Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz board train to Kyiv after Vladimir Putin's Red Square military parade
Fico, who broke ranks with the EU by visiting Moscow late last year, arrived in Russia after a circuitous journey made necessary due to Lithuania and other Baltic nations barring his aircraft from their airspace.
He met Putin in the Kremlin late on Friday evening after the parade and said his country wanted to develop relations with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Slovakia's Prime Minister, Robert Fico, at the Kremlin on Friday. Credit: AP
Russian news agencies quoted Fico as telling Putin he opposed the creation of any new 'iron curtain and pledge to do everything so that we can shake hands across a curtain'.
'Let us consider as a childish joke all the technical problems we confronted, created by our European Union colleagues.'
Putin said Russia appreciated Fico's decision to attend despite the 'logistical obstacles that were created. But you are nonetheless here.'
The visit to Ukraine on Saturday by its European allies comes at an unpredictable diplomatic moment in Russia's more than three-year-long war against Ukraine. Trump has been pushing for a rapid peace after tearing up the policies of his predecessor since entering the White House in January.
After engaging directly with Russian officials, clashing publicly with Zelensky and briefly cutting vital military aid to Ukraine, the Trump administration has patched up ties with Kyiv and signed an arduously negotiated minerals deal.
There has also been a palpable shift in tone from Trump, who has signalled growing frustration with Putin's foot-dragging over a ceasefire and Russia's restatement of its demands for a settlement.
Cossacks attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on Friday. Credit: AP
Trump has threatened to step up sanctions against Russia, but he has also said he could abandon the peace effort if there is no breakthrough. He called on Thursday for a 30-day ceasefire, and Zelensky said he would be ready to implement it immediately.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Friday that Russia supports the implementation of a 30-day ceasefire in the conflict, but only with due consideration of 'nuances'.
On the eve of the summit, the US embassy in Kyiv warned of a 'potentially significant' air attack in coming days and told its citizens to be ready to seek shelter in the event of air-raid sirens.
The four foreign leaders will meet Zelensky on Saturday morning (local time) and are expected to pay their respects at a memorial in central Kyiv to honour Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war.
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Perth Now
27 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Four dead, 80 injured in Russian air strikes on Ukraine
Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv killing four people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as powerful explosions reverberated across the country. The early Friday morning attacks followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin, conveyed via US President Donald Trump, that the Kremlin would hit back after Ukrainian drones destroyed several strategic bomber aircraft in attacks deep inside Russia. Zelenskiy said three emergency responders were killed in the missile and drone salvo against the capital. Another person died in an attack on the northwestern city of Lutsk. "Those killed in Kyiv were rescue workers who arrived at the scene of an initial strike and, unfortunately, were killed in a repeat Russian strike," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing on X, said Russia had "'responded' to its destroyed aircraft... by attacking civilians in Ukraine.... Multi-storey buildings hit. Energy infrastructure damaged." Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had carried out the strike on military and military-related targets in response to what it called Ukrainian "terrorist acts" against Russia. Zelenskiy said 80 people nationwide had been injured in the attacks, which also struck several other towns and cities. He said residents could still be trapped under rubble. In Lutsk, the national emergency service said 30 people were injured in addition to the one death. Prosecutors said the attack damaged private homes, educational institutions and a government building. Russian forces also struck industrial facilities and infrastructure in the western city of Ternopil, leaving parts of it without power, Mayor Serhii Nadal said. The regional administration said the attack had injured 10 people and asked residents to temporarily stay inside due to a high concentration of toxic substances in the air after a fire. The air force said Russia had used 407 drones, one of the largest numbers recorded in a single attack. Forty-five cruise and ballistic missiles were also fired, it said. Kyiv's metro transport system was disrupted by a Russian strike that hit and damaged tracks between stations, the military administration said. The state rail company said it was also diverting some trains due to rail damage outside the city. Reuters witnesses reported a series of booming explosions powerful enough to rattle windows far from the impact sites. Some Kyiv residents sought shelter in metro stations, or in underground car parks. In the capital's Solomianskyi district, a Russian drone slammed into the side of an apartment building, leaving a gaping hole and burn marks, a Reuters photographer at the scene said. Falling concrete blocks from the building crushed cars parked below. Two police investigators were examining what appeared to be the drone's engine. Earlier in the night, Reuters reporters heard the sound of Russian kamikaze drones buzzing in the sky, accompanied by the sounds of outgoing fire from Ukrainian anti-aircraft batteries. Zelenskiy called for concerted pressure on Russia. "If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives – that is complicity and accountability. We must act decisively," he wrote on X. The Ukrainian military said it had launched a pre-emptive strike overnight on the Engels and Dyagilevo airfields in the Russian regions of Saratov and Ryazan, in addition to striking at least three fuel reservoirs. In one of the most audacious attacks of the three-year-old war between Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian spies last weekend destroyed some of Russia's strategic bomber aircraft on the ground using quadrocopter drones hidden in wooden sheds. After a phone conversation with Putin on Wednesday, Trump said the Kremlin was planning an unspecified response to the Ukrainian attack on the Russian air bases.
