Page 57 - Ukraine

Why Russia's bonhomie with North Korea is potential danger to the world

Russia's forces have been able to blast thousands of artillery shells a day at Ukraine thanks to supplies sent by Kim Jong Un

Meloni describes Putin's cease-fire offer for Ukraine as 'propaganda'

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Saturday dismissed a cease-fire offer for Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin as propaganda, as she wrapped up a Group of Seven summit that saw a deal reached for a USD 50 billion loan to Ukraine. The loan will be provided by the US, UK, Canada and possibly Japan, Meloni said. The frozen Russian assets to be used as collateral are mainly in Europe, so Europe is already contributing by identifying the guarantee mechanism, she added. The loan agreement was reached at the opening Thursday of the two-day annual meeting of leaders from the G7 countries of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States in southern Italy's Puglia region. Asked about Putin's cease-fire proposal, Meloni said it seems to me more like a propaganda move than a real one. The Russian president said Friday he would immediately order a cease-fire in Ukraine and start negotiations if Kyiv begins withdrawing troops from the four regions Mosco

Russia absent as world leaders meet at Swiss resort for Ukraine peace talks

The presidents of Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Somalia will join many Western heads of state and government and other leaders at a conference this weekend aimed to plot out first steps toward peace in Ukraine with Russia notably absent. Swiss officials hosting the conference say more than 50 heads of state and government, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will join the gathering at the Brgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne. Some 100 delegations including European bodies and the United Nations will be on hand. Who will show up and who will not has become one of the key stakes of a meeting that critics say will be useless without the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin's government, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and is pushing ahead with the war. US Vice President Kamala Harris is set to attend while Turkey and Saudi Arabia have dispatched their foreign ministers. Key developing countries like Brazil, an observer at the event, India and ..

Putin sets terms for ceasefire: Ukraine must pull out from 'annexed' parts

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised on Friday to immediately order a cease-fire in Ukraine and start negotiations if Kyiv began withdrawing troops from the four regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 and renounced plans to join NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected what he called an ultimatum by Putin to surrender more territory. Putin's remarks came as Switzerland prepared to host scores of world leaders -- but not from Moscow -- this weekend to try to map out first steps toward peace in Ukraine. They also coincided with a meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations in Italy and after the US and Ukraine this week signed a 10-year security agreement that Russian officials, including Putin, denounced as null and void. Putin blasted the Switzerland conference as just another ploy to divert everyone's attention, reverse the cause and effect of the Ukrainian crisis (and) set the discussion on the wrong track. His demands came in a speech a

G7: Way to peace is through 'dialogue & diplomacy', PM Modi tells Zelenskyy

PM Modi met Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Italy's Apulia region. The prime minister described the meeting with the Ukrainian president as 'very productive'

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni welcomes guest with 'Namaste', video goes viral

The heads of G7 nations reached Italy to participate in the 2024 Summit. PM Modi also arrived in Italy to participate in the G7 meeting, where India is invited as an outreach country

Peace summit for Ukraine conflict opens in Switzerland without Russia

Switzerland will host scores of world leaders this weekend to try to map out first steps toward peace in Ukraine even though Russia, which launched and is continuing the war, won't take part. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government didn't want Russia involved, and the Swiss aware of Moscow's reservations about the talks didn't invite Russia. The Swiss insist Russia must be involved at some point, and hope it will join the process one day. Ukrainians too are considering that possibility, Zelenskyy's top adviser says. The process unlikely to produce major results this weekend is seen as a largely symbolic effort on the part of Kyiv to rally the international community and project strength against its better armed and manned adversary. But the question looming over the summit will be how the two countries can move back from the brink and eventually silence guns in a war that has cost hundreds of billions of dollars and caused hundreds and thousands of deaths and ...

