Page 73 - Ukraine

Over 40% of Ukrainians need humanitarian help under war conditions: UN

Russian strikes are inflicting unimaginable suffering on the people of Ukraine and more than 40 per cent of them need humanitarian assistance, a senior UN official told the UN Security Council. Ramesh Rajasingham, director of coordination in the UN humanitarian office, said thousands of civilians have been killed in strikes on homes, schools, fields and markets since Russia's invasion in February 20022. The UN human rights office has formally verified 9,900 civilians killed, but he said the actual number is certainly higher. Ukrainian civilians are suffering horrendous humanitarian consequences and unimaginable levels of suffering from the Russian strikes, Rajasingham said. About 18 million Ukrainians more than 40 per cent of the population need some form of humanitarian assistance, and as winter approaches needs will be magnified," he said. Rajasingham said significant damage and destruction of critical infrastructure continues to severely impact civilian access to electricity, .

Russia imposes effective capital controls on Western company exits

Russia has steadily tightened exit requirements since Western companies started leaving soon after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022

Biden's Cabinet will push Congress to send aid to Israel and Ukraine

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make the case Tuesday that the United States should immediately send aid to Israel and Ukraine, testifying at a Senate hearing as the administration's massive $105 billion emergency aid request for conflicts in those countries and others has already hit roadblocks in the divided Congress. President Joe Biden's Cabinet secretaries will be advocating for the foreign aid to a mostly friendly audience in the Senate, where majority Democrats and many Republicans support tying aid for the two countries together. But it faces much deeper problems in the Republican-led House, where new Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed cutting out the Ukraine aid and focusing on Israel alone, and cutting money for the Internal Revenue Service to pay for it. The drastically narrowed House proposal, which would cost more than $14 billion, faced immediate resistance among Senate Democrats -- and put pressure on Senate Republicans who ...

Putin claims that airport riots targeting Israelis were staged from Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday charged without offering evidence that Western spy agencies and their Ukrainian agents have helped engineer a riot in the southern region of Dagestan, where a mob stormed the airport after a flight from Israel landed there. More than 20 people were hurt none Israelis in clashes that Putin cast as part of US efforts to weaken Russia. Hundreds of angry men, some carrying banners with antisemitic slogans, rushed onto the tarmac of the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region, on Sunday night, looking for Israeli passengers on the flight from Tel Aviv. Police officers and civilians were injured and two of them were in critical condition, regional health authorities said. More than 80 people were detained in the unrest, according to police. Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal probe on charges of organizing mass unrest. Russia has issued carefully calibrated criticism of both sides in the war ..

Biden meets with new US Speaker Johnson, discusses aid for Israel, Ukraine

President Joe Biden met with the new House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries at the White House on Thursday to discuss his request for nearly $106 billion for Israel, Ukraine and other national security needs. Johnson, a staunch conservative allied with Donald Trump, has shown little interest in providing additional money from Congress to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Biden met with Johnson and Jeffries before a classified briefing for them and other congressional leaders on the assistance package, according to a White House official. Johnson, who inherited many of the same political problems that tormented past GOP leaders and challenged their tenure as speaker, had a busy first full day in office. He planned to met later with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Earlier, Johnson said prayer is appropriate as a response to the mass shootings in Maine. This is a dark time in America, Johnson said at the Capitol. He added: "Prayer is appropriat

Russia-Ukraine war showed we can't rely on defence imports: Army chief

General Manoj Pande also said that India is putting significant focus on leveraging the infusion of modern technology in the Army

Russian naval assets no longer safe in Black Sea near Crimea: Zelenskyy

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Tuesday that recent Ukrainian attacks have denied the Russian fleet safe bases and secure maritime corridors in the western part of the Black Sea, as Kyiv's troops look to squeeze the Kremlin's occupying forces out of the Crimean Peninsula. Crimea provides rear support for Moscow's battlefield efforts further west and has been a frequent target for Ukrainian forces during the war since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Russian fleet is no longer capable of operating in the western part of the Black Sea and is gradually retreating from Crimea, Zelenskyy claimed, without providing evidence. This is a historic achievement. Ukraine is keen to show that billions of dollars' worth of weapons supplied by its Western allies have allowed it to make progress in the fighting, as the conflict enters its 21st month amid a broad stalemate. With the war poised to extend into another winter and likely deep into next year, Kyiv is pushing its allies

US commitment to Ukraine a key issue as President Biden meets EU leaders

Saddled with a dysfunctional Congress, President Joe Biden has the task of assuring European Union leaders on Friday that the United States can nonetheless deliver on promises to send tens of billions of dollars' worth of aid to wartime Ukraine and Israel. The Oval Office sit-down comes at a moment when domestic U.S. political chaos could further destabilize an increasingly chaotic world. Many of Biden's shared priorities with the EU depend on getting a budget through Congress a tough task given that the House lacks an elected speaker and differences with some Republican lawmakers over aid for Ukraine could force a federal government shutdown in November. Along with addressing Ukraine's efforts to repel Russia and the fallout from Hamas' attack on Israel, the U.S. and EU leaders are also figuring out how to manage climate change, economic competition with China and trade and tax issues. One day ahead of his meeting with Biden, European Council President Charles Michel expressed ...

