ukraine

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

World

Ukraine embassies are receiving creepy and bloody packages, and all of them have been sent from one unnamed European country, according to multiple reports.

The big picture: At least 17 embassies have been targeted so far by the packages, which have included cut-off animal eyes, the Guardian reports.

Details: Countries such as the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, the Czech Republic and Austria have received the letters so far, the Washington Post reports.

The letters are a part of a “campaign of terror and intimidation," according to the Guardian.

What they're saying: Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told CNN that the mail was “sick" and "weird."

He said the letters were covered in a liquid substance with a distinct smell. And some contained animal eyes — likely cut from an eye of a cow or pig.

Yevhenia Voloshchenko, a Ukrainian official in Rome, said her letter had a fish eye, the Post reports. Czech police said their letter contained "animal tissue."

Context: Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesperson from Ukraine’s foreign ministry, told the Guardian that the packages have come from one country, but the nation won't be named during an ongoing investigation.

Yes, but: Kuleba told CNN that either Russia or a country “who sympathizes [with] the Russian cause and tries to spread fear" sent the letters.

“I feel tempted to say, to name Russia straight away, because first of all, you have to answer the question, who benefits?" he said.

He added later, “Maybe this terror response is the Russian answer to the diplomatic horror that we created for Russia on the international arena, and this is how they try to fight back while they are losing the real diplomatic battles one after another.”

Flashback: The packages come days after a Ukrainian embassy employee in Madrid was injured by a letter bomb addressed to Ukraine's ambassador to Spain, per Reuters.

Ukraine marks 9 months of war as regions recover from missile strikes

Why Zelensky thinks Putin won't use nukes on Ukraine

McCaul: "We’re not going to write a blank check" to Ukraine, vows continued support 

At least 15,000 missing due to Russian war on Ukraine, official says

Ukraine embassies receive bloody packages containing animal eyes

Multiple Ukrainian diplomatic missions across a dozen countries received the packages.

A Spanish policeman stands guard near the US embassy in Madrid.

A Spanish policeman stands guard near the US embassy in Madrid after they have received a letter bomb, similar to one which went off at the Ukrainian embassy. Photo: Oscar Del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images

Closer

Axios Closer

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that he does not think Russian President Vladimir Putin will use nuclear weapons.

Driving the news: "He is very dependent on the people of Russia and he wants to remain alive, so I don't think he's going to use nuclear weapons," Zelensky said during the New York Times DealBook Summit.

"Whether he's going to use nuclear weapons or not, it fully does not depend on what we discuss here."

"He may use nuclear weapons at other territories as well, we should not be afraid of this I think," Zelensky said speaking virtually at the summit.

"What we should be afraid of is if Putin takes complete advantage and we give him territory, he'll come into taste of that and he will realize that he goes unpunished."

"We need to put him back in his place," he said.

The big picture: Putin in October denied that he would conduct a nuclear strike in Ukraine, saying that "there is no point in that, neither political, nor military."

Putin has deployed veiled nuclear threats since he launched his invasion of Ukraine.

Of note: When asked to comment on companies like Roblox, whose platform remains accessible in Russia, Zelensky said that if connections to Russia continue, "the people of Russia will feel no discomfort." As a result, they'll fail to realize the reality of the war and continue to think it's a "special military operation."

"The biggest impact on the Russian president is the people of Russia," he said.

What to watch: When it comes to comparisons of the war in Ukraine to the conflict between China and Taiwan, Zelensky said the comparison "is not correct."

"Today, there is no full-scale war between China and Taiwan."

Go deeper... At least 15,000 missing due to Russian war on Ukraine, official says

"He is very dependent on the people of Russia and he wants to remain alive," Zelensky said Wednesday.

In this handout image issued by Ukrainian Presidency, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on November 19, 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Kyiv on Nov. 19. Photo: Ukrainian Presidency via Getty Images

Volodymyr Zelensky

This Week With George Stephanopoulos-9 12 48 Am - 9 14 18 Am-2022-11-27

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that the upcoming GOP-controlled House will continue to pass support for Ukraine but will do so with more "accountability," adding that Republicans are "not going to write a blank check" for Ukraine.

Why it matters: Threats by Republicans to cut aid to Ukraine if they won control of the House in the midterms prompted concern among Ukrainian officials, with decreased aid having the power to significantly hurt Ukraine's efforts and alter the course of the war.

McCaul's words echo those of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — currently aiming to become the next House speaker — who said last month that Republicans wouldn't "write a blank check" to Ukraine at a time of economic recession.

