
Ukraine's Zelenskyy visits Austria for first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of his country
Austria is famously neutral -- a stance it declared in 1955 after World War II -- and Vienna has come under heavy criticism since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war for maintaining ties with Moscow.
Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 138 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, mainly at the eastern Donetsk region. Of those, 125 were either intercepted or jammed, while 10 reached their targets. Eight others caused damage as falling debris.
Zelenskyy was meeting with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and was set to meet later with Chancellor Christian Stocker. The two presidents were expected to hold a news conference later Monday.
This is Stocker's first high-profile visit from a foreign dignitary since he took office in March at the head of a previously untried three-party coalition after a record five-month wait for a new administration.
Zelenskyy's wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, and Doris Schmidauer, Van der Bellen's spouse, will also host a discussion about the role of women in promoting peace and security during the trip.
Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in the run-up to World War II, declared neutrality after the war under pressure from Western allies and the Soviet Union. It sought a role as a mediator between East and West, developing ties with Moscow that outlasted the Cold War.
The Austrian government has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine but also stressed the need to maintain diplomatic relations with Moscow. Vienna has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine but no weapons.
Former Chancellor Karl Nehammer was the first EU leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face after the war started. Nehammer traveled to Moscow in April 2022 in a fruitless attempt to persuade the Russian leader to end the invasion.
The Associated Press
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CBC
25 minutes ago
- CBC
Russia touts strike drones made in factory on TV, where teens appear to be working on them
A Russian factory, described by its director as the world's biggest maker of strike drones, has been shown on the Russian army's TV channel with teenagers helping make kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine. The footage, in a documentary film broadcast by the Zvezda channe l on Sunday, showed hundreds of large black completed Geran-2 suicide drones in rows inside the secretive facility, which has been targeted by Ukrainian long-range drones. Ukraine says Russia has used the Geran drones to terrorize and kill civilians in locations including its capital, Kyiv, where residents often shelter in metro stations during attacks. Russia says its drone and missile strikes target only military or military-related targets, and it denies deliberately targeting civilians — more than 13,000 of whom have been killed in Ukraine since the all-out war began in February 2022 after Russia invaded its neighbour, the United Nations says. Zvezda said the Alabuga factory, in Russia's Tatarstan region, invited school pupils to study at a college that the factory runs nearby once they had completed ninth grade so that they could study drone manufacturing there and then work at the factory when they had finished college. Young workers shown inside factory Young workers, including teenagers, were shown with their faces blurred out, studying computer screens or making and testing individual components, or assembling drones. Timur Shagivaleyev, the factory's general director, did not disclose detailed production figures. But he told Zvezda the initial plan had been to produce "several thousand Geran-2 drones" and that the factory was now producing nine times more than that. He did not say what period the figures referred to. A Russian think-tank close to the government suggested last month that Russia's drone production had jumped by 16.9 per cent in May compared with the previous month after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for output to be stepped up. Putin said in April that more than 1.5 million drones of various types had been produced last year but that Russian troops fighting on the front line in Ukraine needed more. More and more drones Both sides have deployed drones on a huge scale, using them to spot and hit targets not only on the battlefield but way beyond the front lines. Zvezda said the Alabuga factory had its own drone testing ground and showed rows of parked U.S. RAM pickup trucks carrying Geran-2 drones. It also showed one of them launching a drone. In May, Russia paraded combat drones that its forces use in the war in Ukraine on Moscow's Red Square in what state TV said was a first. The design of the Geran-2, which has a known range of at least 1,500 kilometres, originated in Iran, where an earlier version was made. They have been used to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Zvezda set the documentary to upbeat music, part of its mission to keep Russians interested in and supportive of the war. The factory is part of the so-called Alabuga Special Economic Zone, near the town of Yelabuga, which is more than 1,000 kilometres from the border with Ukraine.


Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ukraine's parliament passes bill weakening anti-corruption agencies. The public is furious
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine 's parliament on Tuesday passed legislation that would tighten oversight of two key anti-corruption agencies, which critics say could significantly weaken their independence and give President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's circle greater sway over investigations. Fighting entrenched corruption is crucial for Ukraine's bid to join the European Union and maintain access to billions of dollars in Western aid. The legislation's passage has triggered public outrage in Ukraine, and a protest was planned Tuesday in Kyiv. The changes would grant the prosecutor general new authority over investigations and cases handled by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). 'In effect, if this bill becomes law, the head of SAPO will become a nominal figure, while NABU will lose its independence and turn into a subdivision of the prosecutor general's office,' the agencies said in a joint statement on Telegram. The bill goes to Zelenskyy for his signature or veto. In a post on X, the EU's Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos expressed concern over the vote in the Rada, calling it 'a serious step back.' Kos added: 'Independent bodies like NABU & SAPO are essential for Ukraine's EU path. Rule of Law remains in the very center of EU accession negotiations.' The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International criticized parliament's decision, saying it undermines one of the most significant reforms since what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and damages trust with international partners. The group urged Zelenskyy to veto the law, warning that otherwise he would share responsibility with the Rada for 'dismantling Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure.' On Monday, Ukraine's domestic security agency detained two NABU officials on suspicion of links to Russia and searched other agency employees on unrelated allegations. Zelenskyy's office didn't respond to a request for comment. Last week, the president carried out a reshuffle of his wartime cabinet, a move widely viewed as further consolidating power within his inner circle.


CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
Why Russian drones are getting harder to shoot down
Russia is using upgraded weapons to launch its escalating attacks on Ukraine. These drones are designed to cause even more destruction and are even harder to shoot down. CBC's Briar Stewart explains.