What's new

The Russian invasion of Ukraine

Putin proposes direct peace talks with Ukraine after three years of war
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, “without preconditions” to achieve “lasting peace” and “eliminate the root causes” of the three-year conflict.

The offer, delivered early on Sunday, came hours after the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom called for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

The leaders, who were meeting in Kyiv, said their call is backed by United States President Donald Trump and threatened “massive” new sanctions on Moscow if it did not agree with their plan.

Putin, however, rejected that proposal, slamming European “ultimatums” and “anti-Russian rhetoric”, before outlining the counter-proposal for renewed Russia-Ukraine negotiations.

“We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,” the Russian president told reporters. “We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday told Russian and French leaders that a “historic turning point” has been reached in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and that Ankara was ready to host talks between the two warring parties, his office said.

NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbours since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and has twice hosted talks aimed at ending the war.

US President Donald Trump described the talks offer a “potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine”.

“I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens. The USA wants to focus, instead, on Rebuilding and Trade. A BIG week upcoming!” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed Russia’s offer for direct peace talks a “positive sign,”, adding that “the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time.”

“There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet,” he posted on X.

‘No preconditions’
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of soldiers dead and triggered the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

In the first weeks of the conflict, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held direct talks in Istanbul, but failed to agree to halt the fighting.

Putin said Russia was proposing restarting the talks in an attempt to “eliminate the root causes of the conflict” and “to achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace” rather than simply a pause for rearmament.

“We do not exclude that during these talks we will be able to agree on some new ceasefire,” he added.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025...ct-russia-ukraine-talks-in-istanbul-on-may-15
 
Ukraine says Russia fired barrage of drones amid calls for ceasefire, talks

Ukraine has said Russia fired more than 100 drones overnight, despite attempts from Kyiv’s allies to get Moscow to begin a 30-day ceasefire and the prospect of direct talks proposed by Russia for later this week in Turkiye’s Istanbul.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the possibility of US President Donald Trump’s participation in talks with Russia in Turkiye on Thursday and said he hoped Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not “evade the meeting”.

He added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “can indeed host highest-level meeting”.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha earlier said that Russia is “completely ignoring” a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and European powers that was to have begun on Monday,

Ukrainian air defences destroyed 55 of the 108 drones that Russia launched since 11pm (20:00 GMT) on Sunday, its air force said in a statement on Monday, the day to begin the ceasefire proposed by Kyiv and its European allies to Russia.

The attacks also included 30 simulator drones that were lost along the way without hitting anything. Drones were shot down in the east, north, south and central parts of Ukraine, the air force said.

www.aljazeera.com

Ukraine says Russia fired barrage of drones amid calls for ceasefire, talks

Ukrainian authorities say ceasefire proposals are being ‘ignored’ as new drone attacks damage civilian infrastructure.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
Putin not listed in Russian delegation for talks with Ukraine in Turkey - and Trump also not attending

Vladimir Putin has not been listed in a Russian delegation expected to head to Turkey for ceasefire talks on Thursday with Ukraine.

The Russian president signed an order on Wednesday detailing who would be in the group to Istanbul, including presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, deputy foreign minister Galuzin Mikhail Yuryevich, and deputy minister of defence Alexander Fomin.

On Sunday, Mr Putin had proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine over the war, to be held on Thursday "without any preconditions", and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called on the Russian president to meet him in Istanbul.


news.sky.com

Putin not listed in Russian delegation for talks with Ukraine in Turkey - and Trump also not attending

President Trump had said he was "thinking" of going to Turkey if Vladimir Putin would be there.
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 
Putin not on Kremlin list of officials attending Ukraine peace talks in Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not among the names listed by the Kremlin as due to attend peace talks on the war in Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday, despite calls from Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky for him to attend.

Russia's delegation will instead be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to the Kremlin statement.

Zelensky had previously said he would attend the talks and meet Putin in person if the Russian president agreed, and said he would do everything he could to ensure the face-to-face meeting took place.

The Ukrainian president will be in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.


www.bbc.com

Putin not on Kremlin list of officials attending Ukraine peace talks in Turkey

The Russian president had been challenged by Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to meet in person at the talks on Thursday.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Trump and Putin needed for breakthrough in Ukraine peace talks, Rubio says

Top US diplomat Marco Rubio says he does not have high expectations for Ukraine-Russia peace talks due to be held in Turkey - and that Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin need to meet for progress to be made.

"I don't think we're going to have a breakthrough here until President Trump and President Putin interact directly on this topic," he said after a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in southern Turkey.

Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Ukraine would send a delegation for the talks in Istanbul, but criticised the "low-level" delegation being sent by Moscow.

Its head, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, insisted the Kremlin team had "all the necessary competencies".

Earlier in the day, Trump - who is visiting the Middle East - also suggested that significant progress in peace talks was unlikely until he and Putin met in person.

Asked by the BBC on board Air Force One if he was disappointed by the level of the Russian delegation, he said: "Look, nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together".

"He wasn't going if I wasn't there and I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together," he added. "But we're going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying."

Trump said he would attend talks in Turkey on Friday if it was "appropriate" but later said he would probably return to Washington.

Delegations from Turkey, the US, Ukraine and Russia had been due to meet in Istanbul on Thursday for the first face-to-face Ukraine-Russia talks since 2022. As of Thursday evening, no time for them to take place had been set. Some reports suggest they may now happen on Friday.

Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks on 15 May in Istanbul in response to a call by European leaders and Ukraine for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.

Zelensky then challenged Putin to meet him in person, but on Thursday the Kremlin said that the Russian president was not among officials due to travel.

Following a bilateral meeting with Erdogan in Ankara, Zelensky accused Moscow of "disrespect" towards Trump and Erdogan because of the Russian delegation's lack of seniority and reiterated his challenge to the Russian leader to meet him personally.

"No time of the meeting, no agenda, no high-level of delegation - this is personal disrespect to Erdogan, to Trump," he said.

Meanwhile, Medinsky told reporters in Istanbul that Russia saw the talks as a "continuation" of failed negotiations in 2022 that took place shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

"The task of direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side is to sooner or later reach the establishment of long-term peace by eliminating the basic root causes of the conflict," Medinsky said.

The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by its Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, according to a decree from Zelensky issued on Thursday. It will also include its deputy heads of intelligence, military general staff and foreign ministry.

Medinsky, who led previous rounds of failed negotiations with Ukraine in 2022, will lead the Russian delegation, a statement from the Kremlin said. Russia's deputy defence minister, deputy foreign minister and military intelligence head will also be there.

The Istanbul talks mark the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the unsuccessful effort in 2022.

Russia has indicated it wants to pick up where they left off.

The terms under discussion included demands for Ukraine to become a neutral country, cut the size of its military and abandon Nato membership ambitions - conditions that Ukraine has repeatedly rejected as tantamount to capitulation.

Fighting in Ukraine rages on, with Russia saying its forces had captured two more villages in the eastern Dontesk region on Thursday.

Moscow now controls approximately 20% of Ukraine's territory, including the southern Crimea peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014.

UK Defence Minister John Healey called on Ukraine's allies to "put pressure on Putin". Speaking after a meeting with German counterpart Boris Pistorius in Berlin on Thursday, Healey urged further sanctions on Russia "to bring him to the negotiating table".

BBC
 
"Ukraine rallied support from its Western allies on Friday after Kyiv and Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire at their first direct talks in more than three years, with Russia presenting conditions that a Ukrainian source described as "non-starters"

Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to end the conflict, delegates from the warring countries met for the first time since March 2022, the month after Russia invaded its neighbour.

The talks in an Istanbul palace lasted well under two hours. Russia expressed satisfaction with the meeting and said it was ready to continue contacts. Both countries said they had agreed to trade 1,000 prisoners of war in what would be the biggest such exchange yet.

But Kyiv, which wants the West to impose tighter sanctions unless Moscow accepts a proposal from Trump for a 30-day ceasefire, immediately began rallying its allies for tougher action.

As soon as the talks ended, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held a phone call with Trump and the leaders of France, Germany and Poland, Zelenskiy's spokesperson said.

Russia's demands were "detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed," a source in the Ukrainian delegation told Reuters.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moscow had issued ultimatums for Ukraine to withdraw from parts of its own territory in order to obtain a ceasefire "and other non-starters and non-constructive conditions".

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the Russian position was "clearly unacceptable" and that European leaders, Ukraine and the U.S. were "closely aligning" their responses.

A European diplomatic source said: "Nothing came out of these discussions." Zelenskiy said robust sanctions should follow if Russia rejected a ceasefire.

Russia's lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told reporters that his team had "taken note" of the Ukrainians' request for direct talks between Zelenskiy and President Vladimir Putin. Putin had spurned a challenge from the Ukrainian leader to meet him in Istanbul this week.

Source: Reuters
 
Ukraine and Russia far apart in direct talks, but prisoner swap agreed

More than three years into Europe's deadliest war since 1945, there was a small step forward for democracy on Friday.

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia came face to face for talks for the first time since March 2022 – one month after Moscow invaded its neighbour. The setting was an Ottoman- era palace on the shores of the Bosphorus in Istanbul.

Pressure and encouragement from Turkey and the US helped get the warring parties there.

There were no handshakes, and half the Ukrainian delegation wore camouflage military fatigues – a reminder that their nation is under attack.

The room was decked with Ukrainian, Turkish and Russian flags – two of each – and a large flower arrangement – a world away from the shattered cities and swollen graveyards of Ukraine.

Turkey's Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, told the delegations there were two paths ahead – one road leading to peace, and the other leading to more death and destruction.

The talks lasted less than two hours and sharp divisions soon emerged. The Kremlin made "new and unacceptable demands," according to a Ukrainian official. That included insisting Kyiv withdraw its troops from large parts of its own territory, he said, in exchange for a ceasefire.

While there was no breakthrough on the crucial issue of a truce – as expected - there is news of one tangible result.

Each side will return 1,000 prisoners of war to the other.

"This was the very good end to a very difficult day," said Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defence Serhiy Kyslytsya, and "potentially excellent news for 1,000 Ukrainian families."

The swap will take place soon, said Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who led his country's delegation. "We know the date," he said, "we're not announcing it just yet."

He said "the next step" should be a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.


www.bbc.com

Ukraine and Russia far apart in direct talks, but prisoner swap agreed

The talks lasted just over 90 minutes and there were few signs of any progress on ending the war.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Nine reported killed in Russian strike on civilian bus in Ukraine

Nine people have been killed in a Russian drone strike on a passenger bus in north-eastern Ukraine, local officials say.

The Sumy regional military administration said four other people were injured in the town of Bilopillia on Saturday morning.

Medics, emergency services personnel and police are now working at the scene.

The reported attack comes just hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks since 2022.

In a post on Telegram, the Sumy regional military administration said: "As a result of an enemy drone hitting a commuter bus near Bilopillya, nine people were killed and four injured."

It added that the bus was heading towards the regional capital Sumy.

In a video message, Sumy regional head Oleh Hryhorov described the Russian attack as "inhumane".

Citing preliminary information, he said the bus was hit by a Russian Lancet drone at 06:17 local time on Saturday (03:17 GMT).

The Russian military has not commented on the issue.

Friday's talks in Istanbul, Turkey, did not lead to any breakthrough as Ukraine and Russia remain far apart on how to end the war.

However, it was agreed that each side would return 1,000 prisoners of war to the other in the coming days.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

www.bbc.com

Nine reported killed in Russian strike on civilian bus in Ukraine

Another four people are injured in Ukraine's north-eastern Sumy region, local officials say.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Russia launches biggest drone attack since invasion began, says Ukraine

Ukraine says Russia has launched its biggest drone attack since the full-scale invasion began, targeting several regions including Kyiv, where one woman died.

Russia had launched 273 drones by 08:00 Sunday (05:00 GMT) targeting the central Kyiv region and Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the east, Ukraine's air force said.

The barrage has come just a day before a scheduled call between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US President has been urging a ceasefire.

Russian and Ukraine had their first face-to-face talks in more than three years on Friday in Turkey, but it yielded little besides a new prisoner swap deal.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that he and leaders of Britain, France, and Poland would have a virtual meeting with Trump before his conversation with Putin on Monday morning.

On Sunday, Ukraine's air force reported that Russia had launched a record number of drones, including Shahed attack drones, of which 88 were intercepted and another 128 went astray "without negative consequences".

The strikes killed one person on the outskirts of Kyiv, and injured at least three others, officials reported.

