Ukraine

But as Russian forces closed in on a key city in recent days, the Ukrainian government said its fighters needed better rocket launchers to prevail. Rubble in ...

In his nightly video address, Mr Zelensky turned the focus to Ukraine’s children. “And this is why we are calling the world for their support.” The two cities are separated by a river. She later became a key figure in the first impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK would send an unspecified number of M270 launchers, which can fire precision-guided rockets up to 50 miles. He added: “The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return.” He said 243 of them have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing. In the western Lviv region, a Russian missile hit rail lines that were a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies, officials said. Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought in the eastern region for eight years, and the separatists held swathes of territory before the Russian invasion. A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscow’s efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas. He said Russia currently controls almost 20% of Ukraine’s territory, an area larger than Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg combined, and that “tens of thousands” of people have died in the first 99 days of the war. Russian forces continued to pound towns and cities overnight and to tighten their grip on the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk.

Russia called Ukraine's repeated push for more weapons a "direct provocation intended to draw the West into the fighting".

He added Russia is close to capturing all of Luhansk and its forces are also trying to attack the town of Sviatohirsk in the Donetsk region. Russian forces are also trying to target the east Ukrainian village of Berestove which lies on a main road linking the Luhansk region's city of Lysychansk to the rest of Ukraine, Ukraine's General Oleksiy Gromov said on Wednesday. The UK has pledged to send medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine after the US and Germany said they would equip the nation in its fight against the Russian invasion.

Joe Biden has confirmed the US will supply the Ukrainian army with medium range launchers, infuriating the Kremlin.

Writing in the New York Times, Mr Biden said: ‘We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. He wrote: ‘Grateful to the U.S. and personally to my friend[Anthony Blinken] for this important decision that we have all worked so intensively to make a reality.[Anthony Blinken] for this important decision that we have all worked so intensively to make a reality. We will be splitting the cash with a grassroots charity closer to home. But the Kremlin is furious at the decision to give a higher calbre of weapon to Ukrainian forces. The US planning is to send Ukraine the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which is mounted on a truck and can carry a container with six rockets. But despite US efforts to arm Ukraine without bringing the West closer to direct conflict with the Kremlin, hardliners are furious at the move.

The new $700 million military aid package also includes 1,000 more Javelin anti-tank missiles, 6,000 anti-armor weapons, and four more Soviet-era Mi-17 ...

And Reuters reported that the Pentagon is likely to send Ukraine a variant of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone that can be outfitted with Hellfire missiles, once the U.S. weapon of choice in targeting terrorist groups. The U.S. decision to send precision-guided Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) pods along with the systems, which only reach up to 40 miles, comes after weeks of Ukrainian officials insisting to American counterparts in official calls that they would not fire the weapons into Russia, which the Biden administration fears could provoke a wider war. The guided MLRS rounds that the United States sent only have a range of 40 miles, which Kahl, the Pentagon official, said would be enough to hit Russian targets on Ukraine’s soil that Kyiv had identified to American officials. The U.S. decision to send precision-guided Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) pods along with the systems, which only reach up to 40 miles, comes after weeks of Ukrainian officials insisting to American counterparts in official calls that they would not fire the weapons into Russia, which the Biden administration fears could provoke a wider war. It’s probably well intended, but it is misguided to not provide the longer-range ATACMS.” As Russia’s focus in the war shifted from the Kyiv region, dense in forests and urban sprawl, to the flatter terrain of the Donbas, Ukraine’s weapons needs have also evolved, with its forces coming under a barrage of Russian artillery fire. But the purpose of Ukraine’s commitments, U.S. sources and Ukrainian officials told Foreign Policy, was to get longer-range weapons, not the fanciest new system. “Only the munition matters, the launcher is not that important whether it is HIMARS or M270, no one buys a pack of cookies to eat the cardboard box.” Ukrainian officials complained for weeks that long-range weapons needed to fight Russia were not pouring into the country fast enough. Two Ukrainian officials told Foreign Policy that Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov sent an official letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin indicating that Ukraine would not fire on Russia, a pledge that was backed up in a subsequent phone call between the two defense leaders. Two Ukrainian officials told Foreign Policy that Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov sent an official letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin indicating that Ukraine would not fire on Russia, a pledge that was backed up in a subsequent phone call between the two defense leaders. The new $700 million military aid package also includes 1,000 more Javelin anti-tank missiles, 6,000 anti-armor weapons, and four more Soviet-era Mi-17 helicopters.

