Category Archives: Ukraine

Zelenskyy and Netanyahu brave the whims of Trump’s darkly confounding White House

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Ukrainian and Israeli leaders converge on Washington with criss-crossing fortunes, but knowing they can count on little from US counterpart

The converging visits of Benjamin Netanyahu and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington offer an unusually eloquent snapshot of a world in turmoil, unmoored from decades-old certainties.

Some things remain the same. The US is still an almighty military and economic power and for both foreign visitors, a White House encounter with Donald Trump is critical to their governments and the wars they are fighting.

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Burnham says there are ‘big decisions’ ahead on making council tax fairer – UK politics live

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Labour’s 2024 manifesto did not include any specific commitments on council tax but two models are being floated

James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, has accused Andy Burnham of planning “more ways to tax Middle England”. Responding to reports that Burnham wants to change council tax (see 10.03am), Cleverly said:

Andy Burnham and Labour are just looking for more ways to tax Middle England, and raise taxes on people’s homes.

Replacing council tax and stamp duty with a new house price tax would not be a tax cut for hardworking families – quite the reverse: people across England would end up paying more.

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Burnham to meet Zelenskyy at UK naval base in show of ‘unwavering’ support

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Ukrainian president will be first overseas visitor for new British prime minister

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will become Andy Burnham’s first overseas visitor as prime minister, in a visit that Burnham said underlined Britain’s “unwavering” backing for Ukraine.

Less than two weeks after Keir Starmer travelled to Kyiv for the final foreign visit of his prime ministership, the Ukrainian president will on Monday join Burnham at a naval base where Ukrainian forces have been receiving training.

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Romania summons Russia’s ambassador after downing third drone since Friday

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F-16 fighter jet intercepted drone in Romanian airspace over Black Sea, defence minister says

Romania has said it is summoning Russia’s ambassador after the Nato member’s military shot down a third drone in as many days.

Romania has experienced frequent drone incursions since Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but had not shot down any until Friday.

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‘No electricity, no water, no fuel’: Ukrainian drone strikes bring darkness to Crimea’s summer

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Interviews with residents of Russian-held region point to frustration with Moscow as Ukrainian campaign to isolate it takes toll on daily life

First, the guests stopped coming. As Ukrainian drones and missiles pounded Crimea throughout the spring and into the summer, Russian tourists began cancelling their bookings at the small guesthouse Marina runs in Yevpatoria, a resort town on the peninsula’s Black Sea coast.

Then petrol became scarce, making it harder to stock the business with food and other essentials. Now, electricity and running water are cut off for much of the day, just as the summer heat sets in.

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Ukraine’s army chief expected to lose job after week of protests

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff hints government may be about to sack Oleksandr Syrskyi

Ukraine’s commander in chief Oleksandr Syrskyi is widely expected to lose his job amid signs that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has bowed to pressure from protesters and will reshuffle the army’s top leadership.

Over the past five days, thousands of demonstrators have gathered outside the presidential office in Kyiv, chanting: “Syrskyi out.” They have demanded Zelenskyy reinstate Mykhailo Fedorov, who was fired as defence minister last week after a clash with Syrskyi and the general staff.

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Russia pounds Kyiv for five hours in one of its biggest ballistic missile attacks

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At least one person killed after dozens of missiles arrive in less than an hour and three-storey building catches fire

Russia has carried out one of its biggest-ever ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, launching a five-hour raid that left at least one person dead and seven injured, with fires and damage across the city.

Ukrainian officials said the capital was hit with about 40 Iskander-M and hypersonic Zircon missiles. Residents heard an air raid siren sound at 1.30am. There was the sound of air defences, followed minutes later by a series of booms and explosions.

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Political crisis and protests in Ukraine as Zelenskyy defends sacking defence minister

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President says he had to choose ‘one side or the other’ after breakdown of relations between ministry and military leaders

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has defended his decision to dismiss the country’s popular defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, and confirmed reports that relations had broken down between the ministry and the country’s top army leadership.

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, Zelenskyy said there had been a “challenging dialogue” between Fedorov – widely seen as a reformist and moderniser – and the military’s commander in chief, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi.

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Political crisis and protests in Ukraine as Zelenskyy defends sacking defence minister

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President says he had to choose ‘one side or the other’ after breakdown of relations between ministry and military leaders

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has defended his decision to dismiss the country’s popular defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, and confirmed reports that relations had broken down between the ministry and the country’s top army leadership.

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, Zelenskyy said there had been a “challenging dialogue” between Fedorov – widely seen as a reformist and moderniser – and the military’s commander in chief, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi.

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Target of Monaco bomb blames attack on Ukrainian spy agency

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Vadym Iermolaiev says military intelligence officers were behind assassination attempt that seriously wounded partner and child

• Monaco bomb mystery deepens as Ukraine’s security services linked to murder of prime suspect
• Europe live – latest updates

The Ukrainian businessman who survived an assassination attempt in Monaco has accused Ukraine’s military intelligence agency of organising the attack.

In his first public statement since the bombing that shook the wealthy principality, Vadym Iermolaiev alleged that serving and former officers of the GUR military intelligence agency were behind the attempted killing, which left him injured but his partner critically wounded.

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As Russia’s assault continues, Ukraine’s politics shift and an old alliance begins to fray

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Beneath the ​drone strikes and ​talk of ceasefires lies a battle over history that is testing ​Kyiv’s chances for an end to the conflict

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I’ve just come back from a trip to Kyiv, where after more than four years of war, it can feel like the political and diplomatic news agenda has become cyclical: a suggestion that some kind of peace deal could be around the corner, followed by the swift intervention of reality that the Kremlin has no interest in abandoning its maximalist goals, and we all go back to the drawing board.

