Telegram founder says he rejects request to 'silence' conservative voices in Romania
"A Western European government... approached Telegram, asking us to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today's presidential elections. I flatly refused. Telegram will not restrict the freedoms of Romanian users or block their political channels," Pavel Durov wrote on Telegram, accompanying his post with an emoji of baguette which might hint at France.
Durov was arrested at an airport near Paris last August and subsequently placed under formal investigation, with a ban on leaving France. In March he returned to Dubai.
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CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
European leaders to join Zelenskyy for Ukraine talks with Trump
BRUSSELS: European leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to Washington on Monday (Aug 18) seeking an end to Moscow's invasion, after President Donald Trump dropped his push for a ceasefire following his Alaska summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Securing a ceasefire in Ukraine, more than three years after the Kremlin ordered the invasion, had been one of Trump's core demands before the summit, to which Ukraine and its European allies were not invited. But after a meeting that yielded no clear breakthrough, Trump ruled out an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine – a move that would appear to favour Putin, who has long argued for negotiations on a final peace deal. Ukraine and its European allies have criticised it as a way to buy time and press Russia's battlefield advances, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen among the leaders set to try and bend Trump's ear on the matter. Ahead of the Washington visit on Monday, von der Leyen said on X she would welcome Zelenskyy for a meeting in Brussels on Sunday, which other European leaders would join by video call, before accompanying the Ukrainian leader on his US trip at his "request" with "other European leaders". The German government confirmed Merz was among those other European leaders, and would try to emphasise "interest in a swift peace agreement in Ukraine". Finland said its president, Alexander Stubb, would also travel to Washington. Trump briefed Zelenskyy and European leaders on his flight back from Alaska to Washington, saying afterwards that "it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement which would end the war". Ceasefire agreements "often times do not hold up," Trump added on his Truth Social platform. But Zelenskyy has appeared unconvinced by the change of tack, saying on Saturday that it "complicates the situation". If Moscow lacks "the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater - peaceful coexistence with its neighbours for decades", he said on social media. "HARSH REALITY" Trump expressed support during his call with Zelenskyy and European leaders for a proposal by Putin to take full control of two largely Russian-held Ukrainian regions in exchange for freezing the frontline in two others, an official briefed on the talks told AFP. Putin "de facto demands that Ukraine leave Donbas", an area consisting of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine, the source said. In exchange, Russian forces would halt their offensive in the Black Sea port region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, where the main cities are still under Ukrainian control. Several months into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia in September 2022 claimed to have annexed all four Ukrainian regions even though its troops still do not fully control any of them. "The Ukrainian president refused to leave Donbas," the source said. Trump notably also said the United States was prepared to provide Ukraine security guarantees, an assurance Merz hailed as "significant progress". But there was a scathing assessment of the summit outcome from the European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas, who accused Putin of seeking to "drag out negotiations" with no commitment to end the bloodshed. "The harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war any time soon," Kallas said. ZELENSKYY BACK IN THE WHITE HOUSE The main diplomatic focus now switches to Zelenskyy's talks at the White House on Monday. The Ukrainian president's last Oval Office visit in February ended in an extraordinary shouting match, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berating Zelenskyy for not showing enough gratitude for US aid. In an interview with broadcaster Fox News after his sit-down with Putin, Trump had suggested that the onus was now on Zelenskyy to secure a peace deal as they work towards an eventual trilateral summit with Putin. "It's really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done," Trump said. EUROPEAN PRESSURE In an earlier statement, European leaders welcomed the plan for a Trump-Putin-Zelenskyy summit but added that they would maintain pressure on Russia in the absence of a ceasefire. Meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine raged on, with both Kyiv and Moscow launching attack drones at each other on Sunday. Back in Moscow, Putin said his summit talks with Trump had been "timely" and "very useful". In his post-summit statement in Alaska, Putin had warned Ukraine and European countries not to engage in any "behind-the-scenes intrigues" that could disrupt what he called "this emerging progress".
Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ukraine drone attack injures train station employee in Russia's Voronezh, governor says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A railway employee was injured and a power line damaged by a Ukrainian drone attack at a station in Russia's Voronezh region, the regional governor said on Sunday. "According to preliminary information, a railway station track technician was injured in one of the municipalities," Alexander Gusev said of the overnight attack on the Telegram messaging app. "He has been hospitalised." Gusev said the attack caused train delays, but by Sunday morning trains were running back on schedule. The Russian defence ministry, which reports only how many drones its units destroy not how many Ukraine launches, said on the Telegram messaging app that nine drones were downed over the Voronezh region in Russia's southwest. In total, the ministry said, its defence systems destroyed 46 Ukrainian drones overnight, all of them in regions west of Moscow. Reuters could not independently verify the Russian reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv says that its strikes inside Russia are in answer to Moscow's continued attacks on Ukraine and are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Russia's war efforts. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore I want to divorce my husband and be a single mother: More victims speaking up on emotional abuse World Trump drops Ukraine ceasefire demand after Putin summit Singapore Buying hope: Inside S'pore's love affair with the lottery Singapore She won big in Genting, but getting $240k winnings back to Singapore was dicey Life These cats may have disabilities, but they are resilient and capable of being affectionate Singapore Motorcyclist dies after multi-vehicle collision on TPE Opinion Confessions of a born-again Singaporean Singapore Singapore congratulates Indonesia on 80th Independence Day The reports of the attacks came after a summit between the U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin yielded no agreement on ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump said on Saturday that Kyiv should make a deal with Moscow to end the war because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not." REUTERS
CNA
a day ago
- CNA
European leaders reaffirm support for Ukraine after Trump-Putin talks
BERLIN: Several European leaders on Saturday (Aug 16) jointly pledged to continue support for Ukraine and maintain pressure on Russia until the war in Ukraine ends, after a summit in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The joint statement from leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was issued after Trump briefed them on his talks with Putin. It said the next step must be talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and that they were ready to work with Trump and Zelenskyy towards a three-way summit with European support. Trump said after his talks with Putin that Ukraine should agree to a deal to end the war with Russia. He said he had agreed with the Russian leader that the best way to do this was to go straight to a peace settlement rather than via a ceasefire, something hitherto opposed by Kyiv and its European allies. The European statement - also signed by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and European Council President Antonio Costa - said Ukraine must have "ironclad" security guarantees to defend its territorial integrity. "It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force. "Our support to Ukraine will continue. We are determined to do more to keep Ukraine strong in order to achieve an end to the fighting and a just and lasting peace," the statement said. "As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia's war economy until there is a just and lasting peace."
