Page 93 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

Biden vs Trump: What are the key issues at stake in the US elections?

Beginning Tuesday, President Biden will tour industrial towns to pitch his 'taxing the rich' plan and his strategy in ongoing global conflicts, while Trump, will be in New York facing a criminal trial

Russian missiles kill 13 people in Ukraine as war reaches critical stage

Three Russian missiles slammed into a downtown area of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Wednesday, hitting an eight-floor apartment building and killing at least 13 people, authorities said. At least 61 people, including two children, were wounded in the morning attack, Ukrainian emergency services said. Chernihiv lies about 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of the capital, Kyiv, near the border with Russia and Belarus, and has a population of around 250,000 people. The latest Russian bombardment came as the war stretched into its third year and approached what could be a critical juncture as a lack of further military support from Ukraine's Western partners increasingly leaves it at the mercy of the Kremlin's bigger forces. Through the winter months, Russia made no dramatic advance along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, focusing instead on attritional warfare. However, Ukraine's shortage of artillery ammunition, troops and armoured vehicles has allowed the Russia

Olympics 2024: Uncertainty stares Russian athletes despite qualifying

With 100 days to go until the Paris Olympics, it's still not clear whether any athletes from Russia who are expected to qualify will actually go. The question is whether Moscow will accept the conditions that the International Olympic Committee set for Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. Ultimately, it could be up to individual athletes to decide whether to participate. The IOC expects that 36 Russian athletes and possibly as many as 54 will do well enough at qualifying events to compete in Paris. The IOC will let them compete as neutral athletes, meaning they can't use their country's flag or anthem or participate in team sports such as soccer and basketball. Athletes with links to the military or who have expressed support for the war will be banned. The same restrictions apply to Russian ally Belarus. Athletes from Russia and Belarus also aren't allowed to take part in the opening ceremony on July 26. Russian President Vladimir Putin has questioned the rules and as

EU leaders wanted to talk business, they instead discuss W Asia, Ukraine

European leaders' discussions at a summit in Brussels were set to focus on the bloc's competitiveness in the face of increased competition from the United States and China. Tensions in the Middle East and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine decided otherwise and the 27 leaders will dedicate Wednesday evening talks to foreign affairs. As the unprecedented attack by Iran on Israel ratcheted up regional tensions and raised fears of a wider war, EU leaders will urge all parties to exercise utmost restraint and refrain from any action that may increase tensions in the region, according to a draft of their summit conclusions. Following a video meeting of the bloc's foreign affairs ministers on Tuesday, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said the EU will also consider further sanctioning Iran. This may entail expanding the scope of the existing regime targeting Iran's military support of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine through drones, to include the possibility to sanct

Trump to meet Duda as Nato leaders call for additional support for Ukraine

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday in New York. The planned dinner meeting, confirmed by a person familiar with the matter, comes as European leaders prepare for the possibility that Trump might win the November election and return to the White House. Leaders of NATO countries are especially concerned given Trump's long history of critical comments about the key western alliance, even after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, is a NATO member. Duda, a right-wing populist whose term ends in 2025, has encouraged the United States to send additional funding to Ukraine to combat Russian aggression. Trump has spoken out against such funding, but in a possible shift late last week, the Republican presidential candidate said he may support additional funding if it was in the fo

Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens global security: Olaf Scholz in China

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Chinese leader Xi Jinping who hosted him in Beijing on Tuesday that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine threatens global security, in an apparent call for China to apply greater pressure on its neighbor and close strategic partner to resolve the conflict. Scholz also told Xi at their meeting that the use of nuclear weapons in the 2-year-old war should not even be threatened, German media reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last month that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence is threatened, his latest such threat since invading Ukraine. Scholz told Xi that Germany's core interests were impacted by the war against Ukraine, which has threatened to spread into a regional conflict and has disrupted energy and global food supplies and other trade. Russia's actions "violate a principle of the United Nations Charter and the principle of the inviolability of national borders, Scholz was quoted as saying

Russia trying to force Ukrainians to abandon their 2nd-biggest city Kharkiv

Russia has set its sights on Kharkiv since the invasion began - and Putin's aim of subjugating Ukraine in its entirety has unlikely changed since then, western officials believe

Attack on Russian-controlled Ukraine nuclear plant put world at risk: IAEA

Russia and Ukraine on Monday traded blame before the United Nations Security Council for the attacks on Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said have put the world dangerously close to a nuclear accident. Without attributing blame, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his agency has been able to confirm three attacks against the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant since April 7. These reckless attacks must cease immediately, he told the Security Council. Though, fortunately, they have not led to a radiological incident this time, they significantly increase the risk where nuclear safety is already compromised. The remote-controlled nature of the drones that have attacked the plant means that it is impossible to definitively determine who launched them, Grossi told reporters after the meeting. In order to say something like that, we must have proof, he said. These attacks have been performed with a multitude of ...