The U.K. is set to send multiple launch rocket systems to the Ukrainian military in a bid to help counter Russia's brutal attacks.

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"As President Biden announced yesterday, a $700 million security assistance package had been signed. This includes HIMARS long-range rocket systems.

The exact range will be determined by the Ukrainian forces," U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink told journalists after presenting credentials to the President of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Ukrainian forces themselves will determine the range of performance of HIMARS systems. US Ambassador: Ukraine itself will determine range of HIMARS attacks

US President Joe Biden has agreed to provide Ukraine with advanced rocket systems that can strike with precision at long-range Russian targets as part of a ...

Ukraine and its Western allies call this a baseless pretext for a war to seize territory. He did not rule out providing any specific weapons system, but instead appeared to be placing conditions on how they could be used. US President Joe Biden has agreed to provide Ukraine with advanced rocket systems that can strike with precision at long-range Russian targets as part of a $700 million weapons package that was expected to be unveiled on Wednesday (1 June).

Britain pledged Thursday to send sophisticated medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine, joining the United States and Germany in equipping the embattled ...

The real numbers could be higher, he added, as his government doesn’t have a full picture of areas under Russian occupation. “We believe that the U.S. is deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire,” he said. But Defense Undersecretary Colin Kahl said he believes they will arrive in time to make a difference in the fight. The two cities are separated by a river. But as Russian forces closed in on a key city in recent days, the Ukrainian government said its fighters needed better rocket launchers to prevail. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Military analysts think Russia is hoping to overrun the Donbas before any weapons that might turn the tide arrive. She later became a key figure in the first impeachment proceedings against Trump. After Western-supplied arms helped Ukraine fend off Russian attempts to storm the capital, Moscow shifted its focus to seizing all of eastern Ukraine's industrial Donbas region. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice. A regional governor said Russian forces now control 80% of Sievierodonetsk, a city that is key to Moscow’s efforts to complete its capture of the Donbas. Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have fought in the eastern region for eight years, and the separatists held swaths of territory before the Russian invasion.

Russia's economy is falling apart and “time is working against Russia” and its president, Vladimir Putin, a top German officials said. Live updates.

As the U.S. has ramped up the flow of American-made weapons to Ukraine, the Kremlin has increasingly tried to frame its invasion as a proxy war between Washington and Moscow, although Biden has repeatedly said he would not send American troops to fight in the conflict. Russia will need at least a short tactical pause to re-set for opposed river crossings," the assessment says. A Turkish defense contractor responded to a Lithuanians fund drive aimed at buying a drone for Ukraine by saying it will donate the drone. "Unfortunately, no negotiations are on the horizon.” Read more here. "But if the person who wants to destroy any freedom in Ukraine and Europe prevails, there will be a dark time for everyone on the continent.'' The Biden administration announced a new round of sanctions Thursday against top Russian oligarchs. "No one wants to invest in Russia anymore.” Help for the Ukrainians in on the way. "Do not work for the occupiers. Since invading Ukraine more than three months ago, Russia has secured modest gains in its battle for control of the eastern Donbas region. "We can only be ashamed that we haven’t yet managed to reduce this dependence more significantly,” said Habeck, who is also Germany's economy minister. ►Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said Thursday that he expects Denmark to join the European Union’s common defense on July 1.

English News and Press Release on Ukraine about Food and Nutrition, Health and more; published on 3 Jun 2022 by IOM.

