Latest news with #Volyn
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Ukraine turns on Poland over WW2 massacre commemoration
Ukraine has criticised Polish plans to establish a remembrance day for Poles massacred by Ukrainians during the Second World War. Poland's parliament this week approved a new public holiday on July 11 to commemorate victims of a 'genocide' committed by Ukrainian nationalist groups during the conflict. The date marks what Poles call 'Volhynian Bloody Sunday', when a 1943 operation by Ukrainian death squads killed thousands of civilians in settlements across the Wolyn province, which is mostly now in Ukraine and known as Volyn. Ukraine's foreign ministry attacked the move, saying the decision to commemorate what it described as a 'so-called genocide' flew in the face of 'good neighbourly relations between Ukraine and Poland'. 'Poles should not look for enemies among Ukrainians, and Ukrainians should not look for enemies among Poles. We have a common enemy – Russia,' it said. It added: 'The path to true reconciliation lies through dialogue, mutual respect and joint work by historians, rather than through unilateral political assessments.' Volodymyr Zelensky has commemorated the massacre with the laying of wreaths, but labelling the killings a genocide continues to be a contentious issue between the two countries. Although Poland has been one of Ukraine's staunchest backers in its fight against Russia, relations have been strained due to rows over EU policies that favour Ukrainian agriculture. Polish farmers have picketed the Ukraine border to protest grain shipments being diverted from the Black Sea through Poland, a move, they say, which undercuts domestic produce. Brussels has also scrapped tariffs on Ukrainian grain, although this duty-free regime is set to end on July 5. One survey found over 80 per cent of Poles supported the farmers. Narol Nawrocki, Poland's new president, has also struck a more critical tone than his predecessor on support for Ukraine, saying Kyiv should not be admitted to the EU. Though the president's role is largely ceremonial, he has the power to veto legislation. An estimated 100,000 Poles were killed by Ukrainian nationalists during the Second World War in an attempt to ensure that Wolyn did not become part of postwar Poland. The Bloody Sunday attack was planned so that the death squads would surprise as many Poles as possible during the Sunday mass, according to the Second World War Museum in Gdansk. Several leading Polish politicians have signalled in the past that acknowledging the massacres as a genocide is a precondition for Poland to support Ukraine's future EU membership. 'We want Ukraine to develop, but we cannot leave unattended a wound that has not healed,' Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the deputy prime minister, said last year.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Russia pummels Kyiv in deadly attack after Putin retaliation vow
Moscow launched dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones at Ukraine early Friday, killing at least three people in Kyiv, after President Vladimir Putin vowed retaliation for an audacious Ukrainian attack on Russian airbases. AFP journalists heard air raid sirens and explosions ring out in Kyiv throughout the night as Ukrainian air defence batteries intercepted waves of Russian drones and missiles. Following the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on allies to "decisively" ramp up pressure on Russia to halt its invasion, which has left tens of thousands dead after more than three years of brutal and costly fighting. "We heard a drone -- we heard it coming very close, and then there was an explosion," Ksenia, a Kyiv resident, told AFP outside a multiple-storey housing block that was left with a charred and gaping hole after the attack. "Our windows and window panes were blown out, but we got away with a slight shock," she added, standing in a courtyard littered with broken glass and debris. One image published by the head of Zelensky's office showed a children's playground scattered with rubble and shards of glass. Zelensky said at least three people had been killed in the capital, and that Russia had targeted nine regions of Ukraine, including Lviv and Volyn in the west, which border EU and NATO member Poland. - 'Act decisively' - "If someone does not put pressure and gives the war more time to take lives, they are complicit and responsible. We need to act decisively," Zelensky wrote on social media. Deadly attacks have escalated in recent weeks even as the two sides hold talks aimed at ending the conflict triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion. Cities and villages have been destroyed across eastern Ukraine and millions forced to flee their homes, with Russia's forces controlling around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory. The Ukrainian air force said Friday's barrage consisted of 45 missiles and 407 drones. Russian aerial assaults have become larger in recent weeks as concerns build over Ukraine's strained air defence capacity. Putin had earlier this week told US President Donald Trump he would retaliate over Sunday's Ukrainian drone attack, which damaged nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases, including thousands of kilometres behind the front lines in Siberia. The brazen operation, 18 months in the planning, saw Kyiv smuggle more than 100 small drones into Russia, park them near Russian air bases and unleash them in a coordinated attack. - Retaliation - The Kremlin said Thursday it would choose "how and when" to respond. Putin has repeatedly rejected a ceasefire, and Russian negotiators have issued a host of sweeping demands on Ukraine if it wants to halt the fighting. They include completely pulling troops out of four regions claimed by Russia, but