Page 88 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Hard to meet discussions on Russia-Ukraine war, says China citing problems

China said Friday it would be 'hard to meet calls for discussions on the Russia-Ukraine war, citing problems with arrangements that appear to point to Beijing's strongly pro-Moscow stance. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China's hopes appear to be hard to meet at the meeting". There is still a clear gap between the arrangements for the meeting and the demands of the Chinese side, as well as the general expectations of the international community, Mao said. Mao gave no details, but said that China has "informed parties concerned about our considerations and concerns and would keep in touch with all parties concerned. China claims to be neutral in the conflict, but has strongly backed Russia, most recently hosting President Vladimir Putin on a state visit. In an interview with China's official Xinhua News Agency released Wednesday, Putin hailed his ties with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying that President Xi maintains a respectful, friendly, open and at the same tim

Considering action against China firms, banks over Russian war support: US

Encounters between the Philippines and China in Asia's most contested waters have grown more tense and frequent in the past year as Beijing presses its claims

Biden partially lifts ban on Ukraine using US arms in strikes on Russia

President Joe Biden has given Ukraine the go-ahead to use American weaponry to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, according to two US officials familiar with the matter. The officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, underscored that the US policy calling on Ukraine not to use American-provide long-range missiles and other munitions to strike inside Russia offensively has not changed. The move comes as Ukrainian officials have stepped up calls on the US administration to allow its forces to defend itself against attacks originating from Russian territory. Biden's decision was first reported by Politico. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday assailed Russian attempts to sow discord in democracies with misinformation after hinting the Biden administration may soon allow Ukraine to use American-supplied munitions to strike inside Russia. With an increasing number of officials saying Ukraine must be able to defend its

China declines invitation to Swiss peace conference on Ukraine next month

Beijing declined the invitation because the conditions for them to participate were not met, including the participation of both Russia and Ukraine

Biden allows use of US weapons for limited Ukrainian strikes inside Russia

Under the new directive, Ukraine is permitted to retaliate against Russian forces or targets located near Kharkiv using weaponry supplied by the United States

Blinken pledges $135 mn in US aid to Moldova to counter Russian influence

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday pledged USD 135 million in aid to Moldova for energy security and to counter Russian disinformation as the Western-leaning nation struggles to blunt Moscow's push for influence buoyed by recent successes in its war in neighboring Ukraine. Opening a short visit to eastern Europe with a stop in Chisinau before travelling to the Czech Republic, Blinken announced the assistance at a news conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Before Wednesday, the US had provided Moldova with USD 774 million in financial aid since the Ukraine war began in February 2022, USD 300 million of which was earmarked for energy security. Blinken's trip, organised around a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Prague, comes amid concerns that Moldova and the former Soviet republic of Georgia are facing renewed threats from Russia. The trip comes two weeks after Blinken made an unannounced trip to Ukraine to reassure Kyiv of Washington's support in the face of

Sweden will donate $1.23 billion in military aid to Ukraine as war rages

The Swedish government said Wednesday that it will donate military aid to Ukraine worth 13 billion Kronor (USD 1.23 billion) in the largest help package Sweden has so far donated. It consists of equipment that is at the top of Ukraine's priority list, Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch said. It included air defense, artillery ammunition and armored vehicles. Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonsson reiterated that the country has ruled out for now sending any Swedish-built JAS 39 Gripen jets to Ukraine, saying the focus on the Ukrainian side is on implementing the F-16 program. Several countries have said they want to donate F-16 fighter jets. On Tuesday, Belgium pledged 30 F-16 jets to Ukraine. Jonsson said Sweden is still working on possibly being able to contribute with the Gripen system later. The support package will be the 16th from Sweden since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

US Treasury official visits Ukraine to discuss sanctions on Russia

A senior US Treasury official is in Kyiv this week to talk with government officials about US financial support for Ukraine, efforts to tighten sanctions on Russia and plans to use immobilized Russian sovereign assets for the benefit of Ukraine as it fends off Russian forces. Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo's trip comes as Russia gains territory on the battlefield after an especially lengthy delay in US military aid left Ukraine at the mercy of Russia's bigger army and as the outlook for Ukraine's state finances is on shakier ground. Adeyemo is set to meet with officials in Ukraine's finance ministry and president's office. He's also planning a stop at the Kyiv School of Economics to speak with faculty and civil society groups working on sanctions policy and ways to make sanctions on Russia more effective. President Joe Biden signed legislation in April that allows the administration to seize the roughly USD5 billion in Russian state assets located in the US. However, a majority of t

Prez Putin makes ex-bodyguard Alexei Dyumin secretary of State Council

After being re-elected for another six-year term earlier this year, Putin made Dyumin an aide specialising in the defence industry

