Boris Jonson with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he arrived in Kyiv on Friday.Russia Ukraine War Crisis Highlights: The European Commission recommended Friday that Ukraine should be granted EU candidate status, a first step on the long road toward membership for the war-torn country. Now, this recommendation will be discussed by leaders of the 27-nation bloc during a summit next week in Brussels. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the move and said that this was the first step on the EU membership.
In another development, Russia struck the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv with missiles on Friday morning, killing two people and wounding 20, including a child, the region’s governor said. The attack damaged four residential buildings and an infrastructure facility, Governor Vitaliy Kim added on Telegram.The evacuation of 568 civilians sheltering in bunkers under the Azot chemical plant in the embattled city of Sievierodonetsk is currently impossible due to shelling and heavy fighting, the governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk region said on Friday.
Meanwhile, the leaders of Germany, France and Italy, all criticised in the past by Kyiv for support viewed as too cautious, visited Ukraine on Thursday and offered the hope of EU membership to a country pleading for weapons to fend off Russia’s invasion.
A russian missile strike in the northern part of Kyiv, dismantled the Retroville shopping mall into utter ruin. (Reuters)
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday arrived in Kyiv for a new visit, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said, news agency AFP reported.
- Ukraine has received a loan of one billion Canadian dollars ($770 million) on concessional terms, its first funds through an "administered account" set up by the International Monetary Fund, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said on Friday. "Grateful to...(Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland) for support & comprehensive assistance to Ukraine in the fight against the aggressor," Shmygal tweeted, referring to Russia which invaded Ukraine in February.
After European Commission backed Ukraine's candidacy to the EU, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that this was the first step on the EU membership. In a Tweet, he said," It’s the 1st step on the EU membership path that’ll certainly bring our Victory closer. Grateful to @vonderleyen & each EC member for a historic decision. I expect the positive result from #EUCO next week."
The European Commission recommended Friday that Ukraine should be granted EU candidate status, a first step on the long road toward membership for the war-torn country. The recommendation from the EU's executive arm will now be discussed by leaders of the 27-nation bloc during a summit next week in Brussels. Launching accession talks requires unanimous approval from all member countries
Russia struck the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv with missiles on Friday morning, killing two people and wounding 20, including a child, the region's governor said. The attack damaged four residential buildings and an infrastructure facility, Governor Vitaliy Kim added on Telegram.
The European Commission will recommend on Friday that the European Union designate Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for membership, with Georgia being asked to meet certain conditions before being granted the same status, diplomats said.
While some EU countries including the Netherlands and Denmark do not support more countries becoming EU membership candidates, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy won the backing of France, Germany, Italy and Romania on Thursday.
The Commission, the EU executive, is expected to make its proposal around 1200 CET (1000 GMT). That will pave the way for EU government leaders to sign off on it at a summit next Thursday and Friday in Brussels in what will be a morale boost for Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion.
In their first visit to Kyiv since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Olaf Scholz, Italy's Mario Draghi and Romania's Klaus Iohannis said Ukraine belonged in the "European family". (Reuters)
The evacuation of 568 civilians sheltering in bunkers under the Azot chemical plant in the embattled city of Sievierodonetsk is currently impossible due to shelling and heavy fighting, the governor of Ukraine's Luhansk region said on Friday.
In a post on Telegram messenger, he said there were 38 children taking shelter in the bunkers at the chemical plant. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he was open to talking to Russia's President Vladimir Putin as part of efforts to strike a deal to get grain out of the Ukrainian port of Odesa but that he saw little chance of an agreement.
"We have to talk with Russia on food security and it (discussions) can be justified by liaising directly with the UN secretary general to get grains out of Odesa," Macron told BFM TV on his way back from Ukraine.
"But I don't believe a lot in this path, because I already had talks a few weeks ago with President Putin, but he didn't want to accept a UN resolution on this subject." (Reuters)
Ukrainian missiles on Friday hit a Russian naval tugboat transporting soldiers, weapons, and ammunition to the Russian-occupied Zmiinyi island south of the Odesa region, the local Ukrainian governor said.
Odesa region governor Maksym Marchenko named the tugboat as the Vasiliy Beg. (Reuters)
A Russian-owned superyacht seized by the United States arrived in Honolulu Harbor Thursday flying an American flag.
The US last week won a legal battle in Fiji to take the $325 million vessel and immediately sailed it to Hawaii.
