Zelensky wants to silence all criticism, says Ukrainska Pravda editor
Sevgil Musayeva, the editor of Ukrainska Pravda, accused the presidential office of threatening advertisers not to pay the website and barring officials from speaking to her staff. The presidential office denies the claims.
'President Zelensky and his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, have crossed a red line. They are dismantling the country's independent anti-corruption infrastructure. Ukrainska Pravda is the next target,' said Musayeva, 38.
'I don't like what is happening with people that criticise the government. In this terrible time, with all these Shahed [drones hitting Kyiv], Zelensky still has time to pressure journalists.'
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The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Five dead after Ukraine and Russia trade drone and missile attacks as talks stall
In Ukraine's Dnipro region, three people died in Russian shelling, while two were killed in Russia's Rostov region after a Ukrainian drone strike. Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 235 drones and 27 missiles in a 'massive combined attack' overnight. Ten missiles and 25 drones found their targets, striking nine locations, while air defences shot down or intercepted the rest, according to Ukraine's Air Force. 'A terrible night. A massive combined attack on the region,' Serhiy Lysak, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, wrote on Telegram. An additional six people were injured, he said, posting photos of smashed buildings, burnt-out cars and firefighters battling blazes. In Dnipro city, a multi-storey building and a business were damaged, and a fire engulfed a shopping centre outside the city. Ukraine's southern Dnipro and northeastern Sumy regions also came under heavy rocket and drone attack. Officials in Sumy reported three people injured after Russian drones hit a central square and damaged the regional administration building. Kharkiv also sustained intense bombardment. Ukraine's emergency services said six people were hurt, including four rescuers injured in a so-called 'double tap' strike, where a second attack follows the first to target emergency workers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that Russia would feel the consequences. Russian military enterprises, Russian logistics, Russian airports must feel that the Russian war has real consequences for them,' he said. 'There can be absolutely no silence in response to such strikes, and Ukrainian long-range drones ensure this.' Ukraine's attacks on Russia have also intensified in recent months. Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defences intercepted 54 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 24 over the Bryansk region and 12 over Rostov. Officials in Moscow and other areas also reported drone attacks, though most were shot down. In Russia's Rostov region, which borders Ukraine, acting governor Yuri Slyusar said a Ukrainian drone attack killed two people. Drones also struck an industrial facility in the neighbouring Stavropol region, sparking a brief fire, according to governor Vladimir Vladimirov. Officials also reported drone attacks on Moscow and the Penza region southeast of the capital, though they were intercepted. In Russia's Ingushetia region in the North Caucasus, a woman and three children were injured after a drone fell on a home, regional health officials said. On the battlefield, Russia's Defence Ministry claimed to have seized the village of Zelenyi Hai in the eastern Donetsk region and Maliivka in the Dnipro region. Kyiv did not comment on the claims. Mr Zelensky said he had been briefed by Chief of Staff Oleksandr Syrsky on 'active and long-range actions on Russian territory,' including clashes in Pokrovsky and efforts to repel Russian advances into the Sumy region. 'Our forces are consistently blocking Russian attempts to advance deep into the Sumy region from the border,' he said. Mr Zelensky added that drone production in Ukraine this year would 'significantly exceed' earlier forecasts. In Moscow, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that peace talks had never truly been on the West's agenda. 'If the West wanted 'real peace' in Ukraine, it would stop supplying Kyiv with weapons,' she said, according to state news agency TASS. Russia's Defence Ministry claimed its overnight strikes had hit Ukrainian military sites 'that manufacture components for missile weapons, as well as produce ammunition and explosives.' The Independent could not verify this claim.
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Putin refuses to meet Zelensky to end war as tyrant's forces kill six in fresh blitz on residential area in Ukraine
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) VLADIMIR Putin has again refused to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky as he ordered his troops to unleash another deadly blitz on civilians. At least six Ukrainians were killed in the horror Russian strikes which targeted a high rise building and left a shopping mall up in flames. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Vladimir Putin has unleashed another deadly blitz on civilians with a fire raging in the Dnipropetrovsk region overnight Credit: East2West 5 Ukraine's second city Kharkiv was struck with aerial bombs, drones and missiles in three hours of hell Credit: East2West 5 The sickening strikes hit dozens of regions with at least six people killed Credit: East2West The sickening strikes hit a Novodvoryansky residential complex in Dnipro city, killing one man and injuring a woman in a huge explosion. Ukraine's second city Kharkiv was struck with aerial bombs, drones and missiles in three hours of hell. Kamianske was also invaded by a swarm of 35 drones with the Epicentre shopping centre being impacted and sending civilians fleeing. The terrifying night of strikes came just after Zelensky issued a challenge to Putin urging him to finally discuss a peace deal in person. It would be the first meeting of the pair since Russia's illegal invasion in 2022. US President Donald Trump even told reporters on Friday that the pair would definitely meet soon. He said: "It's going to happen, but it should have happened 3 months ago." But the Kremlin was quick to dismiss both Western leaders as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov officially said a meeting won't take place unless a peace deal is ready to be finalised. This isn't likely to happen until the end of August at the earliest, he added. Peskov said: 'A summit meeting [involving Putin] can and should put an end to the settlement and formalise the modalities and agreements that are to be worked out in the course of expert work. Why Putin's $1 TRILLION military surge is just 'smoke and mirrors' - and even the tyrant knows it "It is impossible to do the opposite. Is it possible to complete such a complex process in 30 days? Obviously, it is unlikely." Any hopes for a breakthrough continue to appear bleak as warned the enemies remain "diametrically opposed" last week. Zelensky has previously