Page 40 - Russia Ukraine Conflict

Russia's chaotic draft leaves some reservists out in cold, without gear

The mobilised reservists that Russian President Vladimir Putin visited last week at a firing range southeast of Moscow looked picture-perfect. Kremlin video of the young men headed for the war in Ukraine showed them in mint-condition uniforms, equipped with all the gear needed for combat: helmets, bulletproof vests and sleeping bags. When Putin asked if they had any problems, they shook their heads. That stands in stark contrast with the complaints circulating widely on Russian news outlets and social media of equipment shortages, poor living conditions and scant training for the new recruits. Since Putin announced the mobilisation on September 21, independent media, human rights activists and those called up have painted a bleak picture of a haphazard, chaotic and ethnically biased effort to round up as many men as possible and push them quickly to the front lines, regardless of skill, training and equipment. Videos on Russian social networks showed conscripted men complaining of

Centre to receive Rs 40,000 crore from windfall tax, half from private cos

The windfall taxes were imposed in July and will only be removed if the price of oil falls below $70-75 per barrel

Biden congratulates UK PM Sunak; discuss Russia-Ukraine conflict with him

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday made a congratulatory phone call to new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the White House said. The leaders agreed on the importance of working together to support Ukraine and hold Russia accountable for its aggression, address the challenges posed by China, and secure sustainable and affordable energy resources, the White House said in a readout of the call. The two leaders also reaffirmed the special relationship between the US and the United Kingdom, underscoring their desire to further enhance cooperation on issues critical to global security and prosperity, it said. They discussed their shared commitment to protecting the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the need to maintain momentum toward reaching a negotiated agreement with the European Union on the Northern Ireland Protocol, it added. Soon after the phone call, Sunak said the US and the UK were the closest of allies. I look forward to working together with the US President

Would be serious mistake if Russia uses nuke against Ukraine: Biden

US President Joe Biden has warned Russia against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, saying it would be an incredibly serious mistake. The Biden administration had earlier said Russia had given notice that it intended to stage routine drills of its nuclear capabilities while Ukraine's nuclear energy operator claimed its neighbour was performing some secret work at Europe's largest nuclear power plant. Let me just say: Russia would be making an incredibly serious mistake if it uses a tactical nuclear weapon, Biden told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. He was responding to a question on whether Russia was preparing to deploy a dirty bomb or a nuclear weapon. I'm not guaranteeing you that it's a false-flag operation yet; I don't know. But it would be a serious, serious mistake, Biden stressed. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the President was clear about what he said. He said it again today. It would be a major mistake for Russia to use nuclear weapons in ..

Moscow bans more EU figures from entering nation for anti-Russian actions

The Russian Foreign Ministry barred more persons of the European Union member states from entering Russia in response to their "anti-Russian" actions

Progressive Democrats retract letter on Ukraine to Biden after uproar

A group of progressive Democrats in Congress has said it had retracted a letter to the White House urging President Joe Biden to engage in direct diplomatic talks with Russia after it triggered an uproar among Democrats and raised questions about the strength of the party's support for Ukraine. In a statement on Tuesday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Progressive Caucus, said the caucus was withdrawing the letter it sent less than 24 hours prior. It was signed by 30 members of the party's liberal flank. The letter was drafted several months ago, but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting," the Washington Democrat wrote in a statement. As chair of the caucus, Jayapal said she took responsibility for this. The unusual retraction capped a tense 24-hour period for Democrats. Many reacted angrily to the appearance of flagging support for the president's Ukraine strategy, coming just weeks before a midterm election where their majorities in Congress are at risk. The

Sunak speaks with Zelenskyy; Russia says 'no hopes' for better ties with UK

Newly appointed UK PM Rishi Sunak held a conversation with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy and expressed UK's solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people

