Russian activist who helped Ukrainian refugees jailed for 22 years
Nadezhda Rossinskaya, who also goes by the name Nadin Geisler, ran a volunteer group called 'Army of Beauties,' which claims to have helped evacuate thousands of people from Russian-occupied territory — numbers that could not be independently verified.
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Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
Canada's top soldier joins NATO talks on potential Ukraine peace plan
Published Aug 20, 2025 • 3 minute read New Chief of the Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan speaks to the crowd during the change of command ceremony held at the War Museum in Ottawa, July 18, 2024. Photo by Jean Levac / Postmedia Network OTTAWA — The head of Canada's military spoke with other top soldiers across the NATO alliance Wednesday, as they seek options for upholding peace in Ukraine if a ceasefire comes into force. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan was among those who took part in a virtual discussion with her counterparts from 32 countries. 'We welcome the willingness of the U.S. to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, which are essential to a durable peace agreement and support broader efforts to provide support to Ukraine,' wrote military spokesman Kened Sadiku. U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to broker a deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, though analysts fear any deal that would reward Moscow for its 2014 and 2022 invasions. Ukraine said it needs 'security guarantees' from other countries that can ensure Russia won't mount another invasion, while Moscow has called for Ukraine to be barred from membership in groups like NATO or the European Union. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Trump has erroneously suggested Ukraine started the conflict, and has said the U.S. won't send troops into Ukraine but might provide air support to maintain peace. Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone said the video call was a 'candid discussion' with 'tangible' unity. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chided the talks, and any efforts to work on security arrangements in Ukraine without Moscow's involvement. Wednesday's call follows discussions that Prime Minister Mark Carney had with leaders from NATO countries as well as Japan and Australia on how to support peace in Ukraine. Those countries are part of the 'Coalition of the Willing,' a group of countries that have offered to help fund or staff a peacekeeping force on Ukrainian territory. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Marcus Kolga, a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said Wednesday's NATO discussion likely surrounds how co-ordination would work if there is any ceasefire in Ukraine, such as how weapons that allies purchase from the U.S. arrive in Ukraine. Kolga said it's 'extremely unlikely that there is some sort of a peace agreement,' but allies want to have plans for dispatching western peacekeepers to ensure guarantees are upheld, including who participates and which countries might lead such a force. Canada would most likely help with logistics in establishing a mission in Ukraine, Kolga said. In theory, Canada could transfer some of the troops it has already deployed to Latvia, as part of a NATO mission to disincentivize Russia from invading that Baltic country, Kolga said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Shifting some of those troops to Ukraine logistically probably wouldn't be that challenging, if it's just soldiers,' he said. 'It will really be an international effort. It won't be one country, I don't think, providing too much more support than any others.' Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, took note of deadly Russian airstrikes on Ukraine that took place overnight into Wednesday. 'Russia is still at war with Ukraine. We all need to do more to help Ukrainians fight back. It is strength on the ground and in the air that will lead to an end to the war,' he wrote. 'We have to push back hard. The Russian leadership doesn't want peace. They want Ukraine, and all of it. Ignoring that fact will be a fatal mistake.' — With files from The Associated Press. Read More Columnists Toronto & GTA Ontario Columnists Ontario
The Province
2 hours ago
- The Province
An unidentified flying object has crashed and exploded in Poland's east
Published Aug 20, 2025 • Last updated 4 hours ago • 1 minute read Police lights. Photo by Matt Rourke / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WARSAW, Poland — Poland's defence minister said that a flying object that crashed and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland early Wednesday was identified as a Russian drone, calling it a provocation by Russia. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors At a news conference in Warsaw, Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz accused Russia of provoking NATO during a crucial moment, as peace talks over the war in neighbouring Ukraine are underway, the country's news agency PAP reported. 'Russia is provoking us once again,' Kosiniak-Kamysz said, just as peace talks have given hope that the war 'has a chance of ending.' Police said they received reports of the crash around 2 a.m. and found burned metal and plastic debris at the scene, near the village of Osiny. The blast broke windows in some nearby houses, but nobody was injured, PAP reported. Poland's Armed Forces Operational Command said Wednesday on social media that no violations of Polish airspace from neighbouring Ukraine or Belarus were recorded overnight. Officials initially said the explosion may have been caused by a part of an old engine with a propeller. Lublin District Prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz told reporters several investigators — both civilian and military — were examining the crash site. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, there have been a number of intrusions into Polish airspace, raising alarm in the European Union and NATO member state and reminding people how close the war is. Local News Opinion Local News World Local News
