Ben Wolfgang
Articles by Ben Wolfgang
U.S., allies push China to rein in Russia as civilian suffering rises in Ukraine
The U.S. and its NATO allies on Monday put heavy public pressure on China to intervene and help stop Russia's war in Ukraine, which has killed thousands and sparked a massive humanitarian crisis in the city of Mariupol that aid organizations describe as a "life-and-death nightmare." Published March 14, 2022
Top White House, Chinese officials meet in Rome; U.S. warns Beijing against aid to Russia
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with a top Chinese diplomat in Rome Monday as the Biden administration warned that any effort by China to aid Russia's invasion of Ukraine or to help the Kremlin skirt global economic sanctions will be met with serious repercussions. Published March 14, 2022
Top diplomat admits it’s ‘hard to understand’ why U.S. negotiating new nuclear deal with Iran
A top Biden administration diplomat admitted Sunday that it is "hard to understand" why the U.S. and other world powers are negotiating with Iran. Published March 13, 2022
U.S. journalist/filmmaker Brent Renaud shot dead by Russian troops in Ukraine
American journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud was shot and killed by Russian troops in Ukraine on Sunday, according to media reports. Published March 13, 2022
Western Ukraine, once a safe haven, now a Russian target
KRAKOW, Poland -- Lviv residents awoke Sunday to find war at their doorstep, with a major Russian assault pounding a key Ukrainian military facility. Published March 13, 2022
Russia hits Ukrainian military installation near Polish border, 35 dead as conflict escalates
KRAKOW, Poland -- Russia attacked a key military base just outside the once-safe city of Lviv in western Ukraine on Sunday, killing at least 35 and wounding more than 100 others as the Biden administration faced mounting pressure at home to intervene more forcefully on behalf of the embattled Ukrainians. Published March 13, 2022
North Korea tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile system, Pentagon says
North Korea over the past several weeks carried out two tests of a new intercontinental ballistic missile system, Pentagon officials said Thursday, and Pyongyang could be preparing to carry out more tests disguised as space launches. Published March 10, 2022
Nuclear weapons a looming threat as war against Ukraine enters third week
Russia's economy is smaller than Italy's, and its military has yet to impress two weeks into its invasion of Ukraine. Still, the West is treating the crisis as a potential precursor to World War III for one simple reason: Moscow's massive stockpile of nuclear warheads and the growing fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin may resort to using the world's most devastating weapons. Published March 10, 2022
From Europe to Asia to South America, U.S. security guarantees stretch around the world
President Biden has repeatedly made it clear that he won't send U.S. troops to defend Ukraine from invading Russian forces, and the White House is reluctant to implement more limited measures such as a no-fly zone out of fear of sparking a catastrophic world war. Published March 9, 2022
What does Putin want? Lack of clear endgame hovers over fierce Ukraine fighting
ANALYSIS: The world spent months wondering whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would invade Ukraine. With tanks bearing down on Kyiv and Russian troops now in control of key cities, an equally knotty question has emerged: What does victory look like for Russia's enigmatic leader? Published March 3, 2022
Russia, Ukraine agree to set ‘humanitarian corridor’ to evacuate civilians from war zone
Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed Thursday to establish a humanitarian corridor inside Ukraine to evacuate civilians from combat zones. Published March 3, 2022
Russia bombards major Ukrainian cities as U.N. condemns Kremlin
Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday agreed to a second round of peace talks even as Russian troops stepped up their assault of the key cities of Kharkiv and Kherson and neared the capital of Kyiv, while a defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared his country will never surrender as a brutal war that has drawn global condemnation enters its second week. Published March 2, 2022
‘Badly miscalculated’: Biden says Putin, Russia will pay price of invasion for years
Russian President Vladimir Putin "badly miscalculated" by invading Ukraine and now faces unprecedented global isolation and Western unity, President Biden said Tuesday night, vowing that Moscow will suffer for years to come. Published March 1, 2022
Kremlin warns West: ‘In human history, economic wars quite often turned into real ones’
A top Russian official on Tuesday offered a grim warning to the West, firing back at U.S. and European economic sanctions on Moscow and saying such moves could spark a full-scale war. Published March 1, 2022
Putin’s disinformation machine falters as pro-Ukrainian, anti-Russian narratives take hold
The narrative of a plucky Ukraine holding off a blundering Russian army has taken hold around the world, and specialists say the Kremlin's utter failure to sell its spin on events is beginning to have a tangible impact on the actual war being fought on the ground. Published February 28, 2022
Battle for Kyiv: Russians assault Ukrainian capital city as death count rises
Russian troops assaulted Kyiv on Friday but met stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of the capital city, as Ukrainian leaders pleaded with the West for help to keep their government afloat in the face of a full-scale invasion. Published February 25, 2022
Russians advance, Ukrainians resist as war builds in heart of Europe
Russia on Thursday launched a massive, coordinated assault on neighboring Ukraine, bombing key cities and sending troops across the border from multiple directions, as President Vladimir Putin's long-feared invasion wreaked havoc on global markets and threatened to plunge all of Eastern Europe into its most devastating conflict since World War II. Published February 24, 2022
Russia attacks Ukraine from air, land; West condemns Putin; Zelenskyy declares martial law
Russia on Thursday launched a massive, coordinated attack on Ukraine, with Russian jets reportedly hitting major Ukrainian cities and ground forces crossing into Ukrainian territory on multiple fronts, as Vladimir Putin's long-feared invasion threatened to plunge all of Eastern Europe into its most devastating conflict since World War II. Published February 24, 2022
Biden’s push to revive Obama-era Iran deal hits new snags
The Biden administration's push to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal hit fresh snags Wednesday as Tehran recalled its top negotiator from multiparty talks while the spiraling Ukraine crisis continued to strain negotiations that struggled for months to gain steam. Published February 23, 2022
World watches ‘the beginning of a Russian invasion’ in Ukraine
Moscow marched down a path toward war Tuesday as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine's disputed Donbas region and suggested that he is prepared to go much further, while President Biden and America's NATO allies unleashed a coordinated package of sweeping economic sanctions in a last-ditch bid to halt a full-blown invasion. Published February 22, 2022
