Zelenskiy denounces Russian drone attacks 'terror'
Russian forces also dropped more than 1200 glide bombs on Ukraine this week and launched 83 missiles, the president said on Telegram on Sunday.
"The Russians are increasing the terror against cities and municipalities, to intimidate our people even further," Zelenskiy wrote.
The Ukrainian leader meanwhile praised the country's air defence.
Specially developed interceptor drones shot down hundreds of Iranian-made Shahed combat drones launched at Ukraine this week, he said.
Zelenskiy said he recently held a number of meetings with allies to further develop these defensive drones.
Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years, in large parts thanks to foreign weapons.
Russia recently significantly ramped up overnight air strikes on Ukraine and is pummelling it from the air almost every day.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to meet US President Donald Trump this week after Trump announced plans to sell members of the military alliance weaponry that it can then pass on to Ukraine.
NATO in a statement said Rutte will be in Washington DC on Monday and Tuesday and would meet with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as Congress.
The visit comes as Trump last week teased that he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday.
Rubio said on Friday that some of the US-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with European NATO countries.
Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the US, he said.
"It's a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a (US) factory and get it there," Rubio told reporters last week during visit to Malaysia.
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu in an interview published on Sunday in La Tribune Dimanche said that European officials have been making the case to the US administration to bolster air defence capabilities with any coming packages.
He added that France is in a "capacity hole" and will have to wait until next year before being able to provide Ukraine new ground-air missiles.
Trump is also facing calls from Republicans and Democrats as well as European allies to support legislation in the Senate that aims to cripple Russia's oil industry and target the Kremlin with US sanctions.
The legislation, in part, calls for a 500 per cent tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports.
It would have an enormous effect on China and India, which account for about 70 per cent of Russia's energy trade.
The White House had expressed some reservations about the legislation.
Trump made clear he wants full authority over the waiver process to lift the sanctions, tariffs or other penalties without having to cede control to Congress.
with AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Russia of increasingly terrorising his country's civilians, reporting that at least 1800 drones were launched at Ukraine in the past week.
Russian forces also dropped more than 1200 glide bombs on Ukraine this week and launched 83 missiles, the president said on Telegram on Sunday.
"The Russians are increasing the terror against cities and municipalities, to intimidate our people even further," Zelenskiy wrote.
The Ukrainian leader meanwhile praised the country's air defence.
Specially developed interceptor drones shot down hundreds of Iranian-made Shahed combat drones launched at Ukraine this week, he said.
Zelenskiy said he recently held a number of meetings with allies to further develop these defensive drones.
Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years, in large parts thanks to foreign weapons.
Russia recently significantly ramped up overnight air strikes on Ukraine and is pummelling it from the air almost every day.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to meet US President Donald Trump this week after Trump announced plans to sell members of the military alliance weaponry that it can then pass on to Ukraine.
NATO in a statement said Rutte will be in Washington DC on Monday and Tuesday and would meet with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as Congress.
The visit comes as Trump last week teased that he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday.
Rubio said on Friday that some of the US-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with European NATO countries.
Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the US, he said.
"It's a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a (US) factory and get it there," Rubio told reporters last week during visit to Malaysia.
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu in an interview published on Sunday in La Tribune Dimanche said that European officials have been making the case to the US administration to bolster air defence capabilities with any coming packages.
He added that France is in a "capacity hole" and will have to wait until next year before being able to provide Ukraine new ground-air missiles.
Trump is also facing calls from Republicans and Democrats as well as European allies to support legislation in the Senate that aims to cripple Russia's oil industry and target the Kremlin with US sanctions.
The legislation, in part, calls for a 500 per cent tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports.
It would have an enormous effect on China and India, which account for about 70 per cent of Russia's energy trade.
The White House had expressed some reservations about the legislation.
Trump made clear he wants full authority over the waiver process to lift the sanctions, tariffs or other penalties without having to cede control to Congress.
with AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Russia of increasingly terrorising his country's civilians, reporting that at least 1800 drones were launched at Ukraine in the past week.
Russian forces also dropped more than 1200 glide bombs on Ukraine this week and launched 83 missiles, the president said on Telegram on Sunday.
