Latest news with #VictoryCelebrations
India Today
18-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
BLA attacks 'occupying Pak Army' during so-called victory celebrations in Quetta
A powerful grenade blast targeted the convoy of Balochistan Provincial Assembly member Ali Madad Jatak in Quetta on Wednesday, killing at least one person and injuring around ten others, according to local reports. The Afghan media platform, Amu news, reported that the explosion occurred on Sariab Road as Jatak was on his way to a rally celebrating Pakistan's 'so-called' victory over was en route to attend the event at Quetta's Hockey Ground, which drew a large number of people. BLA SAYS IT TARGETED 'SO-CALLED VICTORY CELEBRATIONS'Hours after the attack, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility through a statement issued by its spokesperson, Jeeyand Baloch. The rebel group said it carried out the grenade attack to target what it described as the "occupying" Pakistani Army and its "so-called celebrations." "Baloch Liberation Army freedom fighters targeted occupying Pakistani Army and its so-called Victory Celebrations in Quetta and Mastung," the statement added that the attack on Munir Mengal Road in Quetta was specifically aimed at armed agents leading the freedom fighters targeted a rally of the so-called 'Victory Celebrations' organised under the patronage of occupying Pakistani Army in Quetta with a grenade attack on Munir Mengal Road. The rally was being led by so-called MPA Ali Madad Jattak. Freedom fighters targeted armed death squad agents ahead of the rally.""As a result of the attack, 1 death squad agent was eliminated and 12 were injured," the spokesperson group also lashed out at the Balochistan government, saying, "The so-called Balochistan government, out of fear, tried to throw dust in eyes of the world by installing containers all over Quetta and celebrating a 'so-called celebration' under the patronage of occupying state." ANOTHER ATTACK AT MASTUNG TARGETS CHECKPOINTAccording to the BLA, another grenade attack was carried out the previous night in Mastung district. The group said its fighters targeted a checkpoint handled by Pakistani forces at MCC Cross. However, no official confirmation has been issued by the authorities. "Last night, Baloch Liberation Army freedom fighters targeted enemy personnel posted at the checkpoint of occupying Pakistani Army at MCC Cross in Mastung with a hand grenade attack, as a result of which 4 personnel were injured," the statement group also accused the military of mistreating civilians. "In the name of searching on the said checkpoint, Baloch people were being humiliated, from which even women and the elderly were not safe," Jeeyand Baloch BLA warned of more attacks in the future, saying, "Baloch Liberation Army claims responsibility for these attacks. Our attacks on occupying Pakistani army and its collaborators will continue.""The convoy of PPP MP Ali Madad Jatak was attacked with hand grenades and fired upon on Sariab Road in Quetta. The incident took place near Munir Mengal Chowk. Ali Madad Jatak was unharmed in the attack, but his vehicle was partially damaged," said Sariab Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Asif Ghafoor as quoted by between BLA and the Pakistani authorities are escalating as the rebel group has heightened their attacks for the separation of Balochistan from Pakistan. Must Watch IN THIS STORY#Baloch Liberation Army
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia has violated ‘parade truce' 700 times, Ukraine says
Russia has violated the three-day ceasefire ordered by Vladimir Putin more than 700 times, Ukraine has claimed. 'Predictably, Putin's 'Parade ceasefire' proves to be a farce,' Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's foreign minister, said. He added that Moscow's forces had already breached the truce, which Kyiv never agreed to, at least 734 times after it was supposed to come into effect at midnight local time. The 72-hour ceasefire coincides with Russia's May 9 Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square, which will be attended by over two dozen world leaders, including Xi Jinping who met with his 'old friend' Putin in the Kremlin this morning. 'Russian forces continue to attack across the entire frontline,' Mr Sybiha said, adding that they had carried out 63 'assault operations'. Volodymyr Zelensky had previously warned that Russia's temporary truce was an attempt at manipulation, dismissing it as nothing more than a 'theatrical performance' designed to protect Moscow during the parade. Thanks for following our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. It has now ended for the day. Join us tomorrow morning for live coverage of Russia's Victory Celebrations in Moscow. Donald Trump said this afternoon that he he will speak with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky after Kyiv ratified a minerals deal with Washington. 'We just concluded the rare earth deal with Ukraine. That's been fully ratified and approved by their legislative branches, and so we appreciate that, and I'll be speaking with the president in a little while, a little bit later,' the US president said at the White House. Several people have been killed in a shooting near Kyiv, local police have aid, adding that officers were working to arrest the perpetrator. The incident took place in Sofiyivska Borshchahivka, an urban district bordering Kyiv home to some 25,000 people. 'At 3:22 pm (2.22 BST) today, police received a report that a man had shot citizens in the village of Sofiyivska Borshchahivka,' Ukraine's national police said in a statement. 