Page 58 - Ukraine

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 .

China's action against Philippine vessels threatens global security: Sweden

Sweden's defense chief has expressed alarm over Beijing's repeated dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, saying such actions threaten security, undermine stability and underscore the need to invest for our security and freedom. Defense Minister Pl Jonson spoke Thursday night in a diplomatic reception in Manila for Sweden's national day after meeting his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro Jr., on expanding defense relations. Sweden is one of the possible sources of supersonic fighter jets that the Philippines plans to acquire as its military shifts focus from decades of fighting communist and Muslim insurgencies to territorial defense. Let me express my deep concern on the repeated dangerous maneuvers against Philippines vessels that have been taking place in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, Jonson said. He did not mention China in his speech but drew applause from an audience that included top Philippine military and security ...

France to provide Mirage fighter jets to fend off Russian attacks: Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France will provide Ukraine with its Mirage combat aircraft to be able to defend their country against Russian aggression. Macron said in an interview with French public broadcaster that he will announce on Friday a new cooperation" with Ukraine and the sale of Mirage 2005, the French-made combat aircraft which will allow Ukraine to protect its soil, its airspace against Russian attacks. France will also start training Ukrainian pilots, Macron said. He reiterated that Ukraine should be allowed to use weapons provided by its Western allies to target Russian military targets and neutralise the points from which (the country) is being attacked.

European Parliament elections begin today; check out the issues at stake

Nearly 400 million European Union citizens can go to the polls over the coming days to elect members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, in one of the biggest global democratic events. Far-right parties are seeking to gain more power amid a rise in the cost of living and farmers' discontent, while the wars in Gaza and Ukraine stay on the minds of voters. One of the biggest questions is whether European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will remain in charge as the public face of the EU. Here is a look at the election, which runs Thursday to Sunday, and the biggest issues at stake: WHEN IS THE VOTE? EU elections are held every five years across the 27-member bloc. This year marks the 10th parliamentary election since the first polls in 1979, and the first after Brexit. The vote takes place from June 6-9. Initial results can only be revealed on the evening of June 9, once polling stations have closed in all member states. HOW DOES VOTING WORK? The elections started on Th

Russia could provide weapons to others to strike Western targets: Putin

Taking questions from international journalists for the first time since his inauguration last month to a fifth term, Putin also said nothing will change in terms of Russia-US relations

Ukraine using German weapons to strike Russia 'dangerous step' warns Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Germany on Wednesday that use of its weapons by Ukraine to strike targets in Russia would mark a dangerous step" and ruin relations between Berlin and Moscow. Germany joined the United States recently in authorizing Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying. Putin said that the deliveries of German tanks to Ukraine came as a shock to many in Russia. Now if they use missiles to strike facilities on the Russian territory it will completely ruin Russian-German relations, he said.

European Union prepares for foreign disinformation ahead of elections

Voters in the European Union are set to elect lawmakers starting Thursday for the bloc's parliament, in a major democratic exercise that's also likely to be overshadowed by online disinformation. Experts have warned that artificial intelligence could supercharge the spread of fake news that could disrupt the election in the EU and many other countries this year. But the stakes are especially high in Europe, which has been confronting Russian propaganda efforts as Moscow's war with Ukraine drags on. Here's a closer look: WHAT'S HAPPENING? Some 360 million people in 27 nations from Portugal to Finland, Ireland to Cyprus will choose 720 European Parliament lawmakers in an election that runs Thursday to Sunday. In the months leading up to the vote, experts have observed a surge in the quantity and quality of fake news and anti-EU disinformation being peddled in member countries. A big fear is that deceiving voters will be easier than ever, enabled by new AI tools that make it easy t

Efforts should be recognised in Russia-Ukraine peace measures, says China

China has never "fanned fire or fuelled the flames", said Mao Ning, addressing a question on a peace summit

China, Russia trying to undermine peace summit on Ukraine war: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in the Philippines on Monday in a rare Asian trip to urge regional leaders to attend a Swiss-organised global peace summit on the war in Ukraine that he accuses Russia, with China's help, of trying to undermine. Zelenskyy arrived unannounced and under heavy security in Manila late Sunday after speaking over the weekend at the Shangri-La defence forum in Singapore. He had planned but failed to meet with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on the sidelines of that annual defence gathering and decided to fly here to personally invite Marcos to attend the summit in Switzerland, two Filipino officials told AP. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss details of Zelenskyy's secretive trip to Manila. Both leaders spoke critically of China at the defence forum in Singapore, which was attended by top defence and government officials from around the world, including from Washington and Beijing. Th

Zelenskyy accuses China of pressuring countries to skip Ukraine peace talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused China of helping Russia to disrupt a Swiss-organised peace conference on the war in Ukraine, speaking at Asia's premier security conference on Sunday. In a news conference at the Shangri-La defense forum in Singapore, Zelenskyy said that China is pressuring other countries and their leaders not to attend the upcoming talks. Russia, using Chinese influence in the region, using Chinese diplomats also, does everything to disrupt the peace summit, he said, according to a simultaneous translation of his remarks. Regrettably this is unfortunate that such a big independent powerful country as China is an instrument in hands of Putin. In a speech earlier in the day, Zelenskyy urged top defence officials to attend the upcoming summit, saying he was disappointed at the failure of some countries to commit to joining. Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun spoke earlier in the day at the Shangri-La conference but he did not appear to be in the room wh