Page 81 - Ukraine

Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are being held in Russian prisons

The Ukrainian civilians woke long before dawn in the bitter cold, lined up for the single toilet and were loaded at gunpoint into the livestock trailer. They spent the next 12 hours or more digging trenches on the front lines for Russian soldiers. Many were forced to wear overlarge Russian military uniforms that could make them a target, and a former city administrator trudged around in boots five sizes too big. By the end of the day, their hands curled into icy claws. Nearby, in the occupied region of Zaporizhzhia, other Ukrainian civilians dug mass graves into the frozen ground for fellow prisoners who had not survived. One man who refused to dig was shot on the spot yet another body for the grave. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are being detained across Russia and the Ukrainian territories it occupies, in centres ranging from brand-new wings in Russian prisons to clammy basements. Most have no status under Russian law. And Russia is planning to hold possibly thousands more.

Ukraine wins G7 security pledges but Nato membership remains elusive

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed fresh pledges of weapons and ammunition to fight Russia's invasion along with longer-term security commitments from the West on Wednesday even as he expressed disappointment over the lack of a clear path for his country to join NATO as the alliance wrapped up its annual summit. "The Ukrainian delegation is bringing home a significant security victory for the Ukraine, for our country, for our people, for our children," he said while flanked by U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders from the Group of Seven most powerful democratic nations. A joint declaration issued by the G7 lays the groundwork for each nation to negotiate agreements to help Ukraine bolster its military over the long term. Zelenskyy described the initiative as a bridge toward eventual NATO membership and a deterrent against Russia. "We will not waver," Biden vowed after the summit in Lithuania ended. "I mean that. Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will

Biden, Zelenskyy praise each other despite divisions over Ukraine war

President Joe Biden wants Ukraine to win the war against Russia. But he doesn't want World War III - especially with nuclear weapons. Balancing those two goals has been difficult, and the tension was on particular display at the NATO summit in Vilnius this week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an emotional, even caustic, demand for a clear path toward joining the alliance. But Biden, who was to try to showcase NATO's strength in a sum-up speech Wednesday evening, was not willing to take that step, even as the United States continues to provide more weapons and ammunition than any other country to Ukraine. The competing priorities in the midst of Europe's bloodiest war in generations created an undercurrent of friction even as Biden and Zelenskyy projected a united front during their meeting as the summit drew to a close. The public encounter had the vibe of two leaders clearing the air, and each conspicuously heaped praise on his counterpart. Biden lauded Zelenskyy a

NATO summit results in mixed news for Ukraine, hope for Sweden's entry

US President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts wrapped up a two-day summit Wednesday with pledges of long-term support for Ukraine but no offer of the country's protection under the alliance's security umbrella. Results from the meeting in Lithuania, a nation on NATO's eastern flank that borders Russia, were mixed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky was grateful for the pledges of more arms and ammunition but disappointed that his country has no clear time frame for joining the world's biggest security alliance. After an evening of pre-summit intrigue, Sweden took a big step toward becoming NATO's 32nd member country when Turkey signaled it would give its approval but not before October. The allies also launched sweeping changes to their defense plans in case of an attack from Russia or by terrorists. They agreed to step up defense spending, too, but set out no timetable for meeting the targets. UKRAINE'S FUTURE IN NATO NATO allies offered more weapons, ammunition and other

Nato prepared to back Ukraine in fight but not to extend membership

NATO leaders prepared to provide Ukraine with more military assistance for fighting Russia but only vague assurances of future membership as the alliance's summit draws to a close on Wednesday. A draft agreement states that Ukraine can join NATO when allies agree and conditions are met." The ambiguous outcome reflects the challenges of reaching consensus among the alliance's current members while the war continues, and it is likely to leave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unsatisfied. Although Zelenskyy planned to attend the summit's final day, he has been sharply critical of what he described as NATO's absurd reluctance to set a timeline for his country's acceptance into the alliance. In essence, Western countries are willing to keep sending weapons to help Ukraine do the job that NATO was designed to do hold the line against a Russian invasion but not allow Ukraine to join its ranks and benefit from its security. Zelenskyy said in a Tuesday speech in a town square in .

