Latest news with #Ukra
San Francisco Chronicle
01-06-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ukraine destroyed more than 40 military aircraft in a drone attack deep inside Russia, official says
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian drone attack has destroyed more than 40 Russian planes deep in Russia's territory, a Ukrainian security official told The Associated Press on Sunday, while Russia pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones a day before the two sides meet for a new round of direct talks in Istanbul. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose operational details, said the attack took over 1 1/2-year to execute and was personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The operation saw drones transported in containers carried by trucks deep into Russian territory, he said. The drones reportedly hit 41 bombers stationed at several airfields on Sunday afternoon, including the Belaya air base in Russia's Irkutsk region, more than 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) from Ukraine. It is the first time that a Ukrainian drone has been seen in the region, local Gov. Igor Kobzev said. He also said in a statement that the drone had been launched from a truck. Russian officials in the Ryazan and Murmansk regions also reported drone activity on Sunday afternoon, but did not give further details. The attack came the same day as Zelenskyy said Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday. In a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy said that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. 'We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,' Zelenskyy said. Ukrainian officials had previously called on the Kremlin to provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war before the meeting takes place. Moscow had said it would share its memorandum during the talks. Russia on Sunday launched the biggest number of drones — 472 — on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine's air force said. Russian forces also launched seven missiles alongside the barrage of drones, said Yuriy Ignat, head of communications for the air force. Earlier Sunday, Ukraine's army said at least 12 Ukrainian service members were killed and more than 60 were injured in a Russian missile strike on an army training unit. The strike occurred at 12:50 p.m., the statement said, emphasizing that no formations or mass gatherings of personnel were being held at the time. An investigative commission was created to uncover the circumstances around the attack that led to such a loss in personnel, the statement said. The training unit is located to the rear of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) active front line, where Russian reconnaissance and strike drones are able to strike. Ukraine's forces suffer from manpower shortages and take extra precautions to avoid mass gatherings as the skies across the front line are saturated with Russian drones looking for targets. 'If it is established that the actions or inaction of officials led to the death or injury of servicemen, those responsible will be held strictly accountable,' the Ukrainian Ground Forces' statement said. Northern pressure Russia's Ministry of Defense said Sunday that it had taken control of the village of Oleksiivka in Ukraine's northern Sumy region. Ukrainian authorities in Sumy ordered mandatory evacuations in 11 more settlements Saturday as Russian forces make steady gains in the area. Speaking Saturday, Ukraine's top army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Russian forces were focusing their main offensive efforts on Pokrovsk, Toretsk and Lyman in the Donetsk region, as well as the Sumy border area.
France 24
08-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Ukraine's parliament ratifies strategic minerals deal with US amid ceasefire frustrations
Ukraine 's parliament voted on Thursday in favour of ratifying a minerals deal signed with the United States, an agreement Kyiv hopes will secure future military assistance from Washington in its fight to repel Russian troops. Despite misgivings by some Ukrainian lawmakers over whether the government had provided them with all the information on the deal and over some of its compromises, 338 voted in favour of ratifying the agreement, with none against. "The Ukrainian Parliament has ratified the historic Economic Partnership Agreement between Ukraine and the United States," First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a post on X. "This document is not merely a legal construct – it is the foundation of a new model of interaction with a key strategic partner." Some lawmakers had raised concerns over the lack of detail of some of the deal's provisions, such as how an envisaged investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction would be governed or how any contributions would be made. Svyrydenko called an early Thursday press conference to answer some of those concerns, saying the investment fund would be operational in a few weeks, and its success would depend on the level of US engagement. Two supplements would spell out the details and would be published at a later date, officials have said about the deal which might not see a payoff for a decade or longer. Parliament's ratification comes a day before Russia – which launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine in February 2022 - will try to show its strength at a military parade to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Those preparations have been overshadowed by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia, and Kyiv will hope the ratification of the