The previous largest drone attack from Russia had taken place on the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion on 23 February, when Moscow launched 267 drones.

Source: BBC
 
US President Donald Trump is due to hold separate phone calls with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts amid efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in the war in Ukraine

Trump is due to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin at 14:00 GMT. After that, he will have phone conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO leaders.

Russia’s preconditions ‘unacceptable’ to Ukraine

All of the preconditions that Putin is asking for are unacceptable to Zelenskyy and to the Ukrainian government here – they would be upset to accept those terms at the end of an agreement; for them to be preconditions is really a non-starter.

That’s why Zelenskyy has said that he was really disappointed with the meeting in Istanbul which, he said, was carried out with low-level officers who had very little room to make any kinds of decisions.

They did come out with a prisoner swap of 1,000 prisoners on each side but other than that, really nothing – and that is because of that tough Russian stance.

Meanwhile, Russia has accelerated strikes here in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine, and all of that has really suggested to the Ukrainians that Russia is not serious about this process.

That’s what Zelenskyy has said and that’s likely to be what he will say in his own call with Trump a little later today.

Source: Al Jazeera
 
US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have spoken on the phone for more than two hours amid efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in the war in Ukraine.

Russian state media quote Putin as saying his country is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum that establishes a ceasefire.


al Jazeera
 
Russia and Ukraine to 'immediately' start ceasefire talks, says Trump

US President Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine will "immediately" start negotiating towards a ceasefire and an end to the war, after a two-hour phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Trump, who described the conversation as having gone "very well", also said conditions for peace would need to be negotiated between the two parties.

Despite the note of optimism from Trump, who also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, any ceasefire or peace deal does not appear close.

Putin said he was ready to work with Ukraine on a "memorandum on a possible future peace agreement", while Zelensky said "this is a defining moment", and urged the US not to distance itself from talks.

In his remarks, the Russian president did not address demands from the US and European countries for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

After his one-on-one call with Trump, Zelensky reaffirmed Ukraine's desire for a "full and unconditional ceasefire", and warned if Moscow is not ready, "there must be stronger sanctions".

Speaking earlier before Trump's conversation with Putin, Zelensky said he had asked that any decisions about Ukraine were not made without his country, calling them "matters of principles" for Ukraine.

He added he did not have any details on a "memorandum" but said once they have received anything from the Russians, they will "be able to formulate their vision accordingly".

Writing on his Truth Social page after the call, Trump said: "Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War," adding he had informed Zelensky of this in a second call, which also included other world leaders.

He added: "The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of."

Zelensky said the negotiation process "must involve both American and European representatives at the appropriate level".

"It is crucial for all of us that the United States does not distance itself from the talks and the pursuit of peace, because the only one who benefits from that is Putin," he explained.

Talking at a White House event later in the day, Trump said the US would not be stepping away from brokering talks between Russia and Ukraine, but that he has a "red line in his head" on when he will stop pushing on them both.

He also denied that the US was stepping back from its negotiating role.

In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly warned that the US would step away from negotiations as he became increasingly frustrated at the lack of developments from both Moscow and Kyiv in the way of peace.

When asked on what he believes on Russia, he said he thinks Putin has had enough of the war and wants it to end.

Meanwhile, Putin - who described the call with Trump, which he took from a music school on a visit to the city of Sochi, as "frank, informative and constructive" - also spoke of the potential for a ceasefire.

"We have agreed with the US president that Russia will offer and is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a possible future peace agreement," he said.

This, he added would define "a number of positions" including "principles of the settlement and a timeline for concluding a possible peace agreement...including a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time, should relevant agreements be reached".

Yury Ushakov, an aide to the Russian president, said a ceasefire timeframe was not "discussed... although Trump, of course, emphasises his interest in reaching one or another agreement as soon as possible".

Zelensky held a second call with Trump after the US president spoke to Putin, which also included President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and the leaders of France, Italy, Germany and Finland.

"I want to thank President Trump for his tireless efforts to bring a ceasefire to Ukraine," von der Leyen said, adding: "It's important that the US stays engaged."

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Pope Leo's offer to host potential peace talks was a gesture welcomed by the US and the other leaders in the call, and "judged positively".

Earlier this month, the new Pope offered the Vatican as a venue for possible peace talks after Putin turned down Zelensky's offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey for negotiations.

Kyiv has previously said Putin's comments saying he desires peace are hollow.

"Putin wants war," Andriy Yermak, a top aide to the Ukrainian president, said after Russia on Sunday launched what Ukraine said was its biggest drone attack since the full-scale invasion began.

Ukraine says at least 10 people have been killed in Russian strikes in recent days - including nine people in an attack on a civilian minibus in north-eastern Ukraine. Russia says it has also intercepted Ukrainian drones.

The strike on the bus happened just hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first face-to-face talks in more than three years. A prisoner swap was agreed but there was no commitment to a ceasefire.

Trump had offered to attend the talks in Turkey if Putin would also be there, but the Russian president declined to go.

Russia has declared ceasefires before - but only temporary ones. It declared one for 8-11 May - which coincided with victory celebrations to mark the end of World War Two - but Kyiv would not sign up to it, saying Putin could not be trusted and that an immediate 30-day ceasefire was needed.

The Kremlin announced a similar, 30-hour truce over Easter, but while both sides reported a dip in fighting, they accused each other of hundreds of violations.

Russia and Ukraine have been at war since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

BBC
 
Six Ukrainian soldiers killed in Russian strike on training exercise

A Russian missile strike on a training exercise in Ukraine's Sumy border region has killed six servicemen and wounded more than 10 others, says Ukraine's National Guard.

Russia's defence ministry had earlier released a video purporting to show an Iskander missile attack on a training camp, and state news agency Tass said up to 70 people had died.

The Sumy region has come under repeated bombardment, and Ukraine launched a months-long occupation of part of Russia's neighbouring Kursk region from there.

The Ukrainian military said the aim of the offensive had been to help create a buffer zone to protect Sumy, but some have complained of the scale of military losses.

Separately, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had visited officials in Kursk the previous day, in his first visit to the region since Ukrainian forces were pushed out.

He met volunteers as well as acting local governor Alexander Khinshtein, and he toured a nearby nuclear power plant, state media reported.

The deadly Russian strike on Ukrainian servicemen in Sumy was confirmed early on Wednesday by Ukraine's National Guard, which said the attack took place while the unit was carrying out exercises at a firing range. The commander was suspended and an official investigation launched, it added.

The unverified Russian military video showed dozens of servicemen walking on a path near a wooded area followed by an explosion and a large plume of smoke.

Research by BBC Verify showed the training camp was targeted in the far north of the Sumy region, some way south of the Russian border.

The attack comes as a heavy blow to the Ukrainian military, and the National Guard said it had previously developed an "algorithm of actions" as well as orders to deal with the threat of air strikes and people gathered in one place.

Ukraine's general staff said this week that it had thwarted Russia's bid to establish a "security zone" in Sumy region, and argued that its Kursk operation had "strategic significance", forcing Russia to divert its "most capable units" to tackle the offensive.

The Kremlin also sent thousands of North Koreans soldiers to the region in a bid to recapture the area.

However, last week a battalion commander called Oleksandr Shyrshyn was quoted as criticising the "moronic tasks" set by the military leadership as well as unjustified losses.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has since annexed four eastern regions of Ukraine's sovereign territory, including large areas that remain under Ukrainian control.

Ukraine's Kursk offensive has not succeeded in halting Russia's push to capture more territory in the east, although its advance along the front lines has been very slow.

Ukrainian forces on the eastern flanks say Russia launched 14 attacks overnight towards Druzhba, Petrivka, and Toretsk.

A Ukrainian soldier close to the eastern city of Pokrovsk told the BBC that there has been a major push by Russian forces there too.

He said invading troops had targeted a major road that is used as a supply line, adding that they had been struggling to hold their positions for some time.

Hopes of an imminent ceasefire in the war are fading, despite low-level talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul last Friday.

Although US President Donald Trump suggested the Vatican might mediate further talks, the Vatican said the idea of hosting, or even mediating talks was more a hope for now than any concrete plan.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expected Russia to present its "broad terms that would allow us to move towards a ceasefire", however Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia is merely "trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupation".

BBC
 

Ukrainian ex-top official shot dead outside Madrid school​


A former leading Ukrainian official has been shot dead outside an American school in the Spanish capital Madrid, authorities have confirmed.

Andriy Portnov, 51, had just dropped his children off at the school in the Pozuelo de Alarcón area of the city.

At least one unidentified attacker fired several shots at the victim before fleeing into a wooded area in a nearby public park, witnesses said.

Portnov had been an MP and deputy head in the administration of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president ousted in 2014 after months of protests.

He had previously been an MP in Yulia Tymoshenko's governing party.

He left Ukraine after the revolution only to return in 2019 after Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president.

He then left Ukraine again, and in 2021 was sanctioned by the US Treasury, which said he had been "widely known as a court fixer" who had taken steps to control the judiciary and undermine reform efforts.
Source: BBC
 
Ukraine and Russia poised for biggest prisoner swap but details scarce

Russia and Ukraine were set to take part in a major prisoner swap on Friday, described as the biggest since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.

Officials from both countries agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, during otherwise fruitless peace negotiations in Istanbul a week ago.

US President Donald Trump earlier posted his congratulations on his Truth Social platform, claiming that the swap was complete and that "this could lead to something big???".

However, there was no confirmation from either side, and Ukrainian military sources told news agencies only that the process was under way.

Source: BBC
 
Russia and Ukraine have completed the first phase of what is expected to be the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of the war, with almost 800 people released on Friday

The swap started on Friday and will continue on Saturday and Sunday, with Kyiv and Moscow expected to swap 2,000 people – 1,000 from each side.

The agreement to release 1,000 prisoners on each side was the only significant outcome of the meeting between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul last week, which marked the first time the two sides have met directly since soon after Russia’s full-scale unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“We are bringing our people home,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X, adding that 390 people arrived back to Ukraine on Friday. He said the group included 270 military and 120 civilians.

Ukrainian prisoners wave flags in celebration after the swap on Friday.

The Ukrainian Coordination Center for Treatment of Prisoners of War said three women and 387 men were among those released on Friday.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that “270 Russian servicemen and 120 civilians” were returned to Russia. It said the civilians were captured by Ukrainian troops in Kursk, the Russian region to which Ukraine launched a surprise incursion last summer. Russia has since reclaimed most of the territory.

However, Zelensky said later that the Russian civilians returned by Ukraine were “Russian saboteurs and collaborators” who were arrested by Ukrainian law enforcement officers.

As in previous exchanges, the released prisoners were brought to a meeting place in several buses after being released by Russia at the Ukrainian border. Many were given Ukrainian flags and bracelets in Ukrainian colours at the border.

Photos and videos released by the Ukrainian government showed dozens of men wearing military fatigues, most of them with their heads shaved, posing wrapped in flags.

Several of the released men could be seen speaking to their loved ones over the phone, some breaking into tears as they hear the voices on the other side.

One video showed people from villages along the route of the convoy coming out with flags, greeting the returnees.

“I feel joy because I’m home, that’s all. I’m happy for you, for us, that we came… we prayed and asked for this to happen,” Vasyl Gulyach, who spent two and a half years in captivity, told CNN.

CNN also spoke to Anton Kobylnyk, a 29-year-old who spent over three years in captivity. “I am yours, I received your letter,” he told his girlfriend Yulia on the phone. “What you have done, waiting for me for these 37 months, is a very great feat on your part and an invaluable contribution to our relationship,” he told her.

Source: CNN
 
Russia launches major aerial attack on Ukraine capital

At least 14 people have been injured in a major Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv, city authorities say.

Russia launched 250 drones and 14 ballistic missiles against Kyiv, Ukraine's air force said, causing fires in residential buildings. It was one of the biggest combined aerial assaults on the city since the war began. The air force said it had downed six missiles and 245 drones.

"With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.

The barrage came hours after Russia and Ukraine took part in a prisoner swap agreed after talks between the two countries' officials in Turkey.

Describing a "difficult night", Zelensky said there had been fires and explosions across Kyiv with homes, businesses and cars damaged by strikes or falling debris.

Olha Chyrukha, a 64-year-old local resident who lives just outside central Kyiv, told Reuters news agency: "I wish they'd agree to a ceasefire. To bomb people like this - poor children. My three-year-old granddaughter was screaming scared."

Zelensky said only "additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy" could push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.

