Latest news with #VolodymyrZelenksy
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zelensky urges global response after Russian strike kills 18
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy has warned the world not to stay silent after a Russian airstrike on his home city of Kryvyi Rih killed 18 people. "This strike is one of the darkest chapters for Kryvyi Rih," Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Saturday. Earlier on Saturday, the president released more details about the nine children killed in the strike. The 3-year-old Tymofij, 7-year-old Arina and 9-year-old Herman were among the dead, Zelensky wrote on X. Nine adults were also killed when a Russian ballistic missile hit the south-eastern city of Kryvyi Rih, followed by a drone attack, Zelensky said. Zelensky said the strike hit an ordinary street in a residential area with a playground, shops and a restaurant. He said 62 people were injured, including 12 children, and that some were still in a critical condition. The Ukrainian president thanked foreign ministers and embassies that had offered condolences after Friday's attack. However, he said the response from the US embassy was "surprisingly disappointing." "They are even afraid to say the word 'Russian' when talking about the missile that killed children," Zelensky wrote. In a post on X, the US ambassador to Kiev, Bridget Brink, expressed horror at the fact that "a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih." "Staying silent about the fact that it is Russia killing children with ballistic missiles is wrong and dangerous," Zelensky said in his video address. "It only emboldens the scum in Moscow to continue the war and keep ignoring diplomacy." Moscow has confirmed the attack, but spoke of a "high-precision strike," which it said hit Ukrainian commanders and their Western instructors. In a Telegram post, the Ukrainian General Staff in Kiev described the Russian claim as a lie. Images of the scene of the attack published by the Ukrainian side showed no evidence of any military targets.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zelensky says 3-year-old among dead after Russian strike
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy has released more details about the children killed in a Russian airstrike on his home city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday. The 3-year-old Tymofij, 7-year-old Arina and 9-year-old Herman were among the nine children killed in the Russian strike, Zelensky wrote on X on Saturday. Nine adults were also killed when a Russian ballistic missile hit the south-eastern city of Kryvyi Rih, followed by a drone attack, Zelensky said. Previous reports spoke of 16 people killed in the attacks. Zelensky said the strike hit an ordinary street in a residential area with a playground, shops and a restaurant. He said 62 people were injured, including 12 children, and that some were still in a critical condition. The Ukrainian president thanked foreign ministers and embassies that had offered condolences after Friday's attack. However, he said the response from the US embassy was "surprisingly disappointing." "They are even afraid to say the word 'Russian' when talking about the missile that killed children," Zelensky wrote. In a post on X, the US ambassador to Kiev, Bridget Brink, expressed horror at the fact that "a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih." Moscow has confirmed the attack, but spoke of a "high-precision strike," which it said hit Ukrainian commanders and their Western instructors. In a Telegram post, the Ukrainian General Staff in Kiev described the Russian claim as a lie. Images of the scene of the attack published by the Ukrainian side showed no evidence of any military targets.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zelensky accuses Moscow of damaging power facility, breaking deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy says Russia is continuing to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure, despite a US-brokered agreement to stop such attacks. The Russian military on Thursday fired artillery at the city of Kherson, damaging an energy facility along with other buildings, Zelensky told a press conference in Paris. "I think there should be a US response," he said, adding that concrete action was needed rather than just words. Zelensky said Ukraine has recorded the violation, and that all the evidence is being prepared and will be handed over to the United States. The local authorities said the Russian shelling had caused power outages in Kherson and had also damaged railway infrastructure. At least two people were killed and four injured in the attack. Representatives of Russia and Ukraine agreed on Tuesday in Riyadh to to implement a mutual ban on energy infrastructure strikes.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine thanks Germany for new €3 billion in military aid
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy on Friday thanked Germany for the latest multibillion-euro aid package to help Kiev keep up the fight against Russia. Germany is providing "exactly what Ukraine needs most" to save lives in Ukraine, he wrote in a message published on social media. He expressed his thanks to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his likely successor Friedrich Merz. "Thank you, Germany," Zelensky wrote in German. "Additional military assistance will help to strengthen our capabilities in air defense, artillery, drones, armored vehicles, demining equipment, and other areas," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on platform X. "We are grateful to Germany for its strategic investment in fair and long-term peace and security in Ukraine and throughout Europe," he wrote. German weapons have already saved thousands of lives in Ukraine, he wrote in his posting, adding: "They will save even more in the current and coming years." The Bundestag's budget committee had earlier approved a package that includes an additional €3 billion ($3.26 billion) for this year and up to €8.3 billion for 2026 to 2029. Germany's Ministry of Defence says additional weapons are to be delivered to Ukraine this year. A spokesperson mentioned the air defence system Iris-T, guided missiles, surveillance radars, drones, combat vehicles and small arms. Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said Germany has provided more than €44 billion in aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - Trump is stumbling into a futile foreign critical mineral strategy
