Category Archives: Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskiy to address British MPs via video link on Tuesday

Posted on by

Ukraine’s president is expected to plead for more arms and repeat call for no-fly zone over Ukraine

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, will address UK MPs via video link from Kyiv on Tuesday afternoon, when he is expected to plead for more arms and to repeat a call for a no-fly zone even though it has been rejected by Nato.

In a first, the leader’s speech will be broadcast direct into the Commons chamber with formal business suspended so that MPs can listen in with the help of simultaneous translation provided over headsets at 5pm.

Continue reading...

‘Humanitarian corridors’ leading to Russia or Belarus rejected by Kyiv

Posted on by

Ukraine president dismisses Moscow’s proposed routes for civilian evacuation as ‘completely immoral’

Kyiv has rejected an offer from Moscow to create “humanitarian corridors” allowing civilians to flee six heavily bombed Ukrainian cities after it emerged that most of the supposedly safe routes led directly to Russia or its ally, Belarus.

The Russian offer came before a third round of peace talks. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said in advance of the discussions that Moscow was ready to halt operations “in a moment” if Kyiv met a list of conditions. These included ceasing military action, changing its constitution to ensure neutrality, acknowledging Crimea as Russian territory and recognising the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.

Continue reading...

Hailed as heroes – Scottish gardeners who rescued trio from Ukraine

Posted on by

Joe McCarthy and Gary Taylor were held at gunpoint by Russians before successfully evacuating Irish woman and Nigerian men

Two Scottish gardeners have rescued three students – one Irish and two Nigerian – who were trapped in the wartorn city of Sumy in the north-east of Ukraine.

Along the way, the men were held at gunpoint by Russian soldiers – but were then rescued themselves by locals.

Continue reading...

Priti Patel under fire over chaotic Ukrainian refugee policy

Posted on by

Home Office sources contradict earlier government denials that third way to enter Britain may be introduced

Priti Patel has been accused of presiding over chaos after Ukrainian refugees arriving in Calais were greeted by posters telling them to get their UK visas in Paris or Brussels, while her pledge to expand the visa scheme was contradicted by Downing Street.

On a day of confusion and uncertainty for Ukrainian refugees making the 1,400-mile journey to Britain, the home secretary admitted that she has not yet set up a visa application centre (VAC) near the French port of Calais where refugees have gathered.

Continue reading...

The world leaders pushing for peace in Ukraine, and their motives

Posted on by

They claim to be honest brokers, but is that just a fig leaf to cover their moral bankruptcy?

How blessed are the peacemakers? After the first wave of intermediaries led by Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, a new group have beaten their way to Vladimir Putin’s long table since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or at least sought to intervene by phone.

The current crop includes Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of Turkey, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed of the UAE and now the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.

Continue reading...

Zelenskiy urges west to ‘prove humanity wins’ with tougher sanctions on Russia – video

Posted on by

Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the international community on Monday to boycott Russian exports and to stop supplying products to Russia. Ukraine's president said: 'If they do not want to comply with civilised rules, they should not receive goods and services from civilisation either. Let the war feed them.' He also called on western allies to send aircraft for his air force

Continue reading...

Violinist plays in bomb shelter for displaced Ukraine residents – video

Posted on by

Violinist and teacher Vera Lytovchenko has traded a theatre for a basement and played her violin for fellow Kharkiv residents taking cover from Russian bombing.

Lytovchenko said she was inspired in seeing one of her students play in a makeshift bomb shelter at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

‘It was very difficult to play and think about something that wasn’t war. But I decided I must do something,’ Lytovchenko said. ‘We have become a family in this cellar and when I played they cried. They forget about the war for some moments and think about something else.’

Video of Lytovchenko playing Ніч яка місячна (The Night is So Moonlit) has gone viral on Twitter, but Lytovchenko said she is mainly interested about her friends’ and colleagues’ reactions on Facebook because that is how she knows they are still alive.

Lytovchenko said she would stay in Kharkiv to rebuild the city. ‘I won’t just play,’ she said. ‘This is my land. I want to help rebuild the city with my own hands. 

‘I don’t need pity. I don’t need to complain. I just need the bombing to stop then we will rebuild. I need the war to end’

Continue reading...

‘We need bread’: fears in Middle East as Ukraine war hits wheat imports

Posted on by

Aid agencies warn of ‘ripple effect’ as soaring wheat prices hit countries already facing inflation, food insecurity and conflict

Concerns are growing across the Middle East and north Africa that the war in Ukraine will send prices of staple foods soaring as wheat supplies are hit, potentially fuelling unrest. Russia and Ukraine supply a quarter of the world’s wheat exports, while Egypt is the world’s biggest importer of wheat.

In Tunisia, like many people queueing for bread in Tunis’s sprawling medina, or old town, Khmaes Ammani, a day labourer, said the rising cost of living was leaving him squeezed. “There’s never any money at the end of the month,” he said. “I even have to borrow some. Everything is getting more expensive.”

Continue reading...

