Russian Ukraine Putin

RIGA — Ukraine will enter into serious peace negotiations with Moscow only after Russian troops have been pushed back or retreated from all of the territory ...

The latest: European diplomats are set to meet again Thursday as they negotiate a proposal to phase out Russian oil imports. More than 5.7 million Ukrainian refugees have fled the country since the start of the invasion, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. “More than 500,000 of our people have already been deported to Russia. They were forced to go there,” Zelensky said, according to Interfax. “Everything is taken away from them. “I do not care what happens to some leaders and where they end up. The Ukrainian regiment, which has been connected with a far-right ideology, wrote in a Telegram post that “a car was hit by Russians who used [an] anti-tank guided weapon.” “With today’s announcement, my Administration has nearly exhausted funding that can be used to send security assistance through drawdown authorities for Ukraine,” Biden said. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier Friday that Biden is poised to sign the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act next week. Kharkiv: Ukrainian forces defending this northeastern city have shifted to counterattacks against their Russian enemies, and as a result, are retaking territory. Ukrainian officials have raised concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use the occasion to declare a formal war with Ukraine. Guterres met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, who agreed to evacuate civilians from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Although evacuations continued Friday, the two countries disputed the number of evacuees. “Today, for the first time, the Security Council spoke with one voice for peace in Ukraine,” Guterres said, referring to the council’s statement. Experts fear Russian President Vladimir Putin may use Victory Day on Monday as an excuse to formally declare war on Ukraine and ramp up the pace of shellings.

The Ukrainian military took the offensive as the two sides battle for control of the east. In the south, an evacuation convoy was dispatched to rescue ...

The pace of Russian missile strikes across Ukraine has been intensifying in recent days as Moscow tries to slow the flow of Western arms across the country. The latest operation to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol was underway on Friday morning, according to Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, who said details would be provided later. The war and the disruption of food exports have caused a surge in global food prices, with devastating consequences for poor countries. Russian forces in the east “aimed to organize a famine,” Mr. Haidai said. “I think there is quite a bit of credibility to the footage” on social media, he said. Nearly 500 people have managed to leave in recent days with the assistance of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to António Guterres, the U.N. secretary general. But there was no pause in the fighting on Thursday, and that evening, Capt. Svyatoslav Palamar, the deputy commander of the Azov regiment inside the plant, accused Moscow in a video address of breaking its pledge. The Russian defense ministry also said that 50 civilians, including 11 children, had been evacuated from the ruins of the plant on Friday, and that the operation will continue tomorrow, according to Russian state media. The official, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk, said in a post on Telegram the evacuation was “extremely slow” because Russian troops violated a cease-fire. The Italian authorities, who have actively impounded villas and yachts belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs, said in a statement that it had impounded the ship, which is in the dry dock of the port of Marina di Carrara, on the northern coast of Tuscany, even though the person they had identified as its technical owner did not currently appear on a European sanctions list. The official, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk, said in a post on Telegram that the evacuation was “extremely slow” because Russian troops repeatedly violated a cease-fire. “I welcome this support and will continue to spare no effort to save lives, reduce suffering and find the path of peace.”

Having failed to take over Ukraine, what are President Putin's military prospects now? Three defence experts weigh in.

Putin has surrounded himself with loyalists who fear him and are as paranoid about threats to both him as a leader and to the regime more broadly. The point of refocusing to the east and south was to solidify and gain more territory to encircle Ukraine from all sides. The new offensive has gone so badly that she finds it hard to speculate what a victory for Putin could look like. The bombardment of a city that, as of today, is still putting up resistance has shattered 90 percent of its buildings and left 20,000 dead. For that reason, she believes, the Russians have made great fanfare domestically about “liberating” Mariupol, the strategic port that has been levelled by the worst carnage of the war. “He will insist that the US and NATO are willing to risk continued violence and economic downturn around the world just to humiliate Russia and limit its power in the international order,” she says. Additionally, Russia thus far has suffered from a regimented top-down style of command that does not allow leadership on the ground to be flexible. “It’s not clear if they have enough parts and skills to maintain them as they wear down,” Konaev says. It can move weaponry to the front lines faster than the Russians, even though what they need is coming from outside the country on the western flank. And what are his military prospects for the months to come? Formations, tanks and sophisticated hardware go on display to remind the world of Russia’s lasting power. Russia’s Victory Day parade is an annual extravagance in Red Square. Falling on May 9, it commemorates the Nazi surrender of World War II with a lavish spectacle meant to project might.

