Page 110 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Record Russian budget to boost defence spending, shoring up Putin's support

Russia's State Duma took a step forward Wednesday towards approving its biggest-ever federal budget which will increase spending by around 25 per cent in 2024, with record amounts going on defence. Defence spending is expected to overtake social spending next year for the first time in modern Russian history, at a time when the Kremlin is keen to shore up support for President Vladimir Putin as Russia prepares for a presidential election in March. Record low unemployment, higher wages and targeted social spending should help the Kremlin ride out the domestic impact of pivoting the economy to a war footing, but could pose a problem in the long term, analysts say. The draft budget "is about getting the war sorted in Ukraine and about being ready for a military confrontation with the West in perpetuity, said Richard Connolly, an expert on Russia's military and economy at the Royal United Services Institute in London. This amounts to the wholesale remilitarisation of Russian society, h

EU moves closer to imposing new set of sanctions on Russia for Ukraine war

The European Union's executive said on Wednesday it proposed to the member states a new package of sanctions targeting the Kremlin and its associates, seeking to tighten previous measures approved since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine as well as adding dozens of economic operators. The proposal sets in motion final talks between the 27 member states to reach the necessary unanimity on the issue and officials have said they hope to have the 12th package operational by the end of the year. Even though Wednesday's statement did not go into details, preparatory talks centred on imposing export restrictions on Russia's lucrative diamond industry. The proposals for listings include actors from the Russian military, defense and IT sectors, as well as other important economic operators, the EU Commission statement said. It said that the latest package would target more than 120 individuals and entities. Because the EU needs to get everyone on board, the outcome is not fully set yet.

Geopolitical risk: After Ukraine, it's Gaza

As a familiar script plays out, the threat to the world economy is limited

Ukraine war: Russia rebuts West's human rights violations charge at UN meet

Western countries on Monday repeatedly called on Russia to end domestic repression of dissident voices and end its war in Ukraine and human rights violations related to it as Russia came under a regular review at the UN's top rights body. A delegation from Moscow, led by State Secretary and Deputy Justice Minister Andrei Loginov, defended Russia's right to ensure law and order by restricting some forms of protest or voices that might threaten domestic security. He also said Russia's special military operation in Ukraine had no relation to the subject matter" at issue in the review. Monday's three-and-half-hour hearing in Geneva was part of an exercise known as the universal periodic review, or UPR, which all UN member states face about every four or five years in connection with the UN-backed Human Rights Council. Russia came under widespread international condemnation after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Two separate teams of ...

Ukrainian commander played key role in Nord Stream sabotage: Reports

Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, said on Telegram that Russia is trying to recapture positions they previously lost around Bakhmut

Germany set to double Ukraine military aid under Scholz plan: Report

A spokesperson for Germany's Ministry of Defence said the Bundestag committee has not finished negotiations and declined to comment further

US Secy of State Blinken visits South Korea; Russia-N Korean ties in focus

Heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, suspected North Korean cooperation with Russia in its war on Ukraine and concerns about China's growing aggressiveness are topping U .S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's agenda as he visits South Korea. Blinken was in Seoul on Thursday for talks with South Korea's leadership following a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan on Wednesday in which the group previewed much of what he will discuss. The G7 strongly condemned North Korea's ballistic missile tests as well as its alleged arms transfers to Russia, which are both in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions against the North. Even before Blinken's arrival, North Korea's official news agency, the Korean Central News Agency, condemned the visit as well as one by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who travels to Seoul next week, describing them as warmongers bringing a new war cloud to Asia. Tensions between the Koreas are at their highest point years as the pace of both

India-US 5th 2+2 dialogue: Wars in Israel, Ukraine key parts of discussion

India has abstained from all the major votes held at the UN on condemning Russia so far

Putin calls for closer Russia-China cooperation on military satellites

Russian President Vladimir Putin told a senior Chinese military official Wednesday that Moscow and Beijing should expand their cooperation on military satellites and other prospective defence technologies a statement that signalled increasingly close defence links between the allies. Putin spoke in televised remarks at the start of his meeting with Gen Zhang Youxia, who is China's second-ranking military official and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. The Russian leader emphasised the importance of developing closer military links, noting that cooperation in high-tech spheres now takes priority. I mean space, including high-orbit assets, and new prospective types of weapons that will ensure strategic security of both Russia and the People's Republic of China, Putin said without elaboration. He emphasised that while Russia and China aren't building any military alliances based on Cold War patterns, their cooperation is a serious factor in stabilizing the international

Ukraine President Zelenskyy rules out holding elections next spring

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late Monday ruled out holding a presidential vote in the spring and urged his countrymen to avoid political divides, saying they must concentrate all resources on fighting Russia. Zelenskyy's comments in a video address follow increasing discussions about the possibility of a presidential election in March. Zelenskyy, who was elected for a five-year term in March 2019, had previously avoided definitive statements on the question. His associates had said he was pondering various possibilities. Now, in wartime, when there are so many challenges, it is absolutely irresponsible to throw the topic of elections into society in a lighthearted and playful way, Zelenskyy said, adding that the waves of any politically divisive things must stop". We must realise that now is the time of defense, the time of the battle that determines the fate of the state and people, not the time of manipulations, which only Russia expects from Ukraine, he said. I believe

G7 FMs to meet in Japan with focus on Israel-Hamas conflict, Ukraine

Foreign ministers from G7 countries will meet in Japan's Tokyo this week to discuss the middle east war and the Ukraine conflict, while making efforts to prevent a regional conflagration.

