
Ukraine war latest: Zelensky calls for Russia's regime change after Kyiv attack
At least 150 people sustained injuries after the overnight strikes reduced part of a nine-storey apartment block in Kyiv's western suburbs to rubble.
Speaking via video at a conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Cold War-era Helsinki Accords, Zelensky said Russia could be 'pushed' to end the war."
But if the world doesn't aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilise neighbouring countries," he said, according to AFP.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 1 August 2025 04:14
President Volodymyr Zelensky restored the independence of Ukraine's two main anti-corruption agencies on Thursday, moving to defuse a political crisis that has shaken faith in his wartime leadership.
Thousands of protesters rallied in Kyiv and other cities in recent days in a rare show of discontent.
It came after lawmakers led by Zelensky's ruling party rushed through amendments last week defanging the respected agencies.
He signed a new bill on Thursday shortly after lawmakers approved it 331 to 0, saying the legislation "guarantees the absence of any kind of outside influence (or) interference".
"Ukraine is a democracy - there are definitely no doubts," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app.
Daniel Keane 1 August 2025 03:00
President Donald Trump has made clear that he wants a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine by August 8, the United States told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.
'Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8. The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace, senior U.S. diplomat John Kelley told the 15-member council.
Trump said on Tuesday that the US would start imposing tariffs and other measures on Russia "10 days from today" if Moscow showed no progress toward ending its war in Ukraine.
Daniel Keane 1 August 2025 02:00
Syria's top diplomat met with Russian officials on Thursday on the first visit to Moscow by a member of the new government in Damascus since former Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in the Kremlin, according to Syrian news agency SANA.
Before the talks with Putin, al-Shibani met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who emphasised that the Russian authorities "sincerely wish that the Syrian people, with whom we have long-standing friendship, overcome all existing challenges and completely normalise the situation."
Assad was an ally of Russia, and Moscow's scorched-earth intervention in support of him a decade ago turned the tide of Syria's civil war and kept Assad in his seat until his swift demise in December.
Daniel Keane 1 August 2025 01:00
A powerful US Senate committee approved a military spending bill on Thursday that includes about $1 billion to support Ukraine, despite President Donald Trump's administration having asked Congress to eliminate such funding in its budget request.
The Republican-led Senate Appropriations Committee approved $852 billion for the Department of Defence in the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, 2026.
This is $21.7 billion, or 2.6%, more than the Republican president requested earlier this year.
The committee voted 26-3 to send the spending measure for a vote in the full Senate, with strong support from both Democrats and Trump's fellow Republicans.
Daniel Keane 1 August 2025 00:01
A pair of bipartisan US senators on Thursday introduced a bill that would provide £40 billion ($54.6bn) in military aid to Ukraine over the next two years.
The bill, introduced by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, faces a stiff struggle to become law but follows threats by President Donald Trump to increase military aid to Kyiv if Moscow does not take steps to end the war.
Congress last passed a major aid package for Ukraine - £46 billion ($61bn) - in April 2024, when Democrat Joe Biden was still president and his fellow Democrats had a slim majority in the Senate.
Daniel Keane 31 July 2025 23:00
President Donald Trump has said that Russia's war in Ukraine is 'disgusting'.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said he plans to impose sanctions on Moscow if no agreement can be reached to end the conflict.
Trump said he was not sure whether sanctions would deter Russia.
He has given Russian President Vladimir Putin until August 8 to make a deal or else he will respond with economic pressure.
Daniel Keane 31 July 2025 22:09
Former Russian president and prime minister brushed off US officials's warnings that Russia needs to begin peace deal talks to end the war in Ukraine
Bryony Gooch 31 July 2025 22:00
(Russian Defence Ministry/AFP via)
(Russian Defence Ministry/AFP via)
Bryony Gooch 31 July 2025 21:00
Trump escalates his war of words with Dmitry Medvedev, who had recently warned that U.S. actions were driving the country toward direct conflict with Russia
Bryony Gooch 31 July 2025 20:00
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Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Putin is more likely to start a nuclear war than many are prepared to admit
We've grown used to blood-curdling nuclear threats from Russia's leadership – but this time, Donald Trump has very publicly reacted to them by moving two nuclear-armed submarines closer to Russia. Russia has primarily used nuclear sabre-rattling as part of its information warfare to scare the West. Sadly, it has delivered results. Western states moved cautiously after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, in part because of the Kremlin's nuclear threats. Trump's submarine move is a direct response to social media posts by Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president. Many Russians believe that Medvedev is a heavy drinker, and some have suggested that some of his posts were written while drunk. His role within the Russian regime hierarchy is now as a snarling attack dog, hurling blood-curdling threats at the Kremlin's enemies. It is good that Trump is beginning to see through the Russian regime. He is clearly angry that his policy of appeasing the Kremlin hasn't worked – despite his extraordinary tactic of offering, over the heads of the Ukrainians, a peace deal that would have allowed Vladimir Putin to pay virtually no price for the appalling actions of his armies. It is perhaps not so good that Trump has made it clear that he is reacting directly to Medvedev's nuclear bluster. The Russian regime now knows that it is possible to goad the president into real-world actions if they can upset him enough online. They have spent years studying the president and their understanding of human motivation is deeply researched. There is a risk that nuclear policy – which historically has been agonised over by experts due to its extraordinary importance and the terrible risks of getting it wrong – is now part of high stakes 'trash talking' on social media. While the risk that Putin will order the use of nuclear weapons is small, it is not non-existent. Ever since the Russian leader began his political and military conflict with Ukraine back in 2005 to force it into eventual unification with Russia, he has escalated crises when he has failed to achieve his aims. The Russian leader did so in 2014 with the partial invasion of eastern Ukraine, and then in 2022 with the full invasion. Will he escalate again with nuclear weapons? There is a much-speculated-on secret nuclear theory in Russia called 'escalate to