Evacuees share horror of months in Avozstal steelworks bunker; why Putin's shift to the east could lengthen the war; and tattoos of Ukraine resistance.

Anyone can turn up for a tattoo, and the price is whatever they can afford to donate to the Ukrainian armed forces. This followed a five-month war where Russian forces intervened on the side of the separatists. Isobel Koshiw and Lorenzo Tondo report on civilian Ukrainians with no previous experience in exhumation wearing gardening gloves and volunteering to collect hundreds of bodies of those executed and buried in towns bordering Ukraine’s capital. This week’s string of mysterious blasts in Transnistria have become a warning sign for many to get out. It was a vibrant port with an active civil society that had withstood the Russian-backed advance in 2014, when Russian artillery came close enough to Mariupol to bombard the city’s outer districts, before being driven back. As the week ground on, fierce fighting moved inside the steelworks as more civilians fled the city on evacuation buses following weeks of brutal bombardment that have reduced much of it to rubble.

Zelenskiy says Mariupol being 'tortured to death', as UN security council omits words 'war' and 'invasion' from its first statement.

Russia would continue to react “harshly and decisively” to all sanctions imposed by the UK,the ministry said in a statement. A yacht reportedly belonging to Putin was seized by Italian officials. US defense department spokesperson John Kirby deflected questions about whether the Pentagon provided information to Ukraine that helped military leaders target Russian generals. The latest US military aid package to Ukraine, announced by president Joe Biden, is worth $150m, secretary of state Antony Blinken confirmed. On peace talks, Zelenskiy saidhe was “elected as president of Ukraine and not a mini-Ukraine”,and that Russia must first fall back to the territory it held before its invasion on 23 February if talks are to succeed. Three evacuation buses left the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol , according to Russian media reports.

The Pentagon is sending rockets and equipment designed for Donbas, while Zelensky's conditions include the restoration of preinvasion borders.

Kharkiv: Ukrainian forces defending this northeastern city have shifted to counterattacks against their Russian enemies, and as a result, are retaking territory. Ukrainian officials have raised concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use the occasion to declare a formal war with Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged President Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to hold off on imposing sanctions on the 55-year-old billionaire so he could continue acting as a mediator. Guterres met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, who agreed to evacuate civilians from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Although evacuations continued Friday, the two countries disputed the number of evacuees. That understanding fell apart after Russia continued bombing the mill. “Today, for the first time, the Security Council spoke with one voice for peace in Ukraine,” Guterres said, referring to the council’s statement. He declined to discuss the extent of the intelligence assistance the U.S. provides Ukraine, but called it “lawful and limited.” By protecting the locations and identities of users, VPNs are now granting millions of Russians access to blocked material. RIGA, Latvia — When Russian authorities blocked hundreds of Internet sites in March, Konstantin decided to act. Experts fear Russian President Vladimir Putin could use the Victory Day celebrations to formally declare war on Ukraine and ramp up the pace of shellings. Azovstal has served as a last holdout for Ukrainian fighters in the city, with civilians sheltering alongside them. Fifty civilians were evacuated from the plant Friday despite Russian cease-fire violations, Kyiv said.

Fighting · Russian forces continued their ground assault on the Azovstal steel plant with air support, Ukraine said. · Russia continued its push in the east of ...

Its defence ministry said Russian forces had destroyed an ammunition depot in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region and shot down two Ukrainian warplanes. - G7 leaders will hold a video call on Sunday with Zelenskyy in a show of unity the day before Russia marks its Victory Day holiday, the White House said. - Russia continued its push in the east of the country.

Evacuation efforts are continuing at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol after Russian forces breached the perimeter this week, according to a Ukrainian ...

