Latest news with #RussianArmedForces
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Lithuania delivers protest note to Russia over war crimes in Ukraine
Lithuania's Foreign Ministry has summoned a representative of the Russian Embassy to deliver a note of protest regarding the war crimes being committed by Russia against Ukraine. Source: Lithuanian Foreign Ministry in a statement, as reported by European Pravda Details: On 27 May, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry summoned the representative of the Russian Embassy and handed over a note of protest concerning the ongoing war crimes being committed by the Russian Armed Forces. "Lithuania strongly condemns the killing of unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war and the intensified attacks on Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones," the statement said. The Foreign Ministry emphasised that civilians, particularly children, are killed and seriously injured as a result of these attacks, and civilian infrastructure is destroyed. "Lithuania reiterates that such actions are war crimes, they have no statute of limitations, and those responsible will eventually face justice," the ministry stated. Lithuania also noted that Russia's refusal to declare even a 30-day ceasefire demonstrates its aggressive intent to continue the war it has unleashed and is effectively a rejection of international efforts to stop the killing of Ukrainian civilians. "Lithuania will continue to support Ukraine's efforts to defend itself from the aggressor," the Foreign Ministry affirmed. Background: Ukraine's Air Force reported that on the night of 23-24 May, Russian forces launched 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 attack drones on Ukraine. The following night, on 24-25 May, Russia attempted to strike Ukraine with 367 aerial assets, including ballistic, cruise and air-to-surface missiles and drones. And on the night of 25-26 May, Russia deployed 364 aerial weapons, including cruise missiles and attack drones. Regarding the killing of unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war, Ukraine's Defence Intelligence reported on 24 May that the number of executions of Ukrainian soldiers by Russian forces on the battlefield is increasing, with over 150 such cases recorded to date. Background: On 25 May, US President Donald Trump condemned Russia's latest attack on Ukraine and said he is considering imposing additional sanctions against Russia. On 27 May, he stated that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is "playing with fire". Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
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First Post
4 days ago
- Business
- First Post
As Putin rejects peace in Ukraine, US lawmakers seek 500% tariffs on Russia & its trade partners
As Vladimir Putin has refused to make peace and has instead ramped up attacks on Ukraine, US lawmakers have sought 500% tariffs on Russia and those countries that buy Russian energy products, such as oil, gas, and uranium. read more In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on April 26, 2025. AP Photo As Vladimir Putin has refused to make peace in Ukraine, US lawmakers have pressed for imposing 500 per cent tariffs on Russia and its trading partners. US lawmakers have increased their calls for such tariffs after Russia launched the largest aerial attack on Ukraine over the weekend. Ukraine on Monday said that Russia launched 357 drones and missiles into Ukraine the previous night that killed at least 12 people and injured 30. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even as these tariffs have bipartisan approval, Trump is unlikely to budge as he has aligned the administration completely with Russia. Since assuming office, he has humiliated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after inviting him to the White House, cut intelligence and military aid to Ukraine, called for Zelenskyy's ouster, reached out to his rivals, falsely accused him of starting the war, and parroted Russian propaganda. Despite such antagonistic treatment, Zelenskyy has accepted all three ceasefire proposals floated by Trump whereas Putin has rejected all of them. Even though Trump has rebuked Putin in social media posts, he has done nothing to pressure him. Instead, he has rewarded Putin by endorsing his position in the war. US lawmakers seek 500% tariffs on Russia, trading partners Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have sought 500 per cent tariffs on Russia and those countries buying Russian energy, such as oil, gas, and uranium. With such secondary sanctions, countries like India and China, which are major buyers of Russian oil, are bound to be affected. European countries that still buy Russian gas are also likely to be affected. The bill, formally called by the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, has been co-signed by 50 senators — 25 Democrats and Republicans each. It has been sponsored by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal. In addition to 500 per cent tariffs on all goods and services from Russia, the bill calls for 500 per cent tariffs on 'all goods or services imported into the United States' on a country that 'knowingly sells, supplies, transfers, or purchases oil, uranium, natural gas, petroleum products, or petrochemical products that originated in the Russian Federation'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD These tariffs are not isolated actions but are part of a broader set of actions that the bill seeks. The bill further seeks sanctions on top Russian officials, including the president, the prime minister, the army chief, military chief, top state-owned companies, etc. Republican lawmakers press for sanctions on Russia Senior Republican lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives have called for tougher sanctions on Russia to pressurise Putin into making peace. Sharing a post from Ukraine's foreign ministry about the Russian attacks over the weekend, Graham said, 'This latest outrage by Russia will not go unaddressed. Without China's support, Putin's war machine comes to a halt.' Republican Representative Don Bacon, the Chair of Cyber Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, told New York Post that 'it's beyond past time' that more powerful weapons are sent to Ukraine and more punishing sanctions are imposed on Russia. 'I'm glad President Trump is finally calling out Putin. It's beyond time to send them more lethal weapons. This Administration must act now. This war may have started as a Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but this is now under his watch. If Ukraine falls, it will always be known in the history books that it happened with Trump doing little to help Ukraine defend themselves with the means we have available,' said Bacon. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, the Chair of the House Ukraine Caucus, said on X, 'The United States cannot fail to respond as Putin escalates his barbaric assault on innocent Ukrainians. Congress must act — immediately and decisively. We need full, crippling sanctions — targeting Putin, his regime, and those bankrolling this campaign of terror — until the Russian war machine collapses in on itself.'
