Page 58 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Trump's strength, unpredictability can help end war with Russia: Zelenskyy

US President-elect Donald Trump is strong and unpredictable, and those qualities can be a decisive factor in his policy approach to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, Zelenskyy said it won't be possible to end the almost three years of war in one day, as Trump claimed during his election campaign he could do. The hot' stage of the war can end quite quickly, if Trump is strong in his position, Zelensky said in a Ukrainian television interview late Thursday, referring to fighting on the battlefield. I believe (Trump) is strong and unpredictable. I would very much like President Trump's unpredictability to be directed primarily toward the Russian Federation, Zelenskyy said. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, hasn't publicly fleshed out his policy on Ukraine but his previous comments have put a question mark over whether the United States will continue to be Ukraine's biggest and most important military backer. Zelenskyy is

Asian LNG prices set to increase after Russia-Ukraine transit ends

Ukraine hopes increased supply of gas from the US and other producers to Europe will make prices more comfortable

Russia warns of environmental harm as oil from tankers pollute beaches

Russian officials warned of severe environmental damage Wednesday as thousands of people came out to clean up tonnes of fuel oil that spilled out of two storm-stricken tankers more than two weeks ago in the Kerch Strait, near Moscow-occupied Crimea. More than 10,000 people, largely volunteers, raced to rescue wildlife and remove tons of sand saturated with mazut, a heavy, low-quality oil product, according to Russian news reports. Authorities in Russia's southern Krasnodar region last week announced a region-wide emergency, as the fuel oil continued washing up on the coastline 10 days after one tanker ran aground and the other was left damaged and adrift on December 15. The move came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin called the oil spill an ecological disaster. On Wednesday, New Year's Day, Krasnodar officials said the oil kept on surfacing on the beaches of Anapa, a popular local resort. More than 71,000 tons of contaminated sand and soil had been removed along 56 ...

Russian energy giant Gazprom suspends gas flow to Europe through Ukraine

Gazprom has cited the non-renewal of agreement, which expired on January 1, as the reason for suspension

Zelenskyy confident of Trump's capability of ending Putin's aggression

Ukrainian President further emphasised the nation's commitment to bringing its people back home and spoke about the 189 Ukrainians who were recently freed

Europe's Russian gas era comes to an end as Ukraine transit stops

Russia's oldest gas export route to Europe - a pipeline dating back to Soviet days - was set to shut at the end of 2024, as a five-year transit deal between Russia and Ukraine expires

Russian missile, drone attack hits multiple targets around Ukraine's Kyiv

Russia launched an aerial attack on Ukraine on Tuesday, striking the capital and other regions with multiple missiles and drones. Ukraine's air force reported a ballistic missile threat at 3 am (0100 GMT), with at least two explosions heard in Kyiv minutes later. Another missile alert was issued at 8 am followed by at least one explosion in the city. Missile debris fell in the Darnytskyi district of the capital with no reports of casualties or damage, the local administration said. Authorities in the northeastern Sumy region reported strikes near the city of Shostka, where the mayor, Mykola Noha, said 12 residential buildings had been damaged as well as two educational facilities. He said some social infrastructure objects were destroyed, without providing detail. The air force also reported missiles and drones targeting several other regions of Ukraine. Around half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been destroyed during the war, and rolling electricity blackouts are common an

Hundreds of soldiers freed in prisoner exchange between Russia, Ukraine

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that saw the release of hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 189 Ukrainian prisoners, including military personnel, border guards and national guards along with two civilians were freed. He thanked the UAE for helping negotiate the exchange. Russia's Defence Ministry said that 150 Russian soldiers were freed from captivity as part of the exchange in which each side released 150 people. The reason for the discrepancy in numbers wasn't immediately clear. We are working to free everyone from Russian captivity, Zelenskyy said in a statement. We do not forget anyone. He posted pictures of Ukrainian soldiers sitting on a bus, some holding the country's blue-and-yellow flags. Zelenskyy said that those freed from Russian captivity included defenders of the Snake Island off the Black Sea port of Odesa, w