Vladimir Putin scrambles to boost weapons production for Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin, facing bureaucratic delays and mounting losses, urged his government Tuesday to cut through bureaucracy to crank out enough weapons and supplies to feed the war in Ukraine, where a Western-armed Ukrainian counteroffensive has set back Russia's forces. In other developments, Ukrainian authorities asked citizens not to return home and further tax the country's battered energy infrastructure, and Western countries mulled how to rebuild Ukraine when the war ends. The Russian military's shortfalls in the eight-month war have been so pronounced that Putin had to create a structure to try to address them. On Tuesday, he chaired a new committee designed to accelerate the production and delivery of weapons and supplies for Russian troops, stressing the need to gain higher tempo in all areas. Russian news reports have acknowledged that many of those called up under a mobilisation of 300,000 reservists Putin ordered haven't been provided with basic equipment .

Ukraine alleges Russian dirty bomb deception at Europe's largest nuke plant

Ukraine's nuclear energy operator said on Tuesday that Russian forces were performing secret work at Europe's largest nuclear power plant, activity that could shed light on Russia's claims that the Ukrainian military is preparing a provocation involving a radioactive device. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made an unsubstantiated allegation that Ukraine was preparing to launch a so-called dirty bomb. Shoigu levelled the charge over the weekend in calls to his British, French, Turkish and US counterparts. Britain, France and the United States rejected it out of hand as transparently false. Ukraine also dismissed Moscow's claim as an attempt to distract attention from the Kremlin's own alleged plans to detonate a dirty bomb, which uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste in an effort to sow terror. Energoatom, the Ukrainian state enterprise that operates the country's four nuclear power plants, said Russian forces have carried out secret construction work over the last wee

Russia at UNSC seeks probe of claims on Ukraine's biological labs

Russia is asking the UN Security Council to establish a commission to investigate its claims that the United States and Ukraine are violating the convention prohibiting the use of biological weapons as a result of activities being carried out at biological laboratories in Ukraine. A draft resolution circulated to council members and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press states that under Article VI of the convention Russia has filed an official complaint alleging that banned biological activities are taking place in Ukraine. Soon after Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine, its UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed that secret American labs in Ukraine were engaged in biological warfare -- a charge denied by the United States and Ukraine. The draft resolution would authorize the Security Council to set up a commission consisting of its 15 members to investigate the Russian claims and report to the council by November 30 and to parties to the convention at a review conference i

Indian embassy in Ukraine asks citizens to leave immediately amid hostility

In a fresh advisory, the Indian embassy in Ukraine on Tuesday asked all Indians there to leave the country immediately in view of increasing hostilities. The new advisory came less than a week after a similar advisory was issued following the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine. "In continuation of the advisory issued by the embassy on October 19, all Indian citizens in Ukraine are advised to immediately leave Ukraine by available means," the embassy said. It said some Indian nationals have already left Ukraine pursuant to the earlier advisory. The embassy has asked the Indian nationals to contact it for any guidance or assistance to travel to the Ukrainian border for exiting the country. There has been an intensification of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine with Moscow carrying out retaliatory missile strikes targeting various Ukrainian cities in response to a huge blast in Crimea around three weeks back. Moscow blamed Kyiv for the blast. India has been pressing fo

Ukraine nuclear agency thickens alleged dirty bomb amid Russia's claims

Ukraine's nuclear energy operator on Tuesday offered what it suggested were clues about what might be behind Russia's claims that Kyiv's forces are preparing a provocation involving a radioactive device a so-called dirty bomb. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made that claim to his British, French, Turkish and US counterparts over the weekend. Britain, France, and the United States rejected it out of hand as transparently false. Ukraine also dismissed Moscow's claim as an attempt to distract attention from the Kremlin's own alleged plans to detonate a dirty bomb, which uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste in an effort to sow terror. Energoatom, the Ukrainian nuclear operator, said Russian forces have carried out secret construction work over the last week at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. Russian officers occupying the area won't let the Ukrainian staff running Europe's largest nuclear plant or monitors from the UN's atomic energy watchdog

