Liberal Senator rips into Labor's 'Mediscare' campaign, says Anthony Albanese does not deserve to be Prime Minister following election 'lies'
Shadow health minister Anne Ruston has launched an attack on the Labor Party's "Mediscare" campaign, claiming it's another example of where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has lied ahead of the election.
Labor's Medicare commitment has been one of the party's flagship policies ahead of the 2025 Federal Election, with a green Medicare card used as a key prop for Mr Albanese during the campaign.
The Prime Minister has pledged to open an additional 50 urgent care clinics and deliver more bulk billing to Australians as part of a significant investment into the country's health system.
During the campaign, Mr Albanese has repeatedly pointed to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's record as health minister, calling him the "worst health minister in history" and warning a Coalition government will deliver cuts to healthcare.
Senator Ruston blasted the Prime Minister's campaign tactics, arguing he did not deserve re-election on the back of "lies".
"You've got a Prime Minister here, who's prepared to look down the barrel at people and tell them a lie. I don't think somebody who's prepared to do that deserves to be re-elected as the Prime Minister of this country," she told Sky News' Chris Kenny on Monday.
"They haven't just lied about health, they've lied about energy, they have lied about national security. Apparently the Prime Minister was well aware of the Russian request of Indonesia some months ago and he'd stood in front of the camera and lied about it.
"If a Prime Minister is prepared to lie about something as important to Australians as their access to healthcare, he's prepared to lie about national security, this guy does not deserve to be the Prime Minister of this country."
In addition to the "Mediscare" campaign, other lies Senator Ruston claimed the Prime Minister has made included Mr Albanese saying the Coalition's nuclear plan would cost $600 billion.
She also pointed to Mr Albanese's lack of transparency on when the government was informed about Russia's request to use an Indonesian air space, after it emerged Labor was told as early as March.
"When has it become acceptable for your Prime Minister to lie to you?" she continued.
"The reason that this government is lying to Australians is because their track record in the last three years has been so terrible. I mean if you look at health care as an example, bulk billing rates have plummeted by 11 per cent, out-of-pocket costs... are at the highest they ever have (been), 45 per cent more out of your pocket today than you were three years ago when you go to see the doctor.
"I think Australians know the truth. They feel their experience out on the ground. They know what they're feeling when they go to the doctor, no amount of lying by this government changes the experience that Australians are feeling."
Despite claiming Labor has been running a scare campaign over the health system, Senator Ruston refused to say whether the Coalition would match Labor's pledge to create 50 additional urgent care clinics.
The Senator appeared on Sky News Australia last week where she said the Coalition would not close any existing urgent care clinics, but was unable to provide a definite answer on how many additional centres it could commit to.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Scott Morrison lauded with highest King's Birthday honour for COVID leadership
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been recognised with the highest award in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours list. Mr Morrison was made a Companion of the Order of Australia on June 8 for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and brokering the trilateral security partnership AUKUS. Mr Morrison, 57, served as Australia's 30th prime minister from 2018 to 2022. In a statement to ACM, the publisher of this masthead, Mr Morrison said he was "honoured and grateful" to receive the accolade. "It was an immense privilege to be given the opportunity by the Australian people to serve them, as their 30th Prime Minister of Australia from August 2018 to May 2022," he said. "During this time, Australia faced challenges and threats not experienced since the Second World War." "These ranged from unrelenting natural disasters and a once-in-a-century global pandemic and the recession it caused, to coercion and intimidation designed to threaten our support for a free and open Indo-Pacific, a world order that favours freedom and our strong bond with allies and partners," Mr Morrison said. Mr Morrison won the safe seat of Cook in Sydney's Sutherland Shire in 2007 and was swiftly appointed to the shadow cabinet after a stellar career as Liberal Party state director and head of Tourism Australia. In 2013, he became immigration minister in Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government where he coordinated the government's asylum seeker response known as Operation Sovereign Borders. In the reshuffle the following year, he was appointed social services minister and later treasurer in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government. READ MORE: Search the full King's Birthday Honours List In August 2018, he was sworn in as prime minister, rising to the leadership as a compromise candidate after Peter Dutton challenged Malcom Turnbull in a bruising leadership battle. Mr Morrison won a second term in May 2019 in a surprise victory despite the Coalition lagging in the polls in the weeks leading up to election day. He famously declared "I have always believed in miracles." Mr Morrison's career was also marked by controversy, including taking a family holiday in Hawaii during the Black Summer bushfires. He also faced backlash