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Russia fired dozens of drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, disregarding a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv that began at midnight. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine hadn't abided by its own ceasefire, saying that air defenses shot down 53 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea between Tuesday evening and dawn Wednesday. There had been no official sign from Moscow that it would heed Kyiv's ceasefire, and there was little hope for a pause in hostilities as the war stretches into its fifth year following Russia's all-out invasion of its neighbor. US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the war over the past year have come to nothing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had announced the move after Russia said it would hold its own unilateral ceasefire over two days later this week while it marks the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The ...
Russia's Defence Ministry declared a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine for Friday and Saturday to mark the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, but it threatened to strike back at Kyiv if it tries to disrupt the Victory Day festivities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in response said his country would observe a truce beginning at 12 am on Wednesday and respond in kind to Russia's actions from that moment on. He did not put an end date on the truce. The announcements on Monday come as Russia prepares to celebrate its most important secular holiday with a traditional military parade on Moscow's Red Square pared down due to what officials say are concerns over possible Ukrainian attacks. Ukraine has been launching drone attacks deep inside Russia to counter its more than 4-year-old invasion. They also follow a familiar pattern of previous attempts to secure ceasefires - most recently around Orthodox Easter - that had little to no impact. The Defence .
On contaminated land that is too dangerous for human life, the world's wildest horses roam free. Across the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Przewalski's horses - stocky, sand-colored and almost toy-like in appearance - graze in a radioactive landscape larger than Luxembourg. On April 26, 1986, an explosion at the nuclear power plant in Ukraine sent radiation across Europe and forced the evacuation of entire towns, displacing tens of thousands. It was the worst nuclear disaster in history. Four decades on, Chernobyl - which is transliterated as "Chornobyl" in Ukraine - remains too dangerous for humans. But the wildlife has moved back in. Wolves now prowl the vast no-man's-land spanning Ukraine and Belarus, and brown bears have returned after more than a century. Populations of lynx, moose, red deer and even free-roaming packs of dogs have rebounded. Przewalski's horses, native to Mongolia and once on the brink of extinction, were introduced here in 1998 as an experiment. Known as "takhi
Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov on Friday held separate, high-stakes meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the prospects of "achieving lasting peace" in the conflict-hit nation. Umerov, considered close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is on a visit to India. In his talks with Doval, the Ukrainian official provided a detailed brief on the current situation on the "frontline". In the meetings, the Indian side reaffirmed its principled position on the need for finding a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. "Discussed our bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on the Ukraine conflict," Jaishankar said on social media. Umerov said he and the external affairs minister "discussed the current situation on the front line, the progress of negotiations, and the prospects for achieving a just, lasting, and sustainable peace for Ukraine." He said the two
Russia hammered civilian areas of Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 80 others in its biggest aerial barrage in almost two weeks, officials said Thursday. Russia launched nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, primarily targeting civilians, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Thursday on X. At least four people were killed in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old, with more than 50 others injured, Sybiha said. Nine people were killed and 23 injured in the southern port city of Odesa, three were killed and around three dozen injured in the central Dnipro region, and one person was killed in Zaporizhzhia in the south. "Such attacks cannot be normalized. These are war crimes that must be stopped and their perpetrators held to account," Sybiha said on X. Ukraine's air force said air defenses shot down or disabled 667 out of 703 incoming targets, including 636 Shahed-type drones a
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 175 prisoners of war (PoWs) each as the 32-hour Easter truce announced by the Kremlin began at 4 pm on Saturday. President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared the 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend. According to his order, Russian forces are to observe the ceasefire starting 4 pm (local time) Saturday till the end of Sunday along the almost 1,300 kms long front in east Ukraine. Apart from the 175 PoWs exchanged by both sides, Ukraine has also released seven Russian civilians, earlier taken hostage from the western region of Kursk, Russian ombudswoman Tatiana Maskalkova told Rossia 24 state TV. The state TV also added that after more than an hour after its beginning, the truce was holding. However, the Russian troops have been ordered to be on standby and ready to repulse any "provocation" by the Ukrainian side. Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter according to the Julian Calendar, which this year falls on April 12.
Russian drone strikes killed at least two people in the Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight into Saturday, local authorities reported, ahead of a proposed ceasefire for Orthodox Easter. A further two people were wounded in the attack on the Black Sea port city, when drones hit a residential area, damaging apartment buildings, houses and a kindergarten. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia targeted Ukraine with 160 drones overnight, of which 133 were shot down or intercepted, hours before a proposed Easter ceasefire was due to come into force. Russia's Defence Ministry said 99 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight across Russia and occupied Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4 pm Saturday until the end of Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine is ready to mirror any ceasefire steps, having earlier proposed to .
Ukrainian military personnel shot down Iranian-designed Shahed drones in multiple Middle Eastern countries during the Iran war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, describing the operations as part of a broader effort to help partners counter the same weapons used by Russia in Ukraine. Zelenskyy made his first public acknowledgment of the operations Wednesday in remarks to reporters that were embargoed until Friday. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces took part in active operations abroad using domestically produced, battle-tested interceptor drones.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the UAE and met his Emirati counterpart Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday, to discuss regional security in the Middle East. "For Ukraine, this is also a matter of principle: terror must not prevail anywhere in the world. Protection must be sufficient everywhere," Zelenskyy said in a post on X following his meeting with the Emirati leader. He said they discussed "the security situation in the Emirates, Iranian strikes, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which directly affects the global oil market." The Emirates News Agency said the two leaders discussed "security developments in the region amid ongoing military escalation and their implications for regional and international peace and security, as well as their impact on international navigation and the global economy." During his visit to Saudi Arabia a day before, Zelenskyy said the two countries have agreed to "an important arrangement" on defence cooperation. Zelenskyy
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's assertion that the Trump administration is demanding Kyiv hand over its eastern Donbas region to Russia to receive American security guarantees in any ceasefire plan. Speaking to reporters following a Group of Seven meeting in France, Rubio disputed Zelenskyy's recent comments and said the US has made no such stipulation in its talks with Ukraine. "That's a lie," Rubio said. "And I saw him say that. And it's unfortunate he would say that because he knows that's not true and that's not what he was told." In an interview published this week, Zelenskyy told Reuters the US was making its offer of security guarantees for Ukraine contingent on the ceding of the Donbas region, the industrial heartland long coveted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow's forces occupy the bulk of the region, but have not seized a strip of land that is among the most heavily fortified parts of the front ...
The night air in eastern Ukraine is crisp, and a myriad of stars scatter above a small crew of soldiers watching for Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia launches in waves. Such teams are deployed across the country as part of a constantly evolving effort to counter the low-cost loitering munitions that have become a deadly weapon of modern warfare, from Ukraine to the Middle East. While waiting, the crew from the 127th Brigade tests and fine-tunes their self-made interceptor drones, searching for flaws that could undermine performance once the buzzing threat appears. When Shahed drones first appeared in autumn 2022, Ukraine had few ways to stop them. Today, drone crews intercept them in flight with continually adapting technology. In recent years, Ukraine's domestic drone interceptor market has burgeoned, producing some key players who tout their products at international arms shows. But it's on the front line where small teams have become laboratories of rapid military ...