JD Vance: Russia's war in Ukraine not ending 'any time soon'
US Vice-President JD Vance has said the war in Ukraine is "not going to end any time soon", in an interview with Fox News.Vance said the question facing the US administration now is how it can help Russia and Ukraine "find middle ground" to end the conflict that has been raging for more than three years.But, Vance added, "it's going to be up to [Russia and Ukraine] to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict".His comments come shortly after Washington signed a deal with Kyiv to share the profits of Ukraine's rare earth minerals in return for future US security assistance.
Vance made the comments in a wide-ranging interview, in which he defended Trump's approach to the war in Ukraine."Yes, of course, [the Ukrainians] are angry that they were invaded," Vance added. "But are we going to continue to lose thousands and thousands of soldiers over a few miles of territory this or that way?"Trump this week suggested that Ukraine might be willing to cede Crimea - which Russia invaded in 2014 - in order to reach a truce settlement.But Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier implied that he would be unable to accept Russian control of the peninsula, citing the Ukrainian constitution.In a separate interview with Fox News on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there needed to be a "breakthrough" in the conflict soon, otherwise Trump "will have to decide how much time to dedicate to this". Russian president Vladimir Putin this week announced a temporary three-day ceasefire from 8 May, to coincide with anniversary celebrations marking the end of World War Two.Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called for an immediate 30-day ceasefire in response.But fighting between the two countries has continued.On Thursday night, a Russian drone attack on Ukraine's south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia injured 14 people, but caused no deaths.Separately, Moscow accused Ukraine of using drones to target a market in Russia-controlled southern Ukraine, also on Thursday. Seven were killed and more than 20 were injured, according to Russian officials.Kyiv denied the accusations, adding that the attack was only targeted at military personnel.
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Ukraine plots fracking revolution
Ukraine is working to unleash natural gas fracking with the goal of becoming a major exporter and revolutionising Europe's energy market. In plans critical to Volodymyr Zelensky's hopes of a post-war economic recovery, ministers in Kyiv are scrambling to lure private investment and gain access to new drilling technology to access the country's vast untapped shale gas resources. According to sources close to Kyiv, officials are racing to attract 'foreign technology and highly experienced subsoil users', with a focus on unconventional shale resources in western Ukraine. The hunt for cash - as revealed by the independent news platform Energy Flux - is being conducted in parallel to the rare earth minerals deal struck between Donald Trump and President Zelensky in April, which will allow the US to exploit Ukraine's natural resources, including aluminium, graphite, oil and natural gas. The priority is to rapidly revitalise Ukraine's ailing gas sector after a gruelling winter saw roughly 40pc of production capacity taken out by a fierce Russian campaign of drone and missile strikes. The attacks forced Ukraine to draw heavily on its gas stocks, which ended winter almost entirely depleted. But Ukraine's Ministry of Energy believes it is possible to refill the country's cavernous underground storage facilities and even produce a surplus for export 'within 18 months', according to a senior government source. LNG reliance Ukraine already has some experience with advanced drilling technology for old wells and has since carried out experimental trials that 'confirm its potential' for fracking, they said. However, to unlock Ukraine's shale reserves, the country needs to attract more investment and newer kit, primarily from America. 'Development and production can be quickly developed using available gas infrastructure with connections to the EU gas market that make it very attractive,' the source added. 'Ukraine has enough deposits of traditional gas to cover its own consumption and to become a net exporter, and shale gas production has quite a profound effect on its development.' Such a turnaround would help transform the fortunes of Europe's energy markets, which remain on edge following the loss of Russian pipeline gas exports via Ukraine at the start of 2025. Refilling Ukraine's depleted gas storage – the largest in Europe, at 32bn cubic metres – is one of the main factors tightening energy markets in Central and Eastern Europe ahead of next winter. Ukraine's gas stocks are today just 7pc full compared to the EU average of 50pc. Efforts to pipe natural gas from Southern and Eastern Europe into Ukraine have also been thwarted by red tape and a lack of market cohesion. 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Officials from Ukraine's Ministry of Energy are tapping Western diplomatic ties to find private capital funds with a high tolerance for risk to bankroll drilling and bring in technology partners. A senior government team attended the Baku Energy Forum in Azerbaijan last week in part to promote Ukraine's potential as a shale hub. Speaking at the event, one high-ranking statesman said the Lviv-Lublin geological area that straddles the Ukraine-Poland border is 'superior on the Ukrainian side' thanks to higher porosity and lower clay content, making it 'better for fracking'. The most promising prospect is the Oleska (Olesskaya) shale block, which contains an estimated 0.8 to 1.5 trillion cubic metres of shale gas resources – enough to meet Ukraine's domestic needs for decades. How much of this resource is economically recoverable is an open question. Chevron walked away from a 50pc interest in the Oleska project in 2014 before drilling could begin. 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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk invites Trump to ‘live in my house' to experience Russian war
Oleksandr Usyk has issued an invitation to Donald Trump, urging the US president to spend a week at his home in Ukraine to gain an insight into the ongoing conflict. Trump had previously asserted he could resolve the war "in 24 hours" upon assuming office. However, more than three years after Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion, a resolution remains elusive. Usyk, a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, conveyed a grim depiction of life in Ukraine, emphasising the necessity for Trump to develop a more profound understanding of the situation. 'I advise American president Donald Trump to go to Ukraine and live in my house for one week, only one week,' Usyk, the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion, told the BBC. 'Watch what is going on. Every night there are bombs, rockets flying above my house. 'People who don't live in Ukraine, who don't support Ukraine, who haven't watched what's going on, don't understand what's going on.' Usyk, who has won all 23 of his professional contests, is currently in a training camp to prepare for a rematch with IBF champion Daniel Dubois on 19 July at Wembley Stadium. 'I worry about what happens in my country,' 38-year-old Usyk added. 'It's very bad because Ukrainian people have died. It's not just military people – children, women, grandmothers and grandfathers, too.' Russian forces launched two devastating attacks on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, on Saturday. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Vladimir Putin of "pure terrorism" following the strikes, which allegedly targeted civilians. The initial overnight missile and drone strikes, described by Kharkiv's mayor Ihor Terekhov as the "most powerful attack" of the war so far, resulted in at least three deaths and 21 injuries, including a six-week-old baby and a 14-year-old girl. Kharkiv was struck again later on Saturday afternoon with guided aerial bombs, killing at least one person and wounding more than 40 others. Zelensky condemned the attacks, saying: "This is another savage killing. Aerial bombs were dropped on civilians in the city – there is even a children's railway nearby... This makes no military sense. 'This is pure terrorism. This cannot be turned a blind eye to. And this is not some kind of game. Every day, we lose our people only because Russia feels it can act with impunity. Russia must be firmly forced into peace."
