Page 30 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Ukrainian drone strike sparks major fire at Russian oil depot near Sochi

An overnight Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot near Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi sparked a major fire, Russian officials said Sunday, as the two countries traded strikes. More than 120 firefighters attempted to extinguish the blaze, sparked after debris from a downed drone struck a fuel tank, Krasnodar regional Gov Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram. Videos on social media appeared to show huge pillars of smoke billowing above the oil depot. Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, temporarily stopped flights at Sochi's airport. Further north, authorities in the Voronezh region reported that four people were wounded in another Ukrainian drone strike. Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defences shot down 93 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Black Sea overnight into Sunday. Meanwhile, in southern Ukraine, a Russian missile strike hit a residential area in the city of Mykolaiv, according to the State Emergency Services, wounding seven people. The Ukrainian

Vladimir Putin dismisses Zelensky's appeal for regime change in Moscow

Recent polls have shown that Zelensky could lose in a competitive election, with retired General Valery Zaluzhny emerging as a leading alternative

Donald Trump orders two US nuclear submarines positioned near Russia

Medvedev has emerged as one of the Kremlin's most outspoken anti-Western hawks since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022

Putin says hypersonic missile enters service, to be deployed in Belarus

President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia has started production of its newest hypersonic missiles and reaffirmed its plans to deploy them to ally Belarus later this year. Sitting alongside Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Valaam Island near St Petersburg, Putin said the military already has selected deployment sites in Belarus for the Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile. Preparatory work is ongoing, and most likely we will be done with it before the year's end, Putin said, adding that the first series of Oreshniks and their systems have been produced and entered military service. Russia first used the Oreshnik, which is Russian for hazelnut tree, against Ukraine in November, when it fired the experimental weapon at a factory in Dnipro that built missiles when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Putin has praised the Oreshnik's capabilities, saying its multiple warheads that plunge to a target at speeds up to Mach 10 are immune to being intercepted and a

Russian missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills 13, injures more than 130

Russian missile and drone attacks overnight on Ukraine's capital city killed at least 13 people, including a 6-year-old boy, and wounded 132 others, authorities said Thursday. A 5-month-old girl was among 14 children wounded, Ukraine's Emergency Service said. It was the highest number of children injured in a single attack on Kyiv since the start of Russia's invasion three years ago, according to public records consulted by The Associated Press. A large part of a nine-story residential building collapsed in the attack, City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said. Rescue teams searched for people trapped under the rubble. Yana Zhabborova, 35, a resident of the damaged building, woke up to the sound of thundering explosions, which blew off the doors and windows of her home. It is just stress and shock that there is nothing left, said Zhabborova, a mother of a 5-month-old infant and a 5-year-old child. Russia fired 309 Shahed and decoy drones, and eight Iskander-K cruise .

Trump dangles penalty sword to wean India away from Russia

While the penalty might be seen as a measure to rein in the Kremlin's revenues from its crude oil and arms sale and force Russia to end the Ukraine war

Trump wants to see Russia-Ukraine peace deal by August 8, US tells UN

Trump said on Tuesday that the United States would start imposing tariffs and other measures on Russia '10 days from today' if Moscow showed no progress toward ending its war in Ukraine

Russia strikes Kyiv with missiles, drone attack; 6 killed, 52 injured

Russia attacked Ukraine's capital with missiles and drones overnight, killing at least six people including a 6-year-old boy, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said at least 52 other people were injured in the attacks, and that the number was likely to rise. A large part of a nine-storey residential building collapsed after it was struck, Tkachenko added. Rescue teams were at the scene to rescue people trapped under the rubble. Missile strike. Directly on a residential building. People are under the rubble. All services are on site, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on his official Telegram. Images from the scene showed plumes of smoke emanating from a partially damaged building and debris strewn on the ground. At least 27 locations across Kyiv were hit by the attack, Tkachenko said, with the heaviest damage seen in the Solomianskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts. US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he's givin

India's imports of Russian oil under spotlight after Trump tariffs

From just 0.2 per cent before the Russia-Ukraine war to now accounting for 35-40 per cent of total crude imports, India's reliance on Russian oil has surged -- drawing fresh scrutiny with US President Donald Trump announcing a penalty on top of a 25 per cent tariff, or tax, on all goods going to the US. India historically bought most of its oil from the Middle East, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia. However, things changed when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. India, the world's third-largest crude importer after China and the US, began snapping up Russian oil that was available at a discount after some in the West shunned it as a means to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. From a market share of just 0.2 per cent in India's import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia overtook Iraq and Saudi Arabia to become India's No.1 supplier, with a share as high as 40 per cent at one point of time. This month, Russia supplied 36 per cent of all crude o

Russia kills 21 civilians in Ukraine, remains defiant over Trump's threats

Russian glide bombs and missiles struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight, killing at least 21 people, officials said Tuesday, as Russia kept up its bombardment of civilian areas despite US President Donald Trump's threat to soon punish it with sanctions and tariffs unless it stops. A Russian airstrike on a prison in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 17 inmates and wounded more than 80 others, officials said. In the Dnipro region, authorities reported at least four people were killed and eight injured. Trump said Monday he is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin 10 to 12 days to stop the killing in Ukraine after three years of war, moving up a 50-day deadline he had given the Russian leader two weeks ago. The move meant Trump wants peace efforts to make progress by Aug 7-9. Trump has repeatedly rebuked Putin for talking about ending the war but continuing to bombard Ukrainian civilians. But the Kremlin hasn't changed its tactics. I'm .

