Zelensky says China trying to undermine Ukraine peace summit
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emails
Ukraine has pulled back its soldiers from the outskirts of eastern Chasiv Yar town where they are losing territory to Russian forces.
Oleh Shyriaiev, commander of the 255th assault battalion, which has been fighting in the area for six months, claimed the Russians burned every building not destroyed by shelling after capturing the neighbourhood.
“I regret that we are gradually losing territory,” he said, speaking by phone from Chasiv Yar, but added, “we cannot hold what is ruined”.
He said Russia is using scorched-earth tactics in an attempt to destroy anything that could be used as a military position in an attempt to force the Ukranian troops to retreat from the strategic town.
Chasiv Yar is a short distance west of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a bitter 10-month battle. The intensity of the Russian strikes on Ukraine’s defensive line in the area has increased over the past month, Kyiv said.
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces were carrying out drills involving mobile nuclear missile launchers, the Interfax news agency reported this morning.
Key pointsUkraine’s forces pull back from part of key eastern town of Chasiv Yar
Chasiv Yar is a short distance west of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a bitter 10-month battle. For months, Russian forces have focused on capturing Chasiv Yar, a town which occupies an elevated location. Its fall would put nearby cities in jeopardy and compromise critical Ukrainian supply routes.
The Ukrainian army retreated from a northeastern neighborhood in the town, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Khortytsia ground forces formation, told The Associated Press in a written message Thursday.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 20:30
A French citizen pleads guilty to charges of collecting military data in Russia, state media say
A French citizen arrested in Russia has pleaded guilty to criminal charges involving illegally collecting information on military issues in the country, state news agency Tass reported Wednesday.
Laurent Vinatier was arrested in the Russian capital in June as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine.
Russian authorities accused Vinatier of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information about Russia’s “military and military-technical activities,” which could be used to the detriment of the country’s security.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 19:30
German government averts crisis with budget agreement for Europe’s largest economy
The German government said Friday it has reached agreement on the budget for 2025 and a stimulus package for Europe’s largest economy, easing a monthslong squabble that threatened to upend Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition.
Scholz, a Social Democrat, and leaders of the Free Democrats and Greens reached agreement on plans including higher spending on defense and affordable housing after marathon talks that dragged into the early hours of Friday. Scholz said ministers would formally approve the plan at a Cabinet meeting later this month.
By balancing security, social cohesion and economic growth, Scholz said the budget was designed to reassure citizens unsettled by the war in Ukraine, the impacts of climate change and irregular migration, and offer an alternative to the “divisive” policies of far-right parties making gains across Europe.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 18:30
NATO leaders will vow to pour weapons into Ukraine for another year, but membership is off the table
NATO leaders plan to pledge next week to keep pouring arms and ammunition into Ukraine at current levels for at least another year, hoping to reassure the war-ravaged country of their ongoing support and show Russian President Vladimir Putin that they will not walk away.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet in Washington for a three-day summit beginning Tuesday to mark the military alliance’s 75th anniversary as Russian troops press their advantage along Ukraine‘s eastern front in the third year of the war.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO’s 32 member countries have been spending around 40 billion euros ($43 billion) each year on military equipment for Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, and that this should be “a minimum baseline” going forward.“
I expect allies will decide at the summit to sustain this level within the next year,” Stoltenberg said. He said the amount would be shared among nations based on their economic growth, and that the leaders will review the figure when they meet again in 2025.
(EPA)
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 17:30
Jailed Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza transferred to Siberian prison hospital, wife says
Jailed British-Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza has been transferred to a Siberian prison hospital, his wife has said.
The 42-year-old – a leading Kremlin critic who has survived two poisoning attempts – is serving a 25-year jail sentence after repeatedly condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine and calling for Western sanctions against Moscow.
Mr Kara-Murza was transferred on Thursday evening to the hospital in Omsk prison, where he is jailed, according to his wife Evgenia, who said his lawyers had waited five hours to see him but were denied visitation rights.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 17:00
Modi to focus on trade imbalance, Indian soldiers in talks with Putin – part two
Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay said India-Russia trade had seen a sharp increase in 2023-24 and touched close to $65 billion “primarily due to strong energy cooperation”, but Indian exports accounted for just $4 billion.
