logo
At least 14 killed and 44 injured after Russian strikes on Kyiv

At least 14 killed and 44 injured after Russian strikes on Kyiv

The Journal7 hours ago

AT LEAST 14 people have died and 44 have been wounded after a Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities have said.
More people were also reportedly wounded in the Odesa and Chernigiv regions.
'27 locations in different districts of the capital came under enemy fire tonight',' Interior Minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.
He added that 'residential buildings, educational institutions and critical infrastructure facilities' had all been hit.
'The death toll has risen to 14 people. As of now, 44 people have been injured in Kyiv,' Klymenko said.
He added that six others had been injured in Odesa and another in Chernigiv.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko had earlier reported the death of a US citizen in a Russian attack on the capital's Solomyansky district.
'During the attack on Kyiv… a 62-year-old US citizen died in a house opposite to the place where medics were providing assistance to the injured,' Klitschko said on Telegram.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, slammed the new Russian strikes on 'residential buildings in Kyiv,' saying on Telegram that Moscow was 'continuing its war against civilians'.
Advertisement
Moscow has kept up its attacks on Ukraine despite efforts by the US to broker a ceasefire.
Talks have stalled, with Moscow rejecting the 'unconditional' truce demanded by Kyiv and its European allies, while Ukraine has dismissed Russia's demands as 'ultimatums'.
On Monday, Zelenskyy had said he hoped to speak with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
View of a damaged residential building during a Russian strike on Ukraine.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
But the Ukrainian leader was expected to arrive at the G7 after the departure of the American president, who cut short his stay in the Canadian Rockies as Israel pounded Iran.
Prisoner exchange
Meanwhile, Russia has returned 1,245 bodies to Ukraine in the final stage of a deal to repatriate more than 6,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers agreed at peace talks this month.
Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement on a large-scale exchange of prisoners and the bodies of killed soldiers – the only visible result from two rounds of direct talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
'Another 1,245 bodies returned to Ukraine – repatriation part of Istanbul agreements has been completed,' the government agency coordinating the repatriation said.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said on Facebook that Kyiv had received more than 6,000 bodies in total over the past week.
The Russian defence ministry gave a slightly different figure of 1,248 for the number of bodies returned in the final stage of the accord – three more than Kyiv said it had received.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko on Monday accused Russia of 'deliberately complicating the identification process'.
Related Reads
Ukraine says it has received another 1,200 bodies from Russia
Russian strikes kill two and wound 60 in Ukraine
Two killed after Russian strikes on Kyiv and Odesa, hitting maternity hospital, Ukraine says
'Bodies are returned in an extremely mutilated state, parts of (the same) bodies are in different bags,' Klymenko said on Telegram.
Ukraine also 'received bodies of Russian soldiers mixed with those of Ukrainians' during the previous stages of the repatriation last week, he added.
Zelenskyy said on Monday that Moscow had offered Kyiv to swap captured Russian soldiers for Ukrainian children under its jurisdiction.
Kyiv says that hundreds of Ukrainian children were forcibly taken by Russia during its invasion and handed a list with the names of some of them to Moscow's delegation at the talks in Istanbul.
'Russians proposed this: we give them their soldiers, and they give us children,' Zelenskyy told reporters in Vienna, without elaborating on the proposal.
'It is simply beyond comprehension and beyond international law, but it is in their spirit,' he added, calling the idea 'madness'.
Moscow's defence ministry confirmed the latest handover of bodies on Monday, saying it had 'fulfilled the agreement'.
Russia also said it was ready to 'hand over another 2,239 bodies of fallen servicemen'.
Moscow said it had received the bodies of 51 dead Russian soldiers in return, taking the total number handed over by Ukraine in the latest exchanges to 78.
© AFP 2025

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump renews embrace of Putin amid ongoing rift with allies
Trump renews embrace of Putin amid ongoing rift with allies

