Page 114 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Cracks in Western wall of support for Ukraine emerge as they head to polls

Once rock-solid, the support that Ukraine has gotten from its biggest backers for its fight against Russia is showing cracks. Political posturing in places like Poland and Slovakia, where a trade dispute with Ukraine has stirred tensions, and Republican reticence in the United States about Washington's big spending to prop up Ukraine's military have raised new uncertainties about the West's commitment to its efforts to expel Russian invaders more than 18 months into the war. And Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hopes to outlast allied backing for Kyiv, will be ready to capitalise if he sees Ukraine is running low on air defence or other weapons. The West has long been shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine against Russia. But between Ukraine's impassioned, unending pleas for help, and huge handouts from its backers, signs of discord have emerged. In July, Britain's defence minister at the time said Ukraine should show gratitude to the West, after Kyiv renewed its vocal but ...

World must ask why UNSC was ineffective in resolving Ukraine war: India

As the Ukraine war continues unabated, India has said the international community must question why the Security Council, the UN's principal organ tasked with the primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security, has been rendered completely ineffective to resolve the ongoing conflict. The remarks by Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, came while he was speaking at the UN Security Council open debate on Upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter through effective multilateralism: maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine'. He said the international community must pause and ask two pressing questions at the present juncture. One, are we anywhere near a possible solution acceptable?, Verma said in his remarks on Thursday. And if not, why is it that the UN system, and particularly its principal organ, this very UN Security Council, mandated to primarily maintain international peace and security, rendered completely ...

Biden hosts Zelenskyy, announces new military aid package for Ukraine

The United States will give USD 325 million in new security assistance to Ukraine, President Joe Biden has announced as he hosted his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House and vowed to defend the war-struck country from Russian aggression. The White House meeting on Thursday was the sixth in-person meeting between the two leaders. "Mr. President, the brave people of Ukraine -- and that's not hyperbole; the people of Ukraine have shown enormous bravery and have inspired the world with their determination to defend these principles," Biden told Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House. "Together with our partners and allies, the American people are determined to see to it that we do all we can to ensure the world stands with you, and that is our overwhelming objective right now," he said, welcoming the Ukrainian leader for the third time at the White House this year. "Our regular dialogue has proved that our countries are really, truly allies and strateg

Ukrainian missile strikes headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet

Ukraine struck the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in a missile attack Friday that left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering, according to military officials on both sides of the war and images from the scene in Crimea. The Russian Defence Ministry initially said one servicemember was killed but then issued a subsequent statement saying he was missing following the attack in the port city of Sevastopol. 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 invasion of Ukraine almost 19 months ago. Crimea has served as the key hub supporting Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Sevastopol, the main base of Russia's Black Sea Fleet since the 19th century, has had a particular importance for navy operations since the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine has increasingly targeted naval facilities in Crimea in recent weeks while the brunt of its summer ...

Zelenskyy visits Canada for first time since war, seeks to shore up support

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the Canadian Parliament on Friday as he continues his efforts to shore up support from Western allies for Ukraine's war against Russia. Zelenskyy was scheduled to arrive at Ottawa's airport late Thursday after meeting with US President Joe Biden and lawmakers in Washington, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office said. Trudeau planned to greet Zelenskyy and also to speak in Parliament in Ottawa on Friday. It is Zelenskyy's first visit to Canada since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He previously addressed the Canadian Parliament virtually.

Russia strikes cities from east to west Ukraine, killing at least 2

Russian missiles pounded cities across Ukraine early Thursday morning, according to Ukrainian authorities, starting fires, killing at least two people and trapping others under rubble. The early morning missile attack was Russia's largest in over a month, and came a day after reports of sabotage at a Russian military airfield in Chkalovsk near Moscow. It also coincided with the United Nations General Assembly summit in New York, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a speech and presented a Ukrainian peace formula, and came on the International Day of Peace. The same day, Poland said it would stop transferring its own weapons to Ukraine as it works to modernise its own military. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the decision was not related to a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports, nor would it affect weapons transfers through Poland. A dispute about whether Ukrainian grain should be allowed to enter the domestic markets of Poland and other Europe

Russia strikes six cities from east to west Ukraine, at least 2 killed

Air alerts sounded again and again in Kyiv and residents headed to shelters early Thursday morning, as a massive Russian attack on at least six cities across Ukraine killed at least two people, started fires and wounded at least 21. The attack carried out on the International Day of Peace coincided with the United Nations General Assembly summit in New York, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a speech and presented a Ukrainian peace formula. The missile attack was Russia's largest since August 15 and came a day after reports of sabotage at a Russian military airfield in Chkalovsk near Moscow. In the southern city of Kherson, near the front lines, two people were killed in Thursday's attacks and at least five injured after a strike hit a residential building, said regional Governor Oleksand Prokudin. Seven people were injured in Kyiv, including a 9-year-old girl, reported Mayor Vitalii Klitschko, and some residential and commercial buildings were damaged. At lea

S Korean leader warns Russia against weapons collaboration with the North

South Korea's president has sounded a warning to fellow world leaders about the recent communication and possible cooperation between North Korea and Russia, saying any action by a permanent UN Security Council member to circumvent international norms would be dangerous and "paradoxical". Speaking before the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Yoon Suk Yeol invoked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's visit last week to Russia, which is one of the five permanent members of the council, the UN's most powerful body. Kim met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia's far east. The two said they may cooperate on defence issues but gave no specifics, which left South Korea and its allies including the United States uneasy. "It is paradoxical that a permanent member of the UN Security Council, entrusted as the ultimate guardian of world peace, would wage war by invading another sovereign nation and receive arms and ammunition from a regime that blatantly violates Security Council ...

