Page 99 - Ukraine

US Senate passes record $858 billion defense bill, sends bill to Prez Biden

The fiscal 2023 NDAA authorizes $858 billion in military spending and includes a 4.6% pay increase for the troops, funding for purchases of weapons, ships and aircraft, and support for Taiwan

Ukraine launches largest attack on Donetsk in years, says report

On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said a Christmas ceasefire was "not on the agenda"

Ukrainian parliament adopts laws to launch membership talks with EU

The Ukrainian Parliament has adopted all laws needed for launching membership talks with the European Union, Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said

IAEA to send permanent technical missions to all nuclear plants in Ukraine

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency will send permanent technical missions to all the nuclear power plants in Ukraine as part of stepped-up efforts to help prevent a nuclear accident

Multiple explosions reported in central district of Ukraine's Kyiv: Mayor

The mayor of Kyiv is reporting multiple explosions in the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday, the first such time in weeks during Russia's ongoing war against the country. Vitali Klitschko wrote in a post on Telegram that there were explosions in a central district of the capital that is home to many government agencies and buildings. He said municipal teams were in place and more details were expected.

US finalising arms upgrade to Ukraine with Patriot missile batteries

The US is poised to send Patriot air and missile defense batteries to Ukraine pending final approval from President Joe Biden, two US officials said

Ukraine to get $1 bn from partners to go through winter season: PM Shmyhal

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that Ukraine will get $1 billion from its partners to go through the winter cold season, the government press service reported

Zelenskyy calls for aid of 50 mn LED lightbulbs to cope with energy crisis

In the wake of Russian attacks on Ukraine's fragile energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for 50 million LED lightbulbs which would save around one gigawatt of power

Over 1.5 million people left without power in Ukraine's port city Odesa

Darkness gripped Ukraine's Odesa on Saturday as over 1.5 million people in the port city were left without electricity amid dipping temperatures after the energy facilities were hit

PM Modi to skip annual summit with Russia's Putin over Ukraine nuke threats

It would mark only the second time the leaders of India and Russia haven't met face to face since 2000, when the relationship was elevated to a strategic partnership

Helping Ukraine is 'self-preservation' for West: Finance chief Marchenko

Ukraine's finance minister says crucial Western financial support is not charity but self-preservation in the fight to defend democracy as his country deals with growing costs to repair electrical and heating infrastructure wrecked by Russian attacks. Serhiy Marchenko also told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday from Kyiv that he believes European Union officials will sort out a dispute with Hungary that has blocked a key 18 billion-euro (USD 18.97 billion) aid package and would cover much of Ukraine's looming budget gap. Marchenko said financial support for Ukraine is tiny compared to what developed countries spent to combat emergencies like the global financial crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic. And that the money bolsters freedom and security far beyond his country's struggle, he added. It's not charity to support Ukraine, Marchenko said. We are trying to protect freedom and democracy of all (the) civilized world." He said the damage from Russian missile attack

'Unrestrained' supply of western weapons complicating Ukraine unrest: Iran

The Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said that the "unrestrained" delivery of American and European weapons to Ukraine has further complicated the situation in the country

US sending additional $275 million in military aid to Ukraine: Officials

The US is sending an additional USD 275 million in military aid to Ukraine, including large amounts of ammunition and high-tech systems that can be used to detect and counter drones in its ongoing war with Russia, according to US officials. The total aid amount is smaller than most of the recent packages the US has delivered, and it comes as many military officials and experts predict a reduction in attacks during the winter. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia appears to be slowing its military activities to regroup and launch a new offensive when the weather warms. The officials said the latest package of aid includes 80,000 rounds of ammunition for howitzers and an undisclosed amount of ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS. It also includes systems to counter drones and air defences, along with more HUMVEES, generators and other combat equipment. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the aid package prior to .