Irish Times

timean hour ago

  • Irish Times

Trump renews embrace of Putin amid ongoing rift with allies

US president Donald Trump could have opened by talking about trade. He could have discussed the wars in the Middle East or the long-running, brutal war in Ukraine . But there was something else that appeared to be top of mind for Trump during Monday's meeting in Canada of the leaders of the Group of 7 industrialised nations: president Vladimir Putin of Russia. 'The G7 used to be the G8,' Trump told reporters, referring to the group's decision to eject Russia in 2014, after it attacked Ukraine and 'annexed' Crimea, a prelude to its full-scale invasion. He went on to blame former president Barack Obama and former prime minister Justin Trudeau of Canada for kicking Russia out, and argued that its inclusion in the group would have averted the war in Ukraine. (Trump was wrong – it was not Trudeau, but rather Stephen Harper, who was the Canadian prime minister at the time of Russia's expulsion.) READ MORE [ Iran and Israel broaden attacks as Trump urges 'everyone' to evacuate Tehran Opens in new window ] 'I would say that was a mistake,' Trump said, 'because I think you wouldn't have a war right now'. And with that, Trump's troubled history with the alliance repeated itself. When he attended the summit the last time it was held in Canada, in 2018, he called for Russia to be readmitted to the alliance. The suggestion angered and appalled allies, setting off a rift that before Trump left the summit early, telling reporters on his way out: 'They should let Russia come back in. Because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.' Trump's remarks came one day before he was supposed to meet in Canada with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy , whom Trump has repeatedly criticised for the invasion of his country and has even accused of not wanting the war to end. The White House announced Monday that Trump would leave the summit early and return to Washington to deal with the war between Israel and Iran. In a recent interview, Trump said he was open to having Putin serve as a mediator in the Middle East conflict. Trump's argument was even more remarkable given that he returned to the summit three years after Russia escalated the aggression that got it ejected in the first place – launching an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with similar goals of seizing its territory. The scene on Monday illustrated how even more aligned Trump has grown with the Russian autocrat since his first time in office, and how alienated Trump has become from US allies who have rallied around Ukraine. Asked about Trump's decision to open his remarks at the summit by criticising Putin's expulsion from the bloc, a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said Trump had long held that view and would share his opinion even if he were meeting global leaders who feel differently. [ G7 leaders aim for unity as Ukraine and Middle East wars add to global uncertainty Opens in new window ] Trump, in his remarks Monday, repeated a claim he made in 2018, that the Group of 7 needed Putin to help solve some of the world's problems – including ones the Russian leader himself caused. 'You spend so much time talking about Russia, and he's no longer at the table,' Trump said. John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, said Trump's multiple calls for Russia to rejoin the alliance indicated his lack of knowledge about the history of the bloc. Bolton accompanied Trump to the 2018 summit, where a memorable photo emerged of Trump seated across from other world leaders with his arms folded in defiance. 'Never seemed to understand that Russia had been kicked out of the G8 for invading Ukraine,' Bolton said. He said Trump also could not comprehend that the partnership 'was a group of like-minded industrial democracies. Apparently, still doesn't understand.' On Monday, Trump eventually issued statements and answered questions on Iran and trade. But he began by boasting about his close relationship with Putin. 'Putin speaks to me; he doesn't speak to anybody else,' Trump said, 'because he was very insulted when he got thrown out at the G8, as I would be, as you would be, as anybody would be.' Trump has spoken with Putin regularly, as recently as Saturday, when he said that the Russian leader had called him to wish him a 'Happy Birthday' and spent more time discussing the Iranian-Israeli conflict than the war he started. 'Our G7 partners are likely to conclude that Trump may be more interested in rehabilitating Putin rather than joining the consensus supporting Ukraine,' said Daniel M. Price, who worked on international trade and investment during the Bush administration. Trump's embrace – and sometimes outright defence – of Putin in his second term has thus far done little to quell the war, which he said on the campaign trail he could end in one day. He has also acknowledged that Putin may be taking advantage of him by dragging out the war. As Russia has escalated its incursion into Ukraine, Trump has repeatedly threatened tariffs against Russia, though he has yet to follow through. At the same time, UK prime minister Keir Starmer , along with other European leaders, was expected to use the summit to announce another sanctions package against Russia. Starmer said in a statement that he wanted to 'work with all of our G7 partners to squeeze Russia's energy revenues and reduce the funds they are able to pour into their illegal war.' Asked after a meeting with Starmer on Monday if the United States would join Europe in applying further sanctions, Trump downplayed the measure. 'Well, Europe is saying that, but they haven't done it yet,' he said. 'Let's see them do it first.' Trump said he was still waiting to see if a ceasefire deal could be made, adding that sanctions would also be costly for the United States. 'It's not just, let's sign a document,' he said. 'You're talking about billions and billions of dollars. Sanctions are not that easy. It's not just a one-way street.' Trump, in recent months, has also indicated that he wants to all but wash his hands of the war in Ukraine, having grown frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiating a peace deal. Experts said Trump's comments on Monday about welcoming Russia back into the fold of leading industrialised countries made clear his shifting goalpost for the war. 'To make that particular point I think cuts to the core of the recent most successful actions the G7 has taken,' said Josh Lipsky, the senior director for the Atlantic Council's Geoeconomics Center. 'It puts the summit in a G6 plus one dynamic right off the bat.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times . 2025 The New York Times Company

European 'empty rhetoric' is not enough to stop Israel's 'ethnic cleansing' of Gaza, MSF says
European 'empty rhetoric' is not enough to stop Israel's 'ethnic cleansing' of Gaza, MSF says

The Journal

time2 hours ago

  • The Journal

European 'empty rhetoric' is not enough to stop Israel's 'ethnic cleansing' of Gaza, MSF says