which its army does not fully control, an end to Western military support, and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO as well as any Western military contingents or hardware being based in the country. The overnight attack left multiple fires burning in various districts of the capital, and also damaged train tracks in the surrounding Kyiv region, leading to lengthy delays, the national railway operator said. Three first responders from the state emergency service were killed in Kyiv, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said. Kyiv's mayor said earlier that four were killed in the capital. "They worked under fire to help people. Another nine rescuers were wounded. Some of them are seriously injured, and doctors are fighting for their lives," Klymenko wrote on social media. Several strikes also hit the city of Lutsk and the Ternopil region in western Ukraine. "Today, the enemy carried out the most massive air attack on our region to date," said Ternopil's regional military administration chief, Vyacheslav Negoda. At least 49 people were wounded in total, Zelensky said. Moscow said Ukrainian strikes overnight on Russia wounded three people in the western Tula region, while Kyiv claimed to have staged successful attacks on two air fields deep inside Russian territory. Footage shared on social media showed a large fire and smoke billowing into the air at an oil facility that serves a military site in Russia's Saratov region, which has been frequently targeted. The Russian defence ministry said it downed 174 Ukrainian drones overnight. Ten downed drones were headed for the Russian capital, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. bur-jc-jbr/jc/jhb
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Putin hits Kyiv with another huge missile and drone attack, killing at least four people, as he continues to take revenge for Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web
Kyiv was pummelled last night with Russian ballistic missiles and attack drones killing at least four as Russian President Vladimir Putin takes revenge for audacious Operation Spider's Web. Western regions like Lviv and Volyn, which border EU and NATO member Poland, were also bombarded as well as the Ukrainian capital. It comes days after a dastardly mission to destroy nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases was pulled off by Ukrainian forces, personally overseen by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The brazen operation, 18 months in the planning, saw Kyiv smuggle more than 100 small drones into Russia, disguised in a false roof of wood cabins, park them near Russian air bases and then unleash them in a coordinated attack. Footage showed decimated enemy planes in flames on the runway and Ukrainian security sources claimed to have taken out 41 aircrafts worth some £1.5billion. Putin earlier this week told US President Donald Trump that he would retaliate, with the Kremlin sharing on Thursday it would choose 'how and when' to respond. The Russian ambassador also laid blame at the British government for the attacks, alleging that the UK's role in the strike could lead to 'World War Three'. He offered no evidence for the claim. Russian officials have not as yet commented on the overnight strikes that killed at least four people and wounded twenty in the capital - figures which were shared by mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media. 'Kyiv came under another attack involving UAVs and ballistic missiles. Rescuers are responding to the aftermath at several locations across the city,' the State Emergency Service of Ukraine wrote on Telegram. A charred crater in the side of a high-rise residential block in Kyiv was the leftover of one of Russia's bombs, with debris and broken glass strewn across the parking lot in front of the building. Multiple fires broke out in various districts of the capital, with the attack also damaging train tracks in the surrounding Kyiv region, leading to lengthy delays, the national railway operator said. Three of those killed were first responders from the state emergency service, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said. 'They worked under fire to help people. Another nine rescuers were wounded. Some of them are seriously injured, and doctors are fighting for their lives,' he wrote on social media. Several strikes also hit western Ukraine's city of Lutsk and Ternopil region. 'Today, the enemy carried out the most massive air attack on our region to date. There are multiple strikes,' Ternopil's regional military administration chief Vyacheslav Negoda said. At least 32 people were wounded in four different regions, including 15 in Lutsk, officials said. Russia said Ukrainian strikes overnight on Russia wounded three people in the western Tula region. The Russian defence ministry said it downed 174 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 10 headed for the Russian capital, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Putin has repeatedly rejected a ceasefire, with an escalation in deadly attacks in recent weeks. Russian negotiators have issued a host of sweeping demands on Ukraine if it wants to halt the fighting. They include completely pulling troops out of four regions claimed by Russia, but which its army does not fully control, an end to Western military support, a ban on Ukraine joining NATO as well as any Western military contingents or hardware being based in the country. But while delegates continued to stand-off in Turkey's capital Istanbul, Zelenskyy said Operation Spider's Web 'will undoubtedly be in [the] history books'. The attack was carried out exactly 29 years to the day after Ukraine handed over dozens of the same strategic bombers to Russia, along with up to 2,000 strategic nuclear warheads and 176 ICBMs in exchange for a promise