Ukrainian envoy hails Merz for keeping extent of military aid secret
Ukraine's ambassador to Germany has praised the country's new leader for keeping the extent of weapons deliveries for Kiev under wraps, in what is seen as an attempt to create "strategic ambiguity" aimed at leaving Russia in the dark about Ukraine's capabilities.
After taking office last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz agreed with Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to stop detailed publications of arms deliveries to Ukraine, including exact quantities.
Merz's predecessor Olaf Scholz pursued the same practice in the first months of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022, but his administration later succumbed to public pressure and began publishing a detailed list of the shipments online in June that year.
It was last updated on May 6, the day the new government took office in Berlin.
Merz, at the time the conservative opposition leader, sharply criticized the practice of keeping the details of arms shipments under wraps.
"We are being kept in suspense, there are excuses, there is no precise information about what Germany is actually supplying," he told broadcasters RTL and n-tv at the time, pledging he would "inform the public better" if he was elected chancellor.
"A good chess player thinks several moves ahead. What he doesn't do is predict these moves to his opponent," Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev told dpa, welcoming Merz's change of course.
Makeiev's predecessor Andriy Melnyk, on the other hand, criticized Merz for his u-turn, calling the approach a "very strange" practice that brought back "bad memories" of Scholz's centre-left administration which Melnyk claimed sought to mask restraint in arms deliveries by secrecy.
Melnyk argued that publishing the exact extent of the military aid would send a strong signal to Russia and have a preventative effect.
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Los Angeles Times
9 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. law enforcement's treatment of journalists during protests is once again under scrutiny
Abraham Márquez, a reporter with the nonprofit investigative news startup Southlander, was filming a tense standoff between Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and immigrant rights protesters in Paramount on Saturday night when he saw a deputy aim a 'less-lethal' launcher in his direction. Sensing a confrontation, Márquez said, he raised his press credential and 'kept yelling press, press, press,' even as he turned and began running in the opposite direction. He barely made it a few feet before he felt a stinging pain as first one foam round, then another slammed into his buttocks and his back. 'They just unloaded,' he said of the deputies. He was nearly struck again a short time later, when deputies riding by in an armored vehicle sprayed foam rounds into a gas station parking lot where Márquez and a KTLA-TV news crew had sought cover, he said. He was shaken, but said that he felt compelled to keep reporting. 'I got hit and what not but I'm glad I was there to document it,' he said. The incident was one of dozens in which journalists have been shot with less-lethal police rounds, tear-gassed, shoved and detained while chronicling the ongoing civil unrest and military intervention in the nation's second largest city, according to interviews and video footage reviewed by The Times. The police actions have drawn angry condemnation from public officials and 1st Amendment advocates. There have been multiple reported instances of reporters of not only being struck by projectiles, but also having their bags searched, being threatened with arrest, and getting blocked from areas where they had a right under state law to observe police activity. Among those hit by police projectiles were several Times reporters in the course of covering protests in downtown L.A. over the past few days. The LAPD and L.A. County Sheriff's Department have faced criticism and lawsuits over their treatment of news media during past crises, but some covering the recent events say the situation has only gotten worse with the inflammatory anti-media messaging coming from the Trump White House. 'The price for free speech should not be this high,' said Arturo Carmona, president and publisher of Caló News, a news site that covers issues that matter to English-speaking Latinos. 'Several of our reporters, several of whom are women of color, have been harassed and attacked by law enforcement.' In one high-profile case, a CNN reporter was briefly detained by officers while doing a live-on air segment. In another, Australian TV news reporter Lauren Tomasi was shot in the leg by a less-lethal round by an riot gear-clad officer moments after she wrapped up a live on-air segment. The incident became an international affair, with Australian Prime Minister Tony Albanese calling it 'horrific.' L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said it 'sends a terrible message,' and several city councilmembers referenced it while grilling LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell on Tuesday about his department's response to the protests. In a statement, the Sheriff's Department said it was reviewing video footage from several incidents involving the news media to determine whether any of its deputies were involved. The department said it is 'committed to maintaining an open and transparent relationship with the media and ensuring that journalists can safely perform their duties, especially during protests, acts of civil disobedience, and public gatherings.' 