Category Archives: Ukraine

Zelenskyy urges west to hit Russia with sanctions after huge attack on Kyiv

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Ukrainian president wants allies to speed up action against Putin after two killed in second night of major strikes

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Ukraine’s allies to speed up imposing new sanctions on Russia after another huge wave of strikes on his country’s capital killed two people and left more wounded.

“Sanctions must be imposed faster, and pressure on Russia must be strong enough that they truly feel the consequences of their terror,” the Ukrainian president said on social media. Ukraine’s air defence force said Moscow sent 400 drones and 18 missiles across the country in the early hours.

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Has the Trump-Putin bromance finally run its course?

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US president appears to have run out of patience with his Russian counterpart – but how that transmits into practical support for Kyiv remains to be seen

“I’m not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now,” Trump said, expressing his frustration with the Russian leader over the war in Ukraine. “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin … He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

It may not have been Churchillian in oratorical flourish, and with Trump everything is capable of being reversed in hours, but possibly, just possibly, the rupture between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump has happened. If so it is a transformatory moment, and a vindication for both Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he arrives in Rome for the annual Ukraine reconstruction conference and for those others, notably the British and the French governments, who have patiently helped the scales to fall from Trump’s eyes about Putin’s true intentions. At long last and after many false starts, the US president seems to have accepted he is unpersuadable on ending the war.

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Trump has ‘good conversation’ with Zelenskyy after heavy bombardment of Ukraine by Russia

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US munitions slated for Ukraine held up over shortage as Trump ‘disappointed’ by Putin’s refusal to make concessions

Donald Trump spoke with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Friday as the US president appears increasingly disheartened over his chances of fulfilling a campaign pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The call with Zelenskyy comes as Washington has halted its latest shipment of military aid to Ukraine including Patriot air defense missiles and other crucial munitions meant to support the country’s defenses.

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Ukraine accuses Putin of humiliating Trump with devastating attack on Kyiv

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Russia launches record number of drones and ballistic missiles in seven-hour assault shortly after its leader spoke to US president

Ukraine has accused Vladimir Putin of “publicly humiliating” Donald Trump after Russia launched a devastating attack with a record number of drones and ballistic missiles on Kyiv, hours after the two leaders spoke by phone.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the seven-hour raid as a “deliberate act of terror” which “immediately followed the call between Washington and Moscow”. It was one of the most severe assaults of the entire war and a “clear interpretation of how Moscow interprets diplomacy”, he added.

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Pentagon reviews arms exports to allies as munition stockpiles reportedly drop

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Spokesperson Sean Parnell confirms defence department reviewing shipments may not affect only Ukraine

The Pentagon has said that it is reviewing weapons deliveries to allies around the world as reports grow of concerns over dwindling stockpiles of crucial munitions including anti-air missiles.

The announcement came after the White House confirmed that it was limiting deliveries of weapons to Ukraine to “put America’s interests first following a Department of Defense review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries around the globe”.

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US halts weapons shipments to Ukraine over fears its stockpiles are too low

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Some shipments have been stopped ‘to put America’s interests first’, White House says

The Pentagon has halted shipments of US Patriot air defence systems and other precision weapons to Ukraine after concern that US stockpiles were running too low, prompting alarm in Kyiv.

A decision was quietly taken last month by the Pentagon’s policy chief, Elbridge Colby. Kyiv said halting weapons shipments would only encourage Russian aggression, but the White House said it had been done “to put America’s interests first following a DoD [Department of Defense] review”.

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Russia has taken first village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk, state media claims

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If confirmed, advance of Russian forces into region could be psychological blow for Kyiv

Russian forces have captured a village in the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk for the first time in their three-year offensive, Russian state media and pro-war bloggers have claimed, marking a potential psychological blow to Ukraine.

There was no immediate confirmation from Ukrainian officials or from the Russian defence ministry.

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Change in Nato mindset brought on by Vladimir Putin as much as Donald Trump

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Allies agreed to raise defence spending to counter likely prospect of Russian remilitarisation if Ukraine war ends

The price was high, but for now, at least, a crisis in Nato has been averted. Donald Trump may like to take the credit for almost all of the 32 allies agreeing to a sharp increase in defence spending, but the reality is that the dramatic change in the Nato mindset was as much brought on by Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was the first jolt, but there is a second uncomfortable reality. If there is a sustainable ceasefire in Ukraine, it will mean the deployment of a European-led peacekeeping force in the country – and after a while, Russia’s military might will inevitably recover.

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Ukraine and UK to jointly produce long-range drones, Zelenskyy says

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Ukrainian president says two countries will deepen defence cooperation with the objective to ‘stop Russian terror’

Ukraine and the UK are to deepen their defence cooperation by jointly producing long-range drones, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday after talks with Keir Starmer in Downing Street aimed at forcing Russia to “think about peace”.

Zelenskyy said his main objective was “to save as many lives as possible” and to “stop Russian terror”. Writing on social media, he called for “maximum political and diplomatic coordination” and closer work on “joint defence projects and weapons production”.

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Europeans back higher defence spending amid Russia threat, poll finds

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Majorities in some countries back mandatory military service, and poll shows public sharply divided over Trump

Faced with an unpredictable Donald Trump and an aggressive Russia, Europeans favour increased spending on defence and, in some countries, compulsory military service.

