Latest news with #Iran-designed
Ya Libnan
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Trump is still struggling to end Ukraine war as US- Russia talks ended with no deal
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, second left, at a previous round of talks in Riyadh last month. The talks ended yesterday with no deal. There were no immediate plans for another call between Putin and Trump. Ukraine and Russia have agreed in theory to a limited, 30-day ceasefire, but President Vladimir Putin has essentially demanded Ukraine's surrender and continued to bomb it. By Alexander Smith President Donald Trump's promises of a hasty end to the war in Ukraine were given a hard reality check Tuesday, with Russian officials saying that the latest round of ceasefire talks with the United States ended without a written agreement and the Kremlin continuing to bomb Ukraine. The media had been briefed to expect a statement following discussions in Saudi Arabia, but no such written conclusion was released. In an interview with Russian state television, the first deputy chairman of Russia's defense committee, Vladimir Chizhov, blamed the position taken by Ukraine. 'They sat for 12 hours and seemed to have agreed on a joint statement,' Chizhov told Rossiya 24. 'However, this was not adopted due to Ukraine's position,' he said, calling the holdup 'very characteristic and symptomatic.' The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment on the conclusion of the talks. While both sides have, in theory, agreed to a limited, 30-day ceasefire, Russian President Vladimir Putin has imposed conditions that would essentially constitute a Ukrainian surrender. Meanwhile, Kyiv says the Kremlin is clearly uninterested in peace, given that it continues to launch nightly mass drone attacks against the country. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier Tuesday that there were no immediate plans for another call between Putin and Trump. Ukraine, meanwhile, is still counting the casualties from an attack a day earlier in the city of Sumy — on a dense residential area, a children's hospital and a school — with authorities so far reporting 101 people injured, including 23 children. Russia fired 139 more Iran-designed Shahed drones into Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said. They added that while 78 were shot down, others caused damage in the regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Cherkasy and Odessa. 'Instead of making hollow statements about peace, Russia must stop bombing our cities and end its war on civilians,' Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a statement Monday. 'Any diplomacy with Moscow must be backed up by firepower, sanctions, and pressure.' Three years after it was invaded by Putin, Ukraine has itself launched retaliatory strikes on targets related to the Kremlin's war effort. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down a Ukrainian drone headed for an oil pumping depot that supplies the country's energy exports. The ministry said that drone attacks launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 'confirm his inability to negotiate.' It added, 'The Kiev regime continues to deliberately plan, prepare and carry out attacks on energy infrastructure.' Russia and Ukraine have continued this mutual bombardment despite agreeing to a limited ceasefire in principle earlier this month. The Kremlin, meanwhile, has issued demands tantamount to a Ukrainian surrender. There have been subtly differing statements about what this ceasefire might cover, with American readouts referring to 'energy and infrastructure' and the Kremlin referring only to 'energy infrastructure.' U.S. and Russian negotiators have also presented starkly different accounts of how the talks were going. While Moscow's representatives have appeared circumspect, American officials have sounded optimistic about the talks in Saudi Arabia, even as a parallel ceasefire agreement brokered by the White House in the Gaza Strip has fallen apart. One of the heads of Russia's delegation in Riyadh, Grigorii Karasin, was more forthcoming, calling the negotiations 'very useful.' 'We discussed everything, there was a busy, not an easy dialogue, but very useful for us and for the Americans,' he told Russia's state-controlled Tass news agency Tuesday. 'Of course, not everything was resolved, not everything was agreed upon,' he added. One issue being discussed is the 'Black Sea Initiative,' which was designed to help Ukraine ship grain abroad while minimizing the impact of sanctions on Russian food and fertilizer exports. Moscow nixed this deal in 2023, complaining the second half of the deal was not being honored by Western countries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would need 'clear guarantees' to resume the deal, and that these 'guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelenskyy.' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that territory and 'lines of demarcation' were among the subjects discussed in Riyadh, as well as a proposal by the U.S. to take control of a key nuclear plant in Ukraine. 'They are talking about ownership of the big nuclear power plant in particular,' he said. 'Something like that would be fine with me,' he added, calling it a 'great meeting.' Meanwhile, Zelenskyy gave his most expansive account yet of the remarkable Oval Office bust-up between him, Trump and Vice President JD Vance last month. He told Time magazine in an interview published Monday that he 'was defending the dignity of Ukraine' during that discussion. CNBC
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Russia and Ukraine agree to Black Sea ceasefire, Trump administration says
The White House said Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea and to implement a ban on attacks on energy facilities by the two neighbors, an apparent breakthrough after American negotiators held separate talks with both countries. If implemented, the agreements could mark a major step toward a wider deal to end the three-year-long war, which began when Russia launched a largescale invasion of its smaller neighbor. Negotiators had agreed both countries would 'ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea,' the White House said in two separate statements. Both statements also said that Russia and Ukraine would stop striking each other's energy facilities. The announcement came after American officials met separately with Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh. While the statements were similarly worded, one about the talks with the Kremlin said the United States would help to 'restore Russia's access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.' In the second statement, the White House said the U.S. and Ukraine had agreed that America 'remains committed to helping achieve the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children.' Neither statement mentioned security guarantees for Ukraine or efforts to regain land seized by Russia, which currently holds around 20% of Ukraine's territory. Both Russian and Ukrainian officials appeared skeptical that the other side would keep their end of the bargain. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Reuters in a televised interview that the Kremlin could not trust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and it would only sign a Black Sea deal if Washington issued an 'order' to him to respect it. 'We will need clear guarantees. And given the sad experience of agreements with just Kyiv, the guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelenskyy and his team to do one thing and not the other,' he added. Zelenskyy also told a news conference that he had 'questions about how all this will be implemented,' adding that there was 'no faith in the Russians here, but I believe that we will be constructive.' His country was still counting the casualties from an attack a day earlier in the city of Sumy — on a dense residential area, a children's hospital and a school — with authorities reporting 101 people injured, including 23 children. Russia fired 139 more Iran-designed Shahed drones into the country overnight, Ukrainian officials said. They added that while 78 were shot down, others caused damage in the regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Cherkasy and Odessa. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's promise of a quick end to Ukraine war gets a reality check after talks end with no deal
President Donald Trump's promises of a hasty end to the war in Ukraine were given a hard reality check Tuesday, with Russian officials saying that the latest round of ceasefire talks with the United States ended without a written agreement and the Kremlin continuing to bomb Ukraine. The media had been briefed to expect a statement following discussions in Saudi Arabia, but no such written conclusion was released. In an interview with Russian state television, the first deputy chairman of Russia's defense committee, Vladimir Chizhov, blamed the position taken by Ukraine. 'They sat for 12 hours and seemed to have agreed on a joint statement,' Chizhov told Rossiya 24. 'However this was not adopted due to Ukraine's position,' he said, calling the holdup 'very characteristic and symptomatic.' The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment on the conclusion of the talks. While both sides have — in theory — agreed to a limited, 30-day ceasefire, Russian President Vladimir Putin has imposed conditions that would essentially constitute a Ukrainian surrender. Meanwhile, Kyiv says the Kremlin is clearly uninterested in peace given that it continues to launch nightly mass drone attacks against the country. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier Tuesday that there were no immediate plans for another call between Putin and Trump. Ukraine, meanwhile, is still counting the casualties from an attack a day earlier in the city of Sumy — on a dense residential area, a children's hospital and a school — with authorities so far reporting 101 people injured, including 23 children. Russia fired 139 more Iran-designed Shahed drones into Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said. They added that while 78 were shot down, others caused damaged in the regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Cherkasy and Odessa. 'Instead of making hollow statements about peace, Russia must stop bombing our cities and end its war on civilians,' Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a statement Monday. 'Any diplomacy with Moscow must be backed up by firepower, sanctions, and pressure.' Three years after it was invaded by Putin, Ukraine has itself launched retaliatory strikes on targets related to the Kremlin's war effort. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down a Ukrainian drone headed for an oil pumping depot that supplies the country's energy exports. The ministry said that drone attacks launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "confirms his inability to negotiate." It added, "The Kiev regime continues to deliberately plan, prepare and carry out attacks on energy infrastructure." Russia and Ukraine have continued this mutual bombardment despite agreeing to a limited ceasefire in principle earlier this month. The Kremlin, meanwhile, has issued demands tantamount to a Ukrainian surrender. There have been subtly differing statements about what this ceasefire might cover, with American readouts referring to 'energy and infrastructure' and the Kremlin referring only to 'energy infrastructure.' U.S. and Russian negotiators have also presented starkly different accounts of how the talks were going. While Moscow's representatives have appeared circumspect, American officials have sounded optimistic about the talks in Saudi Arabia, even as a parallel ceasefire agreement brokered by the White House in the Gaza Strip has fallen apart. One of the heads of Russia's delegation in Riyadh, Grigorii Karasin, was more forthcoming, calling the negotiations 'very useful.' 'We discussed everything, there was a busy, not an easy dialogue, but very useful for us and for the Americans,' he told Russia's state-controlled Tass news agency Tuesday. 'Of course, not everything was resolved, not everything was agreed upon,' he added. One issue being discussed is the "Black Sea Initiative," which was designed to help Ukraine ship grain abroad while minimizing the impact of sanctions on Russian food and fertilizer exports. Moscow nixed this deal in 2023, complaining the second half of the deal was not being honored by Western countries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would need "clear guarantees" to resume the deal, and that these "guarantees can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelenskyy." Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that territory and "lines of demarcation" were among the subjects discussed in Riyadh, as well as a proposal by the U.S. to take control of a key nuclear plant in Ukraine. "They are talking about ownership of the big nuclear power plant in particular," he said. 'Something like that would be fine with me,' he added, calling it a "great meeting." Meanwhile, Zelenskyy gave his most expansive account yet of the remarkable Oval Office bust-up between him, Trump and Vice President JD Vance last month. He told Time magazine in an interview published Monday that he 'was defending the dignity of Ukraine' during that discussion. This article was originally published on