'Our goal is to support press freedom while upholding public safety and operational integrity,' the statement said. LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Rimkunas said that two of the roughly 15 complaints the department was investigating as of Tuesday involved possible mistreatment of journalists — a number that is expected to grow in the coming days and weeks Rimkunas said the department decided to launch an investigation of the Tomasi incident on its own, but has since been in contact with the Australian consulate. A coalition of 27 press and civil liberties advocacy groups wrote to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday 'to express alarm that federal officers may have violated the First Amendment rights of journalists covering recent protests and unrest related to immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area.' Multiple journalists who covered the protests told The Times that officers and deputies used physical force or the threat of arrest to remove them from areas where they have a right to be. In doing so, the journalists said, police were ignoring protections established by state law for journalists covering protests, as well as their own departments' policies adopted after mass protests after George Floyd's murder in 2020 and over the clearance of a homeless encampment in Echo Park in 2021. On Saturday, journalist Ben Camacho was documenting the scene in Paramount, where images of people vandalizing and burning cars dominated the nightly newscasts. Wearing his press pass and with a camera hanging around his neck, he watched in shock as law enforcement opened fire on the crowd with less-lethal munitions, striking Nick Stern, a British news photographer, who crumbled to the ground in front of him. After helping carry Stern to safety, Camacho said he too was struck by a round in the kneecap. 'I start to screaming pretty much at the top of my lungs,' he said. 'It was like a sledgehammer.' He noted that many people are working on freelance contracts that don't offer medical insurance, and said officers sometimes brush aside reporters with credentials from smaller independent outlets, which have an important role in monitoring events on the ground. Some police officials — who were not authorized to speak publicly — said officers try their best to accommodate reporters, but the situation on the street involves split-second decisions in a chaotic environment where they find themselves being attacked. They also contend that journalists from newer outlets or those who primarily post on social media act in adversarial or confrontational ways toward officers. Los Angeles Press Club Press Rights Chair Adam Rose said he has been collecting examples of officers from local, state and federal agencies violating the rights of journalists — seemingly ignoring the lessons learned and promises made the wake of past protests. Rose said many of the incidents were documented in videos that journalists themselves posted on social media. As of Wednesday morning, the tally was 43 and counting. The mistreatment of journalists at the recent protests are part of a 'history of ugly treatment by police,' Rose said, which included the 1970 killing of one of the city's leading Latino media voices, Ruben Salazar, who had been covering a Chicano rights protest when he was struck by a tear-gas canister fired by a sheriff's deputy. Even in cases where police abuses are well-documented on video, discipline of the offending officers is rare, Rose said. With plunging revenues leading to the downsizing of many legacy newsrooms, a new generation of citizen journalists have taken a vital role in covering communities across the country — their reporting is protected as their mainstream counterparts, he said. 'The reality is police are not the ones who're allowed to decide who is press,' he said. Some larger news companies have taken to hiring protective details for their reporters in the field, largely in response to aggressive crowds. On Saturday, L.A. Daily News reporter Ryanne Mena was struck in the head by a projectile fired by law enforcement during a demonstration in Paramount. She wasn't sure whether it was a tear gas canister or less-lethal munition, but said she later sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with a concussion. The day before she was hit in the thigh by another projectile while reporting downtown outside the jail, she said. Covering a few prior protests had taught her to always be mindful of her surroundings and to 'never have my back toward anyone with a weapon.' 'It's still kind of unbelievable that that happened,' she said of her concussion. 'It's unacceptable that that happened that other journalists were targeted.' Times staff writers Connor Sheets and David Zahniser contributed to this report.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine war latest: Ukraine strikes targets in Russia, including gunpowder plant
Key developments on June 11: Ukrainian drones strike targets in Russia, including gunpowder plant, General Staff says Zelensky urges 'stronger' EU sanctions on Russia, lower oil price cap Ukraine repatriates bodies of 1,212 fallen soldiers Ukraine's SBU releases fresh video of Operation Spiderweb, teases 'new surprises' NATO summit statement omits Ukraine's entry bid, $40 billion pledge, Bloomberg reports Ukrainian drones struck multiple military targets in Russia, including the Tambov Gunpowder Plant, overnight on June 11, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported. The plant, one of Russia's main manufacturers of gunpowder and explosives for small arms, artillery, and rocket systems, caught fire following the drone strike, according to the General Staff. Local residents reported hearing explosions and shared videos showing a large blaze near the facility, according to the Russian independent media outlet Astra. The General Staff described the attack as part of a broader operation to degrade Russia's ability to produce explosive materials and ammunition used in the full-scale war against Ukraine. The Tambov facility has been targeted several times since November 2023, and U.S. sanctions were imposed on it that same year. Tambov Oblast, located southeast of Moscow, lies hundreds of kilometers from Ukraine and shares no direct border with it. Russian state news agency TASS confirmed a drone attack but did not mention the strike on the powder plant. Tambov Oblast Governor Maxim Egorov said that emergency services had extinguished the fire and that there were no casualties, though he did not specify the location of the fire. In addition to the strike on Tambov, Ukrainian drones hit the ammunition depot of Russia's 106th Airborne Division in Kursk Oblast and the depot at Buturlinovka airfield in Voronezh Oblast, the General Staff said. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, the General Staff said. "The Defense Forces continue to take all measures to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian occupiers and force Russia to stop its armed aggression against Ukraine," the statement reads. Ukraine has ramped up long-range drone strikes in recent weeks, targeting Russian air bases and arms production facilities in an effort to disrupt Moscow's war machine ahead of an anticipated Russian summer offensive. Read also: As Russia inches closer to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, new Ukrainian region might soon be at war President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 11 called on the European Union to impose tougher sanctions against Russia, arguing that stronger financial pressure is necessary to curb Moscow's war effort. Speaking at the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Odesa, Zelensky said the upcoming 18th EU sanctions package "could be stronger," especially in targeting Russian oil tankers and the financial sector. He urged the EU to further reduce the price cap on Russian oil exports. "A ceiling of $45 per barrel of oil is better than $60, that's clear, that's true. But real peace will come with a ceiling of $30," he said. "That's the level that will really change the mindset in Moscow." After the 17th package of sanctions against Russia took effect on May 20, Ukraine's allies announced the following day that another round of restrictions was already in the works. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on June 10 that the EU is considering lowering the oil price cap from $60 to $45 per barrel — a measure that will be discussed at the upcoming G7 summit in Canada on June 15–17. The Kremlin's budget is increasingly strained by soaring military expenditures, with Russia's Finance Ministry relying heavily on energy revenues to fund the war against Ukraine. Join our community Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Support Us The push for tighter sanctions comes as Russia continues to reject ceasefire proposals and presses forward with military operations. Zelensky warned that Odesa remains one of Russia's "main targets," with plans to push beyond it toward the borders with Romania and Moldova. "Russia wants to destroy it, as it has done with countless cities and villages in the occupied territories," he said. "Russian military plans point to this region — Odesa — and then to the border with Moldova and Romania." Odesa is a major port city in southern Ukraine, located on the northwestern coast of the Black Sea. The president warned of possible destabilization efforts in the broader region, comparing the Kremlin's strategy to its previous interference in the Balkans. "We saw this before in the Balkans, where Russia intensified interethnic friction, carried out sabotage, and even attempted coups," Zelensky said. The Odesa summit was attended by several southeastern European leaders, including Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Romania's newly elected President Nicusor Dan. Vucic's trip marked his first official visit to Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Read also: Ukraine bracing for 'painful' reduction in US military aid after Hegseth announces cuts Ukraine has brought back the bodies of 1,212 fallen service members, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POW) said on June 11. The announcement follows Russian-Ukrainian Istanbul talks on June 2, which focused on exchanges of POWs and fallen soldiers. The repatriation was carried out through a coordinated effort involving the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Armed Forces, the Interior Ministry, the Ombudsman's Office, the State Emergency Service, and other national security and defense institutions. The International Committee of the Red Cross also supported the operation. The remains of soldiers were returned from multiple front-line regions, including Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Sumy oblasts. Officials emphasized that investigative and forensic teams from the Interior Ministry and the Health Ministry are working to identify the bodies in the shortest possible time. Vladimir Medinsky, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed Russia transferred the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers in accordance with the agreements in Istanbul, while Ukraine released the remains of 27 Russian service members. The Ukrainian side did not disclose how many Russian bodies were handed over in return. At the Istanbul meeting on June 2, Russian and Ukrainian delegations agreed on a new exchange of POWs but failed to reach a ceasefire agreement. The Turkey-hosted talks were the second round since mid-May and resulted in an agreement to exchange severely wounded and young prisoners, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying up to 1,200 individuals could be returned on each side. Russia also pledged to transfer up to 6,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. Following the Istanbul talks, Ukraine and Russia have already conducted two prisoner exchanges on June 9 and 10. While exact figures were not immediately disclosed, Ukraine confirmed the return of severely wounded and chronically ill prisoners, including those captured during the 2022 siege of Mariupol and held for more than three years. In Istanbul, Ukraine also submitted a peace proposal that called for a full ceasefire, an "all-for-all" POW exchange, the return of abducted children, and the use of frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine. Russia has yet to formally respond. Read also: 'Ukrainians have been stripped of illusion of control' — Filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai on Russia's war, cinema and reclaiming the narrative The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) released on June 11 a new video detailing the sequence of its mass drone strike against Russia's strategic aviation earlier this month. The Operation Spiderweb, carried out on June 1, involved 117 drones that were hidden in trucks across Russia and deployed against four air bases, some thousands of kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The strike deep in the rear damaged 41 aircraft, including Tu-95, Tu-22M3, and Tu-160 bombers, rare A-50 spy planes, and An-12 and Il-78 transport aircraft, causing damage of over $7 billion, the SBU said. Trucks, seen in the footage driving in an undisclosed location, first transported first-person-view (FPV) drones and wooden cabins to Russia, the SBU said. Already on Russian territory, the vehicles were loaded with cabins, which, in turn, carried the drones. 