minerals deal will bolster its position in ceasefire talks, which so far have done little to close the gap between Moscow and Kyiv, to the frustration of US President Donald Trump. Russia's demands for Ukraine to cede all the land Russian President Vladimir Putin claims to have annexed and accept permanent neutrality have been rejected by Kyiv, which says that would amount to surrender and leave the nation undefended. Ceasefire Ukraine has expressed readiness to accept a US proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which could be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and has accused the Kremlin of ignoring the plan. Putin has proposed a ceasefire of only three days – from May 8-10. The minerals deal, signed last month in Washington, hands the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and sets up the investment fund, which could be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine for the first 10 years. After months of fraught talks that almost fell apart at a disastrous meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February, the deal also hands Kyiv some wins: no return of aid that Trump says Kyiv owes and a US acknowledgement of Kyiv's intention to join the European Union. Ukraine also sees the deal as a route to unlock the delivery of new US weapons, especially additional Patriot air defence systems it badly needs to repel Russia's increasingly frequent missile attacks. The deal offered no clear guarantee of that. The agreement, which Zelensky says offers Ukraine a better deal than previous drafts – which some in Kyiv had described as "colonial", – is central to Kyiv's efforts to mend ties with Trump after the Oval office meeting. Some Ukrainian lawmakers praised the government's efforts to influence Trump's position, which initially appeared to favour Russia. "Trump's initial position is changing by millimetres, but so far its movement is in the right direction," Inna Sovsun, a lawmaker from the Holos opposition party, said on Facebook, adding that while she might not like the deal's "mercantile" nature, it was important to show that Ukraine is a "constructive party". Some 47 percent of Ukrainians support the deal, while 22 percent say it might have negative consequences and 19 percent say it will have no impact, according to researchers at the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
CBC
02-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Sask. reduces settlement support funding as number of new Ukrainian refugees ebbs
The Saskatchewan government has reduced funding for the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Saskatchewan Provincial Council (UCC-SPC), which offers settlement services for displaced Ukrainians. The reduction, effective May 1, was part of the provincial budget tabled earlier this year. The province says it reflects a return to normal funding levels after a bump to help deal with the large influx of Ukrainians in the earlier years of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "This is a reduction recognizing that fewer people are using the services," Saskatchewan Minister of Immigration and Career Training Jim Reiter said. "But the services are still in place. The Ukrainian refugees are also welcome to use all the settlement services that other groups use as well." Funding for UCC-SPC has gone down by $500,000, but Reiter emphasized that no services have been eliminated. Effective Wednesday, UCC-SCP laid off five full-time and one part-time staff member in Regina and Saskatoon due to the cut. "Although the number of arrivals to Saskatchewan has declined over the past year, this decision was a surprise," said Elena Krueger, president of UCC-SPC. She said the organization has been delivering necessary settlement services to people who have sought refuge in Saskatchewan since the start of the war. "UCC Saskatchewan is grateful to the Government of Saskatchewan for its support for displaced Ukrainians over the past three years," Krueger said. "It is, however, disappointing that, at a time when Russia continues to bomb Ukraine on a daily basis and Ukrainian men, women and children are being killed, the funding for needed settlement supports for those who have fled the war is being cut." NDP MLA for Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood Keith Jorgenson criticized the reduction this week, saying it was bad both morally and economically. "Putin's war rages on and Scott Moe himself said in March his government stood with Ukraine and would welcome in more people displaced by this devastating invasion — but clearly his actions tell an entirely different story," Jorgenson said. WATCH | Sask. NDP questions reduced spending for displaced Ukrainians in the province: Sask. NDP questions reduced spending for displaced Ukrainians in the province 2 hours ago Duration 2:53 The provincial government is reducing funding to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) by half a million dollars because the number of displaced Ukrainians arriving in Saskatchewan has dwindled. The UCC says the cuts led to six staff being laid off. NDP MLA Keith Jorgensen calls the cuts horrific, cold and callous. Jorgenson said many people still need support, even if there are fewer new arrivals. "My comparison is that when my wife and I stopped having kids, we strangely continued to buy groceries," he said. "Merely because the people have stopped arriving it doesn't mean that the work of settling them, and supporting them has stopped." On April 30, the NDP introduced legislation to permanently recognize September as Ukrainian Heritage Month. The Sask. Party has yet to indicate publicly if it will support the bill.