The FBI has linked the Amadea to the Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. The US said Kerimov secretly bought the Cayman Island-flagged vessel last year through various shell companies. (AP)
The total volume of Russia's budget expenditures will grow by 3 trillion roubles ($53 billion) in 2022 to 26 trillion roubles, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday. (Reuters)
Australia's new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday he would take advice on whether to accept President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's invitation to visit Ukraine during an upcoming European trip. Albanese said he only became aware of the invitation to visit Ukraine when he read a newspaper report Friday.
“I'll take appropriate advice, and obviously there are security issues as well in terms of such a visit,” Albanese told reporters.
“I appreciate the spirit in which it's been offered and one of the reasons why Australia has been invited to Nato is that Australia is the largest non-Nato contributor to give support to Ukraine in its defense of its national sovereignty against Russia's illegal, immoral invasion. And we'll continue to stand with the people of Ukraine,” Albanese added.
Zelenskyy gave the invitation when he wrote to congratulate Albanese on his center-left Labor Party's win at elections on May 21, said Ukraine Embassy in Australia's deputy head of mission Volodymyr Shalkivski. The invitation was for Albanese to “visit Ukraine at his convenience,” Shalkivski said, and the embassy handed the invitation over to the new administration June 7. (AP)
The visit to Ukraine by the three most powerful EU leaders had taken weeks to organise while they fended off criticism over positions described as too deferential to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Olaf Scholz and Italy's Mario Draghi, who were joined by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, toured Irpin, devastated soon after the invasion began on February 24.
Noting graffiti on a wall that read 'Make Europe, not war', Macron said: 'It's very moving to see that. This is the right message.' (Reuters)
The United States said it was aware of reports that a third US citizen is missing after travelling to Ukraine and it had not yet asked Russia about two Americans reportedly captured after going to the country to fight Russian forces.
"As of today, we have not raised this yet with the Russian Federation ... (We) haven't seen anything from the Russians indicating that two such individuals are in their custody," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, describing reports about the two men as unconfirmed.
Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Andy Huynh, 27, of Hartselle, Alabama, went to Ukraine as volunteer fighters against Russian forces, have been missing for a week, and are feared captured, family members have said. (Reuters)
In Sievierodonetsk, as the Russian troops advance nearer to its goal of occupying the whole city, hundreds of civilians, including children and the elderly, have taken refuge in the city’s huge Azot chemical plant. Also known as the Sievierodonetsk Azot Association, the plant is owned by Group DF’s OSTCHEM holding. It is one of the group’s four mineral fertiliser producers in Ukraine, along with the Azot plant in Cherkasy, the Concern Stirol plant in Horlivka and the Rivne Azot in Rivne, according to the official website.
As fighting continues, it has emerged that the situation in Sievierodonetsk could turn out to be similar to that of Mariupol in the past few months. In May, hundreds of civilians and fighters who were holed up in the city’s sprawling Azovstal steelworks plant had laid down arms and surrendered to the Russian forces after weeks of desperate resistance. (Read more)
Britain will welcome representatives from Ukraine and business leaders on Friday to discuss how UK companies can help rebuild key infrastructure in Kyiv.
Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan will seek to promote collaboration between British companies in infrastructure, energy and transport, and Ukrainian public and private organisations to help repair damaged and destroyed infrastructure.
Trevelyan will also announce changes to trade remedy measures, including reallocating ring-fenced market access for steel imports from Russia and Belarus to other countries including Ukraine. (Reuters)
The Dutch intelligence service said on Thursday it had uncovered a Russian military agent attempting to use a false identity to infiltrate the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is investigating accusations of war crimes in Ukraine.
Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov created an elaborate cover story dating back years to try and enter the Netherlands as a Brazilian national for an internship at the Hague-based ICC in April, the agency's head told Reuters.
"This was a long-term, multi-year GRU operation that cost a lot of time, energy and money," said Dutch intelligence agency chief Erik Akerboom, using the acronym for Russia's military intelligence service.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his government on Thursday to come up with new measures to support the domestic car industry, which has seen sales crater since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.
Amid a crunch on demand from Russian buyers and severe logistics problems as a result of Western sanctions slapped on Moscow, car sales slumped a record 83.5% in May, according to figures from the Association of European Businesses (AEB).
