Russian Ukraine Putin

Survivors have begun to emerge from the basement of a theatre hit by a Russian airstrike in the besieged southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, officials said ...

The US president, Joe Biden, will speak with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on Friday to discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine “and other issues of mutual concern”, the White House said. Ukraine had accused Russia of kidnapping Ivan Fedorov last Friday,with surveillance footage appearing to show himbeing marched across a square in the city centre, apparently surrounded by Russian soldiers. Oleksii Reznikov, who has been leading the Ukrainian delegation in the negotiations,said technical work was progressingbut that Russia had to stop its shelling for any compromise to be possible. But western officials have warned there remains a “very big gap” betweenUkraineand Russia in peace talks between the two nations. Hundreds of people were hiding beneath the theatre, which was designated as a shelter for displaced civilians,when it was struck on Wednesday. Authorities said it was not known if there were injuries or deaths among those inside. It said10 people were in critical condition.

Although both sides have pointed to limited progress in peace talks this week, Russian president Vladimir Putin showed little sign of relenting during a ...

The death toll remains unknown, though Ukraine has said thousands of civilians have died. “Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine is a threat to us all.” “It is a complex picture and by no means a static one.” A 12-storey Kyiv apartment building erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel. There was no immediate word on how many people were killed or injured. The official said Ukraine was insisting on the inclusion of one or more Western nuclear powers in the negotiations and on a legally binding document with security guarantees for Ukraine. In exchange, the official said, Ukraine was ready to discuss a neutral status. Although Moscow’s ground advance on the Ukrainian capital appeared largely stalled, Mr Putin said earlier that the operation was unfolding “successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans”. He also decried Western sanctions against Moscow, accusing the West of trying to “squeeze us, to put pressure on us, to turn us into a weak, dependent country”. Burned out high-rise buildings in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 14th. A Ukrainian negotiator has said that a “model” of legally binding security guarantees that would offer Ukraine protection from a group of allies in the event of a future attack is “on the negotiating table” at talks between Kyiv and Moscow. “Their leadership would like to be supportive of Russia ... but are increasingly aware ... of a) how badly this is going at the moment and b) some of the reputational blow back associated with being in the Russian camp,” one official said. A Western official said the details of who would be a security guarantor was the subject of conversations with international partners but it was important to establish the terms. Although both sides have pointed to limited progress in peace talks this week, Russian president Vladimir Putin showed little sign of relenting during a televised speech in which he inveighed against “traitors and scum” at home who helped the West, and said the Russian people would spit them out like gnats.

'A necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country,' Russian leader says.

“All these troubles started in 1991 when [modern Russia’s first president Boris] Yeltsin with his clique sold and betrayed the country.” “I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country.” The Kremlin said on Thursday that many people in Russia were showing themselves to be “traitors” and pointed to those resigning from their jobs and leaving the country.

Russian forces in Ukraine are blasting cities and killing civilians but no longer making progress on the ground, Western countries said on Thursday, as a ...

"Every year politicians repeat 'never again'," said Zelenskiy, who is of Jewish heritage, citing a slogan used to mark the Holocaust. "And now we see that these words are simply worthless. Moscow has said it is close to agreeing a formula that would keep Ukraine neutral, long one of its demands. Kyiv and its Western allies believe Russia launched the unprovoked war to subjugate a neighbour Putin calls an artificial state. Russian forces have begun letting some people out in private cars this week but have blocked aid convoys from reaching the city. Now the rubble is being cleared. "The bomb shelter held.

Today's main developments: Oil prices jump 8% as IEA warns of 'supply crisis'; Russia says it has made $117mn interest payment; China rejects Nato appeal to ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized Russian oligarchs as well as "scum and traitors" who oppose his war in Ukraine.

“They vanish from our lives," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Reuters. "Some people are leaving their posts. According to Lough, Putin was saying to the elites: "Don't think about having second thoughts. There is now an “acceptance that this is going to usher in a period of extreme isolation of Russia, as well as impoverishment and a return, frankly, to many of the features of the Soviet Union,” he said. Some leave the country and move to other countries. Some are leaving their active work life. "The Russian people will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like an insect in their mouth onto the pavement," he said, shoulders hunched and staring down the barrel of the camera.