Page 43 - Ukraine

PM's meetings with Putin, Zelenskyy 'beginning of communication': EAM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meetings with the top leaders of Russia and Ukraine were "beginnings of a communication process" between two countries engaged in a serious conflict that has had enormous consequences, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday. In an interactive session at The Conclave 2024 organised by news channel Pratidin Time, Jaishankar said Prime Minister Modi was one of the very few world leaders who has the "ability" to speak to both the leaders, who "trust" him. "What are we trying to do? You don't necessarily have to mediate... sometimes you have to communicate. We are actually, simultaneously talking to two countries who are having a conflict," he said to a question on India's role in "mediation" in the Ukraine conflict. Jaishankar said Prime Minister Modi has had at least three meetings with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said National Security Adviser Ajit Doval also met Puti

Russian glide bomb strikes Ukrainian apartment building, 12 injured

A Russian glide bomb struck a five-story apartment block in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, injuring at least 12 people including a 3-year-old girl, local officials said Thursday. The bomb hit between the third and fourth floors of the building on Wednesday night, igniting blazes, Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Firefighters searched for survivors through smoke and rubble. The city of Kharkiv, located around 30 km (18 miles) from the Russian border, has been a frequent target of aerial attacks throughout the war against Russia that is now deep into its third year. Glide bombs have become an increasingly common weapon in the war. They have terrorised civilians and bludgeoned the Ukrainian army's front-line defences. They were a key weapon in Russia's capture of the tactically significant town of Vuhledar on Wednesday, as Russian forces wreak destruction on the eastern Donetsk region and force weary Ukrainian troops to withdraw from obliterated towns and ...

Ukraine's military to pull out of Vuhledar in east after 2 yrs of fighting

Ukrainian forces are withdrawing from the front-line town of Vuhledar, perched atop a tactically significant hill in eastern Ukraine, after more than two years of grinding battle, military officials said Wednesday. Vuhledar, a town Ukrainian forces fought tooth and nail to keep, is the latest urban settlement to fall to the Russians. It follows a vicious summer campaign along the eastern front that saw Kyiv cede several thousand square kilometres of territory. Ukraine's Khortytsia ground forces formation, which commands eastern regions including Donetsk, said in a statement posted on Telegram it was withdrawing troops from Vuhledar to protect the military personnel and equipment. In an attempt to take control of the city at any cost, reserves were directed to carry out flanking attacks, which exhausted the defence of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result of the enemy's actions, there arose a threat of encircling the city, the statement said. The tactical significanc

Russian artillery strike hit market in Ukraine city of Kherson, kills 7

An apparent Russian artillery strike hit a market in the southern Ukraine city of Kherson on Tuesday, killing at least seven people and wounding three others, authorities said. The strike happened as shoppers made their way between stalls at the city centre market, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said. He published a video showing the blurred corpses of people in civilian clothes lying near a stall with tomatoes and other vegetables. Ukraine's General Prosecutor's Office said the strike was most likely carried out by Russian artillery and hit close to a public transport stop. The city has not recently been a hotspot in the war, now deep into its third year, as the fiercest battles have been taking place in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region where Russia's army is pushing hard to take ground ahead of the winter. Ukrainian forces have struck back with an incursion into Russia's Kursk border region, but the government is waiting to hear what further Western military and financial supp

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14 injured as Russia strikes residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia

Earlier on September 22, Russia had launched an attack on a residential building in Kharkiv, which left 21 civilians injured

Russia downs more than 100 Ukrainian drones in one of largest barrages

More than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russia Sunday, officials said, sparking a wildfire and setting an apartment block alight in one of the largest barrages seen over Russian skies since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Russia's Ministry of Defence reported that it had shot down 125 drones overnight across seven regions. The southwestern region of Volgograd came under particularly heavy fire, with 67 Ukrainian drones reportedly downed by Russian air defences. Seventeen drones were also seen over Russia's Voronezh region, where falling debris damaged an apartment block and a private home, said Gov. Aleksandr Gusev. Images on social media showed flames rising from the windows of the top floor of a high-rise building. No casualties were reported. A further 18 drones were reported over Russia's Rostov region, where falling debris sparked a wildfire, said Gov. Vasily Golubev. He said that the fire did not pose a threat to populated areas, but that emergency service