Ukraine uses US-provided long-range ATACMS missiles against Russian forces

The United States has quietly delivered a small number of long-range ballistic missiles that Ukraine said it urgently needed and that President Joe Biden promised last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Tuesday, saying they were used on the battlefield against Russia and executed very accurately. Today I express special gratitude to the United States," Zelenskyy said in his evening address, adding that the missiles have proven themselves. The US has refused to discuss the delivery publicly, but officials familiar with the move also confirmed it earlier in the day. Fewer than a dozen of the missiles got into Ukraine within the last few days, said officials. Their arrival at the warfront gives Ukraine a critical ability to strike Russian targets that are farther away, allowing Ukrainian forces to stay safely out of range. The officials were not authorised to publicly discuss the matter before an official announcement and spoke Tuesday on the condition of ...

The puzzles of defence economics

Rethinking military production in a new world of conflict

The lucky cohort

Unlike those born in the 1940s and '50s, the current generation can no longer take global peace and lifelong economic progress for granted

Ukraine receives $1.15 billion grant from US under World Bank program

The PEACE (Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance) in Ukraine project has been the World Bank's flagship financing instrument for Kyiv during Russia's war on Ukraine

US wants to cut Ukraine aid, boost Taiwan's. But it is tied to Kyiv's

To Rep. Mike Collins, China is a bigger threat to the United States than Russia. So the Georgia Republican has voted against providing military aid to Ukraine as he advocates for doing more to arm Taiwan, the self-governed island that's at risk of military aggression from Beijing. For Collins and other Republican lawmakers, Taiwan and Ukraine are effectively rivals for a limited pool of U.S. military assistance. But that's not necessarily how Taiwan and many of its supporters see it. They view Taiwan's fate as closely linked to that of Ukraine as it struggles to push back a Russian invasion. They say China is watching closely to see if the United States has the political stamina to support an ally in a prolonged, costly war. The U.S. aid to Ukraine also has led to weapons manufacturers stepping up production something that could benefit Taiwan in a clash with China. Ukraine's survival is Taiwan's survival. Ukraine's success is Taiwan's success, Taiwan's diplomat in the U.S., Hsiao

EU summit to look at changes bloc needs to make to welcome Ukraine, others

A day after pledging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy their unwavering support, European Union leaders on Friday will face one of their worst political headaches on a key commitment - how and when to welcome debt-laden and battered Ukraine into the bloc. The 27-nation EU has said since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022 that at the end of the war it would work steadfastly on lasting unity that would eventually translate into Ukraine's membership in the wealthy bloc. For a nation fighting for its very survival, that moment cannot come quickly enough. For the bloc itself, that remains to be seen. On Friday, the leaders will assess enlargement as they call it at their informal summit in southern Spain's Granada. Beyond Ukraine, several western Balkan nations and Moldova are also knocking with increasing impatience at the door. In his summit invitation letter, EU Council President Charles Michel asked the leaders critical questions, such as: What do we do together?

Russia launches more drone attacks as Zelenksyy travels to a European forum

Russia targeted Ukraine with drones in another massive attack early Thursday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Spain to rally support from Western allies at a summit of some 50 European leaders. Ukraine's air force said that the country's air defences intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions. Ukrainian officials didn't immediately report any casualties of damage. The attack came as Zelenskyy arrived in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners, he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel. During the last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, ...

Ramaswamy slams Zelenskyy as he seeks more US funds to hold Ukraine polls

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for seeking additional funds from the US to hold polls in the war-torn country and asserted that he is on his way to becoming the party's nominee for the 2024 presidential elections. In an interview with Fox News, Ramaswamy, 38, defended his statement that he would cut aid to Ukraine if elected as the US president. I have a problem with appeasement too, but I want to be very clear. We have to level with the American people here. Just because Putin is an evil dictator -- and he is -- does not mean that Ukraine is good, he said. This (Ukraine) is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties. This is a country that has consolidated all media into one state media arm, whose president just last week was praising a Nazi in his own ranks, has threatened the United States not to hold its own normal elections this year unless it gets more funding, Ramaswamy said. Now polling third and ..

IMF expects continuing US support for Ukraine despite Congress dropping aid

Officials from the International Monetary Fund say they expect the United States will continue playing its key role in amassing multinational support that has helped keep Ukraine's economy afloat during Russia's invasion. That's despite Congress recently passing a short-term funding package that averted a US government shutdown but dropped USD 6 billion in aid to Ukraine. It's not clear if, when, or how that aid instalment might be restored. The US has already sent or committed USD 69.5 billion in military, financial, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, according to the Institute for the World Economy in Kiel, Germany. President Biden has made an announcement ... that he is fully committed to supporting Ukraine," Uma Ramakrishnan, IMF European department deputy director, said at a news conference Wednesday in Kyiv. And so from our standpoint, the baseline assumption remains that the US remains committed." She added that it is premature for us to comment on what will materialize or no

Biden suggests he has path around Congress to get more aid to Ukraine

Facing a likely roadblock from House Republicans on aid for Ukraine, President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he's planning to give a major speech on the issue and suggested there may be another means to provide support for Kyiv if Congress continues to balk. I'm going to be announcing very shortly a major speech I'm going to make on this issue and why it's critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment to Ukraine, Biden told reporters after giving unrelated remarks at the White House. White House officials declined to say when Biden planned to give his speech. The president did not elaborate on the alternate method he was looking at to get additional military aid to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. There is another means by which we may be able to find funding, but I'm not going to get into that right now, he said. Aid for Ukraine has been a source of tension and uncertainty as several Republicans in the House have severe doubts or openly

'They're just meat': Russia deploys punishment battalions in echo of Stalin

They're among hundreds of military and civilian offenders who've been pressed into Russian penal units

Our support for Ukraine permanent: European Union Chief Borell in Kyiv

The foreign ministers of the European Union arrived in Kyiv on Monday for the first meeting of the 27 member states ever held outside the EU