How NATO Patrols the Sea for Suspected Russian Sabotage
Kockx leads a task force in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's new mission to police the inland sea that its members share with Russia. NATO in January launched the operation, dubbed Baltic Sentry, after a string of undersea cables and pipelines were damaged by ships—many with links to Russia—that had dragged their anchors.
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New York Post
28 minutes ago
- New York Post
To understand Russians, try catching a ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre
He's Putin on the ritz To try to understand a land which birthed a Putin, I went back to my old notes. I have been to Russia several times. A taxi, empty, cruised past, slowly, repeatedly, then grudgingly stopped. In English, the cabbie said: 'We must take foreign language in school. Still, we avoid anyone who looks American. They're trouble. They carry little conversation dictionaries but Americans we never understand. Talk too fast. 'Impatient. When you can't understand they bang you on the back — and you hit yourself against the wheel. Always they get mad. One threw hands around, pointed to where he wanted to go and his arm crossed my face. I couldn't see to drive. Dangerous. Americans are much trouble.' The Bolshoi Theatre got me into a personal cold war. They make you remove your coat before entering. I was freezing. It was chilly outside and inside. Also, my nose was running. Me walking to my seat, he then trotted out from his booth. This Gardes Des Robes tugged at my lapel. I tried sign language. He did physical language. As I headed for my seat he physically barred my way. A shivering lady comrade who'd doffed her wrap explained: 'People here are used to authority. You obey automatically.' Another said, 'We are on a cultural level. The sold-out Kremlin opera seats 6,000, Tchaikovsky Hall has nightly musical concerts. Also the Central Puppet Theatre, Operetta Theatre, Children's Theatre and 27 other Moscow theatres, including the Bolshoi, which was founded in 1776. And for three rubles [less than a dollar], I can sit in the seat which once held the czar.' She comes here how often? Her answer: 'This the first time.' On the outside, pleasant. Inside, something else. Crumple a Kleenex in your luggage. It's crumpled differently upon your return. Hotel elevators delist two floors. Reportedly, it's where the hotel held the building's wire tap equipment. Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Showers without curtains. Sinks minus stoppers. Room service that doesn't answer. I myself brought in a chicken sandwich and cup of hot chocolate. Two days later a chicken sandwich and candy bar were on my bed. The manageress: 'Our new hotel will have 6,000 rooms. Equipped with every modern facility.' Me: 'Will it have a swimming pool?' She: 'Certainly not. But it will have a concert hall.' 'Hotels have reasonable rates. Wish entertainment — you pay extra.' I asked if she vacations with her husband. 'No. I go separately. To the Crimeas. Sochi in the Black Sea where many of the presidium go.' I also asked famed Russian circus clown Popov if he gets a percentage of all the Popov dolls sold. Answer? 'Nyet.' Does his contract guarantee special dressing room and dresser in attendance? 'Nyet.' How then can you tell you're a star? 'I have a car.' In the words of Commie Slamdamnhe, there are many nice things about that country. Like parking places. Only problem? They got nothing to park. Only in Putinville, kids, only in Putinville.