ABC News
35 minutes ago
- ABC News
As Russian planes burned, Putin's military bloggers were 'choking with hurt'
Some members of Vladimir Putin's online army think Ukraine's drone attack on Russian air bases was their Pearl Harbor. Others are in denial about the damage now visible on satellite imagery. And then there are the online accounts that have been boldly outspoken and willing to question, even blame, the Russian establishment for not protecting the country's prized strategic bomber fleet. "When I watched the video of our planes burning, everything inside me was burning. I was choking with hurt," known Russian propagandist Anastasia Kashevarova posted. This group of Telegram and sometimes YouTube warriors is part of Putin's strongman mythology — often faceless and fervent. They staunchly support Russia, but are willing to point the finger at its military brass when they believe the strategy is bad and letting the forces down. They are far from a reliable source of information about Putin's war, but they post often and appear to be well sourced about the Russian apparatus — and that gives them influence online. The ones most loyal to Putin help uphold the facade he has created. Others are loyal to the motherland and its military and, as they dance around directly criticising Putin, they help him too. Vladimir Putin uses military bloggers to direct frustrations over the war towards military officials, analysts say. "The Kremlin tolerates and sometimes platforms these bloggers because their criticism is usually directed at the military or specific officials, not Putin himself," security analyst and hybrid warfare expert Ruslan Trad said. They help Putin deflect failures and, in the wake of Ukraine's drone attack inside Russia, they're busy. The bloggers' love Russia's military might. And now there are verified images of how it's been damaged and, in parts, destroyed. Ukraine says it destroyed up to 13 aircraft in the covert drone attack deep inside Russia. The United States now puts that number at 10, with up to 20 hit in the attack. Via United States President Donald Trump, Putin says retaliation is inevitable. In Russia, state-owned newspapers might have buried stories and images detailing the attack but, in the so-called "milblogger" corner of the internet, you will find pro-Russian, even pro-war critics of the men running Putin's war. Ukraine has released images purported to show drones used in the attack on Russian air bases. ( Reuters ) Telegram lights up after attack Russia's military and mercenary presence around the world was being documented online by some of these so-called "Z" accounts before Putin's war in Ukraine, but the accounts' follower lists exploded after February 2022. Telegram is the platform of choice for these warhead influencers. The app is not state-owned — it belongs to a Russian French dual citizen — so the fact the Kremlin hasn't blocked it or shut it down is notable. These accounts are permitted to be critical because Putin knows he needs to give any rumbling frustrations an outlet. "This criticism serves as a pressure release for public anger and helps the Kremlin manage elite competition within the state," Trad said. "However, when bloggers cross certain red lines — such as directly attacking Putin or threatening regime stability — they risk arrest or censorship. "The Kremlin tolerates criticism that does not undermine Putin's personal authority or the overall legitimacy of the regime, but it cracks down if bloggers become too influential or shift blame to the top." Their influence has massively grown over the course of the invasion, and with it, their access too, with them now regularly posting from the battlefield or providing first-hand accounts from soldiers. After trucks parked in not-at-all random locations across Russia exploded with first-person view drones and set aircraft covered in spare tyres on fire, Telegram lit up too. Referencing a video, which has not been verified, of men trying to stop drones as they lifted up out of a semi-trailer container, blogger Anastasia Kashevarova said: "This is truly a symbol of what is happening." "People created and built all this, and now we can't even preserve it, let alone increase it. When will this disgrace and inaction end?" For a regime that holds tight control over what the world gets to really know about it, and one that crushes signs of dissent, the commentary from military bloggers occupies a unique place in Russia's media landscape. "In general, Russian military bloggers are both amplifiers and critics of the Kremlin's war