Disruptive attacks doubled, Russia behind many: Europe's cybersecurity exec

Disruptive digital attacks, many of which have been traced to Russia-backed groups, have doubled in the European Union in recent months and are also targeting election-related services, according to the EU's top cybersecurity official. Juhan Lepassaar, head of the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, or ENISA, told The Associated Press in an interview that attacks with geopolitical motives have steadily risen since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The number of hacktivist attacks (against) European infrastructure threat actors whose main aim is to cause disruption has doubled from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, Lepassaar said late Tuesday at the agency's headquarters in Athens. It's quite a significant increase," he said. Citizens from the EU's 27 member states will vote June 6-9 for lawmakers in the European Parliament in an election that will also shape the EU's executive branch, the European Commission. Elections, also due

Amid Russian gains in the Ukraine war, Putin overhauls defence ministry

The timing of Putin's recent moves is most likely a sign that he has greater confidence about his battlefield prospects in Ukraine and his hold on political power as he begins his fifth term as prez

Ukraine's Zelenskyy urges world leaders to join Global Peace Summit

He further said that Ukraine has the world's largest experience of lies from Russia in terms of dialogue and negotiations

Ukraine has taken back control in embattled Kharkiv region: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian forces have secured combat control of areas where Russian troops entered the northeastern Kharkiv region earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Our soldiers have now managed to take combat control of the border area where the Russian occupiers entered, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Friday evening. Zelenskyy's comments appeared to be at odds with those made by Russian officials. Viktor Vodolatskiy, a member of Russia's lower house of parliament, said Russian forces now controlled more than half of the town of Vovchansk, three miles (five kilometres) inside the border, Russian state news agency Tass reported Friday. Vovchansk has been a flashpoint for fighting since Russia launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region on May 10. Vodolatskiy was also quoted as saying that, once Vovchansk was secured, Russian forces would target the cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk in the neighbouring Donetsk region. No independent ...

G7 to explore ways of using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine

The G7 and its allies froze some $300 billion of Russian assets shortly after Moscow invaded its neighbour in February 2022

Two-day G7 finance summit kicks off seeking unity on Ukraine, China

The G7 will also address a proposed global wealth tax on billionaires, promoted by Brazil and France among the broader Group of 20 developed countries

US to provide Ukraine with $275 mn in military aid amid Russian advances

This marks the fourth installment of military assistance for Ukraine since the passing of a long-awaited foreign aid bill by Congress last month

Putin arrives in neighbouring Belarus for two-day state visit with key ally

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived Thursday in Belarus for a two-day visit as part of several foreign tours to kick off his fifth term in office, underscoring close ties with a neighboring ally that has been instrumental in Russia's war effort in Ukraine. Putin traveled to China earlier this month, and is expected in Uzbekistan on Sunday. Earlier on Thursday, the Russian president hosted Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in the Kremlin. In Belarus, Putin is to hold talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko greeted him on the tarmac, and then the two sat down for a short conversation at the airport, the Kremlin reported. Lukashenko promised to discuss security issues at the forefront, and tomorrow we will discuss economic issues together with our colleagues from the governments. The Belarusian leader on Thursday appointed a new chief of the country's military general staff in a move that analysts say is aimed at showing the Kremlin the utmost

With Ukraine losing ground, allies debate how to squeeze cash for Kyiv

Ukraine's allies are wrestling with how to squeeze money out of frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv's war effort, a debate that is ever more urgent as Russia gains territory on the battlefield and as the outlook for Ukraine's state finances looks shakier. What to do with the Russian central bank reserves frozen in response to the invasion of Ukraine is at the top of the agenda as finance officials from the Group of Seven rich democracies meet Thursday through Saturday in Stresa, Italy, on the shores of scenic Lago Maggiore. The issue: While Ukraine and many of its supporters have called for the confiscation of USD 260 billion in Russian assets frozen outside the country after the February 24, 2022, invasion, European officials have resisted, citing legal and financial stability concerns. Most of the frozen assets are located in Europe. Yet a European plan to merely use the interest on the Russian funds would provide only a trickle of money every year some USD 2.5 billion-USD 3 ..

Russia feared to be 'inspecting' US spy satellite with new space weapon

US intelligence officials believe Russia's Cosmos 2576 'inspector' spacecraft is capable of inspecting and attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit

Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid touch Kyiv with blackouts

Sustained Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid in recent weeks have forced leaders of the war-ravaged country to institute nationwide rolling blackouts. Without adequate air defences to counter assaults and allow for repairs, though, the shortages could still worsen as need spikes in late summer and the bitter-cold winter. The Russian airstrikes targeting the grid since March have meant blackouts have even returned to the capital, Kyiv, which hadn't experienced them since the first year of the war. Among the strikes were an April barrage that damaged Kyiv's largest thermal power plant and a massive attack on May 8 that targeted power generation and transmission facilities in several regions. In all, half of Ukraine's energy system was damaged, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Entire apartment blocks in the capital went dark. The city's military administration said at least 10 per cent of consumers were disconnected. For many, it is a taste of what might be in store if Ukrai