Ukrainians train in survival skills to cope with dangers from Russia''s war

In a cramped municipal building in a residential area of the Ukrainian capital, a group of people take turns training to shoot using a replica of a machine gun with the help of a weapons training simulator relying on virtual reality. The nearly 20 participants all of them civilians and most of them women have never held a weapon before. With Russia's war on Ukraine now in its 17th month, the Kyiv City Administration has opened up training for civilians who want to learn survival skills, including how to shoot, provide first aid and recognise land mines. These and other skills could be used in a hostile environment provoked by missile strikes and other man-made disasters. In a dark room with tightly closed blinds, the unreal poof-poof sounds of the replica weapons are heard. People enthusiastically ask the instructors how to hold their weapons properly and ask to try one more time. "I am more than 45 years old. As soon as the opportunity arose, I decided that I needed to refresh s

US President Biden to meet Ukrainian counterpart at Nato summit: Report

The meeting between Biden and Zelenskyy will mark a sign of unity as the Ukrainian President's presence at the summit had been in question

US welcomes India's role in helping to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine

The United States has welcomed the role of India in helping achieve lasting peace in Ukraine, a senior administration official said Monday. "A strategic failure for Russia, which has seen an enormous loss of both military personnel, but military equipment. It's seen its standing in the world affected. It's seen its economy crippled by the sanctions and export controls we've imposed," Matthew Miller, Spokesperson of the State Department told reporters at a news conference here. "I will say with respect to what other countries of the world can do, we welcome the international support that Ukraine has received since the beginning of this conflict," he said in response to a question. "We welcome the role that India or any other country could play in helping achieve a just and lasting peace that recognizes Ukraine's territorial integrity and recognizes Ukraine's sovereignty," he said, adding that the United States believes that the war in Ukraine has been a strategic failure for ...

Russia has 'no red lines' to prevent attacks on nuclear plant, says Ukraine

The catastrophic collapse of a dam in southern Ukraine has made Kyiv worried that Russia might stage an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to foment panic and quell Ukrainian advances on the frontline, Ukraine's energy minister said Monday. Herman Halushchenko said the destruction of the dam while under Russian control in the Kherson region proved there are no red lines for Moscow. He said it warrants the level of alarm Ukraine's leadership has been raising in recent weeks of an alleged Russian ploy to attack the nuclear plant in a possible false flag operation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged last week, citing intelligence reports, that Russian troops placed objects resembling explosives atop several power units to simulate an attack. Drone and satellite images obtained by the Associated Press showed unidentified white objects on the roof of the plant's fourth power unit, but Ukrainian leaders have so far been unable to provide further evidence. While Russia .

Russian air strike on Ukraine aid distribution at school branded war crime

A Russian airstrike on a school in southern Ukraine killed four adults as people gathered to receive humanitarian aid, the governor of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region said on Monday, branding the incident "a war crime. Three women and a man, all in their 40s, died in Sunday's attack in the town of Orikhiv, Gov. Yuriy Malashko said. A guided aerial bomb caused an explosion at the school, Malashko said, without providing evidence. Eleven other people were wounded in the attack, he said. Overall, Russia fired on 10 settlements in the province over the course of a day, he said. Moscow denies it targets civilian locations. Russia has been accused numerous times of doing so and committing other war crimes since its full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. Broad ...

Nearly 50,000 Russian men died in conflict with Ukraine, shows report

Nearly 50,000 Russian men have died in the war in Ukraine, according to the first independent statistical analysis of Russia's war dead. Two independent Russian media outlets, Mediazona and Meduza, working with a data scientist from Germany's Tubingen University, used Russian government data to shed light on one of Moscow's closest-held secrets the true human cost of its invasion of Ukraine. To do so, they relied on a statistical concept popularised during the COVID-19 pandemic called excess mortality. Drawing on inheritance records and official mortality data, they estimated how many more men under age 50 died between February 2022 and May 2023 than normal. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives timely data on military losses, and each is at pains to amplify the other side's casualties. Russia has publicly acknowledged the deaths of just over 6,000 soldiers. Reports about military losses have been repressed in Russian media, activists and independent journalists say. Documenting the dead h

Why Europe can't give weapons to Ukraine quickly even after 1.5 yrs of war

The calculation matters beyond the corporate offices of Europe's defence industry, which collectively generates about €120 billion a year in revenues

Biden kicks-off three-nation visit ahead of Nato summit in Lithuania

The US president will hold a meeting with King Charles of the UK on Monday for the first time since his coronation, according to the White House, to discuss environmental issues

Ukraine's possible entry may be biggest challenge at upcoming Nato meet

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues with no end in sight, NATO's much-celebrated unity faces fresh strains when leaders gather for their annual summit this week in Vilnius, Lithuania. The world's biggest security alliance is struggling to reach an agreement on admitting Sweden as its 32nd member. Military spending by member nations lags behind long-standing goals. An inability to compromise over who should serve as NATO's next leader forced an extension of the current secretary-general's term for an extra year. Perhaps the most difficult questions are over how Ukraine should be eased into NATO. Some maintain admitting Ukraine would fulfil a promise made years ago and be a necessary step to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. Others fear it would be seen as a provocation that could spiral into an even wider conflict. "I don't think it's ready for membership in NATO," President Joe Biden told CNN in an interview airing Sunday. He said joining NATO requires countries t

