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Hindustan Times
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Ukraine hits military targets and pipeline in Russia
Ukraine said Saturday it hit military targets and a gas pipeline in drone attacks in Russia, where local authorities said three people were killed and two others wounded. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the parliament session in Kyiv, Ukraine Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadym Sarakhan)(AP) Ukraine's SBU security service said the strikes, carried out Friday night by long-distance drones, hit a military airfield in the southwestern town of Primorsko-Akhtarsk. They caused a fire in an areas where Iranian-built Shahed drones -- relied on by Russia to attack Ukraine -- were stored, the SBU said. It said the strikes also hit a company, Elektropribor, in Russia's southern Penza region, which it said "works for the Russian military-industrial complex", making military digital networks, aviation devices, armoured vehicles and ships. The governor for the Penza region, Oleg Melnichenko, said on Telegram that one woman had been killed and two other people were wounded in that attack. Russia's defence ministry said its air-defence systems had destroyed 112 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory -- 34 over the Rostov region -- in a nearly nine-hour period, from Friday night to Saturday morning. An elderly man was killed inside a house that caught fire due to falling drone debris in the Samara region, governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev posted on Telegram. In the Rostov region, a guard at an industrial facility was killed after a drone attack and a fire in one of the site's buildings, acting Rostov governor Yuri Sliusar said. "The military repelled a massive air attack during the night," destroying drones over seven districts, Sliusar posted on Telegram. Heavy use of drones Ukraine has regularly used drones to hit targets inside Russia as it fights back against Moscow's full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022. Russia, too, has increasingly deployed the unmanned aerial devices as part of its offensive. An AFP analysis published on Friday showed that Russia's forces in July launched an unprecedented number of drones, 6,297 of them. The figure included decoy drones sent into Ukraine's skies in efforts to saturate the country's air-defence systems. In Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian drone attacks Friday night wounded three people, governor Sergiy Lysak wrote on Telegram. Several buildings, homes and cars were damaged, he said. Russian forces have claimed advances in Dnipropetrovsk, recently announcing the capture of two villages there, part of Moscow's accelerated capture of territory in July, according to AFP's analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Kyiv denies any Russian presence in the Dnipropetrovsk area. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire in the more than three-year conflict, said Friday that he wanted peace but that his demands for ending Moscow's military offensive were "unchanged". Those demands include that Ukraine abandon territory and end ambitions to join NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said only Putin could end the war and renewed his call for a meeting between the two leaders. "The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia's readiness," he wrote on X.
Toronto Sun
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Zelenskyy faces backlash as Ukrainians protest new anti-corruption law
Published Jul 23, 2025 • 3 minute read President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the parliament session in Kyiv, Ukraine Thursday, July 17, 2025. Photo by Vadym Sarakhan / AP Photo KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian activists called for more protests Wednesday against a law they say weakens the country's anti-corruption watchdogs, following the first major demonstration against the country's government in more than three years of war. The legislation has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, under pressure as the change threatened to endanger his public support at a critical time in the war, convened the heads of Ukraine's key anti-corruption and security agencies Wednesday morning in a response to the outcry against his decision to approve the new law that was passed by Parliament. 'We all hear what society says,' Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram after the meeting. But he insisted the new legal framework was needed to crack down harder on corruption. 'Criminal cases should not drag on for years without verdicts, and those working against Ukraine must not feel comfortable or immune from punishment,' the Ukrainian leader said. He said all government agencies agreed to work constructively and respond to public expectations for fairness and effectiveness. A detailed joint action plan is expected within two weeks, aimed at addressing institutional weaknesses, removing legal hurdles, and ensuring justice across the board, he said. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Thousands of people gathered in the capital and other cities across Ukraine on Tuesday evening to urge Zelenskyy to veto the controversial bill. After Zelenskyy approved it, activists called on social media for another demonstration in the centre of Kyiv at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The legislation tightens government oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies. Critics say the step could significantly weaken the independence of those agencies and grant Zelenskyy's circle greater influence over investigations. EU officials warn of possible setback to joining bloc Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid in its fight against Russia's three-year invasion. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Limiting the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agency hampers Ukraine's way towards the EU,' German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul warned Wednesday in a post on X EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, also on X, noted: 'In war trust between the fighting nation and its leadership is more important than modern weapons — difficult to build and to keep, but easy to lose with one significant mistake by the leadership.' The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticized Parliament's decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014, and damages trust with international partners. It accused authorities of 'dismantling' the country's anti-corruption architecture. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Zelenskyy has been the international face of Ukraine's determination to defeat Russia's all-out invasion, and his domestic troubles are an unwelcome diversion from the war effort. Zelenskyy said the new law clears out 'Russian influence' from the fight against corruption and ensures punishment for those found guilty of it, after what he said were yearslong delays in criminal proceedings involving huge amounts of money. 'The cases that have been lying dormant must be investigated,' Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post after midnight Wednesday. 'For years, officials who have fled Ukraine have been casually living abroad for some reason — in very nice countries and without legal consequences — and this is not normal,' he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He didn't provide examples of what he said was Russian interference. Russian officials relished Zelenskyy's difficulties. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova mocked Zelenskyy's claim of Russian infiltration into the anti-corruption agency, noting sarcastically that 'they might just as well pull a couple of bears out of the corner.' Russia and Ukraine plan talks in Istanbul Delegations from Russia and Ukraine were set to meet in Istanbul on Wednesday for their third round of direct talks in two months, the Kremlin and Ukrainian officials said. The meeting wasn't expected to make progress on ending the war and would likely focus on exchanges of prisoners of war. The legal changes in Ukraine would grant the prosecutor general new authority over investigations and cases handled by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). The mood of anger and frustration among the war-weary Ukrainians prevailed in the crowd Tuesday. Some protesters accused Ukraine's leadership of prioritizing loyalty and personal connections over the fight against corruption. 'Those who swore to protect the laws and the Constitution have instead chosen to shield their inner circle, even at the expense of Ukrainian democracy,' said veteran Oleh Symoroz, sitting in a wheelchair because both his legs were amputated after he was wounded in 2022. Canada Sunshine Girls Olympics Columnists Sunshine Girls
