
Ukraine jails 21-years-old for allegedly guiding Russian strikes
Ukraine on Friday jailed a 21-year-old man for 15 years on allegations he guided missile attacks for Russia, the latest collaboration conviction after more than three years of war.
Moscow and Kyiv frequently accuse each other of recruiting civilians to coordinate attacks or carry out sabotage attacks, and of offering financial incentives and grooming them via social media.
'On the orders of a Russian special services officer, the traitor travelled around the city and its outskirts, secretly photographing the locations of Ukrainian troops,' the SBU security service wrote on Telegram.
Many of those accused in Ukraine of carrying out the crimes are teenagers.
According to the SBU, the Kyiv resident -- who was not identified by name -- was also preparing attacks in the Ukrainian capital on behalf of Russia and was caught red-handed while 'spying' near a military facility.
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Canada News.Net
an hour ago
- Canada News.Net
"India's voice counts there," former diplomat on PM Modi being invited to G7 summit
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5 hours ago
Russia strikes Kyiv with missiles, drones in largest aerial attack since war in Ukraine began
Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Waves of drone and missile attacks targeted Kyiv overnight into Friday in the largest aerial attack since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began more than three years ago, injuring 23 people and inflicting severe damage across multiple districts of the capital in a seven-hour onslaught. Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine during the night, the country's air force said. The majority were Shahed drones, but Russia also launched 11 missiles in the attack. It was a harsh, sleepless night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Alya Shahlai, a 23-year-old wedding photographer, said her home was destroyed in the attack. We were all in the [basement] shelter because it was so loud; staying home would have been suicidal, she told The Associated Press. We went down 10 minutes before, and then there was a loud explosion and the lights went out in the shelter. People were panicking. Throughout the night, AP journalists in Kyiv heard the constant buzzing of drones overhead and the sound of explosions and intense machine gunfire as Ukrainian forces tried to intercept the aerial assault. At least 14 people were hospitalized, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galuschenko said that the attacks severed the power line that connects the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the power grid. The UN's atomic energy agency said in a social media post (new window) that the plant was relying on its emergency diesel generators for power. Its six reactors are all shut down but the plant requires power to its cooling systems for safety, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. The largest nuclear plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia facility has been a focus of concern since Russia took control of it soon after its early 2022 invasion of Ukraine. During the course of the war, the external power has been cut multiple times, forcing the plant to rely on its diesel generators. No progress in latest Putin call, Trump says Russia is escalating its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities. Less than a week ago, Russia launched its previous largest aerial assault of the war. That strategy has coincided with a new push by Russia's bigger forces along parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line, where Ukrainian troops are under severe pressure. Russia's Defence Ministry said it had successfully struck military targets in Kyiv, while also capturing the village of Predtechyne in the eastern Donetsk region. WATCH | How Trump's recent criticism of Putin may signal U.S. policy shifts: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Trump vs. Putin: Is the U.S. finally fed up with the Russia-Ukraine war? U.S. President Donald Trump's stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and Putin has changed drastically over time. Andrew Chang explores how Trump's recent criticism of Putin may signal U.S. policy shifts. Then, can one judge overrule Trump? The attack on Kyiv began the same day a phone call took place between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy called the timing of the strikes a deliberate signal that Moscow has no intention of ending the war. The U.S. has paused some shipments of military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence missiles. Ukraine's main European backers are considering how they can help pick up the slack. Zelenskyy says plans are afoot to build up Ukraine's domestic arms industry, but scaling up will take time. Zelenskyy and Trump spoke after Friday's wave of attacks. The Ukraine president said they discussed air defences and agreed to work on increasing Kyiv's capability to defend the sky. He added that he discussed joint defence production, as well as joint purchases and investments with the U.S. leader. Separately, a spokesperson for Friedrich Merz said the German chancellor had reached out to Trump via phone call on Thursday to discuss Germany buying Patriot missile defence systems from the U.S. and delivering them to Ukraine. Putin has argued he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to fend off a threat to Russia posed by Ukraine's push to join NATO and to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine — arguments rejected by Kyiv and its allies. He insisted any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine abandon its NATO bid and recognize Russia's territorial gains. When asked if he made any progress with Putin on a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine, Trump said: No, I didn't make any progress with him today at all. WATCH l Kyiv residents seeks shelter in latest attack: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Kyiv residents take shelter underground as explosions rock city People took shelter in a basement in Kyiv overnight as Russia hammered Ukraine's capital with drones in a widespread attack. Russia says 1 person killed, substations damaged In Russia, Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Sergiyev Posad district, near Moscow, early on Friday, injuring one person and damaging power infrastructure, the head of the district said. Oksana Yerokhanova wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app that at least four explosions were recorded throughout the district — some 75 kilometres from the Kremlin — and that a power substation was damaged, leaving parts of the district without electricity. In the southern Russian region of Rostov, a woman was killed as a result of Ukraine's drone attack, which damaged several apartment buildings and forced the evacuation of scores of people from their homes, the acting governor of the region said Friday. 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Globe and Mail