"I would like to ask the government to tell us in detail what swift measures it is taking to support the auto industry and stabilise the internal market," Putin said in a meeting with government officials broadcast on state TV. Putin also said the government needed to look not only at production issues, but also at how to stimulate demand despite the economic difficulties facing the country. (Reuters)
Russia has no need to cut its oil output in response to the European Union's embargo, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told RBC business channel on Thursday. He earlier said he expected Russia's annual oil production for 2022 would be about 500 million tonnes, down from 524 million tonnes last year.
He also said he saw the role of OPEC+, a group of producers including Russia, strengthening in response to market conditions. Russia had no plans to switch to an oil-for-roubles payment scheme, like the one adopted for Russia's gas exports, Novak said. (RBC/Reuters)
Britain said on Thursday it could send more troops to Estonia and lead a brigade there, echoing German plans in Lithuania ahead of a NATO summit to agree future deployments on the alliance's eastern flank in response to Russia's war in Ukraine. British Defence Minister Ben Wallace told reporters in Brussels that Britain would be transforming its two battlegroups in Estonia into a bigger combat unit with major reinforcements on stand-by at home.
"I think you'll see us make (the battlegroups) into a forward brigade with a more permanent, one-star headquarters, which just means that it is much easier to enable a full brigade to generate very quickly," he said.
The establishment of brigades - units with some 3,000 to 5,000 troops each - would significantly bolster NATO's presence in the Baltics - three ex-Soviet republics that are seen as more vulnerable to Russian attack after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Until Russia's invasion, which the Kremlin describes as a "special military operation" to remove alleged threats to Russian security, NATO had only battalions with some 1,000 troops each in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. (Reuters)
Ships loaded with grain and metals will leave the Azov Sea port of Mariupol soon, with shipments potentially headed to the Middle East, a pro-Russian separatist leader told the Interfax news agency on Thursday. Mariupol, on Ukraine's southern coast, fell under the control of Russian and separatist forces in May after a months-long siege.
Denis Pushilin, leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), said plans were for the port to handle around 1 million tonnes of freight by the end of the year. "Concerning exports, it will be metals, and a little later grain," Interfax quoted Pushilin as saying. (Interfax/Reuters)
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Thursday the main message of his talks in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the leaders of France and Germany was that Italy wants to see Ukraine as a part of the European Union. Speaking at a joint news conference in the Ukrainian capital, Draghi said he fully supported investigations into alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
"I want to say today that the most important message of my visit is that Italy wants Ukraine in the European Union. And it wants Ukraine to have candidate status and will support this position at the next European Council," he said.
The EU holds a summit next week. "We are at a turning point in our history. The Ukrainian people defend every day the values of democracy and freedom that underpin the European project, our project. We cannot wait. We cannot delay this process," Draghi said. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron said during a visit to Kyiv with three other European leaders on Thursday that Ukraine could count on its allies for support.
Macron said that he and the leaders of Germany, Italy and Romania had agreed on some actions to show Ukraine is part of the European family. He also said some sort of communication channel was needed with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces have invaded Ukraine. (Reuters)
A number of European countries have approached Azerbaijan seeking to buy gas, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev told a forum on Thursday, adding that his country needed to increase production first to secure additional supplies. Azerbaijan currently sells gas to Turkey, Georgia, Greece, Bulgaria and Italy via pipelines which bypass Russia.
The European Union has traditionally relied on Russia for 40% of its gas needs but is looking for alternatives following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia has already cut gas flows to a number of EU countries after they rejected a demand to pay in roubles.
"In recent months, several European countries have approached us with a request to purchase gas. But it is not easy because we have to produce it first", Aliyev said. He did not name any countries. Aliyev said that demand for energy resources from Azerbaijan was growing in Europe and his country was doing everything to meet the increasing demand. "We are currently cooperating with the European Commission on that issue," he said.
Azerbaijan plans to double capacity of its Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, which currently supplies 16.2 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year to Turkey and southern Europe, in four to five years. (Reuters)
Nato defence ministers gathered Thursday for talks focusing on bolstering forces and deterrence along the military alliance's eastern borders to dissuade Russia from planning further aggression.
The war by the Kremlin in Ukraine since February has led allies to rethink strategies and to agree that Nato forces should be present in greater numbers on that flank. They have already beefed up the deployment of troops and material and want to guarantee a long-term presence of forces.