Last week, Russia said Ukraine had launched hundreds of exploding drones at the country, including strikes over Moscow. The Russia's Ministry of Defence said that 485 drones had been shot down.

BBC
 
Russian strikes kill eight across Ukraine, officials say

At least eight people have been killed and more than 30 injured across Ukraine in overnight Russian drone and missile attacks, regional officials have said.

Four deaths were reported in Ukraine's western Khmelnytskyi region. Three more deaths were reported in the Kyiv region, and one in the southern city of Mykolaiv.

It comes a day after Kyiv suffered one of the heaviest assaults since the start of the Russian invasion, with Russian aerial attacks killing at least 13.

Russia's defence ministry said its air defence units shot down or intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones over a number of Russian regions, including Moscow, during a four-hour period on Saturday night. No casualties were reported.

The drone attack forced a brief suspension of all flights at Moscow's airports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

This includes Crimea - Ukraine's southern peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

In a statement on Facebook, Khmelnytskyi regional head Serhiy Tyurin said four people were killed and another five were injured in the Russian attacks.

"Six private houses were destroyed, and another 20 damaged," he added.

Kyiv regional head Mykola Kalashnyk said three people were killed and 10 others were injured.

He posted on social media photos of several houses set ablaze after the Russian strikes.

In the capital Kyiv, local officials reported 11 injuries, multiple fires and damage to residential buildings, including a dormitory.

Hundreds of people were seen sheltering in underground stations of the city's metro. It comes as the capital marks its annual Kyiv Day holiday on Sunday.

In Mykolaiv, Ukraine's state emergencies service DSNS said the body of an elderly man was pulled out from a five-storey residential building hit by a drone. Another five people were injured.

In Kharkiv, regional authorities reported three injuries.

In Russia, the defence ministry said that Ukrainian drones targeted eight Russian regions.

"From 20:00 Moscow time (17:00 GMT) on 24 May to 00:00 on 25 May, air defence units on duty destroyed and intercepted 95 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles," the ministry said in a statement.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 12 drones heading towards the capital were shot down.

He added that emergency services crews were deployed to assess damage caused by falling drone debris.

In the Tula region, just south of Moscow, drone wreckage crashed in the courtyard of a residential building, smashing windows in a number of apartments, local governor Dmitriy Milyaev said.

No-one was injured, he added.

The attacks came as Russia and Ukraine take part in prisoner swaps agreed after talks between the two sides in Turkey.

On Friday, Ukraine and Russia each handed over 390 soldiers and civilians in the biggest prisoner exchange since Russia launched its full-scale assault in February 2022.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that another 307 Ukrainian prisoners had returned home as part of an exchange deal with the Kremlin.

The two countries have agreed to swap a total of 1,000 prisoners each, and another exchange is expected on Sunday.

The swap follows the first face-to-face talks between the two sides in three years, which took place in Turkey.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump and Putin had a two-hour phone call to discuss a US-proposed Ukraine ceasefire deal.

Trump said he believed the call had gone "very well", and added that Russia and Ukraine will "immediately start" negotiations toward a ceasefire and "an end to the war".

However, Putin has only said Russia would work with Ukraine to craft a "memorandum" on a "possible future peace", and has not accepted a 30-day ceasefire.

BBC
 
Russia makes largest aerial attack of war on Ukraine, Trump says Putin has 'gone absolutely CRAZY', considering more sanctions on Russia

U.S. President Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin had "gone absolutely CRAZY" by unleashing the largest aerial attack of the war on Ukraine and said he was weighing new sanctions on Moscow, though he also scolded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Trump posted the remark on Truth Social as sleeping Ukrainians woke to a third consecutive night of Russian aerial attacks, listening for hours to drones buzzing near their homes and eruptions of Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire

The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 355 drones and nine cruise missiles against Ukraine overnight, a huge salvo that the air force's spokesman told Reuters made it Russia's largest drone attack of the war to date.
"Something has happened to him (Putin). He has gone absolutely CRAZY!" Trump said of the Russian president on Truth Social, referring to the previous night's attack by Russia.

Source: Reuters
 

Zelensky says Trump was ready to impose new sanctions on Russia​


KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks released Wednesday that after their meeting at the Vatican last month, President Donald Trump was ready to impose new sanctions on Russia if Moscow didn't agree to a ceasefire.

Zelensky said that in that April meeting with Trump, he discussed sanctions with the U.S. president and left their meeting understanding that Washington was on board with that plan, he told journalists on the eve of a trip to Germany. In Berlin on Wednesday, he spoke to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about Europe's own efforts to increase sanctions on Russia.

Ssource: The Washington Post
 
The terrifying new weapon changing the war in Ukraine

An acrid smell hangs over the town of Rodynske. A couple of minutes after we drive into the city we see where it's coming from.

A 250kg glide bomb has ripped through the town's main administrative building, and taken down three residential blocks. We're visiting a day after the bomb struck, but parts of the wreckage are still smoking. From the edges of the town we hear the sound of artillery fire, and of gunshots – Ukrainian soldiers shooting down drones.

Rodynske is about 15km (9 miles) north of the embattled city of Pokrovsk. Russia has been trying to capture it from the south since the autumn of last year, but Ukrainian forces have so far managed to stop Russian soldiers from marching in.

So Russia has changed tactics, moving instead to encircle the city, cutting off supply routes.

In the past two weeks, as hectic diplomatic efforts to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine have failed, Russia has intensified its push, making its most significant advances since January.

We find proof of that in Rodynske.

Within minutes of us arriving in town, we hear a Russian drone above us. Our team runs to the closest cover available – a tree.

www.bbc.com

Fibre optic drones: The terrifying new weapon changing the war in Ukraine

The BBC reports from Donetsk where swarms of fibre optic drones give Russia the edge as Ukraine defends towns behind the front line.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Trump appears to set Putin 'two-week' deadline on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump has appeared to set a two-week deadline for Vladimir Putin, threatening a different response if the Russian counterpart was still stringing him along.

As the Kremlin escalated its attacks on Ukraine, Trump was asked in the Oval Office on Wednesday if he thought Putin wanted to end the war.

"I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about two weeks," Trump told reporters, the latest amid a string of critical public remarks made by Trump about Putin.

Since Sunday, Trump has written multiple posts on social media saying that Putin has gone "absolutely crazy" and is "playing with fire" after Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine.

The bombardments by Russia are said to have been some of the largest and deadliest attacks since the start of the war, now in its fourth year.

Russian strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, killed at least 13 people and injured dozens more, including children, over the weekend.

And by Wednesday, the attacks had shown no signs of slowing down.

In Trump's remarks about the escalation of violence and whether he thinks Putin is serious about ending the war, Trump said: "I'll let you know in about two weeks.

"Within two weeks. We're gonna find out whether or not (Putin is) tapping us along or not.

"And if he is, we'll respond a little bit differently."

The comments are a sign of Trump's growing frustration, as the White House's repeated efforts to negotiate a deal between Russia and Ukraine appear ever more futile.

This includes a recent two-hour phone call between Trump and Putin, after which the US president said the discussions went "very well".

Putin walked away from the call saying he was ready to work with Ukraine on a "memorandum on a possible future peace agreement".

That call was one week before Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles towards Ukraine's capital, according to Ukraine's air force.

And a memorandum has yet to be produced by Russia.

So far, Trump's threats have not appeared to concern Moscow sufficiently for it to concede to his demands. Trump has not delivered on previous such threats.

Since taking office, Trump has only taken action against Ukraine, as Washington sought to steer the countries to Trump's demand for a truce.

This included an eight-day suspension of US military assistance and intelligence sharing with Kyiv in March.

Meanwhile the US administration has not publicly demanded any significant concessions from Russia.

The White House rejects accusations of appeasing Moscow or failing to enforce its will, pointing out that all the Biden-era sanctions remain in force against Russia.

But so far its mediation approach appears to have made the Kremlin more, not less, empowered.

After the latest attacks, Trump wrote on Truth Social that "something has happened" to Putin, which the Kremlin said were comments made "connected to an emotional overload".

Russia's attacks on Ukraine continued in the days afterwards. Trump then escalated his criticism. On Tuesday, he said Putin was "playing with fire" and that "lots of bad things" would have happened to Russia if it were not for Trump's involvement.

A Kremlin aid responded to the latest Trump Truth Social post by saying: "We have come to the conclusion that Trump is not sufficiently informed about what is really happening."

Putin aide Yury Ushakov told Russian state TV channel Russia-1 that Trump must be unaware of "the increasingly frequent massive terrorist attacks Ukraine is carrying out against peaceful Russian cities."

On Wednesday, Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, told Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky that Berlin will help Kyiv produce long-range missiles to defend itself from Russian attack.

The Kremlin has warned that any decision to end range restrictions on the missiles that Ukraine can use would be a dangerous change in policy that would harm efforts to reach a political deal.

In the face of Russia's recalcitrance, Trump has frequently softened his demands, shifting the emphasis from his original call for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, to which only Ukraine agreed, to more recently demanding a summit with Putin to get what he says would be a breakthrough.

Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov have upped their demands from earlier positions since the US restored contacts with the Russians in February.

These have included a demand that Ukraine cede parts of its own country not even occupied by Russia and that the US recognises Crimea as a formal part of Russia.

Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Moscow, calls this a "poison pill" introduced by Russia: Creating conditions Kyiv could never agree to in order to shift blame onto Ukraine in Trump's eyes.

The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and left much of Ukraine's east and south in ruins. Moscow controls roughly one-fifth of the country's territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

Zelensky has accused Moscow of delaying the peace process and said they were yet to deliver a promised memorandum of peace terms following talks in Istanbul. Peskov insisted the document was in its "final stages."

BBC
 
Ukraine accuses Russia of undermining next round of peace talks

Ukraine's president has questioned Russia's commitment to progressing peace talks after Moscow confirmed it was sending a team to talks in Istanbul on Monday.

Russia is yet to send its negotiating proposals to Ukraine - a key demand by Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow's conditions for a ceasefire would be discussed in Turkey.

But Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of "doing everything it can to ensure the next possible meeting is fruitless".

"For a meeting to be meaningful, its agenda must be clear, and the negotiations must be properly prepared," he said. Ukraine had sent its proposals to Russia, reaffirming "readiness for a full and unconditional ceasefire".

The first round of talks two weeks ago in Istanbul brought no breakthrough, but achieved a prisoner of war swap.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine's territory, including the southern Crimea peninsula Moscow annexed in 2014.

As the talks approached, both Russia and Ukraine reported explosions on Friday night and in the early hours of Saturday morning.

In Ukraine's Kherson region, three people were killed and 10 more were injured, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the region's military administration.

On social media, he said that the "Russian military hit critical and social infrastructure" as well as "residential areas of settlements in the region".

Officials said at least one person had also been injured in explosions in the cities of Kharkiv and Izyum.

Meanwhile, at least seven people were injured in an explosion in Russia's Kursk region, according to the acting local governor Alexander Khinshtein and Russia's state-owned news agency, TASS.

On Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reiterated that Kyiv had already sent its own "vision of future steps" to Russia, adding Moscow "must accept an unconditional ceasefire" to pave the way for broader negotiations.

"We are interested in seeing these meetings continue because we want the war to end this year," Sybiha said during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.

Putin and Zelensky are not expected to attend the talks on Monday.

But Fidan said Turkey was hoping to eventually host a high-level summit.

"We sincerely think it is time to bring President Trump, President Putin and President Zelensky to the table," he said.

Peskov said Russia's ceasefire proposals would not be made public, and Moscow would only entertain the idea of a high-level summit if meaningful progress was achieved in preliminary discussions between the two countries.

He welcomed comments made by Trump's envoy to Ukraine, retired Gen Keith Kellogg, who described Russian concerns over Nato enlargement as "fair".

Gen Kellogg said Ukraine joining the military alliance, long hoped for by Kyiv, was not on the table.

He added President Trump was "frustrated" by what he described as Russia's intransigence, but emphasised the need to keep negotiations alive.

On 19 May, Trump and Putin had a two-hour phone call to discuss a US-proposed ceasefire deal to halt the fighting.

The US president said he believed the call had gone "very well", adding that Russia and Ukraine would "immediately start" negotiations towards a ceasefire and "an end to the war".

Ukraine has publicly agreed to a 30-day ceasefire but Putin has only said Russia will work with Ukraine to craft a "memorandum" on a "possible future peace" - a move described by Kyiv and its European allies as delaying tactics so Russian troops could seize more Ukrainian territory.

