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Asharq Al-Awsat
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Kiev Accuses Moscow of Launching New Offensive to Create Buffer Zone
Kiev on Wednesday accused Moscow of launching an offensive into northeastern Ukraine's Sumy and Kharkiv regions several days ago where it plans to create a buffer zone. Ukraine's commander in chief General Oleksandr Syrsky said in an interview with the media outlet that, 'For several days now, nearly a week, we've been seeing almost a doubling of the number of enemy offensive actions in all major areas.' President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly proposed establishing a so-called 'buffer zone' in the Sumy region. According to Syrsky, Ukraine must mobilize 30,000 soldiers every month, a figure previously named by President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'This is, indeed, the figure that we must abide with,' Syrsky said. He added that despite its ongoing defeats, Russia has increased its force in Ukraine. 'Every month, they increase it by 8,000-9,000; in a year, it's 120,000-130,000,' the Ukrainian General said. Russia and Ukraine launched fresh drone attacks on each other overnight, resulting in injuries and damage across multiple regions, according to officials on both sides. Ukrainian authorities reported strikes in several areas. In the city of Dnipro, 15 people were injured and 15 private homes, along with several multi-storey residential and commercial buildings, were damaged, said regional Governor Serhiy Lysak. In the eastern Donetsk region, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported five people injured by Russian attacks in various communities. In the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, two people were wounded following what local prosecutors described as a large-scale drone attack. Fires broke out and damage was reported to shops and residential buildings. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said on Telegram that it shot down 32 out of 55 drones launched by Russia overnight, and that another eight did not reach their targets, most likely because of electronic countermeasures. 'Eight enemy drone imitators have been lost (without negative consequences). Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions suffered as a result of the Russian attack,' the Telegram message said. Russia's military Wednesday said that its air defense systems destroyed 158 Ukrainian drones across 13 regions and the Black Sea overnight. In a separate development, Zelensky said his forces had captured two Chinese men fighting for Russia in eastern Ukraine. Asked about the claims in a daily press briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment. Writing on X on Tuesday, where he posted a video of one of the alleged men, Zelenskiy said Kyiv had 'information suggesting that there are many more Chinese citizens' fighting. He did not say whether Ukraine believed the men were acting on Beijing's orders. China's Foreign Ministry objected to Zelenskiy's remarks that more Chinese citizens were at the frontline alongside Russians, calling them 'groundless.' 'Ukraine should correctly view China's efforts and constructive role in seeking a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis,' ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press conference on Wednesday. China was verifying the situation with Ukraine, he said, adding that its government had always required its citizens to avoid areas of armed conflict and 'especially to avoid participating in the military operations of any party.' The case was the first publicly announced instance of Chinese nationals captured fighting for Russia in Ukraine since the conflict started three years ago.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia has capacity to mobilize 5 million trained troops, Syrskyi says
Russia can mobilize 5 million troops who have undergone military service and training, while its overall mobilization capacity is as many as 20 million, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview with the outlet published on April 9. Syrskyi named the figure to underscore the disparity between Russia's and Ukraine's potential, arguing that Kyiv must keep mobilizing its forces to sustain resistance against Moscow's onslaught. Russia has increased its force in Ukraine "fivefold since the beginning of the aggression," Syrskyi said in the interview, putting the number of Russian troops currently deployed in the country at 623,000. "Every month, they increase it by 8,000-9,000; in a year, it's 120,000-130,000." The disparity of forces is apparent on the battlefield, as the Ukrainian military has said Russian troops outnumber Ukrainian defenders 10 to 1 in some sectors. According to Syrskyi, Ukraine must mobilize 30,000 soldiers every month, a figure previously named by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Kremlin implemented only a partial mobilization in the fall of 2022 but has not declared a full draft, replenishing its forces with contract soldiers. Moscow has been largely successful in offsetting its massive battlefield losses in Ukraine, while Kyiv has struggled in recent months with manpower shortages. Russia has been building up its military capacities despite the U.S.'s efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the regular spring conscription of 160,000 men, the largest number in 14 years. Although Russian conscripts are typically not deployed in active combat, Moscow has relied on financial incentives and other methods to recruit civilians for the war in Ukraine. Syrskyi noted that some battlefield trends are working in Ukraine's favor, namely that Russia's advantage in artillery ammunition dropped from 10 to 1 to 2 to 1 over the past year. The commander-in-chief connected this development to Ukraine's long-range strikes against Russian arms warehouses in the rear. "(Russia) used about 40,000 or more rounds every day. After our strikes, the figure changed dramatically and is oscillating around 23,000; now, it has slightly increased, to 27,000-28,000." Read also: In Kyiv, skepticism about ceasefire reigns as Russia ramps up deadly attacks and US remains mute We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit program would pave way for greater impact
Like many other communities across Illinois, Rockford is facing a housing crisis. The city reports that 42.9% of renters across our community are cost burdened. Home buyers are burdened at about half the rate of renters. Burdened means they spend more than thirty percent of their income on housing, straining available income for other items like healthcare, transportation, food and education. While many local leaders are working to bring housing costs down through various efforts, i.e. zoning changes, property tax waivers, and more, these changes alone won't make a meaningful difference. Without additional action Rockford's crisis will worsen. Across Illinois we have an opportunity to leverage unspent federal bond capacity for the 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) allocations awarded annually to Illinois. The Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit creates a stable, predictable funding source for affordable housing development and leverages existing federal tax credit sources. To understand what this means for us here in Rockford … On March 10th, 2025, the City of Rockford Planning and Development committee, unanimously approved a Housing Strategy to 'create and preserve the 6,000-9,000 housing units by 2035 to support and build on regional growth.' Without the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit, we are leaving money on the table for housing production and filling gaps with other essential locally controlled funds that could be used elsewhere to spur additional economic development. For the city to meet this goal it committed to several actions, including, 'Combine HOME and CDBG funding with innovative financing approaches, such as TIF funding, tax rebates, and fee reductions to support housing development and redevelopment.' I sincerely appreciate this; however, why not support bringing money from outside our community to allow our 'in house' resources to go further? To see the practicality in the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit on an actual project in Rockford, I share the project I am currently preserving in downtown – The LaFayette Hotel. The Lafayette is an historic adaptive reuse project that transitions a once transient hotel to affordable housing for residents who make up to $39,360/annually (single person household). The LaFayette total project costs are approximately $18.6M. This was a very tight project. We had to leverage several state and local resources to fill the gaps, including $650,000 in City HOME funds. Had the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit been in place, it would have generated sufficient equity through the sale of the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credits. This means we wouldn't have needed our local funds, and they could have gone elsewhere to develop even more housing and create greater economic impact. Rockford's housing challenges are not unique; they reflect a broader statewide issue. Illinois has a shortage of more than 289,000 affordable rental homes for its lowest-income residents. In many Illinois communities, including Rockford, the cost of developing housing exceeds what the market can sustain in rent or sale prices. And, as previously mentioned, while local leaders are taking steps to address this gap, without new solutions, the housing crisis will only worsen. This bipartisan legislation has broad support from the business, housing, and real estate communities. Passing the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit (HB 1147/SB62) is a smart, common-sense investment in our future. I ask that you join me in advocating for the passage of the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit to spur housing production. Please call your legislators today and ask them to support HB 1147/SB62. Ron Clewer is the National President for Community Revitalization for Gorman & Company. He also serves the boards of Winnebago County CASA, Northern Illinois Center For Nonprofit Excellence, Transform Rockford and on the statewide preservation organization, Landmarks Illinois. This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Why I'm supporting the Build Illinois Homes Tax Credit | Opinion