Highlights of the day: Six dead, 1,500 tourists stranded as landslides, rain wreak havoc in Sikkim

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G7 agrees to use frozen Russian assets for $50 billion loan for Ukraine

A Group of Seven summit opened on Thursday with agreement reached on a US proposal to back a USD 50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as collateral, giving Kyiv a strong show of support even as Europe's political chessboard shifts to the right. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni welcomed the heads of state of the G7 leading industrialised nations to a luxury resort in southern Italy, saying she wanted the message of the meeting to be one of dialogue with the global south and unity. She likened the G7 to the ancient olive trees that are a symbol of the Puglia region, with their solid roots, and branches projected toward the future. Beyond discussions on Ukraine, the war in Gaza and China's industrial policy, Pope Francis will become the first pope to address a G7 summit, adding a dash of celebrity and moral authority to the annual gathering. He'll be speaking on Friday about the promises and perils of artificial intelligence, but is expected to also renew his appeal for

G7 summit opens with deal to use Russia's frozen assets for Ukraine

A Group of Seven summit is opening Thursday with agreement on a US proposal to back a USD 50 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets as collateral, giving Kyiv a strong show of support even as Europe's political chessboard shifts to the right. Diplomats confirmed that an agreement had been reached on the deal before the leaders even landed in southern Italy for the three-day summit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be on hand and is expected to sign a separate bilateral security agreement with US President Joe Biden. Beyond the Ukraine war, Pope Francis will become the first pope to address a G7 summit, adding a dash of celebrity and moral authority to the annual gathering that is being held this year in Italy's sun-drenched Puglia region. He'll be speaking Friday about the promises and perils of artificial intelligence, but is expected to also renew his appeal for a peaceful end to wars in Ukraine and Gaza. The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, ...

Russian forces launch deadly attacks on Ukraine ahead of G7 Summit; 9 dead

Russian forces launched new deadly attacks on Ukraine, killing at least nine people on Wednesday, a day before the leaders of countries that are some of Ukraine's biggest backers were to discuss how to slow Moscow's offensive. Ukrainian authorities said that along with the nine killed, 29 others, including five children, were wounded when Russian missiles hit an apartment block in Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown. Zelenskyy said the strike has again proven that "Ukraine, together with its partners, must strengthen its air defences something that he has repeatedly appealed for with Ukraine's Western partners. The United States has agreed to send another Patriot missile system, two US officials said late Tuesday. Modern air defence systems are capable of providing maximum protection of people, our cities, and our positions," Zelenskyy said. And we need as many of them as possible. Earlier on Wednesday, Ukraine's air force said it shot down more than two

Indians in war zone should be brought back: India to Russian officials

According to MEA reports, two Indian nationals who had been recruited by the Russian Army have recently been killed in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine

US to give Ukraine Patriot missile system after Kyiv's desperate calls

The United States will send Ukraine another Patriot missile system, two US officials said Tuesday, answering Kyiv's desperate calls for more air defences as it battles an intense Russian assault on the northeastern Kharkiv region. The officials said President Joe Biden has approved the move. It would be the second Patriot system that the US has given to Ukraine, although the Pentagon has routinely provided an undisclosed number of missiles for the system. Other allies, including Germany, also have provided air defense systems as well as munitions for them. The two US officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been publicly announced. The decision was first reported by The New York Times. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late last month pleaded for additional US-made Patriot systems, arguing that they will help his forces fight the close to 3,000 bombs that he said Russia launches into the country every month. Speaking in Madrid, Zelenskyy said ..

Zelenskyy appeals for help with Ukraine's energy network wreaked by war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for short-term help in repairing his country's electricity network and long-term investment in its energy system as a conference to gather support for Ukraine's recovery from the destruction wreaked by Russia's war opened on Tuesday. Starting a week of intense diplomacy that will also see him travel to the Group of Seven summit of Ukraine's leading Western allies in Italy and a global peace summit in Switzerland, Zelenskyy also renewed his calls for more help in repelling missile attacks by Russian forces. The two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin follows up on a similar gathering in London a year ago. The German hosts say it is bringing together 2,000 people from national and local politics, business and other areas, arguing that the task of supporting Ukraine's recovery is too big for governments alone. Among other immediate problems, sustained Russian attacks on Ukraine's power grid in recent weeks have forced energy ...