over his handling of parliamentary misconduct allegations and for his secret ministries scandal for which he was censured in November 2022 for failing to disclose his secret self-appointments to a number of ministries. Mr Morrison's government was defeated at the 2022 election after a large swing away from the Coalition and a clutch of "teal" independent wins in inner city seats. During the campaign, Mr Morrison famously crash-tackled eight-year-old student Luca Fauvette while visiting Devonport Strikers soccer club practice in northern Tasmania. He paid tribute to his wife Jenny and two "miracle girls" Abbey and Lily, who were conceived by the couple after years of infertility, during his valedictory speech in February 2023. "As most people know, subject only to God, my family is the centre of my life, and at the very centre of our family is Jen," he said. "I cannot imagine life without her. I love you, Jen, and always will- that is the cross you have to bear. "Your love has been my stay and strength." He left politics "appreciative and thankful, unburdened by offences and released from any bitterness that can so often haunt post-political lives". "This is due to my faith in Jesus Christ, which gives me the faith to both forgive, but also to be honest about my own failures and shortcomings," he said. Mr Morrison has worked as an advisor to various lobby groups and as a public speaker in his career after public service. He released Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister's Testimony of God's Faithfulness in 2023, a part-political memoir, part-spiritual guide. One of the revelations in the book is that he used medication to treat anxiety between 2018 and 2022, a period that covers his time as prime minister. Mr Morrison also made headlines earlier this year after a photo album his wife accidentally donated to a charity shop was picked up by a TikToker. It was later safely returned. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been recognised with the highest award in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours list. Mr Morrison was made a Companion of the Order of Australia on June 8 for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and brokering the trilateral security partnership AUKUS. Mr Morrison, 57, served as Australia's 30th prime minister from 2018 to 2022. In a statement to ACM, the publisher of this masthead, Mr Morrison said he was "honoured and grateful" to receive the accolade. "It was an immense privilege to be given the opportunity by the Australian people to serve them, as their 30th Prime Minister of Australia from August 2018 to May 2022," he said. "During this time, Australia faced challenges and threats not experienced since the Second World War." "These ranged from unrelenting natural disasters and a once-in-a-century global pandemic and the recession it caused, to coercion and intimidation designed to threaten our support for a free and open Indo-Pacific, a world order that favours freedom and our strong bond with allies and partners," Mr Morrison said. Mr Morrison won the safe seat of Cook in Sydney's Sutherland Shire in 2007 and was swiftly appointed to the shadow cabinet after a stellar career as Liberal Party state director and head of Tourism Australia. In 2013, he became immigration minister in Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government where he coordinated the government's asylum seeker response known as Operation Sovereign Borders. In the reshuffle the following year, he was appointed social services minister and later treasurer in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government. READ MORE: Search the full King's Birthday Honours List In August 2018, he was sworn in as prime minister, rising to the leadership as a compromise candidate after Peter Dutton challenged Malcom Turnbull in a bruising leadership battle. Mr Morrison won a second term in May 2019 in a surprise victory despite the Coalition lagging in the polls in the weeks leading up to election day. He famously declared "I have always believed in miracles." Mr Morrison's career was also marked by controversy, including taking a family holiday in Hawaii during the Black Summer bushfires. He also faced backlash over his handling of parliamentary misconduct allegations and for his secret ministries scandal for which he was censured in November 2022 for failing to disclose his secret self-appointments to a number of ministries. Mr Morrison's government was defeated at the 2022 election after a large swing away from the Coalition and a clutch of "teal" independent wins in inner city seats. During the campaign, Mr Morrison famously crash-tackled eight-year-old student Luca Fauvette while visiting Devonport Strikers soccer club practice in northern Tasmania. He paid tribute to his wife Jenny and two "miracle girls" Abbey and Lily, who were conceived by the couple after years of infertility, during his valedictory speech in February 2023. "As most people know, subject only to God, my family is the centre of my life, and at the very centre of our family is Jen," he said. "I cannot imagine life without her. I love you, Jen, and always will- that is the cross you have to bear. "Your love has been my stay and strength." He left politics "appreciative and thankful, unburdened by offences and released from any bitterness that can so often haunt post-political lives". "This is due to my faith in Jesus Christ, which gives me the faith to both forgive, but also to be honest about my own failures and shortcomings," he said. Mr Morrison has worked as an advisor to various lobby groups and as a public speaker in his career after public service. He released Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister's Testimony of God's Faithfulness in 2023, a part-political memoir, part-spiritual guide. One of the revelations in the book is that he used medication to treat anxiety between 2018 and 2022, a period that covers his time as prime minister. Mr Morrison also made headlines earlier this year after a photo album his wife accidentally donated to a charity shop was picked up by a TikToker. It was later safely returned. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been recognised with the highest award in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours list. Mr Morrison was made a Companion of the Order of Australia on June 8 for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and brokering the trilateral security partnership AUKUS. Mr Morrison, 57, served as Australia's 30th prime minister from 2018 to 2022. In a statement to ACM, the publisher of this masthead, Mr Morrison said he was "honoured and grateful" to receive the accolade. "It was an immense privilege to be given the opportunity by the Australian people to serve them, as their 30th Prime Minister of Australia from August 2018 to May 2022," he said. "During this time, Australia faced challenges and threats not experienced since the Second World War." "These ranged from unrelenting natural disasters and a once-in-a-century global pandemic and the recession it caused, to coercion and intimidation designed to threaten our support for a free and open Indo-Pacific, a world order that favours freedom and our strong bond with allies and partners," Mr Morrison said. Mr Morrison won the safe seat of Cook in Sydney's Sutherland Shire in 2007 and was swiftly appointed to the shadow cabinet after a stellar career as Liberal Party state director and head of Tourism Australia. In 2013, he became immigration minister in Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government where he coordinated the government's asylum seeker response known as Operation Sovereign Borders. In the reshuffle the following year, he was appointed social services minister and later treasurer in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government. READ MORE: Search the full King's Birthday Honours List In August 2018, he was sworn in as prime minister, rising to the leadership as a compromise candidate after Peter Dutton challenged Malcom Turnbull in a bruising leadership battle. Mr Morrison won a second term in May 2019 in a surprise victory despite the Coalition lagging in the polls in the weeks leading up to election day. He famously declared "I have always believed in miracles." Mr Morrison's career was also marked by controversy, including taking a family holiday in Hawaii during the Black Summer bushfires. He also faced backlash over his handling of parliamentary misconduct allegations and for his secret ministries scandal for which he was censured in November 2022 for failing to disclose his secret self-appointments to a number of ministries. Mr Morrison's government was defeated at the 2022 election after a large swing away from the Coalition and a clutch of "teal" independent wins in inner city seats. During the campaign, Mr Morrison famously crash-tackled eight-year-old student Luca Fauvette while visiting Devonport Strikers soccer club practice in northern Tasmania. He paid tribute to his wife Jenny and two "miracle girls" Abbey and Lily, who were conceived by the couple after years of infertility, during his valedictory speech in February 2023. "As most people know, subject only to God, my family is the centre of my life, and at the very centre of our family is Jen," he said. "I cannot imagine life without her. I love you, Jen, and always will- that is the cross you have to bear. "Your love has been my stay and strength." He left politics "appreciative and thankful, unburdened by offences and released from any bitterness that can so often haunt post-political lives". "This is due to my faith in Jesus Christ, which gives me the faith to both forgive, but also to be honest about my own failures and shortcomings," he said. Mr Morrison has worked as an advisor to various lobby groups and as a public speaker in his career after public service. He released Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister's Testimony of God's Faithfulness in 2023, a part-political memoir, part-spiritual guide. One of the revelations in the book is that he used medication to treat anxiety between 2018 and 2022, a period that covers his time as prime minister. Mr Morrison also made headlines earlier this year after a photo album his wife accidentally donated to a charity shop was picked up by a TikToker. It was later safely returned. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been recognised with the highest award in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours list. Mr Morrison was made a Companion of the Order of Australia on June 8 for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and brokering the trilateral security partnership AUKUS. Mr Morrison, 57, served as Australia's 30th prime minister from 2018 to 2022. In a statement to ACM, the publisher of this masthead, Mr Morrison said he was "honoured and grateful" to receive the accolade. "It was an immense privilege to be given the opportunity by the Australian people to serve them, as their 30th Prime Minister of Australia from August 2018 to May 2022," he said. "During this time, Australia faced challenges and threats not experienced since the Second World War." "These ranged from unrelenting natural disasters and a once-in-a-century global pandemic and the recession it caused, to coercion and intimidation designed to threaten our support for a free and open Indo-Pacific, a world order that favours freedom and our strong bond with allies and partners," Mr Morrison said. Mr Morrison won the safe seat of Cook in Sydney's Sutherland Shire in 2007 and was swiftly appointed to the shadow cabinet after a stellar career as Liberal Party state