"The Russians are increasing the terror against cities and municipalities, to intimidate our people even further," Zelenskiy wrote.
The Ukrainian leader meanwhile praised the country's air defence.
Specially developed interceptor drones shot down hundreds of Iranian-made Shahed combat drones launched at Ukraine this week, he said.
Zelenskiy said he recently held a number of meetings with allies to further develop these defensive drones.
Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years, in large parts thanks to foreign weapons.
Russia recently significantly ramped up overnight air strikes on Ukraine and is pummelling it from the air almost every day.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to meet US President Donald Trump this week after Trump announced plans to sell members of the military alliance weaponry that it can then pass on to Ukraine.
NATO in a statement said Rutte will be in Washington DC on Monday and Tuesday and would meet with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as Congress.
The visit comes as Trump last week teased that he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday.
Rubio said on Friday that some of the US-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with European NATO countries.
Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the US, he said.
"It's a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a (US) factory and get it there," Rubio told reporters last week during visit to Malaysia.
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu in an interview published on Sunday in La Tribune Dimanche said that European officials have been making the case to the US administration to bolster air defence capabilities with any coming packages.
He added that France is in a "capacity hole" and will have to wait until next year before being able to provide Ukraine new ground-air missiles.
Trump is also facing calls from Republicans and Democrats as well as European allies to support legislation in the Senate that aims to cripple Russia's oil industry and target the Kremlin with US sanctions.
The legislation, in part, calls for a 500 per cent tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports.
It would have an enormous effect on China and India, which account for about 70 per cent of Russia's energy trade.
The White House had expressed some reservations about the legislation.
Trump made clear he wants full authority over the waiver process to lift the sanctions, tariffs or other penalties without having to cede control to Congress.
with AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Russia of increasingly terrorising his country's civilians, reporting that at least 1800 drones were launched at Ukraine in the past week.
Russian forces also dropped more than 1200 glide bombs on Ukraine this week and launched 83 missiles, the president said on Telegram on Sunday.
"The Russians are increasing the terror against cities and municipalities, to intimidate our people even further," Zelenskiy wrote.
The Ukrainian leader meanwhile praised the country's air defence.
Specially developed interceptor drones shot down hundreds of Iranian-made Shahed combat drones launched at Ukraine this week, he said.
Zelenskiy said he recently held a number of meetings with allies to further develop these defensive drones.
Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years, in large parts thanks to foreign weapons.
Russia recently significantly ramped up overnight air strikes on Ukraine and is pummelling it from the air almost every day.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to meet US President Donald Trump this week after Trump announced plans to sell members of the military alliance weaponry that it can then pass on to Ukraine.
NATO in a statement said Rutte will be in Washington DC on Monday and Tuesday and would meet with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as Congress.
The visit comes as Trump last week teased that he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday.
Rubio said on Friday that some of the US-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with European NATO countries.
Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the US, he said.
"It's a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a (US) factory and get it there," Rubio told reporters last week during visit to Malaysia.
French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu in an interview published on Sunday in La Tribune Dimanche said that European officials have been making the case to the US administration to bolster air defence capabilities with any coming packages.
He added that France is in a "capacity hole" and will have to wait until next year before being able to provide Ukraine new ground-air missiles.
Trump is also facing calls from Republicans and Democrats as well as European allies to support legislation in the Senate that aims to cripple Russia's oil industry and target the Kremlin with US sanctions.
The legislation, in part, calls for a 500 per cent tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports.
It would have an enormous effect on China and India, which account for about 70 per cent of Russia's energy trade.
The White House had expressed some reservations about the legislation.