A difficult year with worse to follow

There is a lot at stake for Russia in the ongoing Ukraine war, and it could cause a great deal of pain for the world

India exploring options to minimise impact on students' education: Kamboj

India, which facilitated the safe return of its 22,500 nationals, most of them students, from Ukraine amid the conflict, is exploring options to minimise the impact on its students' education, the country's envoy here told a UN Security Council briefing. Speaking at the briefing titled Ukraine: Protection of civilians and the situation of children' on Tuesday, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said the conflict in Ukraine is severely impacting the 7.5 million children across the country. Kamboj, the President of the Security Council for the month of December, said in her remarks that the international community must not forget that the situation in Ukraine has also affected foreign students, including those from India. India facilitated a safe return of 22,500 Indian nationals, most of them students, studying in various universities in Ukraine. We are exploring options to minimise the impact on our students' education, she said. Kamboj reiterated India's continued concern over the situatio

Power system functioning despite Russian strikes, says Ukraine PM

Ukraine's power system is functioning and remains intact despite Russia's latest missile attacks on the energy facilities, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said

Ethiopia receives 25,000 tons of food grain from Ukraine amid drought

The first shipment of grain as part of Ukraine's own initiative to supply countries in need arrived in Djibouti Monday for delivery to neighbouring Ethiopia amid the region's worst drought in decades. Ukraine's embassy in Ethiopia confirmed that the Grain from Ukraine" shipment of 25,000 tons is separate from a United Nations World Food Program effort that has funded humanitarian grain shipments from Ukraine. A second ship with 30,000 tons of wheat will be heading to Ethiopia next week, while a third vessel is currently being loaded with 25,000 tons of wheat bound for Somalia, an embassy statement said. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky last month announced the initiative aimed at helping countries the most struck by the food crisis. Ukraine has said it plans to send more than 60 ships to Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Congo, Kenya, Yemen and other countries. Millions of people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are going hungry due to drought following the fifth straight

Ukraine reports new wave of Russian strikes across country, many killed

Russia on Monday unleashed what Ukraine called a massive missile attack across the country, striking homes and buildings, killing civilians and disrupting electrical power that caused blackouts and cut water supplies for the Black Sea port of Odesa. Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, drove a truck across a bridge linking his country to the Crimean Peninsula following its repair from a bombing in October that had embarrassed Moscow. The missile barrage, which Ukrainian authorities have been anticipating for days, was the latest round of punishment by Russia as it sought to disable Ukraine's energy supplies and infrastructure as winter approaches part of a new strategy in its nine-month war. The country's electricity provider, Ukrenergo, lashed out at Russia over the eighth massive missile attack by a terrorist country," saying its facilities had been hit, triggering blackouts. It urged residents to stay in shelters as its crews tried to repair the damage. In the capital o

Jaishankar-Baerbock talks to include India-China ties, Ukraine conflict

India's relationship with China and the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are set to figure in talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Monday. Baerbock is arriving here on Monday morning on a two-day visit. A statement released by the German embassy said Baerbock is travelling to India against the background of the global consequences of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. During the two-day inaugural visit, cooperation in the energy transition away from oil, coal and gas will also play a role, a spokesman for Germany's Federal Foreign Office said in Berlin. In this context, Baerbock will visit projects for renewable energies and sustainability in the rural surroundings of New Delhi, the embassy said. "In Baerbock's talks with her Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India's relationship with China is likely to be discussed in addition to the Russian war against Ukraine and its consequences,

Russia rejects $60-a-barrel price cap on its oil, warns of cutoffs

Russian authorities rejected a price cap on the country's oil set by Ukraine's Western supporters and threatened Saturday to stop supplying the nations that endorsed it. Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, the United States and the 27-nation European Union agreed Friday to cap what they would pay for Russian oil at $60-per-barrel. The limit is set to take effect Monday, along with an EU embargo on Russian oil shipped by sea. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia needed to analyze the situation before deciding on a specific response but that it would not accept the price ceiling. Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, warned that the cap's European backers would come to rue their decision. From this year, Europe will live without Russian oil," Ulyanov tweeted. "Moscow has already made it clear that it will not supply oil to those countries that support anti-market price caps. Wait, very soon the EU will accuse Russia of using