Gray Baltic seals released into the waters of the Gulf of Finland
A second batch of gray Baltic seals were on Friday set free into their natural habitat, the waters of the Gulf of Finland by Russian officials. Four seal pups were released: three males and one female, St Petersburg Vodokanal said in a statement accompanying the footage.
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Associated Press
35 minutes ago
- Associated Press
ICC appeals judges greenlight first in absentia hearing over Ugandan rebel leader Kony
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court gave a final greenlight Tuesday for the tribunal's first in absentia hearing by allowing the next step in proceedings against notorious fugitive Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony. The Hague-based court has scheduled a so-called confirmation of charges hearing at which prosecutors will present evidence in September to back up charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Kony, despite his whereabouts being unknown. Kony, the leader of the brutal Lord's Resistance Army, faces dozens of counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, sexual enslavement and rape. The ICC's rules do not allow trials entirely in absentia but can in some circumstances move forward with a confirmation of charges even if the suspect is not in custody. Kony's court appointed lawyers had argued his fair trial rights would be violated if the proceedings continued without their client. Judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin said the court has 'adequately robust safeguards' for suspects to allow the confirmation of charges hearing to be held in absentia. The case had been seen as a trial balloon for the court moving forward with other cases where the suspect is not in custody, such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the Kony decision was limited to situations where the wanted person has fled ICC custody or cannot be found, says Luigi Prosperi, an international criminal law expert at the University of Utrecht. Kony 'is a very peculiar situation,' he told The Associated Press. Kony was thrust into the global spotlight in 2012 when a video about his alleged crimes went viral. Despite the attention and international efforts to capture him, he is still at large. The LRA began its attacks in Uganda in the 1980s, when Kony sought to overthrow the government. After being pushed out of Uganda, the militia terrorized villages in Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan. It was notorious for using child soldiers, mutilating civilians and enslaving women. In 2021, the court convicted Dominic Ongwen, a one-time child soldier who morphed into a brutal LRA commander of dozens of war crimes and crimes against humanity, ranging from multiple murders to forced marriages.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Putin hands surrender terms to Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has laid out his demands for both a ceasefire and ending the war in Ukraine. Russian negotiators tabled a long memorandum, resembling a complete capitulation for Ukraine, in a second round of direct talks with Kyiv in Istanbul on Monday. The document's first section contains Moscow's 'basic parameters of a final settlement'. It stipulates that Ukraine must withdraw its troops from four eastern regions that Russia only partially occupies, and that international recognition of Russian sovereignty over them and Crimea must be granted. Kyiv must also commit to curbs on the size of its military, as well as to permanent neutrality and to having no foreign troops deployed on its territory. Diplomatic and economic ties between the two nations must be reinstated, which would include the resumption of Russian natural gas transit through Ukraine. Other demands included a ban on 'glorification or promotion of Nazism and neo-Nazism', and for the Russian language to be given official status. The demands are unrealistic, cross multiple red lines for Ukraine and its Western allies, and will be dismissed as another ploy to further delay serious peace talks. A Ukrainian official familiar with the talks described them as 'unproductive', and called the Moscow demands unacceptable. The second section in the memorandum listed the Kremlin's conditions for agreeing to a 30-day ceasefire, and appeared to give Kyiv two choices. These were that Ukraine should withdraw its troops from four mainland regions claimed by Russia, or agree to a package of demands that included cancelling martial law and holding elections. Among the other requirements was a total halt on all foreign military aid and for Ukraine to begin demobilising. The US and Turkey-brokered negotiations at the Ciragan Palace, on the banks of the Bosphorus, appeared to bring the sides no closer to a truce. Ukraine and Russia, however, agreed to an exchange of 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers, as well as an 'all-for-all' swap of seriously wounded and injured prisoners of war and captured servicemen aged under 25. The Russians offered a series of smaller, localised truces across the front lines to allow for the collection of bodies. This, however, appeared to be rejected by Ukraine, as a senior military figure told The Telegraph that Russia had previously used similar pauses to prepare for fresh assaults. Both sides could not bridge the divides on the 30-day ceasefire being pushed by Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, and Donald Trump. Despite the lack of progress, the US president said on Monday that he was open to holding talks with his Ukrainian counterpart and Putin. Ukrainian officials had been waiting weeks for the Russian peace proposals to be published, but the documents were only made available as talks started in Istanbul. Read side-by-side, the two memorandums reveal a mountainous wedge between their opposing positions. Russia's demands appeared almost identical to the set of proposals put forward in the early months of its full-scale invasion, which were rejected by Mr Zelensky as a capitulation. The Russian terms of surrender for Ukraine were published by Russian state media hours after the talks were wrapped up in Turkey. Kyiv's proposed route to a ceasefire, and ultimately a fuller peace deal, including security guarantees to prevent another Russian invasion, no international recognition of Moscow's occupation of Ukrainian territories and no restriction on Kyiv's armed forces. The two delegations entered a large conference at the Ciragan Palace without exchanging handshakes or pleasantries. The Russians, led by Vladimir Medinsky, a Putin aide appeared stony faced as they positioned themselves around the U-shaped table, after Ukraine mounted an audacious drone attack on Moscow's fleet of strategic bomber warplanes. The planes, worth $7 billion and amounting to 34 per cent of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers, were destroyed deep inside Russian territory. The attack will hamper Moscow's ability to bomb Ukraine safely from a distance and dent its nuclear strike capabilities. Credit: Via Reuters At one moment in the hour-long talks, Mr Medinsky accused the Ukrainians of 'putting on a show' after they handed over a list of hundreds of Ukrainian children they wanted returned from Russia. 'Do not put on a show for European tender-hearted aunties who do not have children themselves,' he said, according to a quote shared with The Telegraph by a member of the negotiating team. A Ukrainian source familiar with the talks told The Telegraph that Russia made a counter-proposal to return just 10 children. 'Ukraine brought forward a list with more than 300 children, requesting their return,' the official said. 'Should Russia have agreed to this request and returned those children, that would provide Ukraine with more confidence that Russia is interested in the humanitarian component of peace negotiations.' The Russian negotiator later claimed his country would return children to Ukraine if their parents or legal guardians could be identified. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine invited to NATO summit, Zelensky says
Ukraine has been invited to the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague between June 24 and 25, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a June 2 online press conference attended by the Kyiv Independent. "We were invited to the NATO summit. I think this is important," Zelensky said, adding that he held a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during the Vilnius summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) and the Nordic countries on June 2. "Now, (Foreign Minister Andrii) Sybiha will be speaking with his colleagues regarding infrastructure and what potential outcomes may arise from this summit in The Hague." Zelensky did not specify who would be representing Ukraine at the summit or whether he would attend the event himself. The statement follows speculations that the allies decided not to invite Ukraine to the annual summit due to opposition from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later denied the claims, and the Netherlands said it would welcome Zelensky's attendance. At the previous NATO summit in Washington in 2024, Zelensky was a prominent presence, engaging directly with allied leaders. This year, the tone appears more cautious as NATO members weigh how to handle Ukraine's future in the alliance amid renewed questions about U.S. commitment. Trump has claimed that Ukraine provoked the war by pursuing NATO membership, a narrative often used by Russian propaganda to justify its 2022 full-scale invasion. He also signaled plans to reduce U.S. military presence in Europe and has been reluctant to provide new military support to Kyiv. Earlier reporting suggested that this year's communique may omit direct mention of both Russia and Ukraine — a contrast to past summits where Ukraine dominated the agenda. Read also: 'Idiots' — Zelensky slams Russia's proposal for brief truce to retrieve fallen soldiers' bodies We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