Kremlin silent as Trump cuts new deadline for Putin to halt Ukraine war

Trump has threatened sanctions in 10-12 days on countries buying Russian exports, including energy, unless Putin agrees to ceasefire-down from the earlier 50-day deadline

Trump says he's shortening 50-day deadline for Russia to end Ukraine war

US President Donald Trump said Monday he intends to shorten the 50-day deadline he gave Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a deal that ends the three-year war in Ukraine. His announcement came as Russia fired an overnight barrage at Ukraine of more than 300 drones, four cruise missiles and three ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said. Trump said two weeks ago he would implement severe tariffs on Russia unless a peace deal is reached by early September, as he expressed exasperation with Putin over the bombardment of Ukrainian cities amid the Republican president's attempts to stop the fighting. Trump said he would give Putin 10 to 12 days from Monday, meaning he wants peace efforts to make progress by Aug 7-9. The plan includes possible sanctions and secondary tariffs targeting Russia's trading partners. The formal announcement would come later Monday or on Tuesday, he said. No reason in waiting, Trump said of the shorter timeline. We just don't see any progress bei

Russia suspends sunflower oil duty till end of August to boost exports

Russian lobby group Oil and Fat Union estimates that Russia is the world's leading producer of sunflower oil and the second largest exporter after Ukraine

Alessandro des Dorides resigns as Nayara CEO; Sergey Denisov to take charge

The reshuffle at the top is the latest disruption for the company since the EU announced a new round of sanctions last Friday directed at Russia over its war in Ukraine

US State Department approves $322 mn in proposed weapons sales to Ukraine

The State Department said Wednesday that it has approved $322 million in proposed weapons sales to Ukraine to enhance its air defense capabilities and provide armored combat vehicles, coming as the country works to fend off escalating Russian attacks. The potential sales, which the department said were notified to Congress, include $150 million for the supply, maintenance, repair and overhaul of U.S. armored vehicles, and $172 million for surface-to-air missile systems. The approvals come weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed a pause on other weapons shipments to Ukraine to allow the Pentagon to assess its weapons stockpiles, in a move that caught the White House by surprise. President Donald Trump then made an abrupt change in posture, pledging publicly earlier this month to continue to send weapons to Ukraine. We have to, Trump said. They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now. We're going to send some more weapons defensive weapons

Russian strikes in Ukraine kill child, injure 24 ahead of peace talks

Russian forces struck three Ukrainian cities in overnight attacks, killing a child and wounding at least 24 people, officials said Tuesday, a day before a planned third round of direct peace talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's announcement late Monday that the negotiations would take place generated little hope they would deliver any progress on ending the three-year war. That is despite the Trump administration's efforts to push forward peace efforts, which have stalled as Russian President Vladimir Putin is reluctant to budge from his demands. The previous two rounds were held in Istanbul, and Russian media reports said the Turkish city likely would also host the meeting this time. The talks in May and June led to a series of exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers but produced no other agreements. The war has continued unabated, meanwhile. Russia is driving hard to break through at eastern and northeaste

BP-chartered tanker leaves port of Nayara Energy without loading diesel

The vessel was supposed to load ultra low sulphur diesel on July 21 with the cargo bound for Africa

Next round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks to be held on July 23: Zelenskyy

Moscow and Kyiv have already conducted two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul earlier this year

Russia launches airstrike on Kyiv hours before talks on support for Ukraine

Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months, only hours before the UK and Germany are to chair a meeting to discuss US President Donald Trump's plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons. The attack killed two people and wounded 15, including a 12-year-old, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The drone and missile assault on Kyiv overnight into Monday underscored the urgency of Ukraine's need for further Western military aid, especially in air defence, a week after Trump said deliveries would arrive in Ukraine within days. The virtual meeting will be led by British Defense Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius. Healey said US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO leader Mark Rutte, as well as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen Alexus Grynkewich, will attend the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group. Moscow has intensified its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, and analysts say

Russia-linked refinery tightens sale terms, seeks early payment after curbs

Nayara Energy Ltd., part-owned by Rosneft PJSC, said it was seeking advance payment or a documentary letter of credit, before loading a shipment of naphtha next month