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Business Standard
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Shocked by US peace proposal, Ukrainians reject formal surrender of Crimea
A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognising Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials, who say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily. Giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible, according to experts. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea. It doesn't mean anything, said Oleksandr Merezkho, a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's party. We will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia. Unlike a territorial concession, a formal surrender would permanently relinquish Crimea and abandon the hope that Ukraine could regain it in the future. The Ukrainian public largely understands that land must be ceded as part of any armistice because there is no way to retake it militarily. Polls indicate a rising percentage of the population accepts such a trade-off. But much of the public messaging about land concessions has suggested that they are not necessarily permanent, as when Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko told the BBC recently that Ukraine may need to temporarily give up land as part of a peace deal. Saying otherwise would effectively admit defeat a deeply unpopular move, especially for Ukrainians living under Russian occupation who hope to be liberated and reunited with their families one day. It also would call into question the sacrifices made by tens of thousands of Ukrainian service members who have been killed or wounded. US President Donald Trump underscored the Crimea proposal in an interview published Friday in Time magazine: Crimea will stay with Russia. Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it's been with them for a long time. His comments offered the latest example of the US leader pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end the war while it remains under siege. Trump has also accused Zelenskyy of prolonging the war by resisting negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Crimea, a strategic peninsula along the Black Sea in southern Ukraine, was seized by Russia years before the full-scale invasion that began in 2022. The Russian takeover followed large protests that ousted former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who had refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union. In the lead-up to peace talks, Ukrainian officials told The Associated Press for months that they expect Crimea and other Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia to be among Kyiv's concessions in the event of any deal. But Zelenskyy has said on multiple occasions that formally surrendering the land has always been a red line. Elements of Trump's peace proposal would see the US formally recognizing Crimea as Russian and de facto accepting Moscow's rule over occupied Ukrainian territories, according to a senior European official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic discussions. Whether the US formally recognizes Crimea as Russian is out of Zelenskyy's hands. But many obstacles prevent the Ukrainian president from doing so, even under immense pressure. He cannot unilaterally sign any such proposal, and he could be reprimanded by future governments for even attempting it, experts said. Ukraine began to accept that it would not regain its lost territories after the failure of the country's 2023 summer counteroffensive. From then on, the Ukrainian military concentrated on defending the territory it still held. In return for territorial concessions, Ukraine wants robust security guarantees that ideally would include NATO membership or concrete plans to arm and train its forces against any future Russian invasion with the pledged support of allies. One scenario envisions European boots on the ground, which Russia rejects. Zelenskyy has said negotiations over occupied Ukrainian territory will be drawn out and will not likely occur until a ceasefire is in place. In late March, he told reporters after a call with Trump that the US president clearly understands that legally we will not recognize any territories. He said giving up territory would be the most difficult question and a big challenge for us. Formal recognition of Crimea would also amount to political suicide for Zelenskyy. It could expose him to legal action in the future, said Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and a former economics minister. Signing a potentially unconstitutional document could be interpreted as high treason, Mylovanov said. The Ukrainian government cannot act either. It has no constitutional means to accept a violation of its territorial integrity, and altering the territorial makeup of the country requires a nationwide referendum. If Ukrainian lawmakers were even to entertain the idea of surrendering Crimea, it would trigger a long, drawn-out legal debate. That's why Russia is pushing it, because they know it's impossible to achieve, Mylovanov said. Anything related to constitutional change gives so much policy and public communication space to Russia," he added. "This is all they want. Soldiers on the front line say they will never stop fighting, no matter what the political leadership decides. We lost our best guys in this war, said Oleksandr, a soldier in the Donetsk region, who spoke on the condition that only his first name be used in line with military protocols. We won't stop until all Ukrainian lands are free. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Int'l Business Times