Russia, China trade new copper disguised as scrap to skirt taxes, sanctions

Customs data on Chinese imports of copper wire rod is not publicly available

China providing Russia with drone, missile components, says US official

While there is no evidence China is providing lethal assistance, people familiar with the US intelligence assessment characterized the aid as just as significant

10 people dead in shelling in Russian-occupied town in Ukraine: Report

At least 10 people, including children, died after shelling late on Friday struck a Russian-occupied town in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, a local Kremlin-installed official said, blaming Ukraine for the attack. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials reported at least three civilian deaths elsewhere in the country that they said resulted from Russian attacks. Russian emergency services on Saturday were working in the rubble in hopes of saving civilians trapped underneath the debris of their homes in Tokmak, in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow has illegally annexed from Kyiv, according to the Kremlin-installed regional head Yevhen Balitsky. The Tokmak municipal administration reported on Telegram that the shelling struck three apartment blocks on Friday evening. Five people were pulled alive from the rubble, Balitsky said, and a total of 13 people were hospitalised. As of early afternoon on Saturday, Ukraine had not commented on the allegations. Elsewhere in Ukraine, at lea

Ukraine says situation in East worse as Russian troops step up attacks

The online war monitor DeepState said Kremlin troops have captured Bohdanivka, a village within miles of their next key target in the Donetsk region. Ukraine said the village remains under its control

China increasing weapons sales to Russia to support war against Ukraine

China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine, according to a US assessment. Two senior Biden administration officials, who discussed the sensitive findings Friday on the condition of anonymity, said that in 2023 about 90 per cent of Russia's microelectronics came from China, which Russia has used to make missiles, tanks and aircraft. Nearly 70 per cent of Russia's approximately USD 900 million in machine tool imports in the last quarter of 2023 came from China. Chinese and Russian entities have also been working to jointly produce unmanned aerial vehicles inside Russia, and Chinese companies are likely providing Russia with nitrocellulose needed to make propellants weapons, the officials said. Beijing is also working with Russia to improve its satellite and other space-based capabilities for use in Ukraine, a development

US, UK to implement restrictions on trade of Russian-origin metals

The U.S. and U.K. will begin restricting the trade of new Russian-origin metals including aluminum, copper and nickel on global metal exchanges and in derivatives trading. The announcement is meant to follow up on the Group of Seven nations' commitment in February to reduce Russia's revenues from metals as its invasion into Ukraine has dragged on for more than two years. Russia is a key exporter of metals like aluminum, steel and titanium but British and American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the economic impact from the ban would be negligible for consumers and producers. The intent is to limit Russia's revenues from metals, they say, as metals have earned the nation $40 billion in the past two years, according to British officials. Our new prohibitions on key metals, in coordination with our partners in the United Kingdom, will continue to target the revenue Russia can earn to continue its brutal war against Ukraine, said

Russian military test-launches an intercontinental ballistic missile

The Russian military on Friday reported a successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement that the launch took place at the Kapustin Yar testing range in the south of the country as part of state testing of prospective missile systems, as well as confirmation of the stability of missiles in service. The test launched achieved its results in full, the ministry added, and confirmed high reliability of Russian missiles to ensure (Russia's) strategic security". The ministry didn't name the type of the missile that was test-launched. Russia regularly carries out test launches of ICBMs and other missiles as it seeks to modernise its weapons.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia refineries may disrupt diesel market: IEA

Ukrainian drones have ramped up attacks on Russia's oil industry this year in an attempt to disrupt fuel supplies to the military and curb the Kremlin's revenue

Thousands of Russian soldiers flee war in Ukraine but have nowhere to go

If the choice was death or a bullet to the leg, Yevgeny would take the bullet. A decorated hero of Russia's war in Ukraine, Yevgeny told his friend and fellow soldier to please aim carefully and avoid bone. The tourniquets were ready. The pain that followed was the price Yevgeny paid for a new chance at life. Like thousands of other Russian soldiers, he deserted. I joke that I gave birth to myself, he said, declining to give his full name for fear of retribution. When a woman gives birth to a child, she experiences very intense pain and gives new life. I gave myself life after going through very intense pain. Yevgeny made it out of the trenches. But the new life he found is not what he had hoped for. The Associated Press spoke with five officers and one soldier who deserted the Russian military. All have criminal cases against them in Russia, where they face 10 years or more in prison. Each is waiting for a welcome from the West that has never arrived. Instead, all but one live

Japan PM Kishida urges US to overcome 'self-doubt' about global leadership

PM Kishida's govt has drawn a direct line between supporting Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia as essential to deterring China from launching aggression against Taiwan

Massive Russian attack destroys one of Ukraine's largest power plants

A massive missile and drone attack destroyed one of Ukraine's largest power plants and damaged others, officials said on Thursday, part of a renewed Russian campaign targeting energy infrastructure. The Trypilska plant, which was the biggest energy supplier for the Kyiv, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr regions, was struck numerous times, destroying the transformer, turbines and generators and leaving the plant ablaze. As the first drone approached, workers hid in a shelter, saving their lives, said Andrii Hota, director of the state company that runs the plant, Centrenergo. They watched the plant burn, surrounded by dense smoke and engulfed in flames. It's terrifying, said Hota. Hours later, rescuers were still dismantling the rubble. The plant supplied electricity to 3 million customers but none lost power because the grid was able to compensate since demands are low at this time of year. Still, the consequences of the strikes could be felt in the coming months, as air conditioning use ramp

Putin mocks scheduled Ukraine peace talks, highlights Russia's interests

Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Thursday mocked a scheduled round of Ukraine peace talks in Switzerland, warning that Moscow will not accept any enforced plans that ignore its interests. Switzerland's government said Wednesday it will host a high-level international conference in June to help chart a path toward peace in Ukraine after more than two years of fighting, and expressed hope that Russia might join in the peace process someday. Putin charged that Russia hadn't been invited to join June's talks, while pointing at Swiss recognition that a peace process can't happen without Russia. They aren't inviting us there, Putin said. Moreover, they think there is nothing for us to do there, but at the same time they say that's it's impossible to decide anything without us. It would have been funny if it weren't so sad." Russia has dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's peace formula requiring Moscow to pull back its troops, pay compensation to Ukraine and face an ...