Page 8 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Romania finds possible drone fragments after Russian strikes on Ukraine

Possible drone fragments were found inside Romania's southeastern border region following Russian strikes on Ukrainian Danube River ports overnight, the Romanian Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday. Romanian radars detected groups of drones near the NATO country's airspace just after midnight Tuesday, prompting the ministry to issue an alert to residents of the southeastern region. Weather conditions did not allow for fighter jets to be deployed, the defence ministry said, but military teams were able to recover possible drone fragments some 5 kilometres (3 miles) inside Romania's border with Ukraine. Breaches of Romania's airspace by drones have become increasingly frequent in recent months as Russia targets Ukrainian Danube River ports just across the border. Officials have stated that samples collected from sites where drone fragments were found have been similar to those used by the Russian army. Romania and Poland are now deploying a new weapons system to defend against Russia

Three years after liberation, Ukraine's Kherson battles new kind of siege

Most of the streets of Kherson are empty now. Three years after the liberation ended a nine-month Russian occupation, the city that once erupted in joy has sunk into a wary stillness a place where daily life unfolds behind walls or underground. On Nov. 11, 2022, people poured into the main square of the southern Ukrainian port city, waving blue-and-yellow flags and embracing the soldiers who had freed them after months under Russian control. They believed the worst was over. Instead, the war changed shape. From across the Dnipro River, Russian troops strike with regular intensity and drones now prowl the skies above a city of broken windows and empty courtyards. Still, those who stayed insist that even life in a mostly empty and shuttered city is easier than living under Russia. A recent visit by Angelina Jolie was a welcome morale boost for residents whose daily challenge to survive was highlighted by photos showing the American actor in a basement and on a street shielded by ..

Ukrainian strikes disrupt power, heating to 2 major cities in Russia

Nighttime Ukrainian strikes disrupted power and heating to two major Russian cities near the Ukrainian border, local Russian officials reported Sunday. The report comes as Russia and Ukraine have traded almost daily assaults on each other's energy infrastructure and US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the nearly four-year war have not advanced. A drone strike temporarily caused blackouts and cut heating to parts of Voronezh, regional Gov Alexander Gusev said. He said several drones were electronically jammed during the night over the city, home to just over 1 million people, sparking a fire at a local utility facility that was quickly extinguished. Russian and Ukrainian news channels on Telegram claimed the strike targeted a local thermal power plant. A missile strike late on Saturday also caused serious damage to power and heating systems supplying the city of Belgorod, local Gov Vyacheslav Gladkov reported the following morning. Some 20,000 households were affected, he said. Belgo

Russian drone strike at tower block in eastern Ukraine kills 3, injures 12

A Russian drone slammed into a tower block in eastern Ukraine early on Saturday while many were in bed sleeping, killing a woman and leaving 11 people injured, Ukrainian emergency services reported. The attack in Dnipro, Ukraine's fourth-largest city, came as further to the east, fighting for the strategic city of Pokrovsk has reached a key stage, with both Kyiv and Moscow vying to persuade US President Donald Trump that they can win on the battlefield. A fire broke out and several apartments were destroyed within the nine-story building in Dnipro, the emergency services said. Rescuers found the body of a woman on the fifth floor, they added, and two children were among the injured. Almost four years after its all-out invasion, Russia has been pummelling Ukraine with near-daily drone and missile strikes, with many civilians killed and injured. Several regions have also faced rolling power cuts as Moscow bashes Ukraine's power grid ahead of winter, according to the national energy .

'Black widow' scam in Russia: Fake brides loot dead soldiers' payouts

Scammers and even organised groups have started targeting lonely soldiers, making them sign fake marriage papers before they go to war

Trump hints at easing Russian oil sanctions on Hungary, cites war toll

Speaking at a joint meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Trump said the US is "looking at" Orban's request for an exemption from the Russian oil sanctions imposed last month

Russian drone threats prompt Poland, Romania to deploy defensive systems

Poland and Romania are deploying a new weapons system to defend against Russian drones, following a spate of incursions into NATO airspace in recent months that exposed the alliance's vulnerabilities and put Europe on edge. The American Merops system, which is small enough to fit in the back of a midsized pickup truck, can identify drones and close in on them, using artificial intelligence to navigate when satellite and electronic communications are jammed. As well as being deployed in Poland and Romania, Merops will also be used by Denmark, NATO military officials told The Associated Press, part of a move to boost defences on the alliance's eastern flank. The aim is to make the border with Russia so well-armed that Moscow's forces will be deterred from ever contemplating crossing, from Norway in the north to Turkey in the south, the officials said. The need for such technology became acute after around 20 Russian drones flew into Polish airspace in early September. ...

