KYIV, Ukraine, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the western region of Lviv came under a “massive” Russian air attack early Sunday, officials said, and Polish forces were also placed on heightened readiness. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with Sunday’s strikes also coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske west of Bakhmut. A militant attack […]
Tag: conflict
President Putin vows retribution for deadly concert hall attack
MOSCOW, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to punish those behind the “barbaric terrorist attack” on a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 130, saying four gunmen trying to flee to Ukraine had been arrested. Kyiv has strongly denied any connection, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Putin of trying to shift the blame onto them. Putin, in his first public remarks on the attack, made no reference to a […]
Gun attack at Moscow concert leaves more than 60 dead
KRASNOGORSK, Russia, March 23, 2024 (AFP) – Gunmen who opened fire at a Moscow concert hall killed more than 60 people and wounded over 100 while sparking an inferno, authorities said Saturday, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. Attackers dressed in camouflage uniforms entered the building on Friday, opened fire and threw a grenade or incendiary bomb, according to a journalist for the RIA Novosti news agency at the scene. Fire quickly spread through […]
BREAKING: ‘Brutal’ Russia strikes show Ukraine aid needs: White House
WASHINGTON, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – The White House condemned Russia’s massive wave of attacks on Ukraine on Friday, saying Republicans in Congress must end the “inexcusable” blocking of military aid to Kyiv. “We condemn Russia’s brutal strikes overnight against Ukraine’s cities and civilian infrastructure,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. She said Ukraine had reported that it was the “largest series of air strikes Russia has launched against Ukraine’s energy […]
UPDATE: Russian missiles cause ‘significant damage’ to Ukraine’s largest hydro plant
KYIV, Ukraine, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Eight Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric power plant in the early hours of Friday, causing “significant damage” to the facility, the office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General said. Moscow launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Ukrainian energy facilities overnight, one of the largest aerial attacks of the two-year war. The Dnipro Hydroelectric Station “was hit eight times,” said Yury Belousov, head of the Prosecutor General’s war […]
Russia admits ‘state of war’ amid massive strikes on Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Russia admitted two years into its invasion of Ukraine on Friday that it was “in a state of war,” as it launched a massive wave of missile and drone attacks on its neighbour’s territory. Russia fired almost 90 missiles and more than 60 Iranian-designed kamikaze drones, damaging dozens of energy facilities including power stations, in what Ukrainian officials said was an attempt to cripple the country’s electricity and […]
UPDATE: Russia, China veto US Security Council bid on Gaza ‘ceasefire’
UNITED NATIONS, United States, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Russia and China on Friday vetoed a US-led draft resolution at the Security Council on a ceasefire in Gaza, with Moscow accusing Washington of a “hypocritical spectacle” that does not pressure Israel. The United States, Israel’s main ally which has vetoed previous ceasefire calls, put forward the resolution which for the first time would have supported “the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire” and condemned […]
Sudan among ‘worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory’: UN
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – After nearly a year of war, Sudan is suffering one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, the United Nations warned Wednesday, slamming the international community for its lack of action. Fighting between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has since April killed tens of thousands and led to acute food shortages and a looming risk of famine. “By all measures — […]
EU chief proposes raising tariffs on Russian grain
BRUSSELS, Belgium, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday Brussels was proposing raising tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain to protect Europe’s farmers and punish Moscow over its war on Ukraine. The announcement came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky complained to EU leaders that it was not fair Russian grain continued to have “unrestricted” access to their markets, while Ukrainian imports were being limited. “It will prevent Russian […]
Blinken embarks on Israel visit urging ‘prompt’ ceasefire in Gaza conflict
By Adel Zaanoun with Leon Bruneau in Cairo GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Israel Friday to press for a truce in Gaza, ahead of a key UN Security Council vote on a US draft resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire. Israel’s main backer the United States announced it would submit for a vote on Friday a draft to the Security Council on the need […]
Russia targets Kyiv after Putin vows revenge for border strikes
KYIV, Ukraine, March 21, 2024 (AFP) – Russia fired more than 30 missiles at Kyiv early Thursday, the largest attack on the Ukrainian capital in weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed retribution for strikes and incursions into Russia’s border regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to deliver air defence systems after the attacks, which wounded 17 in Kyiv and the surrounding region. A later missile strike on the southern city of […]
EU agrees to move ahead on using Russian assets for Ukraine
By Max DELANY BRUSSELS, Belgium, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – EU leaders on Thursday agreed to “take work forward” on a plan to use the profits from frozen Russian central bank assets to arm Ukraine, as Kyiv pleaded for more ammunition for its outgunned forces. More than two years into Moscow’s war against its neighbour, Kyiv’s troops are struggling to hold back the Russian army as Western deliveries of weapons have faltered. Meanwhile, Putin has […]





