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Sunday World
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Sunday World
Russian minister found dead hours after being sacked by Putin in ‘apparent suicide'
Roman Starovoyt, who had served as transport minister since May 2024, was fired in a presidential decree earlier in the day Roman Starovoyt has been found dead (Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Russia's former transport minister has been found dead, hours after being dismissed by president Vladimir Putin, in what officials called an apparent suicide. Roman Starovoyt, who had served as transport minister since May 2024, was fired in a presidential decree earlier in the day. Hours later, the body of Mr Starovoyt (53), was found in his car, according to Russia's Investigative Committee, the top criminal investigation agency. A criminal probe has been launched into Mr Starovoyt's death and investigators see suicide as the most likely cause, according to committee's spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko. Russian media have reported that Mr Starovoyt's dismissal could have been linked to an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for building fortifications in the Kursk region where he served as governor before being appointed transport minister. The alleged embezzlement has been named as one of the reasons behind deficiencies in Russia's defensive lines that failed to stem a Ukrainian incursion in the region that was launched in August 2024. Mr Starovoyt's successor as Kursk governor, Alexei Smirnov, stepped down in December and was arrested on embezzlement charges in April. Some in the Russian media have alleged that Mr Starovoyt also could have faced charges as part of the investigation. Mr Starovoyt's dismissal also followed a weekend of travel chaos as Russian airports were forced to ground hundreds of flights due to Ukrainian drone attacks. An official order releasing Mr Starovoyt from his post was published on the Kremlin's website on Monday morning. It did not give a reason for his dismissal. Shortly before the news about Mr Starovoyt's death broke, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the reasons behind his dismissal. Mr Peskov praised Mr Starovoyt's replacement, Andrei Nikitin, who was appointed deputy transport minister five months ago. Roman Starovoyt has been found dead (Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 7th
Toronto Star
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Russia's ex-minister found dead hours after being fired, investigators believe he killed himself
FILE - Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, file) AZ flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Toronto Sun
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Russia says it occupies all of Ukraine's Luhansk region, illegally annexed in 2022
Published Jun 30, 2025 • 3 minute read Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on socioeconomic development of Russia-controlled Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 30, 2025. Photo by Kristina Kormilitsyna/Sputnik / Kremlin Pool Photo via AP KYIV — A Russia-appointed official in Ukraine's occupied Luhansk region said Monday that Moscow's forces have overrun all of it — one of four regions Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in September 2022 despite not fully controlling a single one. 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 If confirmed, that would make Luhansk the first Ukrainian region fully occupied by Russia after more than three years of war and as recent U.S.-led international peace efforts have failed to make progress on halting the fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected a ceasefire and hasn't budged from his demands, which include Moscow's control over the four illegally annexed regions. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on the claim made by the Moscow-installed leader of the occupied region, Leonid Pasechnik. In remarks to Russia's state TV Channel One that aired Monday evening, Pasechnik said he received a report 'literally two days ago' saying that '100%' of the region was now under the control of Russian forces. 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. The development came just hours after the top German diplomat said that Germany aims to help Ukraine manufacture more weapons more quickly as Kyiv looks to strengthen its negotiating position in peace talks with Russia. 'We see our task as helping Ukraine so that it can negotiate more strongly,' Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said during a visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, accompanied by German defence industry representatives. 'When Putin speaks of peace today, it is pure mockery,' Wadephul told a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. 'His apparent readiness to negotiate is only a facade so far.' Russia's invasion shows no sign of letting up. Its grinding war of attrition along the roughly 1,000-km front line and long-range strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine have killed thousands of troops and civilians. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More Ukraine is outgunned and shorthanded on the front line and international aid has been vital for Ukraine's resistance against its neighbour's bigger army and economy. Germany has been Ukraine's second-largest military backer after the United States, whose continuing support is in doubt. 'We want to build new joint ventures so that Ukraine itself can produce faster and more for its own defence, because your needs are enormous,' Wadephul said while standing next to Sybiha. 'Our arms co-operation is a real trump card — it is a logical continuation of our delivery of material,' Wadephul said. 'And we can even benefit mutually from it — with your wealth of ideas and your experience, we will become better.