ODESSA, Ukraine (AFP) — A Russian warship in the Black Sea was “seriously damaged” by an ammunition explosion, Russian state media said Thursday. “As a result of a fire, ammunition detonated on the Moskva missile cruiser. The ship was seriously damaged,” the Russian defense ministry was quoted as saying, adding that the cause of the fire was being determined and that the crew had been evacuated. Earlier, the governor of Odessa said that Ukrainian forces […]
Tag: conflict
Scholz ‘irritated’ by Kyiv’s snub to German president
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday he was “irritated” by Kyiv’s rejection of a proposed visit by Germany’s president, a snub that has ruffled diplomatic feathers at a time when the war-hit nation is seeking more weapons from Berlin. The Ukrainian presidency has instead said it wants to welcome Scholz to Kyiv, but the chancellor indicated he had no plans to visit anytime soon. Asked by RBB public radio when he would […]
UK probing claims of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain is trying to verify reports that Russia has used chemical weapons in an attack on the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, London’s top diplomat said on Monday. Western officials have previously expressed concerns that Russia, finding its February 24 invasion of its neighbor grinding into a protracted conflict, could resort to more extreme measures, including chemical weapons. “Reports that Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack […]
France sends police officers to Ukraine to probe Russian ‘war crimes’
KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — French police officers arrived in Ukraine on Monday to help the country investigate alleged Russian war crimes after hundreds of civilian bodies were discovered in towns around Kyiv, the French ambassador to Ukraine said. “Proud to welcome to Lviv the detachment of technical and scientific gendarmes who came to assist their comrades in investigations of war crimes committed near Kyiv,” Etienne de Poncins said on Twitter. “France is the first […]
Two bodies discovered in manhole outside Kyiv: AFP
At least two bodies were discovered inside a manhole at a petrol station on a motorway outside Kyiv on Sunday, an AFP reporter saw. The bodies appeared to be wearing civilian clothing. AFP saw police and military at the site, using a tanker to suck water from inside the manhole. There appeared to be two bodies inside, one under a sleeping mat. The bodies were discovered on a motorway west of Kyiv, near the village […]
Finland gears up for historic NATO decision
by Sam KINGSLEY Agence France Presse HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) — Finland is preparing for a potentially historic decision “before midsummer” on whether to apply to join NATO as a deterrent against Russian aggression. The Nordic nation of 5.5 million has traditionally been militarily non-aligned, in part to avoid provoking its eastern neighbour, with which it shares a 1,300 kilometre (830 mile) border. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 saw public support for […]
Civilians flee east Ukraine as Kyiv readies for ‘big battles’
by Herve BAR Agence France Presse Ukraine is preparing for “big battles” against Moscow’s forces in the east of the country, officials in Kyiv said, as thousands of civilians flee in fear of an imminent Russian offensive. Evacuations resumed on Saturday from Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, where a missile strike killed 52 people at a railway station a day earlier, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the latest Western leader to visit Kyiv. Hailing […]
UK PM Johnson walks through empty Kyiv with Zelensky
KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson walked through the streets of Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a surprise visit Saturday, weeks after the city was attacked by Russian forces and remains vulnerable. Zelensky’s office published a video of the pair walking through the largely empty city centre guarded by what appeared to be snipers and other heavy security. They walked through Kyiv’s main Kreshchatyk street to the Maidan square, […]
Russia kicked off UN rights council over Ukraine abuses
by Hervé Bar, with Philippe Rater at the United Nations © Agence France-Presse SEVERODONETSK, Ukraine (AFP) — The United Nations suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council on Thursday, as US President Joe Biden called the atrocities continuing to emerge in Ukraine an “outrage” to humanity. The diplomatic rebuke came as the G7, the European Union and Washington further tightened the economic screws on Moscow, spurred by the horrific images emerging in recent days […]
Indonesia calls for ‘independent’ Bucha killings probe
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia called Thursday for an “independent” probe into the alleged massacre of Ukrainian civilians by Russian troops in the town of Bucha. The call follows an international outcry after Ukrainian officials said hundreds of civilians were found executed in areas where Russian soldiers have withdrawn around the capital Kyiv. The Southeast Asian country, which will chair the G20 summit on the resort island of Bali in November, declared its support […]
Civilians try to flee east Ukraine as Russia prepares attack
by Hervé Bar © Agence France-Presse SEVERODONETSK, Ukraine (AFP) — Desperate evacuation attempts from eastern Ukraine were under way Thursday as authorities warned of an imminent Russian offensive, following the devastation around Kyiv that has shocked the world. Russian troops have been withdrawing from around the capital and Ukraine’s north, leaving a trail of destruction, as they prepare for an expected assault on the country’s southeast. Scenes of carnage that Ukrainian officials have accused retreating […]
Ukraine calls for ‘weapons, weapons, weapons’ at NATO talks
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday called on NATO members to provide Kyiv with all the weaponry it needs to fight Russia. “My agenda is very simple. It has only three items on it. Its weapons, weapons, and weapons,” Kuleba told journalists ahead of a meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. “I call on all allies to put aside their hesitations, their reluctance, to provide Ukraine with everything it […]





