Trump says Zelenskyy should not target Moscow
His comments come after The Financial Times, citing people briefed on discussions, reported on Tuesday that Trump had privately encouraged Ukraine to step up deep strikes on Russia.
The newspaper added that Trump asked Zelenskyy whether he could strike Moscow if the US provided long-range weapons.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
34 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria Announces Ceasefire after Latest Outbreak of Deadly Sectarian Violence
Syria 's defense minister announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in southern Sweida province on Tuesday, a day after sectarian clashes killed dozens there. Neighboring Israel again launched strikes on Syrian military forces, saying it was protecting the Druze minority. The latest escalation under Syria's new leaders began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a center of the Druze community. Syrian government forces, sent to restore order on Monday, also clashed with Druze armed groups. On Tuesday, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said an agreement was struck with the city's "notables and dignitaries" and that government forces would "respond only to the sources of fire and deal with any targeting by outlaw groups." However, scattered clashes continued after his announcement, as did allegations that security forces had committed violations against civilians. Syria's Interior Ministry said Monday that more than 30 people had been killed, but has not updated the figures since. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said Tuesday that 166 people had been killed since Sunday, including five women and two children. Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a statement that he had tasked authorities with "taking immediate legal action against anyone proven to have committed a transgression or abuse, regardless of their rank or position." Associated Press journalists in Sweida province saw forces at a government checkpoint searching cars and confiscating suspected stolen goods from both civilians and soldiers. Israeli airstrikes targeted government forces' convoys heading into the provincial capital of Sweida and in other areas of southern Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes sought to "prevent the Syrian regime from harming" the Druze religious minority "and to ensure disarmament in the area adjacent to our borders with Syria." In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. Meanwhile, Israeli Cabinet member and Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli called on X for Sharaa to be "eliminated without delay." A soldier's story Manhal Yasser Al-Gor, of the Interior Ministry forces, was being treated for shrapnel wounds at a local hospital after an Israeli strike hit his convoy. "We were entering Sweida to secure the civilians and prevent looting. I was on an armored personnel carrier when the Israeli drone hit us," he said, adding that there were "many casualties." The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Israeli strikes had killed several innocent civilians" as well as soldiers, and called them "a reprehensible example of ongoing aggression and external interference" in Syria's internal matters. It said the Syrian state is committed to protecting the Druze, "who form an integral part of the national identity and united Syrian social fabric." Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders since Sharaa's opposition fighters ousted former President Bashar al-Assad in December, saying it doesn't want militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Earlier Tuesday, religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria called for armed factions that have been clashing with government forces to surrender their weapons and cooperate with authorities. One of the main Druze spiritual leaders later released a video statement retracting the call. Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who has been opposed to the government in Damascus, said in the video that the initial Druze leaders' statement had been issued after an agreement with the authorities in Damascus but that "they broke the promise and continued the indiscriminate shelling of unarmed civilians." "We are being subjected to a total war of annihilation," he claimed, without offering evidence. Some videos on social media showed armed fighters with Druze captives, beating them and, in some cases, forcibly shaving men's moustaches. The violence drew international concern. The US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called the violence "worrisome on all sides" in a post on. "We are attempting to come to a peaceful, inclusive outcome for Druze, Bedouin tribes, the Syrian government and Israeli forces," he said.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Syria announces ceasefire after sectarian clashes, but more fighting and abuse alleged