CNN
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Russian forces are creating ‘buffer zone' along Russia-Ukraine border, Putin says
Russian armed forces are creating a 'security buffer zone' along the border between Russia and Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. 'I have already said that a decision was made to create the necessary security buffer zone along the border. Our armed forces are currently solving this problem. Enemy firing points are being actively suppressed, the work is underway,' Putin said. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said the plan was 'aggressive' and demonstrated that 'Russia is the obstacle of peace efforts now.' Thursday's announcement was made ahead of an expected prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia on Friday – an outcome of last week's face-to-face talks in Turkey, the first time the two countries have held direct talks at any level in three years. The Russian president previously raised the possibility of creating a 'buffer zone' in March during a visit to Russia's Kursk region. He doubled down on the border plan during a meeting on Thursday with members of the government, during which he discussed the need to 'restore and rebuild everything that was destroyed' in the border region. '(We must) help people return to their native villages, settlements, (and) where security conditions allow, restore all transport and other infrastructure,' Putin added. The Russian leader is planning on hosting a dedicated meeting to discuss the 'restoration' projects, Russian state media reported on Thursday. The announcement comes days after Putin visited Russia's Kursk region for the first time since claiming to have completely retaken the region from Ukrainian forces, state media reported on Wednesday. During the visit, the Russian leader said that Ukrainian forces were trying to move toward the Russian border, according to RIA Novosti news agency. Kyiv launched its offensive into the Russian border territory last August – the first ground invasion of Russia by a foreign power since World War II – and had held control of parts of the region until late last month. Kyiv had intended on using it as a key bargaining chip in any peace talks. Such dialogue did not materialize until last week, when teams from Kyiv and Moscow met in person in Turkey to begin discussing an end to the war and agreed upon a prisoner exchange – 1,000 people from each side. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Russia had received Ukraine's proposed list of prisoners of war to be exchanged in Friday's expected swap, according to Russian state media. 'Yes, indeed, we have received it now,' Peskov was reported as saying when asked about the Ukrainian list. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X Thursday that Ukraine is 'clarifying the details for each individual included on the lists submitted by the Russian side.' 'The agreement to release 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity was perhaps the only tangible result of the meeting in Türkiye. We are working to ensure that this result is achieved,' Zelensky posted. CNN's Lex Harvey contributed to this report.
CNN
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Russian forces are creating ‘buffer zone' along Russia-Ukraine border, Putin says
Russian armed forces are creating a 'security buffer zone' along the border between Russia and Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. 'I have already said that a decision was made to create the necessary security buffer zone along the border. Our armed forces are currently solving this problem. Enemy firing points are being actively suppressed, the work is underway,' Putin said. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said the plan was 'aggressive' and demonstrated that 'Russia is the obstacle of peace efforts now.' Thursday's announcement was made ahead of an expected prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia on Friday – an outcome of last week's face-to-face talks in Turkey, the first time the two countries have held direct talks at any level in three years. The Russian president previously raised the possibility of creating a 'buffer zone' in March during a visit to Russia's Kursk region. He doubled down on the border plan during a meeting on Thursday with members of the government, during which he discussed the need to 'restore and rebuild everything that was destroyed' in the border region. '(We must) help people return to their native villages, settlements, (and) where security conditions allow, restore all transport and other infrastructure,' Putin added. The Russian leader is planning on hosting a dedicated meeting to discuss the 'restoration' projects, Russian state media reported on Thursday. The announcement comes days after Putin visited Russia's Kursk region for the first time since claiming to have completely retaken the region from Ukrainian forces, state media reported on Wednesday. During the visit, the Russian leader said that Ukrainian forces were trying to move toward the Russian border, according to RIA Novosti news agency. Kyiv launched its offensive into the Russian border territory last August – the first ground invasion of Russia by a foreign power since World War II – and had held control of parts of the region until late last month. Kyiv had intended on using it as a key bargaining chip in any peace talks. Such dialogue did not materialize until last week, when teams from Kyiv and Moscow met in person in Turkey to begin discussing an end to the war and agreed upon a prisoner exchange – 1,000 people from each side. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Russia had received Ukraine's proposed list of prisoners of war to be exchanged in Friday's expected swap, according to Russian state media. 'Yes, indeed, we have received it now,' Peskov was reported as saying when asked about the Ukrainian list. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X Thursday that Ukraine is 'clarifying the details for each individual included on the lists submitted by the Russian side.' 'The agreement to release 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity was perhaps the only tangible result of the meeting in Türkiye. We are working to ensure that this result is achieved,' Zelensky posted. CNN's Lex Harvey contributed to this report.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Ground Forces commander-in-chief appointed in Russia
Colonel General Andrei Mordvichev, who was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for the occupation of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, has been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces. Source: Russian Ministry of Defence on Telegram Details: Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said that Mordvichev is an "experienced combat officer" who "fully revealed his talent as a military commander during a special military operation [as the Russians call the war against Ukraine – ed.]". Notably, in March 2022, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Mordvichev had been killed. For reference: According to the Russian agency Interfax, prior to this appointment, Mordvichev commanded the Centre Group of Forces. It was officially reported that in February 2024, under his command, this group occupied Avdiivka. Mordvichev was reportedly born on 14 January 1976 in Pavlodar (Kazakhstan). In 1997, he graduated from the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School, and in 2006, from the General Military Academy of the Russian Armed Forces. After graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 2016, he was appointed deputy corps commander. From 2017 to 2019, Mordvichev was chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Central Military District. From 2019 to 2021, he was chief of staff and first deputy commander of the 8th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District, commander of the 8th Army from 2021 to 2022, and deputy commander of the entire Southern Military District from 2022 to 2023. In 2023, Mordvichev was appointed commander of the Central Military District. Background: On 15 May, it became known that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had dismissed General Oleg Salyukov from his post as commander-in-chief of the Russian Ground Forces and appointed him deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council. Salyukov had commanded the Russian Ground Forces since May 2014. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