Trump made clear he wants full authority over the waiver process to lift the sanctions, tariffs or other penalties without having to cede control to Congress.
with AP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
21 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Bitcoin tops $US120,000 for the first time
Bitcoin has crossed the $US120,000 level for the first time, marking a milestone for the world's largest cryptocurrency as investors bet on long-sought policy wins for the industry this week. Bitcoin scaled a record high of $US121,207.55 ($A184,489.93) in the Asian session on Monday, before pulling back slightly to last trade 1.6 per cent higher at $US121,015.42 ($A184,197.49). Starting on Monday, the US House of Representatives will debate a series of bills to provide the digital asset industry with the nation's regulatory framework it has long demanded. Those demands have resonated with US President Donald Trump, who has called himself the "crypto president" and urged policymakers to revamp rules in favour of the industry. "It's riding a number of tailwinds at the moment," said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore, citing strong institutional demand, expectations of further gains and support from Trump as reasons for the bullishness. "It's been a very, very, strong move over the past six or seven days and it's hard to see where it stops now; it looks like it can easily have a look at the $US125,000 ($A190,262) level," he said. The surge in bitcoin, which is up 29 per cent for the year so far, has sparked a broader rally across other cryptocurrencies over the past few sessions even in the face of Trump's chaotic tariffs. Ether, the second-largest token, scaled a more than five-month top of $US3,050.90 ($A4,643.77), while XRP and Solana gained about three per cent each. The sector's total market value has swelled to about $US3.78 trillion ($A5.75) trillion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Earlier this month, Washington declared the week of July 14 as "crypto week", where members of Congress are set to vote on the Genius Act, the Clarity Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. The most significant bill is the Genius Act, which would create federal rules for stablecoins. Elsewhere, prices of crypto-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong similarly surged. Spot bitcoin ETFs launched by China AMC, Harvest and Bosera all scaled record highs, while the three ether ETFs managed by the asset managers were up roughly two per cent each.
Sydney Morning Herald
31 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How the Trump shooting supercharged beliefs in a divine right of MAGA
Politics increasingly entered the pulpit at the demand of congregants, and pastors indulged those demands for fear of losing members, according to the journalist Tim Alberta in his 2024 book The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory. Last Monday, the Trump administration said a federal prohibition on campaigning by non-profit organisations did not apply to houses of worship, implementing a long-standing campaign promise to let churches make more explicit political endorsements. Trump has never been known for his personal piety, but he has long enjoyed the overwhelming support of evangelicals. His own reaction to the Butler shooting was initially, 'I'm not supposed to be here' – meaning he was not supposed to be alive – according to a new book about the campaign, 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America. (The book is co-written by the author of this article.) His top adviser, Susie Wiles, told him, 'You do know this is God,' the book says. After that, Trump began saying: 'If anyone ever doubted there was a God, that proved there was.' In Butler the day after the shooting, county GOP chair Jim Hulings recalled trying to return to the crime scene and being unable to get near it across the police tape. But he did notice that all the church car park spaces were full. 'We cling to our guns and our Bibles,' Hulings said, reappropriating an infamous remark about small-town Pennsylvania that Barack Obama made at a San Francisco fundraiser in 2008. That morning at the Church of God at Connoquenessing, Karns preached about the fragility of life, quoting Psalm 90 likening man's time on Earth to the grass that grows and withers. His own son, daughters-in-law and grandchildren were at the rally, seated in the bleachers behind the stage. They became friendly with a kind man seated in front of them, Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old local volunteer firefighter who was there with his family. Before Trump arrived, Comperatore had helped Karns' 12-year-old granddaughter, Alexa, recover her dropped phone after it fell through the bleachers, and he passed out water bottles to help those around him stay hydrated in the heat. When the gunman opened fire from a nearby factory roof, Comperatore was struck and killed trying to protect his family. 'It's one of those things where you feel like you're in this place at a certain time, and there's a reason for it,' Lisa Karns, Alexa's mother and the pastor's daughter-in-law, said. 