narrative," Mr Trad said. "While they are nationalist and pro-war, they often highlight failures or shortcomings in the Russian military's conduct, providing a more detailed and sometimes critical perspective than state media." Trad said the arrangement allowed Putin to use the military bloggers "as a tool to pressure or scapegoat military leaders". That pressure is now building. Aerospace forces commander-in-chief Viktor Afzalov and former defence minister Sergei Shoigu — now secretary of Russia's Security Council — are among those being publicly singled out for blame. Influential blogger Voyenkor Kotenok said Shoigu had promised as far back as April 2021 to build more than 300 reinforced concrete shelters for aircraft, but this had not happened. He also publicly rejected any excuse that the bases were deep enough inside Russia that they could have been considered safe. Ukraine was able to strike the Belaya air base more than 4,000 kilometres inside Russia, and the Olenya facility in the Arctic Circle. According to Kotenok, military officials "relied on chance". "The result is a strong slap in the face and invaluable experience for the enemy, including strategic, which will apply the results of the operation to other objects, including those related to submarine bases, chemical production and nuclear research, but they saved on shelters. How did this saving pay off?" This is a typical piece of criticism — directed at military officials, rooted in the need to protect and defend Russia's military and always with a strategic bent. "Many military bloggers are intensely focused on military hardware, strategy, and operational details. The destruction or damage of strategic bombers — a core element of Russia's nuclear triad — provokes particular outrage," Trad said. By analysing the position the aircraft were left in on the tarmacs where some were damaged, and seemingly destroyed, it's possible to see Russia's apparent attempt at decoys, rather than protective measures. Painted on the tarmac are outlines of planes, visible from satellite imagery. Trad said Ukraine's drone strike triggered an outcry among military bloggers, and that "many reacted with anger and alarm, calling the attack a 'Russian Pearl Harbor'", a description he described as an exaggeration and "rather emotional". Blogger Roman Alekhin said Moscow had underestimated Ukraine's ability to strike inside Russia and was one of the voices comparing the so-called Operation Spider's Web to Japan's attack on the US Navy at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. At Pearl Harbor in 1941, more than 2,000 members of the US military were killed and 180 American aircraft were destroyed. Then there are, of course, the accounts that are very busy posting most of the time, but when Russia suffers an obvious blow, they are subdued or downplay the damage. There is significant diversity among military bloggers. "Some are openly critical of military failures and call for accountability, while others echo the official line, downplay setbacks, or issue threats of retaliation against Ukraine and the West," Trad said. "Bloggers closely tied to state media or with government roles tend to reinforce Kremlin narratives and avoid criticising Putin. Meanwhile, independent or ultra-nationalist bloggers are often more candid about problems, though even they usually stop short of directly blaming Putin." There have been some who massively downplayed the damage inflicted by Ukraine's drone attack, but those strikes "were widely seen as exposing serious vulnerabilities in Russia's defences," Trad said. The satellite evidence Bouncing around Telegram, scattered and often buried by the criticism of Russia's military officials and threats of retaliation, are screenshots, maps and videos that both evidence what Ukraine was able to achieve and anger the online mob. Putin may have sent a threat of retaliation to Ukraine via Trump, but the Kremlin has otherwise not given the attack any oxygen. The Russian Defence Ministry issued a brief statement in which it sought to minimise the success of Ukraine's covert and long-running operation. It said Ukraine tried to strike five airfields, but was only successful at two of them. The statement did not give much more detail and did not mention any aircraft being destroyed, only that "several" caught fire. Based on its analysis, Ukrainian open-source intelligence group AviVector believes the Ukrainian attack took out 11 bombers and a transport aircraft at Russia's Olenya and Belaya airfields. Satellite images that show the wreckage of destroyed aircraft at