Spare rooms on one of the floors were turned into a kindergarten and dorm rooms have become homes for people fleeing the war. The provision of psychosocial support – primary care, individual or group counselling and training – remains a key concern. Spring of Hope, one of IOM’s long-term NGO partners, highlights the importance of socioeconomic support for internally displaced persons for their successful integration in host communities. After days of repeatedly climbing up and down the stairs from their 10th floor apartment to the shelter in the building’s basement, the elderly couple packed a few belongings and fled with their dogs to safer locations in western Ukraine. The people in Ukraine are exhausted, scared, and lost without clear plans for their future. From here, Natalia, Tamara and Tymofii have nowhere to go and their need for long-term housing will increase as the war drags on.

How the Russian invasion has unfolded, from the desperate fight for Mariupol to economic turmoil around the world.

“We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine,” Austin says. “We are in total geopolitical isolation and the whole world is against us, even if we don’t want to admit it,” Mikhail Khodaryonok tells a dumbstruck panel show. It has become the very “anti-Russia” the war was supposed to extinguish. It is accompanied by photographs and video footage documenting the streets of Bucha, a satellite city on the outskirts of the capital. There is “no real centre of gravity, five to six different axes of advance”, says Michael Kofman, a specialist in the Russian armed forces. Speaking in Poland after a surprise visit to Kyiv, Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, is asked if Washington’s goals in Ukraine have changed since the beginning of the war. Russian forces are uncoordinated, unable to take control of the airspace and running out of fuel and food. Zelenskiy is still alive and in control of the government. There is a feeling of doom in Kyiv and around the world. He cycles the camera to each face – “The leader of the party is here. Roads to the west of the country are choked with traffic and more than 300,000 Ukrainians have already fled the country. Kyrylo Demchenko, a history student from Dnipro, joins the rush of young men signing contracts to enlist in the Ukrainian army.

Ukraine's Zelensky called areas under Russian control a "zone of total catastrophe" and said the military situation in Severodonetsk was dire.

The weapons: Ukraine is making use of weapons such as Javelin antitank missiles and Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, provided by the United States and other allies. The fight: A slowly regenerating Russian army is making incremental gains in eastern Ukraine against valiant but underequipped Ukrainian forces. No one believed it was going to impact the world the way it did.” Severodonetsk: Zelensky said Thursday night that the Ukrainian military had “some success” fighting against Russian troops for control of this embattled eastern city, which appears to be mainly in Moscow’s hands. The Russian navy effectively controls all traffic in the northern third of the Black Sea, according to U.S. intelligence assessments. Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions: “Absolutely senseless shelling” persists near Ukraine’s northern border regions, Zelensky said, adding that some strikes were coming from Russian territory. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that Ukraine faced a “war of attrition” and that the West needed to make its support sustainable. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the military situation in the city was dire and called the 20 percent of Ukraine under Russian occupation a “zone of total catastrophe.” He also condemned the continued shelling of Ukraine’s northern regions from across the Russian border. Russia would control the Luhansk region if it captures Severodonetsk as well as a city just to its south, according to the latest assessment from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). A Kremlin readout of the conversation, however, did not go as far. He also said Ukraine, which laid floating mines to stave off attacks, must demine the Black Sea ports. He described the actions as lawful, but declined to elaborate further, Sky News reported.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com · Zelenskiy says war faces 'inflection point' · Russia's artillery pounding eastern Ukraine · U.S. missile ...

Russia says it is engaged in a "special military operation" to disarm Ukraine and rid it of ultra-nationalists the Kremlin says threaten Russian security. Washington agreed to supply the HIMARS after receiving assurances from Kyiv that it would not use them to hit targets inside Russian territory. The weapons could also allow Ukraine to strike at supply lines deep behind enemy lines. "My sense is that the West made a big mistake. In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin appears intent on conveying the impression of business as usual, despite damaging international sanctions. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

The war in Ukraine has entered its 100th day, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admits that Russia now controls about 20% of the country. Mr Zelenskyy was ...