In a rare rebuke to Putin just days later, Trump called the Kremlin leader "absolutely crazy" and threatened US sanctions. His comments followed Moscow's largest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, told Zelensky that Berlin would help Kyiv produce long-range missiles to defend itself from future Russian attacks.

The Kremlin said any decision to end range restrictions on the missiles Ukraine could use would represent a dangerous change in policy that would harm efforts to bring an end to the war.

BBC
 
Ukraine secretly delivered FPV drones and wooden mobile cabins into Russia. The drones were hidden under the roofs of the cabins, which were later mounted on trucks.

At the signal, the roofs opened remotely. Dozens of drones launched directly from the trucks, striking strategic bomber aircraft.

:kp
 
www.bbc.com

Ukraine-Russia war live: Drones 'emerged from trucks' before strikes on bombers during major attack in Russia

A major operation has been launched by Ukraine using drones to destroy Russian strategic bomber planes, according to the Ukrainian security service.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com

Russian Source:

Drones were launched from a truck, Siberian governor says
​

We have some more from Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev, who has said that the drones that attacked the military base in Sredniy, in Siberia, were launched from a truck.

Kobzev posted on Telegram to say that the launch site had been secured and there was no threat to life.

Russian media outlets have also reported that other attacks were similarly started with drones emerging from the backs of lorries.

Ukrainian Claims:

More than 40 Russian bomber aircraft hit in drone attack, Ukraine security service says​


Ukraine claims to have hit more than 40 Russian bombers, in what appears to be one of the most audacious attacks so far on Russian aviation.

According to a statement from Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, “enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia”.

It says Ukraine is conducting “a large scale special operation aimed at destroying enemy bomber aircraft.”It says more than 40 aircraft have been hit.

It has released dramatic video which it says shows a drone attack at the Belaya airbase in Irkutsk oblast, in Siberia. Bombers are under attack, with explosions visible and smoke rising.

Reports suggest other aircraft have been attacked at the Olenya airbase, near Murmansk.Russian media is reporting the attack in Murmansk but says air defences are working. The attack in Irkutsk is also being reported.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities say that 472 drones and seven ballistic and cruise missiles were involved in last night’s wave of attacks on Ukraine. This would appear to be one largest single Russian drone attacks so far. Ukraine says it neutralised 385 aerial targets.


98ecf719-e5e2-4b3d-9a9d-4eb435c8e133.jpg.webp
 
Both Russian and Pakistani airbases are having a bad month.

The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous stands firm - Proverbs 12:7
 
massive move by ukriane and total intelligence failure on the part of the FSB, i honestly did not see this coming, but is a huge huge counter attack and PR win which will put a hard squeeze on putin because not only does it hurt in material terms, it makes russian intelligence look stupid, dont see how he cannot retaliate in some way, that might be very extreme. this war has been on the backburner for the best part of a few years now
 
ElRaja said:
massive move by ukriane and total intelligence failure on the part of the FSB, i honestly did not see this coming, but is a huge huge counter attack and PR win which will put a hard squeeze on putin because not only does it hurt in material terms, it makes russian intelligence look stupid, dont see how he cannot retaliate in some way, that might be very extreme. this war has been on the backburner for the best part of a few years now
Click to expand...

Clearly a CIA and western operation. Imo it was prepared and ready to go when required. The peace talks in Turkey tomorrow are now rendered useless. There are certain forces who want this war to continue and even more worrying imo they want a russia v NATO war and dont care if it leads to world war 3.

Putin has shown restraint on many occasions but after this, an all out response must happen. Like on a previous occasion the hypersonic unstoppable weapon will destroy large sections of Ukraine within a next 10 days.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Clearly a CIA and western operation. Imo it was prepared and ready to go when required. The peace talks in Turkey tomorrow are now rendered useless. There are certain forces who want this war to continue and even more worrying imo they want a russia v NATO war and dont care if it leads to world war 3.

Putin has shown restraint on many occasions but after this, an all out response must happen. Like on a previous occasion the hypersonic unstoppable weapon will destroy large sections of Ukraine within a next 10 days.
Click to expand...
i think the main issue here is how incompetent the FSB has been made to look, these are attacks deep into the russian hinterland. the counter intelligence effort to this would be enormous in expense and scope given the vast expanse of russian land. its a tactical master stroke in the context of immediate impact. putin has already pounded ukraine hard and been stuck in a stalemate on the ground for a few years. nukes would mean certain global escalation that the chinese would really not want, non nuke hypersonics would still have minimal impact in the ground offensive. russias only win here is push deeper into ukraine on land and to threaten kiev, without that the ukraine motivation will be sky high at the moment.
 
ElRaja said:
i think the main issue here is how incompetent the FSB has been made to look, these are attacks deep into the russian hinterland. the counter intelligence effort to this would be enormous in expense and scope given the vast expanse of russian land. its a tactical master stroke in the context of immediate impact. putin has already pounded ukraine hard and been stuck in a stalemate on the ground for a few years. nukes would mean certain global escalation that the chinese would really not want, non nuke hypersonics would still have minimal impact in the ground offensive. russias only win here is push deeper into ukraine on land and to threaten kiev, without that the ukraine motivation will be sky high at the moment.
Click to expand...

These drones have probably been deep inside Russia before the war started imo. Ukraine claims 15 months prep but imo this is to admit to some pre long term planning. You are of course correct it's a failure but we have to remember they are at war with nato, Ukraine is a mere proxy . Nato as you know is the biggest most superior military force and has thousands of spies inc Russians inside going back to the Soviet days . However it also shows a new level of desperation as the idea was a slow death as to not go into an all out war but I believe now an all out war with Europe is accepted, hence the last 6 months of europe recruitment more soldiers, developing more factories for rapid production. I also believe Trump had no idea of this as he doesn't with most CIA operations.

Russia can strike hard without nukes , mainly the Orisknek hypersonic which carries multiple warheads. It will only require 4/5 to wipe out a whole city in Ukraine. Yes this attack is serious but Russia has won on the ground and is now taking parts of Odessa , the jewel in the crown after Crimea, again why this attack took place now .

I
 
KingKhanWC said:
These drones have probably been deep inside Russia before the war started imo. Ukraine claims 15 months prep but imo this is to admit to some pre long term planning. You are of course correct it's a failure but we have to remember they are at war with nato, Ukraine is a mere proxy . Nato as you know is the biggest most superior military force and has thousands of spies inc Russians inside going back to the Soviet days . However it also shows a new level of desperation as the idea was a slow death as to not go into an all out war but I believe now an all out war with Europe is accepted, hence the last 6 months of europe recruitment more soldiers, developing more factories for rapid production. I also believe Trump had no idea of this as he doesn't with most CIA operations.

Russia can strike hard without nukes , mainly the Orisknek hypersonic which carries multiple warheads. It will only require 4/5 to wipe out a whole city in Ukraine. Yes this attack is serious but Russia has won on the ground and is now taking parts of Odessa , the jewel in the crown after Crimea, again why this attack took place now .

I
Click to expand...
even if its nato, its still a power move, and extremely well executed, and should give russia pause for thought on how deeply imbedded the espionage network is within russia, it changes the dynamic of reosuce allocation if u imbed the paranoia of what could be attacked next. connecting odessa and then transnistria would be a massive boost for russia, but only if they can convert the current offensive into a two front war, which is not easy given both sides have been juggling human resources across the active front.
 
Ukraine surpasses Pakistan in audaciousness!!

India may as well hand back the s400 launchers, they aint getting any radars from Russia any time soon after this attack by Ukraine :LOL:
 
Russia rejected an unconditional ceasefire with Ukraine at the talks in Istanbul, Kyiv negotiator Sergiy Kyslytsya says

Moscow has consistently rejected extended ceasefire proposals, arguing they would give Ukraine time to rearm and regroup at a time Russian forces are making battlefield advances.

Ukraine has proposed a further round of talks with Russia before the end of June.

Source: The Guardian
 
Second round of Ukraine-Russia talks end with PoW deal but no ceasefire

Negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul ended without agreement on a ceasefire on Monday, but with both sides agreeing to exchange more prisoners.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the two sides had agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, with the possibility of swapping an additional 200 PoWs. He said an agreement had also been made to return the remains of killed service personnel, but added that this would take careful preparation.

Zelenskyy did not take part in the talks but was speaking during a visit to Lithuania, where he called for stronger sanctions on Russia if it did not agree to a ceasefire.

He said his negotiators had given their Russian counterparts a list of nearly 400 abducted Ukrainian children that Kyiv wanted Moscow to return home, but that the Russian delegation agreed to work on returning only 10 of them.

Ukrainian officials said that the focus of the prisoner exchange should be the wounded and sick as well as young soldiers between 18 and 25 years old. Russian officials confirmed that “all” sick and wounded prisoners would be swapped, and that the exchange would involve at least 1,000 PoWs.


www.theguardian.com

Second round of Ukraine-Russia talks end with PoW deal but no ceasefire

Delegations in Istanbul agree swap of at least 1,000 prisoners, and Ukraine says Russia agreed to return some abducted children
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
twitter is now full of indians pledging their support to russia in their quest to defeat ukraine, but whats the official line, will modi get off the fence in this conflict?
 
Russian forces have been using drones to hunt and attack civilians in Ukraine and continue to do so, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW)

In a report released on Tuesday, HRW stated that the Russian military has repeatedly deployed unmanned drones to attack civilian targets in its more than three-year war with Ukraine. The NGO said that dozens of civilians have been killed and hundreds injured in violation of the laws of war.

Referencing video from Russian drones and witnesses and survivors, the rights watchdog alleges that Russia has “deliberately or recklessly” hunted civilians and civilian objects, particularly in the southern city of Kherson, using “commercially available quadcopter drones” made domestically and in China.

“Russian drone operators are able to track their targets, with high-resolution video feeds, leaving little doubt that the intent is to kill, maim, and terrify civilians,” Belkis Wille, a director on arms and conflict at HRW, said in a statement.

“They exemplify why the international community needs to support all avenues of accountability for victims of Russian war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.”

The findings support reports from residents and officials in Kherson earlier this year that said Russian drone operators were training by targeting civilians in “human safaris”.

Source: Al Jazeera
 
Ukraine claims underwater strike on Crimea bridge

Ukraine's security service has just said it has hit a bridge to Crimea with underwater explosives.

In a post on X, the SBU also shared a video showing a blast at the Kerch Bridge.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 during a period of political turmoil in Ukraine, and has continued to hold the territory illegally.

The operation was a result of "several months" of work, the SBU said, adding mines were detonated at 4.44am this morning without civilian casualties.

Russian media had earlier reported the bridge was closed, but did not give a reason why.

"The underwater supports of the pillars were severely damaged at the bottom level," the SBU said.

Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, who oversaw the operation, said there is "no place for any illegal Russian objects on the territory of our state".

"Therefore, the Crimean bridge is an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops," he added.

Ukraine previously hit the same bridge in 2022 and 2023.

A Telegram account that provides information on the bridge said traffic to the Kerch Bridge resumed at 9am local time, so it isn't clear how badly damaged it is.

Source: Sky News
 

Ukraine says it hit Crimea bridge with underwater explosives​


Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) says it has managed to strike the Crimea bridge with underwater explosives following an operation lasting "several months".

The SBU said its agents had "mined the supports" of the bridge with 1,100kg of explosives which "severely damaged" the bottom level of the supports.

The "first explosive device" was activated early Tuesday morning "without any civilian casualties", the SBU added.

The information shared by the SBU could not be immediately verified.

Source: BBC
 

Russia warns US, UK about Ukrainian attacks on strategic bombers​


Russia expects a “clear response” from the US and the UK on Ukraine’s recent attacks on its strategic bombers, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Wednesday, warning that further silence could fuel escalation.

“Kyiv’s actions are clearly aimed at further escalation. Together with their European allies, they are doing everything to derail a peaceful settlement,” Ryabkov told reporters as he criticized what he described as Western inaction.

He said Moscow had exercised “maximum restraint” ahead of the second round of peace talks in Istanbul, despite “continuous provocations” from Ukraine.

Ryabkov noted that any decision on Russia’s military response to the attacks would be made by the Defense Ministry.

Commenting on US-Russia dialogue, Ryabkov said the administration of US President Donald Trump “is more inclined to listen to Russia’s arguments” and confirmed that “dialogue is ongoing and will continue.”

