Putin says he's open to meeting Zelensky, even as he denies his legitimacy
Days after a Russian attack on Kyiv destroyed apartment blocks and killed 28 people, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied in remarks published Thursday that Moscow was targeting civilians and said he was open to meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, even while still questioning his legitimacy.
Putin spoke to international news agencies late Wednesday on the margins of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum as the U.S.-sponsored peace process has been faltering, with little progress toward any kind of cessation of hostilities.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Russia to return 5 Ukrainian children separated from families by war
Russia announced on Thursday that it is returning to Ukraine five children who have been separated from their families by the war. Maria Lvova-Belova, the Kremlin's commissioner of children's rights, told reporters that the Ukrainian children will be reunited with their families in Ukraine by the end of this month. The children were on a list of 339 children that Ukrainian officials gave their Russian counterparts during the last round of peace talks earlier this month in Istanbul, Turkey -- negotiations that failed to bring the three-year war to an end. In response to a question from the Russian news agency Interfax, Lvova-Belova, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, said the delay in sending the Ukrainian children back to their county was "due to their studies." "They are finishing the school year and after that they will return to their relatives in Ukraine," she said. Lvova-Belova did not mention status of the other children on Ukraine's list. MORE: How Trump's threats to abandon Ukraine war pose battlefield conundrums for Kyiv According to Lvova-Belova, Russia is preparing its own list of Russian children believed to be in Ukraine. She said it will be handed over to Ukrainian officials whenever the next round of negotiations is scheduled. MORE: Ukrainian children who fled Russia's invasion transform Ukrainian school in Canada "We also have children in Ukraine who require reunification with Russian families," Lvova-Belova said. "At the moment, we have eight children on the list who are in EU countries. They were evacuated there from Ukraine, and their parents are in Russia. And from Ukraine, we have about 10 people, with whom we are also currently negotiating their return." Ukrainian officials have alleged that many of the country's children have been abducted and taken to Russia since the war began in February 2022, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine. MORE: Trump faces mounting pressure at home and abroad as he weighs options on Iran In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children. The Kremlin, however, has denied the allegations, saying the children were taken out of war zones for their own protection. ABC News' Anna Sergeeva contributed to this report.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
In Iran, daily life is ‘filled with constant fear and distrust'
After days of tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Iran, for the civilians caught up in Israel's bombing campaign, life is filled with uncertainty. 'This is war,' one 58-year-old father of two in the capital, Tehran, told CNN, adding, 'no one really understands what that means.' A week into the conflict, Iranians' contact with the outside world is difficult, hampered by sporadic internet and phone coverage. Some – typically wealthy activists – have access to Starlink terminals providing independent internet access. Speaking through voice recordings, messages and occasional calls, all the people interviewed asked CNN not to reveal their full names for fear of retribution from Iran's authorities. Life has found a new wartime rhythm, they said, with local shops still open but some accepting payment on credit, the father of two told CNN. Unable to withdraw money from Iran's Sepah Bank, this credit has become a lifeline. 'We have electricity but gasoline is useless to us because we have nowhere to go outside Tehran,' he said, after long lines of traffic departing the capital were seen in recent days. Glued to the TV watching an outlawed Iranian broadcaster based in London, he said his family hadn't left their house in recent days. 'Daily life is filled with constant fear and distrust,' he said. From Shiraz in southern Iran, a 55-year-old English teacher described a 'huge group of people waiting' to withdraw cash at a bank branch in the city center. 'The workers were completely overwhelmed and said they just cannot process all these requests for cash. I wouldn't say it was chaotic, but I do feel there is an underlying feeling of panic,' he said. 'It feels like a missile is following me. I go to Karaj and they bomb there. I come to Tehran and they bomb here,' a 27-year-old conscript soldier told CNN. Posted in Tehran, he was able to visit family in Karaj at the weekend, but in the capital is prohibited by military rules from using his phone or other devices. 'We can't even check the news.' A hairdresser from Shiraz lamented the destruction being inflicted: 'I don't even know what to say. You watch the videos, the photos. People are being killed, our country is being looted, falling apart like this.' 'Israel and the US don't care about the Iranian people,' she said. 'You want to hit the real target, but it's surrounded by ordinary people. They're destroying the country.' 'Rebuilding all this may take decades, if not longer, and in the end it's we the people who will have to bear the cost,' a 22-year-old janitor of an apartment building in Tehran told CNN. More than 200 people have been killed in Iran, according to Tehran, with Israel's strikes taking out much of the key leadership in the country's military and nuclear program. But Iran has accused Israel of also targeting its energy and digital infrastructure. 'We are paying the price for a dictatorship and its arrogance,' shared a nurse from Mashad, northeast Iran, whose father was a decorated war veteran. 'But now that all its forces (in the region) have been destroyed, it seems that its own turn has come,' she added. Watching the attacks on a deeply unpopular regime, some Iranians confessed to welcoming the strikes, even as civilians were caught up in the bombings. 