Russian strikes on medical centre kill 9 people in Ukrainian city of Sumy

Two consecutive Russian attacks on a medical centre in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Saturday killed at least nine people, officials said. The first strike killed one person. Russia attacked again while patients and staff were evacuating, said Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Local officials in Sumy said Shahed drones were used in the attack. Twenty-one other people were wounded, Sumy Acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said. Sumy lies some 20 miles (32 km) from Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have made a surprise incursion since Aug 6 in a bid to divert the Kremlin's military focus away from the front line in Ukraine. In Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, a Russian airstrike on the village of Slatyne on Saturday killed three people and wounded three more, Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Syniehubov also said one person was killed in a drone attack in the nearby village of Kozacha Lopan. Ukraine's air force said it shot down 69 of 73

Russia condemns West during UNGA speech; invokes nuclear capacity

Russia's top diplomat warned Saturday against trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power, delivering a UN General Assembly speech packed with condemnations of what Russia sees as Western machinations in Ukraine and elsewhere including inside the United Nations itself. Three days after Russian President Vladimir Putin aired a shift in his country's nuclear doctrine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of using Ukraine which Russia invaded in February 2022 as a tool to try to defeat" Moscow strategically, and preparing Europe for it to also throw itself into this suicidal escapade. I'm not going to talk here about the senselessness and the danger of the very idea of trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power, which is what Russia is, he said. The specter of nuclear threats and confrontation has hung over the war in Ukraine since its start. Shortly before the invasion, Putin reminded the world that his country was one of the most powerful nuclear states, and h

8 people killed by Russian strikes on medical center in Ukrainian city

Two consecutive Russian attacks on a medical center in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed at least eight people on Saturday morning, officials said. The first strike killed one person. Russia attacked again while patients and staff were evacuating, said Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Local officials in Sumy said Shahed drones were used in the attack. Eleven other people were wounded, the head of the Sumy City Military administration, Oleksii Drozdenko, said. Sumy lies some 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have been deployed since Aug. 6 in a bid to divert the Kremlin's military focus away from the front line in Ukraine. Ukraine's air force said it shot down 69 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight as well as two of the four missiles. City authorities in Kyiv said around 15 drones had been shot down over the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts. In Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's home city, lo

Trump, Zelenskyy meet in US amid rising questions about support for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met face-to-face with Donald Trump Friday with public tensions rising between the two over Ukraine's defence against Russia's invasion. I think we have a common view that the war in Ukraine has to be stopped and Putin can't win, Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. After arriving together at a conference room on Friday, Trump said the fact that we're even together today is a very good sign. The meeting came at a critical time in the Russia-Ukraine war as Election Day nears in the US. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, have taken sharply different approaches to Ukraine. Trump has for months criticised US support for Ukraine and derided Zelenskyy as a salesman for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his military as it tries to fend off Moscow. On Friday, however, Trump brought up his first impeachment in 2019, which Democrats in Congress pursued after he asked Zelenskyy

As war in Ukraine enters critical period, EU moves ahead without US

As the war in Ukraine enters a critical period, the European Union has decided that it must take responsibility for what it sees as an existential threat to security in its own neighbourhood and is preparing to tackle some of the financial burden, perhaps even without the United States. EU envoys have been working in Brussels this week on a proposal to provide Ukraine with a hefty loan package worth up to 35 billion euros (USD 39 billion). It was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a trip to Kyiv last Friday. Crucially, this loan will flow straight into your national budget," she told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It will provide you with significant and much-needed fiscal space. You will decide how best to use the funds, giving you maximum flexibility to meet your needs. Zelenskyy wants to buy weapons and bomb shelters and rebuild Ukraine's shattered energy network as winter draws near. In international matters, particularly involving major ...