Ukrainian drones hit deep inside Russia as battle for Pokrovsk intensifies

Ukrainian long-range drones attacked an industrial plant around 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) inside Russia, local officials said Tuesday, while Ukraine's army remained locked in an intense battle to hold back a Russian push on the key city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. Two drones targeted an industrial facility in Sterlitamak, a city in Russia's Bashkortostan region, regional Gov. Radiy Habirov said in an online statement. He didn't specify what facility was targeted, but he said that both drones were shot down. There were no casualties, and the facility was operating normally, he said. Meanwhile, the city administration reported an explosion at the Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant caused the plant's water treatment facility to partially collapse, adding that the cause of the explosion was not known. The plant, which makes rubber and aviation fuel, is not known to have been attacked before. Ukraine's daring strikes deep inside Russia using domestically produced drones ha

China's Xi seeks to boost investment, deepen economic ties with Russia

Xi met Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Beijing at the Great Hall of the People, a day after Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a meeting with Mishustin in Hangzhou

Russia's strikes killed civilians, targeted energy sector: Zelenskyy

The Ukrainian President revealed that Russia had used nearly 1,500 attack drones, 1,170 guided aerial bombs, and more than 70 missiles of different types

Russia launches new nuclear submarine carrier of 'doomsday missile'

Russia has launched its latest nuclear submarine to be armed with a 'Poseidon' nuclear drone, also known as 'doomsday missile' capable of wiping out coastal nations, according to media reports. The nuclear submarine Khabarovsk' was launched by Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov at a solemn ceremony in the presence of Russian Naval Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev and other top shipbuilding officials in Severodvinsk at Sevmash shipyards. Today marks a significant event for us the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Khabarovsk is being launched from the stern of the renowned Sevmash, Belousov said in his televised remarks late on Saturday night. Sevmash shipyards had earlier retrofitted INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier for India. The Russian defense minister emphasized that the submarine carrying underwater weapons and robotic systems will enable Russia to successfully ensure the security of its maritime borders and protect its national interests in various regions of the .

Thousands lose power supply after Russia attacks Ukraine's frontline region

As winter nears, Russia has stepped up missile and drone strikes on Ukraine's power grid, triggering outages and forcing Kyiv's emergency crews to race to repair damage and manage rolling blackouts

US cancels Trump-Putin Budapest meeting over Russia's 'maximalist' demands

The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was announced earlier this month, with an agenda to discuss ways to end Russia's war in Ukraine

Ukraine ramps up long-range drone strikes, targeting Russian energy sites

At a secret location in rural Ukraine, columns of attack drones are assembled at night and in near silence to strike deep inside Russia. Their targets are strategic: oil refineries, fuel depots, and military logistics hubs. Since the summer, Ukraine's long-range drone campaign has ramped up dramatically, pounding energy infrastructure across Russia and stretching Moscow's air defences thin. Built from parts made in a scattered network of workshops, these drones now fly much further than at any point in the war. Officers in body armour move with quick precision; headlamps glow red to stay hidden. Engines sputter like old motorcycles as exhaust fumes drift into the moonless night. Minutes later, one after another, the drones lift from a makeshift runway and head east. The strikes have caused gasoline shortages in Russia, even forcing rationing in some regions and underscoring a growing vulnerability in the country's infrastructure. Drones hammer ...

Russia strikes Ukraine's power grid again, killing two and causing outages

The latest in a sustained Russian campaign of massive drone and missile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure brought power outages and restrictions in all the country's regions on Thursday, officials said, with the Ukrainian prime minister describing Moscow's tactic as systematic energy terror. The strikes, which were the latest in Russia's almost daily attacks on the Ukrainian power grid as bitter winter temperatures approach, killed at least two people and injured 17, including children between 2 and 16 years of age, according to authorities. Russia launched more than 650 drones and more than 50 missiles of various types in the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukrainian cities use centralised public infrastructure to run water, sewage and heating systems, and blackouts stop them from working. Months of attacks have aimed to erode Ukrainian morale as well as disrupt weapons manufacturing and other war-related activity almost four years after Russia's ...

Putin claims Russian forces have surrounded 2 Ukrainian cities, Kyiv denies

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Wednesday that Russian troops have surrounded Ukrainian forces in two key eastern cities of Ukraine and offered to negotiate a deal for their surrender. Ukrainian military officials vigorously denied the claim. Putin, speaking at a meeting with wounded soldiers at a Moscow military hospital, suggested that the Russian military was ready to open safe corridors for Ukrainian and Western journalists to let them see with their own eyes what's going on. He claimed Ukrainian troops are encircled in Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Donetsk region, and in Kupiansk, an important rail junction in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Russia has recently been pushing its significant advantage in troops and weapons at key points along the around 1,000-km front line, almost four years after it invaded its neighbour. But the Ukrainian armed forces said claims of Kupiansk being surrounded are fabrications and fantasies while the spokesman

Trump asks Pentagon to speed up nuclear weapons' trials after Russia tests

The development came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-powered submersible drone with unlimited range

Putin's envoy Dmitriev says there will be peace in Ukraine within a year

Dmitriev was speaking after meeting officials from US President Donald Trump's administration in the United States last weekend

Ukrainian film agency turned drone maker now has contracts worth $1 billion

Once a casting agency for film and television, Fire Point pivoted to building drones after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out and now has defence contracts worth $1 billion

Putin hails successful test of nuclear-powered Burevestnik missile

Moscow's latest trial of the long-range, nuclear-capable cruise missile underscores Russia's defiance of Western pressure amid the Ukraine war and renewed US scrutiny