Tag: conflict

European leaders show ‘unity’ in face of Russia’s war

by Max DELANY and Jan FLEMR Agence France-Presse PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) — Leaders from across Europe met Thursday in Prague for the inaugural summit of a new forum aimed at bringing the continent together in the face of Russia’s aggression, with Ukraine’s president urging more support for Kyiv. The first gathering of the “European Political Community” at the grand Prague Castle complex brought together a disparate grouping of 44 nations from the Caucasus in […]

Nuclear ‘Armageddon’ threat back for first time since Cold War: Biden

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden said Thursday the world risks nuclear “Armageddon” for the first time since the Cold War and that he is trying to find Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “off-ramp” in the Ukraine conflict. “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis” in 1962, Biden said at a Democratic party fundraising event in New York. Putin is “not joking” when he […]

Russians land in Alaska, seek asylum: US authorities

  Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Two Russians who landed in a remote part of rural Alaska are seeking asylum in the United States, politicians in the far northern state said Thursday. The pair landed just weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an unpopular mobilization of citizens in a bid to turn the tide on his faltering invasion of Ukraine. “Two Russian nationals landed at a beach near Gambell, located on the […]

Putin says war to ‘stabilize’, Ukraine presses counterattack

by Emmanuel PEUCHOT and Dave CLARK in Lyman Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he expected the situation to “stabilize” in Ukrainian regions annexed by the Kremlin after Moscow suffered military setbacks and lost several key towns to Kyiv. He also ordered his government to seize control over Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in the Russian-controlled region of Zaporizhzhia, with IAEA head Rafael Grossi en route to Kyiv […]

US boosts arms aid as Ukraine expands battle gains

by Joris FIORITI with Dmytro GORSHKOV in Kyiv Agence France-Presse KRYVYI RIG, Ukraine (AFP) — The United States announced more weapons for Ukraine’s army as it claimed sweeping gains along two major battlefronts in an offensive rush to beat the arrival of fresh Russian troops and the looming winter. The White House said it was shipping four more Himars precision rocket launchers, 32 artillery pieces, 75,000 artillery rounds and 200,000 rounds of small arms ammunition […]

Russia space agency seeking to extend ISS participation past 2024: official

Washington, United States (AFP) Russia’s space agency is discussing with Moscow a continuation of its participation in the International Space Station past 2024, a Roscosmos official said Monday. Sergei Krikalev, head of Russia’s human space flight programs, told reporters that Roscosmos had started “to discuss extending our participation in ISS program with our government and hope to have permission to continue next year.” With ties between Russia and the West rupturing over the war in […]

Pres. Putin annexes Ukraine territories, Kyiv vows to fight back

Moscow, Russia (AFP ) ADDS Russia vetos UNSC resolution; US national security advisor quotes Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday annexed four parts of Ukraine occupied by his army, staging a grand ceremony in Moscow as Kyiv vowed to battle on and pushed for expedited NATO membership. The event at the Kremlin — a turning point in post-Soviet history — came hours after shelling killed 30 people in Ukraine’s southern region of Zaporizhzhia in one […]

Pres. Putin recognizes independence of two Ukraine regions

  Moscow, Russia (AFP) Russian President Vladimir Putin has recognised the independence of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, according to presidential decrees issued late Thursday, on the eve of Russia finalising their annexation. “I order the recognition of the state sovereignty and independence” of the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, located in southern Ukraine, Putin said in the decrees, as Russia prepares to formalise the annexation of the two regions, along with Donetsk and Lugansk […]

Four Palestinians killed in Israeli raid on Jenin

by Guillaume LAVALLÉE Agence France-Press JENIN, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — An Israeli raid targeting alleged militants in a West Bank flashpoint killed four Palestinians on Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, including the brother of a man blamed for a deadly attack in Tel Aviv. The violence was the latest to hit Jenin, in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, an area that has seen near daily clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen […]

Russian strikes cut power in much of Ukraine’s Kharkiv

Kharkiv, Ukraine | AFP | by Dave CLARK Russia fired a salvo of missiles at Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv overnight, officials said on Wednesday, hitting a railway yard and knocking out power to more than 18,000 households. Kharkiv governor Oleg Synegubov said Russian forces had fired S-300 missiles, an anti-aircraft weapon now often re-purposed to hit civilian targets in Ukrainian cities. The Kharkiv regional emergency service said the blasts, which were audible in the city […]

Kremlin proxies claim victory in ‘sham’ annexation votes

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Kremlin-installed authorities in four Ukrainian regions under Russian control claimed victory Tuesday in annexation votes, drawing global outrage, as Moscow warned it could use nuclear weapons to defend the territories. Ukraine and its allies have denounced the so-called referendums as a sham, saying the West would never recognize the results of the ballots that have dramatically ratcheted up the stakes of Russia’s seven-month invasion. Pro-Russian authorities in Zaporizhzhia said 93.11 percent […]

Moscow says will not seek extradition of Russians fleeing draft

  Moscow, Russia (AFP) Moscow said Tuesday it will not request the extradition of Russians travelling abroad to avoid being called-up to fight in Ukraine, after thousands of military-aged men crossed into neighbouring countries. “The Russian ministry of defence has not sent any request to the authorities of Kazakhstan, Georgia, or any other country for the alleged forced return to Russian soil of Russian citizens, and it is not planning to do so,” the ministry […]