Page 84 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Russian strikes leave thousands in northern Ukraine without power, water

Russian strikes overnight left over 100,000 households without power in northern Ukraine and cut off the water supply to a regional capital, Ukrainian authorities reported Saturday, while civilian casualties rose sharply in the country's embattled east. The northern Sumy region, which borders Russia, was plunged into dark after Russian strikes late Friday damaged energy infrastructure, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said. Hours later, the Ukrainian public broadcaster reported that Russian drones hit the provincial capital, also called Sumy, cutting off water by hitting power lines that feed its system of pumps. Russian state agency RIA cited a local pro-Kremlin underground leader as saying that Moscow's forces overnight hit a plant producing rocket ammunition in the city, which had a pre-war population of over 256,000. The report didn't specify what weapon was used, and the claim could not be independently verified. Explosions rocked the city during an air raid warning early Saturday,

Don't go too far in weapon support to Ukraine: Putin's message to West

The message to NATO from President Vladimir Putin was simple and stark: Don't go too far in providing military support for Ukraine, or you'll risk a conflict with Russia that could quickly turn nuclear. As the war in Ukraine turns slowly in Moscow's favour, Putin declared he doesn't need nuclear weapons to achieve his goals. But he also says it's wrong for the West to assume that Russia will never use them. It mustn't be treated in a light, superficial way, Putin said in June, reaffirming that Russia's nuclear doctrine calls for using atomic weapons if it perceives a threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Moscow's nuclear messaging coming as NATO allies move to shore up exhausted and outgunned Ukrainian forces heralds what could become the most dangerous phase in the war. Drills, threats and signals Moscow has carried out drills with its tactical or battlefield nuclear weapons in southern Russia and with ally Belarus, where some were deployed in 2023. Russian Def

Nato to pour weapons into Ukraine for another year, no membership yet

NATO leaders plan to pledge next week to keep pouring arms and ammunition into Ukraine at current levels for at least another year, hoping to reassure the war-ravaged country of their ongoing support and show Russian President Vladimir Putin that they will not walk away. US President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet in Washington for a three-day summit beginning Tuesday to mark the military alliance's 75th anniversary as Russian troops press their advantage along Ukraine's eastern front in the third year of the war. Speaking to reporters Friday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO's 32 member countries have been spending around 40 billion euros (USD 43 billion) each year on military equipment for Ukraine since the war began in February 2022 and that this should be a minimum baseline going forward. I expect allies will decide at the summit to sustain this level within the next year, Stoltenberg said. He said the amount would be shared among nations based on their ...

In rare visit from European leader, Hungary's Orbán meets Putin in Moscow

Orbán's visit comes only days after he made a similar unannounced trip to Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Challenges ahead for UK's next PM Keir Starmer: All you need to know

Starmer has ruled out rejoining the EU single market or customs union but his party has said it is still possible to remove some trade barriers with bloc

China can end Russia's war in Ukraine with one phone call: Finnish prez

Stubb's comments reflect the increasing frustration among Ukraine's allies over China's perceived support for Russia's war

Hungary's PM visits Ukraine for talks with Zelenskyy, first since war began

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn was in Kyiv on Tuesday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, his first visit to the country since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Orbn's press chief confirmed to Hungarian news agency MTI that the prime minister had arrived in the Ukrainian capital in the morning for the talks. Bertalan Havasi said the main topic of the rare meeting will be the opportunity for building peace as Ukraine fights off Russia's invasion. This visit comes the day after Hungary took over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, a position that has little real power but can be used to set the tone of the bloc's agenda. Hungarian officials have indicated that they will act as honest brokers in the role despite worries from some EU lawmakers that Hungary's democratic track record makes it unfit to lead the bloc. Orbn, known as Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest EU ally, has long been accused by his European partners o

SCO Summit expected to review situation in Afghanistan, Ukraine conflict

Ahead of the SCO Summit in Astana, India on Tuesday said the leaders of the grouping are expected to review its activities over the past two decades and discuss prospects of multilateral cooperation. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will represent India at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on July 4 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to skip it. The situation in Afghanistan, the Ukraine conflict and boosting overall security cooperation among the SCO member countries are expected to figure in the summit. India's priorities in SCO are shaped by the prime minister's vision of a 'SECURE' SCO, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. SECURE stands for Security, Economic cooperation, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Environmental protection. Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation to Astana for the summit, the MEA said. "At the summit, the leaders are expected to review the organisation's .