We have to open up these ports so that food can move in and out of Ukraine. The world demands it because hundreds of millions of people globally depend on these supplies,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. In a statement, the British government said it will deliver an extra 287 generators that will help to run relief centers, hospitals, phone masts and water pumping stations. The generators will be delivered to a Polish government hub. Grain stalled: The UN has called to reopen the Odesa port in southern Ukraine, to help ease a global food crisis. Our donation of a further 287 generators will ensure more essential services in Ukraine can keep running,” Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said. Zelensky's comments: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he’s working on diplomatic efforts to save military forces that remain in the Azovstal plant. Meanwhile, tensions are rising in the lead-up to May 9 — Russia's symbolic "Victory Day" holiday, which could bring a formal declaration of war. The Russian-appointed deputy head of the Kherson military administration, Kirill Stremousov, said on Friday that residents would be allowed to have Russian passports. US President Joe Biden also announced additional security assistance to Ukraine, with $150 million worth of equipment including artillery and radars. It will also relax its rules on overseas fossil fuels, so the government can support Ukraine's energy and fuel needs, it said. Port City is a shopping center on the outskirts of Mariupol. The Ukrainian side has not reported the strike.

Millions of Russians are getting access to information outside of the country with help from virtual private networks.

I wanted to find out what was really happening.” Millions of Russians are now getting access to information outside of the country with help from VPNs, which could pose problems for the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin as the attack on Ukraine – described as a “ special military operation” – nears its third month. Millions of Russians are now getting access to information outside of the country with help from virtual private networks.

Russia has attacked the massive steel plant, where civilians and a group of soldiers have been barricaded since mid-April.

The death and destruction he witnessed near his home inspired Shevchenko, a former journalist, to join the fight in hopes of pushing back those who invaded his country. “The main issue is a complete embargo on the purchase of gas and oil from the Russian Federation," he said. "There is a possibility of an attack on Kyiv, because without the capture of the capital there will never be a victory over Ukraine," he said. Agnès Callamard, Amnesty's secretary general said: “The pattern of crimes committed by Russian forces that we have documented includes both unlawful attacks and wilful killings of civilians." Marchenko told an online briefing that Ukraine was struggling to balance its budget after 10 weeks of war and said he was dissatisfied with the pace of assistance coming in from abroad. "We calculate and prepare for various possible scenarios of the enemy’s actions,” he said. In the nearby town of Borodyanka, Amnesty found evidence of indiscriminate attacks which left up to 40 civilians dead. “We are sending the weapons and equipment that Congress has authorized directly to the front lines of freedom in Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement. He cited recent explosions in the country as well as the presence of Russian troops. The Pentagon and the National Security Council did not respond to requests for comment. On the phone with CIA Director William Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Biden’s message was that such disclosures “distract from our objective,” one official said. Russia maintains its offensive in eastern Ukraine, where officials have said civilian centers are still the target of strikes.

The war in Ukraine is taking a “heavy toll” on some of Russia's most capable units and most advanced capabilities, an intelligence briefing from Britain's.

“We are sending the weapons and equipment that Congress has authorized directly to the front lines of freedom in Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement. The loss of advanced military equipment is likely to hamper hopes of swift victory further. Troops defending the plant have vowed not to surrender. Dockside activity indicated that the yacht's crew might have been preparing to go to sea. President Joe Biden is expected to attend a virtual meeting of the Group of Seven world leaders Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a guest, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. They added that evacuation efforts would continue into the weekend.

A Ukrainian commander at the Azovstal steel plant said there are "bloody battles" unfolding with Russian forces inside the complex after they breached the ...

Our donation of a further 287 generators will ensure more essential services in Ukraine can keep running,” Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said. The generators will be delivered to a Polish government hub. In a statement, the British government said it will deliver an extra 287 generators that will help to run relief centers, hospitals, phone masts and water pumping stations.

UN Security Council agrees to first joint statement since Ukraine war began, expressing “strong support” for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's efforts to ...

