Doug Klain
15.7K posts
@DougKlain
Foreign Affairs on Capitol Hill | Views mine
As of now, already 5 people have been reported killed in Kyiv as a result of last night’s Russian attack. My condolences to their families and loved ones. Around 40 people have been injured in the capital, and another 7 in the Kyiv region. There are already 28 injured in Kharkiv. And two people have been injured in the Odesa region. In total, 180 sites have been damaged across the country, including more than 50 ordinary residential buildings. A search and rescue operation is still ongoing in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district. Efforts continue to find people under the rubble. More than 10 people are reported missing. All necessary services are also operating in the Obolonskyi district. And recovery efforts are underway after Russian strikes in the Poltava region. Overall, more than 750 personnel of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and nearly 750 police officers have already been engaged across the country to eliminate the consequences of the attack. I am grateful to all who help the rescuers and the police Also, earlier today, during a humanitarian mission in Kherson, the Russians twice attacked a vehicle of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs with FPV drones, and the Russians could not have been unaware of which vehicle they were targeting. The Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and eight other staff members were inside. Fortunately, no one was injured. The mission personnel have been evacuated. Even so, a significant number of missiles and drones were shot down during these attacks – the overall interception rate is over 93%. Of course, it needs to be higher. And of course, the most difficult challenge is defending against ballistic missiles. I thank everyone who is helping us with this. There must be a just response to all these strikes. And pressure on Moscow must be such that they feel the consequences of their terror there. It is important that global sanctions against Russia remain in place. Russia’s accountability for this war, and our sanctions pressure, must work at full strength. And it is also very important that the world does not stay silent about this terror and stands with Ukraine.
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 13, 2026 The Kremlin is doubling down on its demand that Ukraine withdraw from all of Donbas as a precondition for the resumption of negotiations. Other Key Takeaways: Russia’s exaggerated territorial ambitions and aggressive territorial demands run completely counter to battlefield reality. US President Donald Trump said that he has not agreed with Putin that Russia should acquire all of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russian courts are increasingly leveraging corruption charges as a pretext to nationalize Russia’s largest corporations, likely setting conditions for the broader nationalization of private assets to support state revenues. Russian demands for cash reached an all-time high over Victory Day weekend, demonstrating rising societal fears over internet restrictions and tax policy. Ukrainian forces continue to increase the range and frequency of their long-range drones strikes against Russian oil infrastructure, exploiting overstretched Russian air defenses. Russian forces conducted large-scale drone strikes overnight on May 12 and throughout the day on May 13, killing at least six people. The Russian State Duma passed a bill granting the Russian president powers for extraterritorial military operations to protect Russian citizens abroad, previously introduced on March 10. Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Slovyansk, Oleksandrivka, and Hulyaipole directions and in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area.
🚨 A massive Russian air attack on residential neighborhoods in Kyiv. People are trapped under the rubble, the number of victims is still unknown. Putin launched this attack while Donald Trump is visiting China.
⚡️Breaking: Zelensky's former second-in-command, Yermak, charged in major corruption probe Yermak has been under investigation in a probe into a $100 million corruption scheme centered around the state nuclear monopoly Energoatom. kyivindependent.com/breaking-zelen…
A-level trolling
The Netherlands is seeking to restart talks on using up to €210 billion in frozen russian assets to help Ukraine keep defending itself politico.eu/article/nether…
Ever since the Islamic regime took power in Iran, America has been of two minds about it. Does Washington want to change certain policies of Iran or does it want to change Iran? My latest column: washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/…
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-02) - @RepDonBacon: We are one signature away to get a vote on the floor that would put sanctions on Russia and renew military aid to Ukraine. We need one more signature, and I can guarantee you there'll be a lot of Republicans who vote for that. We gotta push the discharge (petition) to make it happen. “I pray every Wednesday for victory in Ukraine. Hear, hear. I'm a believer. There's a God that listens to our prayers. I believe in the God of the Bible, and I pray for Ukraine's victory, and I pray for justice and judgment on Putin and his henchmen, and that God will come down and help Ukraine win this war much sooner rather than later. I'm so moved by the heart of so many Ukrainian believers that I've met. I was at a worship service yesterday, with some Ukrainian priests and some of the folks that were affiliated with him, and you could just see the faith. And when I was there, I saw the faith. So my second point, Ukraine's fighting for freedom, free markets, democracy, rule of law, and they wanna walk the talk of being part of the West. Folks who were involved with bribery and all that stuff, they're in jail now. Ukraine is wanting to be part and be aligned with the West. They don't wanna be part of the Russian shadow, and they wanna move away from that, and that's one of the reasons why Putin don't like it. They shows that his neighbor could be a democracy and free market. And I think this shows even more clearly that they (Russians) just want to reclaim old territory and they don’t care about Ukraine. They don't care about Ukrainians. They just wanna restore their old borders. But this is a fight against evil versus good. And America's gotta stand on the right side of this, on the side of good, which means we gotta help them with military weapons. We gotta help them with long-range precision F-16s with new radars, air defenses. And we've gotta put sanctions on Russia that we force the president to put on them. Cause I've not seen him do right here. So we are one signature away to get a vote on the floor that would put sanctions on Russia and renew military aid to Ukraine. And so talk to the folks you know. We need one more signature, and I can guarantee you there'll be a lot of Republicans who vote for that. We gotta push the discharge (petition) to make it happen. My heart is with you. My prayers are with the Ukrainians who are here. We want a victorious Ukraine that's aligned with the West. And I tell you a victorious Ukraine will be a leader in the EU. And they're gonna be a leader in NATO” - Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-02) on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
To those Fidesz leaders who are now suddenly eager to negotiate and send messages, I respond with @PM_ViktorOrban’s own words: “Nothing will be forgotten. Everything has been noted. Everything will be taken care of.”
🚨Trump Admin just eased sanctions again on Russia, apparently trying to bury the news on a Friday night. After the admin made a big deal last weekend that its 30-day waiver on Russian energy expired, a week later there’s a new waiver until May 16. 👉ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions…
BREAKING: The US has authorized transactions involving Russian oil loaded onto tankers before April 17, with the authorization remaining in force until May 16. US-Russian economic and energy cooperation will continue.
