Latest news with #VitaliKlitschko
The Sun
9 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Boxer turned Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko lands major blow as he blasts ‘authoritarian' Zelensky
KYIV's mayor and former world champion boxer Vitali Klitschko stepped into the ring with Volodymyr Zelensky - accusing him of "authoritarianism". The former heavyweight blasted the Ukrainian wartime leader for paralysing his city with "raids, interrogations and threats of fabricated criminal cases". 8 8 8 Klitschko said the president's decision to use martial law to appoint a rival military administration in Kyiv stopped his city from making progress. The 53-year-old mayor's claims come after ex-comedian Zelensky was taunted earlier this year by Donald Trump and his right-hand-man JD Vance. The Don tripled down on his criticism of Zelensky in a blistering Truth Social rampage in February, branding the Ukrainian President a "dictator" and a "moderately successful" comedian. And just days after that, a furious Trump dramatically booted Zelensky out of the White House amid a seething row over US backing of the Ukraine war, sparking global chaos. Trump has also accused wartime hero Zelensky of "refusing to have elections" - despite this being normal protocol under martial law. Klitschko's allegations towards Zelensky of authoritarianism come as his Kyiv administration faces a string of arrests. Some of Klitschko's deputies have been purged by the national anti-corruption bureau under an operation called Clean City. The probe has exposed widespread corruption under the mayor's watch - and seven of his subordinates have so far been arrested, with another three under investigation. The former athlete has now lashed out at Zelensky, saying that the work of his city council has been plagued by fake criminal cases and threats. He says that these hampered the ability of Kyiv authorities to make key decisions. Kyiv's mayor told The Times: 'This is a purge of democratic principles and institutions under the guise of war. Sky documentary reveals feud between Ukraine's president and Kyiv's mayor over child's death 'I said once that it smells of authoritarianism in our country. Now it stinks.' He also accused President Zelensky of using military administrations across the country to take power from elected mayors. This is not the first time ex-sportsman Klitschko - who is also said to have presidential ambitions - has called out his rival Zelensky. The Kyiv mayor called out the Ukrainian President in February amid stalling peace negotiations. Zelensky then hit back at the boxing champ, saying: "Klitschko is a great athlete, but I didn't know he was a great speaker." 8 8 8 Klitschko said that his recent criticism of Zelensky has been protected by his celebrity status. 'Many of the mayors are intimidated, but my celebrity status is a protection," he explained. "You can fire the mayor of Chernihiv, but it is very difficult to fire the mayor of the capital who the whole world knows." He added: 'That is why everything is being done to discredit and ruin my reputation.' Political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko said that the conflict betwene the two rivals goes deeper. The expert said it reflected concern about abuse of city funds in wartime, calling it a "response to manifestations of corruption in the Kyiv city administration". He told The Times: 'During the war money should go primarily to defence, to protect the country, yet there is all this construction." Questioning the corruption in Kyiv, he added: "In some other cities, even stadiums are being built. "In the Donbas there are large landscaping projects. The frontline is near by, and the money is not going to defensive structures, but to greenery." Kyiv locals have been baffled as luxury flats keep popping up instead of shelters or schools — often built on public land using a dodgy 'toilet loophole'. This starts with setting up a par-per-use toilet for example, to then receive something similar to squatters' rights. Many of the ten Kyiv officials under investigation have been charged with corruption relating to the approval of these land permits. Klitschko's ex-deputy has been charged with taking bribes to help war conscripts escape, while a former city councillor accused of embezzlement has fled to Austria. He responded to claims of corruption under his watch, saying that he had sacked eight of the officials being investigated. "I have 4,500 employees in this building alone and about 300,000 employees working for the city," he said. "Corruption cases sometimes happen, but we react harshly and quickly." He added: "We co-operate with law enforcement, provide all the necessary information and hope for an impartial investigation of all cases." Klitshcko's main rival in Kyiv, Tymur Tkachenko, has slated the mayor for showing 'weakness' during wartime. Tkachenko told The Times: 'Mr Klitschko could not close the brothel in the basement of the same building where he lives." He was referring to Tootsies, a notorious strip club raided and shut down by the security service last month as part of an investigation into sex trafficking. Klitschko hit back at claims he was tied to the strip club which is near a hotel complex he owns, calling it a 'lie' meant to smear him. 8 8
Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Ukraine says new drone attack on Kyiv, warns of missile threat