Experts raise doubts over plan for Royal Navy to control Channel crossings

Posted on by

Exclusive: Critical defence select committee report to come amid growing Tory unease over No 10’s plan

The credibility of the government’s plan to put the Royal Navy in charge of coordinating efforts to control small boats in the Channel is expected to be questioned by an influential parliamentary committee.

A report by the defence select committee, to be delivered shortly, will raise doubts over whether plans to put the Royal Navy in charge have been rigorously tested.

Continue reading...

Georgia speeds up EU application in policy U-turn

Posted on by

Move comes amid public alarm over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Moldova also applies to join bloc

In a surprise U-turn, the government of Georgia has applied for EU membership just days after declaring it would not accelerate its application, as fears grow among the Georgian public that the Russian invasion might not stop with Ukraine.

A day after Ukraine made its formal application for EU membership on Wednesday, Georgia responded to the pressure of overwhelming public protests and made its own request, along with Moldova.

Continue reading...

Ukrainians flee Irpin as Zelenskiy criticises Russian shelling – video

Posted on by

The Ukrainian president has vowed to punish 'every bastard' who committed atrocities during the invasion of Ukraine amid outrage at Russia’s shelling of civilians as they tried to flee Irpin, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, after several people were killed.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on the 24 February, has triggered the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since the second world war, according to the head of the UN’s refugee agency

Continue reading...

‘They are frozen’: Poland praised for generous welcome to 1m Ukrainians

Posted on by

Volunteers leading response to growing number of people fleeing Russian invasion, as country announces £1.3bn fund for refugees

More than 1 million people have crossed from Ukraine into Poland since the Russian invasion began on 24 February, the Polish border guard has said.

Poland, which shares a 310-mile border with Ukraine, has taken in the majority of the 1.7 million people who have left their homes since the war began, with aid efforts largely operated by volunteers, as well as NGOs and municipalities.

Continue reading...

US accused of hypocrisy for supporting sanctions against Russia but not Israel

Posted on by

Critics compare Israeli military actions of Palestinian territories with Russian invasion of Ukraine but pro-Israel groups dismiss allegations as false parallels

The US and some of its European allies are facing accusations of double standards for supporting sanctions and international war crimes investigations against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine while blocking them over Israeli military actions in the occupied Palestinian territories.

But pro-Israel groups in the US have dismissed the allegations by accusing critics of exploiting Ukrainian suffering to draw false parallels.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: shelling preventing evacuation of civilians from besieged cities, Ukraine says – live

Posted on by

Russian shelling preventing evacuation of civilians from Kyiv, Mariupol, Sumy, Kharkiv, Volnovakha and Mykolayiv, Ukraine foreign ministry says

Reports are filtering in of a Russian attack on the city of Mykolaiv near the Black Sea in southern Ukraine.

Russian forces reportedly bombarded the city with artillery fire on Monday morning, just one day after Ukrainian troops pushed them from the city limits.

The Russian armed forces, following a request from French President Emmanuel Macron to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, declare a ceasefire regime from 10:00 and open humanitarian corridors, the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine said in a statement. Thus, civilians will be able to leave Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkov and Sumy.

At the same time, during the opening of humanitarian corridors, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will carry out continuous objective monitoring of the evacuation, including with the use of UAVs. Therefore, we warn that all attempts by the Ukrainian side to once again deceive Russia and the entire civilised world in disrupting the humanitarian operation, allegedly through the fault of the Russian Federations this time around are useless and pointless.”

Continue reading...

New Zealand to ramp up Russia sanctions with ‘first of its kind’ law

Posted on by

Bill would allow government to freeze assets and also prevent Russian yachts and aircraft from entering New Zealand

New Zealand will rush a bill through parliament this week that will significantly ramp up its sanctions against Russia and its oligarchs, in line with its western allies.

The Russia Sanctions Bill is the “first of its kind” in New Zealand, which has no legal framework for passing broader, unilateral sanctions and usually only does so when called on by the UN security council. As a permanent member of the body, Moscow has vetoed any action against it.

Continue reading...

Ukraine’s pro-Russian monasteries draw local suspicion

Posted on by

War has sharpened the split between Ukraine and Russia’s Orthodox churches, with some historic sites in Ukraine still loyal to Moscow

As war kicked off in Ukraine, soldiers at a military airstrip in the west of the country went hunting for the origin of a laser pointer they feared was marking out targets on their base.

They found it in a nearby church. Behind the thick walls of the building in Kolomyia, run by monks loyal to Moscow, they also discovered a large stockpile of food and alcohol, and three guns.

Continue reading...

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy vows revenge on Russian forces after fleeing family killed in shelling of Irpin

Posted on by

Attack on civilians in town on the outskirts of Kyiv comes as vast numbers of Ukrainian civilians attempt to flee cities under bombardment

Volodymr Zelenskiy has vowed to punish “every bastard’” who committed atrocities during the invasion of Ukraine amid outrage at Russia’s shelling of civilians as they tried to flee a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, killing a young family.

The president of Ukraine said in a video address on Sunday night: “They were just trying to get out of town. To escape. The whole family. How many such families have died in Ukraine. We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war.”

Continue reading...