de-escalate', in which nuclear weapons are used to regain control of a conflict, forcing an enemy to surrender, or face annihilation. Confidential Russian papers have suggested that a first stage might involve a 'demonstration strike', perhaps a one-off strike on water. The second would be the targeting of a low-population site on land, potentially an abandoned town or city. The third would be a 'deterrence-demonstration' on a potential military target such as a transport hub. From there, nuclear use would escalate to multiple tactical nuclear strikes across a theatre of operations. Putin has already weakened the grounds for using nuclear weapons. Russia's 2014 Military Doctrine gives two main grounds for using nuclear weapons: either in response to their use by others or when the existence of the Russian Federation is threatened. A more recent 2020 document allowed for a nuclear strike if Russia is facing an imminent nuclear attack (so pre-empting a pre-emptive strike), or if Russia would lose control of its arsenal via, for example, multiple, conventional precision strikes. Both are inherently dangerous. Twice in the Cold War, junior officers of the then-Soviet Union refused to react when technology or their superiors told them to prepare nuclear weapons. Their brave actions saved the world from a potentially catastrophic escalation. Last year, Putin lowered Russia's nuclear weapon threshold again, decreeing that an attack on Russia with conventional missile systems might justify a nuclear response, although Ukraine's infamous Spider's Web attack on his bomber fleet this June did not result in a nuclear response. Ukrainians have long argued that Russia's threats are a bluff to hide a failing army weighed down by a million casualties. What can be done? There are no good options, and this crisis may get more dangerous yet. Putin's regime is bent on war – there is no simpler way to say it. He doesn't want peace. I have been in Kyiv this week discussing my book on Russia's new form of warfare and the city is under regular and, on occasions, prolonged missile attack. Putin has strung Trump along. The best bet for the West is for Ukraine – with allied support, especially in air defence to protect its resilient but suffering citizens – to fight Russia to a standstill and (hopefully) force a snarling Russian leader to end the war. Most of the alternatives don't bear thinking about.


Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Ukraine protects Europe from Kremlin aggression, Russian dissident Yashin says
BELGRADE, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Europe must start seeing Ukraine as a European country, and the Ukrainian military as a European army, Ilya Yashin, a prominent Russian opposition activist, said in Belgrade on Friday. "The Ukrainian army is not only protecting Ukraine, it is protecting Europe from Russian aggression," he told hundreds of Russians who now live in Serbia. Yashin was imprisoned in 2022 for criticising Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and released last year, along with 15 other prisoners in Russian and Belarusian jails. His speech at a Belgrade concert hall was the first such public appearance of a high-profile Russian dissident in Serbia since 2022. Between February 2022 and 2024, more than 74,000 Russians registered for temporary residence in Serbia, according to the latest Interior Ministry data, many fleeing conscription or persecution for their opposition to President Vladimir Putin. "This is a meeting with a true hero," said Petr Nikitin, a Belgrade-based Russian and an anti-war activist who came to hear Yashin. Serbia's relations with Moscow soured this year after Russia's SVR spy agency complained about sales of ammunition to Ukraine, and Yashin's visit would likely further complicate their ties. The Russian embassy to Serbia could not be immediately reached for comment. Serbia, which aspires to join the European Union, balances its policies between its historical ties to Russia and the West. Belgrade has repeatedly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow. In May, President Aleksandar Vucic travelled to Moscow to meet with Putin and attend a parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War Two. But Belgrade also recognises Ukraine in its entirety, including territories held by Russia. In June, Vucic visited Ukraine for the first time. Russia remains Serbia's biggest gas supplier, and the Balkan country's only oil refinery is majority-owned by Gazprom ( opens new tab and Gazprom Neft .


Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Trump orders nuclear submarines moved after Russian 'provocative statements'
WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in "the appropriate regions" in response to statements from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. "Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev ... I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," Trump said in a social media post. He added: "Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances." He did not specify what he meant by "nuclear submarines." Submarines may be nuclear-powered, or armed with nuclear missiles. It is extremely rare for the U.S. military to discuss the deployment and location of U.S. submarines given their sensitive mission in nuclear deterrence. The U.S. Navy declined comment. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump and Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, have traded taunts in recent days after Trump on Tuesday said Russia had "10 days from today" to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or be hit with tariffs, along with its oil buyers. Medvedev on Thursday said Trump should remember that Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort, after Trump told Medvedev to "watch his words." Moscow, which has set out its own terms for peace in Ukraine, has given no indication that it will comply with Trump's deadline of August 8. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow hoped for more peace talks with Ukraine but that the momentum of the war was in its favor. He made no reference to the deadline. Trump, who in the past touted good relations with Putin, has expressed mounting frustration with the Russian leader, accusing him of "bullshit" and describing Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine as disgusting. Medvedev has emerged as one of the Kremlin's most outspoken anti-Western hawks since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. Kremlin critics deride him as an irresponsible loose cannon, though some Western diplomats say his statements illustrate the thinking in senior Kremlin policy-making circles. Trump also rebuked Medvedev in July, accusing him of throwing around the "N (nuclear) word" after the Russian official criticized U.S. strikes on Iran and said "a number of countries" were ready to supply Iran with nuclear warheads. "I guess that's why Putin's 'THE BOSS'", Trump said at the time. The U.S. president took office in January having promised to end the Ukraine war on Day One, but has not been able to get Moscow to agree to a ceasefire. Only six countries operate nuclear-powered submarines: the U.S., the UK, Russia, China, France and India. The U.S. Navy has 71 commissioned submarines including 53 fast attack submarines, 14 ballistic-missile submarines, and four guided-missile submarines. All of them are nuclear-powered, but only some carry nuclear weapon-tipped missiles.