After long threatening to discontinue vital financial assistance to Ukraine's war effort, President Trump has reportedly agreed to a transactional deal with President Volodymyr Zelenksy: sign over a percentage of the country's untapped rare earth mineral wealth to prevent Washington from cutting off support. Reflecting one of the few priorities shared by most Democrats and Republicans, Trump recognizes the need to extricate U.S. critical supply chains from China, which controls nearly 60 percent of the world's rare earth mining and 90 percent of processing. However, setting aside the implications of Trump's indifference toward protecting European democracy, this deal sets a terrible strategic precedent. Washington lacks the leverage to strong-arm — or sweet talk — most top-producing countries into handing over control of their critical mineral reserves. Trump's preferred method of trade negotiation is to identify where a country's relationship with the U.S. is most vital and squeeze hard on those pressure points. This strategy may have just yielded results with Ukraine because the U.S. is essential to its continued existence. Zelensky reiterated in February that Ukraine 'has a low chance to survive without [the] support of the United States.' However, the U.S. does not play this role for the countries that actually dominate critical mineral supply chains that are key to its technology and industrial base. After China, this group is mostly non-aligned states that often hedge between Beijing and Washington. These countries include the cobalt-producing Democratic Republic of the Congo and the 'Lithium Triangle' of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. Notably, China is out-investing the U.S. in those particular industries. Chinese enterprises own 14 of the top 19 Congolese cobalt and copper mines and have poured billions into South American lithium projects. If managed properly, mineral resources will become the foundations for these countries' massive economic expansion. Global demand for lithium from the battery sector alone, for instance, is projected to multiply by 14 times by 2040. What existing US trade or financial assistance, if cut off now, could outweigh that massive potential long-term upside? While Trump's initial blanket freeze of all foreign aid was temporarily suspended, his administration, resolved to pressure others into more submissive relationships, will doubtlessly continue probing for opportunities to cut foreign spending. This very process, however, reveals a key weak point in Trump's strong-arming model: the other countries' expectations, or lack thereof, of U.S. policy continuity. The White House clearly lacks full control of U.S. aid disbursement, so it follows that Trump might not be able to maintain whatever economic pressure he threatens. In an era where the incumbent party has lost the last three presidential elections and legislative majorities are exceptionally thin, large swings in U.S. foreign policy are also inevitable. A world leader would risk appearing weak and shortsighted to sign away mineral wealth in exchange for trade terms or aid programs that could be restored anyway under a subsequent U.S. administration. For countries that wouldn't quickly disintegrate without U.S. security assistance, Trump would therefore be hard-pressed to find threats that outweigh the lost economic potential from cutting the United States into their mineral wealth. A common narrative is that China outperforms the United States in these non-Western resource markets due to its political noninterference. In a July 2024 interview, Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekede attributed China's growth in Africa to its having less 'arrogance' in its diplomatic approach compared to U.S. and European competitors. Theoretically, this could square well for Trump, who admires autocrats and disdains the global enforcement of democratic values. But this narrative, often pushed by Beijing itself, distracts from the fact that China's rare earth superiority simply reflects its stronger track record and financial commitment. China, aiming to rival the commodity-driven influence held by oil producers in the Middle East, began a global 'buying spree' of rare earths and critical minerals in the 1990s. Three decades later, Beijing and its enterprises are still willing to take bigger risks to protect these outsized market shares. In low- and middle-income countries, Chinese entities guarantee repayment for a higher percentage of government lending in the critical minerals sector than any other sector. Of course, these risks are easier to stomach with a less profit-driven industrial base. Absent this luxury, the United States simply lacks an equivalent tolerance for high upfront investment costs and delayed return on investment. Such patience is essential to withstand notoriously prolonged timelines between resource discovery and revenue-producing operation. This, after all, is why mineral-rich countries seek deep foreign pockets and expertise in the first place. This is also why no adjustment in diplomatic rhetoric can band-aid over the United States' inferior track record. We must rethink how the United States secures its critical mineral supply chains. But it would be dangerous to interpret Kyiv's eagerness (or rather, desperation) as a sign that Washington would enter subsequent negotiations from a similar position of strength. There are no broader stick- or carrot-based shortcuts to strengthening American control over foreign critical mineral supply chains. The only option this leaves is to greatly expand the financial support needed for American industry to become more competitive in the non-aligned global marketplace. Unfortunately, this is a reality that Trump, if emboldened by his red-herring success in Ukraine, is likely to ignore. Zach Glass is a geopolitical analyst focusing on U.S.-China competition and critical minerals. He is based in Washington DC. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