He also warned against underestimating the influence of US political circles that aim to “destroy Russia.”

Ryabkov criticized the election of Germany’s Annalena Baerbock as President of the UN General Assembly, claiming it would have “negative consequences” for Russia.

Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine and its Western backers of fueling the conflict, while maintaining its openness to talks under “realistic” conditions.

Source: Anadolu Agency
 
Russian drone strike kills 5 as Moscow pledges response to Ukraine attacks

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says Russia will respond to recent Ukrainian attacks when its military sees fit.

A Russian drone strike has killed five people in the northern town of Pryluky in Chernihiv region, including three members of one family, Ukrainian authorities said.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Thursday morning that a local first responder’s wife, daughter and one-year-old grandson were killed in the attack.

Regional Governor Viacheslav Chaus said the family was among five people killed when Russia launched six drones to attack the town overnight.

Six others were admitted to hospital, he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed the attacks and accused Moscow of “constantly trying to buy time for itself to continue killing.

“When it does not feel strong enough condemnation and pressure from the world – it kills again,” he wrote on X.

Zelenskyy said Russia launched 103 drones and one ballistic missile overnight targeting the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy, Chernihiv, Dnipro and Kherson regions.

“This is yet another reason to impose maximum sanctions and put pressure together. We expect action from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who can really help change these terrible circumstances,” he urged.

In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, 18 people were injured, including four children, in a Russian drone attack, Klymenko said.

Resident Anastasiia Meleshchenk told the Reuters news agency that the overnight strike had flown into her neighbour’s apartment, and she managed to run out into the hallway with her child.

“Yesterday, workers had just finished repair work in my apartment after the previous attack,” she said.

There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Later on Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said two people were killed in a Russian attack on army training facilities in the Poltava region, eastern Ukraine the previous day.

“Doctors unfortunately failed to save the lives of two people who were wounded as a result of an enemy attack on the training ground,” senior regional official, Volodymyr Kohut, wrote on Telegram.

In Russia, Ukraine’s military said it struck missile systems in the Bryansk region, which it said were preparing to attack Ukraine.

Russia pledges response

The attacks come days after Ukraine targeted four of Russia’s military airfields in Siberia and the far north in an operation using 117 unmanned aerial vehicles launched from containers close to the targets, codenamed “Spider’s Web”.

Russia also accused it of blowing up rail bridges in the south of the country, killing seven people.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Russia will respond to the attacks as and when its military sees fit.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that the warplanes that were held in the facilities were damaged and would be restored.

Two US officials told Reuters that Washington assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit and about 10 were destroyed.

In recent weeks, fighting and aerial attacks have escalated despite the two warring sides holding direct talks in Turkiye aimed at ending the conflict.

Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s John Hendren said, the “US embassy has warned US citizens here in Ukraine that major strikes are to come.

“Donald Trump, the US president, said in a conversation with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin that lasted about an hour and 15 minutes that Putin was going to have to retaliate for the strikes on Russian airfields,” Hendren said.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
 
Three killed in 'massive' Russian strikes across Ukraine, Zelensky says

Russia launched large-scale drone and missile strikes on Ukraine's capital and other parts of the country early on Friday, officials said.

At least three people were killed and 49 injured in the strikes, according to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The aerial raids targeted Kyiv, as well as the city of Lutsk and the Ternopil region in the north-west of the country.

Russia's defence ministry said the strikes were in response to "terrorist acts by the Kyiv regime", adding that it had targeted military sites.

The ministry said its armed forces "overnight launched a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, sea and ground-based weapons, as well as attack drones".

The attack came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned US President Donald Trump he would respond to Ukraine's recent strikes on Russian airbases.

In a post on X on Friday, Zelensky said that "now is exactly the moment when America, Europe, and everyone around the world can stop this war together by pressuring Russia".

He made a thinly veiled reference to Trump's apparent unwillingness to put pressure on Russia.

"If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives – that is complicity and accountability," Zelensky wrote. "We must act decisively."

Zelensky said that "as of now", three deaths had been confirmed in the strikes - all employees of Ukraine's state emergency services.

He said the attack used more than 400 drones and more than 40 missiles, and the number of people injured "may increase".

In an earlier statement, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people had been killed in the country's capital.

Air raid alerts were in place in Kyiv, as the city's train system was disrupted after shelling damaged metro tracks.

Tens of thousands of civilians in the capital spent a restless few hours in underground shelters.

From the centre of the city, prolonged bursts of machine gun fire could be heard as air defences on the outskirts attempted to bring down scores of drones aimed at Kyiv.

From time to time, the distinctive buzz of drones overhead could also be heard.

Bright flashes of light, sometimes reflected on nearby buildings, would be followed, five or ten seconds later, by thunderous explosions.

The cities of Kharkiv, Sumy and Luhansk were also under air raid alerts.

Elsewhere, Ternopil's military chief Vyacheslav Negoda said Friday's strike was the "most massive air attack on our region to date".

Mayor of Ternopil, Igor Polishchuk, said five people were wounded in the attack and there was damage to homes, schools and a government facility.

In Lutsk, five people were injured in an attack using 15 drones and six missiles, according to mayor Ihor Polishchuk.

Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry said its air defences shot down 174 Ukrainian drones overnight in parts of Russia and occupied Crimea.

The ministry said Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles were also intercepted over the Black Sea.

Russia's latest attack on Ukraine comes days after Kyiv launched its biggest long-range drone strike on at least 40 Russian warplanes at four military bases.

Zelensky said 117 drones were used in the Spider's Web operation by the SBU security service, striking "34% of [Russia's] strategic cruise missile carriers".

Earlier this month, direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul, but ended without a major breakthrough.

Ukrainian negotiators said Russia rejected an "unconditional ceasefire" - a key demand of Kyiv and its Western allies including the US.

The Russian team said they had proposed a two-or three-day truce "in certain areas" of the vast front line, but gave no further details.

Trump said Putin vowed to "very strongly" respond to Ukraine's recent attack on Russian airbases, during a phone call that lasted more than an hour on Wednesday.

Moscow had previously said that military options were "on the table" for its response to Ukraine's attack.

Last week, Trump appeared to set a two-week deadline for Putin, threatening to change how the US is responding to Russia if he believed Putin was still "tapping" him along on peace efforts in Ukraine.

BBC
 
Ukrainian f16 shot down Russian, Su-35.

Russian tech not having a great time in Ukraine, mind you this f16 are old ones from the 80s and the su 35 is one of their best aircraft after the su57.
 
Ukraine Says Russia Launched Biggest Drone Assault of the War

Russia launched almost 500 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian forces said on Monday, in the largest in a string of record-breaking aerial assaults as peace talks stall.

Despite pressure from the Trump administration to work toward a cease-fire, Russia has been stepping up its large-scale barrages in recent months. That effort has further escalated since Ukraine mounted coordinated drone strikes strategic bombers at air bases inside Russia on June 1.

While there were no reports of major damage and only one person was killed, the scale of Russia’s aerial assault was the latest step in a campaign by Moscow to overwhelm and deplete Ukrainian air defenses — one with no end in sight given a lack of progress in peace negotiations.

While mounting a new offensive on the ground in eastern Ukraine, Russia has been setting deadly records with the swarms of drones and missiles it launches at Ukraine, often hitting civilian targets in towns and cities across the country. Some records have lasted just a few days before being broken.


 
One dead in Russian strike on Odesa, officials say

Russia has launched a "massive" drone attack on the capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said, while a maternity ward in Odesa has also been targeted.

The Odesa drone attack hit medical facilities and residential buildings, killing a 59-year-old man and injuring four, Governer Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

In the capital, emergency services were called to four districts a couple of hours after midnight on Tuesday, Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.

The latest attacks come after Russia's biggest drone strike on Ukraine on Monday. Moscow said that strike was a retaliatory measure for Ukraine's recent attacks inside Russia.

After a covert Ukrainian drone strike named "Operation Spider's Web" struck air bases deep inside Russia on 1 June, US President Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin. Trump said the Russian president had promised to respond "very strongly" to the attacks.

Air raid alerts were in place across large parts of Ukraine during the attack early on Tuesday, the country's official air raid map showed, including the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions in the east.

"Stay in shelters! The massive attack on the capital continues," Kyiv Mayor Klitschko warned on Telegram.

The head of Kyiv's military administration Timur Tkachenko said on Telegram that the attacks on various districts happened "simultaneously".

Debris from "downed targets" fell on several different buildings across the city and fires broke out at a residential building and in warehouses, he added.

In Odesa, Governer Kiper said patients and staff managed to evacuate the medical station and maternity ward that were targeted, while ambulances were damaged.

Those that were injured were receiving medical assistance, he added.

The 59-year-old who was killed has not been publicly identified.

This attack follows the start of a prisoner swap on Monday that will see sick and heavily wounded prisoners of war, those under the age of 25 and the bodies of 12,000 soldiers returned.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the exchange would unfold "in several stages", describing it as a "complicated" process with "many sensitive details".

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

BBC
 
Russia launches one of war's largest air attacks on Kyiv

Russia launched one of its largest air strikes on Kyiv in over three years of war and struck a maternity ward in the southern city of Odesa in attacks that killed at least three people, officials said on Tuesday.

The overnight strikes followed Russia's biggest drone assault of the war on Ukraine on Monday and were part of intensified bombardments in what Moscow says is retaliation for attacks by Ukrainian forces on Russia.

The Russian attack also damaged Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site located in the historic centre of Kyiv, Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytsky said.

"The enemy struck at the very heart of our identity again," Mykola Tochytskyi wrote on Facebook about the site he called "the soul of all Ukraine".

Loud explosions shook Kyiv and blasts and fires lit up the sky in the early hours of Tuesday morning, leaving palls of heavy smoke over the city, Reuters witnesses said.

One person died in the attack on Kyiv, city authorities said.

At least four people were treated in hospital after seven of the capital's 10 districts were hit, city officials said.

"Today was one of the largest attacks on Kyiv," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. "Russian missile and Shahed (drone) strikes drown out the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace."

In the southern port of Odesa, an overnight drone attack hit an emergency medical building, a maternity ward and residential buildings, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

Two men were killed in that attack but patients and staff were safely evacuated from the maternity hospital, he said.
Iryna Britkaru, 23, who gave birth to a girl on June 6, said projectiles had started impacting the building in Odesa as soon as she and other patients had been whisked to the basement by hospital staff.

"The third (impact) was already very loud, and shrapnel flew... (it) rained down in the corridor," she told Reuters.

Source: Reuters
 

Russia hits Ukraine's Kharkiv with deadly nighttime barrage of drones​


A concentrated, nine-minute-long Russian drone attack on Ukraine's second largest city of Kharkiv in the middle of the night killed three people and injured 64, including nine children, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday.

The overnight attack followed Russia's two biggest air assaults of the war on Ukraine this week, part of intensified bombardments that Moscow says are retaliatory measures for Kyiv's recent attacks in Russia.

Elsewhere, two southern Ukrainian regions, Mykolaiv and Kherson, were left without electricity on Wednesday after Russian forces attacked an energy facility, the governors said.

Kharkiv, in Ukraine's northeast, withstood Russia's full-scale advance in the early days of the war but has since been a regular target of drone, missile and guided aerial bomb assaults.

The intense strikes by 17 drones on Kharkiv sparked fires in 15 units of a five-storey apartment building and caused other damage in the city close to the Russian border, the city's mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

"There are direct hits on multi-storey buildings, private homes, playgrounds, enterprises and public transport," Terekhov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Source: Reuters
 
Ukraine urges ‘action’ from allies as Russian attacks mount

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Western allies to take “concrete action” after Russia unleashed another barrage of drone and missile strikes.

The strikes launched early on Tuesday hit targets across the country, including Kyiv. It was the latest in a series of large-scale bombardments by Russian forces and spurred Zelenskyy to try once again to persuade United States President Donald Trump that Moscow is not interested in a ceasefire.


www.aljazeera.com

Ukraine urges ‘action’ from allies as Russian attacks mount

President Zelenskyy tries to persuade US President Trump that Moscow is not interested in a ceasefire.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
Rubio marks Russia Day, reaffirms calls for peace with Ukraine

The United States supports Russians' aspirations for a brighter future, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on the occasion of Russia Day, reaffirming a desire for constructive engagement in efforts to bring about peace in the war with Ukraine.

The Russia Day holiday marks the country's 1990 declaration of sovereignty, more than a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

"The United States remains committed to supporting the Russian people as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future," Rubio said in a statement on the State Department website.