Calls for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia 'unacceptable': Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris has said calls for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia were "dangerous and unacceptable" as she met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy here. The comments from the Democratic nominee for president were thinly veiled criticism of suggestions from Republican candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, that Ukraine should quickly cut a deal to end the war. They are not proposals for peace," Harris said on Thursday. Instead they are proposals for surrender. Zelenskyy is in Washington to bolster US assistance for his country's defence. The Ukrainian president huddled with US leaders on Thursday to shore up American support for his country's fight against Russia as the war faces a partisan reckoning in this year's presidential election. Harris has pledged to continue sending military assistance to Ukraine if she's elected. She'll have her own meeting with Zelenskyy after the Ukrainian leader sat down with President Joe Biden, wh

Zelenskyy discusses Ukraine's 'Victory Plan' with US President Biden

During the meeting, Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for the support of the United States

Russia's adaptability to US sanctions stymied their impact: Economists

Waves of sanctions imposed by the Biden administration after Russia's invasion of Ukraine haven't inflicted the devastating blow to Moscow's economy that some had expected. In a new report, two researchers are offering reasons why. Oleg Itskhoki of Harvard University and Elina Ribakova of the Peterson Institute for International Economics argue that the sanctions should have been imposed more forcefully immediately after the invasion rather than in a piecemeal manner. In retrospect, it is evident that there was no reason not to have imposed all possible decisive measures against Russia from the outset once Russia launched the full scale invasion in February 2022, the authors state in the paper. Still, the critical takeaway is that sanctions are not a silver bullet, Ribakova said on a call with reporters this week, to preview the study. The researchers say Russia was able to brace for the financial penalties because of the lessons learned from sanctions imposed in 2014 after it inva

Ukrainian prez Zelenskyy urges UN to put pressure on Russia to end war

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged global leaders Wednesday to stand with his country and not seek "a lull" instead of a "real, just peace" more than two years into Russia's war.Speaking at UN General Assembly, he said, "Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve a lull instead of an end to the war."He called for adoption of his two-year-old proposal to restore internationally recognized boundaries between Russia and Ukraine."And we need to make it clear--the war is over. This is the Peace Formula. What part of this could be unacceptable to anyone who upholds the UN Charter? We must uphold the UN Charter and guarantee our right--Ukraine's right--to territorial integrity and sovereignty, just as we do for any other nation. We need to withdraw the Russian occupiers, which will bring an end to the hostilities in Ukraine," said Zelenskyy."Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve a lull instead of .

Trump says Ukraine 'dead', dismisses defence against Russia's invasion

Former President Donald Trump has described Ukraine in bleak and mournful terms, referring to its people as dead and the country itself as demolished," and further raising questions about how much the former president would be willing if elected again to concede in a negotiation over the country's future. Trump argued on Wednesday that Ukraine should have made concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the months before Russia's February 2022 attack, declaring that even the worst deal would've been better than what we have now." Trump, who has long been critical of US aid to Ukraine, frequently claims that Russia never would have invaded if he was president and that he would put an end to the war if he returned to the White House. But rarely has he discussed the conflict in such detail. His remarks, at a North Carolina event billed as an economic speech, come on the heels of a debate this month in which he pointedly refused to say whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war. On

Zelenskyy meets Biden at UNGA, to discuss Ukraine's 'Plan of Victory' today

During the meeting, Zelenskyy also expressed his gratitude for the US's support in Ukraine's defence efforts

Ukraine urges world leaders not to seek 'an out' from Russia's war

Ukraine's president urged global leaders Wednesday to stand with his country and not seek an out instead of a real, just peace" more than two years into Russia's war. At a time when he faces growing pressure from Western allies and some of his fellow Ukrainians to negotiate a cease-fire, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the U.N. General Assembly there's no alternative to the peace formula he presented two years ago. Among other things, it seeks the expulsion of all Russian forces from Ukraine and accountability for war crimes. Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve an out instead of an end to the war, he said. Do not divide the world. Be united nations, he implored. And that will bring us peace.

Zelenskyy's victory plan sets Ukraine's terms in war against Russia

The victory plan that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will present to the White House this week asks the Biden administration to do something it has not achieved in the two and a half years since Russia invaded Ukraine: act quickly to support Kyiv's campaign. While Western dawdling has amplified Ukraine's losses, some Ukrainian officials, diplomats and analysts fear Kyiv's aim to have the plan implemented before a new US president takes office in January may be out of reach. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, reportedly briefed on the plan, said it can work but many privately question how. The specifics of Zelenskyy's blueprint have been kept under wraps until it can be formally presented to President Joe Biden, but contours of the plan have emerged, including the need for fast action on decisions Western allies have been mulling since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. It includes the security guarantee of NATO membership, according to Zelenskyy's chief of staff ..