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There were also no casualties or damage reported in the aftermath of the drone attack on the border Bryansk region in Russia's southwest, Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the region wrote
Train Force One has previously been used by world leaders such as US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron for their trips to Kyiv
PM Narendra Modi left for Poland on Wednesday and will visit Ukraine on Friday, marking the first visit to Kyiv by an Indian PM since diplomatic relations were established 30 years ago
Chemezov, CEO of the Rostec corporation which supplies many of Russia's arms for the war, said Russia felt confident and had enough weapons more than two years into what the Kremlin calls its SMO
Modi will be in Kyiv for around seven hours on August 23 in the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since the country became independent in 1991
A year ago this week, President Vladmir Putin strode onto a stage in the Kursk region to commemorate the 80th anniversary of one of the Soviet army's proudest moments in World War II. Addressing a rapt audience that included soldiers fresh from fighting in Ukraine, Putin called the decisive victory in the Battle of Kursk one of the great feats of our people. Now, as Russia prepares to celebrate the 81st anniversary of that 1943 battle, Kursk is again in the news but for a very different reason. On Aug. 6, Ukrainian forces made a lightning push into the region, seizing villages, taking hundreds of prisoners and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians. Russia was caught unprepared by the offensive and reportedly is drafting conscripts to repel some of Ukraine's most battle-hardened units. Putin has a history of responding slowly to various crises in his tenure, and he has so far played down the attack. But 2 1/2 years after l aunching a war in Ukraine to remove what
Ahead of his visit to Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he was looking forward to sharing perspectives with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict. Modi embarks on a two-nation visit to Poland and Ukraine from August 21 to 23. In the first leg of the visit, Modi is travelling to Poland on a two-day visit. From the Polish capital Warsaw, he will travel to Kyiv. "From Poland, I will be visiting Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine," Modi said in his departure statement. "I look forward to the opportunity to build upon earlier conversations with President Zelenskyy on strengthening bilateral cooperation and share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict," he said. "As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region," he added. On his visit to Poland, Mo
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday made an unscheduled trip to Chechnya, a mainly Muslim republic within the Russian Federation, his first visit in nearly 13 years, as Ukraine's stunning cross-border incursion into western Russia entered its third week. Putin was greeted by Chechnya's self-styled strongman leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, before visiting a special forces academy bearing his own name and speaking with volunteer fighters who train there prior to being deployed in Ukraine. Putin praised the volunteers and said that as long as Russia has men like them, it will be invincible, according to reports by Russian state agencies. Kadyrov said in a post on his official Telegram channels that more than 47,000 fighters, including volunteers, have trained at the facility since Moscow began what it terms its special military operation in Ukraine. Fighters from Chechnya, whose bid for independence after the Soviet Union's collapse led to years of war with Russian government forces,
Ukraine's parliament has banned the activities of religious groups tied to the Russian Orthodox Church or any other faith group supporting Russia's invasion a measure widely seen as targeting a Ukrainian religious body, despite its claim to independence from Moscow. The bill creates the legal tools for the government to ban the activities of any religious group deemed to be too closely connected to Russia or to support its invasion of Ukraine. The Verkhovna Rada approved the bill on Tuesday with 265 affirmative votes and only 29 opposed. The explicit ban on the Russian Orthodox Church is seen as aimed at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which historically has been tied to the Russian church. The UOC has proclaimed its loyalty to Ukraine and insists that it has broken from the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church. But the Ukrainian government says it remains canonically tied to the Russian church and its Moscow-based patriarch, who has depicted the Russian invasion of Ukraine as
Operation to seize Russian territory in the Kursk region would have been viewed as crossing the strictest of all red lines
Regional officials in the northeastern Sumy region bordering Russia said an energy facility was hit, causing blackouts for 72 settlements and more than 18,500 consumers
Belarus has deployed aircraft and air defence troops to its border with Ukraine, a day after President Alexander Lukashenko announced he would station almost a third of the country's military along the frontier. The Belarusian military also deployed anti-aircraft missiles and soldiers from the country's radio-technical corps, Maj. Gen. Andrey Lukyanovich, commander of the Belarusian Air Defence Forces, said on national television, describing the move as a significant increase. Belarus' authoritarian leader, Lukashenko, on Sunday announced that he'd ordered almost a third of the army to the border with Ukraine. Although he did not specify troop numbers, Belarus' army numbers about 60,000. Lukashenko said the decision was in response to additional Ukrainian troops being deployed along the border, but that could not be independently verified. Ukraine has not confirmed the Belarusian deployment to the 1,084-kilometer common border. Russia has used Belarus which depends on Russian loa
Ukraine says it has seized over 80 settlements in an area covering more than 1,150 square km (444 square miles) of Kursk since its surprise strike on the Russian region
Days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kyiv, India on Monday said it is willing to contribute in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine. Modi will visit the Ukrainian capital on August 23 to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. India has always been advocating diplomacy and dialogue to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said at a media briefing. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine will form a part of discussions, he said. India has independent ties with both Russia and Ukraine, Lal said replying to a question. Modi will travel to Poland before visiting Ukraine.
PM Narendra Modi's visit to Ukraine, his first to the war-torn nation since the conflict with Russia began, was announced just about a month after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday the daring military incursion into Russia's Kursk region aims to create a buffer zone. It was the first time the president had clearly stated the aim of the operation, which was launched on August 6. Previously, he had said the operation aimed to protect communities in the bordering Sumy region from constant shelling. Zelenskyy said it is now our primary task in defensive operations overall: to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor's territory our operation in the Kursk region.
Russia's vaunted military, especially its mechanised forces, lie battered and scattered while social media networks are filled with videos of charred carcasses and deadly attacks on Russian tanks
Lukashenko said the Belarusian-Ukrainian border was mined "as never before" and that Ukrainian troops would incur huge losses if they tried to cross it
Military authorities in the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk on Friday urged civilians to speed up their evacuation because the Russian army is quickly closing in on what has for months been one of Moscow's key targets. Authorities said in a Telegram post that Russian troops are advancing at a fast pace. With every passing day there is less and less time to collect personal belongings and leave for safer regions".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that his country's troops had taken full control of the Russian town of Sudzha, which would be the largest population centre to fall under Ukraine's purview since the start of its cross-border incursion more than a week ago. Although it only had a prewar population of around 5,000 people, Sudzha is the administrative centre for the border area of Russia's Kursk region and is larger than any of the other small towns or settlements that Ukrainian forces have reportedly taken since the incursion began Aug 6. Sudzha holds a measuring station for Russian natural gas that flows through Ukrainian pipelines to Europe and accounts for about 3% of Europe's imports. There was no immediate indication of any disruption to the gas flow through the town. Zelenskyy said a Ukrainian military command office was being set up in Sudzha, which suggests Ukraine might plan to remain in the Kursk region long-term or just signal Moscow that it might ...