“Today, for the first time, the Security Council spoke with one voice for peace in Ukraine,” Guterres said in a statement. Moscow has dubbed it a “special military operation”. Today, the U.S. is continuing our strong support for the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country. New:#Ukraine‘s ability – and willingness – to concentrate the forces necessary to launch a counteroffensive along a broad arc north & east of #Kharkivcity indicates confidence in repelling ongoing Russian attacks w/ their existing forces in the region. “Production this year is expected to be at least 35 percent lower than last year,” an analysis of the latest data showed, Kayrros said. It offered no further information due to “sensitivity of the situation”. “The Security Council expresses strong support for the efforts of the secretary-general in the search for a peaceful solution,” the statement said. Zelenskyy has met with cabinet members to discuss the country’s economy. “Experience shows that a successful action helps further evacuations because now both sides have seen that it works. A top official from Ukraine’s interior ministry has warned against “the activation of saboteurs and other criminal elements” in the lead-up to Russia’s Victory Day on Monday. “This brings total US security assistance to Ukraine to approximately $3.8 billion in arms and equipment since Russia launched its brutal and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24,” Blinken said in a statement announcing the additional aid. Ukraine’s Minister for Economic Development and Trade, Yulia Svyrydenko, said the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports has impacted Ukraine’s fuel supply and called for a “green corridor to Ukraine” through the affected ports.

Both sides were trying to take territory in the run-up to Russia's Victory Day, when the Kremlin would like to tout the invasion's progress.

“I welcome this support and will continue to spare no effort to save lives, reduce suffering and find the path of peace.” He also said his government was "working on diplomatic options to save our military who still remain at Azovstal," the besieged steel plant that is the last Ukrainian holdout in Mariupol. A second offer, this time presented publicly by another Ukrainian exile, Oleh Tsaryov, in a post on Telegram, came about a week later, when Russian troops had advanced to within six miles of the city. “It’s like we’re in a dream,” said Svetlana Golochenko, 43, who was cleaning up the remnants of her son’s house. State media also portray atrocities in Ukraine — the murder of civilians, the random bombing of cities, the looting — as the work of Ukrainians disguised as Russians to give them a bad name. Speaking at an event in Washington sponsored by the Financial Times, Burns said that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is “in a frame of mind that he thinks he cannot afford to lose,” and so the stakes are high. It could be an indicator that “the order to retreat to somewhere had been given and they were trying to set up a defensive line,” he said. The state-controlled media, after braying for months how there would be no war and that it was all Russophobia by the West, initially expressed a little consternation about the invasion of Ukraine, but that is all gone now. The girl, who school officials said was from Kyiv, held up a paper cutout of a hand that was colored blue and yellow — like her country’s flag. About 50 civilians were evacuated in a humanitarian convoy on Friday, while about 200 were holed up in the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in the city. A spokeswoman for the Red Cross earlier on Saturday had said efforts to evacuate the remaining civilians were “ongoing.” “Please, this is your life, the life of your children,” he said.

The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War says Ukrainian forces could soon free Kharkiv from the artillery range of Russian forces.

This is a very important point," he said, according to the BBC report. He added that there could be no question of Russia holding on to territory it has taken since the invasion started. The defenders have vowed not to surrender. She endeared herself to troops by bringing 5 gallons of Heinz Ketchup on the plane after hearing there was a shortage on base. A further 1.75 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) has been committed to invest in Chelsea's teams and stadiums after two months of rapid negotiations to sell the west London club since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. "Kyiv will survive, Ukraine will win!" Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the WHO has delivered trauma and emergency supplies, which they say have been put to use in over 15,000 surgeries. The conflict has killed thousands in Ukraine, and more than five million people have fled the country. "Everything I was thinking about was how to save my child from a city that was bombed," she said. "Thank god the Romanian people were here. "We will rebuild everything!" "Missile strikes are bit by bit chewing up Ukraine's infrastructure," Clark said.

Latest evacuation from Mariupol steelworks completed; missiles hit Odesa; Ukraine says it has destroyed another Russian ship.

The talks would focus on the latest developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, efforts to bolster the country and ways to demonstrate “continued G7 unity in our collective response, including by imposing severe costs for Putin’s war”,a spokesperson for the White House said. The latest US military aid package to Ukraine, announced by president Joe Biden on Friday, is worth $150m, the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, confirmed. “Putin’s brutal attack is not only causing untold devastation in Ukraine, it is also threatening peace and security across Europe.” “It will take considerable time and expense for Russia to reconstitute its armed forces following this conflict,” the report said. Several missiles hit the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, the regional administration’s spokesperson, Serhiy Bratchuk, said. The Ukrainian government has said it destroyed another Russian ship.