"We also take this opportunity to reaffirm the United States' desire for constructive engagement with the Russian Federation to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine," he added.

"It is our hope that peace will foster more mutually beneficial relations between our countries."

On Wednesday, Russian news agencies said Moscow's new ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev, pledged to work to fully restore ties with Washington as he formally presented his credentials to President Donald Trump.

Ties between Moscow and Washington have improved since Trump took office, as the two discuss a possible resolution to the Ukraine conflict.

 
Ukraine has kept up the pressure on Russian airfields and war production in the past week after its highly successful Operation Spiderweb, which destroyed Moscow’s strategic bombers on June 1

Russia responded with its biggest air raids on Ukrainian cities, causing dozens of civilian casualties and introducing a jet-powered version of the Iranian-designed Shahed drone.

On Friday, Ukraine struck at least three fuel tanks at Engels airbase 500km (310 miles) southeast of Moscow. Fires were also reported at Dyagilevo airbase, 170km (105 miles) from the capital. Both had been targeted in Operation Spiderweb.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, also said Kyiv’s forces struck the JSC Progress plant in Michurinsk, a key link in Russia’s defence industrial chain manufacturing electronic stabilisation and control systems for artillery and rocket systems.

Ukraine hit Russia’s munitions industry again on Sunday, targeting the Azot chemical plant in Novomoskovsk, which produces military explosives.

Ukrainian drones also stopped operations at the Tambov Gunpowder plant, 430km (270 miles) southeast of Moscow, on Wednesday. Kovalenko said it was “one of the main suppliers of explosives for the Russian army”, providing gunpowder for bullets, shells and rocket systems.

At the start of this week, Ukraine destroyed two fighter planes on the tarmac of the Savasleyka airbase in the region of Nizhny Novgorod east of Moscow. The planes were used to fire Kinzhal ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said.

Ukrainian drone strikes caused fires at a plant in the city of Cheboksary, 500km (310 miles) east of Moscow, which manufactures Comet antennas that provide Russian Shahed drones with resistance to Ukrainian electronic warfare. The plant also makes guidance kits retrofitted onto inertial bombs, turning them into precision-guided glide bombs.

Russia has been dropping more than 3,000 of these bombs onto Ukrainian front-line positions every month. It is key to Moscow’s ability to maintain pressure on the ground. Ukraine’s strikes against airfields and factories aim to stop these bombs’ production and delivery.

Ukrainian servicemen of the 30th Prince Kostiantyn Ostrozkyi Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine.

“We have come very close to the moment when we can force Russia to stop the war. We feel it,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an ABC interview on Saturday, a possible reference to the growing effectiveness of Ukrainian long-range interdiction of Russian war production.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Saturday that carmaker Renault was launching a new partnership in Ukraine to build drone production lines – a result of Kyiv’s months-long effort to attract more Western investment in domestic weapons production.

www.aljazeera.com

Ukraine keeps up pressure on Russian airfields and war production

Russia responds with ever-larger strikes on Ukraine’s cities and scales up drone and missile production.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
Both Ukraine and Russia have lost a large number of troops.

One of the biggest conflicts since WW2 (in terms of casualties).
 

Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia’s war effort​


A sharp rise in global oil prices following Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in comments that were under embargo until Saturday afternoon.

Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the surge in oil prices threatens Ukraine’s position on the battlefield, especially because Western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports.

“The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us,” Zelenskyy said. “The Russians are getting stronger due to greater income from oil exports.”

Global oil prices rose as much as 7% after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks over the past 48 hours, raising concerns that further escalation in the region could disrupt oil exports from the Middle East.

‘We will raise this issue’

Zelenskyy said he planned to raise the issue in an upcoming conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump.

“In the near future, I will be in contact with the American side, I think with the president, and we will raise this issue,” he said.

Zelenskyy also expressed concern that U.S. military aid could be diverted away from Ukraine toward Israel during renewed tensions in the Middle East.

“We would like aid to Ukraine not to decrease because of this,” he said. “Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s military needs have been sidelined by the United States in favor of supporting Israel, Zelenskyy said, citing a shipment of 20,000 interceptor missiles, designed to counter Iran-made Shahed drones, that had been intended for Ukraine but were redirected to Israel.

“And for us it was a blow,” he said. “When you face 300 to 400 drones a day, most are shot down or go off course, but some get through. We were counting on those missiles.”

An air defense system, Barak-8, promised to Ukraine by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to the U.S. for repairs but never delivered to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president conceded that momentum for the Coalition of the Willing, a group of 31 countries which have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, has slowed because of U.S. ambivalence over providing a backstop.

“This situation has shown that Europe has not yet decided for itself that it will be with Ukraine completely if America is not there,” he said.

Coalition offer under consideration

The offer of a foreign troop “reassurance force” pledged by the Coalition of the Willing was still on the table “but they need a backstop, as they say, from America,” Zelenskyy said. “This means that suddenly, if something happens, America will be with them and with Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian president also said the presence of foreign contingents in Ukraine would act as a security guarantee and allow Kyiv to make territorial compromises, which is the first time he has articulated a link between the reassurance force and concessions Kyiv is willing to make in negotiations with Russia.

“It is simply that their presence gives us the opportunity to compromise, when we can say that today our state does not have the strength to take our territories within the borders of 1991,” he said.

But Europe and Ukraine are still waiting on strong signals from Trump.

Without crushing U.S. sanctions against Russia, “I will tell you frankly, it will be very difficult for us,” Zelenskyy said, adding that it would then fall on Europe to step up military aid to Ukraine.

Source: AP News
 
At least 15 killed and dozens injured in Russian strike on Kyiv

At least 15 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, officials say.

The attack overnight into Tuesday was one of the largest bombardments on Kyiv since the beginning of the full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

Ukraine's interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said a total of 440 drones and 32 missiles had been launched at the country.

Meanwhile, Russian air defence units intercepted and destroyed 147 Ukrainian drones overnight, Moscow's defence ministry said.

The strikes on Kyiv lasted more than nine hours – sending residents fleeing to underground shelters from before midnight until after sunrise.

Officials said a ballistic missile hit a nine-storey apartment building in one district, with a total of 27 districts of the city coming under fire.

"Waking up in utter nightmare: people trapped under rubble and full buildings collapsed," Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko wrote on X.

Klymenko said rescue teams were still working to free people.

Loud explosions rocked the city, along with the rattle of the machine guns used by mobile Ukrainian air defence units to shoot down drones.

More sirens later in the morning disrupted rescue operations in the city, hampering emergency workers searching the rubble for survivors.

Russia has intensified its air attacks against Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, with a tactic of sending large waves of drones and decoys designed to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences.

Kyiv has launched attacks of its own, as direct talks between the warring sides failed to secure a ceasefire or significant breakthrough.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia's most recent wave of strikes "pure terrorism".

He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of carrying out the large scale strikes "solely because he can afford to continue this war".

"It is bad when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to this," he said, adding: "It is the terrorists who should feel the pain, not normal, peaceful people."

Drone strikes also hit the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, killing one person and injuring at least 10 others, Klymenko said.

Zelenksy had been hoping to speak with the US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday but Trump cut short his stay amid the escalating crisis in the Middle East.

The news will come as a blow to Zelensky and his administration, which had been hoping to secure US support at the conference for Ukraine's strategic and military goals.

BBC
 

Russia's deadliest attack on Kyiv for months flattens part of apartment block​


Russia launched one of its most intense missile and drone attacks on Kyiv overnight, killing at least 10 people and injuring over 100 others. The assault, which lasted more than nine hours, involved 440 drones and 32 missiles, with a ballistic missile striking a nine-storey apartment building and damaging 27 locations across the city. Kyiv officials reported that more than 40 apartments were destroyed, with some residents still trapped under the rubble. Ukraine’s Interior Minister described the attacks as targeting residential, educational, and critical infrastructure sites, while Mayor Vitali Klitschko accused Russia of using deadly cluster bomblets filled with ball bearings.


President Volodymyr Zelensky called the strike “one of the most terrifying” and labelled it “pure terrorism,” blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for escalating the war. The attack coincided with Zelensky’s visit to the G7 summit in Canada, where he hoped to gain further support—but missed the chance to meet US President Donald Trump, who left early due to the Middle East crisis. Meanwhile, Russia claimed it had struck military-industrial targets and reported intercepting 147 Ukrainian drones over nine regions. Despite the devastating bombardment, Western allies are expected to announce fresh sanctions against Moscow, reaffirming support for Ukraine amid intensifying conflict.
 
Russia's deadliest attack on Kyiv for months flattens part of apartment block

Russia has carried out a mass missile and drone attack on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 100 others, officials say.

A drone smashed into an apartment block, destroying dozens of flats and Ukraine's interior minister said the country had been hit by 440 drones and 32 missiles.

Officials said initially that 15 people had died in the capital, but later revised the number down to 10, with another two fatalities in the southern port city of Odesa.

The attack overnight into Tuesday was among the biggest on the capital since the start of Russia's full-scale war and President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was "one of the most terrifying strikes".

Russia's defence ministry said it had targeted Ukraine's military-industrial complexes and that all its targets had been hit.

The strikes on Kyiv lasted more than nine hours – sending residents fleeing to underground shelters from before midnight until after sunrise.

Officials said a ballistic missile hit a nine-storey apartment building in one district, with a total of 27 locations in the city coming under fire. An entrance to the building in the southwestern Solomyanskyi district came crashing down and there were concerns the number of casualties could rise.

A 62-year-old US citizen was among those killed, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.


www.bbc.com

Russia's deadliest attack on Kyiv for months flattens part of apartment block

Ukrainian officials say a drone smashed into the building, leaving a number of people dead and wounded.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Trump considers more Patriots for Ukraine, says Putin "has to end" the war

U.S. President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday he will consider providing more of the Patriot missiles that Ukraine needs to defend against mounting Russian strikes, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin "really has to end that war".

His remarks came after a 50-minute meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of a NATO summit in The Hague. Both leaders described it as a positive step in a conflict that Trump described as "more difficult than other wars".

During a press conference in which he celebrated his own diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, Trump said the Patriots were "very hard to get" but that "we are going to see if we can make some of them available".

Zelenskiy mentioned air-defence systems but it was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to more missiles or complete batteries.

Trump also left open the possibility of providing more military aid to Kyiv, which has suffered grinding Russian advances on the battlefield in recent months.

He had previously shown no sign of resuming the donations of weaponry to Ukraine that his predecessor Joe Biden had instituted after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.


 
Russia says European arms supplies to Ukraine increases threat of destabilization
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said on Thursday that European supplies of arms and mercenaries to Ukraine had increased the threat of destabilization in Europe, the Interfax news agency reported.

“Attempts to prolong military actions by supplying Ukraine with arms and mercenaries increase the threat of destabilization. Including in Europe itself,” Belousov was quoted as saying.

 

Putin confirms he wants all of Ukraine, as Europe steps up military aid​


Ukraine’s European allies pledged increased levels of military aid to Ukraine this year, making up for a United States aid freeze, as Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his ambition to absorb all of Ukraine into the Russian Federation.

“At this moment, the Europeans and the Canadians have pledged, for this year, $35bn in military support to Ukraine,” said NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte ahead of the alliance’s annual summit, which took place in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 24-25.

“Last year, it was just over $50bn for the full year. Now, before we reach half year, it is already at $35bn. And there are even others saying it’s already close to $40bn,” he added.

The increase in European aid partly made up for the absence of any military aid offers so far from the Trump administration.

In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered to buy the US Patriot air defence systems Ukraine needs to fend off daily missile and drone attacks.

The Trump administration made its first sale of weapons to Ukraine the following month, but only of F-16 aircraft parts.

At The Hague this week, Zelenskyy said he discussed those Patriot systems with Trump. At a news conference on Wednesday, Trump said: “We’re going to see if we can make some available,” referring to interceptors for existing Patriot systems in Ukraine. “They’re very hard to get. We need them too, and we’ve been supplying them to Israel,” he said.

Russia has made a ceasefire conditional on Ukraine’s allies stopping the flow of weapons to it and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated that condition on Saturday.

On June 20, Vladimir Putin revealed that his ambition to annex all of Ukraine had not abated.

“I have said many times that the Russian and Ukrainian people are one nation, in fact. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,” he declared at a media conference to mark the opening of the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum on Friday, June 20.

“But you know we have an old parable, an old rule: wherever a Russian soldier steps, it is ours.”

