Page 80 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Ukrainian forces pierce Russia's southern border, trigger fierce clashes

Ukraine struck back, and battles continued through night into Wednesday as Ukrainian forces pushed to northwest of the border town of Sudzha, 530 km southwest of Moscow, Russia's defence ministry said

Olympics 2024: Mahuchikh, other Ukrainian medalists put attention on war

Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the Ukrainian world-record high jumper, may have just won Olympic gold, but she and other winning athletes from Ukraine are not resting in Paris they're trying to shine the spotlight on the war tearing apart their country. "The Olympic Games are about peace, she said. But Russia didn't stop, and during these Games, there were massive attacks on Ukrainian cities. These missile strikes forced Mahuchikh to spend the last two and a half years mostly abroad as she focused on her main goal the Olympic gold, which she won Sunday. She trained far from her family, including in Portugal, Estonia, Belgium and Germany. She occasionally comes to her hometown of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine, but every time she left the country, she didn't know when she would return. To achieve such high results on the international stage, you need to train abroad, Mahuchikh said. And it is very sad, and I really want us to be able to train fully at home for the next Olympic cycle. Despite th

Ukraine keeps up air attacks on Kursk, 4 drones destroyed, says Russia

The region was under a dozen air raid alerts over the past 24 hours, Smirnov's posts showed. By Wednesday morning, there were no reports of fresh ground fighting

French imports of Russian LNG surge, Ukraine supporters call for halt

Shipments of Russian liquified natural gas to France more than doubled the first half of this year, according to new analyses of trade data, at a time when Europe has tried to pull back from energy purchases that help finance the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. Europe has restricted oil imports from Russia, but natural gas is still allowed. And while companies in France are importing the most, one analysis found EU countries overall imported 7% more Russian LNG, natural gas that has been chilled and liquified for easier ocean transport, in the first half of this year compared to the same period a year ago. Oleh Savytskyi, a founder of nonprofit Razom We Stand, which campaigns for tougher sanctions on Russian fossil fuels, said the EU's goal of phasing out all Russian fossil fuels by 2027 was appallingly off track. He said countries buying Russian LNG are sabotaging the continent's energy transition and contributing billions to Russia's war effort. European governments have said banni

Zelenskyy confirms arrival of F-16 fighter jets, thanks allies for help

The US committed to approving the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in August last year, after months of lobbying by Kyiv

Russia reports Ukrainian drone barrage, Kyiv says it hit an airfield

Russian officials have said that Ukrainian forces overnight targeted multiple Russian regions with a massive drone barrage. Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement that its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed a total of 75 drones over a number of regions that lie on the border with Ukraine or not far from it, including Belgorod, Krasnodar, Kursk, Oryol, Rostov, Voronezh, and the Ryazan region deeper inside Russia. One of those drones was also shot down over the Azov sea, the statement said. Thirty-six drones were destroyed over the Rostov region, according to the ministry. Rostov Gov. Vasily Golubev said in an online statement, however, that the region was attacked by a total of 55 drones. He didn't specify how many of these were intercepted and how many hit the targets, saying only that warehouse facilities in the Morozovsk and Kamensky districts sustained damage in the attack. Ukraine's General Staff said on Saturday in a Facebook post that its forces struck an ...

Russia releases US journalist, other Americans in massive prisoner swap

The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since Cold War after Russian President's invasion of Ukraine

Ukrainian troops say Russia has driven them out of 2 more Donetsk villages

Russian forces have overrun two front-line villages in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, a Ukrainian army sergeant said Monday, after relentless assaults that are part of a Kremlin summer push to overwhelm battlefield defences there. Separately, attacks in Russia's Kursk region by the Security Service of Ukraine, also known as the SBU, struck a number of substations causing power outages, according to a statement from the General Staff of Ukraine. The claim of responsibility came after Russia said it thwarted a nighttime Ukrainian drone attack. They pressed non-stop to capture Vovche and Prohres, the chief sergeant of Ukraine's 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, Oleh Chaus, told Radio Svaboda. They sent in a large number of troops, which had not previously been used. Russia's Defence Ministry claimed in recent days that it had taken control of the villages, but the Ukrainian General Staff made no official comment. The villages lie about 30 kilometres northwest of Avdiivka, a Donetsk

India will have more contacts with Ukraine & Russia: EAM Jaishankar

India will have more contacts with Ukraine and Russia going forward as such engagements by countries talking to both sides are important to resolve their conflict, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, days after it emerged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit Kyiv next month. Jaishankar said India's position has been that a solution to the conflict will not emerge from the battlefield, and cautioned that it could be "fatalistic" to allow the situation to take its course and wait for events in some other parts of the world to provide some help to end the crisis. "We do believe that we should be more active there," he said during an interactive session at Japan National Press Club. Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Japan. "I can reasonably expect that there will be more contacts between us and Ukraine and between us and Russia as well," he said, replying to a question on reports of Modi's likely visit to Kyiv next month. Declining to give a specific answ

Family of Indian man killed in Russia Ukraine war waits for his remains

Ravi Moun, 21, travelled to Russia in January after being contacted by an agent who promised him a job in the transport sector, his relatives told Reuters

Haryana man dies on Russian frontline after alleged forced recruitment

The Indian Embassy in Moscow has confirmed the death of Ravi Moun but has not disclosed the circumstances

