&w=3840&q=100)
Ukraine doing everything to ensure June summits 'not hollow': Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that "language of force" against Russia must become the working one across all formats of international engagement in the coming months, referring to the upcoming G7 Summit (from June 15 to 17) in Canada and the Nato Summit in the Netherlands running from June 24-26.
"In the coming weeks, important meetings and negotiations will take place in Ukraine, and we are doing everything to ensure that the June summits--the G7 Summit in Canada and the Nato Summit in the Netherlands--are not hollow," he said.
"Russia only truly understands one language -- the language of force. That is precisely the language that must become the working one across all formats of international engagement in the coming months," he added.
Further, he said that Ukraine is working to secure the release of its prisoners of war and the return of fallen warriors. However, Russia has not provided full lists for exchanging over 1,000 people as agreed upon in Istanbul.
"Ukraine continues to do everything possible to secure the release of our POWs and the return of our fallen warriors. The full lists from Russia for the exchange of over one thousand people, as agreed in Istanbul, have still not been provided," he said.
Zelenskyy criticised Russia for turning prisoner exchange negotiations into a "dirty political and information game".
"In typical fashion, the Russian side is once again trying to turn even these matters into a dirty political and information game. For our part, we are doing everything we can to keep the exchange track moving forward," he said.
Recently, a planned exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine did not happen on Saturday due to disagreements between the two sides, CNN reported.
Russia claimed that Ukraine postponed the exchange at the last minute, while Ukraine denied this, saying that a date for the exchange of prisoners and bodies of dead soldiers had not been finalised.
Ukraine described Russia's claims about the failed exchange as "dirty games."
According to Russia, over 1,200 frozen Ukrainian bodies were left waiting in refrigerated trucks at an exchange point.
However, Ukraine stated that the two sides had agreed to exchange seriously wounded and young troops, but a specific date had not been set for the repatriation of soldiers' bodies, as per CNN.
Despite the failed exchange, Russia and Ukraine agreed to hold another prisoner swap this weekend during peace talks in Istanbul.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Ukrainian woman searches for husband lost in action two years ago
* Families of missing soldiers draw hope from prisoner swaps * Many relatives do not know what happened to loved ones * Uncertainty on both sides of the war since Russia invaded CHERNIHIV, Ukraine, - When gaunt Ukrainian soldiers dismount from buses as part of prisoner swaps with Russia, Mariia Pylnyk tries to find out anything she can about her missing husband from the freed men, and hopes, just maybe, that he will be among them. Holding up a photograph of Dmytro Pylnyk, lost in action in early 2023, she has many questions. What happened to his unit when it was ambushed by Russian forces? Was he captured by Russia? Could he eventually be released? The mass prisoner swap last month was an opportunity for people like her to ask troops just out of Russian captivity about missing loved ones who they believe, or simply hope, are prisoners of war. The alternative is unthinkable. "I hold out great hope that someone has heard something, seen something," Pylnyk, 29, told Reuters at a recent exchange in May, flanked by other relatives of those missing in action. "My son and I are waiting for dad to come home. Hope dies last. God willing, it'll all be okay and dad will come back." Precise numbers for soldiers missing in action are not made public. For Ukrainians, and for Russians on the other side of the conflict, it can be hard to find out even basic information. Pylnyk says she has written to government agencies and Russian authorities and learned almost nothing. Ukrainian officials say more than 70,000 Ukrainians have been registered missing since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. The majority are from the military but the figure also includes civilians. Another 12,000 have been removed from the list after being identified among the dead or returned in exchanges. Petro Yatsenko, a spokesman for the Coordination Council that arranges prisoner swaps from the Ukrainian side, said Russia had never notified Kyiv which soldiers it is holding prisoner. Ukraine collects that data by other means as best it can, he said. Pylnyk and others like her share information in online chat groups and use it to try to piece together what happened. "Misfortune brought us together," she said. "After two years of this, we're like a family." LAST PHONE CALL Dmytro Pylnyk, an electrician by trade, was drafted into the army in late 2022. He phoned home often so that his wife did not worry but last called on their son Artem's third birthday on Feb. 27, 2023. He was deployed from Kharkiv region towards Bakhmut, a small city that later fell to Russian forces after fierce fighting. His unit's convoy was caught in a Russian ambush, Mariia Pylnyk said she had learned. "The guys ran any which way," she said, citing conversations with commanders who told her 41 soldiers were missing in action. Two were captured and have since been released. One, who was freed in an exchange at Easter and had lost both his arms, was unable to share any valuable