Ukraine's allies make arguments in Kyiv's favour against Russia at UN court

Ukraine's international allies filed into the United Nations' top court on Wednesday to support Kyiv's case against Russia that alleges Moscow twisted the genocide convention to manufacture a pretext for its invasion last year. The hearing came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly in New York that Russia is weaponising everything from food and energy to abducted children in its war against Ukraine and warned world leaders that the same could happen to them. An unprecedented 32 states were making brief legal arguments on Wednesday to the 16-judge panel at the International Court of Justice, which is holding hearings into Moscow's assertions that the World Court does not have jurisdiction and should throw out Ukraine's case. Kyiv filed its case two days after Russia invaded Ukraine. It argues that the attack was based on false claims by Russia of acts of genocide in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine. Ukraine insists the co

Germany announces aid package worth 400 million Euros for Ukraine

German minister further said, "Munitions are what Ukraine needs most of all"

G7 members condemn Russia's war of aggression, pledge to stand with Ukraine

The members also issued a strong condemnation of the escalation of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure

Zelenskyy accuses Russia of 'genocide', proposes 'peace formula' at UNGA

Zelenksyy said, "For the first time in modern history, we have a real chance to end the aggression on the terms of the nation which was attacked"

Russia weaponising food, energy; abducted children in war: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russia is weaponising everything from food and energy to abducted children in its war against Ukraine and he warned world leaders that the same could happen to them. When hatred is weaponised against one nation, it never stops there," he said at the UN General Assembly's annual top-level meeting. The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our land, our people, our lives, our resources into weapons against you against the international rules-based order. He pointed to the war's effect on fuel and food supplies. And he highlighted what Ukraine says were at least tens of thousands of children taken from their families after Moscow's invasion: What will happen to them? "Those children in Russia are taught to hate Ukraine, and all ties with their families are broken. And this is clearly a genocide, Zelenskyy said. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in March for Russian President Vladimir Putin

Political divide emerges on Ukraine aid package as Zelenskyy heads to US

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington this week comes at a critical juncture for his alliance with the United States as Republican leaders in Congress diverge on how to send more military and humanitarian aid to the country. President Joe Biden is seeking an additional USD 24 billion in security and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, in line with his promise to help the country for as long as it takes to oust Russia from its borders. But ratification of Biden's request is deeply uncertain thanks to a growing partisan divide in Congress about how to proceed. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has told reporters that he wants more Ukraine aid to be debated on its own merits as a standalone bill, rather than attaching it to other priorities like government funding. But the Senate has other ideas. Leaders in the chamber would like to combine the Ukraine aid with other priorities, such as a short-term spending bill that will likely be needed to avoid a shutdown a

Heading for UN, Zelenskyy questions why Russia still has place there

Days before potentially crossing paths with Russia's top diplomat at the United Nations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested Monday that the world body needs to answer for allowing his country's invader a seat at the tables of power. "For us, it's very important that all our words, all our messages, will be heard by our partners. And if in the United Nations still it's a pity, but still there is a place for Russian terrorists, the question is not to me. I think it's a question to all the members of the United Nations," Zelenskyy said after visiting wounded Ukrainian military members at a New York hospital. He had just arrived in the US to make his country's case to the world and to Washington for continued help in trying to repel Russia's invasion, nearly 19 months into what has become a grinding war. Ukraine's Western allies have supplied weapons and other assistance, and the US Congress is currently weighing President Joe Biden's request to provide as much as USD 2

Iranian prez denies sending drones, other weapons to Russia to use in war

Iran's president on Monday denied his country had sent drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine, even as the United States accuses Iran of not only providing the weapons but helping Russia build a plant to manufacture them. "We are against the war in Ukraine," President Ebrahim Raisi said as he met with media executives on the sidelines of the world's premier global conference, the high-level leaders' meeting at the UN General Assembly. The Iranian leader spoke just hours after five Americans who had been held in Iranian custody arrived in Qatar, freed in a deal that saw President Joe Biden agree to unlock nearly USD 6 billion in frozen Iranian assets. Known as a hard-liner, Raisi seemingly sought to strike a diplomatic tone. He reiterated offers to mediate the Russia-Ukraine war despite being one of the Kremlin's strongest backers. And he suggested that the just-concluded deal with the United States that led to the prisoner exchange and assets release could "help build trust"

Ukraine, its allies battle Russian bid to have genocide case tossed out

Ukraine's legal battle against Russia over allegations of genocide used by Moscow to justify its 2022 invasion resumes on Monday at the United Nations' highest court, as Russia seeks to have the case tossed out. Hearings at the International Court of Justice, also known as the Word Court, will see Ukraine supported by a record 32 other nations in a major show of support. Kyiv launched the case shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, arguing that the attack was based on false claims of acts of genocide in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine and alleging that Moscow was planning genocidal acts in Ukraine. It wants the court to order Russia to halt its invasion and pay reparations. Filing its case last year, Ukraine said that Russia has turned the Genocide Convention on its head making a false claim of genocide as a basis for actions on its part that constitute grave violations of the human rights of millions of people across Ukraine. Ukraine brought the case to the ...

Russia to increase missile arsenal for winter onslaught against Ukraine

"Between October 2022 and March 2023, Russia focused long-range strikes against Ukraine's national energy infrastructure," the defence ministry said in the statement posted to X

World disappointed by United Nations now looks elsewhere for answers

With dozens of world leaders descending upon New York for the United Nations General Assembly's annual gathering, global problems are showing up fast and thick at the world body's door

Objective is for Ukraine to succeed in regaining its sovereignity: Blinken

"The objective is for Ukraine to thrive in the future and to be able to stand strongly on its own feet"