not to be attacked, under the Budapest Memorandum. In their most daring attack of the war to date, Ukrainian special forces first smuggled 117 first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones – which allow pilots to control them remotely through a live feed – into Russia. The weapons were smuggled in thousands of miles beyond the border, in wooden cabins, whose roofs had hidden compartments into which the small flying weapons were stashed. They were loaded on to civilian trucks heading into enemy territory, their hired local drivers seemingly unaware of what they were carrying. The strikes took place on Sunday, with footage released on Wednesday showing flames engulfing aircraft at four military airfields - Olenya in the Arctic region of Murmansk; Dyagilevo in western Russia; Ivanovo, northeast of Moscow; and Podmoskovye in Moscow. Sources inside Ukraine's SBU security service claimed the operation crippled 34 per cent of Russia's long-range strategic bombers, including the nuclear-capable Tu-95s and Tu-22s, often used to launch cruise missiles into Ukraine. Other aircraft which were hit included the nuclear-capable Tu-160 bomber, the An-12 transport plane and the Il-78 tanker, according to the SBU. A share of the successfully targeted aircrafts were destroyed completely while others will take a long time to repair, the SBU said. Some of the drones carried the mission out using AI and flew via a route that was programmed into them before the attack was launched. At least some of the trucks belonged to former DJ Artem Timofeev, suspected by Russian law enforcement off being a Ukrainian agent. A huge manhunt has been launched for his and his wife Ekaterina 'Katya' Timofeeva, 34, who is suspected to have aided him. The pair have gone missing, say reports.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Russian strikes pound Ukraine after Putin's retaliation vow
Russia fired ballistic missiles and attack drones at the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv overnight, killing at least four people after President Vladimir Putin vowed retaliation for an audacious Ukrainian drone attack on Russian airbases. Advertisement Deadly attacks have escalated in recent weeks even as the two sides hold talks aimed at finding an end to the three-year war, triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion. Tens of thousands have been killed, cities and villages destroyed across eastern Ukraine, and millions forced to flee their homes with Russia's forces controlling around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory. Russia carried out a barrage of drone and missile strikes across Ukraine overnight on Friday, targeting not only the capital but western regions like Lviv and Volyn, which border EU and Nato member Poland. Locals clean up after a Russian drone struck a residential building in Kyiv. Photo: Reuters At least four people were killed and 20 wounded in the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media.
Russia Today
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukrainian city honors Nazi collaborator who applauded Holocaust
The Ukrainian city of Rivne has celebrated the 120th birthday of Nazi collaborator and prominent anti-Semitic propagandist Ulas Samchuk, who welcomed the mass killings of Jews during World War II. Russia has consistently claimed that the current Ukrainian leadership has been embracing neo-Nazi ideology and whitewashing known WWII-era collaborators. When the conflict between Moscow and Kiev escalated into open hostilities in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin named the 'denazification' of Ukraine as one of the objectives of his special operation. On Thursday, regional officials in Rivne held a ceremony to commemorate Samchuk, who was born in the area, presenting a book: 'Ulas Samchuk - Warrior of the Word.' According to local media, it includes personal letters he wrote and is part of a wider project to include his works in the school curriculum across Ukraine. The publications described him as a writer, a member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, and the editor of the 'Volyn' newspaper during World War II. In 2019, the Israeli embassy in Ukraine asked the country's parliament to remove Samchuk from its 'List of Heroes,' describing him as among those who 'oversaw massacres of Jews or supported the Nazi regime.' In an article last September, the Russian Foreign Ministry characterized Samchuk as a 'Nazi writer and member of the Nazi organizations,' who 'published articles calling for killing Jews.' This description echoes the assessments of the head of Ukraine's Jewish Committee as well as some Ukrainian historians, who have pointed out that in his newspaper, Samchuk routinely wrote about 'Jewish chimpanzees' and the need to cleanse the country of Jews and Poles. Samchuk reportedly welcomed the news of Nazi German troops rounding up Kiev's Jews and subsequently massacring them at the infamous Babi Yar ravine as a 'great day' when the 'German authorities [met] the fervent wishes of Ukrainians.' In nearby Lviv, a Hanukkah menorah installed in memory of local Jews murdered by the Nazis was vandalized in early January, as nationalists celebrated the birthday of prominent World War II Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera. A month before, Kiev authorities had renamed a street after another Nazi collaborator who had aided the Germans in massacring the Jews of Zhitomir Region, Taras Borovets. Holocaust scholar Marta Gavryshko denounced the decision as a 'symptom of a troubling phenomenon' of Ukraine making the 'regional cult of nationalistic heroes who collaborated with Nazis in the Holocaust' national policy. According to Russian estimates, approximately 1.5 million Jews perished during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine.