NBC News
25-03-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Reality check for Trump's promise for a quick end to Ukraine war after talks end with no deal
President Donald Trump's promises of a hasty end to the war in Ukraine were given a hard reality check Tuesday, with Russian officials saying that the latest round of ceasefire talks with the U.S. ended without a written agreement and the Kremlin continuing to bomb Ukrainian civilians. The media had been briefed to expect a statement following discussions in Saudi Arabia, but no such written conclusion was released. In an interview with Russian state television, first deputy chairman of Russia's defense committee Vladimir Chizhov blamed the position taken by Ukraine. 'They sat for 12 hours and seemed to have agreed on a joint statement,' Chizhov told Rossiya 24. 'However this was not adopted due to Ukraine's position,' he said, calling the hold up 'very characteristic and symptomatic.' While both sides have — in theory — agreed to a limited, 30-day ceasefire, Russian President Vladimir Putin has imposed conditions that would essentially constitute a Ukrainian surrender. Meanwhile Kyiv says the Kremlin is clearly uninterested in peace given that it continues to launch nightly mass drone attacks against its people. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier Tuesday that there were no immediate plans for another call between presidents Putin and Trump. Ukraine, meanwhile, is still counting the casualties from an attack a day earlier in the city of Sumy — on a dense residential area, a children's hospital and a school — with authorities so far reporting 99 people injured including 23 children. Russia fired 139 more Iran-designed 'Shahed' drones into Ukraine overnight into Tuesday, Ukraine officials said. They added that while 78 were shot down, others caused damaged in the regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Cherkasy and Odessa. 'Instead of making hollow statements about peace, Russia must stop bombing our cities and end its war on civilians,' Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a statement Monday. 'Any diplomacy with Moscow must be backed up by firepower, sanctions, and pressure.' Three years after it was invaded by Putin, Ukraine has itself launched retaliatory strikes on targets related to the Kremlin's war effort. On Monday the Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down a Ukrainian drone headed for an oil pumping depot that supplies the country's energy exports. "The Kiev regime continues to deliberately plan, prepare and carry out attacks on energy infrastructure," the ministry said. Russia and Ukraine have continued this mutual bombardment despite agreeing to a limited ceasefire in principle earlier this month. The Kremlin meanwhile has issued demands tantamount to a Ukrainian surrender. There have been subtly differing statements about what this ceasefire might cover, with American readouts referring to 'energy and infrastructure' and the Kremlin referring only to 'energy infrastructure.' U.S. and Russian negotiators have also presented starkly different accounts of how the talks were going. While Moscow's representatives have appeared circumspect, American officials have sounded optimistic about the talks in Saudi Arabia, even as a parallel ceasefire agreement brokered by the White House in Gaza has fallen apart. One of the heads of Russia's delegation in Riyadh, Grigorii Karasin, was more forthcoming, calling the negotiations 'very useful.' 'We discussed everything, there was a busy, not an easy dialogue, but very useful for us and for the Americans,' he told Russia's state-controlled TASS news agency Tuesday. 'Of course, not everything was resolved, not everything was agreed upon,' he added. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that territory and "lines of demarcation" were among the subjects discussed in Riyadh, as well as a proposal mooted by the U.S. to take control of a key nuclear plant in Ukraine. "They are talking about ownership of the big nuclear power plant in particular," he said. 'Something like that would be fine with me,' he added, calling it a "great meeting." Meanwhile Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave his most expansive account yet of the remarkable Oval Office bust-up between him, Trump and Vice President JD Vance last month. He told Time magazine in an interview published Monday that he 'was defending the dignity of Ukraine' during that discussion.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine says its long-range drones hit a Russian airfield as France delivers Mirage fighter jets
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces struck an airfield in southern Russia that was being used to launch Iran-designed Shahed drones, Ukraine's General Staff claimed Thursday, as France said it had delivered a first batch of Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine. The nighttime attack on the Primorsko-Akhtarsk airfield in Russia's Krasnodar region started a fire, the General Staff wrote on Facebook. The facility houses and fires drones and maintains aircraft used to attack Ukraine's Kherson and Zaporizhzhia border region. It was not possible to independently verify the claim. The Russian Defense Ministry reported downing Ukrainian drones over Krasnodar, but it didn't say where or mention the airfield. Ukraine has developed its own long-range drones as part of its effort to grow its domestic arms industry and become less dependent on Western help to fight its almost three-year war with Russia. The drones have at times reached deep into Russia, hitting oil refineries, weapons stores and airfields. Meanwhile, French authorities said they had delivered the first fighter jets promised to Ukraine by President Emmanuel Macron last June. 'The first of them arrived in Ukraine today,' Sebastien Lecornu, the minister of the armed forces, said on X. 'With Ukrainian pilots on board, trained for several months in France, they will now help to defend the skies over Ukraine.' Lecornu did not say how many planes were delivered. Ukraine has also received F-16s from European countries, though Ukrainian officials have rarely mentioned them in official comments about the fighting. Russian forces fired 77 Shahed and other types of drones, as well as two ballistic Iskander-M missiles, at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine's air force. A statement said 56 drones were destroyed and 18 others were jammed and lost mid-flight. Some buildings were damaged, but no casualties were reported. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at Illia Novikov, The Associated Press
