Ukraine-Russia war latest: Macron warns strong action needed if Putin continues to ‘buy time and refuse peace'

Independent

07-04-2025

Two days after a Russian ballistic missile killed 20 people in Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky 's home town, Emmanuel Macron has called for strong action if Russia continues to 'refuse peace'.
The French president wrote on X on Sunday: 'My thoughts are with the children and all civilian victims of the bloody attacks carried out by Russia, including on 4 April in Kryvyi Rih.
'A ceasefire is needed as soon as possible. And strong action if Russia continues to try to buy time and refuse peace.'
President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the West to amp up pressure on Russia after it launched its latest deadly air raid on Kyiv.
As one person died in Kyiv, and three were injured, Ukraine 's leader said that 'pressure on Russia is still insufficient, and the daily Russian strikes on Ukraine prove it'.
He said Kyiv wasn't the only region which suffered strikes, as the Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and Cherkasy regions were also hit.
'The number of air attacks is increasing. This is how Russia reveals its true intentions – to continue the terror for as long as the world allows it' he said.
Restarting Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant would be 'unsafe', Ukraine's nuclear energy chief warns
Restarting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — currently occupied by Russia — would be unsafe and extremely difficult under wartime conditions, according to Ukraine's nuclear energy chief, Petro Kotin.
He warned that restarting even one reactor during the war is 'impossible' due to a lack of cooling water, personnel, and power.
If Ukraine regains control, it could take two months to two years to safely bring the plant back online after full demilitarisation and safety checks, the chief executive of Energoatom said, according to The Guardian.
Russia has said it intends to restart the plant when conditions allow, but experts have raised serious safety concerns, especially given the degraded infrastructure, risk of mines, and untrained staff.
In February this year, Alexey Likhachev, head of Russian nuclear operator Rosatom, said it would be restarted when 'military and political conditions allow'.
Maroosha Muzaffar7 April 2025 04:30
Macron urges 'strong action' against Russia if it continues to 'refuse peace'
Days after a Russian ballistic missile killed 20 people in Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky's home town, French president Emmanuel Macron called for 'strong action' if Russia continued to 'refuse peace'.
He wrote on X on Sunday: 'My thoughts are with the children and all civilian victims of the bloody attacks carried out by Russia, including on 4 April in Kryvyi Rih.
'A ceasefire is needed as soon as possible. And strong action if Russia continues to try to buy time and refuse peace.'
Mr Macron said that although Ukraine accepted US president Donald Trump's proposal for a full ceasefire, and European nations were also working to broker peace, 'Russia is continuing the war with renewed intensity, with no regard for civilians'.
Maroosha Muzaffar7 April 2025 04:15
Why did Russia escape Trump's tariffs?
Why did Russia escape Trump's tariffs?
The U.S. already imposes heavy sanctions on Russia but still did approximately $3.5 billion in trade last year
Bryony Gooch7 April 2025 04:03
Russian court reduces sentence of US soldier
A Russian court in Vladivostok has slightly reduced the prison sentence of US soldier Gordon Black, who was jailed last year for stealing $113 (10,000 rubles) from his girlfriend and threatening to kill her, Russian state news agencies reported on Monday.
According to RIA and TASS, which cited court proceedings, the court lowered Mr Black's sentence from three years and nine months to three years and two months.
Maroosha Muzaffar7 April 2025 03:48
In pictures: An ilmenite open pit mine in a canyon in the central region of Kirovohrad, Ukraine,
Bryony Gooch7 April 2025 03:02
Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are still held by Russia with uncertain hope of release
When she heard her front door open almost two years ago, Kostiantyn Zinovkin's mother thought her son had returned home because he forgot something. Instead, men in balaclavas burst into the apartment in Melitopol, a southern Ukrainian city occupied by Russian forces.
They said Zinovkin was detained for a minor infraction and would be released soon. They used his key to enter, said his wife, Liusiena, and searched the flat so thoroughly that they tore it apart 'into molecules.'
Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are still held by Russia with uncertain hope of release
In its 3-year-old war, Russia has detained what human rights activists say are thousands of Ukrainian civilians and has charged them with various crimes
Bryony Gooch7 April 2025 02:02
How Ukraine's 2.5-bn-year-old rock deposit became central to helping stop Russia
Ukraine 's minerals have become central to global geopolitics, with the US president, Donald Trump, seeking a deal with Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky to access them.
But what are these minerals exactly and why are they so sought after?
Munira Raji reports
How a 2.5bn-year-old rock deposit became central to helping stop Russia's invasion
The minerals have become central to global politics. Munira Raji reports
Bryony Gooch7 April 2025 01:03
'We can't sit back and watch': Former MI6 boss says Britain must get ready for war as Putin threatens Europe
Britain needs to rearm and build reserves through a form of national service to defend against Vladimir Putin's hopes of dominating eastern Europe and undermining the West, the former head of MI6 has warned.
Sir Alex Younger said people in the UK must realise that the threat from Russia – and its closeness to the US – is real, adding: ' Putin and Trump together have done their best to persuade us that the rules have changed.'
Sam Kiley reports:
Former MI6 boss says Britain must get ready for war as Putin threatens Europe
Exclusive: As a Russia-Ukrainian ceasefire looks no closer, Sir Alex Younger tells The Independent how the UK is too detached from the threat posed by Putin – and that our 'collective effort' needs to change
Bryony Gooch7 April 2025 00:00
Poland scrambles aircraft after Russian strikes on Ukraine
Polish and allied aircraft were activated early on Sunday morning to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched air strikes targeting western Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said.
"The steps taken are aimed at ensuring security in the regions bordering the areas at risk," the Command said on X.
All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts as of 2am GMT today after the Ukrainian Air Force warned of Russian missile attacks.
Bryony Gooch6 April 2025 23:04
In pictures: A school in Sumy was forced to move to the basement
The Bobryk school was forced to move to the basement due to endless alarms. Teachers had to divide the classes into two shifts and also hold lessons on Saturdays.
Bryony Gooch6 April 2025 22:03