In response to the invasion of Ukraine, Nato says it has placed over 40,000 troops under its direct command, mainly on the eastern flank. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said allies will take decisions on the scale of their posture for the the longer term “to ensure that we can defend every inch of Allied territory." The meeting of defense ministers came ahead of a June 29-30 Nato summit in Madrid that will seek to set a determined course for the alliance in coming years. (AP)
Russia plans to increase oil production next month as export flows are being redirected to avoid Western sanctions, energy officials said on Thursday, predicting domestic oil output would be either flat or decline slightly this year.
"In fact, we are close to the February levels when we had it (oil production) at 10.2 million barrels per day (bpd), we plan to increase it further in July depending on companies' plans," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters. Production is being restored as companies redirect flows, Novak said on Thursday.
Production from the world's third biggest producer after the United States and Saudi Arabia dropped by about 10% to 10.05 million bpd in April from February, after some buyers postponed or refused Russian barrels due to sanctions. (Reuters)
Russia will need to conduct a contested river crossing or advance on its stalled flanks after all the main bridges over the Siverskyy Donets river, linking Sievierodonetsk and Ukrainian-held territory, have likely been destroyed, Britain's Defence Ministry said on Thursday.
Ukraine has probably managed to withdraw a large proportion of its combat troops, who were originally holding the town, the ministry said. "Russia's combat force in the Donbas is highly likely operating in increasingly ad hoc and severely undermanned groupings," it said in an intelligence update posted on Twitter.
After being pushed back from the outskirts of Kyiv in May, Russia's troops have focused their efforts on capturing the entirety of the Donbas, an industrial region where fighting has focused in recent weeks on Sievierodonetsk, now largely in ruins. (Reuters)
Three multiple rocket launchers that Germany pledged to Kyiv can be delivered in July or August after Ukrainian troops have been trained on the weapons, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Thursday.
"The training on these multiple rocket launchers can begin at the end of June, meaning they can be delivered at the end of July or the start of August," she told reporters as she arrived for a second day of talks with her Nato counterparts in Brussels. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in Kiyv on Thursday on a joint trip to show their backing for Ukraine as it struggles to withstand a Russian assault.
BFM TV showed live footage of the overnight train arriving in the Ukrainian capital. "It's an important moment. It's a message of unity we're sending to the Ukrainians," Macron said as he arrived in Kyiv.
The visit has taken weeks to organise with the three men looking to overcome criticism within Ukraine over their response to the war. (Reuters)
?? The head of Ukraine's military said Russia had concentrated its main strike forces in the north of Luhansk region and were trying to attack simultaneously in nine directions.
?? Russia's defence ministry accused Ukrainian forces of disrupting efforts to allow civilians to escape from a chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, scene of a weeks-long battle.
?? Two US citizens who travelled to Ukraine as volunteer fighters against Russian forces have been missing for a week and are feared captured, family members said. A White House national security spokesperson said if the reports are true, the United States 'will do everything we can' to get them back.
?? US President Biden announced another infusion of $1 billion in weapons for Ukraine that includes anti-ship rocket systems, artillery rockets, howitzers and ammunition. Russia's UN ambassador denounced Western countries for supplying weaponry.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi have taken the night train to join Ukraine capital Kyiv, Italian daily La Repubblica reported on Thursday.
France's Ambassador to Kyiv, Etienne de Poncins, published on his Twitter account a photo taken in the Repubblica paper of the three leaders in a train en route to Kyiv.
The visit by the three European leaders has taken weeks to organise with the three men looking to overcome criticism within Ukraine over their response to the war. Kyiv has criticised France, Germany and, to a lesser extent, Italy, for alleged foot-dragging in their support for Ukraine, accusing them of being slow to deliver weapons and of putting their own prosperity ahead of Ukraine's freedom and security. (Reuters)
Russian energy giant Gazprom has begun reducing the volume of gas it supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to a daily maximum of 67 million cubic meters early on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Gazprom announced it would reduce the maximum delivery volume to 100 million cubic meters of gas per day, down from 167 million cubic meters.
Overall, the cut represents an approximate 60% reduction in gas supplies to Germany in just two days.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck accused Moscow of attempting to create unease and increase gas prices. He added that it was still possible to source alternative gas supplies on the market, albeit at a high price. (Deutsche Welle)
Russia said it has offered "safe passage" for Ukraine grain shipments from Black Sea ports but is not responsible for establishing the corridors and Turkey suggested that ships could be guided around sea mines.