New York Post
28 minutes ago
- New York Post
Ukrainian children captured and ‘brainwashed' by Russia in preparation for war tell how they escaped
Ukrainian teenager Vladyslav Rudenko's life was upended when Russian soldiers blasted into his home in Kherson in October 2022. The menacing, black balaclava-clad troops said he had 30 minutes to pack whatever he could carry then ripped him from his family — he was 16 at the time. It was nine months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Rudenko was forced onto one of several buses filled with Ukrainian children. Advertisement 11 Vlad said he was kidnapped and sent to a military academia in Russia where he was forced to swear allegiance to the Russian flag and learned how to use weapons. He is pictured here posing with a gun bought by others at his military camp. he was rescued just before he was sent to the front lines. Courtesy of Save Ukraine The military drove them to a camp in Crimea known as Druzhba — 'Friendship' in both Ukrainian and Russian — populated by some 600 Ukrainian children and teenagers who were there to be re-educated. The forced recruits were told to discard anything that would identify them as Ukrainian. One girl wore a T-shirt stamped with the words 'Glory to Ukraine,' Rudenko told The Post. She refused to take it off, so the Russian soldiers cut it off her, according to Rudenko. Advertisement At the re-education camp, teenagers were subjected to Russian propaganda videos and had to swear allegiance every morning to the Russian flag. When Rudenko refused to cooperate, he was stuck in a dark cell and force-fed pills 'to calm me down.' Later, the soldiers sent Rudenko to a military camp where he learned to use weapons and drive a tank. 11 Save Ukraine works to rescue children seized by Russia, and help them integrate back into Ukraine society. Courtesy of Save Ukraine Advertisement 11 Save Ukraine has saved 777 Ukrainian children who were kidnapped by Russia and placed in re-education camps to turn them into Russian citizens. Courtesy of Save Ukraine He was offered a Russian passport, education at a Russian university and Russian citizenship. 'They were trying to bribe me,' he said, adding that he is currently in therapy after suffering 'emotional and psychological pressure to switch sides.' Before he was scheduled to go to the front, Rudenko was allowed to call his mother, who had been working with the non-profit Save Ukraine to help him. Advertisement For security reasons, he says he cannot reveal how he was rescued, but is now back in Ukraine in what he described as 'a very stable' environment. The Russians offered him a Russian passport, education at a Russian university and Russian citizenship. 11 After his rescue from a Russian military academy, Vlad says he is back in a stable environment and is training to be a boxer. Courtesy of Save Ukraine 'They were trying to bribe me,' he said, adding that he is currently in therapy after suffering 'emotional and psychological pressure to switch sides.' Rudenko is one of the lucky few to have made it back. Save Ukraine says it has rescued 777 children so far out of the estimated 1.6 million who it says have been taken by the Russians. 'This is a systematic indoctrination to annihilate our identity and destroy our country by kidnapping our children,' said Mykola Kuleba, founder of Save Ukraine and a former commissioner for children's rights for the Ukrainian government between 2014 and 2021. The group's investigators recently found an online catalog of 294 kidnapped Ukrainian children put up for adoption in Russia. The database is hosted on the education department's website in Russian-controlled Luhansk, where children are advertised for their character traits and physical features. Advertisement The Post viewed some of the posts, featuring children ranging in age from five to 15. Russia says the children are all orphans, Save Ukraine maintains that in the majority of cases they are not, and have been forcibly separated from their families. In the entries 'Alexandra' is pictured in a plaid black and red shirt, her profile says she is 14 years old with brown eyes and 'demonstrates leadership qualities.' The description lists: 'sings well, dances, writes stories.' Advertisement The question 'brothers or sisters' is answered only with 'yes' and no further details. 11 Alexandra is among the Ukrainian children that the Russian have put up for adoption. The 14-year-old 'demonstrates leadership qualities,' according to her online bio. Save Ukraine 11 Ilya, a five-year-old, who is up for adoption, is described as 'very cheerful… Very hardworking… Favorite activity [is] drawing and active games in the fresh air,' in his online bio. Save Ukraine 11 Angelina, 15, is 'Non-aggressive, kind, capable of sympathy … willing to carry out assignments. If she takes on a task, she sees it through to the end,' according to her adoption bio. Save Ukraine Advertisement 11 Sugar, 14, was also marked for adoption on the Russian site, described as having 'a desire and aspiration to take care of someone. Shows love for animals. Especially loves dogs.' Save Ukraine has blasted such postings as 'a slave catalog.' Save Ukraine In another post, a five-year-old boy, Ilya, is pictured at his school desk with a pencil and coloring book. He is described as 'very cheerful … loves to smile and hug,' and 'always helps not only adults, but also children.' Another girl, Angelina, is pictured on a sunny street with her hands held behind her back. She is described as 15 and 'capable of sympathy' as well as 'responsible about cleaning the classroom.' 'Russia isn't even trying to hide it anymore,' Kuleba said in a post on X. 'On official platforms, Ukrainian orphans are displayed like products in an online marketplace.' Advertisement Kuleba called the database 'a slave catalog' and denounced it as 'digital trafficking.' 