“Trade remains imbalanced, which is a matter of priority in our discussions with the Russian side,” he said, adding that India hopes to “correct” this by pushing exports across sectors including farm, technology, pharmaceuticals and services.
Asked how India would deal with the sanctions imposed by G7 countries on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Kwatra said New Delhi had been holding talks with the bloc on the issue.
“We have been in very regular touch with G7 essentially to protect and progress our national interest and our national needs … whether it relates to diamonds or it relates to other sectors of industry and economy,” he said.
Modi will also take up the early discharge of Indian nationals who have been “misled” into serving in the Russian army, Kwatra said.
Several cases of Indians who were lured to Russia with the promise of lucrative jobs or education and ended up fighting against Ukraine have emerged this year and at least four Indian nationals have been killed in the war.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 16:30
Modi to focus on trade imbalance, Indian soldiers in talks with Putin – part one
Fixing India’s trade imbalance with Russia and securing the discharge of Indians misled into fighting in the Ukraine war will be among Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s priorities during talks in Moscow next week, a top official said on Friday.
Modi will visit Russia on July 8-9 for talks with President Vladimir Putin as part of annual summits between New Delhi and Moscow, launched in 2000.
Modi’s visit coincides with the July 9-11 NATO summit in Washington at which the Ukraine war will hold centre stage, and the timing has raised questions about the signal India could be sending.
But Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, the most senior diplomat in the foreign ministry, rejected any connection and said Modi’s visit was part of the calendar of summits between the two countries.
“The bilateral visit this time is just a scheduling priority that we have undertaken and that’s what it is,” he told reporters in response to a question at a briefing on Modi’s visit.
(AP)
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 15:45
Ukraine receives third Patriot air defence system from Germany
Ukraine said on Friday it had taken receipt of its third German-supplied Patriot air defence system following months of pleas for equipment to protect its civilians and infrastructure from Russian air strikes.
Moscow renewed its aerial assaults on Ukraine‘s national power grid in the spring, causing sweeping blackouts. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier this year his country needed at least seven additional Patriot systems to protect itself.
The Ukrainian defence ministry said on X the system had already been delivered and thanked Germany for “unwavering support”.
“It will help improve the protection of civilians and infrastructure. The Ukrainian crew has successfully completed appropriate training in Germany,” German Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Jaeger said on X.
Kyiv has indicated it hopes for progress on the matter of air defence supplies at a NATO summit in Washington next week. A senior U.S. State Department official has said Kyiv is expected to get “good news” at the summit.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and regularly uses its arsenal of missiles and drones to conduct long-range strikes.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 15:12
Russian forces launch recruitment drive in Africa to fight war in Ukraine
Russia is conducting a new recruitment drive for fighters in Africa for its war in Ukraine after suffering heavy casualties on the ground in lethal combat, according to Western intelligence officials.
The enrolment campaign has intensified following the rapid spread of Moscow’s influence on the continent, boosted by the overthrow of pro-Western governments in several countries by military regimes and the subsequent withdrawal of US and European forces.
Mercenaries formerly with the Wagner Group – which was disbanded after the failed coup attempt by its Russian leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was subsequently killed along with his senior hierarchy in an air crash – are training young men, some from tribal militias, for battle in Europe.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 14:52
Ukraine’s foreign ministry criticises Orban’s visit to Moscow
Ukraine‘s foreign ministry said on Friday that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s visit to Moscow to discuss peace following his trip to Kyiv earlier this week was not coordinated with Ukraine.
“We remind you that for our state, the principle of ‘no agreements on Ukraine without Ukraine‘ remains unshakable and call on all states to observe it strictly,” the ministry said in a statement.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 July 2024 14:32
Source link : https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-live-putin-nuclear-weapons-b2574401.html
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-05 15:40:48
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.