'Currently, all emergency services are working at the scene and a special operation is underway to detain the attacker.' Police did not say how many people were dead and did not give further detail about the incident. Vladimir Putin hosted a breakfast reception for Xi Jinping, who arrived in Moscow earlier today. Also in attendance was Dmitry Medvedev, the former president of Russia and a senior security official. Waving their national flag and chanting a patriotic anthem of wartime hardship, China's Guard of Honour marched through Red Square in Moscow last week. The specialised unit within the People's Liberation Army was rehearsing for Russia's Victory Day parade, which will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and is anticipated to be its 'grandest' yet. In a show of deepening ties, Xi Jinping - who was greeted by Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday, will be in the front row of spectators with the Russian leader as the event's most high-profile guest. While the two have met more than 40 times as leaders of China and Russia, standing side-by-side on such an important day will be highly symbolic. 'It's a reaffirmation of the increasingly close ties between the two countries in the face of their mutual enemy – the West,' said Pierre Andrieu, a former diplomat in Russia. 'It's a very powerful and explicit message.' Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are convinced that the conflict in Ukraine can only be resolved by removing its 'root causes', the two leaders said in a joint statement. At talks in Moscow, Putin thanked Xi for joining celebrations to mark 80 years since the 'sacred' victory over Adolf Hitler in World War Two. It came as Xi told Putin this afternoon that their two countries should be 'friends of steel'. The United States won't endorse the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Vladimir Putin and his top officials for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Ministers from dozens of nations will gather in Lviv on Friday to give political endorsement to the proposals to serve justice against Kremlin chiefs for the invasion. Sources said the US would not be present at the signing ceremony, confirming a Telegraph exclusive from February that Donald Trump would withdraw his country from the process. His predecessor, Joe Biden, had taken a leading role in over 10 meetings of a 'core group' of countries organising the investigation and subsequent trial of Putin and his cronies. But as soon as Mr Trump retook his seat in the Oval Office, American officials began to signal their intentions to leave the international justice efforts. European officials hope that the American leader will change his mind and have not ruled out the possibility of him signing any declaration at a later date. The Ukrainian parliament has ratified Donald Trump's minerals deal without any opposition. A total of 388 of the 400 members making up the Verkhovna Rada gave the greenlight for an American-Ukrainian Reconstruction Fund to be established. It signals an end to the often bitter negotiations over the agreement, which prompted a very public clash between Mr Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. The pact will see both sides jointly control Ukraine's vast critical minerals and natural resources wealth, and could be used to pay for future US military aid to Kyiv. Russia has accused Ukraine of launching border incursions into Kursk after Vladimir Putin's apparent ceasefire came into effect at midnight. Both Moscow and Kyiv have accused one another of violating the ceasefire, which was announced by Putin last week. Ukraine did not commit to the truce, labelling it a ruse by Putin to protect his Victory Day parade on May 9. Credit: Telegram/@bazabazon, @ostorozhno_moskva Slovakia's prime minister is searching for a route to Moscow to attend Victory Day celebrations after the Baltic countries reportedly shut their airspaces to flights carrying him to the event. Robert Fico, who met Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in December, is the only EU leader planning to attend the May 9 parade in Moscow, which will be attended by two dozen foreign leaders. Gitanas Nauseda, Lithuania's president, said on Wednesday his country had closed its airspace to flights carrying Fico and Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic, which is not in the EU, to Moscow. Aircraft travelling between Russia and Europe have typically used Lithuanian airspace since European carriers were told in 2021 to avoid the shorter route through Belarus. Ukrainian airspace, another shorter route, has been closed since 2022 due to the Russian invasion. Latvia's foreign ministry has said it will not allow any flights to the parade but did not specifically mention the Slovak leader. 'Estonia has told us it will not allow us to fly over its territory, despite Slovakia having an all-year permission for the government fleet to use Estonian airspace,' Mr Fico complained. The Russian army said Thursday it was observing a unilateral three-day truce with Ukraine ordered by Vladimir Putin, but that it was simultaneously 'responding' to attacks by Ukraine, which never agreed to the proposal. 'Despite the announcement of the ceasefire, Ukrainian army units have not ceased hostilities against Russian troops. The Russian army is responding in kind to violations of the ceasefire by the army of Ukraine,' the Russian defence ministry said. Russia has violated the three-day ceasefire it ordered at least 734 times, Ukraine's foreign minister claimed. Andrii Sybiha added that Moscow's forces have carried out 63 'assault operations' and are attacking along the entire eastern front. The breaches, he said, were recorded between midnight and midday local time during the first hours of the truce. Vladimir Putin thanked his 'dear friend' Xi Jinping for joining celebrations to mark 80 years since the Soviet's 'sacred' victory over Nazi Germany, saying the two countries stood together now against 'neo-Nazism'. Xi is the most powerful of two dozen foreign leaders visiting Moscow for Victory Day and his presence provides an important boost for the Kremlin leader, who has always portrayed his war in Ukraine as a struggle against modern-day Nazis. Ukraine and its allies reject that characterisation as a grotesque falsehood, accusing Moscow of conducting an imperial-style invasion. 