Ukrainian missile strike on shipyard in Crimea damages Russian ship

The Russian military said a Ukrainian missile strike on a shipyard in annexed Crimea had damaged a Russian ship. The Russian Defence Ministry said late Saturday that Ukrainian forces fired 15 cruise missiles at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch, a city in the east of the Crimean Peninsula. Air defences shot down 13 missiles but others hit the shipyard and damaged a vessel, a statement from the ministry said. The ministry didn't give details about the ship or the extent of the damage. The Ukrainian air force commander, Mykola Oleshchuk, said in a statement that at the time of the attack carried out by Ukrainian tactical aviation, one of the most modern ships of Russia's Black Sea fleet was at the shipyard carrier of the Kalibr cruise missiles. He didn't say directly, however, that this particular ship was damaged by the strike. The Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been a frequent target since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale

US to send $425 mn in aid to Ukraine amid ongoing war: Officials

The United States is expected to deliver $425 million in new military aid to Ukraine for its fight against Russia, including about $300 million in long-term funding to buy laser-guided munitions designed to take out drones, US officials said Thursday. According to officials, the long-term money will be provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds contracts for larger weapons systems that need to be either built or modified by defense companies. In addition, the Biden administration will send about $125 million in weapons and equipment through presidential drawdown authority, which pulls weapons from existing US stockpiles. According to officials, the weapons will include munitions for High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), as well as artillery rounds, anti-tank missiles, demolition equipment and cold weather gear. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid has not

Russian attack kills 2 in Ukraine that also damaged Kherson city center

A Russian attack on Kherson in eastern Ukraine killed one person and caused serious damage in the city's center, the region's governor said, and a Russian drone strike killed another civilian in the frequently targeted city of Nikopol. On Wednesday, the attack on Kherson, which Russian forces seized early in the war but then abandoned a year ago, also wounded two people. Despite the withdrawal, Russian attacks from the other side of the Dnieper River persist. Again an apocalyptic scene," regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app. Broken glass, torn window frames, ruined homes. People with trembling voices telling about what they have been through." In Nikopol, which is on the opposite bank of the Dniper from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, four people were wounded in the drone strike along with the woman who was killed, according to regional Gov. Serhii Lysak. Oleksii Kuleba, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, said "the occupi

Over 40% of Ukrainians need humanitarian help under war conditions: UN

Russian strikes are inflicting unimaginable suffering on the people of Ukraine and more than 40 per cent of them need humanitarian assistance, a senior UN official told the UN Security Council. Ramesh Rajasingham, director of coordination in the UN humanitarian office, said thousands of civilians have been killed in strikes on homes, schools, fields and markets since Russia's invasion in February 20022. The UN human rights office has formally verified 9,900 civilians killed, but he said the actual number is certainly higher. Ukrainian civilians are suffering horrendous humanitarian consequences and unimaginable levels of suffering from the Russian strikes, Rajasingham said. About 18 million Ukrainians more than 40 per cent of the population need some form of humanitarian assistance, and as winter approaches needs will be magnified," he said. Rajasingham said significant damage and destruction of critical infrastructure continues to severely impact civilian access to electricity, .

Russia imposes effective capital controls on Western company exits

Russia has steadily tightened exit requirements since Western companies started leaving soon after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022

Biden's Cabinet will push Congress to send aid to Israel and Ukraine

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make the case Tuesday that the United States should immediately send aid to Israel and Ukraine, testifying at a Senate hearing as the administration's massive $105 billion emergency aid request for conflicts in those countries and others has already hit roadblocks in the divided Congress. President Joe Biden's Cabinet secretaries will be advocating for the foreign aid to a mostly friendly audience in the Senate, where majority Democrats and many Republicans support tying aid for the two countries together. But it faces much deeper problems in the Republican-led House, where new Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed cutting out the Ukraine aid and focusing on Israel alone, and cutting money for the Internal Revenue Service to pay for it. The drastically narrowed House proposal, which would cost more than $14 billion, faced immediate resistance among Senate Democrats -- and put pressure on Senate Republicans who ...

Putin claims that airport riots targeting Israelis were staged from Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday charged without offering evidence that Western spy agencies and their Ukrainian agents have helped engineer a riot in the southern region of Dagestan, where a mob stormed the airport after a flight from Israel landed there. More than 20 people were hurt none Israelis in clashes that Putin cast as part of US efforts to weaken Russia. Hundreds of angry men, some carrying banners with antisemitic slogans, rushed onto the tarmac of the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region, on Sunday night, looking for Israeli passengers on the flight from Tel Aviv. Police officers and civilians were injured and two of them were in critical condition, regional health authorities said. More than 80 people were detained in the unrest, according to police. Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal probe on charges of organizing mass unrest. Russia has issued carefully calibrated criticism of both sides in the war ..

New GOP Speaker calls on Biden to split $100 bn funding for Ukraine, Israel

While Ukraine funding has become a contentious issue among House Republicans, Johnson affirmed his support for Ukraine's defence against Russia

Russia-Ukraine war showed we can't rely on defence imports: Army chief

General Manoj Pande also said that India is putting significant focus on leveraging the infusion of modern technology in the Army