Latest news with #Tass
LBCI
9 hours ago
- General
- LBCI
Russian delegation heads to Istanbul for Ukraine talks
A Russian delegation was flying on Sunday to Istanbul on the eve of talks there with Ukraine, Russian state news agencies said, citing anonymous sources. "The negotiating team flew to Istanbul," a source told the Tass news agency following confirmation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Kyiv was also sending a delegation. AFP
Mint
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Mint
Russia Probes Rail Incidents in Regions Near Ukraine Border
Russia's main investigating authority has initiated criminal probes after two bridges blew up in regions bordering Ukraine, crushing passing trains that caused at least seven fatalities and widespread injury. Authorities have classified the incidents as 'terrorist attacks,' the country's Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said Sunday in comments broadcast by state TV channel Rossiya 24. A section of the road bridge in the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, struck a passenger train en route to Moscow shortly before midnight on Saturday, the regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said in a Telegram post. The number of injured stands at 66, he said. Hours later, a similar incident occurred in Kursk, which also borders Ukraine. There a railway bridge collapsed as a freight train was passing, Governor Alexander Khinshtein said. The engine crew was hospitalized. It's unclear whether there is a connection between the two. The incidents occurred just as a Russian delegation prepares to travel to Turkey for a second round of peace talks with Ukraine this week. The opening round on May 16, the first in more than three years, ended with a prisoner exchange agreement and discussions on a potential ceasefire. Russia's government, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, has been notified of the two incidents, state news agency Tass reported, citing Transportation Ministry head Roman Starovoit. So far, Russia has not signaled if the incidents may affect the talks. Ukraine has so far made no official comment on the incidents. However, Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Propaganda, said on Sunday the Kremlin may be 'preparing the ground for disruption of the talks,' adding it's not the first time Russia conducts 'false-flag' attacks. 'Ukraine has no motive to disrupt the Istanbul summit. On the contrary, Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire long ago,' Kovalenko said in a Telegram post. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said last week Kyiv is in favor of pushing forward with negotiations, but has been awaiting a memorandum from Moscow laying out its position before a follow-up meeting takes place — a position the Kremlin said was 'unconstructive.' Ukraine came under one of the longest barrages from Russian missiles and drones early Sunday, with air sirens sounding for more then nine hours. The scope of the damage is yet to be assessed. Ukraine's Military Intelligence Service said a military train exploded in the Zaporizhzhia region, which is partially occupied by Russia, without giving details on how the blast occurred. The explosion disrupted logistics between the area and the Crimea peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, the service said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Mint
2 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Russia to Attend New Talks as Ukraine Demands Peace Outline
Russia said it's sending a delegation to Istanbul on Monday for a second round of talks with Ukraine amid wrangling over Kyiv's insistence that Moscow outline its peace proposals before any meeting. The warring sides have tussled over the parameters of negotiations after Turkey hosted the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since the early months of the war on May 16. Moscow didn't accept a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and used the meeting to repeat its maximalist demands to end its invasion, now in its fourth year. 'Both memorandums, the Russian and Ukrainian ones, as we hope, will be discussed in the second round of talks,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday, the state news service Tass reported. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv is in favor of pushing forward with negotiations, but has been awaiting a memorandum from Moscow laying out its position before a follow-up meeting takes place — a position the Kremlin said was 'unconstructive.' Turkey said the talks could lead to a wider meeting including US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a post on X that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the idea — 'the potential organisation of a four-party meeting at the level of the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and the United States' — during a call on Friday. The US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, urged Kyiv to attend the gathering in Turkey, at which he said the US, UK, France and Germany would also take part on the sidelines with the goal of narrowing the differences. He also urged Moscow to deliver the memorandum. 'You need to show you're serious,' Kellogg told US network ABC News. Russia's reported demand for a written pledge that NATO won't expand further eastwards, including into Ukraine, is a 'fair concern,' Kellogg said. Trump, who this week expressed frustration with Putin over the stalled bid to end the war, has threatened new sanctions after Moscow launched its largest drone barrage of the war. On Wednesday, he signaled he'd hold off on new penalties to preserve the chance for a deal with Putin. Asked by a reporter if the Russian leader is interested in a peace agreement, Trump responded: 'I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about two weeks.' Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan mentioned the four-way meeting during comments earlier Friday in Kyiv. 'We think it may be possible that the Istanbul talks culminate with a meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskiy' hosted by Erdogan, he said. Putin is prepared to engage in high-level talks, but only if direct negotiations achieve concrete results, Peskov said, according to Tass. The Russian leader's choice of presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky to head Russia's delegation has damped expectations of a breakthrough. Medinsky led Russia's negotiators at a round of talks in Istanbul soon after the 2022 invasion began. That ended in acrimony over Russian demands, including restrictions on the size and scope of Ukraine's army. Kyiv has denied an assertion from Putin that Ukraine accepted the demands. The Russian delegation for a second round of Istanbul talks will remain unchanged, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday. Zelenskiy has pressed allied partners for $30 billion this year to boost domestic weapons production. He also proposed a meeting between himself, Trump and Putin aimed at breaking the deadlock in peace talks. Trump said he would join a hypothetical summit 'if necessary.' Germany this week agreed to provide Ukraine with €5 billion in military aid as part of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's pledge to help Kyiv build long-range weapons to hit targets on Russian territory. Merz, who has said that there were 'absolutely no range limits' on Ukrainian forces making deep strikes into Russian territory, vowed to intensify cooperation with Kyiv as European allies seek to pressure Russia to engage in talks to end the war. With assistance from Aliaksandr Kudrytski. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Russia to attend fresh talks as Ukraine demands peace proposals
Russia said it's sending a delegation to Istanbul Monday for a second round of talks with Ukraine amid last-minute wrangling over Kyiv's insistence that Moscow outline its peace proposals before any meeting. The warring sides have tussled over the parameters of negotiations after Turkey hosted the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the early months of the war on May 16. Moscow didn't accept a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and used the meeting to repeat its maximalist demands to end its invasion, now in its fourth year. 'Both memorandums, the Russian and Ukrainian ones, as we hope, will be discussed in the second round of talks,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday, the state news service Tass reported. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv is in favor of pushing forward with negotiations, but has been awaiting a memorandum from Moscow laying out its position before a follow-up meeting takes place - a position the Kremlin said was 'unconstructive.' 'We want to finish this war this year,' Sybiha told reporters in Kyiv, adding that he's open to a ceasefire of varying durations that must precede full talks on a last peace. 'Ukraine is open to discussing it directly with Russia.' The U.S. envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, urged Kyiv to attend the gathering in Turkey, at which he said the U.S., U.K., France and Germany would also take part on the sidelines with the goal of narrowing the differences. He also urged Moscow to deliver the memorandum. 'You need to show you're serious,' Kellogg told U.S. network ABC News. Russia's reported demand for a written pledge that NATO won't expand further eastwards, including into Ukraine, is a 'fair concern,' Kellogg said. U.S. President Donald Trump, who this week has expressed frustration with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the stalled bid to end the war, has threatened new sanctions after Moscow launched its largest drone barrage of the war. However, on Wednesday he signaled he'd hold off on new penalties to preserve the chance for a deal with Putin. Asked by a reporter if the Russian leader is interested in a peace agreement, Trump responded: 'I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about two weeks.' Turkish diplomacy The next round of Russia-Ukraine talks could pave the way for a meeting of Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump, Turkey's top diplomat said on Friday. 'We think it may be possible that the Istanbul talks culminate with a meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy' hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a press conference in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Putin is prepared to engage in high-level talks, but only if direct negotiations achieve concrete results, Peskov said, according to Tass. The Russian leader's choice of presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky to head Russia's delegation has dampened expectations of a breakthrough. He led Moscow's negotiators at a round of talks in Istanbul soon after the 2022 invasion began. That ended in acrimony over Russia's demands, including restrictions on the size and scope of Ukraine's army. Kyiv has denied an assertion from Putin that Ukraine accepted the demands. The Russian delegation