Latest news with #VolodymrZelenskyy


Euronews
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
At least nine killed and dozens injured after Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv
ADVERTISEMENT At least nine people were killed and 70 injured in a combined Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine's capital Kyiv overnight, Ukrainian authorities said on Thursday. The State Emergency Situations Service reported 42 of the injured had been hospitalised, including six children. A pregnant woman was also among those hurt, officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy announced he is cutting short his official trip to South Africa and returning home after the deadly attack. The strikes, which began late on Wednesday and continued into the early hours of Thursday, caused widespread damage across several districts of the city, Kyiv officials said. Fires broke out at more than a dozen locations as emergency crews worked through the night. 'Kyiv is subjected to a combined attack, including ballistic missile strikes from different directions,' said Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration. He described the attack as 'Russian peace in all its glory.' Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the Sviatoshynskyi district had been hit particularly hard, with damage reported to homes, garages and cars. 'Three children and a pregnant woman are among those hospitalised,' he said. The State Emergency Service reported multiple fires in the Holosiivskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts and said rescue teams were continuing to search for people trapped under rubble. Support teams and search dogs were deployed at the scene. Related Ceasefire in Ukraine: High-level talks in London downgraded as Rubio skips meeting Ukraine will have to make some compromises in Russia peace talks, Polish President Andrzej Duda says Russia has launched frequent missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Kyiv has increasingly been targeted in recent months, with strikes often hitting civilian infrastructure. The Russian Defence Ministry did not comment on the latest attack. Moscow has previously denied deliberately targeting civilians during the conflict.


SBS Australia
21-04-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Easter, but no change on the frontlines in Ukraine
Thousands of Ukrainians have gathered for Easter Sunday services across the country as claims of a so-called Easter truce have been debated. Their war-time leader President Volodymr Zelenskyy gave his Easter address to the embattled people. UKRAINIAN TRANSLATED INTO ENG: "Today is a truly special day that we always look forward to, celebrated by millions of people: Easter. A day that is a ray of light – particularly radiant and powerful in times when dark clouds seek to cover our skies. A day that gives hope and reminds us all: evil may have its hour, but God will have his day. This is one of the meanings enshrined in the story of Christ. Of his earthly suffering and death – and of his resurrection, and the truth that sooner or later, yet inevitably, evil will retreat, and life will triumph." It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary 30-hour ceasefire from Saturday evening to midnight following Easter Sunday, citing humanitarian reasons. But air raid sirens sounded out across Ukraine's capital Kyiv shortly after the announcement and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims Russia continued hundreds of artillery attacks on Saturday night, with more assaults on the frontlines on Sunday. Serhii, a Ukrainian soldier stationed in the eastern Donetsk region says nothing has changed on the ground. UKRAINIAN TRANSLATED IN ENG: "My opinion did not change regarding the ceasefire: it was announced only to show to the world as if they are making some steps, concessions for us. But in reality, as we can see at the front line, nothing has changed. I think it is a blatant lie as it always was." Russia's Defence Ministry has also claimed Ukraine has broken the ceasefire more than 1,000 times, inflicting damage to infrastructure and causing civilian deaths. Both sets of reports have been unable to be verified. And Ukrainian worshippers gathered outside the ruins of a damaged church in the northern Chernihiv region, which was briefly occupied by Russian forces in 2022. Olha Rudeno, a Chernihiv region resident, says she's not sure a ceasefire with Russia is possible. UKRAINIAN TRANSLATED IN ENG: "No, I don't believe in a ceasefire. Believing in a ceasefire is deceiving yourself. We have already seen that this ceasefire has happened many times and it is simply impossible to trust. I don't know how much time has to pass for me to truly believe one is possible. It seems to me that it will not be a day, not two, not an hour." The Religion on Fire project, which monitors Russian war crimes against religious communities, says since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, about 530 churches across Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed, and at least 25 clergy members have been killed. And in Russia, Ukraine's prayers for peace were echoed by many worshippers including 71-year-old Tamara who is calling for an end to the war at her Orthodox Easter service near Moscow. "God bless, dear God, stop the war, let the people live in peace. Why are people so... forgive me God. Please stop the war so that people live in peace, all is your will, save and keep us, forgive us sinners and the unworthy." And while the Easter truce may have been a failure, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling on Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire deal from the U-S that his country signed onto last month. It comes as U-S President Donald Trump is considering abandoning his efforts to bring about peace in Ukraine unless a deal can be struck soon. The U-S special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, told Fox News that progress is being made on a ceasefire deal to end fighting. "We're tired of what's happening. We've got too many other issues in the world that the United States must be involved in. And this war is going on way too long. President Trump has done more in 90 days to solve this war, the largest war in Europe since World War Two than they did in the previous 900 plus days. And he's driving this towards solutions. And I think we've got a pretty good solution set. The minerals deal is one of them. Also very comprehensive ceasefire, when I talk about a comprehensive ceasefire it's sea air land industrial as well for a period of at least in 30 days and that it builds to a longer peace deal, you know, a permanent peace deal as well. And I think we're on a good path" He says a U-S delegation will travel to London next week to discuss things in more detail, but says NATO membership for Ukraine is off the table. "We presented what I would call a term sheet. This is what it looks like going forward to the Ukrainians. They went back to Kyiv, they're going to come back next week in London and we're going to say what does this look like? Then we turn to the Russians and say, what is your term sheet look like? Then you put it together. Let me give you one example. The example we've been very clear, NATO's off the table. You're not going to be part of it. That's something that's not new. We've been talking about that since 2008, when Ambassador Burns told Condoleezza Rice this was a bridge too far."


Euronews
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Mass demonstrations in Ukraine call for release of prisoners of war
Every weekend in Kyiv and across other Ukrainian cities, there have been mass demonstrations calling for the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war being held in Russia. Many call specifically for the release of Ukrainian fighters who were captured as they defended the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. These soldiers have been in Russian captivity since Spring 2022. During his meeting with US President Donald Trump last Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy showed him pictures of Ukrainian soldiers before and after Russian captivity. Russia and Ukraine have carried out POW exchanges since the earliest days of the war, the most recent happened in February. Ukraine hasn't made public the number of POWs currently being held by Russia but that number is thought to be over 8,000. Kyiv said last April that it estimates the total number of missing Ukrainians – both combatants and civilians – numbered almost 37,000 but officials said calculating the exact number is difficult and the figure could be much higher.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Speaker Johnson says ‘someone else needs to lead' Ukraine if Zelenskyy doesn't ‘come to his senses'
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Meet the Press says Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy 'needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that,' adding that it's 'up to the Ukrainians to figure that out.'


NBC News
02-03-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Speaker Johnson says ‘someone else needs to lead' Ukraine if Zelenskyy doesn't ‘come to his senses'
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Meet the Press says Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy 'needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that,' adding that it's 'up to the Ukrainians to figure that out.'