logo
Zelenskyy says Ukraine, allies must resist Russian ‘deception'

Zelenskyy says Ukraine, allies must resist Russian ‘deception'

Al Arabiya18 hours ago
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Ukraine and its allies must work together to pressure Russia into ending its invasion, ahead of talks in Berlin with European leaders and US leader Donald Trump.
'Pressure must be exerted on Russia for the sake of a fair peace. We must learn from the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception on the part of Russia,' Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
'There are currently no signs that the Russians are preparing to end the war,' he added.
Zelenskyy is due in Berlin on Wednesday for talks with European leaders and Trump ahead of the US president's summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian leader said he and his team had held more than 30 conversations with world leaders and high-ranking officials ahead of the talks.
The flurry of diplomatic engagements have been overshadowed by rapid, but so far limited Russian push in the eastern Donetsk region, which the Kremlin claims is part of Russia.
A member of the Ukrainian delegation travelling with Zelenskyy to Berlin told AFP that the Russian gains around the mining hub of Dobropillia 'did not influence' preparation for Wednesday's talks.
Zelenskyy conceded one day earlier that Russian forces had advanced by up to 10 kilometers (six miles), but ruled out swapping territory with Moscow as part of any deal with Russia.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Washington, D.C. residents protest as White House says federal agents will be on patrol 24/7
Washington, D.C. residents protest as White House says federal agents will be on patrol 24/7

Arab News

time20 minutes ago

  • Arab News

Washington, D.C. residents protest as White House says federal agents will be on patrol 24/7

WASHINGTON: Residents in one Washington, D.C., neighborhood lined up Wednesday to protest the increased police presence after the White House said the number of National Guard troops in the nation's capital would ramp up and federal officers would be the streets around the clock. After law enforcement set up a vehicle checkpoint along the busy 14th Street Northwest corridor, hecklers shouted, 'Go home, fascists' and other insults. Some protesters stood at the intersection before the checkpoint and urged drivers to turn away from it. The action intensified a few days after President Donald Trump's unprecedented announcement that his administration would take over the city's police department for at least a month. The city's Democratic mayor walked a political tightrope, referring to the takeover as an 'authoritarian push' at one point and later framing the infusion of officers as boost to public safety, though one with few specific barometers for success. The Republican president has said crime in the city was at emergency levels that only such federal intervention could fix — even as District of Columbia leaders pointed to statistics showing violent crime at a 30-year low after a sharp rise two years ago. For two days, small groups of federal officers have been visible in scattered areas of the city. But a significant increase was expected Wednesday at the Guard's armory and troops were expected to start doing more missions in Washington on Thursday, according to a Guard spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the planning process. On Wednesday, agents from Homeland Security Investigations patrolled the popular U Street corridor. Drug Enforcement Administration officers were seen on the National Mall, while National Guard members were parked nearby. DEA agents also joined Metropolitan Police Department officers on patrol in the Navy Yard neighborhood, while FBI agents stood along the heavily trafficked Massachusetts Avenue. Hundreds of federal law enforcement and city police officers who patrolled the streets Tuesday night made 43 arrests, compared with about two dozen the night before. D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson downplayed the arrest reports as 'a bunch of traffic stops' and said the administration was seeking to disguise how unnecessary this federal intervention is. 'I'm looking at this list of arrests and they sound like a normal Saturday night in any big city,' said Henderson. Unlike in other US states and cities, the law gives Trump the power to take over Washington's police for up to 30 days. Extending his power over the city for longer would require approval from Congress, and that could be tough in the face of Democratic resistance. Trump suggested that he could seek a longer period of control or decide to call on Congress to exercise authority over city laws his administration sees as lax on crime. 'We're gonna do this very quickly. But we're gonna want extensions. I don't want to call a national emergency. If I have to, I will,' he said. Later, on his Truth Social site, Trump reiterated his claims about the city, writing, 'D.C. has been under siege from thugs and killers, but now, D.C. is back under Federal Control where it belongs.' Henderson, who worked for Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York before running for the D.C. Council, said she was already in touch with 'friends on the Hill' to rally opposition for any Trump extension request. She added, 'It's Day Three and he's already saying he's going to need more time?' Targeting a variety of infractions The arrests made by 1,450 federal and local officers across the city included those for suspicion of driving under the influence and unlawful entry, as well as a warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, according to the White House. Seven illegal firearms were seized. There have now been more than 100 arrests since Trump began beefing up the federal law enforcement presence in Washington last week, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said. 'President Trump is delivering on his campaign promise to clean up this city and restore American Greatness to our cherished capital,' she said. The president has full command of the National Guard and has activated up to 800 troops to support law enforcement, though exactly what form remains to be determined. Neither Army nor District of Columbia National Guard officials have been able to describe the training backgrounds of the troops who have so far reported for duty. While some members are military police, others likely hold jobs that would have offered them little training in dealing with civilians or law enforcement. The federalization push also includes clearing out encampments for people who are homeless, Trump has said. US Park Police have removed dozens of tents since March, and plan to take out two more this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said. People are offered the chance to go to shelters and get addiction treatment, if needed, but those who refuse could be fined or jailed, she said. City officials said they are making more shelter space available and increasing their outreach. Violent crime has dropped in the district The federal effort comes even after a drop in violent crime in the nation's capital, a trend that experts have seen in cities across the US since an increase during the coronavirus pandemic. On average, the level of violence Washington remains mostly higher than averages in three dozen cities analyzed by the nonprofit Council on Criminal Justice, said the group's president and CEO, Adam Gelb. Police Chief Pamela Smith said during an interview with the local Fox affiliate that the city's Metro Police Department has been down nearly 800 officers. She said the increased number of federal agents on the streets would help fill that gap, at least for now. Mayor Muriel Bowser said city officials did not get any specific goals for the surge during a meeting with Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, and other top federal law enforcement officials Tuesday. But, she said, 'I think they regard it as a success to have more presence and take more guns off the street, and we do too.' She had previously called Trump's moves 'unsettling and unprecedented' while pointing out he was within a president's legal rights regarding the district, which is the seat of American government but is not a state. For some residents, the increased presence of law enforcement and National Guard troops is nerve-racking. 'I've seen them right here at the subway ... they had my street where I live at blocked off yesterday, actually,' Washington native Sheina Taylor said. 'It's more fearful now because even though you're a law-abiding citizen, here in D.C., you don't know, especially because I'm African American.' ___ Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer, Konstantin Toropin and Will Weissert, photographer Jacquelyn Martin and video journalist River Zhang contributed to this report.

