Page 16 - Ukraine

Russia rejoins deal on wartime Ukrainian grain exports to global markets

Russia agreed Wednesday to rejoin a wartime agreement that allows Ukrainian grain and other commodities to be shipped to world markets. The UN's refugee chief, meanwhile, put the number of Ukrainians driven from their homes since the Russian invasion eight months ago at around 14 million. It is the fastest, largest displacement witnessed in decades, said Filippo Grandi, who heads the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In announcing that Russia would rejoin the grain pact, President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had received assurances that Ukraine would not use the humanitarian corridors to attack Russian forces. He warned that Russia reserves the right to withdraw again if Kyiv breaks its word. Putin praised Turkey's mediation efforts to get the deal back on track, as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's neutrality in the conflict as a whole and his efforts at ensuring the interest of the poorest countries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he also

Russia blinks, says will resume participation in Ukraine grain deal

Moscow calls vote on unfounded Ukraine bio weapons claims

Elon Musk to keep funding key satellite links, confirms Ukrainian official

Elon Musk has given assurances to Ukraine that he will keep funding its access to a crucial satellite network providing Kyiv with battlefield and humanitarian communications in its war with Russia, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday. Elon Musk told me personally that he will continue to support Ukraine and continue to provide Starlink to Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, told The Associated Press. There are no problems for now with Starlink, Fedorov said through an interpreter. Doubts arose last month about whether Musk would continue to offer the SpaceX Starlink system to Ukraine. Its more than 2,200 low-orbiting satellites provide a broadband internet service to more than 150,000 Ukrainian ground stations. But Musk tweeted in mid-October that it was costing SpaceX USD 20 million a month to support Ukraine's communications needs. He also noted his company has to create, launch, maintain and replenish satelli

Russia calls vote on unfounded Ukraine biological weapons claims at UNSC

The UN Security Council scheduled a vote on Wednesday on a resolution that would establish a commission to investigate unfounded Russian claims that Ukraine and the United States are carrying out military biologcal" activities that violate the convention prohibiting the use of biological weapons. Russia circulated a 310-page document to council members last week alleging that this biological activity is taking place in Ukraine with support from the US Defense Department. The document included an official complaint to the Security Council, allowed under Article VI of the 1972 biological weapons convention, and a draft resolution that would authorize the Security Council to set up a commission comprising the 15 council members to investigate Russia's claims. Russia's initial allegation of secret American biological warfare labs in Ukraine, made soon after its February 24 invasion of its smaller neighbour, has been disputed by independent scientists, Ukrainian leaders and officials at

Russia warns it will not allow ships with Ukraine grain without consent

Russia's UN ambassador on Monday accused Ukraine of using the Black Sea shipping corridor to get grain to world markets for military and sabotage purposes against its fleet, saying this is why it suspended implementation of the deal and warning that it will not allow the unimpeded passage of vessels without its consent which is currently taking place. Vassily Nebenzia told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called by Russia that the Black Sea remains an area of hostilities and we cannot allow an unimpeded passage of vessels without our inspection. He said Russia will undertake our own measures to control the ongoing ship movements but gave no details. Nebenzia accused Ukraine, with help from the West, especially the United Kingdom, of carrying out massive aviation and sea strikes on Russia's Black Sea fleet and infrastructure in Sevastopol in the early morning hours of October 29, under the cover of the humanitarian grain corridor which was established under the July 22

Barrage of Russian strikes on key infrastructure in Ukrainian cities

Ukrainian officials on Monday morning reported a massive barrage of Russian strikes on critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities. Part of the Ukrainian capital was cut off from power and water supplies as a result, its mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Officials also reported possible power outages in the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia resulting from the strikes. The attack comes two days after Russia accused Ukraine of a drone attack against Russia's Black Sea Fleet off the coast of the annexed Crimean peninsula. Ukraine has denied the attack, saying that Russia mishandled its own weapons, but Moscow still announced halting its participation in a UN-brokered deal to allow safe passage of ships carrying grain from Ukraine.

The world's food security is at stake as Russia exits Ukraine grain deal

The sudden move by Russia has left leaders scrambling to rescue the UN-and-Turkey-brokered agreement credited with saving vulnerable populations from risk of starvation.

UN chief alters travel plan in a bid to save Ukraine grain deal: Report

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has decided to alter his travel plans to focus his efforts on saving the Black Sea Grain Initiative, said his spokesman

Russia says it will suspend UN-brokered Ukraine grain export deal

The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that Moscow has moved to suspend its implementation of a UN-brokered grain export deal which has seen more than 9 million tons of grain exported from Ukraine and brought down global food prices. The ministry cited an alleged Ukrainian drone attack against Russia's Black Sea Fleet ships moored off the coast of occupied Crimea, which Russia says took place in early Saturday, as the reason for the move. Ukraine has denied the attack. The Russian declaration came one day after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres urged Russia and Ukraine to renew the deal. Guterres also urged other countries, mainly in the West, to expedite the removal of obstacles blocking Russian grain and fertilizer exports. The U.N. chief underlined the urgency of renewing the deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July, which expires on Nov. 19, to contribute to food security across the world, and to cushion the suffering that this global cost-of-living crisis is ...

