Latest news with #Ukrainain
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First Post
25-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
'The capitals under attack': Russia, Ukraine exchange drone strikes on Kyiv & Moscow amid prisoner exchange
Amid a historic prisoner exchange, Russia unleashed massive drone strikes over Kyiv and other Ukrainian territories. Meanwhile, drone strikes rattled Moscow, indicating the escalation of tensions read more Emergency workers navigates his colleagues at the site of residential building damaged after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine. File Image / AP Amid the hopes for peace talks , Russia launched a 'massive' drone missile attack on the Ukrainian capital overnight. Similar strikes were conducted across Ukraine in which at least 12 people, including three children, were killed and dozens injured. The attack took place after the Russian capital Moscow was attacked, indicating that the tensions between the two nations were escalating. Russian attack on Ukraine continued through the night and well into Sunday, injuring 11 people in the Ukrainian capital. According to Sky News, the Russians also conducted drone strikes in Mykolaiv, where a residential building was hit. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On Sunday morning, Kyiv's city administration warned that 'the night will be difficult,' urging people to remain in shelters. The city's mayor Vitaliy Klitschko described it as a 'massive' attack. 'Explosions in the city. Air defence forces are working. The capital is under attack by enemy UAVs. Do not neglect your safety! Stay in shelters!' he said in a statement. Fears of escalation Before this, at least 15 people were injured in the Russian attack on Friday night. Meanwhile, Russia also claimed that it faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. The Kremlin claimed that it has intercepted and destroyed around 100 drones near Moscow and across Russia's central and southern regions. The escalations are taking place at a time when both nations are continuing with a prisoner exchange, marking a rare moment of relief in the war. However, following the Saturday strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of prolonging the war and called for sanctions on Russia. Russia 'fills each day with horror and murder' and is 'simply dragging out the war', he said. 'All of this demands a response - a strong response from the United States, from Europe, and from everyone in the world who wants this war to end,' the Ukrainian president furthered. Zelenskyy insisted that every single day 'gives new grounds for sanctions against Russia', he said, and each day without pressure proves the 'war will continue'. The Ukrainain leader concluded his statement by stating that his country is ready for 'any form of diplomacy that delivers real results'.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK government urged to introduce GCSE in Ukrainian for child refugees
The children's commissioner has joined Kyiv in lobbying the UK government to introduce a new GCSE in Ukrainian to help child refugees cope with the 'immense upheaval' of fleeing war in their country. In December, the Guardian revealed that Ukraine was 'deeply concerned' to discover many Ukrainian teenagers are being pressed into learning Russian in British schools because no GSCE in Ukrainian is available. Since then Ukraine's education minister, Oksen Lisovyi, has met the UK education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to underline his government's fear that being taught Russian is retraumatising Ukrainian teenagers who have fled Vladimir Putin's invasion. Vitalii, now 18, who fled to London from Ukraine in April 2022, said: 'Why should I study Russian – I'm Ukrainian and I want to show it. The language is paramount for all us.' Since the meeting with Lisovyi, Phillipson confirmed on Instagram this week that she has written to exam boards urging them to reintroduce an exam that was scrapped in 1995 owing to a lack of demand. The Department for Education (DfE) has also set up a working group to help implement the move. One of the exam boards, AQA, said it was carefully considering reintroducing the qualification. But education sector insiders are sceptical about the practicalities of the move. It has also emerged the children's commissioner, Rachel de Souza, has been urging the government to reintroduce a GCSE in Ukrainain. She intervened after visiting St Mary's, a network of 13 Ukrainian language schools in the UK, founded at the trust's headquarters in west London. De Souza said: 'I've seen for myself the great work St Mary's Ukrainian School is doing with the children who attend. It has become a sanctuary for families, helping displaced children reach their goals and aspirations in spite of the immense upheaval they've experienced.' De Souza said she was encouraged by the DfE's decision to take up the issue with exam boards. She said: 'I have long called for the DfE to consider making qualifications available in Ukrainian for these children, who rightly want an opportunity to feel proud of their culture and their language, so I am really pleased to see this. 'Ukrainian children living here in the UK are the future of their country and will play a vital role in its recovery, so we must match their level of ambition and make sure they receive all the support possible to thrive in their education.' An AQA spokesperson said: 'We've every sympathy with Ukrainian students who, through no fault of their own, find themselves many miles from home and want to gain formal accreditation of their language. 'As an education charity, we stand ready to do what we can to support Ukrainian students. We have received a letter from the education secretary about developing a GCSE in the Ukrainian language and are considering it carefully.' But an education industry source said: 'Realistically it takes two years to develop a qualification, it takes another two years to teach it. So a GCSE is not going to help students who are currently here who have fled Ukraine.' St Mary's has proposed becoming a hub for both GCSE and A-level qualifications in Ukrainian. In a letter to Phillipson, Ukraine's ministry of education backed this suggestion. It said: 'Establishing a Ukrainian GCSE centre will provide these children with opportunities to take Ukrainian GCSE and A-level exams, supporting their educational and professional goals.' Related: 'They can really fly': how to teach a refugee child It also pointed out that demand for the qualification has soared owing to the number of children that have fled to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. It said: 'As of now, the number of potential students of Ukrainian descent interested in pursuing Ukrainian GCSE is at an all-time high: about 27,000 displaced Ukrainian children and around 7,000 diaspora children.' It added: 'Maintaining proficiency in Ukrainian is crucial for displaced children's transition back to Ukraine, especially as many families may decide to reunite when it is safe.' A DfE spokesperson said: 'This government has set out our decisive support for our Ukrainian friends. That's why we have, last week, asked exam boards to consider introducing a Ukrainian GCSE – giving these young people the chance to celebrate their heritage and their native language.'