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Wadephul was also due to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russia's aerial attacks on Ukraine continue The top German diplomat's trip to Kyiv came less than 48 hours after Russia launched its biggest combined aerial attack against Ukraine over the weekend, Ukrainian officials said, in an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in peace efforts. Ukraine's air force said Monday it detected 107 Russian Shahed and decoy drones in the country's airspace overnight. Strikes in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region left two civilians dead and eight injured, including a 6-year-old child, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Monday. The aerial onslaughts are calculated by Russia to squeeze Ukraine into submission, according to the Institute for the Study of War. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Russia is continuing to use increasingly large numbers of drones in its overnight strike packages in order to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences and enable subsequent cruise and ballistic missile strikes,' the Washington-based think-tank said late Sunday. RECOMMENDED VIDEO 'The increases in Russia's strike packages in recent weeks are largely due to Russia's efforts to scale up its defence industrial production, particularly of Shahed and decoy drones and ballistic missiles.' Sybiha thanked Germany for its contribution to Ukraine's air defence and urged Berlin to send more antimissile systems. The Russians 'are attacking civilian targets in order to create panic, to influence the mood of our population,' he said. 'The key is the air defence system.' Berlin has balked at granting Zelenskyy's request to provide Ukraine with powerful German- and Swedish-made Taurus long-range missiles, which could potentially hit targets inside Russia. That is due to fears such a move could enrage the Kremlin and draw NATO into Europe's biggest conflict since the Second World War. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged in May to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any western-imposed limitations on their use and targets.
Japan Today
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Russia says Moscow now occupies all of Ukraine's Luhansk region
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on socioeconomic development of Russia-controlled Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 30, 2025. (Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) By ILLIA NOVIKOV and GEIR MOULSON A Russia-appointed official in Ukraine's occupied Luhansk region said Monday that Moscow's forces have overrun all of it — one of four regions Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in September 2022 despite not fully controlling a single one. If confirmed, that would make Luhansk the first Ukrainian region fully occupied by Russia after more than three years of war and as recent U.S.-led international peace efforts have failed to make progress on halting the fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected a ceasefire and hasn't budged from his demands, which include Moscow's control over the four illegally annexed regions. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on the claim made by the Moscow-installed leader of the occupied region, Leonid Pasechnik. In remarks to Russia's state TV Channel One that aired Monday evening, Pasechnik said he received a report 'literally two days ago' saying that '100%' of the region was now under the control of Russian forces. The development came just hours after the top German diplomat said that Germany aims to help Ukraine manufacture more weapons more quickly as Kyiv looks to strengthen its negotiating position in peace talks with Russia. 'We see our task as helping Ukraine so that it can negotiate more strongly,' Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said during a visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, accompanied by German defense industry representatives. 'When Putin speaks of peace today, it is pure mockery," Wadephul told a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. "His apparent readiness to negotiate is only a facade so far.' Russia's invasion shows no sign of letting up. Its grinding war of attrition along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line and long-range strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine have killed thousands of troops and civilians. Ukraine is outgunned and shorthanded on the front line and international aid has been vital for Ukraine's resistance against its neighbor's bigger army and economy. Germany has been Ukraine's second-largest military backer after the United States, whose continuing support is in doubt. 'We want to build new joint ventures so that Ukraine itself can produce faster and more for its own defense, because your needs are enormous,' Wadephul said while standing next to Sybiha. 'Our arms cooperation is a real trump card — it is a logical continuation of our delivery of material,' Wadephul said. 'And we can even benefit mutually from it — with your wealth of ideas and your experience, we will become better.' Wadephul was also due to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The top German diplomat's trip to Kyiv came less than 48 hours after Russia launched its biggest combined aerial attack against Ukraine over the weekend, Ukrainian officials said, in an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in peace efforts. Ukraine's air force said Monday it detected 107 Russian Shahed and decoy drones in the country's air space overnight. Strikes in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region left two civilians dead and eight injured, including a 6-year-old child, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Monday. The aerial onslaughts are calculated by Russia to squeeze Ukraine into submission, according to the Institute for the Study of War. 'Russia is continuing to use increasingly large numbers of drones in its overnight strike packages in order to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses and enable subsequent cruise and ballistic missile strikes,' the Washington-based think tank said late Sunday. 'The increases in Russia's strike packages in recent weeks are largely due to Russia's efforts to scale up its defense industrial production, particularly of Shahed and decoy drones and ballistic missiles,' the institute added. Sybiha thanked Germany for its contribution to Ukraine's air defense and urged Berlin to send more antimissile systems. The Russians 'are attacking civilian targets in order to create panic, to influence the mood of our population,' he said. 'The key is the air defense system.' Berlin has balked at granting Zelenskyy's request to provide Ukraine with powerful German- and Swedish-made Taurus long-range missiles, which could potentially hit targets inside Russia. That is due to fears such a move could enrage the Kremlin and draw NATO into Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged in May to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on their use and targets. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Hindustan Times