information, she said. The second refused to talk. The pace of prisoner swaps has increased in the last month. Ukraine and Russia each released 1,000 prisoners in a three-day exchange last month, the only tangible outcome of direct talks in Istanbul. A prisoner swap of under-25s on Monday was the first in a series of exchanges also expected to include each side repatriating the remains of thousands. Mariia Pylnyk has given her son's DNA to the authorities so that if Dmytro is confirmed killed in action they will be notified. "We all understand that this is war and anything is possible. But to this day, I don't believe it and I don't feel that he is dead. I feel like he's alive and God willing he'll return," she said. NO SIGNAL TO CALL She lives with Artem, now five, in Pakul, a village in the northern Chernihiv region that was briefly occupied by Russians. She has not told Artem his father is missing in action. "He knows that dad is a soldier, dad is a good man, dad is at work and just doesn't have any signal to call," she said. She takes comfort from seeing families reunited and never allows herself to cry in front of her son. She used to work in a shop, but Artem has often been ill. The angst of the last two years have taken their toll on her health too. She receives state support. Pylnyk has vowed to find her husband but has often not had time to attend prisoner swaps while looking after their son. "Only a weakling can give up, you know, throw up their hands and say that's it, he's not there," she said, adding that she was very emotional when she attended last month's big exchange. "When I was there, the fighting spirit awoke in me that I needed. I have to do this. Who else will do it but me?"
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'One of biggest in war': Russia unleashes drone, missile barrage on Ukraine; Zelenskyy urges global action
Russia launched attack on Ukraine (Image Credit: Zelenskyy's X account) Russia launched over 300 drones and 7 missiles, 2 of which were North Korean-made ballistic missiles, at Ukraine overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed. In the overnight attack, Russia launched a large drone attack on Ukraine, targeting Kyiv and causing damage to a maternity facility in Odesa's southern port, according to regional authorities' reports on Tuesday. Demanding swift action from the world, Zelenskyy said that it is vital that the response to the Russian attacks should not be silence from the world. "Russian missile and Shahed strikes drown out the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace. For yet another night, instead of a ceasefire, there were massive strikes with Shahed drones, cruise and ballistic missiles. Today was one of the largest attacks on Kyiv. Odesa, Dnipro region, and Chernihiv region were also targeted," Zelenskyy said in a post on X. He claimed that Russia used 315 drones in the attack, including 250 Shaheds, and 7 missiles, 2 of which were North Korean-made ballistic missiles. According to him, a maternity hospital in desa als became a Russian target. "It is vital that the response to this and other similar Russian attacks is not silence from the world, but concrete action. Action from America, which has the power to force Russia into peace. Action from Europe, which has no alternative but to be strong. Action from others around the world who called for diplomacy and an end to the war – and whom Russia has ignored. There must be strong pressure for the sake of peace," he added. The overnight strikes came after Russia launched the largest drone attack against Ukraine on Monday, part of heightened military activities that Moscow claims are in response to Ukraine's recent bold incursions into Russian territory, Reuters reported. In the early hours of Tuesday, medical teams responded to emergencies in four Kyiv districts, including the historic Podil area, as reported by Mayor Vitali Klitschko via Telegram.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Ukraine's Drone Attacks Temporarily Halt Flights In Moscow, Across Russia
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Ukrainian drone strikes led to temporary flight suspensions in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Russian officials reported no damage from the overnight drone strikes in major cities. Russian air defense claimed to have destroyed 102 Ukrainian drones during the attacks. Ukraine's overnight drone strikes have forced a temporary suspension of flights in all airports serving Moscow and the country's second-largest city St. Petersburg, but caused no damage, Russian officials reported on Tuesday. Russian air defence units destroyed a total of 102 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry - which reports only how many were downed, not the number Ukraine launched - said on the Telegram messaging app. Nearly half of the drones were destroyed over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, the ministry said. Three drones were downed over the Moscow region and two over the Leningrad region, of which St. Petersburg is the regional capital. Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia temporarily halted flights at all four major airports serving Moscow and St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport, as well as at airports in nine other cities to ensure safety, it said on Telegram. Flights in Moscow and some other cities were restored by Tuesday morning, but restrictions were still in place in St. Petersburg at 0430 GMT. Regional governors, who wrote about the attacks on Telegram, did not report any damage caused by the attacks.
