Page 12 - Russia Ukraine Conflict

Airbus sees profit boost this year, but defense and space challenges

Airbus is urging stepped-up European cooperation to ensure the continent's security and future access to space after a year that saw the company suffer fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine and the crash of a European satellite launcher. The France-based plane maker on Thursday reported a record overall 2022 profit of 4.25 billion euros (USD 4.55 billion), up from 4.21 billion euros the year before, despite inflation challenges and supply chain disruptions that slowed efforts to ramp up aircraft production. CEO Guillaume Faury said the company aims to deliver 720 planes this year, up from 661 last year, in an effort to keep up with growing demand by airlines as travel picks up worldwide following pandemic disruptions. On Tuesday, Air India unveiled an massive order that included 250 Airbus passenger jets. Airbus didn't disclose financial terms of the deal, which could be worth tens of billions of dollars. Airbus took in 820 orders in 2022 and reported revenue of 58.8 billion euros (

Russia fires barrage of missiles at targets in Ukraine; 1 dead 7 wounded

Russia has again pummeled Ukraine with a barrage of missiles, firing a combination of 36 cruise and other missiles and losing at least 16 of them to Ukrainian air defense batteries, Ukrainian officials said Thursday. The head of Ukraine's presidential office said targets had been hit in the country's north, west and south. A 79-year-old woman was killed and at least seven other people were wounded when missiles hit the eastern city of Pavlohrad, Ukrainian local Gov. Serhiy Lysak reported. A regional governor in western Ukraine, Maksym Kozitskyi, said a fire broke out at a critical infrastructure facility in the province of Lviv. He did not immediately offer details.

How Russia-Ukraine war has shaped US planning for a China conflict

As the war rages on in Ukraine, the United States is doing more than supporting an ally. It's learning lessons with an eye toward a possible clash with China. No one knows what the next US major military conflict will be or whether the US will send troops as it did in Afghanistan and Iraq or provide vast amounts of aid and expertise, as it has done with Ukraine. But China remains America's biggest concern. US military officials say Beijing wants to be ready to invade the self-governing island of Taiwan by 2027, and the US remains the island democracy's chief ally and supplier of defence weapons. While there are key differences in geography and in US commitment to come to Taiwan's defence, there are clear parallels between the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan, a Center for Strategic and International Studies report found last month. A look at some of the lessons from the Ukraine war and how they could apply to a Taiwan conflict: ARM IN ADVANCE

Retaining wheat export curbs to be a priority for PM Modi as polls loom

An extension of the export curbs would probably bolster the global wheat market, where supplies are tight because of dry weather in US growing areas and a drop in Ukrainian supplies

UN draft resolution calls for peace to ensure Ukraine's sovereignty

The European Union on Wednesday circulated the resolution to be voted on by the UN General Assembly on the eve of next week's first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling for a cessation of hostilities and a peace that ensures Ukraine's "sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity." There are no vetoes in the 193-member world body, so the resolution is certain to be adopted at the end of a high-level emergency special session of the assembly February 23. But the big question is how many "yes" votes it will get. To mark the anniversary, Ukraine asked the EU to draft the resolution in consultation with UN member states, with the aim of gathering strong support from the international community for peace in Ukraine in line with the UN Charter, said an EU diplomat who was not authorized to speak publicly. The charter calls for peaceful settlement of disputes and declares that all countries shall refrain "from the threat or use of force against the territorial

Ukraine to boycott OSCE meeting in Vienna next week if Russia attends

Ukraine has informed the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe that it won't attend the next meeting of its parliamentary assembly if sanctioned Russian lawmakers are allowed to participate. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Vienna on Feb. 23-24, during the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday, the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Mykyta Poturaiev, wrote, We do not find ourselves in a position to attend the winter meeting in case of Russia's participation. The letter, which was dated Feb. 10 and addressed to Parliamentary Assembly President Margareta Cederfelt, noted that Russia's decision to invade Ukraine was widely supported by Russian politicians, including members of the Russian delegation to the OSCE. We have no doubts that the Russian delegation will use the OSCE ... for justification of the aggression against my country as well as for ...

UN appeals for $5.6 billion to help millions affected by Ukraine conflict

With the full-scale war in Ukraine to enter its second year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Refugee Agency jointly appealed for $5.6 bn

General Bajwa asked me to condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine: Imran Khan

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has said General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had asked him to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine soon after his return from Moscow, Geo News reported

Ukrainian President Zelensky meets Canadian FM on defence cooperation

Zelensky thanked Canada for its support and assistance to Ukraine amid the conflict with Russia, stressing the importance of the decision to provide Leopard battle tanks

Fans barred from European soccer game in Moldova amid Russian plot fear

A European soccer game in Moldova will be played in an empty stadium on Thursday amid concerns about alleged Russian-backed attempts to overthrow the national government. UEFA said Tuesday no fans will be allowed in the stadium when Sheriff hosts Serbian club Partizan in the first leg of a Europa Conference League knockout playoff. The behind-closed-doors order was due to the decision of the authorities in Moldova, UEFA said in a statement. It came one day after the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, described an alleged Russian plot against her country's government using external saboteurs. Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, has sought to build stronger ties with the European Union since its neighbour Ukraine was invaded by Russia one year ago. Serbia is a traditional ally of Russia and fans of Partizan from Belgrade were expected at the game in the Moldovan capital Chisinau. Sheriff is from Tiraspol in the separatist region of Transnistria and its gam