6 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
A fierce wave of Russian attacks threatens to rattle Ukraine's recovery conference in Rome
Ukraine needs a lot of weapons and budget financing to repel the Russian invaders and survive as a functioning country. It also needs jobs, a tax base and foreign investment. If its economy shatters, so does its ability to defend itself, let alone rebuild. Ukraine has high hopes that the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome next Thursday and Friday will speed up the rebuilding efforts. It may leave disappointed. In recent weeks, Russia has pounded the country with devastating aerial attacks. The barrage overnight on Thursday was the biggest since the war began, according to the Ukraine air force, with 550 drones and missiles raining down on Kyiv and elsewhere. The British government's foreign office this week estimated that the attacks have killed 1,000 Ukrainian civilians since January. Against the backdrop of destruction and death, Ukraine's efforts to sell itself as a promising investment destination will not be easy. Still the country will persist − it has no other choice. In spite of the war, Ukraine is attracting some foreign investment. The government can boast that Ukraine's economy is not only intact, it's growing, thanks in good part to about US$100-billion a year in assistance, including weapons, it receives from Western countries, according to the Kiel Institute's Ukraine support tracker. It has also been cracking down on corrupt oligarchs and launching business-friendly reforms. Trump says U.S. has given Ukraine too many weapons after pausing some shipments In a report published this week, the International Monetary Fund forecast Ukraine' s GDP growth at 2 per cent to 3 per cent this year, about the same as last year's, rising to 4.5 per cent next year and close to 5 per cent in 2027. If the war ends soon, the growth figures would be fattened up. Companies putting money into Ukraine are gambling that a peace agreement would make their investment returns soar. The Rome conference is the fourth of its kind – last year's was in Berlin − since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, 2022. Government and business leaders from Ukraine, the U.S., Italy and other European countries are expected. The high-level participation shows that this edition is particularly ambitious. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky may show up (his presence was not confirmed on Friday). His Finance Minister, Sergii Marchenko, and his Economy Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, will be there. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected. In addition, the top executives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. and several big defence contractors, including Fincantieri, Europe's largest shipbuilder, and Italy's Leonardo, are listed as participants. Canada is sending a delegation that will probably include Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne. What it's like to be inside a Kyiv bomb shelter as Russia's air assault escalates The Ukrainian industries that would appeal most to Western investors include agriculture, energy and defence. Ukraine, essentially one big farm, is a major exporter of grains. If the country is granted membership in the European Union – it's on the waiting list – it will have free access to one of the world's biggest food markets, with 450 million consumers. Canada's Prem Watsa, head of Fairfax Financial Holdings, has invested in one of Ukraine's biggest agribusinesses, Astarta, on a bet that war's end could make the company a pan-European player. So far, so good. Astarta's Warsaw-listed shares have doubled in the past year. In energy, Ukraine's DTEK, the country's biggest privately owned electricity producer – its coal plants are prime targets for Russian missiles – is building enormous wind farms. It is expanding its renewables portfolio into eastern Europe. Never mind the war – DTEK wants partners to help it expand. With the fighting in its fourth year, and no sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to seek peace, it is Ukraine's defence industry that offers the most potential for foreign investment. Ukraine, by necessity, became a world leader fast in aerial robot warfare done on the cheap, putting it years ahead of Western countries. France has figured that drones present an enormous opportunity. Last month, the French government asked Renault, the car company that is 15 per cent owned by the state, to manufacture drones in Ukraine in partnership with local engineers. Renault's mass-manufacturing expertise would help Ukraine pump out drones in great quantities while providing the French company with drone expertise that it could repatriate when the war ends. Ukraine only makes about a third of the weapons it needs. Western companies could help it ramp up production in armoured personnel carriers, anti-tank rockets, artillery shells and radar jamming systems. They would know that anything they produce would get bought by the Ukraine military in a second. Will Western companies rush to build factories and make other investments when the Russian attacks are becoming more intense? Would they risk spending the money even if security guarantees were offered by the EBRD or other international financial institutions? Both sides are said to be exhausted from the war of attrition, but Russia seems not exhausted enough. Ukraine's destruction continues. Its air defences are close to being tapped out. Worse, the U.S. this week abruptly halted the delivery of some crucial weapons, including Patriot interceptor missile systems, citing fear of draining its own stockpiles. Poor Ukraine. Just when Ukraine needs rebuilding help the most, Mr. Putin ramps up the attacks to boost the risk factor. The headlines of endless missile and drone barrages will be hard to ignore in Rome.