Latest news with #Lviv
Russia Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukrainian mayor wants to trade ‘Putin's body' (PHOTOS)
Ukraine is ready to exchange the remains of hundreds of Soviet army soldiers – including a namesake of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin – unearthed during the dismantling of a World War II memorial in the city of Lviv, for captured Ukrainian servicemen, Mayor Andrey Sadovy has claimed. Following a Western-backed coup in 2014, Kiev launched a policy of 'decommunization,' erasing Soviet-era heritage while glorifying those who opposed Russia for any reason, including nationalist militias that collaborated with Nazi Germany and committed atrocities during WWII. 'The Hill of Glory from the Soviet occupation period in Lviv no longer exists,' Sadovy wrote on Telegram on Wednesday, claiming that the final 355 sets of remains were exhumed with all due 'respect to memory.' 'We are ready to trade all these remains for Ukrainian defenders,' he said, referring to soldiers captured by Russia in the current conflict between the two countries. He also mocked the fact that one of the fallen soldiers, Major Stepan Putin, shared a surname with the current Russian president. Sadovy did not clarify whether the offer was serious, as he also noted that the remains would be reburied elsewhere. Meanwhile, various excavated artifacts would be transferred to the 'Territory of Terror' museum, he burial site dates back to the World War I era, when it was designated as a resting place for Russian soldiers who perished in the Battle of Galicia. It was shut down under Polish rule and completely leveled during the German occupation. After WWII, it was restored to honor thousands of Soviet troops who died liberating Lviv from the Nazis in unusual proposal to trade Soviet-era remains comes amid recent prisoner-of-war exchanges between Kiev and Moscow, agreed during two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul. In what it described as a unilateral humanitarian gesture – dismissed by Kiev as 'propaganda' – Moscow repatriated over 6,000 Ukrainian remains while receiving 79 Russian bodies in return, according to Russia's chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky. President Putin has previously condemned those desecrating graves as 'idiots' who only reinforce Russia's stated goal of 'de-Nazifying' Ukraine.
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Canada must sanction the Chinese tech companies fuelling the horrors in Ukraine
Marcus Kolga is the founder of DisinfoWatch and a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Almost every night since May, Russian missiles and drones – powered by Iranian designs and packed with Chinese components – have torn through Ukrainian schools, hospitals and homes, killing or maiming thousands in a ruthless campaign of terror. Those drones are now reaching further into Ukraine, striking apartment buildings in Lviv over the weekend. In June alone, 5,429 Russian drones and ballistic missiles struck Ukrainian targets. According to the UN, they have caused more than 3,000 civilian casualties since the start of the war, with 232 civilians killed in June. Analysts warn that Russia could soon develop the capacity to launch up to 1,000 drones in a single night against Ukrainian civilian targets. Analysis: Trump tariff threat piles pressure on Canada to expand trade with Asia Russia's weapon of choice in its war of terror is the Iranian-designed Shahed drone – now mass-produced in Russia and rebranded as the 'Geran.' Day after day, waves of these drones hover over Ukrainian cities, with their operators safe inside Russia, actively targeting civilian infrastructure and hunting civilians. Just last week, a one-year-old child was reportedly tracked and killed by a Russian drone operator. The purpose of these drones is clear: to terrorize and demoralize Ukrainian society, destroy critical infrastructure and deprive millions of electricity, water, heat and hope. What is less known, but deeply disturbing, is the extent to which China is supplying components and technology to enable Russia's growing ability to build these drones. The collaboration of Chinese companies and the Chinese regime in building these weapons makes them directly complicit in facilitating and enabling the war crimes being committed against the Ukrainian people. The evidence of Chinese involvement is clear. Ukrainian security services have identified Chinese-origin components in Russian drones recovered after attacks on Kyiv. A recent Bloomberg investigation revealed a direct partnership between Russian firm Aero-HIT and Chinese suppliers and engineers to help Russia mass-produce drones. A growing list of Chinese companies have been exposed for supplying critical components: engines, carbon fibre airframes, electronics, navigation systems and antennas – all essential parts integrated into drones now rolling off Russian assembly lines. Earlier this month, Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council formally sanctioned five Chinese companies for supplying components used in Russia's terror drones. The United States has sanctioned more than 200 Chinese and Hong Kong entities for enabling Russia's war machine, while the European Union has listed over 50. In comparison, Canada has fallen behind. While Canada was among the first to sanction Iranian drone manufacturers in 2022, Ottawa added just 20 Chinese entities to our sanctions list last February, far fewer than our allies and nowhere near sufficient given the growing scale of China's support for Russia's drone program. Even here in Canada, there is disturbing evidence of complicity. In June, the RCMP charged Anton Trofimov – a Russian national living in Canada – for allegedly exporting restricted technologies to Russia via Hong Kong for the purpose of manufacturing weapons, underscoring how Canada itself has been