Ukrainian grain shipments have stalled since Russia's invasion and ports blockade, stoking global prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer. The United Nations is trying to broker a deal to resume Ukraine exports and Russian food and fertilizer exports, which Moscow says are harmed by sanctions.
"We are not responsible for establishing safe corridors. We said we could provide safe passage if these corridors are established," Russia UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said. "It's obvious it's either de-mine the territory, which was mined by the Ukrainians, or ensure that the passage goes around those mines," he told reporters. (Reuters)
Russia said it has offered "safe passage" for Ukraine grain shipments from Black Sea ports but is not responsible for establishing the corridors and Turkey suggested that ships could be guided around sea mines.
Ukrainian grain shipments have stalled since Russia's invasion and ports blockade, stoking global prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer. The United Nations is trying to broker a deal to resume Ukraine exports and Russian food and fertilizer exports, which Moscow says are harmed by sanctions.
"We are not responsible for establishing safe corridors. We said we could provide safe passage if these corridors are established," Russia UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said. "It's obvious it's either de-mine the territory, which was mined by the Ukrainians, or ensure that the passage goes around those mines," he told reporters. (Reuters)
Russia has torpedoed a Western-backed proposal to discuss whether its diamonds are funding war ahead of an international conflict diamond meeting in Botswana, letters seen by Reuters show.
The rift in the Kimberley Process (KP), which certifies rough diamond exports, risks paralyzing the body which makes decisions by consensus.
The letters, which have not been previously reported, show a dispute over a proposal by Ukraine, the European Union, Australia, Britain, Canada, and the United States to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine and whether to broaden the KP's definition of conflict diamonds to include state actors at its June 20-24 meeting in Botswana. The United States and Britain have already placed sanctions on Russia's Alrosa, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds, which accounted for around 30% of global output last year, and is partly state-owned. (Reuters)
David Arakhamia, Ukraine's chief negotiator with Russia, said Russian people and companies are circumventing Western sanctions by making use of Georgian entities to do so.
He told a German Marshall Fund event in Washington that Russians are "heavily" using "Georgian banks, Georgian financial system, Georgian companies and so on," to dodge the West's sanctions regime.
"If you are a sanctioned Russian person, you go to the Internet, you open up a Georgian company, open up remotely the bank account and start processing," Arakhamia added.
He also urged Washington to take action to close the loophole. (Deutsche Welle)
The leaders of the European Union's three biggest countries, Germany, France and Italy, are expected in Kyiv on Thursday to show their backing for Ukraine as it struggles to withstand a relentless Russian assault.
The visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has taken weeks to organise with the three men looking to overcome criticism within Ukraine over their response to the war.
The expected trip, which has not been announced for security reasons, comes a day before the European Commission is due to make a recommendation on Ukraine's status as an EU candidate, something the biggest European nations have been lukewarm about. (Reuters)
Two US veterans from Alabama who were in Ukraine assisting in the war against Russia haven't been heard from in days and are missing, members of the state's congressional delegation said Wednesday.
Relatives of Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, of Trinity and Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa have been in contact with both Senate and House offices seeking information about the men's whereabouts, press aides said.
Rep. Robert Aderholt said Huynh had volunteered to go fight with the Ukrainian army against Russia, but relatives haven't heard from him since June 8, when he was in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, which is near the Russian border. Huynh and Drueke were together, an aide to Aderholt said. (AP)
Russian people and companies are using entities in Georgia to bypass Western sanctions, a group of Ukranian lawmakers said on Wednesday, urging the United States to take action over the accusations.
Speaking in Washington, David Arakhamia, Ukraine's chief negotiator with Russia, said the Ukranian delegation was set to have meetings at the U.S. Congress, State Department and the Treasury to raise awareness of the issue, among other topics.
"They (Russians) use heavily right now ... Georgian banks, Georgian financial system, Georgian companies and so on," he told reporters at a German Marshall Fund event. (Reuters)
President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a fresh U.S. infusion of $1 billion in weapons for Ukraine that includes anti-ship rocket systems, artillery rockets, howitzers and ammunition. In a phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Biden said he told the embattled leader about the new weaponry.