BUSRA AL-HARIR: Syria 's defense minister announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in southern Sweida province on Tuesday, a day after sectarian clashes killed dozens there. Neighboring Israel again launched strikes on Syrian military forces, saying it was protecting the Druze minority. The latest escalation under Syria's new leaders began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a center of the Druze community. Syrian government forces, sent to restore order on Monday, also clashed with Druze armed groups. A ceasefire announcement On Tuesday, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said an agreement was struck with the city's 'notables and dignitaries' and that government forces would 'respond only to the sources of fire and deal with any targeting by outlaw groups.' However, scattered clashes continued after his announcement — as did allegations that security forces had committed violations against civilians. Syria's Interior Ministry said Monday that more than 30 people had been killed, but has not updated the figures since. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said Tuesday that 166 people had been killed since Sunday, including five women and two children. Among them were 21 people killed in 'field executions' by government forces, including 12 men in a rest house in the city of Sweida, it said. It did not say how many of the dead were civilians and also cited reports of members of the security forces looting and setting homes on fire. Syrian interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said in a statement that he had tasked authorities with 'taking immediate legal action against anyone proven to have committed a transgression or abuse, regardless of their rank or position.' Associated Press journalists in Sweida province saw forces at a government checkpoint searching cars and confiscating suspected stolen goods from both civilians and soldiers. Israel's involvement draws pushback Israeli airstrikes targeted government forces' convoys heading into the provincial capital of Sweida and in other areas of southern Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes sought to 'prevent the Syrian regime from harming' the Druze religious minority 'and to ensure disarmament in the area adjacent to our borders with Syria.' In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. Meanwhile, Israeli Cabinet member and Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli called on X for Al-Sharaa to be 'eliminated without delay.' A soldier's story Manhal Yasser Al-Gor, of the Interior Ministry forces, was being treated for shrapnel wounds at a local hospital after an Israeli strike hit his convoy. 'We were entering Sweida to secure the civilians and prevent looting. I was on an armored personnel carrier when the Israeli drone hit us,' he said, adding that there were 'many casualties.' The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Israeli strikes had killed 'several innocent civilians' as well as soldiers, and called them 'a reprehensible example of ongoing aggression and external interference' in Syria's internal matters. It said the Syrian state is committed to protecting the Druze, 'who form an integral part of the national identity and united Syrian social fabric.' Suspicion over Syria's new government Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders since Al-Sharaa's Sunni Islamist insurgents ousted former President Bashar Assad in December, saying it doesn't want militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Earlier Tuesday, religious leaders of the Druze community in Syria called for armed factions that have been clashing with government forces to surrender their weapons and cooperate with authorities. One of the main Druze spiritual leaders later released a video statement retracting the call. Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who has been opposed to the government in Damascus, said in the video that the initial Druze leaders' statement had been issued after an agreement with the authorities in Damascus but that 'they broke the promise and continued the indiscriminate shelling of unarmed civilians.' 'We are being subjected to a total war of annihilation,' he claimed, without offering evidence. Some videos on social media showed armed fighters with Druze captives, beating them and, in some cases, forcibly shaving men's moustaches. Sectarian and revenge attacks The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Since Assad's fall, clashes have broken out several times between forces loyal to the new Syrian government and Druze fighters. The latest fighting has raised fears of more sectarian violence. In March, an ambush on government forces by Assad loyalists in another part of Syria triggered days of sectarian and revenge attacks. Hundreds of civilians were killed, most of them members of Assad's minority Alawite sect. A commission was formed to investigate the attacks but no findings have been made public. The videos and reports of soldiers' violations spurred outrage and protests by Druze communities in neighboring Lebanon, northern Israel and in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, where the Israeli military said dozens of protesters had crossed the border into Syrian territory. The violence drew international concern. The US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, called the violence 'worrisome on all sides' in a post on. 'We are attempting to come to a peaceful, inclusive outcome for Druze, Bedouin tribes, the Syrian government and Israeli forces,' he said.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Russia May Hope To Use Trump's 50-Day Window To Wear Down Ukraine, But Quick Gains Seem Unlikely
President Donald Trump's ultimatum to Russia to accept a peace deal in Ukraine within 50 days or face bruising sanctions on its energy exports has given the Kremlin extra time to pursue its summer offensive. The dogged Ukrainian resistance however makes it unlikely that the Russian military will make any quick gains. President Vladimir Putin has declared repeatedly that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured. He also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces – demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected. A chronic shortage of manpower and ammunition has forced Ukrainian forces to focus on holding ground rather than launching counteroffensives. But despite a renewed Russian push – and an onslaught of aerial attacks on Kyiv and other cities in recent weeks – Ukrainian officials and analysts say it remains unlikely that Moscow can achieve any territorial