Tag: conflict

Russia says military ties with China provide global ‘stability’

MOSCOW, June 9, 2023 (AFP) – Russian armed forces chief of staff Valery Gerasimov said on Friday his country’s strong military partnership with China provides stability around the world. Gerasimov, who is commander of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, made the remark during a videoconference with his Chinese counterpart, Liu Zhenli. “The coordination of Russian and Chinese efforts on the international stage has a stabilising effect on the global situation,” Gerasimov told Liu, according to […]

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Fighting in southern Ukraine as offensive expectations build

MOSCOW, June 9, 2023 (AFP) – Fighting raged Friday in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, a Russian official said, with observers seeing the combat as the possible start of Kyiv’s long-expected offensive. Ukraine has not offered any confirmation but expectations have built for months over when its forces, bolstered with Western weapons and training, would launch a counter-offensive in a bid to reclaim land occupied by Russian forces. The fighting comes as the humanitarian and environmental […]

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Developing story: Drone hits residential building in Russian city of Voronezh: governor

  MOSCOW, June 9, 2023 (AFP) – A drone hit a residential building in Russia’s southern city of Voronezh Friday injuring two people, the local governor said. Drone attacks have hit Russian cities — including the capital Moscow — often in recent months as Kyiv says it is preparing for a major counteroffensive. Friday’s attack was the first in Voronezh, a city of some one million people that lies in a region deeper inside Russia […]

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Zelensky ‘in shock’ over lack of aid for dam disaster

BERLIN, Germany (AF)) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday expressed dismay at a lack of help from the UN and Red Cross with the fallout from the destruction of the Russian-occupied Kakhovka dam. “They are not there,” Zelensky said in English in an interview with Germany’s Bild daily, adding that he was “in shock because I think they are the forces who have to be there to save people’s lives”. The destruction of the […]

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Ukraine evacuates thousands after key dam destroyed

KHERSON, Ukraine, June 6, 2023 (AFP) — An attack on a major Russian-held dam in southern Ukraine on Tuesday unleashed a torrent of water that flooded two dozen villages and forced the evacuation of 17,000 people, sparking fears of a humanitarian disaster. Washington warned there would be “likely many deaths” as Moscow and Kyiv traded blame for ripping a gaping hole in the Kakhovka dam, which is located on the frontline and provides cooling water […]

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Ukraine dam partially destroyed

KYIV, Ukraine, June 6, 2023 (AFP) — The Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in southern Ukraine was partially destroyed on Tuesday, with Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of being responsible. News of rising water levels were noted in several areas near the dam as expectations built over Ukraine’s long-awaited offensive against Russian forces. “Kakhovka hydroelectric plant. Another war crime committed by Russian terrorists. The president has convened the National Security Council,” the Ukrainian president’s chief of […]

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Zelensky hails advances as Russia says offensive repelled

KYIV, Ukraine, June 6, 2023 (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday praised his troops for advances claimed near the devastated city of Bakhmut, while Russia said it had repelled a large-scale attack. The contrasting claims came as Pope Francis’s peace envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, arrived in Kyiv for two days of talks. “Well done, warriors! We see how hysterically Russia reacts to any step we take there, all positions we take. The […]

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Russia says repelled ‘large-scale’ Ukraine offensive in Donetsk

    MOSCOW, June 5, 2023 (AFP) — Russia said Monday it had repelled “a large-scale offensive” by Ukrainian forces in Moscow-annexed Donetsk, as fighting intensified along their border. Kyiv has for months said it is preparing a major counteroffensive, hoping to reclaim territory lost since Russia launched its military operation in February 2022. Its army said recently there would be no announcement on the start of the manoeuvres. Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported that […]

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Russian border region residents flee as shelling kills four

BELGOROD, Russia, June 2, 2023 (AFP) – Four civilians were killed on Friday in shelling on Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, a local official said, while Moscow’s forces attacked Kyiv for a sixth day in a row. Over the past few days, thousands of residents have fled villages near Russia’s southwestern border as shelling has intensified. Residents from the town of Shebekino, which has been hard hit, have poured into the region’s main city, also […]

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Russia says repels attack on border as three killed in Kyiv

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Moscow said Thursday it thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to penetrate its southwestern border as it pounded Kyiv with missiles, killing three including a child. The Ukrainian capital has faced nearly nightly air raids in May, and an unusual daytime attack on Monday that sent residents running for shelter. As Kyiv deployed its air defenses against a fresh volley of Russian missiles, Moscow said it pushed back an attempt by Ukrainian troops […]

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Two wounded after drone hits Russian city near Ukraine: governor

MOSCOW, June 1, 2023 (AFP) – Two people were wounded on Thursday when a drone hit Russia’s southwestern city of Belgorod near Ukraine, regional officials said. “An unknown device exploded in Belgorod,” regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. “According to preliminary data, a UAV fell onto a road,” he said, referring to an unmanned aerial vehicle. The governor said two men were injured and one of them was hospitalised with a suspected concussion. Belgorod […]

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US imposes economic, visa sanctions over violence in Sudan

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2023 (AFP) – The White House on Thursday announced economic and visa sanctions against Sudanese leaders responsible for breaking a ceasefire and provoking “appalling” bloodshed. “We are following through by levying economic sanctions, imposing visa restrictions against actors who are perpetuating the violence,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement. “Despite a ceasefire agreement, senseless violence has continued across the country — hindering the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and hurting […]

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