EU energy ministers seek way forward for more energy unity amid war

European Union energy ministers on Tuesday started seeking some common ground to flesh out the barest of tentative agreements that their leaders could find last week to soften the blow of an energy crisis for their citizens while maintaining a united front during Russia's war in Ukraine. With winter approaching, home energy bills piling up and some businesses teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, there is a popular outcry for the 27-nation bloc to move much faster. But the fluctuating global energy markets and different energy mixes among member states ranging from nuclear to natural gas and other fossil fuels make smart, lightning-quick decisions nearly impossible. We have to be fast. And I will not hide that I am slightly disappointed that we are not going as fast forward as possible, said Czech Deputy Prime Minister Jozef Sikela, who chaired Tuesday's meeting. There is urgency, because our industries are destabilized and can no longer face international competition, French Ener

German president arrives in Ukraine as tensions with Russia rise

Germany's president arrived in Kyiv Tuesday for his first visit to Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion, a trip that comes amid Moscow's unsubstantiated warnings of a dirty bomb attack as the conflict enters its ninth month. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after arriving that it was important to me in this phase of air attacks with drones, cruise missiles and rockets to send a signal of solidarity to Ukrainians, German news agency dpa reported. Steinmeier's spokesperson, Cerstin Gammelin, posted a picture of him in Kyiv on Tuesday. Our solidarity is unbroken, and it will remain so, she tweeted. The German president, whose position is largely ceremonial, made it to Ukraine on his third try. In April, he was planning to visit the country with his Polish and Baltic counterparts, but said his presence apparently wasn't wanted in Kyiv. Steinmeier has been criticized in Ukraine for allegedly cozying up to Russia during his time as Germany's foreign minister. Last week, a

UN nuclear watchdog to inspect Ukrainian sites after Kyiv's request

A team of inspectors from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit two sites in Ukraine at the request of the government in Kyiv

Progressive Democrats urge Biden to seek diplomatic solution on Ukraine

The 30 Democrats, led by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, said in a letter to Biden that it was in the interest of the US and Ukraine to avert an extended conflict

US rejects Russia's 'dirtybomb' claim, calls it a plot to escalate war

Russia has alleged that it suspects Kyiv of planning to use 'dirty bomb'

Nine months into war, Ukraine claims success in downing Russian drones

Ukrainian authorities on Monday tried to dampen public fears over Russia's use of Iranian-built drones on its neighbour by claiming increasing success in shooting down the small aircraft, while talk of a dirty bomb attack has added another worrying dimension to the conflict that's entering it's ninth month. Ukrainians are bracing for less electric power this winter following a sustained Russian barrage on infrastructure across their country in recent weeks. Meanwhile, citizens in the southern city of Mykolaiv lined up for water and essential supplies as Ukrainian forces continued their advance on the nearby Russian-occupied city of Kherson. Ukraine's forces have shot down more than two-thirds of the approximately 330 Shahed drones that Russia has fired through Saturday, the head of Ukraine's intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, said in a published interview on Monday. Budanov said that Russia's military had ordered about 1,700 units of various types of drones, and a second batch of

Pope, French President Macron meet at Vatican; Ukraine concerns loom large

Pope Francis on Monday met at the Vatican with French President Emmanuel Macron, with the war in Ukraine looming large in both leaders' concerns. The nearly hour-long private audience was Francis' third with Macron since becoming pontiff. Neither side immediately released details of their talks. On the eve of their meeting, Macron spoke at a conference in Rome about the need for Ukraine to decide the time and terms of peace with Russia, which invaded its neighbour eight months ago. Francis will go to the Colosseum on Tuesday to deliver a speech to the same forum, a conference centered on the need for peace and organised by a Catholic charity close to the Vatican. Accompanying Macron to the Vatican was his wife, Brigitte.

Oil climbs on expectations of tight supply as Russia sanctions loom

Brent crude futures climbed 54 cents, or 0.6%, to $94.04 a barrel by 0125 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $85.56 a barrel, up 51 cents, or 0.6%