0:00 / 1× The preparations were taking place in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, not far from a Federal Security Service (FSB) office, according to the SBU. The loaded trucks then drove to multiple locations in the cities of Ivanovo, Ryazan, and in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, and Amur oblasts. The cabins opened remotely at the time of the attack, allowing the drones to strike Russian planes at the Belaya, Olenya, Dyagilevo, and Ivanovo air bases. The operation was also meant to strike at the Russian air base in Ukrainka in Amur Oblast, but this part of the attack failed. In the strike, Ukraine deployed drones specially designed by SBU specialists for attacks deep in the rear. Their unique features allowed them to be remotely controlled in real time thousands of kilometers behind the border, an SBU source told the Kyiv Independent. The drones' design also helped them "bypass Russian defenses and effectively strike the strategic aviation," the source said. SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk, who personally oversaw the operation, stressed that Ukrainian drones targeted "absolutely legitimate targets – military airfields and aircraft that attack our peaceful cities." "The SBU is hitting and will hit (Russia) where it considers itself unreachable!" Maliuk said in a statement. "We are working on new surprises, no less painful than the Operation Spiderweb." The attack was lauded by Ukrainian leaders and Western partners, with NATO Admiral Pierre Vandier calling it a reinvention of "the Trojan Horse" method with "technical and industrial creativity." Various satellite imagery released after the attack showed around a dozen destroyed planes. NATO estimates that between 10 and 13 Russian planes were completely destroyed, and more were damaged. In turn, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that roughly half of the 41 targeted planes have been damaged beyond repair. Russia acknowledged damage to its aircraft but claimed all of them will be "restored." Read also: America's weak strongman A one-page draft of a joint declaration for the upcoming NATO summit omits Ukraine's membership aspirations and last year's pledge of over $40 billion in support, Bloomberg reported on June 11 after reviewing the draft. This news signals that, for the first time since 2022, Russia's war against Ukraine will not be the chief focus of the annual NATO meeting, which is taking place on June 24-25 in The Hague. The unusually brief document recognizes Russia as a threat to NATO but not as an aggressor in Ukraine. It also does not mention China, Bloomberg reported. The communique of the 2024 summit in Washington named Beijing as a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine. Last year's gathering also included a declaration that Ukraine's path to NATO is "irreversible" and promised more than $40 billion in additional military aid. This year, the document will solely focus on defense spending, as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes NATO partners to hike the military expenditure benchmark from 2% to 5% of GDP. The final version of the statement can still change, Bloomberg reported. The brevity of the communique and the summit itself, as well as the decreased focus on Ukraine, stems from the effort to avoid conflict between Trump and European allies. In a sharp break from former U.S. President Joe Biden, the Trump administration has not approved any new military aid packages to Ukraine and signaled its intent to reduce assistance for Kyiv in the next year's budget. The U.S. president initially vowed to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow but became increasingly less engaged in the process as the negotiations stalled and Russia only intensified its attacks against Ukraine. According to Bloomberg, NATO allies will pledge to allocate at least 3.5% of GDP to defense needs and 1.5% to protecting infrastructure and civil preparedness by 2032. Member states will also consider counting their contributions to Ukraine as part of the new defense spending targets, the news outlet reported. The summit was preceded by rumors that President Volodymyr Zelensky would not be invited to participate for the first time due to U.S. opposition. Later, the speculations were dispelled after the Dutch media reported that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had invited the Ukrainian leader to attend. Ukraine War Latest is put together by the Kyiv Independent news desk team, who keep you informed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you value our work and want to ensure we have the resources to continue, join the Kyiv Independent community. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Zelensky accuses Russia of broader territorial aims at Odessa summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday accused Russia of pursuing wider territorial ambitions in Europe than it publicly admits. "Russian war plans point to this region – Odessa - and then toward the borders with Moldova and Romania," Zelensky said at the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in the Black Sea port city. He said that Moscow seeks to sow chaos across the region to weaken Europe as a whole. Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian General Rustam Minnekayev declared that controlling southern Ukraine and securing a land corridor to the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria were among Moscow's war aims. The Kremlin has never formally confirmed those objectives. Zelensky warns of domino effect Zelensky said Russia's goals extend well beyond Ukraine. The Kremlin, he claimed, has stirred ethnic tensions in the Balkans, meddled in elections in Romania, and is attempting to regain influence over former Soviet republics such as Moldova. He warned that if pro-Russian forces win Moldova's parliamentary elections in September, it could embolden Moscow to deepen its interference in other European countries. The summit in Odessa was held to coordinate regional support for Ukraine and address wider security concerns. Zelensky renewed his calls for stronger air defences and political backing, including support for Ukraine's bid to join the European Union. He also posted a video on Telegram showing himself and several visiting leaders laying flowers for fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