Ukraine, environment to top agenda when Biden meets UK politicians, royalty

A dash of pomp and a dose of politics are on the agenda during a stopover visit to the UK where President Joe Biden will discuss the environment with King Charles III and the war in Ukraine with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Biden flies to London on Sunday on his way to a NATO summit in Lithuania. He is scheduled to hold talks with Sunak at 10 Downing St on Monday before heading to Windsor Castle to meet Charles for the first time since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September. Though this is not a full state visit with military honours and palace banquet, the royal imprimatur and backdrop of the 1,000-year-old castle help underscore the importance of the trans-Atlantic special relationship - tested by Brexit but reinforced by unity over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sunak and the president will hold Ukraine-focused talks before both attend this week's NATO meeting in Vilnius, which will discuss how far the military alliance should open the door to Ukraine. NATO leaders said in

UN to keep pushing for extension of food exports from Russia, Ukraine

Top UN officials have vowed to keep working for an extension of the deal that allows food and fertilizer exports from Russia and Ukraine despite their war, pushing back at Moscow's pessimism about a renewal before the July 17 expiration. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both countries to make global food security a priority and "help ensure that these products can reach global markets smoothly, efficiently and at scale", UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said on Friday. "Together, the agreements are contributing to sustained reductions in global food prices, which are now more than 23 per cent below the record highs reached in March last year." Turkey and the UN brokered a breakthrough accord with the warring sides last July, which has enabled Ukraine to ship over 32 million tonnes of grain from Black Sea ports to global markets. Moscow, however, complains that the separate UN-Russia memorandum on facilitating shipments of Russian food and fertiliser still faces serious ...

EU approve plans to boost anemic ammunition production to help Ukraine

The European Union took a major step early on day in approving plans to boost its anemic production of ammunition and missiles within the 27-nation bloc, to both defend itself and quickly help Ukraine in trying to push back the invasion by Russia. The EU presidency announced early on day that the member states and the EU Parliament reached a deal to urgently mobilise" half a billion euros from its budget for an Act in Support of Ammunition Production. The deal follows up the decision by EU leaders in March to boost urgently needed ammunition deliveries to Ukraine, which were then sought to start a counteroffensive against Russian forces. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has steadfastly asked for more military aid, from ammunition to planes and missiles. ASAP was part of the plan to send Ukraine 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition within the next 12 months. The EU had already approved plan for a fast-track purchasing procedures when it approved funds Friday to ramp up ...

Romania aims to open F-16 pilot training facility for allies, Ukraine

Romania's top defence body has said in a meeting that the country aims to open a regional training hub for F-16 fighter jet pilots from fellow NATO countries and other partners, including Ukraine. The office of President Klaus Iohannis, who chaired the Supreme Council of National Defense meeting in Bucharest on Thursday, said in a statement, "Together with other allies and the company that designs this fighter plane, a regional hub will be created in Romania for the training of pilots." "Romanian pilots who operate F-16 aircraft will be trained here, and the facility will later be opened to the participation of pilots from allied and NATO partner states, including Ukraine," the statement read. Romania, which shares a long border with Ukraine and has been a NATO member since 2004 and a European Union member since 2007, bolstered defence spending in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The training facility will aim to position Romania as "a regional leader in the field of F-16

Russia's missile attack on Ukraine city of Lviv kills 6, injures dozens

Russia fired cruise missiles at a western Ukraine city far from the front line of the war, killing at least six people in an apartment building in what officials said was the heaviest attack on civilian areas of Lviv since the Kremlin's forces invaded the country last year. Emergency crews with search dogs went through the rubble of the building after the nighttime attack on Thursday destroyed the roof and the top two floors. At least 36 people were injured, according to authorities. The youngest of the people who died was 21 years old and the oldest was a woman of 95, Lviv province governor Maksym Kozytskyi said. "This woman survived the Second World War, but unfortunately she didn't survive" Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kozytskyi said. Debris and wrecked parked cars lined the street outside the building, which overlooks a small neighbourhood park with swings and other playground equipment. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said the body of a woman was pulled from the rubble l

India can contribute in ending war in Ukraine: US ambassador to Kyiv

India, with its rising global profile and current presidency of the G20, can contribute significantly in ending the war in Ukraine, US Ambassador to Kyiv Bridget A Brink said on Wednesday. At a special online briefing for a small group of Indian reporters, Brink said India's leadership is critical in addressing various global challenges and New Delhi's increasing concern over the adverse impact of the war on the Global South creates the ground for its role in defusing the crisis. She said the United States hopes to work with its partners and allies around the world, including India, to support freedom and democracies, and the ability of countries to choose their own future. "From Kyiv, every day I see both the devastating effects of the war and the strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people," Brink said. The ambassador said India's aspirations for global leadership and its calls for collective action through its G20 theme of "One Earth, One Family, One Future" reflect the spir