• 243 children have been killed in the war, 446 have been wounded and 139 are missing, Mr Zelenskyy said, adding that 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia Mr Zelenskyy was speaking to the parliament in Luxembourg when he said that the area controlled by Russia was larger than Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg combined, adding that "tens of thousands" of people have died in the war so far. "This is what it means, in fact, to characterise this war as full-scale, and this is why we are calling the world for their support," he said.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES. Since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Ukrainian forces have now put up a fierce 100-day defence against the ...

Zelensky said Russian troops control about one-fifth of his country, including the annexed Crimean peninsula and territory in the east held by Moscow-backed separatists since 2014 Russian forces relentlessly shell the port of Mariupol. MAY 16: Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffin of Volodymyr Losev, 38, during his funeral in Zorya Truda in the Odesa region. Taking the city would give Russia de-facto control over Lugansk, one of two regions that make up the Donbas, Ukraine's industrial heartland. This handout picture taken and released by the Ukrainian presidential press service. MAY 23: A mortar explodes next to the road leading to the city of Lysychansk in the eastern Ukranian region of Donbas APRIL 8: A rocket attack on a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed dozens APRIL 6: A cyclist passes by a destroyed building in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv MARCH 25: A man flees with his belongings as fire engulfs a vehicle and building following artillery fire on the 30th day on the invasion of the Ukraine by Russian forces in the northeastern city of Kharkiv MARCH 26: A view of the destruction of the city of besieged Mariupol FEBRUARY 26: Smoke rises from a Russian tank destroyed by the Ukrainian forces on the side of a road in Lugansk region FEBRUARY 26: Damage to the upper floors of a building in Kyiv is seen after a Russian missile struck in the early hours

Ukraine invasion was met with sanctions, expansion of NATO, and a bifurcation of the global financial and trade system.

May 26: Russian forces continue a slow encirclement of Severdonetsk, and are reportedly in possession of the northeastern portion of the city. May 31: Russian forces occupy the centre of Severdonetsk as Ukrainian troops make a tactical retreat. The enemy is storming the positions of our troops in several directions simultaneously”. The system will come with radar that helps target enemy artillery. May 30: After some hesitation, Biden decides to send “ more advanced rocket systems” to Ukraine to enable greater precision artillery strikes. March 11: The EU issues the Versailles Declaration, calling on member states to strengthen defence spending, investment, research and co-ordination. April 7: Ukrainian authorities say Russia fired a cluster munition into a railway station packed with thousands of evacuees, killing at least 52. Total EU aid has since risen to 4.5bn euros ($4.8bn). Ukraine applies to join the EU, which bans transactions with Russia’s central bank. February 22: The Russian parliament authorises Putin to use military force. Russian forces surround Mariupol. “This is the first time in history that the EU will be providing lethal equipment to a third country,” the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says. February 28: The EU approves a 500 million euro ($537m) support package for the Ukrainian military.

The initial shockwaves that followed Vladimir Putin's declaration of war on 24 February – described as a “special military operation” by the Russian president – ...

It suffered the worst of the Russian bombardment and was under constant siege for nearly three months, during which time an estimated 21,000 civilians are believed to have been killed. 21 May: Russia declares it is in full control of Mariupol after Ukraine orders troops holding out for weeks in the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works to lay down their arms. And although fighting remains centred in the east, the west of the country has yet to escape the shadow of war – indeed, rail lines in the Lviv region were yesterday struck by Russian missiles. An estimated 4,000 had gathered at the station on the morning of 8 April, desperate to flee the region as Russian troops slowly advanced across the country’s east. Some of the bags have split, with legs and arms protruding. A further 350 people are believed to have died during the Kremlin’s month-long occupation of the town. “These days every sandpit, cratered park and communal garden wedged between the bombed-out ribcages of buildings in the port city has become a makeshift cemetery,” she writes. Apartment blocks, bridges, and schools in the capital are all destroyed by air missiles, pointing to the indiscriminate nature of Putin’s war machine. Reports also emerge of the possible deployment of Russia’s Spetsnaz troops, charged with infiltrating Kyiv and “hunting” government officials. The Kremlin claims, with no evidence provided, that it has been targeted because it was being used as a base by the Ukrainian military. The world must act and stop Putin. It is time to act – immediately.” Given the slow advance of Moscow’s troops, officials fear the war could grind on to the end of the year.