US officials point to Russia using Iranian drones in war with Ukraine

American defence officials on Tuesday sought to dispel any doubt that Iran is supplying drones for Russia's war in Ukraine, releasing photos and analysis of unmanned aircraft deployed in the conflict to demonstrate Tehran's involvement. During a briefing in London, analysts from the Defence Intelligence Agency displayed photos of drones that attacked Ukraine alongside images of those previously traced to Iran. A comparison of design details such as tail fins, nose cones and landing gear shows that the weapons used in Ukraine are indistinguishable from Shahed-131 and -136 attack drones and Mohajer 6 unmanned aerial vehicles used in the Middle East. The effort to show the homework'' is intended to help persuade governments or international agencies of Tehran's involvement. Iran has said it supplied a small number of drones to Russia before the invasion of Ukraine but has denied providing any more since troops crossed the border last February. The evidence proves otherwise, an offici

IMF chief warns world is a very different place after crises like Covid

The IMF chief signaled the need for resilience in our planet, in societies that must allow equal opportunities, and in people, who must benefit from education, health and good social protection

Lessons from the Ukraine war

The war represents a failure of diplomacy, but the forthcoming G20 summit is an opportunity for diplomacy to redeem itself

India can mobilise world to address Russia-Ukraine war issue: French Prez

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership can mobilise the world to address the "tremendous issue" of Russian aggression against Ukraine. "We are working for the success of India's G-20 Presidency in a difficult context with the Russian aggression against Ukraine," Macron said during the leaders' virtual meeting to announce Air India's 250 aircraft deal with Airbus. "India, under your leadership, clearly can be the one to mobilise the whole world and help us address the tremendous issue we have in front of us," the French President said. India has not publicly criticised Russia for its military action in Ukraine, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told Russian President Vladimir Putin last year that "today's era is not of war". Modi's public remarks during a meeting with Putin in Samarkand last year were welcomed by world leaders and even found a mention in the G-20 declaration in Indonesia. Macron said Air India's dea

Ukraine seeks warplanes at NATO talks, allies fret over ammunition needs

Ukraine maintained its appeal for Western countries to provide it with fighter jets Tuesday, but the United States and its NATO allies and partners voiced more concern about Kyiv's needs for large amounts of ammunition as the war with Russia approached its one-year anniversary. Ahead of the meeting of the Ukraine contact group at NATO headquarters, Ukraine made its requirements clear. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, when asked what military aid his country is seeking now, showed reporters an image of a fighter jet. Questioned about where he hoped they might come from, Reznikov said only: From the sky. What NATO allies have on their mind, though, is how to keep up a steady supply of ammunition to Ukraine without depleting their own stockpiles. According to some estimates, Ukraine is firing up to 6,000-7,000 artillery shells each day, around a third of the daily amount that Russia is using. Moscow's forces have been pressing in the east of Ukraine while bolstering their defensive

India's soaring Russian oil imports making rupee payment mechanism futile

New Delhi's imports from Russia in eight months to November were almost 16 times its shipments to the nation, trade ministry data show

'Russian casualties highest since first week of Ukraine war': Data

Russian soldiers are dying in greater numbers in Ukraine this month than at any time since the first week of the invasion, according to Ukrainian data

Indian private refiners may gain from EU's ban on Russian oil products

Indian refiners can process cheap Russian crude into products, and export to Europe

Russian forces continue to shell Ukraine amid grinding push in east

Russian forces over the weekend continued to shell Ukrainian cities amid a grinding push to seize more land in the east of the country, with Ukrainian officials saying that Moscow is having trouble launching its much-anticipated large-scale offensive there. One person was killed and one more was wounded on Sunday morning by the shelling of Nikopol, a city in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Gov. Serhii Lysak reported. The shelling damaged four residential buildings, a vocational school and a water treatment facility. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, one person was wounded after three Russian S-300 missiles hit infrastructure facilities overnight, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. Ukrainian forces also downed five drones four Shahed killer drones and one Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone over the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions on Saturday evening, Kyiv's military reported. The attacks come as Russian forces push to take over more land in the ...

US to welcome efforts by India to end hostilities in Ukraine: White House

The US will welcome any attempt that could lead to ending the raging Russia-Ukraine conflict, including any effort that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is willing to undertake, the White House has said. The remarks by National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby came on Friday, days after National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held talks with Russian leaders, including President Vladimir Putin. When asked if there is still time for Prime Minister Modi to convince Russian President Putin to stop the war, Kirby said: "I think there's still time for Putin to stop the war. I think there's still time for it." "PM Modi can convince; I will let PM Modi speak to (or make) whatever efforts he's willing to undertake. The US would welcome any effort that could lead to an end of hostilities in Ukraine that are in keeping with President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy's objectives and his leadership, his determination of what is acceptable to the Ukrainian people," Kirby ...