proposed a four-way summit which also involves the US and Turkey. The US has also said an unconditional, 30-day ceasefire could be put in place to help pave the way for a long-standing deal. Moscow has rejected both proposals. Many experts believe that a scheming Putin is holding out as long as he can so his forces can seize more land in Ukraine. Vlad can then go to the negotiating table in a stronger position. Despite his refusal to stop the bloodshed, pressure is still mounting on the tyrant to end the war in Ukraine. President Trump issued a blistering 50-day ultimatum to Russia earlier this month saying he must agree to a ceasefire of face crippling sanctions. He vented his frustration with Putin, declaring he was "disappointed" but "not done" with the Russian tyrant. There are now growing fears that Putin is preparing for an even deadlier chapter in his war. According to German Major General Christian Freuding, Moscow is plotting a mass drone assault involving 2,000 Shahed drones, in a bid to overwhelm Ukraine's already strained air defences. The general warned: 'We have uncovered worrying intelligence… [Russia is] significantly expanding its weapons production capacity.' Chilling footage aired on Russian state TV showed teenagers working in a so-called 'drone death factory,' with Moscow boasting about the 'huge, bright workshops' churning out kamikaze drones by the hundreds. 5 Putin has again refused to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky Credit: AP
Spectator
2 days ago
- Spectator
Why Zelensky reversed his anti-corruption overhaul
On Tuesday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved a law to gut Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies. On Thursday he backtracked, and said he would put forward new legislation to restore their independence. The original legislation would have stripped both the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (Sapo) of their independence, bringing them under direct executive control. The official reason for the legislation was to cleanse Ukraine's investigative bodies of Russian influence. A spy, apparently, was suspected in their ranks. But treason has become the calling card for the consolidation of power in Ukraine. Earlier this year, Petro Poroshenko – President Zelensky's main declared challenger in the next election – was sanctioned for high treason, effectively barring him from running for high office. Ukrainians have had enough. With Donald Trump warming to his Ukrainian counterpart after their bust-up in the Oval Office, the 'rally-around-the-flag' effect that recently buoyed Zelensky – after months of sagging poll numbers – has now dissipated. The legislative coup provoked the largest demonstration since Russia's invasion in 2022. Many read it as creeping authoritarianism, marked by increasingly staccato punctuation. Even in international media that reliably lionises Zelensky, stories are beginning to percolate about the monopolisation of power, the use of lawfare to sideline political opponents, the harassment of civil society and a growing crackdown on dissent. Yet Tuesday's institutional hijacking was an escalation, considering what is at stake. Nabu and Sapo were originally established as a condition for western support after Russia's invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014. Donors needed assurances that funds would not be siphoned off, viewing accountability as essential for maintaining domestic backing for their aid packages. The IMF predicated its bailout programmes on Ukraine's anti-corruption commitments, and western capitals have repeatedly linked continued support to efforts to root out graft. At a time when European governments are struggling to cover the shortfall left by President Trump's withdrawal of US aid, the implications for international support could be severe. Before this week's legislation, Ukraine's anti-corruption community was under pressure. Earlier in July, Ukrainian authorities raidedthe home of the country's leading anti-corruption campaigner without a warrant, accusing him of draft evasion and fraud. Then, on the eve of the vote, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) – long seen as a tool for political enforcement – carried out 70 raids on Nabu and Sapo staff. They ransacked their offices and arrested a lead investigator. But as Ukrainians know – and western diplomats will privately concede – the problems within Nabu run deeper. The agency has long been accused of operating under the influence of the presidential administration and Zelensky's éminence grise, chief of staff Andriy Yermak. Nabu has been variously criticised for ineffectiveness, for steering clear of presidential allies, or conversely, for being used as a tool of political persecution. It begs the question what changed. The threads lead back to the case of Oleksiy Chernyshov, a former deputy prime minister, a close ally of the president, who was charged with corruption last month. Nabu had long been accused of toothlessness when it came to investigating those close to power. But the consequence of baring its teeth has been its defanging. For some time, Chernyshov's case was rumoured to have been quietly manoeuvred out of investigation by the pliant head of Nabu, Semen Kryvonos. Last year, a court issued a warrant to search Chernyshov's residence in connection with alleged corruption in 'Big Construction' – Zelensky's flagship infrastructure programme, known locally as the 'Great Theft'. But the search was never executed, reportedly at Kryvonos' request. Kryvonos himself owed his previous post to the backing of both Chernyshov and Yermak. The inner circle, it seemed, would remain safe under his tenure at the agency – a role he was appointed to despite having no background in anti-corruption. It was only after internal pressure within Nabu eventually forced Kryvonos to act on Chernyshov. It confirmed what many had long suspected – that the President's office exercised quiet control over the institution. The moment that control looked in doubt, its independence was shut down. For western partners, the balancing act of funding Ukraine while withholding public criticism has collapsed. The G7 ambassadors have released a statement confirming they had met with Nabu and now 'have serious concerns and intend to discuss these developments with government leaders'. Corruption has long stymied Ukraine. It was the thrust behind the Maidan protests: the call to expel the oligarchs that controlled the country without accountability. It made Ukraine vulnerable to invasion in 2014 in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. It propelled Zelensky himself to political power as an outsider who could sweep away graft. Still, more Ukrainians now see corruption as a greater threat to the country's development than Russian aggression. Many of Ukraine's western partners have justified their support as a defence of democracy against corrupt autocracy. Even with Zelensky's backtracking, with the dismemberment of Ukraine's independent institutions, many will now legitimately ask: whom, and what, are they funding?