An emergency worker guides a colleague at the site of a residential building damaged in a Russian attack in Kyiv. (AP pic) KYIV : Kyiv came under attack from more than a dozen Russian drones early Sunday, authorities in the Ukrainian capital said as they warned of a missile threat. AFP journalists heard explosions and locals were urged to seek shelter, as the city came under fire from the sky for the second night running. On Saturday, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 attack drones overnight, adding that it downed six missiles and 245 drones. The head of Kyiv city's military administration Tymur Tkachenko said 'more than a dozen enemy drones' were in airspace around the capital early Sunday. 'New ones are also approaching. Some of the drones over Kyiv and the surrounding area have already been dealt with. But the new ones are still entering the capital,' he wrote on Telegram. 'The night will not be easy. There is a threat of the enemy using a large number of drones and missiles from strategic aircraft.' Debris fell on one five-storey residential building, he added. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city was 'under attack' but 'air defences are operating', telling citizens: 'Stay in shelters!' The successive overnight attacks come even as Russia and Ukraine pursue the biggest prisoner swap since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday evening the attacks indicated Moscow was 'prolonging the war' and repeated his call for ramped-up sanctions. On Saturday, 307 Russian prisoners of war were exchanged for the same number of Ukrainian soldiers, according to announcements in Kyiv and Moscow. The first part of the large-scale swap involved 270 soldiers and civilians from each side on Friday.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Russia and Ukraine complete prisoner swap hours after Moscow launches major aerial assault
Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds more prisoners Sunday (May 25, 2025) in the third and last part of a major exchange that was a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the more than three years of war. Hours earlier, the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other regions came under a massive Russian drone-and-missile attack that killed at least 12 people and injured dozens. Ukrainian officials described it as the largest aerial assault since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Late Sunday (May 25, 2025), Ukrainian cities came under attack for a third straight night with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reporting that air defence forces were working in the capital against enemy drones. Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv military administration, said Kharkiv and its suburbs were also under attack by drones. Information about victims was being clarified, Mr Syniehubov said, urging residents to 'stay safe places until the end of the alarm.' Also Read | Russia says it captures three more settlements in east Ukraine Earlier, Russia's Defence Ministry said each side exchanged 303 soldiers, following the release of 307 combatants and civilians each on Saturday (May 24, 2025), and 390 on Friday (May 23, 2025) — the biggest total swap of the war. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Sunday's (May 25, 2025) exchange, saying on X that '303 Ukrainian defenders are home.' He noted that the troops returning to Ukraine were members of the 'Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service.' Nataliya Borovyk, the sister of released Ukrainian soldier Ihor Ulesov, was overwhelmed when she learned of her brother's return. 'My uncle had to calm me down and put me in a taxi so I could get here,' she told The Associated Press. 'A moment like that stays with you forever.' Ms Borovyk said the family had been waiting anxiously for news, and that she had hoped her brother might be released in the first part of the exchange on Friday (May 23, 2025). 'We were worried about all the guys. He wasn't there on Friday, but I was here — I at least greeted them, I stood there until the very end and waited, (hoping) maybe he would appear after all.' In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month — the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks — Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. The exchange has been the only tangible outcome from the talks. The scale of the onslaught was stunning — Russia hit Ukraine with 367 drones and missiles, the largest single aerial attack of the war, according to Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Air Force. In all, Russia used 69 missiles of various types and 298 drones, including Iranian-designed Shahed drones, he told The Associated Press. There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the strikes. For Kyiv, the day was particularly somber as the city observed Kyiv Day, a national holiday that falls on the last Sunday (May 25, 2025) in May, commemorating its founding in the 5th century. Mr Zelenskyy said Russian missiles and drones hit more than 30 cities and villages, and urged Western partners to ramp up sanctions on Russia — a longstanding demand of the Ukrainian leader but one that despite warnings to Moscow by the United States and Europe has not materialized in ways to deter Russia. 'These were deliberate strikes on ordinary cities,' Mr Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that Sunday's (May 25, 2025) targets included Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Chernihiv, Sumy, Odesa, Poltava, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions. 'America's silence, the silence of others in the world, only encourages' Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said. 'Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help.' U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear he is losing patience with Putin, levelling some of his sharpest criticism at him on Sunday (May 25, 2025) night. 'I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!' Mr Trump wrote in a social media post. He said Mr Putin is 'needlessly killing a lot of people' by firing missiles and drones into Ukrainian cities 'for no reason whatsoever.' But Mr Trump expressed frustration with Zelenskyy as well, saying that he is 'doing his Country no favours by talking the way he does.' Keith Kellogg, Washington's special envoy to Ukraine, condemned the Russian attacks on X, calling it 'a clear violation' of the Geneva Protocols. 'These attacks are shameful. Stop the killing. Ceasefire now.' Russia's Defence Ministry, meanwhile, said its air defences shot down 110 Ukrainian drones overnight. Sounds of explosions boomed throughout the night in Kyiv and the surrounding area as Ukrainian air defence persisted for hours in efforts to shoot down Russian drones and missiles. At least four people were killed and 16 were injured in the capital itself, according to the security service. 