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Japan Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Russia insists on achieving Ukraine goals despite Trump's ultimatum
FILE - In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, July 17, 2025, a Russian self-propelled multiple rocket launcher fires towards a Ukrainian position in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, file) Russia is open to peace with Ukraine but achieving its goals remains a priority, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday, days after U.S. President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions. Peskov and other Russian officials have repeatedly rejected accusations from Kyiv and its Western partners of stalling peace talks. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, launching more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate. 'President (Vladimir) Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,' Peskov told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin. 'The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear,' he added. The Kremlin has insisted that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022, but never fully captured. It also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces — demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected. In his nightly address Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his officials have proposed a new round of peace talks this week. Russian state media on Sunday reported that no date has yet been set for the negotiations, but said Istanbul would likely remain the host city. Trump threatened Russia on July 14 with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration following unsuccessful negotiations aimed at ending the war. The direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul resulted in several rounds of prisoner exchanges but little else. Trump said he would implement 'severe tariffs' unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy. In addition, Trump said European allies would buy 'billions and billions' of dollars of U.S. military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country's supplies of weapons. Included in the plan are Patriot air defense systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles. Doubts were recently raised about Trump's commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that U.S. stockpiles were running low. Elsewhere, Ukraine's air force said it shot down 18 of 57 Shahed-type and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight into Sunday, with 7 more disappearing from radar. Two women were injured in Zaporizhzhia, a southern Ukrainian region partly occupied by Russia, when a drone struck their house, according to the regional military administration. Two more civilians were injured in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv province, after a drone slammed into a residential building, local Ukrainian officials said. Later Sunday, drones struck a leafy square in the center of Sumy, wounding a woman and her 7-year-old son, officials said. The strike also damaged a power line, leaving some 100 households without electricity, according to Serhii Krivosheienko of the municipal military administration. Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces overnight shot down 93 Ukrainian drones targeting Russian territory, including at least 15 that appeared to head for Moscow. Ten more drones were downed on the approach to the capital Sunday, according to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. He said that one drone struck a residential building in Zelenograd, on the outskirts of Moscow, damaging an apartment but causing no casualties. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Toronto Sun
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Ukraine says Russia launched the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the war
Published Jun 09, 2025 • 3 minute read In this photo, taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, June 9, 2025, a Russian T-90 tank fires towards a Ukrainian position on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) AP KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, the Ukrainian air force said Monday, as the Kremlin presses its summer offensive amid direct peace talks that have yet to deliver progress on stopping the fighting. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account As well as 479 drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air force said its air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight on Sunday night, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claims. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push on eastern and northeastern parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Sunday that in some of those areas 'the situation is very difficult.' He provided no details. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its bigger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the U.S. policy on the war has fueled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Ukraine has produced some stunning counter-punches, however. Its recent drone attack on distant Russian air bases was unprecedented in its scope and sophistication. Russia intensifies its attacks The Ukrainian General Staff claimed Monday that special operations forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region located some 650 kilometres northeast from the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were hit. There was no immediate comment on the claim from the Russian authorities. Some Russian war bloggers said there was no damage to the warplanes. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Russian officials have said the recent intensified assaults are part of a series of retaliations for Ukraine's strike on air bases that were hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers. A strike on a Ukrainian air base in Dubno, in the western Rivne region, was one such response, the Russian Defence Ministry said Monday. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he will keep fighting until his conditions are met. Russia and Ukraine exchange more prisoners of war The exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians has been a small sign of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to agree on a ceasefire. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. More prisoners were swapped Monday in a staggered process taking place over coming days, Zelenskyy and the Russian Defense Ministry announced, though neither side said how many. Those swapped included wounded and seriously wounded soldiers, as well as those under 25, Zelenskyy said. 'The process is quite complicated, there are many sensitive details, negotiations continue virtually every day,' he added. But the two sides have disagreed over the transfer of soldiers killed in action. The Russian Defense Ministry alleged that Ukraine over the weekend failed to pick up the bodies of its fallen soldiers that Russia made available for collection. But Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow hadn't sent to Kyiv the names of more than 1,000 Ukrainians whose bodies are currently in Russian-controlled territories, as had been agreed. He accused Russian authorities of playing 'dirty' games. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Even so, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday the swap is expected to go ahead, although he said there were no specific arrangements so far for the transfer. Ukraine's intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said the exchange of soldiers' bodies will begin this week. Long-range drone attacks continue Russia has repeatedly targeted civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the war, as happened on Sunday night. The attacks have killed more that 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it only attacks military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Russia's Ministry of Defense said Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specializing in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, located more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) east of Moscow, local officials reported. Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said that 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire. World Sunshine Girls Golf Editorial Cartoons Canada