“Wherever a Russian soldier steps, he brings only death, destruction, and devastation,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the next day.

In a post on the Telegram messaging platform on June 21, Zelenskyy wrote that Putin had “spoken completely openly”.

“Yes, he wants all of Ukraine,” he said. “He is also speaking about Belarus, the Baltic states, Moldova, the Caucasus, countries like Kazakhstan.”

German army planners agreed about Putin’s expansionism, deeming Russia an “existential threat” in a new strategy paper 18 months in the making, leaked to Der Spiegel news magazine last week.

Moscow was preparing its military leadership and defence industries “specifically to meet the requirements for a large-scale conflict against NATO by the end of this decade”, the paper said.

“We in Germany ignored the warnings of our Baltic neighbours about Russia for too long. We have recognised this mistake,” said German chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday, highlighting the reason for an about-turn from his two predecessors’ refusal to spend more on defence.

“There is no going back from this realisation. We cannot expect the world around us to return to calmer times in the near future,” he added.

Putin confirms he wants all of Ukraine, as Europe steps up military aid | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera https://share.google/4ccbdrXb0Bs6aZcEB
 
Ukraine F-16 pilot killed in large-scale Russian attack, Zelenskiy calls for US help

A Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot died in a crash while repelling a Russian air attack that involved hundreds of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, authorities said on Sunday, as Moscow intensifies night-time air barrages in the fourth year of war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the pilot, Maksym Ustymenko, and bestowed upon him posthumously the title of Hero of Ukraine, the country's highest decoration.

He also called for more support from Washington and Western allies to bolster Ukraine's air defences after the attack, which damaged homes and infrastructure across the country and injured at least 12 people, according to local authorities.

In Kyiv, families huddled in metro stations for shelter after air raid sirens rung out. Machine-gun fire and explosions were heard across the capital and in the western city of Lviv, where such attacks are less common.

The governor of the Lviv region, bordering Poland, said the raid targeted critical infrastructure.
Ukraine has now lost three F-16s since it began operating the U.S.-made jets last year. Kyiv has not revealed the size of its F-16 fleet, but they have become a central and heavily used part of Ukraine's defences.


 
Russia has launched biggest air attack of three-year war on Ukraine, Kyiv says

Russia has fired more than 500 aerial weapons at Ukraine overnight, in a barrage that Kyiv described as the biggest air attack so far of the three-year war.

Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday that Russia had fired 477 drones and decoys as well as 60 missiles overnight. While 475 of these were shot down or lost, the onslaught marked the “most massive airstrike” on the country since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine’s air force, told the Associated Press.

The bombing appeared to target several regions far from the frontline, he said, including in western Ukraine. The Russian army said on Sunday its overnight attack hit Ukrainian military-industrial complex sites and oil refineries, and that it had intercepted three Ukrainian drones overnight.

The scale of the attacks called into question comments made on Friday by Vladimir Putin, in which the Russian president said that Moscow was ready for a fresh round of direct peace talks in Istanbul.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Sunday that the barrage of bombs in fact showed that Putin had decided to pursue war. “Moscow will not stop as long as it has the capability to launch massive strikes,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

In the past week alone, Russia had attacked Ukraine with more than 114 missiles, more than 1,270 drones and nearly 1,100 glide bombs, he said.

“This war must be brought to an end – pressure on the aggressor is needed, and so is protection,” he added. “Ukraine needs to strengthen its air defence – the thing that best protects lives.”

He reiterated Ukraine’s willingness to buy US air defence systems, adding that his country counted on the “leadership, political will, and support of the United States, Europe and all our partners”.


www.theguardian.com

Russia has launched biggest air attack of the three-year war, Kyiv says

Ukraine’s air force says Russia fired 477 drones and decoys as well as 60 missiles overnight
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
Ukraine drone attack on central Russia kills three, wounds 35

A Ukrainian drone attack at an industrial plant in central Russia has killed three people and injured 35 others, a Russian regional governor has said.

Alexander Brechalov, head of the Udmurt Republic, said in a post on Telegram on Tuesday that the attack took place at a factory in Izhevsk city. Ten of the wounded were in a serious condition, he noted.

There was no immediate official comment from Kyiv. But a Ukrainian security official confirmed the attack, telling the news agency Reuters that the Kupol plant had been hit, with a fire breaking out as a result.

The facility, which produces air defence systems and drones for the Russian army, is located roughly 1,300km (800 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

If confirmed, the Ukrainian mission would be one of the deepest attacks of its kind inside Russia since the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.

However, it is not as far as one Kyiv claimed last May, which reportedly hit an early-warning radar in the Russian city of Orsk, some 1,800km (1,120 miles) from Ukraine.


www.aljazeera.com

Ukraine drone attack on central Russia kills three, wounds 35

The attack comes shortly after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promises to increase Ukraine’s drone production.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
US halts some missile shipments to Ukraine over low stockpiles, Politico reports

The Pentagon has halted some shipments of air defense missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine over concerns that U.S. stockpiles are too low, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the issue.

The decision was made in early June to withhold some aid promised to Kyiv under former President Joe Biden's administration but it is only taking effect now, the report added.


 
Ukraine fears increased Russian aggression after US halt of weapons supply

Kyiv has warned that an interruption of US weapons shipments will encourage Russia to prolong the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

On Tuesday the White House said that it had cut off some weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

The decision was taken "to put America's interests first" following a Department of Defense review of US "military support and assistance to other countries", White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement that "any delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, rather than seek peace."



www.bbc.com

Ukraine fears increased Russian aggression after US halt of weapons supply

On Tuesday the White House said that it had cut off some weapons deliveries to Ukraine in order "to put America's interests first".
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Deputy Russian Navy chief killed in strike near Ukraine border

The deputy head of the Russian Navy has been killed near the Ukrainian border, the Russian military has confirmed.

Major General Mikhail Gudkov, appointed by President Vladimir Putin to the senior naval post in March, was killed during what Russia's defence ministry described as "combat work" in the western Kursk region, which borders Ukraine's Sumy region. The ministry gave no further details about the operation.

Last summer Ukraine launched a surprise offensive in Kursk. While its troops have mostly been driven out, in June Kyiv said it was still holding onto small areas of the region.


www.bbc.com

Deputy Russian Navy chief killed in strike near Ukraine border

Major General Mikhail Gudkov was killed in the Kursk region during what Russia's defence ministry described as "combat work".
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Kyiv hit by barrage of drone strikes as Putin rejects Trump's truce bid

A pall of acrid smoke hung over Kyiv on Friday morning following a night of intensive Russian strikes that hit almost every district of the capital, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The hours of darkness were once again punctuated by the staccato of air defence guns, buzz of drones and large explosions. Ukraine said Russia fired a record 550 drones and 11 missiles during a long night of bombardment.

The strikes came hours after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which Trump said he was "disappointed" that Putin was not ready to end the war against Ukraine.

A woman was killed in Russia following Ukrainian drone attacks, officials said.

The acting governor of Russia's southern Rostov region said she was killed in a strike on a village not far from the Ukrainian border.

Russia's overnight air strikes broke another record, Ukraine's air force said, with 72 of the 550 drones penetrating air defences - up from a previous record of 537 launched last Saturday night.

Air raid alerts sounded for more than eight hours as several waves of attacks struck Kyiv, the "main target of the strikes", the air force said on the messaging app Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned one of the most "demonstratively significant and cynical" attacks of the war, describing a "harsh, sleepless night".

Noting that it came directly after Putin's call with Trump, Zelensky added in a post on Telegram: "Russia once again demonstrates that it does not intend to end the war".

He called on international allies - particularly the US - to increase pressure on Moscow and impose greater sanctions.

Footage shared on social media by Ukraine's state emergency service showed firefighters battling to extinguish fires in Kyiv after Russia's large-scale overnight attack.

At least 23 people were wounded in the attacks on Kyiv, according to Ukrainian authorities, with railway infrastructure damaged and schools, buildings and cars set ablaze across the capital. Poland's foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, said the Polish embassy had also been damaged.

The Russian strikes also hit the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv.

Friday's attacks were the latest in a string of major Russian air strikes on Ukraine that have intensified in recent weeks as ceasefire talks have largely stalled.

War in Ukraine has been raging for more than three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Following his conversation with Putin on Thursday, Trump said that "no progress" to end the fighting had been made.

"I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don't think he's there, and I'm very disappointed," Trump said.

"I'm just saying I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad."

The Kremlin reiterated that it would continue to seek to remove "the root causes of the war in Ukraine". Putin has sought to return Ukraine to Russia's sphere of influence and said last week that "the whole of Ukraine is ours".

Responding to Trump's comments on Friday, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the BBC that as long as it was not possible to secure Russia's aims through political-diplomatic means, "we are continuing our Special Military Operation" - Russia's preferred name for the invasion.

Meanwhile, President Zelensky said that he hoped to speak to Trump about the supply of US weapons after a decision in Washington to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine, including those used for air defences.

Kyiv has warned that the move would impede its ability to defend Ukraine against escalating airstrikes and Russian advances on the frontlines.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said "we're giving weapons" and "we haven't" completely paused the flow of weapons. He blamed former President Joe Biden for "emptying out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves".

BBC
 
Trump, Zelenskiy discuss weapons, escalating Russian strikes

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he discussed air defences in a conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, and agreed to work on increasing Kyiv's capability to "defend the sky" as Russian attacks escalate.

He added in his account on Telegram that he discussed joint defence production, as well as joint purchases and investments with the U.S. leader.

Ukraine has been asking Washington to sell it more Patriot missiles and systems that it sees as key to defending its cities from intensifying Russian air strikes.

A decision by Washington to halt some shipments of weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv that the move would weaken its ability to defend against Russia's airstrikes and battlefield advances. Germany said it is in talks on buying Patriot air defence systems to bridge the gap.

The conversation came a day after Trump said he had a disappointing call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia pummelled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war across the capital, hours after Trump's conversation with Putin on Thursday.

Zelenskiy called the attack "deliberately massive and cynical."

Trump spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, according to Spiegel magazine, citing government sources. The two leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine, including strengthening its air defences, as well as trade issues, Spiegel reported on Friday.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/ae...eapons-escalating-russian-strikes-2025-07-04/
 
Zelenskyy says will work with Trump to ‘strengthen’ Ukraine air defences

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he agreed with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to work to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences, as concerns mounted in Kyiv over US military aid deliveries.

The two leaders had a “very important and fruitful conversation” by phone on Friday, Zelenskyy said.

“We spoke about opportunities in air defence and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies,” he added in a post on the social media platform X.

The president added that he discussed joint defence production, as well as joint purchases and investments, with the US leader.

Meanwhile, US publication Axios, citing an unidentified Ukrainian official and a source with knowledge of the call, said Trump told Zelenskyy he wants to help Ukraine with air defence after escalating attacks from Russia.

This comes a day after the US president spoke to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, in a conversation he said was disappointing.

“I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don’t think he’s there, and I’m very disappointed,” Trump said after the call on Thursday. “I’m just saying I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad.”

Trump said the call with Putin resulted in no progress at all on efforts to end the war, and the Kremlin reiterated that Moscow would keep pushing to solve the conflict’s “root causes”.


www.aljazeera.com

Zelenskyy says will work with Trump to ‘strengthen’ Ukraine air defences

US and Ukrainian leaders discuss defence capabilities on call after Trump ‘disappointed’ by conversation with Putin.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
Russia launches record number of drones at Ukraine after latest Trump-Putin phone call

The smell of smoke and explosives saturated the air in Kyiv on Friday as residents emerged from shelters across the city following a record Russian drone attack that came just hours after US President Donald Trump said he had made “no progress” towards a ceasefire in a call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The massive aerial assault stuck multiple buildings and residential areas in the capital in what has been described by Ukrainian officials as one of the worst attacks of the three-year conflict.

At least one person died in the overnight attack, according to local Kyiv emergency services. Earlier Friday, city and military authorities said at least 23 people were wounded in the attack, which lasted 13 hours. Ukraine intercepted 476 out of a record 539 Russian drones, according to the country’s air force. It said Russia also launched 11 cruise and ballistic missiles. Sixty Russian drones were taken down by Ukraine’s new interceptor drones, regional officials said.

Thousands of residents spent the night in shelters, including in subway stations or underground parking lots, as explosions and the sound of drones echoed through the city in the early hours of Friday morning.