Trump eases space regulations in win for Elon Musk
Trump eases space regulations in win for Elon Musk

Al Arabiya

timean hour ago

  • Al Arabiya

Trump eases space regulations in win for Elon Musk

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday easing regulations for the private space industry, including eliminating some environmental reviews, in a move likely to please his erstwhile advisor Elon Musk. The executive order, which said it aimed to 'substantially' increase the number of space launches in the United States, was described by an environmental group as 'reckless.' Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has talked up several space missions including sending humans to the Moon and Mars. The Moon and Mars missions are planned to get a ride on the massive Starship rocket of Musk's private firm SpaceX. However, Starship has had a series of setbacks, with its latest routine test ending in a fiery explosion in June. SpaceX dominates the global launch market, with its various-sized rockets blasting off more than 130 times last year -- and that number looks set to rise after Trump's executive order. 'It is the policy of the United States to enhance American greatness in space by enabling a competitive launch marketplace and substantially increasing commercial space launch cadence' by 2030, the order read. The change could well benefit Musk, who has long advocated for deregulation of the space industry. The world's richest man was previously a close advisor to Trump before the pair had a dramatic, public falling out in July. The executive order also called on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy -- who was at the signing and is currently NASA's administrator -- 'to eliminate or expedite the Department of Transportation's environmental reviews' for launches. SpaceX has been repeatedly criticized over the environmental impact at the sites where Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket in history, blasts off. The US-based nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity said Trump's new executive order 'paves the way for the massive destruction of protected plants and animals.' 'This reckless order puts people and wildlife at risk from private companies launching giant rockets that often explode and wreak devastation on surrounding areas,' the center's Jared Margolis said in a statement. Musk's dreams of colonizing Mars rely on the success of Starship, and SpaceX has been betting that its 'fail fast, learn fast' ethos will eventually pay off. The Federal Aviation Administration approved an increase in annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25 in early May, stating that the increased frequency would not adversely affect the environment.

US First Lady Melania Trump demands Hunter Biden retract ‘salacious' statements on Epstein
US First Lady Melania Trump demands Hunter Biden retract ‘salacious' statements on Epstein

Al Arabiya

timean hour ago

  • Al Arabiya

US First Lady Melania Trump demands Hunter Biden retract ‘salacious' statements on Epstein

First lady Melania Trump demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and threatened to sue if he does not. Trump takes issue with two comments Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, made in an interview this month with British journalist Andrew Callaghan. He alleged that Epstein introduced the first lady to now-President Donald Trump. The statements are false, defamatory and 'extremely salacious,' Melania Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, wrote in a letter to Biden. Biden's remarks were widely disseminated on social media and reported by media outlets around the world, causing the first lady 'to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm,' he wrote. Biden made the Epstein comments during a sprawling interview in which he lashed out at 'elites' and others in the Democratic Party he says undermined his father before he dropped out of last year's presidential campaign. 'Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,' Biden said in one of the comments Trump disputes. Biden attributed the claim to author Michael Wolff, whom Trump disparaged in June as a 'Third Rate Reporter.' He has accused Wolff of making up stories to sell books. The first lady's threats echo a favored strategy of her husband, who has aggressively used litigation to go after critics. Public figures like the Trumps face a high bar to succeed in a defamation lawsuit. The president and first lady have long said they were introduced by Paolo Zampolli, a modeling agent, at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998. The letter is dated Aug. 6 and was first reported Wednesday by Fox News Digital. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer who has represented Biden in his criminal cases and to whom Brito's letter is addressed, did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store