Page 108 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Biden invites Zelenskyy amid a stepped-up push for Congress to approve aid

President Joe Biden has invited Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the White House on Tuesday as the US administration steps up the pressure on Congress to provide billions more in aid to Kyiv in the war with Russia. The visit is intended "to underscore the United States' unshakeable commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia's brutal invasion," the White House said in a statement Sunday. As Russia ramps up its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine, the leaders will discuss Ukraine's urgent needs and the vital importance of the United States' continued support at this critical moment." Biden has asked Congress for a USD 110 billion package of wartime funding for Ukraine (USD61.4 billion) and Israel, along with other national security priorities. But the request is caught up in a debate over US immigration policy and border security. Earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday defended the emergency sale to Israel of .

Ukraine war: Samarkand university sees rise in Indian MBBS students

With the war closing Ukraine's door for MBBS aspirants from India, 93-year-old State Samarkand Medical University in Uzbekistan is seeing an exponential rise in the number of Indian students. Till 2021, the public university used to receive around 100 to 150 Indian students and the number has gone up to 3,000 in 2023. The varsity has also accommodated over 1,000 Indian students who were earlier enrolled in various universities in Ukraine and had to leave their courses midway. The number of Indian students has risen exponentially and we are also making adequate arrangements to ensure the trend continues and the students do not have to face any discomfort," Dr Zafar Aminov, Vice Chancellor, State Samarkand Medical University told PTI. "We have hired over 40 teachers from India this year. Our teaching and learning in English only but we wanted to ensure that students do not find it difficult to deal with any difference in accent, Aminov said. This way, the teachers are culturally clos

For Putin, winning election could be easier than resolving many challenges

For President Vladimir Putin, winning reelection will probably be the easy part. His sweeping grip on Russia's political scene has virtually assured him another six-year term that would extend his two dozen years in power. More daunting will be the thorny challenges that lie ahead. The stalemated war in Ukraine, unyielding Western pressure that compounds Russia's economic problems, and intensifying infighting among the ruling elite will loom over Putin's next term and erode his pledges of stability. THE WAR IN UKRAINE What Putin expected to be a quick campaign in 2022 to establish Kremlin control over its neighbour has turned into a grinding war of attrition that has incurred massive personnel losses and drained Russia's resources. While Russia has prevented Ukraine's army from making any significant gains during its summer counteroffensive, the Kremlin doesn't have enough manpower and equipment to mount any major campaigns of its own. The resulting stalemate sets the stage for m

US aid for Ukraine by yr-end seems out of reach as GOP ties it to security

A deal to provide further US assistance to Ukraine by year-end appears to be increasingly out of reach for President Joe Biden. The impasse is deepening in Congress despite dire warnings from the White House about the consequences of inaction as Republicans insist on pairing the aid with changes to America's immigration and border policies. After the Democratic president said this past week he was willing to make significant compromises on the border, Republicans quickly revived demands that they had earlier set aside, hardening their positions and attempting to shift the negotiations to the right, according to a person familiar with the talks who was not authorized to publicly discuss them and spoke on condition of anonymity. The latest proposal, from the lead GOP negotiator, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., came during a meeting with a core group of senators before they left Washington on Thursday afternoon. It could force the White House to consider ideas that many Democrats will ...

Ukraine condemns Russian presidential election bid in occupied territory

Ukraine on Saturday strongly condemned Russia's plans to hold presidential elections on occupied Ukrainian territory in the spring. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called the planned elections null and void and pledged that any international observers sent to monitor them would face criminal responsibility. Lawmakers in Russia on Thursday set the country's 2024 presidential election for March 17. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday moved to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for at least another six years, announcing his candidacy in the election. He is all but certain to win. Russian authorities plan to arrange voting in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson territories Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in September last year but does not fully control together with the Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. The announcement of the presidential election follows local elections for Russian-installed legislatures in occupied parts

Russia launches cruise missile barrage on Ukraine after extended pause

The air raid in Kyiv lasted for nearly two hours, but air defences successfully intercepted all missiles heading towards the capital, said Serhii Popko

'World is watching,' says US President Biden as Israel, Ukraine aids stall

Biden said he was willing to consider immigration policy changes to secure a deal, winning praise from a key Republican lawmaker

Russia becoming 'new global growth centre', says President Vladimir Putin

"The world has entered an era of radical changes and serious tests not only for specific companies and sectors, but also for whole countries and regions of the world," Putin said

Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities, say UN officials

Intensifying Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities are worsening humanitarian conditions across the war-torn country, where heavy snow and freezing temperatures have already arrived, UN officials said Wednesday. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the UN Security Council that Russia's continuing daily attacks on Ukraine's critical civilian infrastructure have resulted in civilian casualties, and Moscow recently escalated its barrages in populated areas including the capital, Kyiv. All attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop immediately, he said. They are prohibited under international humanitarian law and are simply unacceptable. Jenca also raised the risks to all four of Ukraine's nuclear power plants. The Zaporizhzhia plant, which is Europe's largest, suffered its eighth complete off-site power outage since the invasion on Saturday, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Jenca said. And IAEA staff at the Khmelnitsky plant

12 people arrested for sending Nepalese nationals to join Russian army

A gang of 12 people, allegedly involved in illegally sending Nepalese nationals to Russia for recruitment in the Russian Army, has been arrested, police said here on Wednesday. The gang used to charge Rs 700,000 to Rs 1,100,000 per person for arranging visit visas and other documents to get them recruited in the Russian Army, the District Police Circle, Kathmandu said. After six Nepalese lost their lives in the Russia-Ukraine war, Nepal Police have taken precautionary measures against possible incidents of human trafficking, sources said. The youths have either been sent to Russia via Dubai or through land route via India, to their destination. It is illegal to send labourers on a visit visa to a foreign country. It is also illegal to send Nepalese nationals for recruitment in foreign army except in case of those joining British Gorkha and Indian Gorkha regiments under special agreement. After six Nepalese were killed in the Russia-Ukraine war, the Nepal government has requested ..

