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Straits Times
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Russia says it struck oil refinery that supplies Ukrainian army with fuel
A Russian military helicopter flies in the sky, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk Region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko MOSCOW - Russian forces carried out an overnight strike on the Kremenchuk oil refinery that supplies fuel to Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region, Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday. The ministry's statement said that missiles had been fired at the refinery in Ukraine's Poltava region from both sea and air and that strike drones were also used in what it said had been a successful attack. Reuters could not verify the battlefield report and there was no immediate Ukrainian comment on the Russian statement. Russia has claimed Ukraine's eastern Donbas region as its own and controls most of its two regions, Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukraine is fighting to stop Russia taking control of the rest of Donbas and has said it plans to retake territory it has lost through a combination of force and diplomacy. The Russian Defence Ministry said separately that its forces had taken control of the village of Malynivka in the Donetsk region, known in Russia as Ulyanovka. It also said its forces had advanced deep into enemy defences in Ukraine's Sumy region and inflicted heavy losses on Ukrainian units there. Sumy is not one of the regions Russia has formally claimed as its own, but it has spoken of creating a buffer zone there. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had recaptured Andriivka village in northeastern Sumy as part of a drive to expel Russian forces from the area. He says Russia has amassed 53,000 troops in the vicinity. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Russia says it struck oil refinery that supplies Ukrainian army with fuel
A Russian military helicopter flies in the sky, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk Region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian forces carried out an overnight strike on the Kremenchuk oil refinery that supplies fuel to Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region, Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday. The ministry's statement said that missiles had been fired at the refinery in Ukraine's Poltava region from both sea and air and that strike drones were also used in what it said had been a successful attack. Reuters could not verify the battlefield report and there was no immediate Ukrainian comment on the Russian statement. Russia has claimed Ukraine's eastern Donbas region as its own and controls most of its two regions, Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukraine is fighting to stop Russia taking control of the rest of Donbas and has said it plans to retake territory it has lost through a combination of force and diplomacy. The Russian Defence Ministry said separately that its forces had taken control of the village of Malynivka in the Donetsk region, known in Russia as Ulyanovka. It also said its forces had advanced deep into enemy defences in Ukraine's Sumy region and inflicted heavy losses on Ukrainian units there. Sumy is not one of the regions Russia has formally claimed as its own, but it has spoken of creating a buffer zone there. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had recaptured Andriivka village in northeastern Sumy as part of a drive to expel Russian forces from the area. He says Russia has amassed 53,000 troops in the vicinity. (Reporting by ReutersWriting by Andrew Osborn/Felix LightEditing by Jan Harvey and David Goodman)
Straits Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Pre-war EU-Ukraine trade deal may temporarily return when tariff suspension expires
FILE PHOTO: Farmers operate combines while harvesting wheat in a field in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, outside the town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, July 12, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Farmers hold signs and flags at a protest against cheap non-EU imports, the trade agreement between the South American countries of Mercosur, and duty-free imports from Ukraine, at the Czech-Slovak border near the town of Holic, Slovakia, February 27, 2025. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa/File Photo BRUSSELS - The EU is weighing a temporary return to its pre-war trade agreement with Ukraine if a renegotiated deal is not ready to take effect when war-related tariff suspensions expire on June 5, EU diplomats said on Wednesday. The Commission proposed this transitional period would last seven months or until a new deal can come into effect. The EU temporarily waved duties and quotas on agri-food products in June 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion to help Ukraine compensate for the higher costs of its exports via the EU, after Russia threatened its traditional Black Sea shipping lanes. Ukraine's finance minister said on Wednesday he was in talks with the EU to renew the emergency measures but the Commission said no extension was planned. "The Commission is not planning to propose an extension of the ATMs (tariff suspension)... because we are currently working on the review of the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Trade Area (DCFTA)," the spokesperson said. "In this review process, our priority will be the gradual compliance of Ukraine with EU production standards, and a safeguard clause that could be triggered to prevent any disturbance to the EU and Ukrainian markets." EU farmers have repeatedly protested against a sudden influx of cheaper products from Ukraine and the Commission introduced "emergency brakes" on imports of poultry, sugar, oats, maize, groats, and honey if these exceed the yearly average in 2021-2023. The Commission has been eying a sharp cut to Ukrainian sugar imports complaints that large shipments have fuelled a collapse in prices. The EU is Ukraine's largest trade partner and Ukraine is the third largest supplier of agri-food products to the EU, according to EU data. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
UN aviation body rules Russia downed Malaysian airliner, say Dutch
FILE PHOTO: People hold flags at a memorial to victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 plane crash during a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the accident, near the village of Hrabove (Grabovo) in the Donetsk region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo OTTAWA - The U.N. aviation council on Monday ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine in 2014 with the deaths of 298 passengers and crew, the Dutch government said. In a statement, it said the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization would in the coming weeks consider what form of reparation was in order. Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, and was shot down over eastern Ukraine as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. In November 2022, Dutch judges convicted two Russian men and a Ukrainian man in absentia of murder for their role in the attack. Moscow called the ruling "scandalous" and said it would not extradite its citizens. The ICAO, which is based in Montreal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case was launched in 2022 by Australia and the Netherlands. "The decision is an important step towards establishing the truth and achieving justice and accountability for all victims of Flight MH17, and their families and loved ones," Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a statement. "This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: states cannot violate international law with impunity." The Netherlands and Australia want the ICAO Council to order Russia to enter into negotiations over reparations, he added. ICAO lacks regulatory power but holds moral suasion and sets global aviation standards overwhelmingly adopted by its 193-member states. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Barnama
21-04-2025
- Business
- Barnama
Ukraine War A Test Of ASEAN Resilience -- Scholar
A view shows a multi-storey residential building destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Avdiivka (Avdeyevka), in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 19, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 (Bernama) -- The ongoing war in Ukraine serves as a critical test of ASEAN's resilience, said Dr Phar Kim Beng, Professor of ASEAN Studies at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). "From an ASEAN perspective, the war in Ukraine is not merely a geopolitical contest but a lesson in resilience … that global instability can no longer be outsourced or ignored, and that regionalism must adapt not by rushing to respond, but by preparing to endure," he said in an article shared with Bernama. Phar observed that, more than three years into the conflict, the war continues without a clear resolution. bootstrap slideshow While Western nations focus on strategic implications, he noted that ASEAN leaders are more concerned about how prolonged instability could reshape global trade and economic governance, directly impacting Southeast Asia. Despite ASEAN's relative silence on the Ukraine conflict, Phar emphasised that this should not be mistaken for indifference. "ASEAN is not idle. The war has accelerated the region's efforts to strengthen food security, build supply chain resilience, and pursue currency diversification. "It reflects ASEAN's long-standing principles of non-interference, strategic neutrality and its cautious balancing of relations with external powers," he said. He also highlighted that ASEAN's core focus in 2025 lies in economic resilience, including efforts to finalise the long-pending EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, ensure coherence within the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and brace for the impact of escalating US tariffs under a second Trump administration. "The Ukraine war is less a call to arms and more a warning – that the liberal international order is no longer coherent. Each region must now find its own footing."