breakthrough significant enough in 50 days to force Ukraine into accepting the Kremlin's terms anytime soon. Russia's main targets Since spring Russian troops have accelerated their land gains capturing the most territory in eastern Ukraine since the opening stages of Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022. Russian forces are closing in on the eastern strongholds of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region methodically capturing villages near both cities to try to cut key supply routes and envelop their defenders – a slow offensive that has unfolded for months. Capturing those strongholds would allow Russia to push toward Slovyansk and Kramatorsk setting the stage for the seizure of the entire Donetsk region. If Russian troops seize those last strongholds it would open the way for them to forge westward to the Dnipropetrovsk region. The regional capital of Dnipro a major industrial hub of nearly 1 million is about 150 kilometers (just over 90 miles) west of Russian positions. The spread of fighting to Dnipropetrovsk could damage Ukrainian morale and give the Kremlin more leverage in any negotiations. In the neighboring Luhansk region Ukrainian troops control a small sliver of land but Moscow has not seemed to prioritize its capture. The other two Moscow-annexed regions – Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – seem far from being totally overtaken by Russia. Early in the war Russia quickly overran the Kherson region but pulled back from large swaths of it in November 2022 retreating to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River. A new attempt to cross the waterway to seize the rest of the region would involve massive challenges and Moscow doesn't seem to have the capability to mount such an operation. Fully capturing the Zaporizhzhia region appears equally challenging. Russian attempts to establish a buffer zone Moscow's forces captured several villages in northeastern Ukraine's Sumy region after reclaiming chunks of Russia's Kursk region from Ukrainian troops who staged a surprise incursion in August 2024. Ukraine says its forces have stopped Russia's offensive and maintain a presence on the fringe of the Kursk region where they are still tying down as many as 10000 Russian troops. Putin recently described the offensive into the Sumy region as part of efforts to carve a buffer zone to protect Russian territory from Ukrainian attacks. The regional capital of Sumy a city of 268000 is about 30 kilometers (less than 20 miles) from the border. Putin said Moscow doesn't plan to capture the city for now but doesn't exclude it. Military analysts however say Russian forces in the area clearly lack the strength to capture it. Russian forces also have pushed an offensive in the neighboring Kharkiv region but they haven't made much progress against fierce Ukrainian resistance. Some commentators say Russia may hope to use its gains in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions as bargaining chips in negotiations trading them for parts of the Donetsk region under Ukrainian control. 'A scenario of territorial swaps as part of the talks is quite realistic,' said Mikhail Karyagin a Kremlin-friendly political expert in a commentary Wearing down Ukraine with slow pressure Ukrainian commanders say the scale and pace of Russian operations suggest that any game-changing gains are out of reach with Moscow's troops advancing slowly at a tremendous cost to its own forces. While exhausted Ukrainian forces are feeling outnumbered and outgunned they are relying on drones to stymie Moscow's slow offensive. Significant movements of troops and weapons are easily spotted by drones that are so prolific that both sides use them to track and attack even individual soldiers within minutes. Russian military commentators recognize that Ukraine's drone proficiency makes any quick gains by Moscow unlikely. They say Russia aims to bleed Ukraine dry with a strategy of a thousand cuts using relentless pressure on many sectors of the front and steadily increasing long-range aerial attacks against key infrastructure. 'The Russian army aims to exhaust the enemy to such an extent that it will not be able to hold the defense and make multiple advances merge into one or several successes on a strategic scale that will determine the outcome of the war' Moscow-based military analyst Sergei Poletayev wrote in an analysis. 'It's not that important where and at what speed to advance: the target is not the capture of this or that line the target is the enemy army as such.' Western supplies are essential for Ukraine Ukrainian troops on the front express exasperation and anger about delays and uncertainty about US weapons shipments. Delays in US military assistance have forced Kyiv's troops to ration ammunition and scale back operations as Russia intensifies its attacks Ukrainian soldiers in eastern Ukraine told The Associated Press. The United States will sell weapons to its NATO allies in Europe so they can provide them to Ukraine according to Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Included are Patriot air defense systems a top priority for Ukraine. Speeded-up weapons shipments from European allies are crucial to allowing Ukraine to stem the Russian attacks according to analysts. 'The rate of Russian advance is accelerating and Russia's summer offensive is likely to put the armed forces of Ukraine under intense pressure' Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute in London said in a commentary. 'But most of the capabilities that Ukraine needs – from drones to artillery systems – can be provided by NATO allies in Europe' he said. 'In the short-term Europe can cover most of Ukraine's needs so long as it can purchase some critical weapons types from the US' Watling said.