A survey of 12 countries for the European Council on Foreign Relations showed majorities for increased defence spending in Poland (70%), Denmark (70%) and the UK (57%).

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Banned from home for 40 years: deportations are Russia’s latest move to ‘cleanse’ Ukraine

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A deal freezing frontlines would be unacceptable for Serhiy Serdiuk, who was taken to Georgia in handcuffs with his family after refusing to teach the Russian curriculum

Earlier this year, Serhiy Serdiuk was deported from Russia, along with his wife and daughter. He was given a 40-year ban from re-entering the country.

Serdiuk’s home town of Komysh-Zoria, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, was part of the territory occupied in the first weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion in spring 2022. According to Moscow, it is now part of Russia. And because Serdiuk, the headteacher of a local school, refused to work for the new authorities, they decided he had no place living there.

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Spanish PM rejects Nato’s ‘unreasonable’ 5% GDP target for defence spending – as it happened

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This blog is now closed, you can read more of our European news coverage here

Earlier today, I cheekily suggested that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is probably wondering how to persuade US president Donald Trump to stay at the Nato summit in The Hague next week long enough to get to discussions on Ukraine and Russia – and not leave early, as he did at the G7 summit.

Well, looks like this issue may have actually influenced the planning.

“Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march on 28 June as a city event. Period.”

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Iranian regime collapse would be serious blow for Russia

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While some in Moscow have tried to put positive spin on Israel’s assault, Kremlin risks losing key strategic partner

When a group of Russian and Iranian foreign policy officials arranged to meet in Moscow for a conference titled “Russian-Iranian cooperation in a changing world”, they probably did not anticipate just how timely that phrase would turn out to be.

Seated around a table on Wednesday at the President hotel near the Kremlin, officials from both sides were forced to confront a stark new reality: Iran’s regime – a key ally of Moscow – is facing its most serious threat in decades.

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Europe will never return to Russian gas, European Commission insists

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Body unveils plans to ban all gas imports from Russia by January 2028 – but faces backlash from Hungary, Slovakia and Austria

The European Commission has insisted there will be no return to Russian gas, as it published plans to phase out fossil fuel imports from its eastern neighbour by 2028.

The EU energy commissioner, Dan Jørgensen, said a proposed ban on Russian gas imports would remain, irrespective of whether there was peace in Ukraine.

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Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv kills at least 15 people

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls it ‘one of the most horrific attacks’ on Ukraine’s capital since full-scale war began

Russia launched a sustained missile and drone attack on Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 100 in what the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called “one of the most horrific attacks” on the Ukrainian capital since the full-scale war began in spring 2022.

Officials warned that the death toll from one of the deadliest Russian attacks on Kyiv this year could rise, as rescue operations continue.

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Zelenskyy calls for ‘concrete actions’ as Russian strikes hit seven of Kyiv’s 10 districts

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Ukraine president criticises lack of response from US and others after one of Moscow’s largest attacks of war on Kyiv

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced his frustration with Donald Trump by calling for “concrete actions” rather than “silence” after Russia launched one of its largest attacks on Kyiv, with seven of the Ukrainian capital’s 10 districts hit overnight.

A total of 315 drones and seven missiles were launched at Ukrainian targets across the country in the early hours of Tuesday, including Odesa in the south-east. But it was the capital that was the focus of Russia’s ferocious barrage.

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EU calls for lower price cap on Russian oil in move to tighten sanctions

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Other measures include greater restrictions on ‘shadow fleet’, banks and Nord Stream investment

The EU executive has called for lowering the price cap on Russian oil as it seeks to tighten energy and financial sanctions against the Kremlin’s ability to wage war.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed that western countries reduce the price at which Russian oil can be sold to $45 (£30) a barrel, down from the current $60.

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Russia could be ready to attack Nato within five years, says secretary general

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In speech in London Mark Rutte says he expects alliance members to agree to raise military spending to 5% of GDP

Russia could be ready to attack Nato within five years and leaders of the western alliance are expected to agree to increase military spending to 5% of GDP this month to contain the threat, the alliance’s secretary general has said.

Mark Rutte said in a speech in London on Monday that Nato needed “a quantum leap in our collective defence”, which would include significant rearmament to deter an increasingly militarised Russia.

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‘It will lift the spirits’: Kyiv to stage ‘most English of ballets’ after Russian repertoire boycott

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Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée to be performed for first time, replacing classics by Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky after fundraising in London

One of the “most English of ballets” will be performed for the first time at the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv after a boycott of the classic Russian repertoire, including Swan Lake and the Nutcracker.

Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, a celebrated romantic comedy, will be performed to a sell-out audience on Thursday after Ukraine turned away from the works of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Prokofiev.

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Russian forces closing in on Sumy city three years after Ukraine forced them out of region

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Independent monitors confirm Kremlin claims of new and symbolically important advances in east of Ukraine

Russian military units appear to be within 18 miles (29km) of the city of Sumy, three years after Ukraine forced them out of the northern region, while also making new and symbolically important ground in the east.

Independent monitors confirmed Kremlin claims to have retaken the village of Loknia, which had been liberated along with the rest of the Sumy region during Ukraine’s 2022 spring counteroffensive.

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