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Behind Putin's Back, Serbia Armed Russia's Biggest Enemy with $900 Million in Missiles? Moscow Fumes

Behind Putin's Back, Serbia Armed Russia's Biggest Enemy with $900 Million in Missiles? Moscow Fumes

Russia has accused its traditional Slavic ally Serbia of betraying their relationship by supplying over $900 million worth of missiles and arms to Ukraine. According to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), at least seven major Serbian defense companies have covertly sent hundreds of thousands of rockets and millions of small arms cartridges to Ukraine, often using fake end-user certificates and routing shipments through NATO intermediaries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Bulgaria. Russia described these transfers as a "stab in the back," but Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has denied these allegations.

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Ukraine expands evacuations in Sumy region amid Russian offensive fears
Ukraine expands evacuations in Sumy region amid Russian offensive fears

The Hindu

time2 hours ago

  • The Hindu

Ukraine expands evacuations in Sumy region amid Russian offensive fears

Ukraine ordered the evacuation of 11 more villages in its Sumy region bordering Russia on Saturday amid fears Moscow was gearing up for a fresh ground assault. Russia claims to have captured several villages in the northeastern region in recent weeks, and has massed more than 50,000 soldiers on the other side of the border, according to Kyiv. The evacuations came just two days before a possible meeting between the two sides in Istanbul, as Washington called on both countries to end the three-year war. Russia has confirmed it will send a delegation to the Turkish city, but Kyiv has yet to accept the proposal, warning the talks would not yield results unless the Kremlin provided its peace terms in advance. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of doing "everything" it could to sabotage the potential meeting by withholding its peace terms. Authorities in Ukraine's Sumy region said on Saturday they were evacuating 11 villages within a roughly 30-km range from the Russian border. "The decision was made in view of the constant threat to civilian life as a result of shelling of border communities," the regional administration said on social media. A spokesman for Ukraine's border guard service, Andriy Demchenko, said on Thursday that Russia was poised to "attempt an attack" on Sumy. In total, 213 settlements in the region have been ordered to evacuate. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that its forces had taken another Sumy region village, Vodolagy. Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the destruction of towns and villages across parts of the east and south of the country. The Kremlin's army now controls around a fifth of the country and claims to have annexed five Ukrainian regions as its own, including Crimea, which it seized in 2014. 'Strong delegations' U.S. President Donald Trump has spearheaded diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the fighting, but Kyiv and Moscow have both accused each other of not wanting peace. The Kremlin has proposed further negotiations in Istanbul on Monday, after a May 16 round of talks that yielded little beyond a large prisoner-of-war exchange. Kyiv has not yet said whether it will attend the Monday meeting, and said Friday it did not expect any results from the talks unless Moscow provided its peace terms in advance. Russia says it will provide its peace memorandum in person on Monday. But Ukraine suspects it will contain unrealistic demands that Kyiv has already rejected, including that Ukraine cede territory still under its control and abandon its NATO ambitions. In a statement to the United Nations on Friday, Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia suggested the memorandum might call for Western countries to halt arm supplies to Kyiv and for Ukraine to abandon its military mobilisation. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has fostered warm relations with both Zelensky and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, has become a key mediator amid efforts to end the conflict. In a call with Zelensky late Friday, the Turkish leader urged both sides to send "strong delegations" to ensure momentum towards peace, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu. Turkey has offered to host a summit between Putin, Zelensky and Trump, but the Kremlin has turned down the offer. Putin has consistently rebuffed calls for a 30-day, unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine.

Merz to meet Trump as Germany seeks to defuse trade row, back Ukraine
Merz to meet Trump as Germany seeks to defuse trade row, back Ukraine

First Post

time3 hours ago

  • First Post

Merz to meet Trump as Germany seeks to defuse trade row, back Ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will meet with US President Donald Trump on Thursday for talks at the White House, with the Ukraine and West Asia conflicts on the agenda along with rocky trade relations. read more German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (L) and US President Donald Trump are pictured here against the backdrop of the Nato flag. File Photo- Agencies German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will visit Washington next week for his first in-person meeting with US President Donald Trump, the government said Saturday. The two leaders are scheduled to meet at the White House on Thursday with the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising transatlantic trade tensions high on the agenda. Merz, who assumed office on May 6, is expected to discuss bilateral relations, international crises including Ukraine war and developments in the West Asia as well as economic and trade policies with Trump. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Since taking office, Merz has stepped up diplomatic efforts to maintain Western unity on Ukraine. Earlier this week, he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin in a push to secure broader support for a ceasefire. Trump has rattled Europe with shifts in security and trade policy since returning to the White House, including an array of tariffs on European partners. Speaking at the WDR Europaforum conference last Monday, Merz said the European Union could retaliate with measures against US technology companies or other tariffs if the transatlantic trade conflict escalates. 'We shouldn't react heedlessly and hectically,' Merz said. 'But if we can't do anything else, we would need to use this tool.' But Merz's government, which last week said it would help Kyiv develop long-range missiles, wants to make sure that Washington will not walk away from Ukraine during its war with Russia. Merz and Trump have already had several telephone conversations, with the two agreeing earlier this month to visit each other, without giving dates. With regards to the conflict in Gaza, Merz has sought to heighten the pressure on Israel over its policies, balancing Berlin's support for the Israeli government with criticism of how it is fighting in the territory. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I no longer understand what the Israeli army is now doing in the Gaza Strip,' he told public broadcaster WDR last week, warning the Israeli government to not do that which 'friends are no longer willing to accept'. The visit comes at a critical time in EU-US relations. Trump has threatened to slap 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union, though he postponed the implementation to July 9, leaving a narrow window for negotiations. Germany, as Europe's largest economy, has a significant stake in averting a full-blown trade conflict. With inputs from agencies

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