Zelensky says 'America's silence only encourages Putin' after deadly air strikes
After his people had endured a terrifying night bombarded by 69 missiles and 298 drones in attacks that left 12 people dead and hundreds injured, Volodymyr Zelensky turned his fury on the US
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Russian air strikes as 'terrorist' attacks against civilians. After his people had endured a terrifying night bombarded by 69 missiles and 298 drones in attacks that left 12 people dead and hundreds injured, Mr Zelensky turned his fury on the US.
While Donald Trump was giving a rambling, bizarre speech to US military graduates, his Ukrainian counterpart was blaming his inaction for enabling Vladimir Putin. Mr Zelensky said: 'America's silence, and the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin.' Three children, aged eight, 12 and 15, had been killed in a town close to the capital Kyiv, and a man in his 70s had died in the southern city of Mykolaiv.
Mr Zelensky said: 'These were deliberate strikes on ordinary cities. Ordinary residential buildings were destroyed and damaged. Rescuers have been working in more than 30 Ukrainian cities and villages following Russia 's massive strike. Each such terrorist Russian strike is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia. Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day.'
Mr Zelensky demanded that the US put more pressure on Putin. He continued: 'Determination matters now, the determination of the US, the determination of European countries, and all those in the world who want peace.'
It was his strongest attack on Donald Trump since their public row in the White House three months ago, when US Vice President JD Vance accused Mr Zelensky of being 'disrespectful' to Trump, who told the Ukraine leader he should be more 'thankful' and that he had no 'cards' to play in negotiations with Russia. Both men were later accused of bullying Mr Zelensky.
Last month, Mr Trump criticised Putin and suggested a shift in his stance after a meeting Mr Zelensky before the Pope's funeral.
The scale of the latest missile attacks prompted the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, to call for 'the strongest international pressure on Russia to stop this war'.
She said: 'Last night's attacks again show Russia bent on more suffering and the annihilation of Ukraine. Devastating to see children among innocent victims.'
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said: 'A difficult Sunday morning in Ukraine after a sleepless night. The most massive Russian air attack in many weeks.'
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, said there had been 'already 10 injured in the capital'.
Mr Klitschko said a student college dormitory in the Holosiivskyi district had been hit by a drone and the building set on fire.
The attacks meant the popular Kyiv Day bank holiday – celebrated on the last Sunday in May – began with residents seeking shelter in metro stations and basements.
Ukraine Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, said 13 regions had been attacked in a 'ruthless strike aimed at civilians'. It has emerged that Russia is now able to manufacture drones at a much faster rate than before and the weapons are evolving. Shahed drones are now packed with more explosives and have technology enabling them to more successfully evade detection.
Ukraine said that over the entire weekend Russian strikes hit at least 22 separate locations. Russia said it had downed 110 Ukrainian drones.The latest attacks came a day after the Ukrainian capital Kyiv suffered one of the heaviest assaults since the start of the Russian invasion.
Saturday's attacks, which killed 13 people, came as diplomatic efforts resulted in prisoner exchanges. More than 500 Russian and Ukrainian prisoners were exchanged yesterday.
Russia's defence ministry said it was the final phase of the 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange the two sides had agreed to in the meeting between Kyiv and Moscow last week.
The talks in Istanbul were the first time the two sides had met face to face for peace talks since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, Trump and Putin had a two-hour phone call to discuss a US-proposed ceasefire deal. Trump said he believed the call had gone 'very well', and claimed Russia and Ukraine would immediately start' negotiations toward a ceasefire and 'an end to the war'.
Putin said Russia would work with Ukraine to craft a 'memorandum' on a 'possible future peace', but had not accepted a 30-day ceasefire.
Last night it was reported that Putin is amassing 50,000 troops for a fresh summer offensive on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
39 minutes ago
- Reuters
Spain pays first arbitration award in long-running renewable subsidies dispute
MADRID, June 5 (Reuters) - The Spanish government has agreed to pay 32 million euros ($37 million) to a U.S. fund to end a legal dispute tied to renewable energy subsidies that were cut over a decade ago, an Energy Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday. Foreign investors, mostly investment funds, took legal action against Spain after the previous conservative government cut renewables subsidies in 2013 to reduce a power tariff deficit built up through years of artificially low prices. U.S. fund Blasket Renewable Investments had acquired the rights to the award from Japan's JGC Holdings Corporation, which won it under a 2021 ruling by the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. In 2024, the court shot down Spain's attempt to annul the decision. Since the arbitration proceeding was from a non-EU investor, the payment doesn't clash with a March decision by the European Commission that told Spain not to pay up in a similar case as it would be a breach of EU state aid rules - which prevent governments from giving unfair advantages to one firm over competitors. Cases from non-EU investors represent only 5% of the total, the spokesperson said, adding that Spain continued to pursue all legal avenues to defend its interests. So far, Spain has been ordered to pay around 1.5 billion euros in various cases and the country has been able to reduce by 85% the amount demanded by investors, the spokesperson said. ($1 = 0.8754 euros)
Reuters
39 minutes ago
- Reuters
EU a 'reliable partner' for digital cooperation amid turbulence, tech chief says
BRUSSELS, June 5 (Reuters) - The European Union will work with international partners to boost its competitiveness and promote a rules-based global digital order, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said on Thursday, a move aimed at offsetting turbulent ties with the United States. The U.S. administration has in recent months criticised the European Commission for its swathe of new rules reining in the power of Big Tech and threatened to impose tariffs in retaliation for fines levied on U.S. tech giants. Under the proposed International Digital Strategy announced on Thursday, the 27-country bloc will collaborate with other countries for a secure and trusted digital infrastructure in energy, transport, finance and health, the European Commission said. Other areas of cooperation include emerging technologies, digital governance that fosters social cohesion and protects democratic principles, cybersecurity and protecting children on online platforms. "We are living through a profound digital revolution that is reshaping economies and societies worldwide. This is happening in a geopolitical landscape that is more challenging than before," Virkkunen told a press conference. "In this environment, the EU is stepping forward as a stable and reliable partner, deeply committed to digital cooperation with our allies and partners," she said. Virkkunen said the proposed strategy had two prongs - the first is to boost the bloc's competitiveness in key technologies like AI, quantum cybersecurity or semiconductors, and the second is to help other countries in their digital goals. "Crucially, it reaffirms the EU's unwavering commitment to building a rules-based global digital order, rooted firmly in our fundamental values. Indeed, no country or region can lead the technological revolution alone," she said.