3 hours ago
Trump administration sanctions Canadian judge who sits on International Criminal Court
ICC jurists Nicolas Guillou of France, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal were also sanctioned, with the State Department linking the decision to the tribunal's investigation into Israel's actions (new window) in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. As a result of the sanctions, any assets they hold in U.S. jurisdictions are frozen. The court said on Wednesday that it deplored the sanctions (new window) , calling them "a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 [countries] from all regions. They constitute also an affront against [these countries], the rules-based international order and, above all, millions of innocent victims across the world, the statement continued. The ICC will continue fulfilling its mandates, undeterred, in strict accordance with its legal framework as adopted by the States Parties and without regard to any restriction, pressure or threat. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is shown in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 6. The State Department says Judge Kimberly Prost of Canada was sanctioned for ruling to authorize the ICC's investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. Photo: Associated Press / Mark Schiefelbein In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the court a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel and said the U.S. has remained steadfast in its opposition to the ICC's illegitimate judicial overreach. I urge countries that still support the ICC, many of whose freedom was purchased at the price of great American sacrifices, to resist the claims of this bankrupt institution, he said. The move drew ire from France and the United Nations, with Paris urging Washington to withdraw the sanctions. The ICC previously condemned the actions of the Trump administration, calling it an attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution. Canada's Prost joins a growing list of ICC judges facing similar sanctions. This second round of sanctions comes less than three months after the U.S. administration took the unprecedented step of imposing sanctions on four other ICC judges (new window) . It represents a serious escalation that will likely impede the functioning of the court and the prosecutor's office as they deal with major cases, including war crimes allegations against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The ICC, which was established in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in member states or if a situation is referred by the United Nations Security Council. War crimes investigations Prost served on an ICC appeals chamber that, in March 2020, unanimously authorized the court's prosecutor to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan since 2003, including examining the role of U.S. service members. Since 2021, the investigation has deprioritized the role of the U.S. and focused on alleged crimes committed by the Afghan government and the Taliban forces. ICC judges issued arrest warrants (new window) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defence chief Yoav Gallant last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. A warrant for the same alleged crimes was also issued for Hamas official Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, who is said by the Israeli military to have been killed in July 2024. The exterior of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, is shown on March 12. Photo: Associated Press / Omar Havana Guillou is an ICC judge who presided over a pre-trial panel that issued the arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Khan and Niang are the court's two deputy prosecutors. Netanyahu's office issued a statement welcoming the latest U.S. sanctions. Although the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in its 125 member countries, some nations, including the United States, China, Russia and Israel, do not recognize its authority. It has high-profile war crimes investigations underway into the Israel-Hamas conflict and Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as in Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines and Venezuela. 'Role is essential' Both France and the UN said the jurists' work is crucial for international justice. "Their role is essential in the fight against impunity," a statement from the French Foreign Affairs Ministry said. The U.S. sanctions undermine the foundation of international justice, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, adding: "The [U.S.] decision imposes severe impediments on the functioning of the office of the prosecutor." The U.S. administration's dislike of the court goes back to President Donald Trump's first term. In 2020, the White House imposed sanctions on then-chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (new window) and one of her top aides over the court's work on Afghanistan. With files from CBC News and The Canadian Press