Four Russians charged with war crimes for torturing American in Ukraine

The Justice Department on Wednesday said it has filed war crime charges against four members of the Russian military accused of abducting and torturing an American during the invasion of Ukraine in a case that's the first of its kind. The four Russians are accused of kidnapping the American from his home in a Ukrainian village in 2022. The American was beaten and interrogated while being held for 10 days at a Russian military compound, before eventually being evacuated with his wife, who is Ukrainian, US authorities said. The American told federal agents who had travelled to Ukraine last year as part of an investigation that the Russian soldiers had abducted him, stripped him naked, pointed a gun at his head and badly beaten him, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. The evidence gathered by our agents speaks to the brutality, criminality, and depravity of Russia's invasion, Mayorkas said. The case marks the first time the US has filed war crime charges in the ...

G7 to ban Russian diamonds, announce measures on price cap, assets: Report

One source specified that the G7 was expected to announce a direct ban as of Jan. 1 and then an indirect ban with a phase in period from March 1 until Sept. 1

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Saudi Arabia, UAE amid COP28

Russian President Vladimir Putin began a trip on Wednesday to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, hoping to shore up support in the Mideast from two major oil producers allied to the US as his war on Ukraine grinds on. Putin landed in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms now hosting the United Nations' COP28 climate talks. It marked his first trip to the region from before the coronavirus pandemic and the war and as he faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over the war in Ukraine. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE has signed the ICC founding treaty, meaning they don't face any obligation to detain Putin over the warrant accusing him of being personally responsible for the abductions of children from Ukraine during his war on the country. Putin skipped a summit in South Africa over concerns he could be arrested on arrival there. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's foreign minister, met a smiling Putin after

US imposes new round of sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a Belgian involved in procuring electronics for the Russian military, his companies and a group of Belarusian firms and people tied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted a network led by Belgium-based Hans De Geetere, which included nine entities and five people across Russia, Belgium, Cyprus, Sweden, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands. They are accused of being involved with procuring military-grade equipment for Russia. Also on Tuesday, the US Justice Department unsealed two indictments against Hans De Geetere and the Commerce Department added him and five firms to its entity list. US sanctions block access to US property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans. De Geetere did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment through email. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the US is committed to working with our allies a

Russian President Putin to visit Gulf countries for first time since 2019

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Russia are all members of OPEC+, the alliance between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major oil producers

Dutch govt pledges 2.5 bn euro for Ukraine; Zelensky to address US senators

The Dutch government has allocated 2.5 billion euros (nearly $2.7 billion) to support Ukraine in 2024, the country's foreign minister announced during a visit on Tuesday. The announcement comes as the 21-month war drags into another winter and concerns grow that Kyiv's war effort may falter without continued Western support. Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot sought to assure Ukrainian authorities, telling journalists after a meeting with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba: "My main message to Minister Kuleba was the same as to all of you here. Be assured of our support. Bruins Slot said her country opened a training centre for F-16s in Romania on Nov 13 and is working with the US, Denmark and other countries to see that Ukraine can deploy the fighter jets as soon as possible. Your security is our security, she said. She added that the meeting also touched on Ukraine's aspiration to become a member of the European Union: Your future is with us, she said. Kuleba said while me

Nepal urges Russia not to recruit its citizens into army; says six killed

The small Himalayan nation, wedged between China and India, has no such agreement with Russia, which invaded neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022 and has been engaged in a war since

US nearly out of funds for Ukraine aid, White House warns Congress

The Biden administration on Monday sent Congress an urgent warning about the need to approve tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance to Ukraine, saying Kyiv's war effort to defend itself from Russia's invasion may grind to a halt without it. In a letter to House and Senate leaders and also released publicly, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young warned the US will run out of funding to send weapons and assistance to Ukraine by the end of the year, saying that would kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield. She added that the US already has run out of money that it has used to prop up Ukraine's economy, and if Ukraine's economy collapses, they will not be able to keep fighting, full stop. We are out of money and nearly out of time, she wrote. Biden has sought a nearly USD 106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other needs, but it has faced a difficult reception on Capitol Hill, where there is growing scepticism about the magnitude of ...

6 citizens killed fighting for Russian Army against Ukraine: Nepal govt

Six Nepalese nationals serving in the Russian Army have been killed in the war with Ukraine, the government announced on Monday, urging Moscow not to recruit Nepali citizens into its forces. Nepal's Foreign Ministry in a statement identified the deceased as Pritam Karki of Syangja, Ganga Raj Moktan of Ilam, Raj Kumar Karki of Dolakha, Rupak Karki of Kapilvastu, Dewan Rai of Kaski and Sandeep Thapaliya of Gorkha. The ministry has requested Russia to send the bodies of the Nepalis killed in the Russia-Ukraine war and provide compensation to the victims' families, the statement said. Nepal has also requested Russia not to recruit its citizens into the Russian army and if any Nepali nationals have been recruited, to immediately return them to Nepal. The ministry also said that diplomatic efforts are on to release one Nepalese who has been made hostage by the Ukraine while serving in the Russian Army. It has also appealed to the general public to travel to Russia only with a No Objecti

Nato should be prepared for bad news from Ukraine: Jens Stoltenberg

"I will leave it to the Ukrainians and military commanders to make these difficult operational decisions," Stoltenberg said