THE EUROPEAN UNION has the political, economic, and diplomatic means to stop Israel's 'calculated evisceration of the very systems that sustain life' in Gaza, and 'empty rhetoric' is not enough. That's what European government leaders have been told in an open letter written by the heads of the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), eleven of whose staff members have been killed during the 20 months of war on the besieged Palestinian territory. Dr Christos Christou, MSF International's president and Christopher Lockyear, the NGO's secretary general, described Israel's campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza as 'ethnic cleansing, wrapped in the rhetoric of security defence'. 'On a daily basis, MSF teams witness patterns consistent with genocide through deliberate actions by Israeli forces – including mass killings, the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure, and blockades choking off access to food, water, medicines, and other essential humanitarian supplies,' they wrote. Israel is systematically destroying the conditions necessary for Palestinian life. This pattern of violence and disregard for international humanitarian law, the said, 'shows that this war run by Israel in Gaza is against Palestinians as a whole'. Israel stands accused of committing genocide in Gaza in a case taken by South Africa at the International Criminal Court. It has also been accused of genocide by NGOs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Taoiseach Micheál Martin has also described Israel's actions in Gaza as genocidal. Despite these allegations, European support for Israel has remained steadfast, with some exceptions. Last month, some European states closely allied with Israel openly criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war and the ongoing military operations and settlement expansions in the occupied West Bank. That tone has since shifted back to support for Israel in the wake of its attack against Iran last Friday, which has also drawn attention away from the plight of the people of Gaza. Weaponising aid MSF pointed to the spate of massacres that have been committed by Israeli forces while hungry people have been waiting for humanitarian aid handed out by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation(GHF), an organisation the UN and NGOs refuse to work with. Advertisement 'The GHF launched its activities on 27 May, as part of the US-Israeli plan that instrumentalises aid,' the letter reads. 'Since then, hundreds of Palestinians have been treated in hospitals, and scores have been killed, after being shot at these aid distribution sites while waiting to receive basic necessities for survival. 'Humanitarian aid is being weaponised. It is being used as leverage to forcibly displace people, to meet military objectives, or blocked entirely. Aid is not a bargaining chip. It is a lifeline. 'Denying it is collective punishment – a war crime.' Yesterday, Israeli forces killed 34 people near a GHF distribution site. Today, Israeli forces killed at least 51 people and wounded more than 200 while they waited to get flour from a UN site. The war in Gaza is becoming ever more deadly and devastating. In what's become a macabre daily routine, more desperately hungry people were gunned down today, as they tried to collect food aid from the new US and Israeli backed distribution centre. — Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 16, 2025 'Empty rhetoric' 'The European Union and European governments have the political, economic, and diplomatic means capable of exerting real pressure on Israel to stop this assault and open Gaza's border crossings to unhindered humanitarian aid,' the MSF letter said. 'These are not theoretical instruments; they can be effectively mobilised in defence of international law and to protect civilians. The letter noted the recent rebukes of Israel by European leaders. 'Yet these words ring hollow, as they fail to take the substantive action needed to stop the slaughter, and hypocritically continue to provide weapons to Israel that kill, burn, or permanently disable the people who end up in our hospitals. This must stop.' MSF said the words and actions of European leaders are 'a test of your credibility and leadership'. Now is a moment that will define your legacy and determine whether laws meant to protect civilians in war retain any meaning at all. 'It requires political courage, legal responsibility, and moral commitment. The scale of suffering in Gaza demands more than your empty rhetoric. 'Every delay, every equivocation, and every policy that permits the machinery of devastation to roll forward with impunity is an act of complicity.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal

Government buys Citywest Hotel and convention centre for €148m
Government buys Citywest Hotel and convention centre for €148m

Irish Independent

time2 hours ago

  • Irish Independent

Government buys Citywest Hotel and convention centre for €148m

The hotel will be used for housing international protection applicants. Currently, around 2,300 international protection applicants, as well as Ukrainian refugees, live at Citywest. The Government is also intending to buy a number of other venues around the country to house migrants in up to 14,000 beds. Savings of around 50pc on operation costs will be made as a result of the purchase, according to Migration Minister Colm Brophy. It will take the State four years to recoup the costs. Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan said the Government wants to buy a number of other venues to house migrants around the country. 'In the programme for government, our intention is to own 14,000 accommodation units for applicants of international protection. That will require us to purchase further places around the country,' he said. 'That's going to result in a significant saving over a period. Up to four years, we'll have really reached savings in respect of it. So it's going to be far cheaper in the long term, in terms of owning it, as opposed to the costs we're paying at present per person in the accommodation. Migration Minister Colm Brophy said the numbers of migrants being housed at Citywest will not change. 'We are not changing the overall of what is happening in Citywest at the moment in terms of numbers,' he said. 'Citywest has been working very effectively in terms of having an IPAS centre there, having Ukrainians also present there and having also a range of services and facilities. 'We are not planning on changing those numbers,' he said. A portion of the hotel located in west Dublin - which is the biggest hotel in the country - is already being used by the Government to provide housing for international protection applicants. The current owners of Citywest received €51m from the State for the first nine months of last year for use of the facility. It was recently reported that the Stop Citywest Hotel Purchase residents' group is considering legal action to stop the Government's planned purchase. The Government agreed in March to implement a new system to house international protection applicants, which included the purchase of "medium and large turnkey properties."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store