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Iran says no plan for new US nuclear talks, plays down impact of strikes
Iran on Thursday denied it is set to resume nuclear talks with the United States after the end of a 12-day war with Israel, and accused Washington of exaggerating the impact of US strikes. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stands waiting to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 23, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)(AP) The most serious conflict yet between Israel and Iran derailed nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, yet President Donald Trump said Washington would hold discussions with Tehran next week, with his special envoy Steve Witkoff expressing hope "for a comprehensive peace agreement". But Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shut down what he said was "speculation" that Tehran would come to the table and said it "should not be taken seriously". "I would like to state clearly that no agreement, arrangement or conversation has been made to start new negotiations," he said on state television. "No plan has been set yet to start negotiations." Araghchi's denial came as Iranian lawmakers passed a "binding" bill suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog and after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Trump of exaggerating the impact of US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. In a televised speech -- his first appearance since a ceasefire in the war with Israel -- Khamenei hailed what he described as Iran's "victory" over Israel, vowed never to yield to US pressure and insisted Washington had been dealt a humiliating "slap". "The American president exaggerated events in unusual ways, and it turned out that he needed this exaggeration," Khamenei said, rejecting US claims Iran's nuclear programme had been set back by decades. The strikes, he insisted, had done "nothing significant" to Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Araghchi, for his part, called the damage "serious" and said a detailed assessment was under way. Trump said key facilities, including the underground Fordo uranium enrichment site, had been "obliterated" by American B-2 bombers. Posting on his Truth Social platform, he dismissed speculation Iran might have removed enriched uranium prior to the raid, saying: "Nothing was taken out... too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!" He added that satellite images showed trucks at the site only because Iranian crews were attempting to shield the facility with concrete. Khamenei dismissed such claims, saying "the Islamic republic won, and in retaliation dealt a severe slap to the face of America". Both sides have claimed victory: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "historic win", while Khamenei said Iran's missile retaliation had brought Israel to the brink of collapse. US defence In Washington, the true impact of the strikes has sparked sharp political and intelligence debates. A leaked classified assessment suggested the damage to Iran's nuclear programme may be less severe than initially claimed -- possibly delaying progress by only a few months. That contrasts with statements from senior US officials. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said several facilities would need to be "rebuilt over the course of years". Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth accused the media of misrepresenting the operation. He said the United States used massive GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs on Fordo and another underground site, while submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles targeted a third facility. "President Trump created the conditions to end the war, decimating -- choose your word -- obliterating, destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities," Hegseth said. Doubts remain about whether Iran quietly removed some 400 kilogrammes (880 pounds) of enriched uranium from its most sensitive sites before the strikes -- potentially hiding nuclear material elsewhere in the country. Netanyahu says Iran 'thwarted' Following waves of Israeli attacks on nuclear and military sites and retaliatory missile fire from Iran since mid-June -- the deadliest between the two countries to date -- the US bombed three key Iranian atomic facilities. Initial intelligence reports, first revealed by CNN, suggested the strikes did not destroy critical components and delayed Iran's nuclear programme only by months. Experts questioned if Iran had pre-emptively moved enriched uranium to protect it. The US administration has forcefully rejected such suggestions. The Israeli military said Iran's nuclear sites had taken a "significant" blow, but cautioned it was "still early" to fully assess the damage. Netanyahu said Israel had "thwarted Iran's nuclear project", warning any attempt by Iran to rebuild it would be met with the same determination and intensity. Iran has consistently denied seeking a nuclear weapon while defending its "legitimate rights" to the peaceful use of atomic energy. It has also said it is willing to return to nuclear negotiations with Washington. The Israeli strikes on Iran killed at least 627 civilians, Tehran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel killed 28 people, according to Israeli figures.