exploited as a platform for Russian sanctions evasion. Opinion: Ukraine showed that drones are the new bullets. Why doesn't Canada get this? Recent reports indicate that Russia's drone production has tripled in 2025, underscoring the urgent need to disrupt the Kremlin's supply chains and expand and rigorously enforce sanctions against the Chinese entities fuelling it. Canada's sanctions are meant to deny aggressor states like Russia the means to wage war and to hold their enablers, such as Iran and China, to account. Canada has clear legal authority to sanction those who enable war crimes. All of the Chinese firms sanctioned by Ukraine this month – and earlier by our allies – meet that standard and should be added to Canada's sanctions list, along with any others contributing to Russia's arsenal. Beyond this, Canada should amend its sanctions legislation to allow for the rapid imposition of secondary sanctions on any entity doing business with sanctioned Chinese firms. This would make it significantly harder for any company to collaborate with Chinese suppliers. Finally, Canada should designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism under the State Immunity Act – an action that would allow victims to pursue civil cases in Canadian courts, including against Chinese entities that enable Russia's war. The need to act is dire and undeniable: thousands of lives are at stake. As innocent Ukrainian civilians endure relentless nightly bombardments from Russian drones powered by Chinese-made components, we cannot afford to hesitate. Disrupting the supply lines that fuel Russia's campaign of terror and holding the Chinese private and government entities enabling this deadly collaboration to account will help save innocent Ukrainian lives.
Russia Today
6 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukrainian mayor digs up bodies of WWII Soviet troops for ‘trade' (PHOTOS)
Ukraine is ready to exchange the remains of hundreds of Soviet army soldiers, unearthed during the dismantling of a World War II memorial in the city of Lviv, for captured Ukrainian servicemen, mayor Andrey Sadoviy has claimed. Following a Western-backed coup in 2014, Kiev launched a policy of 'decommunization,' erasing Soviet-era heritage – while glorifying those who opposed Russia for any reason, including nationalist militias who collaborated with Nazi Germany and committed atrocities during WWII. 'The Hill of Glory from the Soviet occupation period in Lviv no longer exists,' Sadoviy wrote on Telegram on Wednesday, claiming that the final 355 sets of remains were exhumed with all due 'respect to memory.' 'We are ready to trade all these remains for Ukrainian defenders,' he said, adding that various excavated artifacts would be transferred to the 'Territory of Terror' museum. Sadoviy did not clarify whether the offer was serious, as he also noted that the remains would be reburied elsewhere – while mocking the fact that one of the fallen soldiers shared a surname with the Russian president. The burial site dates back to the World War I era, when it was selected as a resting place for Russian soldiers perished in the Battle of Galicia. It was later shut down under Polish rule and completely leveled during the German occupation. After WWII, it was restored to honor thousands of Soviet troops who died liberating Lviv from the Nazis in 1944. The unusual proposal to trade Soviet-era remains comes amid ongoing prisoner-of-war exchanges between Kiev and Moscow, agreed during two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul in recent months. In what it called a unilateral humanitarian gesture – dismissed by Kiev as 'propaganda' – Moscow repatriated over 6,000 Ukrainian remains, while receiving only 79 Russian bodies in return, according to Russia's chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky. President Vladimir Putin has previously condemned the destruction of Soviet war memorials, describing those responsible as 'idiots' who only reinforce Russia's stated goal of 'de-Nazifying' Ukraine.
NHK
13-07-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Russia launches 600 drones against Ukraine, causing deaths and injuries
Russian forces used about 600 drones and other weapons in attacks on Ukraine during a period through Saturday, causing deaths and injury. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media on Saturday that Russia launched 26 cruise missiles and 597 attack drones against his country. He said more than 20 missiles and the vast majority of drones were destroyed. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media that the western cities of Chernivtsi, Lviv and Lutsk particularly suffered. Local authorities say at least two people were killed by falling debris in Chernivtsi, and houses and a university building were damaged in Lviv, leaving 10 people injured. Russia has been intensifying its bombardment of Ukraine since last month. In a period through last Wednesday, it launched more than 700 drones, the most since it started its invasion. The series of Russian attacks comes as weapons delivery from the United States to Ukraine was partially suspended by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Zelenskyy said on social media that he has received good signals from high-level officials from the US and European friends. He added that aid shipments have resumed, according to all reports.
Daily Mail
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Lack of big signings makes you wonder if Rodgers really IS driving the bus at Celtic any longer, writes Gary Keown
The league season is still the best part of three weeks away from starting. There's no need to panic. But for a while there earlier in the month, Brendan Rodgers gave the impression he was starting to go a little bit Maryan Shved. Remember him? Ukrainian bloke brought in from Karpaty Lviv back in January 2019 and seen about as often as the snow leopard.