"The United States is providing another $1 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, including additional artillery and coastal defense weapons, as well as ammunition for the artillery and advanced rocket systems," Biden said in a statement after the 41-minute call.
The president also announced an additional $225 million in humanitarian assistance to help people in Ukraine, including by supplying safe drinking water, critical medical supplies and healthcare, food, shelter, and cash for families to purchase essential items. (Reuters)
Ukraine ignored a Russian ultimatum to surrender the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk on Wednesday as the United States urged its allies at a gathering of NATO defence ministers to step up military support for Kyiv.
Sievierodonetsk, now largely in ruins, has for weeks been the main focal point of the war. Russia had told Ukrainian forces holed up in a chemical plant there to stop "senseless resistance and lay down arms" from Wednesday morning, pressing its advantage in the battle for control of eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine says more than 500 civilians, including 40 children, remain alongside soldiers inside the Azot chemical factory, sheltering from weeks of almost constant Russian bombardment. (Reuters)
Russia said on Wednesday it has offered "safe passage" for Ukraine grain shipments from the country's Black Sea ports, but is not responsible for establishing the corridors, as Turkey suggested that ships could be guided around sea mines.
Ukrainian grain shipments have stalled since Russia's invasion and ports blockade, stoking global prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer. The U.N. is trying to broker a deal to resume Ukraine grain exports and Russian food and fertilizer exports, which Moscow says are harmed by sanctions.
"We are not responsible for establishing safe corridors. We said we could provide safe passage if these corridors are established," Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said. (Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday expressed his readiness to play a "constructive role" to help settle the Ukraine crisis, China's state media reported.
In a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Xi said, "All parties concerned must take a responsible stance, thus promoting the correct settlement of the crisis in Ukraine." "China is prepared to keep playing its constructive role," the Chinese state-run TV quoted Xi as saying.
Xi emphasised that China has always independently assessed the situation on the basis of the historical context and the merits of the issue, and actively promoted world peace and the stability of the global economic order, China's official Xinhua news agency reported. (PTI)
Russia can "provide safe passage" for Ukraine grain shipments from the country's Black Sea ports, but is not responsible for establishing the corridors, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters on Wednesday.
"We are not responsible for establishing safe corridors. We said we could provide safe passage if these corridors are established. Establish them. It's obvious it's either demine the territory, which was mined by the Ukrainians, or to ensure that the passage goes around those mines," Nebenzia said. (Reuters)
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is planning a $650 million tranche of funding for military weapons and equipment for Ukraine that would include vehicle-mounted Harpoon anti-ship missiles, a Bloomberg reporter said on Twitter, citing sources. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that Ukraine would have to hold talks with Russia at some point, in order to try and bring an end to the war between the two countries.
"The Ukrainian President and his officials will have to negotiate with Russia," said Macron, while on a visit to Romania and Moldova.
Macron arrived in Romania on Tuesday for a three-day trip to Nato's southern flank including Moldova before possibly heading to Kyiv on Thursday on a visit with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, two diplomatic sources said.
Macron has been criticised by Ukraine and eastern European allies for what they perceived as his ambiguous backing for Ukraine in the war against Russia. (Reuters)
Some 2.4 million hectares of winter crops with a total value of $1.435 billion will remain unharvested in Ukraine because of Russia's invasion, the Ukrainian agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.
It said the agriculture sector had so far suffered losses of $4.292 billion because of the invasion. It estimated that the number of animals killed in areas affected by fighting included 42,000 sheep and goats, 92,000 cows, 258,000 pigs and more than 5.7 million birds. (Reuters)
Ukraine showed no signs of obeying a Russian ultimatum to surrender the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk early on Wednesday as Nato defence ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss sending more heavy weapons to replenish Kyiv's dwindling stocks.
"It's getting harder, but our military are holding back the enemy from three directions at once," Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region containing Sievierodonetsk, posted online just before Russia's 8 am Moscow time (0500 GMT) deadline.
"They're defending Sievierodonetsk and not letting them to advance to Lysychansk," he said, referring to the twin city held by Ukraine on the opposite bank of the Siverskyi Donets river. "Nevertheless, the Russians are close and the population is suffering and homes are being destroyed." (Reuters)
Nicaragua's parliament has granted approval for Russian troops to be allowed into the country for joint military exercises.
