By Beiyi SEOW, Shaun TANDON WASHINGTON, Feb 23, 2024 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden announced sanctions against Russia Friday, on over 500 targets, to mark the second anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine while vowing sustained pressure to stop President Vladimir Putin’s “war machine.” The sanctions, described as the largest single tranche since the start of the war, also seek to impose a cost for the death last week in a Siberian prison of […]
Tag: Ukraine
Fears over Russia’s ‘ghost fleet’ bypassing oil sanctions
By Emeline BURCKEL LONDON, Feb 24, 2024 (AFP) – Two years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, prompting multiple rounds of Western sanctions, Moscow increasingly relies on a shadow fleet of ships to circumvent curbs on its oil exports. Experts say the so-called ghost fleet of tankers with opaque ownership or without proper insurance has allowed the Kremlin to keep exporting despite a Western-imposed embargo and oil price cap on its global sales. […]
US to level more sanctions as Russia claims fresh gains in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine, Feb 23, 2024 (AFP) – The United States plans to impose sanctions Friday on more than 500 targets involved in Russia’s war in Ukraine, as Moscow claims fresh battlefield advances two years after its invasion. Ukraine, grappling with hold-ups to much-needed Western military aid, has been pushed back from the front line in recent months. Already outgunned, Kyiv is rationing ammunition as political wrangling in Washington, Ukraine’s biggest ally, stalls a critically needed […]
Kyiv says Russia used N. Korean missiles in deadly attacks on Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine, Feb 22, 2024 (AFP) – The Ukrainian security service (SBU) said Thursday it had established that Russia had used North Korean missiles in several attacks that killed over 20 people. The United States had in January warned that North Korea was sending both ballistic missiles and launchers to Russia in what it called a concerning escalation of Pyongyang’s support to Moscow. “According to the investigation, Russian troops released more than 20 North Korean […]
Toll of war in Ukraine high, but just how much unknown
The human cost of the war in Ukraine, two years after the Russian invasion, is in the hundreds of thousands, but the exact toll is unknown, with both sides shrouding their losses in secrecy, and Russia covering up civilian deaths in areas it has conquered. – Civilian toll unknown – Official tolls of civilians killed since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, are unreliable as no independent count has been made […]
Ukraine on alert: Russia launches new attacks after Avdiivka capture
By Florent VERGNES in Donetsk Region, Ukraine, Victoria LUKOVENKO in Kyiv NOVOOLEKSANDRIVKA, DONETSK REGION, Ukraine, Feb 18, 2024 (AFP) – Russian troops launched multiple attacks to the west of recently captured Avdiivka in a bid to force more gains on the battlefield, a Ukrainian army spokesperson said Sunday. Kyiv also announced it had opened a war crimes investigation after two separate reports of Russian troops shooting captured Ukrainian soldiers emerged. Facing manpower and ammunition shortages, […]
Ukraine sends more troops to ‘extremely critical’ Avdiivka
KYIV, Ukraine, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Ukraine has sent more soldiers to the embattled eastern town of Avdiivka, an army unit said Thursday, describing the situation there as “extremely critical”. Russian forces have been storming the city in the eastern Donetsk region since last year and have it surrounded by three sides. “The Third Separate Assault Brigade confirms that it was urgently redeployed to strengthen Ukrainian troops in the Avdiivka area,” the brigade said […]
Ukraine drone attack leaves Russia oil depot in flames
MOSCOW, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – A night-time Ukrainian drone attack set ablaze a Russian oil depot in the Kursk region near the frontier between the two countries, Russian authorities said Thursday. Regional governor Roman Starovoit said on social media that there were no casualties, appealing to the local population to remain “calm”. “Following a Ukrainian drone attack in the Kursk region, fire has broken out in an oil depot,” Starovoit said on Telegram. Ukraine […]
Ukraine issues air alert after warning of incoming Russian bombers
KYIV, Ukraine, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Ukraine was under a nationwide air alert for over two hours on Thursday after the military warned that a group of bombers had taken off from a base in Russia. The Ukrainian air force reported that several Tu-95MS strategic bombers had left the Olenya airfield in Russia’s far north, prompting the alert to be issued. But it was lifted hours later, with the air force saying in a […]
Ukraine says destroyed Russian warship in Black Sea
Ukraine said Wednesday it had destroyed another Russian warship in the Black Sea, a key battleground of the nearly two-year war where Kyiv’s campaign has been building momentum. While the frontline on land has remained static for over a year, Ukraine claims to have put Russia on the defensive in the Black Sea, an area vital for Ukrainian exports. Its military said its forces together with military intelligence units had “destroyed” the “Caesar Kunikov” Russian […]
US House leader rejects Ukraine aid despite Biden’s plea
By Camille CAMDESSUS WASHINGTON, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – The Republican leader of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday blocked war aid for Ukraine, ignoring President Joe Biden’s plea that passing the bill was vital for standing up to “Russian dictator” Vladimir Putin. Speaker Mike Johnson, who works closely with Biden’s likely challenger in the November election Donald Trump, told reporters he has no intention even of allowing a vote on the bill. “I […]
Kremlin, Musk deny Russian army using Starlink
KYIV, Ukraine, Feb 13, 2024 (AFP) – The Kremlin on Monday rejected Ukraine’s claims that Russian troops fighting on the frontline were using Starlink internet terminals. Kyiv’s GUR military intelligence agency said it had evidence that the terminals were being used on a “systematic” basis by Russian troops, accusing Moscow of “smuggling” them into the country. Starlink, owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is a network of satellites in low Earth orbit that can provide internet […]





