Page 2 - Ukraine

Securing peace in Ukraine

This requires a compromise on their current positions by both Russia and the US

The Belarus bombshell

Putin's nuclear threat must be taken seriously

Ukraine demands emergency UN meeting over Putin nuclear plan

Ukraine's government on Sunday called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to counter the Kremlin's nuclear blackmail after Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed plans to station tactical atomic weapons in Belarus. One Ukrainian official said Russia "took Belarus as a nuclear hostage. Further heightening tensions, an explosion deep inside Russia wounded three people on Sunday. Russian authorities blamed a Ukrainian drone for the blast, which damaged residential buildings in a town just 175 kilometers (110 miles) south of Moscow. Russia has said the plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus comes in response to the West's increasing military support for Ukraine. Putin announced the plan in a TV interview that aired Saturday, saying it was triggered by a UK decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. Putin argued that by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia was following the lead

Russia 'largely stalled' in Bakhmut, moving to defensive strategy, says UK

The top commander of Ukraine's military said on Saturday that his forces were pushing back against Russian troops in the long and grinding battle for the town of Bakhmut, and British military intelligence says Russia appears to be moving to a defensive strategy in eastern Ukraine. The Bakhmut direction is the most difficult. Thanks to the titanic efforts of the defence forces, the situation is being stabilized, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi said in a post on Telegram giving a synopsis of a telephone call with Adm. Sir Tony Radakin, Britain's chief of defence staff. The seven-month fight for Bakhmut, where Russian forces have closed in on three sides, is the longest battle of the war, with Russia deploying both regular soldiers and fighters of the mercenary Wagner Group. Russian forces must go through Bakhmut to push deeper into parts of the eastern Donbas region, though Western officials say the capture of the city would have limited impact on the course of the war. Britain's Defence ...

US Prez Biden's Canada agenda stocked from Ukraine to climate change

President Joe Biden arrives in Canada on Thursday with a focus on several of the world's largest challenges: the war in Ukraine, climate change, trade, mass migration and an increasingly assertive China. The administration has made strengthening its friendship with Canada a priority over the past two years and Biden's meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the capital of Ottawa is an opportunity to set plans for the future. This visit is about taking stock of what we've done, where we are and what we need to prioritise for for the future, said John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council. We're going to talk about our two democracies stepping up to meet the challenges of our time. National security and air defences will likely be a priority, with a recent Chinese spy balloon floating over North America putting newfound urgency on Canada's plans to update its radar systems and recent purchase of F-35 jets. Trudeau signalled there could be a

IOC's Thomas Bach defends Russia's stance amid pro-Ukraine protest

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach defended his organization's efforts to create a pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition in a speech in his home country of Germany which took place amid a pro-Ukraine protest. Bach reiterated the IOC's position that it would be discriminatory to exclude Russians and Belarusians based on citizenship alone and argued the Olympics can help promote dialogue at a tense time. Public broadcaster WDR reported nearly 200 pro-Ukraine protesters gathered outside the venue calling for Russia to be excluded entirely from the Olympics. The IOC recommended excluding Russia and Belarus on safety grounds soon after the invasion last year but now argues for letting the two countries' athletes compete as neutrals without national symbols ahead of a packed calendar of qualification events for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Bach said he opposed political influence on sports and any suggestion that Russians should be treated as

World Bank puts cost of rebuilding Ukraine at $411 billion over next decade

A World Bank report released Wednesday puts the cost of Ukraine's recovery and rebuilding from Russia's invasion at $411 billion over the next decade, with the cost of cleaning up the war rubble alone at $5 billion. The report details some of the toll of Russia's war in Ukraine: at least 9,655 civilians confirmed dead, including 461 children; nearly 2 million homes damaged; more than one out of five public health institutions damaged; and 650 ambulances damaged or looted. In all, the World Bank calculated $135 billion in direct damage to buildings and infrastructure so far, not counting broader economic damage. The damage would be even worse if not for the strong defense mounted by the Ukrainian forces, Anna Bjerde, the World Bank vice president for Europe and Central Asia, noted in a call with reporters. She said the worst damage has been confined to the front-line regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Kherson. As it is, the World Bank said, Russia's invasion has undone 15 year

Ukranian President posts video claiming Russian missile hit apartment

Ukraine's president posted a video on Wednesday showing what he said was a Russian missile slamming into an apartment building in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. The video appears to be CCTV footage that captures the moment the missile hits the nine-story residential block by a busy road. Ukrainian media carried pictures of the affected apartment buildings, showing charred apartments on several stories and flames billowing from one of them. The number of causalities was unknown. However, Vladimir Rogov, an official with the Moscow-appointed regional administration for the Russia-occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, claimed the building was hit by a Ukrainian air defence missile that was launched to intercept a Russian missile.