11 Mykola Kuleb says that Russia has kidnapped 1.6 million Ukrainian children since they invaded Ukraine in 2014. Courtesy of Save Ukraine Last week, in an exclusive interview with The Post, Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska made a special plea for the return of Ukrainian children as President Trump met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to hammer out an end to the conflict in Ukraine. 'For all Ukrainians, this is one of the most heartbreaking consequences of this war,' Zelenska said. 'The Russians took them — without consent, without records.' First Lady Melania Trump issued her own plea to Putin in a 'peace letter' handed to the Russian leader at the Alaska meeting. 'As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation's hope,' she wrote. 'As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few.' 11 Ksenia, 21, worked with the charity to get her teenage brother back. Courtesy of Save Ukraine 11 Ksenia with Mykola Kuleb and others invovled in the Save Ukraine charity. Courtesy of Save Ukraine Some siblings have taken matters into their own hands. Ksenia, 21, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, helped rescue her 13-year-old brother. Their situation was slightly different. They were both raised by the same foster parents, but — following a raid by soldiers on their home in Vovchansk in northeastern Ukraine — the parents decided to send the teenage brother with soldiers to be re-educated in Russia. 'They told him that Ukraine was full of Nazis who wanted to kill him,' Ksenia told The Post through the translator. 'When I saw him, he was completely brainwashed.' Upset by this, Ksenia began the 'challenging journey' of assembling the necessary documentation to remove her brother from the school he had been posted to, with the help of officials at Save Ukraine. At first, her brother was unsure about leaving Russia. But Ksenia said she was able to convince him to return to Ukraine for just a month at first, and then he could decide if he wanted to stay or go back. After spending time with his sister he decided to say and they both now live in the capital, Kyiv, where Ksenia is in her third year of a journalism degree. She said her experience in saving her brother inspired her choice of career. 'I want to find out the truth,' she said. 'I want to know about how the war has affected Ukrainian children.'
30 minutes ago
NATO defense chiefs wrap talks on Ukraine security, but the path forward is unclear
Top U.S. and European defense officials spent much of this week privately discussing possible military options in Ukraine that would bolster the Eastern European country's protections against Russia. But the alliance's top military officials appeared to emerge without a concrete plan -- at least not one they were willing to discuss publicly. Gen. Dan Caine, President Donald Trump's top military adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, invited several of his European counterparts to dinner at his home at Fort Myer in Virginia on Tuesday evening. The discussion continued Wednesday online with a briefing by Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the top U.S. commander in Europe, who also serves as head of NATO forces, officials said. The talks were aimed at providing military options that Trump and other political leaders in the NATO alliance could use to guarantee Ukraine's security as part of a peace deal between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy has aggressively sought security guarantees from the alliance to ensure Russia would not attack again. United Kingdom officials have said previously that Great Britain and France are prepared to lead a multinational force in Ukraine, but it was not clear how many troops would be involved, from which countries, or what exactly the troops would do. On Tuesday, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the possibility of NATO-backed security guarantees as a 'breakthrough,' noting that the U.S. was now working 'at pace' with 30 or so other countries, which he called a 'coalition of the willing,' to help Ukraine. 'These guarantees will ensure that if there is a peace, if there is a deal, then we hold to it and there isn't further conflict,' Starmer said in a video post on X. Likewise, Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, said the security guarantees will ultimately help achieve any ceasefire in the three-year war. "If you bring in good security guarantees, this allows Zelenskyy some options as well to work with Putin so he can settle this conflict, and I think w'ere on a path to do that," Kellogg told Fox Business on Tuesday. But along with any commitment of troops, details on these possible security guarantees remained elusive Wednesday, as several officials said the discussions were still in the early stages and would need to become part of a broader political discussion going forward. Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, told ABC News Live on Wednesday it was unlikely that NATO would cobble together a security agreement that would be acceptable to both Ukraine and the Europeans and to Russia. 'What you may get is a ceasefire, perhaps even an armistice, a more formal ceasefire that would require NATO security or European security guarantees to Ukraine to ensure that Russia does not restart the war,' Daalder continued. NATO officials struck an optimistic tone Wednesday following meetings with their counterparts, while avoiding discussing specifics. 'NATO has faced important times before,' said Col. Martin L. O'Donnell, a spokesperson for Grynkewich and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, in a statement following the meetings. 'And these have only made our Alliance Stronger,' he added. Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO military committee, said members confirmed their support for Ukraine during the meeting Wednesday. The 'priority continues to be a just, credible and durable peace,' he wrote. For his part, Trump has said only that he won't send ground troops and suggested the U.S. could help with air assets. 'President Trump has been clear that the U.S. will not be sending boots on the ground, but may be willing to help in other ways,' a White House official told reporters on Wednesday.