'The victory over fascism, achieved at the cost of enormous sacrifices, is of lasting significance,' Putin told Xi on Thursday. 'Together with our Chinese friends, we firmly stand guard over historical truth, protect the memory of the events of the war years, and counteract modern manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism.' Xi, who called Putin his 'old friend', said the two countries would work together to counter 'unilateralism and bullying' - an implied reference to the United States. Air raid alerts are going off in seven eastern Ukrainian regions, warning of a danger of Russian ballistic missiles. It comes despite the Kremlin declaring a 72-hour ceasefire that came into effect today. Earlier this morning, Ukraine's air force said the skies were quiet past 8am local time, following three breaches of the ceasefire in the northern Sumy region overnight. Volodymyr Zelensky has commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe, telling Ukrainians: 'Every evil inevitably comes to an end.' 'We commemorate the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II,' the Ukrainian leader wrote on X, alongside footage of him walking inside Kyiv. Referencing the eight million Ukrainians who died in the Second World War, he said: 'And today, nearly every Ukrainian family has a hero who fought or is fighting against the new evil. Fighting for Ukraine, our Kyiv, for all our cities and villages, for our people, for our life.' Nazi Germany's surrender came into force at 11:01pm on May 8, 1945, marked as VE Day by Britain, the United States and France. In Moscow it was already May 9, which became the Soviet Union's 'Victory Day'. Vladimir Putin told Xi Jinping on Thursday that their nations intend to defend the 'historical truth' about World War Two, which the Russian leader accuses the West of wanting to distort. 'Together with our Chinese friends we firmly stand on guard of historical truth, protect the memory of events of the war years and counter modern manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism,' Putin said. Xi Jinping on Thursday said Beijing would stand with Moscow in the face of 'hegemonic bullying' as he met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. 'In the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying behaviour, China will work with Russia to shoulder the special responsibilities of major world powers,' Xi told Putin. Waving their national flag and chanting a patriotic anthem of wartime hardship, China's Guard of Honour marched through Red Square in Moscow last week. The specialised unit within the People's Liberation Army was rehearsing for Russia's Victory Day parade, which will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and is anticipated to be its 'grandest' yet. In a show of deepening ties, Xi Jinping - who arrived in Moscow on Wednesday and was greeted by Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Thursday, will be in the front row of spectators with the Russian leader as the event's most high-profile guest. While the two have met more than 40 times as leaders of China and Russia, standing side-by-side on such an important day will be highly symbolic. Credit: Reuters Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the 'deepening' trust developing between Beijing and Moscow as he sat down with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. 'The political mutual trust between China and Russia is becoming deeper, and the ties for pragmatic cooperation are becoming stronger,' Xi said. Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday criticised World War II Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, where Vladimir Putin is set to host over 20 world leaders and a grand military parade. 'It will be a parade of cynicism. There is just no other way to describe it. A parade of bile and lies,' Mr Zelensky said. Ukraine has discussed ways to pressure Russia into agreeing to a 30-day ceasefire with US, British, French and German senior officials. Andriy Yermak, Volodymyr Zelensky's top aide, said on Thursday that online talks had taken place with US special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, Britain's national security adviser Jonathan Powell as well as French and German top presidential advisers Emmanuel Bonne and Guenter Sautter. He said that all parties 'emphasised that a complete and unconditional ceasefire should be the first step towards a just and sustainable peace'. 'We also discussed instruments of pressure in case Russia refuses the initiative or violates the agreements,' Mr Yermak said on Telegram. Vladimir Putin welcomed his 'dear friend' Xi Jinping to Moscow for an official state visit ahead of Russia's Victory Day celebrations. The Chinese leader arrived yesterday for talks, hours after Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow for the third day in a row, forcing one of the city's main airports to shut just before Xi's arrival. At least 20 world leaders are expected in Moscow to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two on Friday. Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised the May 9 events in Moscow, calling it a 'parade of cynicism'. 'There is just no other way to describe it. A parade of bile and lies,' the Ukrainian president said, as his country fends off a Russian invasion dragging through its fourth year. Ukraine's air force reported air strikes on its northern region of Sumy on Thursday morning as Vladimir Putin's order for a three-day truce with Ukraine was supposed to take effect. 'During the night, the enemy intensified tactical aviation strikes using guided aerial bombs in the Sumy region,' it said. However, as of 8am local time, the air force reported that there had been no missile or drone attacks. We're bringing you all the latest updates from the war in Ukraine as well as events in Moscow as world leaders arrive in the Russian capital ahead of Victory Day celebrations. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
