Page 18 - Russia Ukraine Conflict

Ukraine war: Zelenskyy hails US military aid as cease-fire said to falter

Ukraine's president is praising the United States for including tank-killing armoured vehicles in its latest multibillion-dollar package of military aid, saying they are exactly what is needed for Ukrainian troops locked in combat against Russian forces. Officials, meanwhile, said it was unclear whether Moscow was abiding by a unilateral 36-hour cease-fire for Orthodox Christmas that Ukraine has denounced as a ploy. The latest multi-billion dollar package of U.S. military assistance announced Friday by the White House was the biggest to date for Kyiv. For the first time, it included Bradley armoured vehicles known as tank-killers because of the anti-tank missiles they fire. In his nightly televised address on Friday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a very powerful package. For the first time, we will get Bradley armoured vehicles this is exactly what is needed. New guns and rounds, including high-precision ones, new rockets, new drones. It is timely and strong, h

Ukraine's frontlines witness artillery fire despite 'ceasefire' by Russia

Despite the start of Moscow's order for its forces to maintain a unilateral ceasefire from mid-day in observance of the Russian holiday, there was an exchange of fire along the frontlines of Ukraine

India-US agree on restoring peace in Ukraine: Biden administration

India and the United States "agree very much" that the restoration of an enduring peace in Ukraine is essential, the Biden administration has said. State Department spokesperson Ned Price also said his country is engaging very closely with its allies and partners, including India, on the conflict in Ukraine and that the international community firmly recognises the need to hold Russia to account. We agree very much with India that the restoration of an enduring peace in Ukraine is essential. This is the same message that President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy himself has issued. During the G-20, he spoke to the assembled world leaders, laid out his vision for a just peace. This is something that we very much welcome, he told reporters at his daily news conference on Friday. We do welcome India's support for the people of Ukraine. India has provided humanitarian assistance and calls by India for an immediate end to Russia's brutal war against Ukraine. We also very much agree with Prime ...

US to send $3.75 billion in military aid to Ukraine, its NATO neighbours

The White House announced on Friday a new USD 3.75 billion military assistance package to help Ukraine and its neighbours on NATO's eastern flank as Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds on. The latest tranche of assistance will include for the first time Bradley armoured vehicles for Ukraine. The armored carrier is used to transport troops to combat and is known as a tank-killer because of the anti-tank missile it can fire. The biggest US assistance package to date for Kyiv includes a USD 2.85 billion drawdown from the Pentagon's stocks that will be sent directly to Ukraine and USD 225 million in foreign military financing to build the long-term capacity and support modernisation of Ukraine's military, according to the White House. It also includes USD 682 million in foreign military financing for European allies to help backfill donations of military equipment they've made to Ukraine. The war is at a critical point and we must do everything we can to help the Ukrainians resist Russ

Iranian drone maker sanctioned by US for allegedly supplying to Moscow

The US on Friday hit six executives and board members of an Iranian drone manufacturer with sanctions after the firm allegedly supplied Moscow with drones that Russian forces have been using to attack Ukraine. Qods Aviation Industries, a previously sanctioned Iranian defence manufacturer, is alleged to be responsible for the design and production of unmanned aerial vehicles used to conduct strikes on civilians during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Treasury Department says the firm changed its name to Light Airplanes Design and Manufacturing Industries in mid-2020 to evade sanctions. The financial penalties imposed by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control highlight the growing tension between the US and Iran over reviving the 2015 nuclear deal as well as US allegations of Russia and Iran deepening cooperation through shared military assistance as the war rages on. Iran has now become Russia's top military backer, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. Iran m

Signs of fighting in Ukraine after Russia says unilateral truce in force

Kyiv has said it has no intention to stop fighting, rejecting the purported truce as a stunt by Moscow

