Latest news with #Зеленский
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Russia-Ukraine fighting steps up ahead of talks in Turkey
Russian and Ukrainian officials are due to sit down on Monday in the Turkish city of Istanbul for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022. The two sides are still far apart on how to end the war, however, and the fighting is stepping up. Russia launched deadly attacks across Ukraine before the Istanbul talks. Russian shelling and air attacks killed five people outside the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, while a drone attack on the northeast region of Sumy injured at least six people early on Monday, including two children, officials said. READ MORE The Kremlin launched 472 drones at Ukraine, Ukraine's air force said, the highest nightly total of the war. On Sunday, Ukraine launched one of its most ambitious attacks of the war, targeting Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers in Siberia and other military bases. A Ukrainian intelligence official said 40 Russian warplanes were struck in a 'large-scale' drone attack. Their first round of talks on May 16th yielded the biggest prisoner swap of the war but no sign of peace – or even a ceasefire as both sides merely set out their own opening negotiating positions. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said defence minister Rustem Umerov would meet Russian officials in Istanbul for the second round of talks. The Russian delegation is headed by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who after the first round invoked French general and statesman Napoleon Bonaparte to assert that war and negotiations should always be conducted at the same time. US president Donald Trump has demanded Russia and Ukraine make peace, but so far they have not done so, and the White House has repeatedly warned the United States will 'walk away' from the war if the two sides fail to reach a peace deal. The idea of direct talks was first proposed by president Vladimir Putin after Ukraine and European powers demanded that he agree to a ceasefire which the Kremlin dismissed. Mr Putin said Russia would draft a memorandum setting out the broad contours of a possible peace accord and only then discuss a ceasefire. Kyiv said over the weekend it was still waiting for draft memorandum from the Russian side. Mr Medinsky, the lead Kremlin negotiator, said on Sunday that Moscow had received a Ukraine's draft memorandum and told Russia's RIA news agency the Kremlin would react to it on Monday. According to Trump envoy Keith Kellogg, the two sides will in Turkey present their respective documents outlining their ideas for peace terms, though it is clear that after three years of war Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart. Mr Kellogg has indicated that the US will be involved in the talks and that even representatives from Britain, France and Germany will be too, though it was not clear at what level the United States would be represented. In June last year, Mr Putin set out his opening terms for an immediate end to the war: Ukraine must drop its Nato ambitions and withdraw all of its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia. Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul will present to the Russian side a proposed roadmap for reaching a lasting peace settlement, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters. According to the document, there will be no restrictions on Ukraine's military strength after a peace deal is struck, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow's forces, and reparations for Ukraine. The document also stated that the current location of the front line will be the starting point for negotiations about territory. Russia currently controls a little under one fifth of Ukraine, or about 113,100sq/km, about the same size as the US state of Ohio. Mr Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. The United States says over 1.2 million people have been killed and injured in the war since 2022. Mr Trump has called the Russian leader 'crazy' and berated Mr Zelenskiy in public in the Oval Office, but the US president has also said that he thinks peace is achievable and that if Mr Putin delays then he could impose tough sanctions on Russia. – Reuters
Free Malaysia Today
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Ukrainian attacks on Russia's Belgorod injure 16
Russian defences say their units destroyed 12 drones. (EPA Images pic) MOSCOW : A series of Ukraine drone attacks on the region of Belgorod injured at least 16 people yesterday, the governor of the region in Russia's southwest that borders Ukraine said today. Among the injured were a doctor and a paramedic, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app. Eight people were hospitalised, he added. The Russian defence ministry said that its units destroyed 12 drones that Ukraine launched overnight, three of them over the Belgorod region. The ministry reports only the number of drones destroyed, not how many Ukraine launched. Reuters could not independently verify the Russian reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia started with an invasion of Ukraine 2022. Russia's President Vladimir Putin called for direct talks with Ukraine tomorrow, while he called a proposal, issued at the weekend by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies for a 30-day ceasefire, an ultimatum. Zelensky said that he would attend the talks that are to take place in the Turkish city of Istanbul if Putin is also there, and urged US President Donald Trump, who offered to join the meeting, to come along as well.
Al Arabiya
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Russia drone attack on Ukraine's freight train injures driver
A Russian drone attack on Monday on Ukraine's railway infrastructure in the Donetsk region injured a locomotive driver of a civilian freight train, Ukrainian Railways said. 'Truce proposals are being ignored, hostile attacks on railway infrastructure ... continue,' Ukrainian Railways, Ukrzaliznytsia, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Over the weekend, European leaders joined President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in demanding a 30-day ceasefire from Monday.
