Tag: Ukraine

Ukraine cautious as Russia orders troops out of Kherson

  Kyiv, Ukraine | AFP | Kyiv has reacted sceptically to Russia announcing its retreat from the southern city of Kherson, urging continued resistance until Ukraine liberates all of its occupied cities. Moscow’s decision to withdraw troops from the regional capital it had seized earlier in the war came as the United States estimated more than 100,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded in Ukraine. Kyiv’s forces have likely suffered similar casualties, according […]

Russia orders troops out of Kherson in major reversal

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia ordered its troops to withdraw from the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine on Wednesday in a further major blow to its campaign amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive. Officials in Kyiv reacted with caution, saying the Russian army was unlikely to leave the strategic city without a fight, while US President Joe Biden suggested the retreat was evidence Moscow has “real problems” on the battlefield. “Begin to pull out troops,” Russian […]

US-China rivalry, N. Korea to dominate ASEAN summit

Phnom Penh, Cambodia | AFP | by Suy SE The US-China rivalry and growing fears of a new North Korean nuclear test will loom over a meeting this week of Southeast Asian leaders attended by US President Joe Biden. Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet in Phnom Penh from Friday, kicking off a diplomatic blitz in the region that also takes in next week’s G20 in Bali and an APEC […]

UK to remain ‘bedrock’ of NATO, Sunak declares

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Tuesday that the UK will continue to play a vital role in NATO for generations, ahead of a visit by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The NATO chief will be the first international leader Sunak has met in Downing Street since he took office last month. Wednesday’s talks will center on UK support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February, and the alliance’s future, Sunak’s […]

North Korea dismisses as ‘groundless’ US claims of arms supplies to Russia: state media

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea said Tuesday that claims by the United States that Pyongyang is supplying artillery ammunition to Moscow for its war in Ukraine were groundless, state media KCNA reported. The rebuke comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula after a spate of North Korean weapons tests last week — including an intercontinental ballistic missile — as the United States and South Korea conducted their biggest-ever air force exercise. The […]

Ukraine hails new air defences, warns power situation ‘tense’

Kyiv, Ukraine | AFP | by Daphne ROUSSEAU Ukraine announced Monday it had received more air defence systems from Western military allies, as officials in Kyiv said the situation with supplies was “tense” after protracted Russian attacks on energy facilities. Attacks by Moscow’s forces, including with Iranian-made drones over the past month, have destroyed around 40 percent of Ukraine’s power stations and the government has urged Ukrainians to maximise electricity savings. Kyiv has been rocked […]

Ukraine’s occupied city of Kherson without electricity, water after strike

  Kyiv, Ukraine | AFP | Ukraine’s Russian-occupied city of Kherson was cut off from water and electricity supplies Sunday after an air strike and a key dam in the region was also damaged, local officials said. It is the first time that Kherson — which fell to Moscow’s forces within days of their February offensive — has seen such a power cut. “In Kherson and a number of other areas in the region, there […]

Iran admits sending Russia drones but says before Ukraine war

  Kyiv, Ukraine | AFP | Iran has admitted for the first time that it sent drones to Russia but insisted they were supplied to its ally before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies have accused Russia of using Iranian-made drones in recent weeks to carry out attacks. Tehran has repeatedly denied the claims but on Saturday foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as saying that drones had been sent to Russia […]

Russian strikes leave 4.5 million without power in Ukraine: Zelensky

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Russia’s campaign against Ukraine’s energy network has left around 4.5 million people without power. The two sides’ forces continued to battle without significant change on the ground on the eastern and southern Ukraine fronts, with preparations building for a fight over the southern hub of Kherson. Shipments of Ukraine grain to global markets meanwhile resumed after Moscow returned to a deal allowing their safe […]

North Korea ‘covertly’ supplying artillery shells to Russia: W.House

Washington, United States | AFP | by Paul HANDLEY The United States said Wednesday that North Korea is sending a significant amount of artillery ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine, under cover of shipments to the Middle East or Africa. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said US officials did not know whether Russia has received the ammunition, but were trying to monitor the shipments. US information indicates that North Korea “is […]

UN rejects Russia call for biological weapons probe

  United Nations, United States | AFP | The Security Council on Wednesday rejected a resolution drafted by Russia calling for an investigation into its accusations of Washington’s involvement in the alleged development of biological weapons in Ukraine. Russia had officially requested last week a UN investigation into the accusations, which it has regularly made since the start of its offensive in Ukraine. The resolution it put to the vote on Wednesday received two votes […]

Pro-Moscow force renews evacuation of Ukraine’s Kherson

  Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian occupation authorities announced Tuesday the movement of further large numbers of people from Ukraine’s Kherson region amid a counter-offensive by Kyiv, which has already seen 70,000 people flee. “I decided to extend the evacuation zone by 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Dnipro,” pro-Moscow governor Vladimir Saldo said in a Telegram video. “Measures for forced evacuations will be applied from November 6 for people who remain,” said on social […]