Tag: Russia

‘Crime not to help’: South Korean ex-SEAL has no Ukraine regrets

by Cat Barton and Kang Jin-kyu Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A former South Korean Navy SEAL turned YouTuber who risked jail time to leave Seoul and fight for Ukraine says it would have been a “crime” not to use his skills to help. Ken Rhee, an ex-special warfare officer, signed up at the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul the moment President Volodymyr Zelensky asked for global volunteers and was fighting on the front […]

Zelensky to press G7 for more help as war rages

  by Michelle Fitzpatrick with Blaise Gauquelin in Kyiv Agence France-Presse ELMAU CASTLE, Germany (AFP) — President Volodymyr Zelensky will urge world powers to step up their support for Ukraine when he addresses the G7 summit on Monday, as Kyiv reels from the first Russian strikes on the capital in weeks. US President Joe Biden and his counterparts from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies, meeting in the Bavarian Alps, have stressed their unity in […]

Biden says G7, NATO must ‘stay together’ against Russia’s war

  ELMAU CASTLE, Germany (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Sunday praised Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his leadership in the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine and urged the West to stay united. “We have to stay together,” Biden told Scholz at a meeting ahead of the G7 summit in the German Alps. Russian President Vladimir Putin had been hoping “that somehow NATO and the G7 would splinter,” Biden said. “But we haven’t […]

Indonesian president to visit Kyiv, Moscow this month: minister

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian President and G20 chair Joko Widodo will visit the leaders of Ukraine and Russia this month to discuss the economic and humanitarian fallout of Moscow’s invasion, his foreign minister said on Wednesday. The summit of the Group of 20 major economies — which will be held on the Indonesian island of Bali in November — has been shrouded in controversy thanks to Jakarta’s decision to invite Russia despite alleged war […]

Ukraine forces to retreat from battleground city: governor

KYIV, Ukraine, June 24, 2022 (AFP) by Benoit Finck with Anna Malpas in Donbas and Christian Spillman in Brussels Ukrainian forces will retreat from Severodonetsk in the face of a brutal Russian offensive that is reducing the battleground eastern city to rubble, a senior Ukrainian official said Friday. The news came shortly after the European Union made a strong show of support for Ukraine, granting the former Soviet republic candidate status, although there is still […]

Germany raises gas alert level after Russia dwindles supply

  FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — Germany said Thursday it would raise the alert level under its emergency gas plan to secure supply following the recent reduction of pipeline supplies from Russia. “Gas is now a scarce commodity in Germany,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck told reporters. Triggering phase two brings Germany a step closer to the third and final stage that could see gas rationing in Europe’s top economy. Russia was using gas “as a weapon” […]

Russian gas threat revives German nuclear power debate

  FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — Germany should extend the lifetime of its nuclear plants to avoid an “extreme scenario” in which a Russian gas stop could wipe 12 percent off the economy, a government advisor said Thursday. Prolonging the operational lifetime of Germany’s remaining reactors could “create some breathing space”, Veronika Grimm, a member of the government’s council of economic advisors, told the Funke media group. Germany turned its back on nuclear energy following the […]

EU debates Ukraine candidacy as Russia makes life ‘hell’ in east

by Benoit Finck, with Anna Malpas in the Donbas Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP)  — EU leaders will gather in Brussels Thursday to discuss calls to formally grant war-torn Ukraine “candidate status” to join the bloc, as Russian forces slowly advance in the eastern Donbas region despite fierce resistance from Kyiv’s military. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had been conducting a “telephone marathon” on his country’s behalf in the run-up to the meeting, making […]

Turkish ship leaves Ukraine’s Mariupol after grain talks with Moscow

ISTANBUL, June 22, 2022 (AFP) – A Turkish cargo ship on Wednesday left Ukraine’s Russian-occupied port of Mariupol after a round of “constructive” grain talks with Moscow, Turkey’s defence ministry said, without specifying if it was carrying wheat. “The meeting in Moscow gave its first concrete result,” the Turkish ministry said in a statement. “Just a few hours after the end of the long meeting, the Turkish dry cargo ship, which had been waiting for […]

Russian oil refinery says hit by Ukraine drone strike

MOSCOW, June 22, 2022 (AFP) – An oil refinery in southern Russia said Wednesday it was struck by a drone attack from Ukraine, starting a fire at the plant and forcing it to suspend operations. The Novoshakhtinsk refinery is located in Russia’s Rostov region, a few kilometres from the border with Ukraine’s separatist region of Lugansk. “As a result of terrorist actions from the western border of the Rostov region, two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) […]

Key Ukrainian city under ‘massive’ Russian bombardment

KYIV, Ukraine, June 22, 2022 (AFP) –  by Benoit Finck, with Anna Malpas in the Donbas Ukrainian forces are facing “massive” and relentless artillery attacks in a battleground eastern city, Kyiv warned, as Russian troops gained ground throughout the Donbas region. Moscow’s troops have been pummelling eastern Ukraine for weeks and are slowly advancing, despite fierce resistance from the outgunned Ukrainian military. With President Vladimir Putin’s forces tightening their grip on the strategically important city […]

US embassy in Moscow gets new address, named after Ukraine separatists

MOSCOW, June 22, 2022 (AFP) – Authorities in Moscow said on Wednesday that they have changed the official address of the US embassy building in the Russian capital to one named after pro-Kremlin separatists in Ukraine. “The United States embassy in Russia has a new official address,” Moscow city hall said in a statement, saying it had named a previously unnamed open area in front of the embassy’s main entrance. It said the embassy is […]