'I felt like, 'God, why take him? You could have taken me.'' Loading That night the Karns family met the pastor and showed him the photos of the twisted flag. He decided to put the image on a sign for the church, as a message of comfort, to thank God for keeping them safe and to honour Comperatore. 'It wasn't necessarily a political statement,' he said. On the way home, Alexa told Lisa Karns that she had prayed for Trump before the rally, asking God to protect him. Lisa Karns suggested she write Trump a card telling him. 'Dear President Trump,' the 12-year-old wrote in green pen, under a sketch of an American flag, 'I was on the same bleachers of the man who died. … Before the rally I had prayed that you wouldn't get shot because it sounded like something that might happen. God answered my prayers. … I will still pray for you. I hope you win the election!' He wrote back a few weeks later. 'For you and all those in attendance on that fateful day, we remain resolved to fight for our great country,' Trump and his wife, Melania, said. 'May God bless you and keep you safe, little one.' Lisa Karns framed the letter and hung it on a wall in their home. The Republican National Convention that immediately followed the shooting brought talk of God's hand from private rumblings to the prime-time stage. 'That was a transformation,' Tucker Carlson said on the final night in Milwaukee. 'This was no longer a man.' 'Divine intervention,' a man shouted from the floor. 'I think it was,' Carlson agreed. He went on: 'I think even people who don't believe in God are beginning to think, 'Maybe there's something to this, actually.'' Trump's son Eric embraced the sentiment in his speech introducing his father: 'By the grace of God, divine intervention and your guardian angels above, you survived.' The candidate himself attested: 'I felt very safe because I had God on my side.' By the time Trump returned to Butler for a second rally in October, a man dragged a wooden cross up and down the road to the fairgrounds. At a prayer circle the night before, Susan Sevy from East Liverpool, Ohio, who had also attended the July rally, said the time when Trump was shot, 6.11pm, corresponded to a verse of Ephesians about putting on the armour of God. On the rally stage, speakers recalled seeing signs or hearing a heavenly voice. 'That flag right there displayed like a crucifix or an angel on it,' Butler township commissioner Sam Zurzolo said. 'I know everybody has seen that, and I think that was a warning,' 'I heard a voice – loud, clear, rich and reassuring,' said James Sweetland, a retired emergency department doctor who tended to Comperatore. 'It spoke to me. It said, 'Go. Go they need your help'... I'm telling you right now that was a voice of God.' The Trump campaign worked to bring back attendees from the first rally, and the Karns family returned to sit in the rows of chairs below the bleachers. At one point during the early speeches, the sound system glitched, and someone shouted for a medic. The pastor's other daughter-in-law, Christie Karns, felt her anxiety spike. She wondered why she had come back and put herself through this, she said. At that moment, the giant flag overhead flipped on itself again, resuming the Y shape that reminded her of an angel. Then it gracefully flipped back to normal. Loading 'We just all looked at each other and we were like, 'Oh my word',' Christie Karns said. 'No one could have done that. It could have only been God. And it just gave us that peace.' In church last Sunday, Pastor Karns returned to the theme of fragility, again referencing the metaphor of grass that grows and withers. 'It's here one minute, and the next minute it's gone,' he said. In his sermon he asked worshippers to reflect on the past year, considering the trials they faced and the strength God gave them. 'It took a very strong man who could help right our country back to being God's country,' Lisa Karns said. 'I do feel like God protected him to help our country.'
The Age
37 minutes ago
- The Age
How the Trump shooting supercharged beliefs in a divine right of MAGA
Politics increasingly entered the pulpit at the demand of congregants, and pastors indulged those demands for fear of losing members, according to the journalist Tim Alberta in his 2024 book The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory. Last Monday, the Trump administration said a federal prohibition on campaigning by non-profit organisations did not apply to houses of worship, implementing a long-standing campaign promise to let churches make more explicit political endorsements. Trump has never been known for his personal piety, but he has long enjoyed the overwhelming support of evangelicals. His own reaction to the Butler shooting was initially, 'I'm not supposed to be here' – meaning he was not supposed to be alive – according to a new book about the campaign, 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America. (The book is co-written by the author of this article.) His top adviser, Susie Wiles, told him, 'You do know this is God,' the book says. After that, Trump began saying: 'If anyone ever doubted there was a God, that proved there was.' In Butler the day after the shooting, county GOP chair Jim Hulings recalled trying to return to the crime scene and being unable to get near it across the police tape. But he did notice that all the church car park spaces were full. 