'I want to say what I truly feel,' a student from Shiraz told CNN, 'I don't know what I'll be judged for, what I'll be accused of. 'Still, I'll say it, I'm genuinely happy. Really, deeply happy!' she added. 'I believe it's worth it, for the sake of future generations.' But a week into the fighting, even as diplomatic channels for peace start to coalesce, there's still no sign of an end to the bombings. Uncertainty has only been fueled by US President Donald Trump teasing the possibility of US aircraft joining the bombing campaign. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has slammed Trump's call for surrender, warning that America's involvement in Israel's military campaign would '100% be at their loss.' Other Iranians share his defiance. 'The mood in Iran is starting to morph into an environment of nationalism,' according to a 69-year-old Iranian-American woman visiting Tehran. 'I saw a lot of cars waving the Islamic Republic flag from their windows as we drove out of town.' 'I lost a son during the Iran-Iraq War and will be happy to fight America and the Zionists again,' a 78-year-old mosque caretaker from Isfahan told CNN, 'Those who love martyrdom cannot be defeated.' The prospects of peace look slim, one engineering student from Mashad told CNN. 'Now that Trump has come this far, he will see it through to the end. They don't let a wounded bear go free,' she said.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
In Iran, daily life is ‘filled with constant fear and distrust'
After days of tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Iran, for the civilians caught up in Israel's bombing campaign, life is filled with uncertainty. 'This is war,' one 58-year-old father of two in the capital, Tehran, told CNN, adding, 'no one really understands what that means.' A week into the conflict, Iranians' contact with the outside world is difficult, hampered by sporadic internet and phone coverage. Some – typically wealthy activists – have access to Starlink terminals providing independent internet access. Speaking through voice recordings, messages and occasional calls, all the people interviewed asked CNN not to reveal their full names for fear of retribution from Iran's authorities. Life has found a new wartime rhythm, they said, with local shops still open but some accepting payment on credit, the father of two told CNN. Unable to withdraw money from Iran's Sepah Bank, this credit has become a lifeline. 'We have electricity but gasoline is useless to us because we have nowhere to go outside Tehran,' he said, after long lines of traffic departing the capital were seen in recent days. Glued to the TV watching an outlawed Iranian broadcaster based in London, he said his family hadn't left their house in recent days. 'Daily life is filled with constant fear and distrust,' he said. From Shiraz in southern Iran, a 55-year-old English teacher described a 'huge group of people waiting' to withdraw cash at a bank branch in the city center. 'The workers were completely overwhelmed and said they just cannot process all these requests for cash. I wouldn't say it was chaotic, but I do feel there is an underlying feeling of panic,' he said. 'It feels like a missile is following me. I go to Karaj and they bomb there. I come to Tehran and they bomb here,' a 27-year-old conscript soldier told CNN. Posted in Tehran, he was able to visit family in Karaj at the weekend, but in the capital is prohibited by military rules from using his phone or other devices. 'We can't even check the news.' A hairdresser from Shiraz lamented the destruction being inflicted: 'I don't even know what to say. You watch the videos, the photos. People are being killed, our country is being looted, falling apart like this.' 'Israel and the US don't care about the Iranian people,' she said. 'You want to hit the real target, but it's surrounded by ordinary people. They're destroying the country.' 'Rebuilding all this may take decades, if not longer, and in the end it's we the people who will have to bear the cost,' a 22-year-old janitor of an apartment building in Tehran told CNN. More than 200 people have been killed in Iran, according to Tehran, with Israel's strikes taking out much of the key leadership in the country's military and nuclear program. But Iran has accused Israel of also targeting its energy and digital infrastructure. 'We are paying the price for a dictatorship and its arrogance,' shared a nurse from Mashad, northeast Iran, whose father was a decorated war veteran. 'But now that all its forces (in the region) have been destroyed, it seems that its own turn has come,' she added. Watching the attacks on a deeply unpopular regime, some Iranians confessed to welcoming the strikes, even as civilians were caught up in the bombings. 'I want to say what I truly feel,' a student from Shiraz told CNN, 'I don't know what I'll be judged for, what I'll be accused of. 'Still, I'll say it, I'm genuinely happy. Really, deeply happy!' she added. 'I believe it's worth it, for the sake of future generations.' But a week into the fighting, even as diplomatic channels for peace start to coalesce, there's still no sign of an end to the bombings. Uncertainty has only been fueled by US President Donald Trump teasing the possibility of US aircraft joining the bombing campaign. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has slammed Trump's call for surrender, warning that America's involvement in Israel's military campaign would '100% be at their loss.' Other Iranians share his defiance. 'The mood in Iran is starting to morph into an environment of nationalism,' according to a 69-year-old Iranian-American woman visiting Tehran. 'I saw a lot of cars waving the Islamic Republic flag from their windows as we drove out of town.' 'I lost a son during the Iran-Iraq War and will be happy to fight America and the Zionists again,' a 78-year-old mosque caretaker from Isfahan told CNN, 'Those who love martyrdom cannot be defeated.' The prospects of peace look slim, one engineering student from Mashad told CNN. 'Now that Trump has come this far, he will see it through to the end. They don't let a wounded bear go free,' she said.