The chamber, dominated by allies of President Daniel Ortega, voted to allow troops and military hardware from Russia, the United States, and seven Latin American countries into Nicaragua. (Deutsche Welle)
It was seen as a serious snub. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, US officials supposedly tried to organise a phone call between US President Joe Biden and the de-facto leader of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.
But the Saudi crown prince, often referred to simply as MBS, apparently refused to take the call. Shortly afterwards, however, MBS spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And the following month, he also spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The White House later denied Biden's calls had been rebuffed. But in many ways, it didn't matter. Because this was only the latest incident in a particularly chilly period in the relationship between the US and some of its closest, oil-producing friends in the Middle East. In the recent past, Biden has described Saudi Arabia as a "pariah state," a commentary on the allegedly state-orchestrated murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, as well as the country's dismal overall human rights record. (Read more)
The tanks are gone now, and the thousands of Russian soldiers who poured into northern Ukraine in February have retreated back across the border.
But fear still prevails in this quiet village 6 miles from Ukraine’s border with Russia and Belarus.
In the distance, Russian artillery shells rock the neighbouring towns every day. Their explosions send a shudder through residents who lived through weeks of Russian occupation and have not forgotten the intimidating presence of Moscow’s army as it marched by on the way to the capital, Kyiv. (Read more)
In Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv, broken Russian equipment has been put on display in the Mikhailovskaya Square, as per media reports.
The US Department of Treasury has announced it will allow some energy-related transactions with Sberbank, VTB Bank, Alfa-Bank and several other Russian entities to continue until December 5, extending a previous exemption deadline set for June 24.
The payments to Russia for energy products will give European countries time to prepare for a near-total oil embargo.
Washington has banned imports of Russian fossil fuels and imposed punitive sanctions due to its invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24. (Deutsche Welle)
The last bridge to the last city standing between the Russian army and control of easternmost Ukraine has collapsed as soldiers engaged in pitched street battles for what little is left of the city and scores of civilians remained stranded under unrelenting bombardment.
Even after the final remaining bridge between the city, Sievierodonetsk, and Ukrainian-held territory to the west was toppled, Ukrainian officials insisted that supplies could still reach their soldiers fighting in the ruined city. But evacuating civilians and wounded troops may become far more challenging, and it appeared increasingly unlikely that the city’s outgunned defenders could hold out for long. (Read more)
Elements of Ukraine's Armed Forces and several hundred civilians are sheltering in underground bunkers in Azot Chemical Plant in the embattled city of Sievierodonetsk, Britain's defence ministry said on Wednesday.
Russian forces now control the majority of the Ukrainian city, Britain's Ministry of Defence said in a Twitter update.
Russia told Ukrainian forces who were holed up in the chemical plant to lay down their arms by early Wednesday, pressing its advantage in the battle for control of eastern Ukraine.
?? Farmers of Ukraine's southern Odesa region have begun the 2022 grain harvest, taking advantage of favourable weather.
?? Russia's invasion of Ukraine, however, will create a global wheat shortage for at least three seasons by keeping much of the Ukrainian crop from markets, pushing prices to record levels, Kyiv's agriculture minister said.
?? US President Biden said that temporary silos would be built along the border with Ukraine, including in Poland, in a bid to help export more grain.
?? The United States will allow certain energy-related transactions with Sberbank, VTB Bank, Alfa-Bank and several other Russian entities to continue through Dec. 5, the US Department of Treasury said.
The European Union's top aviation safety regulator said that he is "very worried" about the safety of Western-made aircraft continuing to fly in Russia without access to spare parts and proper maintenance.
The European Union and the United States have moved to restrict Russia's access to spare parts following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation."
"This is very unsafe," Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), told reporters on the sidelines of a conference, adding regulators do not have good data on many of the planes flying in Russia or if any have experienced safety issues in recent months. Ky said regulators should consider requests for exemptions from Russia "on a case by case basis, what would be the justification, why do you absolutely need to operate this type of aircraft." (Reuters)
Russia told Ukrainian forces holed up in a chemical plant in the embattled city of Sievierodonetsk to lay down their arms by early Wednesday, pressing its advantage in the battle for control of eastern Ukraine.
Fighters should "stop their senseless resistance and lay down arms" from 8 am Moscow time (0500 GMT)," ?Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia's National Defence Management Centre told the Interfax news agency.
Civilians would be let out through a humanitarian corridor, Mizintsev said. (Reuters)