Earlier this month, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) vowed that "not another penny" would go to Ukraine under a Republican-controlled House.

What they're saying: "We are going to provide more oversight, transparency and accountability. We're not going to write a blank check," McCaul said of Ukraine aid going forward.

McCaul criticized the lack of time given to review the bill before a floor vote, and that just a portion of the $40 billion aid package was meant for Ukraine military aid. “Republicans are not going to rule like that,” he said.

"We're going to do this in an accountable way, with transparency to the American people. These are American taxpayer dollars going in. Does that diminish our will to help the Ukrainian people fight? No, but we're going to do it in a responsible way," he added.

"The issue, obviously, is we don't need to pass $40 billion, large Democrat bills that have been passed, to send $8 billion to Ukraine," Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said, who joined McCaul on the program.

"What we’re going to do — and it’s been very frustrating, obviously, even to the Ukrainians where they hear these large numbers in the United States as a result of the, you know, burgeoned Democrat bills and the little amount of aid that they receive. We’re going to make certain they get what they need," Turner added.

The big picture: Both McCaul and Turner were adamant that U.S. support for Ukraine would continue in the Republican-controlled House.

"I think the majorities on both sides of the aisle support this effort," McCaul said.

"We're going to make certain they get what they need," Turner said. 

Turner highlighted the need for the U.S. to work with partners to supply Ukraine with an "air defense system they can put together to defend Kyiv, to defend their infrastructure."

McCaul voiced support for providing Ukraine with longer-range weapons.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect Rep. Michael McCaul criticized the process behind congressional aid packages to Ukraine, not the aid packages themselves.

McCaul: "We’re not going to write a blank check" to Ukraine, vows continued support

"We are going to provide more oversight, transparency and accountability."

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

More than 15,000 people have gone missing in Ukraine since Russian forces launched their invasion, an official in the Kyiv office of the Hague-based International Commission on Missing Persons said Thursday.

The big picture: Matthew Holliday, the ICMP's program director for Europe, told Reuters the numbers were conservative and it wasn't clear how many of those missing had been "forcibly transferred," detained in Russia, separated from their families or had "died and been buried in makeshift graves."

The announcement by the ICMP, which was created following the Balkan wars of the 1990s, came as Ukraine's government said on Telegram officials had found 50 different locations of mass graves in the recently liberated areas of Mykolaiv and Kherson.

What they're saying: "The numbers are huge and the challenges that Ukraine faces are vast. Besides which they're fighting an ongoing war as well against the Russian Federation," Holliday said to Reuters.

"The vast majority of missing persons, those deceased, are victims of war crimes, and the perpetrators need to be held responsible."

What we're watching: The ICMP in Kyiv is increasing the capacity of its collection of data and DNA samples in an attempt to secure matches with family members. 

The group's director-general Kathryne Bomberger said in May it "will make it possible to reunite families and will facilitate the prosecution of those accused of war crimes and other human rights violations."

It builds on the process ICMP officials used to account for over 27,000 of the 40,000 reported missing persons during the Balkan wars and is expected take years.

Go deeper: What counts as a war crime and why they're so hard to prosecute

"The vast majority of missing persons, those deceased, are victims of war crimes," official told Reuters.

A man looks at smoke rising from a Russian strike in the Kherson ship yards on November 24, 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine.

Smoke rising from a Russian strike in the ship yards of Kherson, Ukraine, on Thursday. Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Ukraine on Thursday marked exactly nine months since the start of Russia's brutal invasion, as parts of the country continued to recover from a barrage of Russian missile strikes the day before.

Driving the news: Russian strikes on Wednesday targeted critical infrastructure facilities across Ukraine, causing massive blackouts throughout the country and even in neighboring Moldova.

Ukraine's military chief Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi wrote in a Telegram post Wednesday that Ukrainian forces successfully shot down 51 of the 67 Russian cruise missiles that were launched. Thirty rockets were "fired at Kyiv alone," he said, 20 of which were destroyed.

The big picture: Kyiv, which had suffered a suspension of its water supply on Wednesday, saw water restored to all districts of the city Thursday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed in a Telegram post, though he cautioned that "some consumers may still experience low water pressure in the system."

"70% of the capital still remains without electricity," Klitschko wrote on Telegram on Thursday morning.

Kyiv residents queued in lines at public water points Thursday to fill up plastic bottles, AP reported.

In his nightly address Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky provided updates on efforts to restore water and electricity in several regions in the country and vowed that utility workers would work "round the clock" to ensure all regions are reconnected.

