Page 7 - Ukraine

Ukraine deserves to start EU accession talks this year, says Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his war-torn country deserved to start European Union accession talks 'this year', CNN reported

Russia planning offensive on Feb 24, says Ukraine's defence minister

The Defence Minister further said that Ukraine's commanders would seek to 'stabilise the front and prepare for a counter-offensive'

Ukraine hails French gift of air-defense radar as 'cherry on the cake'

Ukraine's defense minister said Wednesday that Ukrainian lives will be saved by a sophisticated air-defense radar that France is supplying and which is powerful enough to spot incoming missiles and exploding drones in the skies over all of Ukraine's capital and its surrounding region. The minister, Oleksii Reznikov, was so enthusiastic about what he called Ukraine's new electronic eyes that he quickly coined a nickname for the Ground Master 200 radar the Grand Master." Speaking through an interpreter at a handover ceremony for the radar with his French counterpart, Reznikov described the French-made GM200 as a "very effective improvement for Ukraine's network of about 300 different types of air-defense radars. Thales, the manufacturer, says the radar detects and tracks rockets, artillery and mortar shells, missiles, aircraft, drones and other threats. Because of your support, Ukrainian lives will be saved, the minister said at the ceremony in Limours, where Thales makes the ...

US won't provide F-16s to Ukraine, says US President Joe Biden

Biden's comment came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had begun exacting its revenge for Ukraine's resistance to its invasion with relentless attacks in the east

Fast-track talks underway in Ukraine for long-range missiles, planes

Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in fast-track talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said on Saturday. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine's supporters in the West understand how the war is developing and the need to supply planes capable of providing cover for the armoured fighting vehicles that the United States and Germany pledged at the beginning of the month. However, in remarks to online video channel Freedom, Podolyak said that some of Ukraine's Western partners maintain a conservative attitude to arms deliveries, due to fear of changes in the international architecture. Russia and North Korea have accused the West of prolonging and taking a direct role in the war by sending Kyiv increasingly sophisticated weapons. We need to work with this. We must show (our partners) the real picture of this war," Podolyak said,

Russia's path to 2024 Olympics takes shape, Ukraine objects amid war

Russia's path to sending a team to the Paris Olympics next year became clearer on Thursday amid fierce objections from Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee indicated on Wednesday it favors officially neutral teams from Russia and its ally Belarus at the 2024 Olympics despite a plea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to exclude them entirely. A day later, Russia and Belarus were invited to compete at the Asian Games, a key Olympic qualifier. Russia typically competes as part of Europe but has a tense relationship with many of the countries set to host qualifying events there. Russia and Belarus have been barred from almost all international competitions in Olympic sports following the invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy has said he told French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country is hosting the Olympics, that Russia should have no place there. Ukraine is seeking to rally support against the IOC-brokered plan. IOC has been disregarding Russian war crimes, claiming t

Russia launches wave of missile, drone attacks: Ukrainian officials

Ukrainian officials said Thursday that Russia launched a wave of missile and self-exploding drone attacks on the country. Air raid sirens wailed nationwide. There were no immediate reports of the targets, but Kyiv's mayor said a Russian missile strike killed one person, the first death from an attack in the capital since New Year's Eve. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two other people were injured in the strike.. The head of the Kyiv city administration said 15 cruise missiles were shot down. Serhii Popko said the missiles were fired in the direction of Kyiv but did not clarify if the capital itself was a target. Odesa regional governor Maksym Marchenko reported that several facilities of energy infrastructure were damaged not just in the Odesa region, but other regions of Ukraine. That caused significant problems with electricity supply. Earlier Vinnytsia regional governor reported about strikes in his region. The attacks came after Germany and the United States announced Wednesday th

Germany agrees to send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine, US to follow

The decision is seen as a potential game changer for Ukraine

Ukraine forces pull back from Donbas town after onslaught, says official

Ukrainian forces have conducted an organised retreat from a town in the eastern region of the Donbas, an official said on Wednesday, in what is a rare but modest battlefield triumph for the Kremlin after a series of setbacks in its invasion that began almost 11 months ago. The Ukrainian army retreated from the salt-mining town of Soledar to preserve the lives of the personnel, Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine's forces in the east, told The Associated Press. The soldiers pulled back to previously prepared defensive positions, he said. Moscow has portrayed the battle for Soledar, which lies near the city of Bakhmut, as key to capturing the entire Donbas. The accomplishment takes the Russian forces a step closer to Bakhmut, but military analysts say capturing Soledar is more symbolic than strategic. Ukraine's military, which has held out in Soledar against a monthslong onslaught of superior Russian forces, has said its fierce defence of the eastern stronghold helped tie

