Page 51 - Russia Ukraine Conflict

US announces $1.1 bn more in military aid for Ukraine to counter Russia

The US will provide an additional USD 1.1 billion in aid to Ukraine, with funding for about 18 more advanced rocket systems and other weapons to counter drones that Russia has been using against Ukrainian troops, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. The latest package is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds contracts to purchase weapons and equipment. And it brings the total of US aid to Ukraine to nearly USD 17 billion since the Biden administration took office. The aid announcement comes as Russia moves to annex parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine that held Kremlin-orchestrated referendums on living under Moscow's rule. The votes were denounced by Kyiv and the West as illegal and rigged. We will not be deterred from supporting Ukraine, we will continue to stand with the Ukrainian people, and provide them with the security assistance they need to defend themselves, for as long as it takes, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

Putin to proclaim formal annexation of Ukrainian territory in days

European Union likely to place trade sanctions on Moscow over 'sham' votes

FinMin opposed extension of PMGKAY a day ahead of Cabinet approval

Office memorandum flagged fiscal concerns due to impact of Ukraine war on fuel prices. With Covid-19 having largely subsided, reasons for which earlier extensions were given no more seem to hold

Russia claims win in 4 'referendums' held in occupied regions of Ukraine

Russia has claimed to win four 'referendums' in occupied Ukrainian regions, a victory which Moscow may use as grounds to annex more territory, the media reported on Wednesday

President Zelensky meets French FM to seek support for war-torn Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has met with visiting French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna to discuss support for Ukraine, the presidential press service reported

India's approach to Ukraine war will continue to be human-centric: UN envoy

India has repeatedly called for a prompt cessation of hostilities in the Ukraine conflict and the need to resolve this conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, said UN envoy Ruchira Kamboj

No difficulties with Russia on servicing of military equipment: Jaishankar

Asserting that it exercises a choice which it believes is in its national interest, India Tuesday said it has no difficulties with Russia on servicing of military equipment and spare parts in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine. "On the military equipment (from Russia), to the best of my knowledge, I don't think in recent months we have faced any particular problems in terms of servicing and spare parts supply of equipment that we have got in the past from Russia," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told reporters at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "Where we get our military equipment and platforms from, that's not an issue, honestly, which is a new issue or an issue which has particularly changed because of geopolitical tensions," he said. India, he noted, looks at possibilities across the world. "We look at the quality of technology, the quality of capability, the terms on which that particular equipment is offered, and we exercise a choice .

Over 194,000 Russians flee call-up to neighbouring nations amid Ukaine war

It took Vsevolod four days to drive from Moscow to Russia's southern border with Georgia. He had to abandon his car at one point and continue on foot. On Tuesday, he finally finished his 1,800-kilometer (1,100-mile) journey and crossed the frontier to escape being called up to fight in Russia's war in Ukraine. At 26, I do not want to be carried home in a zinc-lined (coffin) or stain (my) hands with somebody's blood because of the war of one person that wants to build an empire, he told The Associated Press, asking that his last name not be used because he feared retaliation from Russia. He was one of over 194,000 Russian nationals who have fled to neighboring Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland most often by car, bicycle or on foot in the week since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists. The mass exodus of men alone or with their families or friends began Sept. 21, shortly after Putin's address to the nation, and continued all this week. Early on,

'US could not agree more with Modi's 'this is not an era of war' remarks'

On ties with India, Blinken said that the partnership between the two countries is one of most consequential in the world

Spike in oil price is breaking India's back, says Jaishankar in US

India, which has a USD 2,000 per capita economy, is concerned over the spike in the price of oil due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and it is "breaking our back," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday. Addressing a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after holding bilateral talks, Jaishankar said there is a very deep concern among developing countries about how their energy needs are addressed. Speaking about the Ukraine war, he said: "We have taken the position privately, publicly, confidentially and consistently that this conflict is not in anybody's interest." The best way forward is to return to dialogue and diplomacy, he said. "Look, we have concerns about the price of oil but we are a USD 2,000 per capita economy. When the price of oil is breaking our back and it's our big concern," he said. Jaishankar was responding to a question on a cap on Russian oil. "In the past whenever we have been able to contribute something, we have b

World is 'edging into' a recession, warns WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

"The indicators are not looking good," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said during an interview in Geneva Tuesday. "I think a global recession - that is what I think we are edging into."

Meta disables sprawling Russian propaganda network targeting Europe

A sprawling disinformation network originating in Russia sought to use hundreds of fake social media accounts and dozens of sham news websites to spread Kremlin talking points about the invasion of Ukraine, Meta revealed Tuesday. The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it identified and disabled the operation before it was able to gain a large audience. Nonetheless, Facebook said it was the largest and most complex Russian propaganda effort that it has found since the invasion began. The operation involved more than 60 websites created to mimic legitimate news sites including The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom and Germany's Der Spiegel. Instead of the actual news reported by those outlets, however, the fake sites contained links to Russian propaganda and disinformation about Ukraine. More than 1,600 fake Facebook accounts were used to spread the propaganda to audiences in Germany, Italy, France, the U.K. and Ukraine. The findings highlighted both the promis

Ukraine to adopt laws for membership talks with EU by mid-November

Ukraine plans to adopt the legislations needed to launch the membership talks with the European Union(EU) by mid-November, a top official said here.

Western sanctions turned Ukraine conflict into global war: Hungarian PM

The Western countries' sanctions against Russia have turned the "local" conflict between Russia and Ukraine into a "global economic war," Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in Budapest

Energy, inflation crises risk pushing big economies into recession: OECD

In a bleak report titled Paying the price of war, the Paris-based organisation noted that the conflict aggravated inflationary pressure when the cost of living was already rising quickly.

Oil prices hit nine-month low on recession fears, US dollar surge

Brent crude futures for November settlement slipped by 82 cents, or 1%, to $85.33 a barrel at 1110 GMT. The contract fell as low as $84.51, the lowest since Jan 14

EU countries plan to delay Russian oil price cap amid divisions: Report

Countries may push to have a preliminary deal ahead of an informal gathering of EU leaders in Prague on Oct 6

Ukrainians scared that Russia's referendums indicate imminent annexation

After seven weary months of war, many Ukrainians fear more suffering and political repression awaits them as referendums orchestrated by the Kremlin with help from gun-toting police portend Russia's imminent annexation of four occupied regions. Many residents fled the regions before the referendums got underway, scared about being forced to vote or potentially being conscripted into the Russian army. Petro Kobernik, who left the Russian-held southern city of Kherson just before the preordained voting began on Friday, said the prospect of living under Russian law and the escalating war made him and others extremely jittery about the future. The situation is changing rapidly, and people fear that they will be hurt either by the Russian military, or Ukrainian guerrillas and the advancing Ukrainian troops, Kobernik, 31, said in a telephone interview. As some Russian officials brought ballots to neighbourhoods accompanied by armed police, Kobernik said his 70-year-old father shut the do

Energy crisis shows gasoline demand declining, renewables on the rise

With prices of natural gas and coal heading to record highs and those for crude oil not far below their 2008 peak, the world seems more hooked on carbon than ever

Europe's energy crisis: The looming winter of discontent that awaits India

Europe's bid to reduce its dependence on Russian gas ahead of the cold season will put pressure on prices and impact India's growing gas economy