Germany hosts conference for Ukraine before peace summit in Switzerland

Germany is hosting a conference on Tuesday to gather support for Ukraine's recovery from the destruction wreaked by Russia's war, sending a new signal of solidarity with Kyiv at the start of a week of intense diplomacy. The two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, following up on a similar gathering in London a year ago, comes before the Group of Seven summit of Ukraine's leading Western allies in Italy and a global peace summit in Switzerland this coming weekend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who last week attended events marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France, is expected at the gathering, which the German hosts say will bring together 2,000 people from politics, business and other areas. Even during the current times of war, Ukraine needs to continually rebuild houses, water pipelines, hospitals and power grids, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said in a statement. People want to keep on living in their country, and to do so they .

Russia puts former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko on its wanted list

Russia has put former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on its wanted list, Russian state media reported, citing the Interior Ministry's database. Russian state news agency Tass said Tymoshenko was listed as wanted on unspecified criminal charges. She reportedly joins Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, on the same list, which also includes scores of officials and lawmakers from Ukraine and NATO countries. Tymoshenko and her Batkivshchyna (the Fatherland) party did not immediately comment Saturday. Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet, reported that both Zelenskyy and Poroshenko had been listed since at least late February. Among others on the list is Kaja Kallas, the prime minister of NATO and EU member Estonia, who has fiercely advocated for increased military aid to Kyiv and stronger sanctions against Moscow. Russian officials in February said that Kallas is wanted because of Tallinn's efforts to remove Soviet-era ...

'Attacks in Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson kill 28 people'

Russia-installed officials in the partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Luhansk say Ukrainian attacks left at least 27 people dead as Russia and Ukraine continued to exchange drone attacks overnight into Saturday. A Ukrainian attack Friday on the small town of Sadove in Ukraine's partially occupied Kherson region killed 22 and wounded 15 people, Moscow-backed governor Vladimir Saldo said. Russian state news agency Tass cited Saldo as saying that Ukrainian forces first struck the town with a French-made guided bomb, then attacked again with a US-supplied HIMARS missile. He said Ukrainian forces had deliberately made a repeat strike to create greater numbers of casualties when residents of nearby houses ran out to help the injured. Further east, Leonid Pasechnik, the Russia-installed governor in Ukraine's partially occupied Luhansk region, said Saturday that two more bodies had been pulled from the rubble following Friday's Ukrainian missile attack on the regional capit

Vladimir Putin running out of time to achieve breakthrough in Ukraine

Putin insists his war goals are unchanged and that Russia will fight for as long as needed to win in Ukraine, regardless of mounting casualties in a war that's in its third year with no end in sight

Biden apologizes to Ukraine's Zelenskyy for months long weapon holdup

President Joe Biden on Friday for the first time publicly apologised to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a months-long holdup in American military assistance that let Russia make gains on the battlefield. Speaking in Paris, where they both attended ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Biden told Zelenskyy that, he apologised to the Ukrainian people for the weeks of not knowing if more assistance would come while Congress waited six months before sending Biden a USD 61 billion military aid package for Ukraine. Still, Biden insisted that the American people were standing by Ukraine for the long-haul. We're still in. Completely. Thoroughly, he said.

Biden to meet Zelenskyy in Paris as Kyiv battles intense Russian offensive

US President Joe Biden was due to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris on Friday as Kyiv's army endures its hardest days of fighting since the early weeks of the war with Russia and prepares for what officials say could be a tough summer ahead. The United States is by far Kyiv's biggest supplier of wartime support, and Ukraine is trying to fend off an intense Russian offensive in eastern areas of the country. The push is focused on the Ukrainian border regions of Kharkiv and Donetsk but Ukrainian officials say it could spread wider as Russia's bigger army seeks to make its advantage tell. The offensive is seeking to exploit Kyiv's shortages of ammunition and troops along the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line. That shortfall in weaponry came after US military aid was held up in Congress for six months before Biden in April signed into law a USD 61 billion military aid package for Ukraine. Amid Russia's most recent onslaught and with Ukraine's army .