Germany's Scholz to unveil Ukraine tank plan to parliament

After weeks of hesitation that saw growing impatience among Germany's allies, Chancellor Olaf Scholz was expected to announce on Wednesday that his government will approve supplying German-made battle tanks to Ukraine. The long-awaited decision came after US officials said a preliminary agreement had been struck for the United States to send M1 Abrams tanks to help Kyiv push back Russian forces entrenched in the east almost a year since the start of the war. Scholz had insisted that any move to provide Ukraine with powerful Leopard 2 tanks would need to be closely coordinated with Germany's allies, chiefly the United States. By getting Washington to commit some of its own tanks Berlin hopes to spread the risk of any backlash from Russia. Members of Scholz's three-party coalition government welcomed the news ahead of the official announcement, expected in a speech to parliament early afternoon. The Leopard's freed! said German lawmaker Katrin Goering-Eckardt, a senior Green party .

Ukraine's corruption scandal claims jobs of several top officials

Several senior Ukrainian officials, including front-line governors, lost their jobs Tuesday in a corruption scandal plaguing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government as it grapples with the nearly 11-month-old Russian invasion. Ukraine's biggest government shake-up since the war began came as U.S. officials said Washington was poised to approve supplying Kyiv with M1 Abrams tanks, with international reluctance eroding toward sending tanks to the battlefront against the Russians. Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform in a country long gripped by graft, and the new allegations come as Western allies are channeling billions of dollars to help Kyiv fight against Moscow. Officials in several countries, including the United States, have demanded more accountability for the aid, given Ukraine's rampant corruption. While Zelenskyy and his aides portray the resignations and firings as proof of their efforts to crack down, the wartime scandal .

Won't block Leopard tanks to Ukraine, says Germany's foreign minister

The Kyiv government wants the German-made Leopard 2 tank to break through Russian lines and recapture territory this year

Former UK PM Boris Johnson visits Ukraine, meets President Zelensky

Johnson, who made no mention of the allegations, he was received by the President and other Ukrainian ministers

France's Macron to hike military funds amid Russia-Ukraine war, new threats

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday proposed to boost defence spending by more than a third through 2030 and to transform" France's nuclear-armed military, to better face evolving threats and take into account the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine. Macron announced a proposal for 413 billion euros (nearly USD 450 billion) in military spending for the period of 2024-2030, to ensure our freedom, our security, our prosperity, our place in the world. That compares with spending of about 295 billion euros in a similar military plan for 2019-2025. The money would notably go to modernising France's nuclear arsenal, boosting intelligence spending by 60 per cent, doubling the number of military reservists, reinforcing cyberdefence and developing more remote-controlled weapons. Nuclear deterrence is an element that makes France different from other countries in Europe. We see anew, in analyzing the war in Ukraine, its vital importance," he said in a speech to military personnel at an

President Zelenskyy urges West to speed up flow of weapons to Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has bared his frustration about not obtaining enough tanks from some Western countries to help Ukraine's defend against Russian forces.

Zelensky calls on the world to act fast against Russian attacks at WEF

'Russia needed less than one second to start the war. The world needed days to react with its first round of sanctions. The time the free world uses to think is used by the terrorist state to kill'

United Nations plans to increase aid to frontline areas of Ukraine

'This community has been heavily impacted by months of hostilities and the 4,500 people who remain there depend on humanitarian aid to meet their needs'

Helicopter crashes near Kyiv in Ukraine, kills 17 including top officials

A helicopter crash in a Kyiv suburb on Wednesday killed 17 people, including Ukraine's interior minister and two children, Ukrainian authorities said

Russia has earned a place among terrorists: Ukranian President Zelenskyy

He said Ukraine needs military as well as financial support to win this war and recover from the crisis

Restore international law, UN Charter, says First Lady of Ukraine

Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, on Tuesday called for the restoration of international law and the UN Charter