director and head of Tourism Australia. In 2013, he became immigration minister in Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government where he coordinated the government's asylum seeker response known as Operation Sovereign Borders. In the reshuffle the following year, he was appointed social services minister and later treasurer in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's government. READ MORE: Search the full King's Birthday Honours List In August 2018, he was sworn in as prime minister, rising to the leadership as a compromise candidate after Peter Dutton challenged Malcom Turnbull in a bruising leadership battle. Mr Morrison won a second term in May 2019 in a surprise victory despite the Coalition lagging in the polls in the weeks leading up to election day. He famously declared "I have always believed in miracles." Mr Morrison's career was also marked by controversy, including taking a family holiday in Hawaii during the Black Summer bushfires. He also faced backlash over his handling of parliamentary misconduct allegations and for his secret ministries scandal for which he was censured in November 2022 for failing to disclose his secret self-appointments to a number of ministries. Mr Morrison's government was defeated at the 2022 election after a large swing away from the Coalition and a clutch of "teal" independent wins in inner city seats. During the campaign, Mr Morrison famously crash-tackled eight-year-old student Luca Fauvette while visiting Devonport Strikers soccer club practice in northern Tasmania. He paid tribute to his wife Jenny and two "miracle girls" Abbey and Lily, who were conceived by the couple after years of infertility, during his valedictory speech in February 2023. "As most people know, subject only to God, my family is the centre of my life, and at the very centre of our family is Jen," he said. "I cannot imagine life without her. I love you, Jen, and always will- that is the cross you have to bear. "Your love has been my stay and strength." He left politics "appreciative and thankful, unburdened by offences and released from any bitterness that can so often haunt post-political lives". "This is due to my faith in Jesus Christ, which gives me the faith to both forgive, but also to be honest about my own failures and shortcomings," he said. Mr Morrison has worked as an advisor to various lobby groups and as a public speaker in his career after public service. He released Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister's Testimony of God's Faithfulness in 2023, a part-political memoir, part-spiritual guide. One of the revelations in the book is that he used medication to treat anxiety between 2018 and 2022, a period that covers his time as prime minister. Mr Morrison also made headlines earlier this year after a photo album his wife accidentally donated to a charity shop was picked up by a TikToker. It was later safely returned.
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Russia says forces have reached east-central Ukraine
Russia says its forces have advanced to the edge of the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk amid a public row between Moscow and Kyiv over peace negotiations and the return of thousands of bodies of soldiers who fell in the war. Amid talk of peace, the war is stepping up with Russian forces grabbing more territory in Ukraine and Kyiv unfurling high-profile drone and sabotage attacks on Russia's nuclear-capable bomber fleet and, according to Moscow, on railways. Russia, which controls a little under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, has taken more than 190sq km of the Sumy region of eastern Ukraine in less than a month, according to pro-Ukrainian open source maps. Now, according to the Russian defence ministry, units of the 90th Tank Division of the Central Grouping of Russian forces have reached the western frontier of Ukraine's Donetsk region and are attacking the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk region. "The enemy does not abandon its intentions to enter the Dnipropetrovsk region," Ukraine's Southern Defence Forces said on Telegram. "Our soldiers are courageously and professionally holding their section of the front, disrupting the occupier's plans. "This work does not stop for a minute." The pro-Ukrainian Deep State map showed Russian forces very close to the Dnipropetrovsk region, which had a population of more than three million before the war, and advancing on the city of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region from several directions. A Ukrainian military spokesman, Dmytro Zaporozhets, said Russian forces were trying to "build a bridgehead for an attack" on Kostyantynivka, an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army. Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of delaying the swap of prisoners of war and returning the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers, although Ukraine denied those claims. Russia said on Sunday it was moving bodies towards the border. US President Donald Trump on Thursday likened the war to a fight between young children and indicated he might have to let the conflict play out. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he did not think Ukraine's leaders wanted peace, after accusing them of ordering a bombing in Bryansk, western Russia, that killed seven people and injured 115 a day before talks in Turkey. Ukraine, which has not commented on the attack on a Bryansk bridge, has similarly accused Moscow of not seriously seeking peace, citing as evidence Russian resistance to an immediate ceasefire. Russia is demanding international recognition of Crimea, a peninsula annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from all of them. Russia controlled 113,273sq km, or 18.8 per cent, of Ukrainian territory as of June 7, according to the Deep State map. That is an area bigger than the US state of Virginia. The areas under Russian control include Crimea, more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region, more than 70 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, all in the east or southeast, and fragments of the Kharkiv and Sumy regions in the northeast Putin told Trump on Wednesday he would have to respond to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's bomber fleet and the bombings of the railways. The US believes Putin's threatened retaliation against Ukraine over its attacks has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike, US officials told Reuters. Russia says its forces have advanced to the edge of the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk amid a public row between Moscow and Kyiv over peace negotiations and the return of thousands of bodies of soldiers who fell in the war. Amid talk of peace, the war is stepping up with Russian forces grabbing more territory in Ukraine and Kyiv unfurling high-profile drone and sabotage attacks on Russia's nuclear-capable bomber fleet and, according to Moscow, on railways. Russia, which controls a little under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, has taken more than 190sq km of the Sumy region of eastern Ukraine in less than a month, according to pro-Ukrainian open source maps. Now, according to the Russian defence ministry, units of the 90th Tank Division of the Central Grouping of Russian forces have reached the western frontier of Ukraine's Donetsk region and are attacking the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk region. "The enemy does not abandon its intentions to enter the Dnipropetrovsk region," Ukraine's Southern Defence Forces said on Telegram. "Our soldiers are courageously and professionally holding their section of the front, disrupting the occupier's plans. "This work does not stop for a minute." The pro-Ukrainian Deep State map showed Russian forces very close to the Dnipropetrovsk region, which had a population of more than three million before the war, and advancing on the city of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region from several directions. A Ukrainian military spokesman, Dmytro Zaporozhets, said Russian forces were trying to "build a bridgehead for an attack" on Kostyantynivka, an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army. Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of delaying the swap of prisoners of war and returning the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers, although Ukraine denied those claims. Russia said on Sunday it was moving bodies towards the border. US President Donald Trump on Thursday likened the war to a fight between young children and indicated he might have to let the conflict play out. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he did not think Ukraine's leaders wanted peace, after accusing them of ordering a bombing in Bryansk, western Russia, that killed seven people and injured 115 a day before talks in Turkey. Ukraine, which has not commented on the attack on a Bryansk bridge, has similarly accused Moscow of not seriously seeking peace, citing as evidence Russian resistance to an immediate ceasefire. Russia is demanding international recognition of Crimea, a peninsula annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from all of them. Russia controlled 113,273sq km, or 18.8 per cent, of Ukrainian territory as of June 7, according to the Deep State map. That is an area bigger than the US state of Virginia. The areas under Russian control include Crimea, more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region, more than 70 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, all in the east or southeast, and fragments of the Kharkiv and Sumy regions in the northeast Putin told Trump on Wednesday he would have to respond to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's bomber fleet and the bombings of the railways. The US believes Putin's threatened retaliation against Ukraine over its attacks has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike, US officials told Reuters. Russia says its forces have advanced to the edge of the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk amid a public row between Moscow and Kyiv over peace negotiations and the return of thousands of bodies of soldiers who fell in the war. Amid talk of peace, the war is stepping up with Russian forces grabbing more territory in Ukraine and Kyiv unfurling high-profile drone and sabotage attacks on Russia's nuclear-capable bomber fleet and, according to Moscow, on railways. Russia, which controls a little under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, has taken more than 190sq km of the Sumy region of eastern Ukraine in less than a month, according to pro-Ukrainian open source maps. Now, according to the Russian defence ministry, units of the 90th Tank Division of the Central Grouping of Russian forces have reached the western frontier of Ukraine's Donetsk region and are attacking the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk region. "The enemy does not abandon its intentions to enter the Dnipropetrovsk region," Ukraine's Southern Defence Forces said on Telegram. "Our soldiers are courageously and professionally holding their section of the front, disrupting the occupier's plans. "This work does not stop for a minute." The pro-Ukrainian Deep State map showed Russian forces very close to the Dnipropetrovsk region, which had a population of more than three million before the war, and advancing on the city of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region from several directions. A Ukrainian military spokesman, Dmytro Zaporozhets, said Russian forces were trying to "build a bridgehead for an attack" on Kostyantynivka, an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army. Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of delaying the swap of prisoners of war and returning the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers, although Ukraine denied those claims. Russia said on Sunday it was moving bodies towards the border. US President Donald Trump on Thursday likened the war to a fight between young children and indicated he might have to let the conflict play out. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he did not think Ukraine's leaders wanted peace, after accusing them of ordering a bombing in Bryansk, western Russia, that killed seven people and injured 115 a day before talks in Turkey. Ukraine, which has not commented on the attack on a Bryansk bridge, has similarly accused Moscow of not seriously seeking peace, citing as evidence Russian resistance to an immediate ceasefire. Russia is demanding international recognition of Crimea, a peninsula annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from all of them. Russia controlled 113,273sq km, or 18.8 per cent, of Ukrainian territory as of June 7, according to the Deep State map. That is an area bigger than the US state of Virginia. The areas under Russian control include Crimea, more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region, more than 70 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, all in the east or southeast, and fragments of the Kharkiv and Sumy regions in the northeast Putin told Trump on Wednesday he would have to respond to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's bomber fleet and the bombings of the railways. The US believes Putin's threatened retaliation against Ukraine over its attacks has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike, US officials told Reuters. Russia says its forces have advanced to the edge of the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk amid a public row between Moscow and Kyiv over peace negotiations and the return of thousands of bodies of soldiers who fell in the war. Amid talk of peace, the war is stepping up with Russian forces grabbing more territory in Ukraine and Kyiv unfurling high-profile drone and sabotage attacks on Russia's nuclear-capable bomber fleet and, according to Moscow, on railways. Russia, which controls a little under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, has taken more than 190sq km of the Sumy region of eastern Ukraine in less than a month, according to pro-Ukrainian open source maps. Now, according to the Russian defence ministry, units of the 90th Tank Division of the Central Grouping of Russian forces have reached the western frontier of Ukraine's Donetsk region and are attacking the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk region. "The enemy does not abandon its intentions to enter the Dnipropetrovsk region," Ukraine's Southern Defence Forces said on Telegram. "Our soldiers are courageously and professionally holding their section of the front, disrupting the occupier's plans. "This work does not stop for a minute." The pro-Ukrainian Deep State map showed Russian forces very close to the Dnipropetrovsk region, which had a population of more than three million before the war, and advancing on the city of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region from several directions. A Ukrainian military spokesman, Dmytro Zaporozhets, said Russian forces were trying to "build a bridgehead for an attack" on Kostyantynivka, an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army. Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of delaying the swap of prisoners of war and returning the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers, although Ukraine denied those claims. Russia said on Sunday it was moving bodies towards the border. US President Donald Trump on Thursday likened the war to a fight between young children and indicated he might have to let the conflict play out. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he did not think Ukraine's leaders wanted peace, after accusing them of ordering a bombing in Bryansk, western Russia, that killed seven people and injured 115 a day before talks in Turkey. Ukraine, which has not commented on the attack on a Bryansk bridge, has similarly accused Moscow of not seriously seeking peace, citing as evidence Russian resistance to an immediate ceasefire. Russia is demanding international recognition of Crimea, a peninsula annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from all of them. Russia controlled 113,273sq km, or 18.8 per cent, of Ukrainian territory as of June 7, according to the Deep State map. That is an area bigger than the US state of Virginia. The areas under Russian control include Crimea, more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region, more than 70 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, all in the east or southeast, and fragments of the Kharkiv and Sumy regions in the northeast Putin told Trump on Wednesday he would have to respond to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's bomber fleet and the bombings of the railways. The US believes Putin's threatened retaliation against Ukraine over its attacks has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike, US officials told Reuters.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Australia's tax system should be made ‘more family friendly': Matt Canavan
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan says the tax system in Australia should be made 'more family friendly'. Shadow Finance Minister James Paterson has claimed the Coalition will be up for discussion on genuine tax reform. Mr Canavan told Sky News host James Morrow that the tax system doesn't 'encourage' Australians to spend more time with their children.