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Putin proposes direct talks with Ukraine to agree ‘long-term, lasting peace'
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15th in Turkey that he said should be aimed at bringing a durable peace, an initiative welcomed by US president Donald Trump . Mr Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a war that has left hundreds of thousands of soldiers dead and triggering the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The Russian leader, who has offered few concessions towards ending the conflict so far, said the talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul will be aimed at eliminating the root causes of the war and restoring a 'long-term, lasting peace' rather than simply a pause for rearmament. 'We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,' Mr Putin said from the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday. 'We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations on Thursday, in Istanbul.' Mr Putin said that he would speak to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan later on Sunday about facilitating the talks, which he said could lead to a ceasefire. READ MORE 'Our proposal, as they say, is on the table. The decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples.' President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office and Ukraine's ministry for foreign affairs did not immediately respond to request for comment on the proposal. In a message on the social network Truth Social, Mr Trump hailed Mr Putin's proposal as a positive for ending the war. 'A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!' Mr Trump said. 'Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end.' Mr Putin's proposal for direct talks with Ukraine came hours after major European powers demanded on Saturday in Kyiv that Mr Putin agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face 'massive' new sanctions. British prime minister Keir Starmer, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine where they held a meeting of the so-called 'coalition of the willing'. Picture date: Saturday May 10, 2025. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Mr Putin dismissed what he said was the attempt by some European powers to lay down 'ultimatums'. Russia, Mr Putin said, had proposed several ceasefires, including a moratorium on striking energy facilities, an Easter ceasefire and most recently the 72-hour truce during the celebrations marking 80 years since victory in the second World War. Both Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating the temporary truce proposals, including the May 8th-10th ceasefire. Despite Mr Putin's call for peace talks, Russia on Sunday launched a drone attack on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, injuring one person in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital and damaging several private homes, Ukrainian officials said. Mr Putin said that he does not rule out that during his proposed talks in Turkey both sides will agree on 'some new truces, a new ceasefire,' but one that would be the first step towards a 'sustainable' peace. Mr Putin, whose forces have advanced over the past year, has stood firm in his conditions for ending the war despite public and private pressure from Mr Trump and repeated warnings from European powers. In June 2024, he said that Ukraine must officially drop its Nato ambitions and withdraw its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia. Russian officials have also proposed that the US recognise Russia's control over about one-fifth of Ukraine and demanded that Ukraine remains neutral though Moscow has said it is not opposed to Kyiv's ambitions to join the European Union. Mr Putin specifically mentioned the 2022 draft deal which Russia and Ukraine negotiated shortly after the Russian invasion started. Under that draft, a copy of which Reuters has seen, Ukraine should agree to permanent neutrality in return for international security guarantees from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: the UK, China, France, Russia and the United States. 'It was not Russia that broke off negotiations in 2022. It was Kyiv,' Mr Putin said. 'Russia is ready to negotiate without any preconditions.' He thanked China, Brazil, African and Middle Eastern countries and the US for their efforts to mediate. [ A Ukrainian commander writes: It may be extortionate, but I'd rather share our resources with US than Russia Opens in new window ] Mr Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly said he wants to end the 'bloodbath' of the Ukraine war which his administration casts as a proxy war between the US and Russia. 'I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens,' Mr Trump said in his Truth Social post on Sunday. 'The USA wants to focus, instead, on Rebuilding and Trade. A BIG week upcoming!' Former US president Joe Biden , western European leaders and Ukraine cast the invasion as an imperial-style land grab and repeatedly vowed to defeat Russian forces. Mr Putin casts the war as a watershed moment in Moscow's relations with the West, which he says humiliated Russia after the Soviet Union fell in 1991 by enlarging Nato and encroaching on what he considers Moscow's sphere of influence, including Ukraine. – Reuters
South China Morning Post
06-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
How China became central to Russia's Victory Day parade
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, celebrating Victory Day on May 9 appears to be a top priority. Unable to defeat Ukraine after more than three years of war, Putin is preparing to bask in the glory of the Soviet Union's triumph over the Nazi Germany – a victory for which he can claim no credit. Advertisement This year, leaders of several former Soviet republics – Belarus, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia – and the presidents of Brazil, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, Cuba, Palestine, Venezuela and Republika Srpska (an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), are expected to attend the event and watch Russian troops march on Moscow's Red Square, even as their fellow soldiers continue to die in Ukraine. For Putin, the most important guest undoubtedly is Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is scheduled to visit the Russian capital on May 7. Putin's summit with Xi comes after the de facto failure of Russia's negotiation with the United States for peace in Ukraine. As US President Donald Trump's efforts to freeze the Ukraine conflict failed to yield results, Washington has continued to arm Kyiv. Recently, the US reportedly transferred decommissioned F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to supply spare parts for aircraft donated by European partners. Back in March, while Russian and American officials were discussing a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, it became clear Washington had no intention of completely abandoning Kyiv. Polish media reported that US arms supplies to Ukraine had resumed through Poland. Moreover, after Kyiv and Washington signed a long-awaited minerals deal , which is expected to give the US access to Ukraine's natural resources, the chances of the Trump administration allowing Russia to achieve any of its strategic goals in the Eastern European nation are rather slim. Therefore, the Ukraine war will go on – and Moscow and Washington are unlikely to normalise their relations any time soon. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral at St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on April 26. Photo: AFP/Official Telegram channel of the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak Fully aware of this, the Kremlin is counting on Beijing's support. Putin and Xi are expected to agree in Moscow to advance the comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction between Russia and China.