'We cling to our guns and our Bibles,' Hulings said, reappropriating an infamous remark about small-town Pennsylvania that Barack Obama made at a San Francisco fundraiser in 2008. That morning at the Church of God at Connoquenessing, Karns preached about the fragility of life, quoting Psalm 90 likening man's time on Earth to the grass that grows and withers. His own son, daughters-in-law and grandchildren were at the rally, seated in the bleachers behind the stage. They became friendly with a kind man seated in front of them, Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old local volunteer firefighter who was there with his family. Before Trump arrived, Comperatore had helped Karns' 12-year-old granddaughter, Alexa, recover her dropped phone after it fell through the bleachers, and he passed out water bottles to help those around him stay hydrated in the heat. When the gunman opened fire from a nearby factory roof, Comperatore was struck and killed trying to protect his family. 'It's one of those things where you feel like you're in this place at a certain time, and there's a reason for it,' Lisa Karns, Alexa's mother and the pastor's daughter-in-law, said. 'I felt like, 'God, why take him? You could have taken me.'' Loading That night the Karns family met the pastor and showed him the photos of the twisted flag. He decided to put the image on a sign for the church, as a message of comfort, to thank God for keeping them safe and to honour Comperatore. 'It wasn't necessarily a political statement,' he said. On the way home, Alexa told Lisa Karns that she had prayed for Trump before the rally, asking God to protect him. Lisa Karns suggested she write Trump a card telling him. 'Dear President Trump,' the 12-year-old wrote in green pen, under a sketch of an American flag, 'I was on the same bleachers of the man who died. … Before the rally I had prayed that you wouldn't get shot because it sounded like something that might happen. God answered my prayers. … I will still pray for you. I hope you win the election!' He wrote back a few weeks later. 'For you and all those in attendance on that fateful day, we remain resolved to fight for our great country,' Trump and his wife, Melania, said. 'May God bless you and keep you safe, little one.' Lisa Karns framed the letter and hung it on a wall in their home. The Republican National Convention that immediately followed the shooting brought talk of God's hand from private rumblings to the prime-time stage. 'That was a transformation,' Tucker Carlson said on the final night in Milwaukee. 'This was no longer a man.' 'Divine intervention,' a man shouted from the floor. 'I think it was,' Carlson agreed. He went on: 'I think even people who don't believe in God are beginning to think, 'Maybe there's something to this, actually.'' Trump's son Eric embraced the sentiment in his speech introducing his father: 'By the grace of God, divine intervention and your guardian angels above, you survived.' The candidate himself attested: 'I felt very safe because I had God on my side.' By the time Trump returned to Butler for a second rally in October, a man dragged a wooden cross up and down the road to the fairgrounds. At a prayer circle the night before, Susan Sevy from East Liverpool, Ohio, who had also attended the July rally, said the time when Trump was shot, 6.11pm, corresponded to a verse of Ephesians about putting on the armour of God. On the rally stage, speakers recalled seeing signs or hearing a heavenly voice. 'That flag right there displayed like a crucifix or an angel on it,' Butler township commissioner Sam Zurzolo said. 'I know everybody has seen that, and I think that was a warning,' 'I heard a voice – loud, clear, rich and reassuring,' said James Sweetland, a retired emergency department doctor who tended to Comperatore. 'It spoke to me. It said, 'Go. Go they need your help'... I'm telling you right now that was a voice of God.' The Trump campaign worked to bring back attendees from the first rally, and the Karns family returned to sit in the rows of chairs below the bleachers. At one point during the early speeches, the sound system glitched, and someone shouted for a medic. The pastor's other daughter-in-law, Christie Karns, felt her anxiety spike. She wondered why she had come back and put herself through this, she said. At that moment, the giant flag overhead flipped on itself again, resuming the Y shape that reminded her of an angel. Then it gracefully flipped back to normal. Loading 'We just all looked at each other and we were like, 'Oh my word',' Christie Karns said. 'No one could have done that. It could have only been God. And it just gave us that peace.' In church last Sunday, Pastor Karns returned to the theme of fragility, again referencing the metaphor of grass that grows and withers. 'It's here one minute, and the next minute it's gone,' he said. In his sermon he asked worshippers to reflect on the past year, considering the trials they faced and the strength God gave them. 'It took a very strong man who could help right our country back to being God's country,' Lisa Karns said. 'I do feel like God protected him to help our country.'