Russians moving comrades from Kherson's hospitals, says official

Russian troops moved large numbers of sick and wounded comrades from hospitals in southern Ukraine's Kherson region, Ukrainian military officials reported on Saturday as their forces fought to retake a province overrun by invading soldiers early in the war. Kremlin-installed authorities in the mostly Russian-occupied region previously urged civilians to leave the city of Kherson, the region's capital. The Moscow-appointed authorities in Kherson also were reported this week to have joined tens of thousands of residents who fled to other Russia-held areas ahead of an expected Ukrainian advance. The so-called evacuation of invaders from the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson region, including from medical institutions, continues," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a morning update. All equipment and medicines are being removed from Kherson hospitals. The military's claims could not be independently verified. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sa

World faces most dangerous decade since WWII: Russian President Putin

Ultimately, Putin said, the West would have to talk to Russia and other major powers about the future of the world.

UN optimistic on Ukraine grain deal; Russia has reservations

A senior UN official said Wednesday he is relatively optimistic the deal for returning Ukrainian grain and Russian grain and fertiliser to world markets will be extended beyond mid-November, but Russia's UN ambassador said Moscow needs to see movement on its own exports first. The deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July has led to more than 8.5 million metric tons of foodstuffs being shipped from three Black Sea ports in Ukraine. But Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia told reporters that Russia needs to see the export of its grain and fertilisers in the world market, which has never happened since the beginning of the deal. The deal has a 120-day limit. U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, who has focused on the Ukraine side of the deal, and senior U.N. trade official Rebeca Grynspan, who has focused on the Russian side, were in Moscow earlier this month for talks with Russian officials including on an extension. We are keen to see that renewed promptly, now, Griffi

US, West allies insist UN probe use of drone by Russia in Ukraine

The U.S. and its Western allies on the Security Council insisted Wednesday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has the right to investigate if Russia has used Iranian drones to attack civilians and power plants in Ukraine. They dismissed Moscow's argument that the U.N. chief would be violating the U.N. Charter. Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, who called the council meeting, argued that only the Security Council can mandate an investigation. He cited Article 100 of the charter, which says the secretary-general shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any other authority external to the organisation. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood called Russia's contention simply dumbfounding and an attempt to deflect attention from its own egregious wrongdoing in Ukraine. French Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere accused Russia of constantly violating the U.N. Charter and trampling on its principles by invading its neighbour and claiming to annex its ...

Russia may again block Antarctic marine protections during Australia meet

Call it a cold war. Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are among those meeting in Australia this week to decide the future of Antarctica's pristine waters. Conservationists say new marine protected areas and rules to prevent overfishing are desperately needed, but that Russia could use its veto-like powers to once again block progress. Achieving the required consensus for action among this diverse group of 27, which also includes China, the United States and the European Union, has always been an immense challenge. And when two of the members are at war and relations between China and many Western nations have deteriorated consensus looms as an even bigger obstacle. Just this month, Russian bombing in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, partially destroyed Ukraine's Antarctic research center. Yet despite the enormous political hurdles, some remain hopeful that scientific arguments will win through. The U.S. is paying more attention to the region under President Joe Biden, and this year ha

Energy crisis sparked by Ukraine war to speed up green transition: IEA

The IEA's report said the global energy crisis is causing profound and long-lasting changes that could hasten the transition to a more sustainable and secure energy system

Russia, NATO hold nuclear drills as more than 40 Ukraine villages pounded

NATO and Russia's military alike staged planned annual nuclear exercises Wednesday as the Russian president repeated the unfounded claim that Ukraine plans to set off a radioactive dirty bomb. On the battlefront, Russian forces pounded more than 40 Ukrainian villages over the past day. Russian President Vladimir Putin remotely monitored the drills of his strategic nuclear forces, which involved multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles in a show of force. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Putin that the exercise simulated a massive nuclear strike retaliating for a nuclear attack on Russia. The Biden administration said Russia provided advance notice of the annual drills. NATO is carrying out its own long-planned annual nuclear exercises in northwestern Europe. Without providing any evidence, in remarks carried by Russian TV, Putin said Ukraine plans to use a so-called dirty bomb' as a provocation and contended the United States was using Ukraine

Russia fires rockets at 40 Ukrainian villages, renews 'dirty bomb' claims

Russia targeted more than 40 villages around Ukraine over the past day, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday, killing at least two people and sustaining the terror that forces people into air raid shelters each night. Russian forces launched five rockets, 30 air strikes and more than 100 multiple-launch rocket system attacks on Ukrainian targets, the Ukrainian armed forces general staff said. The attacks come as fears are growing that Russia, facing setbacks on the battlefield, could try to detonate a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste in an effort to sow terror. Russia's defence minister called his counterparts from India and China to convey Moscow's concern about a purported Ukrainian plan to use such a so-called dirty bomb, repeating an allegation that Ukraine and the West have strongly refuted. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu voiced Moscow's concern about possible Ukrainian provocations involving a dirty bomb in the calls with his Indian counterpart, Rajna

Russia recruiting Afghan soldiers trained by US to fight in Ukraine: Report

Afghan commandos who had been trained by Allied forces to fight the Taliban are now being recruited by Russia to fight in Ukraine, a media report said

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