President Joe Biden decision on whether he's going to arm Kyiv in its fight against Moscow is taking too long.

A bigger issue is that, for al l Biden’s vow to help Ukraine “fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table” (a troubling hint-hint), the Pentagon says it’ll at take least three weeks to get the advanced systems (and troops trained to use them) onto the battlefield. In his New York Times oped this week, Biden said he “will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.” The prez also insisted on Ukraine’s promise to use the weapons only to defend the country, not on targets within Russia. That didn’t stop Moscow from making noises about “widening the war,” but ominous threats are a Kremlin specialty.

Infused with magic and black humour, these fables of women affected by Russian aggression have accrued an unsettling timeliness.

The woman hints to the narrator that it’s related to a secret she has, but this secret is never shared. In many of the stories, the characters’ irrational beliefs and claimed powers appear to be the products of war-related trauma. In A Needle in a Nightshirt, the flawless heroine leaves a deadly object in the breast of a nightshirt that seems fated to bring disaster. The heroine of The Florist seems to be set up as the protagonist of a romance, only to vanish from the plot halfway through. Mordant, funny, weird and surprising, few of the stories are more than a couple of pages long. “Once upon a time there lived a woman who was kind, appealing and pleasant in every respect,” is the opening of A Needle in a Nightshirt. In The Woman Who Caught Babies in a Mitt we meet a witchy midwife who terrorises Kharkiv with her spells.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded heavier weapons to counter Russia's artillery. Germany and the US have also pledged long-range weapon ...

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has confirmed the delivery of an unspecified number of M270 launchers Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has confirmed the delivery of an unspecified number of M270 launchers. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded heavier weapons to counter Russia’s artillery.

Russian forces now occupy about 20% of Ukraine's territory as Zelenskiy notes 'some success' in battles at Sievierodonetsk.

“Pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings is carried out by investigators of … the national police of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s prosecutor general said in a statement on Thursday. Pro-Russian officials in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine said a decree had been issued to “nationalise” state assets in the south-eastern region. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said it is in the EU’s strategic interest but also “our moral duty” to make it possible forUkraineto join the 30-nation bloc. Many cities are facing a powerful Russian attack,” he said in his latest nationaladdress. Oleksandr Zaika, head of the Lysychansk City military-civil administration, said 20,000 people were left in the city, down from a pre-war population of 97,000. Russian forces currently occupy about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address to the Luxembourg parliament.

Now, the strident talk shows that dominate the schedules say repeatedly that Moscow faces a Third World War with the West. BBC Monitoring looks at how coverage ...

And Moscow has released scant information about casualties among its forces and allies, and given no accounting of civilian deaths in areas under its control.

The African Development Bank has reported a 45% increase in continental prices for the grain, affecting everything from Mauritanian couscous to the fried donuts sold in Congo. And the Russian Central Bank said last week that annualized inflation came in at 17.8 percent in April. And we know what is needed the most: An end to this war.” This war has no winner,” he told reporters in Geneva via video from Kyiv on Friday. “Today we mark a tragic milestone. In some places — such as the long-besieged city of Mariupol, potentially the war's biggest killing field — Russian forces are accused of trying to cover up deaths and dumping bodies into mass graves, clouding the overall toll. Zelenskyy accused Russia this week of stealing at least a half-million tons of grain during the invasion. Developing countries are being squeezed particularly hard by higher costs of food, fuel and financing. It blames a backlog of shipments on Russian blockades or capture of key ports. Evgeny Gontmakher, academic director of European Dialogue, wrote in a paper this week that Russia currently faces over 5,000 targeted sanctions, more than any other country. Those images tell just a part of the overall picture of Europe's worst armed conflict in decades. That's down from over 8 million in an earlier count. In Mariupol alone, officials have reported over 21,000 civilian dead.