Global food prices in 2022 hit record high amid drought, Russia-Ukraine war

Global prices for food commodities like grain and vegetable oils were the highest on record last year even after falling for nine months in a row, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said, as Russia's war in Ukraine, drought and other factors drove up inflation and worsened hunger worldwide. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly traded food commodities, dipped by 1.9% in December from a month earlier, the Rome-based organisation said Friday. For the whole year, it averaged 143.7 points, more than 14% above the 2021 average, which also saw large increases. The December decline was led by a drop in the price of vegetable oils amid shrinking import demand, expectations of increased soy oil production in South America and lower crude oil prices. Grain and meat were also down, while dairy and sugar rose slightly. Calmer food commodity prices are welcome after two very volatile years, FAO chief economist Maximo Torero said in

36-hour ceasefire: Russia-ordered truce uncertain amid suspicion of motives

The impact of Russian President Vladimir Putin's order for his forces in Ukraine to observe a unilateral, 36-hour cease-fire was in doubt Friday after Kyiv officials dismissed the move as a ploy but didn't clarify whether Ukrainian troops would follow suit. Moscow also didn't say whether it would hit back if Ukraine kept fighting. The Russian-declared truce in the nearly 11-month war was due to begin at noon Friday and continue through midnight Saturday Moscow time (0900 GMT Friday to 2100 GMT Saturday; 4 a.m. EST Friday to 4 p.m. EST Saturday). Putin's announcement Thursday that the Kremlin's troops would stop fighting along the 1,100-kilometer (684-mile) front line or elsewhere was unexpected. It came after the Russian Orthodox Church head, Patriarch Kirill, proposed a cease-fire for this weekend's Orthodox Christmas holiday. The Orthodox Church, which uses the Julian calendar, celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7. But Ukrainian and Western officials suspected an ulterior motive in ...

Russia's ongoing war plunges Ukraine's GDP to record 30.4% in 2022

The country's GDP is expected to rise 3.2 per cent this year, according to the government's projection

India, France hold talks on Ukraine war, expanding military partnership

France's adviser Emmanuel Bonne and India's Ajit Doval have talked from Russia- Ukraine war, India-China border standoff and transfer of cutting edge military tech under the Atmanirbhar Bharat

War in Ukraine at critical point right now, says US President Biden

The war in Ukraine is at a critical point right now, US President Joe Biden said Thursday as the US and Germany announced additional support for Ukraine. "Right now, the war in Ukraine is at a critical point. We have to do everything we can to help the Ukrainians resist Russian aggression. And Russia is not attempting to slow up. The actions they're taking are as barbaric as they were a year ago, and they're not letting up at all," Biden told reporters during a Cabinet meeting. Earlier this afternoon, Biden said, he had a long discussion with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about Ukraine and their alliances in Europe and the EU. "We have a much larger contingent of countries that share our view, including Japan and others. But we talked about what we're going to do, he said. "Today we jointly announced a statement saying that we're going to increase support for Ukraine. We're going to provide the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles to the Ukrainians, and the Germans are going to provi

US to send Ukraine dozens of Bradleys in $2.85 billion aid package

The US will send Ukraine nearly USD 3 billion in military aid, in a massive new package that will for the first time include several dozen Bradley fighting vehicles, US officials said on Thursday, in the Biden administration's latest step to send increasingly lethal and powerful weapons to help Ukraine beat back Russian forces. The aid totalling about USD 2.85 billion is the largest in a series of packages of military equipment that the Pentagon has pulled from its stockpiles to send to Ukraine. It is aimed at getting as much to the Ukrainian forces as possible during the winter months, before spring sets in and an expected increase in fighting begins. An announcement is expected Friday, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the package have not been publicly announced. The Bradley fighting vehicles is a medium-armoured combat vehicles that can serve as a fortified troop carrier on the battlefield. It has tracks rather than wheels, but is ligh

Ukrainian mining boss gets bail, declares wish to "fight Russians"