Economic Times
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
Russia awaits Ukraine's confirmation on a planned exchange of dead fighters, officials say
AP In this photo, taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Sunday, June 8, 2025, orderlies shows an open refrigerator of the first convoy, carrying bodies of Ukrainian soldiers for repatriation, at an exchange area near Novaya Guta, Belarus, for the beginning of a large-scale exchange between Russia and Ukraine. Russian officials said Sunday that Moscow is still awaiting official confirmation from Ukraine that a planned exchange of 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action will take place, reiterating allegations that Kyiv had postponed the swap. On the front line in the war, Russia said that it had pushed into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. Russian state media quoted Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, a representative of the Russian negotiating group, as saying that Russia delivered the first batch of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers to the exchange site at the border and is waiting for confirmation from Ukraine, but that there were "signals" that the process of transferring the bodies would be postponed until next week. Citing Zorin on her Telegram channel, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova asked whether it was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's "personal decision not to take the bodies of the Ukrainians" or whether "someone from NATO prohibited it." Ukrainian authorities said plans agreed upon during direct talks in Istanbul on Monday were proceeding accordingly, despite what Ukraine's intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, called Russian attempts to "unilaterally dictate the parameters of the exchange process." "We are carefully adhering to the agreements reached in Istanbul. Who, when and how to exchange should not be someone's sole decision. Careful preparation is ongoing. Pressure and manipulation are unacceptable here," he said in a statement on Telegram on Sunday. "The start of repatriation activities based on the results of the negotiations in Istanbul is scheduled for next week, as authorized persons were informed about on Tuesday," the statement said. "Everything is moving according to plan, despite the enemy's dirty information game." Russia and Ukraine each accused the other on Saturday of endangering plans to sw6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action, which was agreed upon during the talks in Istanbul, which otherwise made no progress toward ending the war. Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, led the Russian delegation. Medinsky said that Kyiv called a last-minute halt to an imminent swap. In a Telegram post on Saturday, he said that refrigerated trucks carrying more than 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian troops from Russia had already reached the agreed exchange site at the border when the news came. According to the main Ukrainian authority dealing with such swaps, no date had been set for repatriating the bodies. In a statement on Saturday, the agency also accused Russia of submitting lists of prisoners of war for repatriation that didn't correspond to agreements reached on Monday. It wasn't immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting claims. Russia says it is heading into Dnipropetrovsk region In other developments, Russia's Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had reached the western edge of the Donetsk region, one of the four provinces Russia illegally annexed in 2022, and that troops were "developing the offensive" in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. This would be the first time Russian troops had pushed into the region in the more than three-year-old war. Ukraine didn't immediately respond to the claim, and The Associated Press couldn't immediately verify it. Russia's advance would mark a significant setback for Ukraine's already stretched forces as peace talks remain stalled and Russian troops have made incremental gains elsewhere. Russia and Ukraine exchange aerial attacks One person was killed and another seriously wounded in Russian aerial strikes on the eastern Ukrainian Kharkiv region. These strikes came after Russian attacks targeted the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, on Saturday. Regional police in Kharkiv said on Sunday that the death toll from Saturday's attacks had increased to six people. More than two dozen others were wounded. Russia fired a total of 49 exploding drones and decoys and three missiles overnight, Ukraine's air force said Sunday. Forty drones were shot down or electronically jammed. Russia's defense ministry said that its forces shot down 61 Ukrainian drones overnight, including near the capital. Five people were wounded Sunday in a Ukrainian drone attack on a parking lot in Russia's Belgorod region, according to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov. Two people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at a chemical plant in the Tula region, local authorities said. Russian authorities said early Sunday that Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, two international airports serving Moscow, temporarily suspended flights because of a Ukrainian drone attack. Later in the day, Domodedovo halted flights temporarily for a second time, along with Zhukovsky airport.
Newsweek
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Russia's Pearl Harbor: Putin Dealt 'Serious Loss' in Stand Off with NATO
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ukraine's large-scale, coordinated drone strikes on Russia's high-value aircraft on Sunday packed a punch against part of Moscow's military that had been relatively unscathed by the war in Ukraine. But they have likely also benefited a NATO scrambling to prepare for a possible war with Russia, an adversary with significant airpower at its disposal. "Russia has suffered a serious loss in striking power, not just vis-à-vis Ukraine, but also towards NATO as a whole," said Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst at Dutch research organization, TNO. Ukraine on Sunday launched simultaneous drone strikes on several major Russian airbases, including in Siberia, just shy of 3,000 miles from Ukraine border, in a meticulously-planned attack that left analysts stunned. Kyiv said it had brought down roughly $7 billion in damage on Moscow's head, taking out more than a third of its strategic cruise missile carriers. The strikes were quickly dubbed Russia's Pearl Harbor, a reference to the (by contrast, unprovoked) Japanese attacks on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at the Hawaii military base in late 1941. In this handout photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, a Russian Tu-95 bomber taxies before takeoff at an airbase in Russia, Thursday, July 8, 2021. In this handout photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, a Russian Tu-95 bomber taxies before takeoff at an airbase in Russia, Thursday, July 8, 2021. Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP The head of Ukraine's SBU security service, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, said on Monday that Kyiv hit 41 aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers Russia has used extensively to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine. Ukraine also struck an A-50 spy plane, Malyuk said. The rare A-50 surveillance aircraft is an expensive and scarce asset for Russia, previously successfully targeted by Ukraine. Footage widely circulating online appears to show several aircraft in flames or damaged. Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine's national security and defense council, said on Monday "at least 13 Russian aircraft were destroyed." Ukrainian officials said Kyiv had targeted four Russian airbases across the vast country, while Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine had used first person-view (FPV) drones to target military airfields in five regions — Amur, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Murmansk and Ryazan. Moscow, in a rare admission, acknowledged "several" aircraft had caught fire in the strikes in Murmansk, in northwestern Russia, and Irkutsk, in Siberia. The SBU did not name the Amur base of Ukrainka, reportedly hit by drones, as a target. Ukrainka is a significant long-range aviation hub. An SBU spokesperson declined to comment when approached for clarification on Monday. Moscow cannot replace the Tu-95 and Tu-22 aircraft Ukraine struck, because they are no longer in production, Mertens told Newsweek. Russia's ability to launch long-range, precision strikes "has taken a real blow and this would make both Europe and the USA more secure in case of a war with Russia," Mertens added. How Many Bombers Does Russia Have Left? While the war in Ukraine has wreaked havoc on Russia's land forces, much of Moscow's military might, including the vast majority of its air force, has been largely untouched. General Christopher Cavoli, the top U.S. commander in Europe, said in April last year Russia had lost just 10 percent of its air force since early 2022. The exact number of bombers remaining is hard to make out, Mertens said, adding if Moscow still has enough in operation, it would be more limited by missile stockpiles than available aircraft. The Kremlin likely has less than 90 Tu-22, Tu-95 and Tu-160 aircraft in total at its disposal, The Economist reported on Sunday. Sunday's attacks "may at least temporarily constrain Russia's ability to conduct long-range drone and missile strikes into Ukraine," the U.S.-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) evaluated on Sunday. NATO officials have increasingly sounded the alarm over the possibility of Russia launching some form of attack on the alliance, often suggesting the likelihood of Moscow mounting an operation increases if a ceasefire is secured in Ukraine. Ukrainian and Russian officials began a second round of tense talks in Turkey early on Monday, although optimism is low for concrete progress toward a deal. Russia has in recent weeks hammered Ukraine with massive drone and missile strikes, provoking ire from President Donald Trump, eager to end Europe's largest land conflict since World War II. Ukraine's drone strikes on Sunday have had a "tremendous impact," likely to make Trump "think seriously" about Kyiv's negotiating position, said Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee. "In one stroke, we managed to do something that was absolutely unbelievable," Merezhko told Newsweek. The operation was a boon to morale while proving Kyiv is "not a burden for NATO," Merezhko added. Ukraine is a "shield for NATO," he said. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said they are fighting not just for Ukraine, but to stop Russia's advance further west into alliance territory. What Is Operation Spiderweb? Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said the "perfectly executed" operation, dubbed Spiderweb, had taken a year and a half to mastermind. Each of the 117 drones used had its own operator, the president said, and those involved worked across three different time zones. The SBU smuggled the drones into Russia, the agency said, before smuggling them into wooden containers with removable roofs mounted on trucks. "At the right moment, the roofs of the houses were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit the designated targets – Russian bombers," the SBU said. A second round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia kicked off in Turkey on Monday, although there is little optimism renewed discussions will quickly yield progress on a deal. Russia has in recent weeks intensified its aerial attacks on Ukraine, launching huge waves of drone and missile strikes across the country that drew sharp criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has typically refrained from overtly condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine, in the wake of its successful drone attacks, is anticipating a strong Russian response, Ivan Stupak, a former officer with the SBU, told Newsweek.
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First Post
01-06-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Ukraine carries out massive drone attack on Russia, targets 40 military aircraft after Moscow's record 472 drone assault
Ukraine launched a large-scale drone assault on multiple Russian air bases Sunday (June 1), reportedly striking more than 40 military aircraft. Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force on Sunday said that Russia launched 472 drones and seven missiles overnight read more In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, April 18, 2025, Russian soldiers launch a Supercam intelligence unmanned aerial vehicle towards Ukrainian positions in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) Ukraine launched a large-scale drone assault on multiple Russian air bases Sunday (June 1), reportedly striking more than 40 military aircraft in what could be one of the most damaging Ukrainian drone attacks since the war began, Reuters cited a Ukrainian security official as saying. The official said the strikes were carried out by Ukraine's SBU domestic intelligence agency and targeted four Russian military airfields simultaneously. Among the aircraft reportedly hit were Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers– long-range jets that Moscow has used to launch missile attacks against Ukrainian territory. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If confirmed, the strikes would mark a significant setback for Russia, as strategic bombers have been a key component of its aerial assault campaign. Video footage shared by the source appeared to show several large aircraft engulfed in flames, some resembling Tu-95 bombers. Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims or the authenticity of the footage. Ukraine, which lacks the long-range missile capabilities of Russia, has increasingly relied on domestically developed attack drones to target Russian military infrastructure and energy facilities Russian drone attacks on Ukraine Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force on Sunday said that Russia launched 472 drones and seven missiles towards Ukrainian territory overnight– a record since the beginning of the war. Ukraine's air force said that 385 of the aerial weapons launched by Moscow were neutralised. AFP cited an air force spokesperson as saying that it was the largest Russian drone attack since the invasion in February 2022. Both these developments have come ahead of talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul. With inputs from agencies