Water, heat and electricity were restored in the city of Lviv, with regular planned blackouts continuing, the city's mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, wrote on Telegram on Wednesday night.

The energy situation in the Zaporizhzhia region had "stabilized," regional Gov. Oleksandr Starukh wrote in a Telegram post Thursday.

State of play: Authorities have opened so-called "points of invincibility" across Ukraine, where residents can gather to get warm, eat a hot meal and access working electrical outlets and internet connections. 

As of Thursday afternoon, 4,362 points of invincibility were open across Ukraine, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the president's office, wrote in a Telegram post.

Russia and Ukraine on Thursday announced a successful prisoner of war exchange, with each exchanging 50 prisoners.

Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed that Ukraine had released 50 Russian soldiers, the Guardian reported.

"Today, 50 Ukrainian soldiers were returned from Russian captivity," Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, tweeted Thursday.

What they're saying: "Today is exactly 9 months from the day when Russia started a criminal and unprovoked full-scale war against Ukraine," Zelensky said in an address to the OSCE parliamentary assembly Thursday.

"Our country is showing unprecedented bravery by destroying the army of the occupier, who was bragging that he was allegedly the second most powerful in the world," he added.

"In nine months of its full-scale invasion, Russia has killed and injured hundreds of our children, kidnapped thousands of them, and made millions of children refugees," Ukraine's Defense Ministry tweeted Thursday.

The other side: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday at a briefing that Ukraine's leadership has "every opportunity to bring the situation back to normal" by meeting Russia's demands to resolve the war and therefore "end all possible suffering among the population," Reuters reported.

"Our country is showing unprecedented bravery by destroying the army of the occupier," Zelensky said.

Residents return to view their homes in Vyshhorod 

Residents return to view their homes on Nov. 24 in Vyshhorod, Ukraine, after the previous day's missile strikes. Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Pope Francis compared Russia's invasion of Ukraine to a brutal Stalin-era famine on Wednesday in one of his sharpest condemnations yet, the New York Times reports.

Driving the news: During his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, the pope asked people to commemorate "the terrible Holodomor genocide, the extermination by hunger of 1932-33 artificially caused by Stalin" alongside Ukrainians on Saturday.

"Let us pray for the victims of this genocide and let us pray for all Ukrainians, the children, the women and the elderly, the babies who are today suffering the martyrdom of aggression," he said.

"Let us pray for peace in the world, and for an end to all conflicts, with a special thought for the terrible suffering of the dear and martyred people of Ukraine."

The fourth Saturday of November marks National Holodomor Remembrance Day in Ukraine.

The history: Between 1932 and 1933, millions of Ukrainians were killed in Soviet Ukraine amid the Holodomor, a famine engineered by Joseph Stalin's government.

The mass starvation was intended to wipe out any attempts to seek independence for Ukraine, experts say.

At the height of the famine, over 25,000 people died per day, according to the Kyiv-based National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide.

The big picture: Nearly 6,600 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the start of Russia's invasion, the UN Human Rights Office said Monday. That estimate is likely far lower than actual figures.

A UN human rights commission said in September that its initial investigation found evidence of war crimes.

Russia has escalated its missile strikes on Ukraine since early October, causing mass blackouts and energy rationing across the country. 

Ukrainian troops have kept up remarkable stamina, however. They clinched a key win in November after forcing Russians out of Kherson.

Go deeper: Russia insists war in Ukraine will continue "until all the goals" are met

Pope Francis compares Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Stalin-era famine

Between 1932 and 1933, millions of Ukrainians were killed in Soviet Ukraine amid a famine engineered by Stalin's government.

Photo of Pope Francis speaking into a mic

Pope Francis delivers his blessing to the faithful at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Vatican on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Russia launched more missile strikes across Ukraine on Wednesday, hitting energy facilities and causing blackouts throughout the country.

The big picture: Since early October Russia has escalated its missile strikes on Ukraine, targeting the country's critical infrastructure and causing massive blackouts and energy rationing.

As of early November, Russian attacks had "seriously damaged" about 40% of Ukraine's entire energy infrastructure.

The attacks threaten to leave many Ukrainians without electricity, water and heat as winter approaches.

State of play: Ukraine's Energy Ministry said on Facebook that "the vast majority of electricity consumers across the country" were without power.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the president's office, wrote on Telegram that critical infrastructure facilities were hit in several areas.