the two airfields appear to back that up. Damage at Olenya: Damage at Belaya: As open-source experts pore over the available details, Ukraine has released new footage of its drones striking the Russian aircraft. The new video, which has been verified by Reuters, shows a series of Ukrainian drones buzzing down to explode near aircraft that were sitting in the open. As more details emerge of what went into Operation Spider's Web and Ukraine's publicity machine makes the most of this moment, the criticism from Russia's military bloggers is gathering pace. They're accusing military leadership of negligence, complacency, and corruption, and questioning how such valuable assets were left exposed. As has been the case historically, despite the evidence of Russia's losses, this criticism may be allowed to continue as long as it does not turn towards President Vladimir Putin.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Nationals Leader David Littleproud demand Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rules out kowtowing on US beef imports
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 'needs to' immediately rule out kowtowing to Donald Trump on biosecurity laws on US beef imports, Nationals Leader David Littleproud has demanded. Government officials reportedly told The Sydney Morning Herald that Australia could alter its biosecurity laws to allow US beef exports without risks to local industry, in a move to appease Trump as he wages his trade war. Australia banned US beef in 2003 after a mad cow disease outbreak before undoing this in 2019 when the outbreak subsided. Cattle raised in Mexico and Canada but slaughtered in the US is still banned, however, this could be changed according to the report. Mr Littleproud raised concerns about Australia's cattle industry on Friday and urged the Prime Minister not to use the sector as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the US President. 'There needs to be certainty. The Prime Minister needs to rule it out immediately,' the Nationals Leader said on Sky News. 'He needs to make sure that he's very clear with Australian producers that our biosecurity standards will not be reduced and that … if we want to get imports that originated from Mexico or Canada, that there's some traceability on it like Australian producers have.' He called for the Prime Minister to be transparent with Australian beef producers as concerns fester about the nation's biosecurity following this report. 'I don't think Australian producers are asking for anything unfair here, they're just trying to protect their production systems, making sure that they can not only feed Australians but feed the world,' Mr Littleproud said. 'The Prime Minister and his department who are mooting these things need to be very, very clear with Australian beef producers that it's not on the table and it won't be on the table at all. 'But when you start getting these reports - you don't start seeing these reports unless there's smoke and when there's smoke, there's fire.' Australia exports more than $4b of beef to the US annually, making it the largest market for Aussie beef exports behind China. After Trump revealed his sweeping tariffs and invited impacted nations to negotiate, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed to protect the nation's biosecurity laws, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and news publishers against tech giants. 'We will not weaken the measures that protect our farmers and producers from the risks of disease or contamination,' he said in a statement. Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker issued a statement highlighting the importance of traceability for foreign-produced beef. 'Our position is that the US needs to be able to demonstrate it can either trace cattle born in Mexico and Canada, or has systems that are equivalent to Australia's traceability, before imports of meat could occur from non-US cattle,' Mr Parker said. 'Cattle Australia is in ongoing communication with the Federal Government regarding this issue and the vital importance that our science-based biosecurity system is not compromised as part of trade discussions with any country.' Mr Albanese is expected to have a meeting with Trump either on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada or in the US later in June where the Prime Minister will make Australia's case for tariff exemptions. Australia faces 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium alongside a broad 10 per cent levy on all goods, which is still paused by the Trump Administration.