for a second round of Istanbul talks will remain unchanged, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on state TV Thursday. Amid the latest Russian missile and drone attacks, Zelenskyy has pressed allied partners for $30 billion this year to boost domestic weapons production. He also proposed a meeting between himself, Trump and Putin aimed at breaking the deadlock in peace talks. Trump said he would join a hypothetical summit 'if necessary.' Germany this week agreed to provide Ukraine with €5 billion ($5.7 billion) in military aid as part of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's pledge to help Kyiv build long-range weapons to hit targets on Russian territory. The German funds will flow to the war-battered nation's production infrastructure, with a 'significant' number of weapons to be built this year, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Merz, who earlier said that there were 'absolutely no range limits' on Ukrainian forces making deep strikes into Russian territory, vowed to intensify cooperation with Kyiv as European allies pile pressure on Russia to engage in talks to end the war. ---------- -With assistance from Aliaksandr Kudrytski. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Germany to Help Kyiv Build Long-Range Missiles to Strike Russia
Germany agreed to provide Ukraine with €5 billion in military aid as part of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's pledge to help Kyiv build long-range weapons to hit targets on Russian territory. The German funds will flow to the war-battered nation's production infrastructure, with a 'significant' number of weapons to be built this year, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The first systems will be operational in the coming weeks. Berlin will also step up deliveries of components for weapons systems in addition to badly needed artillery. Merz, who this week said there were 'absolutely no range limits' on Ukrainian forces making deep strikes into Russian territory, vowed to intensify cooperation with Kyiv as European allies pile pressure on Russia to engage in talks to end the war. He called the Kremlin's assault on Kyiv in the past week a 'slap in the face' to diplomatic efforts to engage Moscow. 'The massive air strikes on the city of Kyiv in particular over the weekend do not speak the language of peace, but rather the language of a war of aggression,' Merz said Wednesday alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who made his first trip to Berlin since the new chancellor took office this month. Zelenskiy on Tuesday called on western allies to provide $30 billion by the end of the year to boost domestic weapons production and hold off Russia's advance. With US support waning and diplomatic efforts stalling, Kyiv has increasingly focused on relying on its own resources. Neither leader provided further details on the weapons cooperation — and Merz balked at questions about German deliveries of Taurus cruise missiles, which Berlin has refused to send. But the chancellor said the work will aim to allow Ukraine to adequately defend itself against Russia. Zelenskiy said German and Ukrainian teams will lock in an agreement on financing new projects. 'These projects already exist, we simply want them to be in the possible quantity that we so much require,' the Ukrainian leader said. Responding within an hour of Merz's remarks, Russia said the German leader's comments amounted to a provocation. 'It is nothing other than continued attempts to force Ukrainians to keep fighting,' the Tass state news service reported Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. 'And it is nothing other than an obstruction of efforts to move toward a peaceful resolution.' Merz repeated his demand on Putin to engage in talks over a ceasefire, 'in the Vatican, Geneva, or a third location.' European leaders have sought to increase pressure as President Donald Trump this week warned that Putin is 'playing with fire.' Since taking office three weeks ago, Merz has signaled a shift from the more cautious approach of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, taking a stronger line on support for Ukraine's fight to repel the Russian invasion. The German leader also reinforced his position that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea will remain inactive. 'On behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, I say: in this context, we will do everything we can to ensure that Nord Stream 2 does not come back online,' he said. Scholz had long ruled out dispatching Taurus missiles, with a range of up to 500 kilometers , enabling them to hit targets in Moscow. And though Merz was silent on the issue, he's expressed approval of its use. His coalition government has agreed not to disclose information on weapons deliveries. The €5 billion announced Wednesday is part of funds that have already been earmarked by German parliament for military assistance to Ukraine. Germany is the second-biggest supporter of Ukraine after the US and sustaining future supplies of weapons and ammunition will be critical, since Trump's support has remained unclear. The date of the next round of direct talks with Ukraine will be announced soon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told an international security conference in Moscow on Wednesday. Ukraine's neutral status remains a key Russian demand for a peace settlement, he added in televised comments. With assistance from Aliaksandr Kudrytski and Henry Meyer. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