Telegraph
an hour ago
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Russia hired African farmers to make shampoo, then sent them to war
The advert for a job in a Russian shampoo factory looked like just what Jean Onana needed. Out of work in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde and struggling to support a wife and three young children, he leapt at the chance to earn a solid pay packet, he later told Ukrainian interrogators. The 36-year-old saved up for his ticket and flew to Moscow in March, joining many young Africans who end up in Russia to study or seek work. However, far from offering the answer to his financial predicament, his trip instead pitched him into the crucible of Ukraine's eastern front, an ordeal he only narrowly survived. Mr Onana had barely arrived when he was detained along with 10 others from Bangladesh, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and Ghana. The men were told they would not be working and instead would sign a one-year contract to join the Russian military and serve on the front lines of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Mr Onana is only one of what are estimated to be hundreds, or even thousands, of Africans who have found themselves fighting on the front lines. Many more have been recruited into factories to keep the Kremlin's war machine running. Africans and others from developing countries elsewhere are being pressed into service as Russia looks for huge numbers of recruits to sustain horrific casualty rates in its grinding three-year offensive. Nearly one million Russian troops have been killed or wounded since the assault began, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a US-based think tank, said last week. While the great majority of recruits are still poor Russians, the relentless need for new manpower has led the Kremlin to recruit elsewhere, as well as import 10,000 soldiers from North Korea. Africans have been lured by the promise of money or have been duped or forced into signing contracts, according to accounts and intelligence reports seen by The Telegraph. Suicidal infantry tactics Cameroon's government is so worried about the numbers of soldiers thought to be deserting its army and travelling to Russia that in March it tightened restrictions on military personnel leaving the West African nation. Many African recruits have not returned, becoming victims of suicidal infantry tactics which are currently seeing Russian forces take an average of more than 1,100 casualties each day for only small territorial gains. One tally of Cameroonian social media obituaries suggests the country has already seen more than 60 men killed in the war. Promised a hefty wage and pressured to sign, Mr Onana was then given five weeks training in Rostov and Luhansk. There were around 10 other foreigners in his training unit, from Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Brazil. During training he was able to call home, but on his way to the front his phone and documents were taken away. His military career ended almost as soon as it began when he and eight others were told to occupy a bunker at the front in early May. The bunker was shelled and everyone killed except Mr Onana, who lay wounded in the debris for six days. He eventually made his way out and was soon captured. Another recently captured African, 25-year-old Malik Diop from Senegal, this week told a Ukrainian military interview that he had been studying in Russia when he met recruiters in a shopping centre. They told him he could sign up to wash dishes in Luhansk, away from the front, for $5,700 (£4,215) a month. After only a week however, he was given a weapon, grenades and a helmet then driven to the front near Toretsk. Recalling the walk to the front line, he said: 'We started to see dead people in the forest. Lots of dead people in different buildings. It really affected me.' As soon as he could, he threw away his uniform and weapons, and deserted. After two days of walking he was captured. Many are not so fortunate. Cameroonian social media channels have in recent months seen many posts purporting to be from people seeking information about relatives who had joined the Russian military and then stopped communicating. The messages are often accompanied by photographs of African men in Russian uniform. 'My friend went to Russia to join the Russian army, and for nearly four months we haven't heard from him,' explained one typical recent request. 'We'd like to know if he's still alive or dead.' Some posts are then updated to explain the missing relative has been killed. One prominent account collating tributes to soldiers this week estimated 67 Cameroonians had been killed. Messages also gave accounts of relatives being detained at the airport and forced to sign military contracts. The gap between Cameroon's meagre military wages and the promise of hefty Russian pay is thought to have worsened a long-standing problem with desertion in the Cameroonian military. A second-class Cameroonian private's basic monthly salary is around £67, while Russia is said to be offering Cameroonian recruits around £1,500 per month. In one recent social media post, a Cameroonian soldier held up his pay slip and said 'here's why we prefer to go die in Russia'. Raoul Sumo Tayo, who has researched the issue for the Institute of Security Studies, a Pretoria-based think tank, said: 'They say it's better for us to go to fight where we earn enough money to save something for our families. 'I don't think it's about supporting Russia, it's more about what they earn.' Africans recruited by Russia are not only fighting on the front. Last month, a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime said a Russian firm was recruiting hundreds of young foreign women, mostly from Africa, to manufacture Iranian Shahed drones. The women had been recruited to the company in the Alabuga special economic zone, an industrial park in Yelabuga, east of Moscow, with promises of good salaries and educational opportunities. They were not told the nature of the work, the report said, nor that the factory had been a military target. Several African workers at the factory are reported to have been wounded in an attack by Ukrainian drones in April 2024.
