Tag: conflict

Scholz urges Putin to withdraw troops for ‘diplomatic’ end to war

  Berlin, Germany (AFP) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday pressed Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to seek a diplomatic solution to end his war in Ukraine, including troop withdrawals, Berlin said following a call between the two. “The chancellor urged the Russian president to come as quickly as possible to a diplomatic solution including the withdrawal of Russian troops,” according to the German leader’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. During the one-hour call, Scholz “condemned in particular […]

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Kremlin rejects Biden terms for Ukraine talks

  Moscow, Russia (AFP) The Kremlin on Friday rejected US President Joe Biden’s terms for Ukraine talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying Moscow’s offensive will continue. “What did President Biden say in fact? He said that negotiations are possible only after Putin leaves Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding Moscow was “certainly” not ready to accept those conditions. “The special military operation is continuing,” Peskov said, using the Kremlin term for the […]

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EU cap on Russian oil price on hold as Poland urges lower price

  Bruxelles, Belgium (AFP) by Daniel ARONSSOHN The West’s plan to starve Russia of resources to fight its war in Ukraine by imposing a price cap on its oil exports hit a diplomatic logjam in Brussels on Friday. Poland does not think the $60 a barrel ceiling is low enough and has refused to back the plan, preventing the European Union from adopting the measure. On Thursday evening several European diplomats said the other 26 […]

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Up to 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russian invasion: Zelensky aide

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — As many as 13,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since Russia’s invasion in February, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. “We have official estimates from the General Staff… And they range from 10,000 … to 13,000 dead,” Mykhailo Podolyak told Ukraine’s Channel 24 on Thursday. Zelensky would make the official data public “when the right moment comes”, he added. In June, as Russian forces battled to take full […]

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Islamic State group announces death of leader

Beirut, Lebanon (AFP) The Islamic State jihadist group said Wednesday that its leader Abu Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi has been killed in battle and announced a replacement to head up its remaining sleeper cells. A spokesman for IS said Hashimi, an Iraqi, was killed “in combat with enemies of God”, without elaborating on the date or circumstances of his death. The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said Hashimi had been killed in an operation carried out by […]

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Russia, declared ‘terror’ state by EU lawmakers, batters Ukraine grid

by Ania TSOUKANOVA with Max DELANY in Strasbourg Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP)  — Fresh Russian strikes battered Ukraine’s already failing electricity grid, causing blackouts across the war-torn nation and in neighboring Moldova, in attacks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN were “an obvious crime against humanity”. The Ukrainian energy system has been left in tatters and millions have been subjected to long periods without electricity after weeks of Russian bombardments, with the World […]

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Teen killed in twin Jerusalem bus stop bombings

Jerusalem, Undefined (AFP) by Michael Blum An Israeli-Canadian teen was killed and 14 people were wounded Wednesday as the first bombings in Jerusalem in years hit two bus stops, with Palestinian militant group Hamas cheering the unclaimed attacks. A search was underway for suspects who targeted an area frequented by ultra-Orthodox Jews at the city’s western exit, as violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict flares and while Israeli politicians discuss the make-up of a coalition government. […]

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Russia calls on Turkey to show ‘restraint’ in Syria

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AFP) — Russia on Tuesday said it hoped Turkey would exercise “restraint” and refrain from “any excessive use of force” in Syria, where Ankara has carried out air strikes and is threatening to launch a ground offensive against Kurdish fighters. “We hope to convince our Turkish colleagues to refrain from resorting to excessive use of force on Syrian territory” to “avoid the escalation of tensions”, Alexander Lavrentyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy […]

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Zelensky says over 10 mn Ukrainians without electricity

Kyiv, Ukraine | AFP | President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that millions of Ukrainians had no electricity, as fresh Russian strikes hit cities across Ukraine and crippled the country’s energy infrastructure. “Currently, more than 10 million Ukrainians are without electricity,” he said, adding that the regions of Odessa, Vinnytsia, Sumy and Kyiv were most affected. “We are doing everything to normalise the supply,” Zelensky added. Ukraine has faced strikes against its power grid following battlefield […]

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Banksy unveils Ukraine mural in town bombed by Russia

Borodyanka, Ukraine (AFP) Banksy, the elusive British street artist, has painted a mural on a bombed-out building outside Ukraine’s capital, in what Ukrainians have hailed as a symbol of their country’s invincibility. On Friday night the world-famous graffiti artist posted on Instagram three images of the artwork — a gymnast performing a handstand amid the ruins of a demolished building in the town of Borodyanka northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. The caption read “Borodyanka, Ukraine”. […]

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New wave of Russian strikes batter Ukraine grid as first snow falls

by Ania TSOUKANOVA Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Fresh Russian strikes hit cities across Ukraine on Thursday, crippling the country’s energy infrastructure and plunging millions into darkness as winter sets in and temperatures drop. Repeated barrages have disrupted electricity and water supplies across Ukraine, but the Kremlin blamed civilians’ suffering on Kyiv’s refusal to negotiate, rather than on Russian attacks. AFP journalists in several Ukrainian cities said the latest assault coincided with the season’s […]

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Russia accuses Ukraine of Poland missile blast

© Agence France-Presse Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of a deadly blast in Poland, with Belgium saying it was probably caused by Kyiv’s air defences firing at Moscow’s incoming missiles. The explosion in a farm building on Tuesday killed two people, leaving the village of Przewodow in shock and sparking international concern over a possible further escalation of the conflict. Ambassadors from members of the NATO military alliance went into emergency talks in Brussels after […]

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