US announces $5.9 billion in additional military, budget aid to Ukraine

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States has made available $3.4 billion in additional budget aid to Ukraine, giving the war-torn country critical resources

BPCL buys Middle East crude oil to replace declining supply from Russia

India became a top buyer of Russian seaborne oil after the European Union shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022

Zelenskyy urges Trudeau to boost funding for Ukrainian arms production

While thanking Canada for providing defence assistance, including the NASAMS (an air defence system), Zelenskyy also discussed strengthening sanctions against Russia

Taiwan pledges $5 mn for renovation of rehabilitation center in Ukraine

Once the renovation is complete, the building will be renamed the 'Taiwan Friendship Building'

Market will likely take its cue from the Budget, says Samco Group CEO

Geopolitical tensions, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, will continue to impact global markets

Crashed plane was shot at from Russia, says Azerbaijan Prez Ilham Aliyev

President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Aliyev for Wednesday's "tragic incident" in Russian airspace involving the plane after Russian air defences engaged Ukrainian attack drones

2024: A year of triumphs, setbacks for Putin, here's how it unfolded

In 2024, President Vladimir Putin further cemented his grip on power and sought to counter Russia's isolation from the West over the war in Ukraine. But he faced continuing challenges, with a deadly attack by gunmen in Moscow and an incursion by Kyiv's troops on his territory. As Russia's nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine enters a new, potentially pivotal phase amid a new U.S. administration and its uncertain support for Kyiv, here's a look back at how the year unfolded for Putin: January: A presidential campaign with no real opponents Putin ran for a fifth term in office with his top opponents either jailed or exiled abroad. But in a rare show of defiance, thousands of Russians queued in the January cold to sign petitions for an unlikely challenger. Boris Nadezhdin, a 60-year-old legislator and war critic, got the 100,000 signatures needed to put him on the ballot, but election authorities eventually barred him from running. Still, the support he received reflected anti-war sentimen

India navigated geopolitical challenges with steely resolve in 2024

In a year marked by geopolitical tensions and turbulence, India and China ended an over four-and-a-half-year border standoff and announced steps to reduce mistrust even as New Delhi faced fresh challenges after deposed Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country in the face of a mass movement against her rule. The year 2024 saw India shifting gears in expanding its strategic heft in the neighbourhood and beyond with a steely resolve while navigating the two most consequential crises -- the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict. At the fag end of the year, New Delhi was readying its approach in dealing with US President-elect Donald Trump's second term amid fears that his policy approach relating to trade and tariff may have profound implications for international trade. Though the overall India-US relations broadly continued to blossom, especially in the domains of defence, critical technologies and clean energy, the ties came under some strain over the so-called

Future of Ukraine-Russia gas transit deal faces critical moment of truth

Ukraine is under mounting pressure from Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and a group of central European companies to keep gas moving from its eastern border with Russia into the European Union

Ukrainian troops face risk of losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia

Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralised by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk, a region some want to hold at all costs while others question the value of having gone in at all. Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders can't evacuate the dead. Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have little way to counterattack, seven front-line soldiers and commanders told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so they could discuss sensitive operations. Since being caught unaware by the lightning Ukrainian incursion, Russia has amassed more than 50,000 troops in the region, including some from its ally North Korea. Precise numbers are hard to obtain, but Moscow's counterattack has killed and wounded thousands and the overstretched Ukrainians have lost more then 40% of the 984 square kilometers (380 square miles) of Kursk they seized in August. Its full-scale invasion three years ago .

Azerbaijani, US officials suggest weapons fire may have hit crashed plane

Russian air defence systems may have brought down an Azerbaijani airliner this week, a US official said on Friday after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested the plane was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor accounts. Friday's assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesman John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defence systems responding to a Ukrainian attack. These statements raised pressure on Russia, where officials said a drone attack was underway in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was heading for a landing. They did not address statements blaming air defenses. Kirby told reporters on Friday that the US "have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems, but refused to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation. Pressed on whether the US has intelligence that helped lead to t

Passengers claim hearing bangs before Azerbaijan plane crash that killed 38

Previous disasters include the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 in 2020 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, killing all 176 people on board