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that he cannot afford to lose in Ukraine and is “doubling down” on the war, but does not show signs of planning to ...

Since then, Putin and other Russian officials have made thinly veiled threats hinting at a willingness to deploy Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons if the West directly intervenes in the Ukraine conflict. The Russian leader has not been deterred by the stiff resistance demonstrated by Ukraine’s armed forces in the war, “because he staked so much on the choices that he made to launch this invasion,” Burns said. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that he cannot afford to lose in Ukraine and is “doubling down” on the war, but does not show signs of planning to use tactical nuclear weapons, CIA director Bill Burns said.

Group of Seven leaders plan to discuss potential new penalties against Russia on Sunday, a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to a address ...

The UK Ministry of Defence says Russia's most advanced units have suffered heavy losses; Pentagon defends intelligence sharing with Ukraine as 'lawful'

And the coming weeks are going to be the telltale of where this is going.” Talks will focus on the latest developments in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, efforts to bolster the country and ways to demonstrate “continued G7 unity in our collective response, including by imposing severe costs for Putin’s war”,a spokesperson for the White House said. His Fox News presenters and Russia’s propagandists are so intermeshed that separating the two is as impossible as unbaking a cake. “The last message was yesterday,” Kateryna says of the text from her 30-year-old husband. There has been extraordinary solidarity across Ukraine, with ordinary people risking, and often giving, their lives to help others simply make it through the day, taking food and fuel to vulnerable and elderly people, or driving evacuation vehicles to pick up those stranded at the frontline. “It will take considerable time and expense for Russia to reconstitute its armed forces following this conflict,” the report said. In the meantime you can read all our Ukraine news and analysis here, and this is our latest news story taking in all the main developments: - The Ukrainian government has said that it has destroyed another Russian ship. It brings Washington’s military assistance to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began to around $3.8bn,Blinken said. - Two Russian missiles hit locations near the Russian border in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region today, local governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi said. - Several missiles hit the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, the regional administration’s spokesperson, Serhiy Bratchuk, said. Our live coverage of the war in Ukraine will resume in a few hours.

Ukraine's president pledges to continue 'extremely difficult, but essential' efforts to evacuate fighters in Azovstal.

“Of course, if everyone fulfills the agreement. The museum is essentially destroyed.” “A bomb hit the museum. Of course, if there are no lies. The bloc has proposed a complete ban on Russian oil imports by the end of this year. “We managed to save more than 300 people, women and children. Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine. “Russian propagandists have joyfully reported that they have already taken it, but this is not quite how it is. In fact, we took all civilians out of the Azovstal plant and are now preparing for the second stage of the evacuation mission to evacuate those who are wounded and medics. “May 6 was a terrible night. “I want to thank the teams of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations for helping us carry out the first phase of the Azovstal plant evacuation mission,” Zelenskyy said in his night time video address. Other European countries may also be cut off within weeks if they reject Russia’s demand.

A Ukrainian commander trapped at the Mariupol steel plant under Russian fire described life there as “some hellish reality show.”

Kharkiv: Ukraine accused Russian forces Saturday of blowing up three bridges northeast of Kharkiv to thwart counterattacks. Ukrainian officials have raised concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin will use the occasion to declare a formal war with Ukraine. Mariupol: All women, children and elderly people have been evacuated from Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. A regional police official told The Post that three Ukrainian troops were killed during the civilian evacuation. Klitschko said that although nothing is guaranteed, it is probably safer to return after Monday’s Victory Day. About 90 people were hiding in the basement of a school in the eastern Ukrainian village of Bilohorivka when Russian forces attacked. Authorities battled for nearly four hours to extinguish the blaze, he said. I can tell you this on and off air,” said Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian parliament, in comments Thursday to Russian radio. Several top Russian officials have sought to quash the rumors. Analysts see mobilization as Russia’s best hope to turn the tide and defeat Ukraine, by reinforcing demoralized forces and plowing them back into the war. Skovoroda spent his last years in the building that became the museum, and he is buried there. About 90 people were sheltering in the basement when Russian forces attacked, Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the eastern Luhansk region, said on Sunday. Two bodies were found and 30 people were rescued, he said. Museum of the philosopher and poet who lived in the 18th century.