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Trump, Zelensky Meet On Sidelines Of Pope's Funeral
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met briefly in the hush of St Peter's basilica on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday in their first encounter since a noisy White House clash, as the US president pushes the Ukrainian leader to make a peace deal with Russia. Zelensky said they discussed a possible unconditional ceasefire with Russia and was "hoping for results" from a "very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic". The war cast a shadow over preparations for Francis's funeral, and even as it took place, Russia claimed its forces had "fully liberated" the border Kursk region. Ukraine insisted however that it's army was still fighting in Kursk, Russian territory which it hopes to use as a bargaining chip in any future peace talks. The Ukrainian presidency released photos of the Trump and Zelensky sitting face to face, leaning forward in deep discussion in a corner of the basilica, as the pope's simple wooden coffin lay in front of the altar before the funeral began. "We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out," Zelensky wrote on X. An aide to Zelensky described the meeting as "constructive" and the White House called it "a very productive discussion". However, the US president flew out of Rome as scheduled, immediately after the funeral mass and there were no further talks. But the two leaders also briefly huddled inside the basilica with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, the French president's hand on Zelensky's shoulder. Macron's office described the exchanges between the four leaders as "positive" and he later met Zelensky one-on-one. Outside in St Peter's Square, Trump rubbed shoulders with dozens of world leaders keen to bend his ear on the tariffs he has unleashed and other subjects. But it was the meeting with Zelensky that drew the most interest as the US leader pushes for a peace deal. Both sides had kept the prospects of a meeting vague ahead of the funeral with Trump saying only it was "possible". Tensions have been high since Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky in the Oval Office on February 28, calling him ungrateful for the billions of dollars of US military assistance given since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Trump, while calling on President Vladimir Putin to stop Russia's attacks on Ukraine, has recently blamed Zelensky for the war and the continuing bloodshed. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a conflict not seen in Europe for decades. Trump has pushed Zelensky to accept previously unpalatable concessions such as acknowledging that Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014, will remain in Russian hands under any deal to stop the conflict. Arriving in Rome late Friday, Trump said there had been progress in talks and pushed for the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to meet. "They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to 'finish it off'," he posted on his Truth Social platform. "Most of the major points are agreed to," he said. Putin on Friday discussed the "possibility" of direct talks with Ukraine in a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff. But Zelensky again rejected suggestions that Ukraine give up Crimea. Witkoff's meeting with Putin came just after a top Russian general was killed in a car bomb attack outside Moscow. An increasingly frustrated Trump last week threatened to walk away from peace efforts if he does not see progress towards a ceasefire. The US president, accompanied by his wife Melania, was making the first foreign trip of his second term. It put him centre-stage for a major diplomatic gathering with some 50 heads of state, including 10 reigning monarchs, and Britain's Prince William. The trip also came after he rattled European allies by imposing sweeping tariffs, although he at least temporarily has backed down from the most severe measures. The US president shook hands with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. The two have agreed to meet, a European Union spokesperson said. Other leaders also swarmed Trump after he arrived. One person he did not meet: his predecessor Joe Biden. Trump has repeatedly disparaged Biden, a devout Catholic attending independently with wife Jill and sitting five rows behind his successor. Previously, other presidents have taken their predecessors with them on Air Force One to papal funerals. Official Vatican images showed Trump and Melania stopping by the closed coffin in St Peter's Basilica. Trump, in a dark blue suit and tie, and Melania, wearing a black veil, then took their seats in the front row for the service. Trump had said any meetings would be quick and added: "Frankly it's a little disrespectful to have meetings when you're at the funeral of the pope." Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met briefly at Pope Francis's funeral AFP Zelensky meets Trump, Macron and Startmer in St. Peter's basilica AFP Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska attend late Pope Francis' funeral ceremony AFP