Quad meet: EAM Jaishankar holds talks with US Secy Blinken in Tokyo

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday held "wide-ranging" talks with his American counterpart Antony Blinken against the backdrop of an unease in India-US ties following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia three weeks back. Both Jaishankar and Blinken are in Tokyo to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of four-nation grouping Quad or Quadrilateral coalition. The talks between the external affairs minister and the US secretary of state also came amid Washington consistently seeking accountability from New Delhi in the case relating to the alleged foiled plot to kill Sikh extremist Gurupatwant Singh Pannun in New York. It is not immediately clear whether Prime Minister Modi's visit to Russia and the murder-for-hire plot figured in the Jaishankar-Blinken talks. In a post on 'X', Jaishankar said he and Blinken had a wide-ranging discussion on regional and global issues. "Great to catch up with @SecBlinken in Tokyo today," he said. "Our bilateral agenda progres

5 killed, dozens wounded as Russia strikes Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region

Five civilians died and 15 more were wounded following Russian strikes on Saturday and overnight in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, its governor said, as Moscow claimed further gains in its monthslong grinding offensive in the country's war-battered industrial heartland. Shortly after Donetsk Gov. Vadym Filashkin reported on the casualties Sunday, other local Ukrainian officials said Russian shelling wounded more civilians in the east and south. At least eight people suffered wounds after Moscow's forces on Sunday struck the eastern Ukrainian city of Nikopol, local Gov. Serhii Lysak reported that same day. Lysak said a toddler and a 10-year-old girl were among the victims, six of whom had to be hospitalised. Russian shelling on Sunday also wounded eight further civilians, including a 10-year-old and two teenagers, in a village in Ukraine's southern Kherson province, local official Roman Mrochko reported. Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, sending

India, Ukraine explore possibility of PM Modi's visit to Kyiv next month

India and Ukraine are looking at the possibility of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kyiv next month amid renewed global efforts to bring peace to the eastern European nation, multiple diplomatic sources said on Saturday. Modi might visit Kyiv around the Ukrainian National Day on August 24 and is expected to travel to Poland after concluding the trip to Ukraine, the sources said. The prime minister held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy's Apulia. If Modi travels to Poland, it would be the first by an Indian prime minister to that country in more than four decades. India and Ukraine are looking at Modi's visit to Kyiv in the later half of August, the sources said, adding that there is no finality on the trip yet as massive preparations would be required in terms of logistics and related issues. The prime minister's two-nation visit might begin around August 23-24, the sources said. There is no officia

Olympic bans: A list of countries that were excluded from past Games

In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Russia and Belarus have been banned from participating in the games due to the Ukraine war. But they are not the first to face such a ban.

Agreement with Russia is 'deal with devil,' adviser to Ukrainian prez says

Signing an agreement with Russia to stop the war with Ukraine would amount to signing a deal with the devil, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as pressure mounts on the country to seek an end to more than two years of fighting. A deal would only buy time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to strengthen his army and usher in another, potentially more violent chapter in the war, Mykhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. If you want to sign a deal with the devil, who will then drag you to hell, well, go for it. This is what Russia is, Podolyak said when asked about the prospects for a peace deal for Kyiv, whose forces are locked in a bloody war of attrition with Moscow's troops in eastern Ukraine. If you sign anything today with Russia, that will not lose the war and will not be legally responsible for mass crimes, this will mean that you have signed yourself a ticket to continue the war on a different scale, with other ...

Threat of attacks, fear for families: How Ukrainians trained for Olympics

The fear of death has been a constant in an average Ukrainian's life ever since the war with Russia broke out in 2022 and that includes the majority of the country's 143-strong athlete contingent here for the Olympics beginning on Friday. Even in normal circumstances, the pressure to perform on the biggest sporting stage can take a toll on the best in the business. In the case of Ukrainian athletes, it's hard to imagine how they were able to train for the mega-event with missile attacks and air sirens becoming a part of their lives for the past 29 months. Electricity almost became non-existent with power grids destroyed by the conflict. In the eyes of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the athletes who are in Paris are already "heroes" and that is what he told them in a virtual address on Wednesday. Teenaged diving sensation Oleksiy Sereda and slalom canoeist Viktoriia Us were part of the call with president Zelenskyy. Speaking to PTI outside the Athletes' Village, both Sered

Russia-Ukraine war: Putin offers $22,000 bonus for citizens to join war

Moscow authorities are also offering $59,600 in the first service year for new recruits, with other benefits for those injured in the battle in a bid to bolster ground troops in Ukraine

Ukraine minister seeks 'common ground' with China in talks on ending war

Ukraine's foreign minister said Wednesday that he is seeking common ground in talks with his Chinese counterpart on ending his country's war with Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, has strained relations between the two countries. Video released by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry showed Dmytro Kuleba arriving at the meeting venue in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and exchanging remarks with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi. It is the first visit by a Ukrainian foreign minister since the war started in 2022. Wang said that China attaches great importance to its relations with Ukraine. Noting the growth in trade between the two countries, he said that their relations have continued to develop normally despite complex and ever-changing international and regional situations. China has close ties with Russia and has pushed for an end to the war that would take into account the interests of both sides. That position has put it at odds not only with Ukraine

US treasury dept orders banks to disclose Russian assets for forfeiture

The Treasury Department ordered the nation's banking industry to start disclosing its holdings of Russian assets on Tuesday, with the goal of eventually seizing those billions of dollars in assets and selling them to aid the devastated Ukrainian economy. The disclosure is required under a new law passed by Congress earlier this year known as the REPO Act, which gives the U.S. government the authority to seize Russian state assets held by U.S. banks, with the goal of eventually selling them and giving those funds to Ukraine. While the vast bulk of Russian assets are held in Europe, it is estimated that the U.S. banking system holds as much as $6 billion in Russian assets in trust. Banks will need to report Russian assets on their books no later than Aug. 2 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. If a bank discovers any new Russian assets on their books after the deadline, those assets need to be reported within 10 days, the Treasury Department said. Russia's war in Ukraine, which ..