 
Sky News and other propaganda outlets have been leading the British public down the wrong road. Ukraine was never winning against Russia. No chance. Not even with NATO weapons. Ukraine have been systematically dismantled and humiliated. They have been pulverised, there is no light at the end of the tunnel for them.

This is the same Sky news that was siding with India during the Pak/Ind conflict and clearly siding with Israel against Ukraine.

The same fate will be of the Indians and Israelis.
 

@emranabbas @DeadlyVenom @KingKhanWC @Boyka @IronShield @shaz619

This is the same journalist who was wiped the floor with by Marandi. Hindutva+Genocidal fans love her because she runs their narrative for them on Sky. Listen to this horse bollox interview and look at how she is clearly biased in her reporting, in fact she has been misrepresenting facts to another level here!
 
Trump says Ukraine will receive more weapons after US pause on shipments

Donald Trump has said the US will send more weapons to Ukraine after an announcement last week that Washington would halt some shipments of critical arms to Kyiv.

During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said he was "not happy" with Russia's Vladimir Putin and that Ukraine was "getting hit very hard".

Trump also indicated the US would send primarily "defensive weapons" to help Ukraine's war effort.

Among the armaments reported to have been placed on pause last week were Patriot air defence missiles and precision artillery shells. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky had appealed for the shipments to continue, describing US Patriot systems as "real protectors of life".

The White House said last week the decision had been made "to put America's interests first" in response to a defence department review of military support to other countries.

Trump's apparent change of heart came after days of deadly Russian drone and missile barrages on Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv. One attack on the city last Thursday has claimed a third life, according to local officials.

Trump said late on Monday that Kyiv needed to be able to defend itself.

"We're going to send some more weapons. We have to... They're getting hit very hard now," he said during a news conference with Netanyahu.

"I'm disappointed that President Putin has not stopped," he added.

The Pentagon responded with a brief statement, saying that "at President Trump's direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops".

After a week of uncertainty, the US move will come as a relief to Ukraine, says the BBC's Paul Adams in Kyiv.

Kyiv had warned that the move to pause some shipments would impede its ability to defend against escalating airstrikes and Russian advances on the front lines.

Zelensky said late last week that he had spoken to Trump "about opportunities in air defence and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies".

The war in Ukraine has been raging for more than three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ceasefire talks have also largely stalled after several attempts by Trump to broker a deal between the two parties.

Following a call with Putin last week, Trump said that "no progress" to end the conflict had been made, adding "I don't think he's looking to stop".

Hours after the call, Ukraine said Russia fired a record 539 drones and 11 missiles targeting Kyiv, but also hitting the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Chernihiv.

Zelensky has called on international allies - particularly the US - to increase pressure on Moscow and impose greater sanctions.

BBC
 

Russia's Ukraine war efforts could be hampered as Putin given 'recession' warning​


Russia is teetering on the brink of an economic downturn, with warnings sounding as potato prices have soared by a jaw-dropping 167% over the past year, outpacing other food items in cost increases. President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the dire situation in May, stating: "It turns out that we don't have enough potatoes. I spoke with [President of Belarus] Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko. He said: 'We've already sold everything to Russia"

The spike in potato costs is largely due to dismal harvests slashing supply, while financially strapped households are increasingly relying on this traditionally low-cost staple as their purchasing power diminishes. Andrey Sizov, a specialist in Russian commodities, noted that not only potatoes but also butter, eggs, and meat are experiencing price hikes amid scarcities.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Sizov offered his analysis: "My speculation is that supply went down, and actually demand went down a little bit.

Potatoes are not an expensive food. In the previous two years, it was first of all poor Russians who were making more money. So they could consume something else - less potatoes, more meat and butter, for example."

As food costs continue to climb and workforce shortages linger, inflation is proving to be stubbornly persistent, creating deep cracks in the economic landscape. Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov has sounded the alarm, cautioning: "We're basically already on the brink of falling into a recession."

Moscow is feeling the heat to get its economic house in order, according to Alexandra Prokopenko, a Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center fellow and ex-adviser to Russia's central bank.

She warned: "Slowing economic growth coupled with high inflation leaves Russia close to stagflation." Yet, as sanctions dig deeper and the expensive conflict nears its fourth anniversary, Putin's options for economic rejuvenation seem scant.

Prokopenko outlined the dilemma: "The central bank could cut interest rates. But that would risk another surge in inflation. Another option is for the government to increase spending, but this is also more likely to increase prices than stimulate growth."

Russian war efforts could be damaged as Putin warned about 'recession' - World News - News - Daily Express US

The soaring cost of this staple is attributed to poor harvests reducing supplies
www.the-express.com www.the-express.com
 
Trump criticizes Putin after approving more weapons for Ukraine

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had approved sending U.S. defensive weapons to Ukraine and was considering additional sanctions on Moscow, underscoring his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the growing death toll in Russia's war with Ukraine.

Trump, who pledged as a presidential candidate to end the war within a day, has not been able to follow through on that promise and efforts by his administration to broker peace have come up short.

Trump directed his ire at Putin on Tuesday during a meeting with cabinet officials at the White House.
"I'm not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now," Trump said, noting that Russian and Ukrainian soldiers were dying in the thousands.

"We get a lot of ******** thrown at us by Putin ... He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," Trump said

Trump said he was considering whether to support a bill in the Senate that would impose steep sanctions on Russia over the war.

"I'm looking at it very strongly," he said.

The bill, whose lead sponsors are Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, would also punish other countries that trade with Moscow, imposing 500% tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports.


 
Ukraine suffers heaviest attack after Trump criticises Putin

President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has been hit by the biggest ever aerial attack from Russia - 728 drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles hit cities around the country in multiple waves.

Zelensky condemned the "telling attack", adding: "It comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all."

The overnight strike came after President Donald Trump said the US would send more weapons to Kyiv - a reversal of last week's suspension which US media said Trump had not known about.

On Tuesday, the US leader expressed growing frustration at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We get a lot of ******** thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters. "He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."

"He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," Trump said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was "pretty calm about this. Trump's way of talking is generally quite harsh, the phrases he uses."

The two leaders have been in regular contact but this has so far failed to translate into tangible steps towards a ceasefire in Ukraine - something Trump once said he would be able to achieve in a day.

Last week, following a phone call with the Russian president, Trump said he was "very unhappy".

"He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it's no good," Trump said of Putin.

The criticism came even as the Trump administration announced a suspension of military aid to Ukraine, reportedly authorised by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defence for policy.

Asked by reporters on Tuesday who had taken the decision, Trump - sitting right next to Hegseth - replied: "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

The reversal of the decision may now mean that 10 Patriot missiles may be sent to Ukraine, according to US outlet Axios.

Kyiv relies on the interceptors to try to counter Russia's missile and drone attacks, which continue to grow in intensity and frequency.

Although the east of the country and Kyiv come under fire on a regular basis, no corner of Ukraine has been spared by Russian strikes.

The city of Lutsk - which lies 90km (56 miles) from the Polish border and is a transit hub for military and humanitarian aid - suffered the brunt of Tuesday's overnight attack.

Explosions were also reported in the western cities of Lviv and Rivne.

Two rounds of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine took place earlier this year but no other meetings have so far been scheduled - and neither Moscow nor Kyiv appear optimistic that diplomacy will solve the conflict, which was sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, Russia's summer offensive in eastern Ukraine grinds on.

"We are moving forward," said Peskov on Wednesday. "Each new day the Ukrainians have to accept the new realities."

BBC
 
Deadly new Russian drone attack hits Kyiv

Ukraine's capital Kyiv is again under a massive overnight Russian drone attack, local officials say, with at least two people reported killed and 13 injured, and fires burning across the city.

Authorities in Kyiv say drone wreckage hit the roof of a residential building in the central Shevchenkivskyi district.

Footage on social media, as yet unverified by the BBC, shows blasts in the night sky, as air defence units begin repelling the attack. Ukraine's military has also warned of a threat of a ballistic missile attack.

Ukraine reported the biggest ever Russian aerial attack on Tuesday night, after 728 drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles struck cities around the country in multiple waves.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, Kyiv's military administration reported Russian drone strikes in six city districts.

"Residential buildings, vehicles, warehouses, office and non-residential buildings are burning," administration head Tymur Tkachenko said in a post on Telegram.

"Unfortunately, we have two dead," he later said. "These people were killed by the Russians. This is a terrible loss".

In Kyiv's Podilsky district, a primary healthcare centre was "almost completely destroyed", Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said.

City residents have been urged to shelter until the air raid siren is lifted, and also close the windows when they return to their homes because there is a "lot of smoke" in Kyiv.

Overnight, Ukraine's air force reported a threat of Russian drone attacks in a number of regions. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties outside Kyiv.

Russia's military has not commented on the reported latest attack.

In other developments:

  • Ukraine's emergency service DSNS said late on Wednesday that three people had been killed in a Russian air strike in the town of Kostiantynivka - close to the front line in eastern Ukraine
  • The US resumed sending some weapons to Ukraine, Reuters reported late on Wednesday, days after it halted shipments of some critical air defence arms
It comes after US President Donald Trump expressed growing frustration at the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We get a lot of ******** thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters on Tuesday. "He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was "pretty calm about this. Trump's way of talking is generally quite harsh, the phrases he uses".

The two leaders have been in regular contact but this has so far failed to translate into tangible steps towards a ceasefire in Ukraine - something Trump once said he would be able to achieve in a day.

Trump has been threatening sanctions on Russia since taking office in January but has so far not imposed any.

Later on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a summit in Malaysia.

Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

BBC
 
Russia seizes $50 billion in assets as economy shifts during war in Ukraine, research shows

Russian authorities have confiscated assets worth some $50 billion over the past three years, underscoring the scale of the transformation into a "fortress Russia" economic model during the war in Ukraine, research showed on Wednesday.

The conflict has been accompanied by a significant transfer of assets as many Western companies fled the Russian market, others' assets were expropriated and the assets of some major Russian businesses were seized by the state.

In response to what Russia called illegal actions by the West, President Vladimir Putin signed decrees over the past three years allowing the seizure of Western assets, entangling firms ranging from Germany's Uniper to Danish brewer Carlsberg.

Besides the Western assets, major domestic companies have changed hands on the basis of different legal mechanisms including the need for strategic resources, corruption claims, alleged privatisation violations, or poor management.

Moscow law firm NSP (Nektorov, Saveliev & Partners) said that the scale of what it called the "nationalisation", opens new tab amounted to 3.9 billion roubles over three years, and it listed the companies involved.


 
Ukrainian spy colonel gunned down in Kyiv, assailant flees

A senior Ukrainian security officer was gunned down in a residential parking lot in Kyiv on Thursday before his assailant fled on foot in broad daylight, according to authorities and video footage verified by Reuters.

Kyiv's police force said it was working to identify the shooter and that "measures are being taken to detain him". The slain agent was a colonel in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), an official told Reuters.

The SBU, a sprawling domestic spy agency which has thousands of staff, said it had opened a criminal investigation into the murder of one of its employees in Kyiv's southern Holosiivskyi district. They did not identify him.

The agency's remit covers security and counterintelligence, but since Russia's 2022 invasion it has also played a prominent role in special operations against Moscow, including assassinations and sabotage attacks.
Those include an extraordinary drone operation codenamed Spider's Web that targeted Russian strategic aircraft at bases hundreds of miles from Ukraine, and the assassination of a top Russian general in Moscow using a bomb hidden in a scooter.


 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

FearlessRoar
  • Locked
Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan hit fifties as Pakistan reach 143/4 at the end of Day 1 of the first Test against West Indies
3 4 5
Replies
370
Views
8K
Hyder
H
The Bald Eagle
India (249/9) defeat New Zealand (205) by 45 runs to fix a clash with Australia in the first semi-final of ICC Champions Trophy 2025
14 15 16
Replies
1K
Views
23K
giri26
G
FearlessRoar
New Zealand (308/4) defeat South Africa (304/6) by 6 wickets to register their spot in the final of Tri-Nation ODI series 2025
2
Replies
131
Views
4K
BouncerGuy
BouncerGuy
Tera Gawaandi
'Russian invasion of Ukraine must be stopped immediately' : COAS Bajwa
Replies
74
Views
8K
Poseidon
P
FearlessRoar
Pakistan reach 109/3 at the end of Day 2 of the first Test against the West Indies, with a lead of 202 runs
4 5 6
Replies
465
Views
8K
Amjid Javed
Amjid Javed
Back
Top