We are now in a period where Russia has again stepped up its air attacks on the Ukrainian capital. Frequent mass drone and missile attacks keep Kyiv residents awake, and some even get through to the city centre, whereas in the past Ukrainian air defences were usually able to repel them. Nights can be noisy and scary: one attack while I was there killed 27 people. Thousands head into the metro to get some sleep.

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Japan admits growing need to counter espionage after Russian ‘den of spies’ report

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Issue must be addressed with ‘even greater rigour’, says government spokesman, after New York Times report on how it has become a spy hub for Vladimir Putin

Japan has said it recognised the need to counter foreign intelligence better after the New York Times reported that Russia had turned the country into a “den of spies” and key source of weapons components.

The newspaper, in an investigation published on Sunday, reported that thanks to “weak espionage laws”, Moscow was using Japan as a key hub for intelligence gathering and procurement of dual-use technology needed for its war in Ukraine.

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‘Coalition of the willing’ to build shared European anti-ballistic programme

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Ukraine and nine other countries including UK issue joint statement as leaders meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris

Ukraine and nine other countries including the UK, Germany and France are to build a shared protection programme for Europe against ballistic missiles, using Kyiv’s experience in fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion for more than four years.

“Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defence capability for Europe,” the 10 nations said in a statement on Monday as leaders met the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for talks in Paris.

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Lindsey Graham tributes from Israel and Ukraine point to complicated, often bloody legacy

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Republican senator, who died Saturday, had a global reach few could rival and was vital in shaping Trump’s worldview

It was revealing that one of the first tributes to Lindsey Graham, a US senator who died on Saturday aged 71, came from Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, a far-right provocateur who recently caused widespread anger by sharing footage of himself taunting bound activists who had been trying to sail to Gaza with aid.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was not far behind, calling Graham a “great friend of Israel and a cherished friend of mine”, and he was quickly followed by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described him as “a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer”.

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Woman suspected of Monaco bombing found shot dead near Kyiv

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Anastasiia Berezovska was being sought by police over attack that seriously injured a Ukraine-born businessman

A woman suspected of carrying out last week’s bomb attack in Monaco that seriously injured a Ukraine-born business tycoon has been found shot dead near Kyiv, in the latest twist in a case that has shaken the wealthy Mediterranean principality.

Ukrainian prosecutors said on Tuesday the woman had been found with a gunshot wound to the head and that two men had been arrested in connection with the case, including an officer with Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) and a former law enforcement officer.

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Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg oil terminal and nearby port

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St Petersburg governor reports no victims after ‘large-scale’ overnight attack that also hit Baltic port of Vysotsk

Ukraine launched a big overnight drone attack on St Petersburg and the surrounding area, hitting the city’s oil terminal and port infrastructure in the wider region.

The St Petersburg governor, Alexander Beglov, said the city had been subjected to a “large-scale” drone attack that had hit its oil terminal. He said there were no casualties and the aftermath of the attack had been dealt with.

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Ukrainian woman suspected of Monaco parcel bombing was ‘disguised as a man’

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Suspect seen in Germany after attack apparently targeting tycoon Vadym Iermolaiev

The main suspect in a Monaco bomb attack this week that seriously injured a Ukraine-born business tycoon and two of his family members is a Ukrainian woman living in Germany who disguised herself as a man, authorities have said.

Interpol, the international police organisation, on Friday issued a red notice for Anastasiia Berezovska, aged 39, describing her as German-speaking with dark hair and a tattoo, possibly of a snake, on her right arm from the shoulder to the elbow.

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German prosecutors accuse Kyiv of ordering 2022 Nord Stream sabotage

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Indictment against alleged leader of gas pipeline attack claims former Ukrainian army officer was directed by state

German prosecutors have accused Ukrainian “state authorities” of ordering the 2022 explosives attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia with Europe, a charge likely to ignite tensions between Kyiv and Berlin, its biggest military backer.

The sabotage in the Baltic Sea by a team of assailants almost entirely destroyed the seafloor infrastructure of the key source of Russian gas to Germany.

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At least 21 dead as Russia launches massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv

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More than 70 missiles fired at Ukraine capital as Russia faces fuel shortages after strikes against its oil refineries

At least 21 people were killed and dozens injured overnight in Kyiv, local authorities said, in what the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, called the worst Russian attack on the capital during more than four years of air assault on Ukraine.

Russia used nearly 500 drones and more than 70 missiles in the hours-long attack on Kyiv and other parts of the country in the early hours of Thursday. Loud explosions shook the capital for several hours as waves of drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles came towards it and Ukraine’s air defence attempted to shoot them down.

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‘He isn’t political’: the Ukrainian-born oligarch targeted by a Monaco bomber

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Questions remain as to why somebody would want to kill Vadym Iermolaiev, who has a personal fortune of $225m

Nobody paid much attention to the man with the backpack, as he approached the entrance to a beige-coloured Monaco apartment building. It was 9pm, Monday. The street – rue Révérend-Père-Louis-Frolla – is located in a quiet hillside part of the wealthy principality, close to the border with France.

The man left his bag on the front steps. Soon afterwards, the Ukrainian-born oligarch Vadym Iermolaiev emerged, together with his wife and their 13-year-old child. There was an explosion and CCTV captured an image of the suspect, wearing a black jacket and a bucket hat, running from the scene towards the neighbouring French town of Beausoleil.

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