A Ukrainian billionaire and former legislator suspected of embezzling tens of millions of dollars was ordered freed from French custody on USD 1 million bail on Thursday, after he called the Ukrainian case against him politically driven and declared he wants to fight Russians who invaded his country. Mining magnate Kostiantyn Zhevago, 48, was arrested in the ski resort of Courchevel in the French Alps last week based on an international warrant issued by Ukraine. It's really a political thing. I have always fought corrupt people in Ukraine, Zhevago told a court hearing on Thursday in the Alpine city of Chambery. His wife and daughter were also present. Ukrainian authorities submitted 244 pages of documents supporting their request for Zhevago's extradition, and the court adjourned until January 19 to study them. In the meantime, his team of lawyers said the court agreed to his release on 1 million euro (USD 1.05 million) bail and ordered him to report to local French police once a

Germany to supply armoured personnel carriers, Patriot battery to Ukraine

Germany will supply Ukraine with armoured personnel carriers and a Patriot missile battery, the government said on Thursday. The announcement came in a government statement after Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with US President Joe Biden. Germany's decision to supply Marder armoured personnel carriers comes after France said it will soon hold talks with Ukraine to arrange for the delivery of armoured combat vehicles France's presidency says that will be the first time this type of Western-made wheeled tank destroyer will be given to the Ukrainian military. The German government didn't specify how many Marder APCs will be supplied or when. It noted that the US last month announced that it would give a Patriot air defence missile battery to Ukraine and said that Germany will join the United States in supplying an additional Patriot air defense battery to Ukraine.

Russia Prez Putin orders 36-hour holiday weekend cease-fire in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered his armed forces to observe a 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine this weekend for the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday, the first such sweeping truce move in the nearly 11-month-old war. Putin did not appear to make his cease-fire order conditional on a Ukrainian agreement to follow suit, and it wasn't clear whether hostilities would actually halt on the 1,100-kilometer (684-mile) front line or elsewhere. Ukrainian officials have previously dismissed Russian peace moves as playing for time to regroup their forces and prepare for additional attacks. At various points during the war that started on February 24, Putin has ordered limited and local truces to allow evacuations of civilians or other humanitarian purposes. Thursday's order was the first time Putin directed his troops to observe a cease-fire throughout Ukraine. Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the combat areas, we call on the ..

Ukraine under largest economic slump post-independence, war 'accountable'

In the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia which has resulted in widespread devastation of life and property, Ukraine has suffered its sharpest economic decline in over 30 years in 2022

Killed 800 Russian soldiers in a day, claims Kyiv; France promises tanks

Ukraine's military said Russian forces were focused on an offensive in the Bakhmut sector and its attacks in the Avdiivka and Kupiansk sectors were unsuccessful

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Russian President Putin orders 36-hour weekend cease-fire in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered Moscow's armed forces to hold a 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine this weekend for the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday, the Kremlin said. The order follows a proposal by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, earlier in the day day. Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the combat areas, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a cease-fire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ, according to Putin's order, addressed to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and published on the Kremlin's website. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church called on Thursday for a 36-hour Christmas cease-fire in Ukraine at the end of this week, but his appeal looked unlikely to bring any breakthrough in halting the war that began nearly 11 months ago with Moscow's invasion. Patriarch Kirill suggested a truce from noon Frida

US to provide $30 million in aid to Moldova hit hard by war in Ukraine

The US will provide USD 30 million in aid to Moldova to help the small country tackle an energy crisis and other economic hardships caused by the Kremlin's unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine, a US government aid agency said on Thursday. The US Agency for International Development said the funds will be paid to Moldova one of Europe's poorest countries, landlocked between Ukraine and Romania through a World Bank trust fund. The country will also be reimbursed for previous electricity purchases. USAID said that as Moldova began to recover from a recent series of severe shocks" including the COVID-19 pandemic and a fourfold increase in natural gas prices, the war in Ukraine has placed its short-term economic recovery and its long-term economic prospects at risk. In a statement, the agency called the aid critical" because of the war's impact. Since Moscow's forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, Moldova a former Soviet republic with a population of about 2.6 million has