Reuters
44 minutes ago
- Reuters
The world's auto supply chain is in the hands of a few Chinese bureaucrats
BEIJING, June 5 (Reuters) - In a hulking grey building just east of Tiananmen square in Beijing, a small team in China's Ministry of Commerce is deciding the fate of the global auto industry, one rare earth magnet export permit at a time. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets - a crucial component in electric vehicle motors - and it added them to an export control list in April as part of its trade war with the United States, forcing all exporters to apply to Beijing for licenses. It falls to the Bureau of Industrial Security and Import and Export Control - which is part of China's Ministry of Commerce - to review export permits for the rare earth magnets, which are vital for car motors, wind turbines and even U.S. F-35 fighter jets. While dozens of licences have been issued since late April, executives, lobbyists and diplomats say they are only a small fraction of the applications that have flooded in from automakers, semiconductor companies and aerospace firms around the world since the tougher export controls were introduced. Washington says delays in issuing export licences show China is reneging on commitments made during trade talks in Geneva last month and it has retaliated with export curbs on plane engine parts and other equipment. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks by phone on Thursday as the escalating dispute over China's rare earth stranglehold threatened to derail the fragile trade truce agreed between the two superpowers. When the new rare earth magnet measures came in, the export control bureau had a total of just 30 staff, though this has since been doubled to around 60, according to two sources who were briefed on a meeting between the ministry and Chinese and European semiconductor firms last week. "We appreciate that MOFCOM has increased its resources to address demand and they're working hard and long hours on these issues," said Adam Dunnett, Secretary General of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, referring to the ministry. "But the reality is this is having a huge impact on a wide variety of sectors. It's something that could have been better planned and rolled out," he said. According to personnel records posted to the Ministry of Commerce's website in June 2024, there are only three senior officials within the bureau who can approve the export permits. The ministry's website lists the export licence bureau's office hours as: Weekdays, 8:30-11:30 a.m., 14:00-17:00 p.m. Reuters was unable to determine current staffing levels or whether more officials are now able to approve applications. The Ministry of Commerce did not respond to questions from Reuters on this subject. The global alarm over shortages underscores the enormous leverage China has acquired through its near-monopoly on rare earth production. It also reveals a complex bureaucratic process that has gone from checkpoint to chokepoint. "The process for our suppliers to apply for export licences for various rare earths ... since April, is complex and time-consuming, partly due to the need to collect and provide a lot of information," a spokesperson for Bosch, the German engineering and technology multinational, said last month. A Chinese-language guide to the process published by the Ministry in late March runs to almost 14,000 Mandarin characters. European auto suppliers alone have filed hundreds of requests since early April, with only about a quarter granted. These applications can range from dozens to hundreds of pages, according to sources who have either filed requests or been briefed about them. Public Ministry of Commerce guidelines require information including technical product descriptions, signed contracts. Descriptions of production facilities and photos of products are also encouraged. China's stated aim is to ensure dual-use items don't end up in military equipment, but officials are often overly cautious even though many applications clearly state commercial use, Dunnett said. "Another concern we have heard from some companies is that they are being asked for sensitive and excessive information that is part of their intellectual property which has led to delays in their applications," Dunnett added. While applications are meant to be processed in 45 working days, the ministry says applications related to national security will take longer, without defining how long. Cory Combs, head of critical mineral and supply chain research at Trivium China, a policy research group, said it was not clear whether the delays were due to bureaucratic inertia or intentional weaponisation. "We do expect these applications to U.S. end-users to be reviewed on par with other countries and approved whenever they're not for military use," he said. "The issue here is that, is it quick enough for the Trump administration to believe that Beijing has not reneged on the Geneva agreement?" Some U.S. industry figures believe that the bureaucratic backlog is a "strategic excuse". "China can staff up as fast as they want, if they wanted to," said a source from the U.S. rare earths industry who declined to be named for sensitivity reasons. In public, Chinese officials have said the export controls apply to all countries, the implication being that they do not count as a U.S.-specific countermeasure under the Geneva agreement. Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on May 30 that the rare earth export controls are "non-discriminatory and not targeted at any specific country". During the Geneva talks, however, China privately admitted that the rare earth export controls qualified as non-tariff countermeasures, according to a source briefed on the talks. Rare earths remain a core part of ongoing U.S.-China discussions, the person said. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for clarification. Chinese scholars openly admit that the rare earth export controls are retaliation for U.S. chip curbs. "It's a short-term form of leverage which doesn't hurt China, as the rare earths in question have relatively low monetary value," said Zhu Junwei, an international relations scholar at the Grandview Institution, a Chinese think-tank.