'A difficult Sunday morning in Ukraine after a sleepless night,' Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X, adding that the assault 'lasted all night.' Fires broke out in homes and businesses, set off by falling drone debris. In Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, the emergency service said three children were killed, aged 8, 12 and 17. Twelve people were injured in the attacks, it said. At least four people were killed in the Khmelnytskyi region, in western Ukraine. One man was killed in Mykolaiv region, in southern Ukraine. Kyiv Mayor Klitschko said a student dormitory in Holosiivskyi district was hit by a drone and one of the building's walls was on fire. In Dniprovskyi district, a private house was destroyed and in Shevchenkivskyi district, windows in a residential building were smashed. The scale of Russia's use of aerial weapons aside, the attacks over the past 48 hours have been among the most intense strikes on Ukraine since the February 2022 invasion. In Markhalivka, just outside Kyiv where several village homes were burned down, the Fedorenkos watched their ruined home in tears. 'The street looks like Bakhmut, like Mariupol, it's just terrible,' said 76-year-old Liubov Fedorenko, comparing their village to some of Ukraine's most devastated cities. She told the AP she was grateful her daughter and grandchildren hadn't joined them for the weekend. 'I was trying to persuade my daughter to come to us,' Fedorenko said, adding that she told her daughter, 'After all, you live on the eighth floor in Kyiv, and here it's the ground floor.'' 'She said, 'No, mum, I'm not coming.' And thank God she didn't come, because the rocket hit (the house) on the side where the children's rooms were,' Fedorenko said. The POW exchange was the latest of scores of swaps since the war began but also the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians. Still, it has not halted the fighting. Battles have continued along the roughly 1,000-kilometer front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes. Russia's Defence Ministry quoted Yaroslav Yakimkin of the 'North' group of Russian forces as saying Sunday (May 25, 2025) that Ukrainian troops have been pushed back from the border in the Kursk region, which Mr Putin visited days ago. 'The troops continue to advance forward every day,' Yakimkin said, adding that Russian forces have taken Marine and Loknya in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, which borders Kursk, over the past week, and were advancing in the Kharkiv region around the largely destroyed town of Vovchansk. Speaking on Russian state TV on Sunday (May 25, 2025), a Russian serviceman said that Mr Putin was reportedly flying over the Kursk region in a helicopter when the area came under intense Ukrainian drone attack during his visit. Mr Putin's helicopter was 'virtually at the epicentre of repelling a large-scale attack by the enemy's drones,' said Yuri Dashkin, described as commander of a Russian air defence division. He added that Russian air defence units shot down 46 drones during the incident.
Jordan News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Jordan News
Massive Russian Airstrike on Ukraine Leaves at Least 12 Dead - Jordan News
Massive Russian Airstrike on Ukraine Leaves at Least 12 Dead Ukraine was hit by a massive Russian airstrike on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 people. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones temporarily shut down airports in Moscow just hours before the final stage of a major prisoner exchange operation between the two countries was set to begin. اضافة اعلان Ukrainian emergency services described it as a 'night of horror,' marking the second consecutive night of Russian attacks involving ballistic missiles and drones following similar strikes late Friday into Saturday. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that it had intercepted 45 missiles and 266 Russian drones during the attacks. In a statement on Telegram, the military said, 'Most regions of Ukraine were affected by the hostile assault. Enemy air raids were recorded in 22 regions, with cruise missiles and combat drones hitting 15 locations.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday called for increased pressure on Russia to force it to stop the attacks and end the ongoing war. This comes as both countries continue their largest prisoner exchange operation since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A Russian airstrike killed three children—two aged 8 and 12, and a 17-year-old boy—in the Zhytomyr region in northwestern Ukraine, according to emergency services. Four more people were killed in the Khmelnytskyi region in western Ukraine, and another four in the Kyiv region. In the southern Mykolaiv region, a man was found dead after a drone strike. AFP correspondents in the Ukrainian capital reported hearing explosions. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that 'the capital is under attack' but said that 'air defenses are active.' Kyiv's military administration chief, Tymur Tkachenko, warned that 'tonight will not be easy.' Overnight attacks were also recorded in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. In Moscow, restrictions were imposed at four airports, including the main Sheremetyevo International Airport, according to Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 12 drones heading toward the capital had been intercepted. AFP
United News of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- United News of India
12 killed, dozens injured in Russian massive airstrike on Ukraine
Kiev, May 25 (UNI) At least 12 people, including three children, were killed and dozens of others injured across Ukraine in a combined missile-drone attack launched by Russia early Sunday, Ukrainian authorities said. Four people were killed and 23 others were injured in the Kiev region, with most casualties were reported in villages surrounding the capital, the National Police said in a Telegram post. In the capital, which came under attack for the second consecutive night, 11 others were injured and residential buildings were damaged, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The State Service for Emergencies said three children were killed in the northern Zhytomyr region, four fatalities were reported in the western Khmelnytskyi region and one in the southern Mykolaiv region. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the attacks involved 56 cruise missiles, nine ballistic missiles, four guided missiles and 298 combat drones. The air defense had downed 45 cruise missiles and 266 drones. UNI XINHUA AKT RN