In Kyiv, there were "hits on the housing sector and critical infrastructure facilities," Kyiv regional Gov. Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram. "There is a threat of repeated shelling. Stay in shelters!"

More than 20 people were injured and one person killed around the capital region, Kuleba wrote.

Driving the news: "The Kyiv region is completely without electricity. There is also a partial lack of heating and water supply," Kuleba said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in a Telegram post that "water supply has been suspended" throughout the city due to the shelling, and that specialists were working to restore water and power supplies to the city.

Emergency power shutdowns are occurring in all regions of Ukraine as missile strikes are ongoing, the country's electric utility, Ukrenergo, wrote on Telegram Wednesday.

Lviv's regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyy tweeted that there were two strikes on electrical substations there, adding that several districts of the region were left without power.

What they're saying: "As Russia struggles on the battlefield, it is increasingly turning to horrific attacks against the Ukrainian people with punishing strikes damaging energy grid infrastructure, and deliberately doing so as winter approaches," said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, in a statement Wednesday.

"These strikes do not appear aimed at any military purpose and instead further the goal of the Putin regime to increase the suffering and death of Ukrainian men, women and children," Watson added.

"It also shows Russia is willing to increase the risk of a nuclear safety incident that could not only further harm Ukraine, but affect the entire region as well."

The big picture: The U.S. Department of Defense announced a new $400 million defense package for Ukraine on Wednesday that will include ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, thousands of mortar rounds and hundreds of Humvees and other vehicles.

Meanwhile, Russia launched rockets at a maternity ward of a hospital in the Zaporizhzhia region overnight, regional Gov. Oleksandr Starukh wrote in a Telegram post. He said a baby had been killed and rescuers were at the scene.

Worth noting: The Russian strikes also caused "massive power outages" in neighboring Moldova, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu wrote in a Telegram post.

The country's Transmission System Operator is "working to reconnect more than 50% of the country to electricity," Spinu tweeted.

Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities also caused power outages in Moldova last week.

Russian missiles strike energy facilities across Ukraine, causing blackouts

The Kyiv regional governor said the strikes had hit the "housing sector and critical infrastructure facilities."

Street with anti-tank obstacle defense during a blackout after a Russian missile attack on Ukrainian power infrastructure in Kyiv

Street with anti-tank obstacle defense during a blackout after a Russian missile attack on Ukrainian power infrastructure in Kyiv, Nov. 2022. Photo: Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The United Nations Human Rights Office said Monday nearly 6,600 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the start of Russia's invasion, though it stressed that its estimates are likely far lower than the actual figures.

The big picture: In total, its human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has so far recorded and independently verified 16,784 civilian casualties in the country, which includes 10,189 injuries.

Among the 6,595 killed were 2,575 men, 1,767 women, 172 girls, 206 boys, as well as 37 children and 1,838 adults whose sex is yet unknown, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said.

What they're saying: "OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration," it said.

The office said its recording efforts have been specifically hindered in the destroyed city of Mariupol, and the towns of Izium Lysychansk, Popasna, and Sievierodonetsk, where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties. 

It said most of the people were killed or injured from the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, like heavy artillery shelling, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes. 

Since facing major setbacks in south and northeast Ukraine over the summer and fall, Russia has increased its targeting of civilian infrastructure with missile and drone attacks.

The strikes have greatly affected Ukraine's energy infrastructure, prompting rolling blackouts and energy rationing in parts of the country right before the start of winter.

A UN human rights commission said in September its initial investigation had uncovered found evidence of war crimes committed in Ukraine.

It said the crimes included indiscriminate targeting of civilian buildings, executions and sexual and gender-based violence committed by Russian soldiers.

Go deeper: IAEA reports "powerful explosions" near Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant 

UN: Over 6,500 Ukrainian civilians killed in Russia's invasion

The UN's human rights watchdog stressed its estimates are likely far lower than the actual figures.

Kherson residents at an aid supply distribution point in the city on Nov. 19.

Kherson residents at an aid supply distribution point in the city on Nov. 19. Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine reported more than a dozen "powerful explosions" were heard near the nuclear plant Saturday night and Sunday morning, Rafael Grossi, IAEA's director general, said Sunday.

Why it matters: The explosions near the plant, which is Europe's largest nuclear power station, were from apparent shelling and ended a period of relative peace at the facility, the director said.

The IAEA said no causalities were reported, but information provided by the team managing the plant indicated that "buildings, systems and equipment" at the site were damaged — none of which were critical for the plant's safety or security.