Ukraine's defence minister to hold discussions with Austin: Pentagon

President Joe Biden's administration has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion in military aid since 2022

Trump says he can end Russia-Ukraine war in one day. Russia disagrees

Donald Trump has said repeatedly he could settle the war between Russia and Ukraine in one day if he's elected president again. Russia's United Nations ambassador says he can't. When asked to respond to the claim from the presumptive Republican nominee, Vassily Nebenzia told reporters Monday that "the Ukrainian crisis cannot be solved in one day. At a CNN town hall in May 2023, Trump said: They're dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I'll have that done I'll have that done in 24 hours. He said that would happen after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. And he keeps repeating the claim on the campaign trail. During last week's debate with President Joe Biden, Trump claimed, If we had a real president, a president that knew that was respected by Putin ... he would have never invaded Ukraine. Nebenzia said the war could have ended in April 2022 in Istanbul when Russia and Ukraine were very close to an .

Ukrainian Prez Zelenskyy drafts 'comprehensive plan' to end war with Russia

Zelenskyy further said that there are no current negotiations between Ukraine and Russia

Geopolitics remains by far the biggest risk to markets, says Chris Wood

Back home, the midcap segment, Wood said, remains vulnerable to a correction. He believes there will also be a temptation for investors to tilt the portfolio more towards consumption plays

India, Russia conduct meeting to further enhance defence cooperation

The third India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC) Sub-Working Group meeting was held in the national capital to further enhance defence cooperation and joint exercises between the two nations.The two-day meeting was held on June 26-27, with the Indian Army and Russia's Land Forces participating in it.The meeting focused on defence cooperation, military training, military education and joint exercises between the two Armies."3rd #India #Russia Inter Governmental Commission (IRIGC) Sub Working Group (Land) Meeting between #IndianArmy & #LandForces, Russian Federation was held at #NewDelhi from 26-27 Jun 2024. The Talks focused on defence cooperation, military training, military education & joint exercises between the two Armies," the Indian Army posted on X.Meanwhile, India and Russia are making arrangements for an upcoming visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia, Reuters reported, citing, Russian state news agency RIA.According to RIA, a diplomatic source

Russia has sent around 10,000 immigrants to front in Ukraine: Report

Authorities "have already caught more than 30,000" new Russian citizens who had avoided registering with the military

EU leaders to agree on top jobs, strategic agenda amid Russia-Ukraine war

They will also ask EU institutions to work out the details of a 50 billion euro loan for Ukraine that would be serviced by profits generated by Russian central bank assets frozen in the West

US ambassador calls China's tech support for Russia during war a 'mistake'

China's support for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine through the provision of technology for missiles and other weaponry is a major mistake, US Ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns said Wednesday. In a speech in the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai, Burns also said Russia's invasion, now in its third year, had become an existential crisis in Europe. We think it's a major mistake to allow Chinese companies, by the thousands, to be sending so many components, technology components, microprocessors (and) nitrocellulose to Russia to reinforce and strengthen the defense industrial base of the Russian Federation for this brutal war, Burns said. China is not neutral, but has effectively sided with Russia in this war, the ambassador said, adding that the decision directly contradicted China's longstanding insistence on sovereignty and territorial integrity. China insists it does not provide direct military aid to Russia but has maintained strong trade ties throughout the conflict,

Norway starts stockpiling grain, citing pandemic, war & climate change

The Norwegian government on Tuesday signed a deal to start stockpiling grain, saying the COVID-19 pandemic, a war in Europe and climate change have made it necessary. The deal to store 30,000 tons of grain was signed by agriculture and food minister Geir Pollestad and four private companies. The wheat, that will belong to the Norwegian government, will be stored by the companies in facilities across the country. In a statement, Norway's ministry for agriculture and food said the building up of a contingency stock of food grains is about being prepared for the unthinkable." Norway will sign further stockpiling contracts in the coming years, with the goal of building up the reserve until 2029. The aim is to have some 82,500 tons of grain in store by the end of the decade "so that we then have enough grain for three months' consumption by Norway's population in a crisis situation that may arise, Pollestad told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. As of the first quarter of this year, Norway has

Trump reviews plan to halt US aid to Ukraine unless it negotiates peace

Putin said this month that the war could end if Ukraine agreed to drop its ambitions to join Nato and hand over four eastern and southern provinces claimed by Russia

Any Trump peace plan for Ukraine would have to reflect reality: Kremlin

Two key advisers to Trump have presented him with a plan to end the war in Ukraine

Ukraine drone attacks on Russia's Belgorod region leaves 1 dead, 4 injured

Russian defence ministry said that its air defence systems destroyed a total of 29 Ukraine-launched drones over the region's territory