Japan's Kishida, Zelenskyy hold talks on wide-ranging issues in Kyiv

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held bilateral talks in Kyiv on Tuesday and discussed wide-ranging issues as they condemned Russian aggression

China's Xi Jinping, Japan's Fumio Kishida end visits to Russia and Ukraine

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has left Moscow, wrapping up a three-day visit, shortly after Japanese PM Fumio Kishida left Kyiv. Kishida made a surprise visit Tuesday to Kyiv, stealing some of the attention from Xi's trip to Moscow where he promoted Beijing's peace proposal for Ukraine, which Western nations have already dismissed. Xi's visit gave a strong political boost to Russian President Vladimir Putin just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader on charges of alleged involvement in abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine. After the talks, Putin and Xi issued joint declarations pledging to further bolster their strategic cooperation, develop cooperation in energy, high-tech industries and other spheres and expand the use of their currencies in mutual trade to reduce dependence on the West. They said they would develop military cooperation and conduct more joint sea and air patrols, but there was no mention of Chinese wea

Ukraine clinches $15.6 billion IMF loan, a first for nation at war

The program will be divided into two phases. In the first, lasting 12-18 months, Ukraine will take measures to strengthen fiscal, external, price and financial stability

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrives in Kyiv for surprise visit

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Kyiv for a surprise visit Tuesday, according to Japan's NHK. Footage from the national broadcaster showed Kishida walking on the platform of a train station, escorted by a few people who appeared to be Ukrainian officials. His visit comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Russian officials in Moscow, where he invited President Vladimir Putin to a summit in Beijing later this year.

Ukrainian Military hints hitting Russian cruise missiles in occupied Crimea

Ukraine's military intelligence agency reported what appeared to be a brazen attack late Monday on Russian cruise missiles being transported by train in the occupied and illegally annexed Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula. The region's Russian-appointed governor reported an incident in the area of the same Crimean town, Dzhankoi in the northern part of the peninsula, though he did not mention cruise missiles as an attack target. None of the reports could be independently verified. A vague statement by the Ukrainian military agency, posted on its website, said multiple Kalibr cruise missiles were destroyed by an explosion, without explicitly saying Ukraine was responsible or what weapon had been used. It said the missiles were being carried by rail and were destined for submarine launch. The agency implied the Kyiv government was responsible by saying the explosion destroying the missiles continues the process of Russia's demilitarization and prepares the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea for

Putin tells Xi Jinping: Will discuss China's peace proposals for Ukraine

The trip to Moscow marks Xi's most ambitious attempt yet to play the role of peacemaker as he seeks to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine

Putin welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to Kremlin amid Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin on Monday, in a visit that sent a powerful message to Western leaders allied with Ukraine that their efforts to isolate Moscow have fallen short. As he greeted Xi, Putin also said he welcomed his plan for settlement of the acute crisis in Ukraine. Xi's visit showed off Beijing's new diplomatic swagger and gave a political lift to Putin just days after an international arrest warrant was issued for the Kremlin leader on war crimes charges related to Ukraine. The two major powers have described Xi's three-day trip as an opportunity to deepen their no-limits friendship. China looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its energy-hungry economy, and as a partner in standing up to what both see as U.S. domination of global affairs. The two countries, which are among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, also have held joint military drills. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said tha

Ahead of Xi's visit to Russia, Putin accuses West of fueling Ukraine crisis

Putin also said that the international security and cooperation architecture is being dismantled. Russia has been labeled an 'immediate threat' and China a 'strategic competitor'

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Ukraine crisis: President Putin visits Russia-occupied port city Mariupol

During the visit, the Russian President is also reported to have met top military commanders in Rostov-on-Don city

UN confirms extension of Black Sea grain deal for exports from Ukraine

"The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in Istanbul on 22 July 2022, has been extended," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement

Facing arrest warrant, Russia's Putin visits annexed Crimea Rains, high

Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula's annexation from Ukraine on Saturday, the day after the International Criminal Court' issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes. Putin visited an art school and a children's centre, locations that appeared to have been chosen in response to the court's action on Friday. The court specifically accused him on Friday of bearing personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion of the neighboring country that started almost 13 months ago. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world denounced as illegal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded that Russia withdraw from the peninsula as well as the areas it has occupied since last year. Putin has shown no intention of relinquishing the Kremlin's gains. Instead, he stressed on Friday the importance of