It said members of its team at the plant "could also see some of the explosions from their windows."

What they're saying: “The news from our team yesterday and this morning is extremely disturbing. Explosions occurred at the site of this major nuclear power plant, which is completely unacceptable," Grossi said.

Grossi did not attribute the explosions to either Russia or Ukraine, saying, "Whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately. As I have said many times before, you’re playing with fire!”

The director again called on Russia and Ukraine to establish a nuclear safety and security zone around the plant "as soon as possible."

The big picture: Both countries had previously agreed to work with the IAEA on the safety zone but efforts to establish one have so far been unsuccessful.  

The facility has been held by Russia since its forces seized it by force in March.

Shelling had been happening at Zaporizhzhia since early August but had recently calmed.

Russian military personnel and equipment have been stationed near the plant since the takeover despite calls from over 40 countries to remove them.

Russia had also briefly kidnapped and later released at least two of the plant's senior officials since the start of its occupation of the facility.

Energoatom, Ukraine's nuclear power plant operator, has said the kidnappings were intended to extract information about the Ukrainian personnel at the plant.

Go deeper: Ukraine grain deal extended as Russia unleashes more strikes

IAEA reports "powerful explosions" near Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in October 2022.

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in October 2022. Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Axios World

Up to 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers are being killed or wounded each day in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, with 200 to 500 killed on average and many more wounded, a top Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.

The big picture: President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 1 that 60 to 100 Ukrainian troops were being killed daily as Russia stepped up its Donbas offensive. Over the past two weeks that number has climbed significantly according to David Arakhamia, who leads Ukraine's negotiations with Russia and is one of Zelensky's closest advisers.

Ukraine has recruited one million people into the army and has the capacity to recruit two million more, Arakhamia said, so it has the numbers to continue the fight in Donbas, where Russia has been gradually gaining territory.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley was asked about the rate of Ukrainian casualties on Wednesday and said it was difficult to estimate but previous media reports of around 100 killed and up to 300 injured each day had been "in the ballpark of our assessments." He was not responding to the latest Ukrainian estimate.

Milley also said Russia had taken "huge" losses and Ukraine was fighting effectively.

What Ukraine lacks, Arakhamia contended, is the weaponry and ammunition to match Russia in "one of the biggest fights of the 21st century." He said: "We have the people trained to attack, to counterattack, but we need weapons for this."

"Our negotiating position is actually quite weak, so we don't want to sit at the table if we are in this position. We need to reverse it in some way," Arakhamia said, stressing the need for a counter-operation to regain lost territory.

Driving the news: Arakhamia is leading a Ukrainian delegation in Washington this week to lobby the Biden administration and Congress to increase the pace of weapons shipments and to recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism — a topic he said they plan to raise with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

President Biden spoke with Zelensky Wednesday and informed him of additional military and humanitarian assistance, the White House said. The $1 billion in weapons to be shipped to Ukraine include rockets and artillery ammunition.

In a roundtable Wednesday at the German Marshall Fund, Arakhamia and other members of the delegation noted that while Biden had signed a $40 billion package to aid Ukraine in May, it was only very gradually translating into actual weapons shipments. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine's partners — particularly in Europe — are beginning to focus on replenishing their own stockpiles rather than arming Ukraine, Arakhamia said. He noted that the German government was still very reluctant to approve export licenses to arm Ukraine, perhaps due to "internal fear" of Russia.

Ukraine suffering up to 1,000 casualties per day in Donbas, official says

Ukraine's top negotiator says 200 to 500 troops are dying daily.

Ukraine

The big picture

Pope Francis compares Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Stalin-era famine

Ukraine suffering up to 1,000 casualties per day in Donbas, official says

How genocide is defined and what it could mean for Russia and Ukraine

What to know about hypersonic missiles Russia is using in Ukraine

What counts as a war crime and why they're so hard to prosecute

Why Ukraine wants a no-fly zone — but is unlikely to get one

All Ukraine stories

Explosions reported at two air bases deep inside Russia

Ukraine embassies receive bloody packages containing animal eyes

Why Zelensky thinks Putin won't use nukes on Ukraine

McCaul: "We’re not going to write a blank check" to Ukraine, vows continued support

At least 15,000 missing due to Russian war on Ukraine, official says

Ukraine marks 9 months of war as regions recover from missile strikes

Pope Francis compares Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Stalin-era famine

Russian missiles strike energy facilities across Ukraine, causing blackouts

UN: Over 6,500 Ukrainian civilians killed in Russia's invasion