Latest news with #25thSicheslavAirborneBrigade
The Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Ukraine's top commander says troops standing firm outside key city
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian service members of the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system towards Russian troops near the frontline town of Pokrovsk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine April 19, 2025. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov/File Photo (Reuters) -Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Friday his forces were standing firm in defending a key city on the eastern front of the three-year war. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised Ukraine's forces in their defence of Pokrovsk, a logistics hub in eastern Donetsk region that has weathered months of Russian attempts to capture it in their troops' slow advance westward. Syrskyi said he had presented a report to the president describing the challenges facing Ukrainian troops along the 1,000-km (620-mile) front. "Most attention was focused on the Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka sectors, where our soldiers are courageously containing intense pressure and destroying the Russian aggressor," Syrskyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "The enemy is continuing to deploy its tactic of small infantry groups, but has proved powerless on its attempts to seize Pokrovsk. Today, they tried to break through with sabotage groups but were exposed and destroyed by Ukrainian defenders." Zelenskiy, in his account of the commander's report, singled out for praise those defending Pokrovsk, particularly from sabotage groups "trying to advance and enter Ukrainian cities and villages. No such Russian group will have a chance of survival." Syrskyi issued his report at the end of a week of upheaval in the government, now focused on boosting domestic arms production. Zelenskiy appointed a new Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, and put her predecessor, Denys Shmyhal, at the head of the Defence Ministry. The outgoing Defence Minister, Rustem Umerov, was named chairman of the National Security and Defence Council and told to "intensify" peace talks with Russia. Russia's military has been advancing through Donetsk region, with the Russian Defence Ministry announcing almost daily the capture of villages on the approaches to Pokrovsk. The capture of one such village, Popiv Yar, was announced on Thursday. Ukraine has reported some successes in pushing back Russian troops from the area in recent months. Pokrovsk is a road and rail hub used to supply other frontline towns. Most of Pokrovsk's pre-war population of 60,000 has been evacuated. Ukraine's only mine that produces coking coal - used in its once vast steel industry -- lies idle outside the city. In Kyiv, Ukrainian air defence units repelled Russian drones on Friday evening. Fragments from one intercepted drone fell on a dwelling in an eastern suburb, but no injuries were reported. (Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksander KozhukharEditing by Rod Nickel)
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Ukraine's top commander says troops standing firm outside key city
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian service members of the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system towards Russian troops near the frontline town of Pokrovsk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine April 19, 2025. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov/File Photo Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Friday his forces were standing firm in defending a key city on the eastern front of the three-year war. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised Ukraine's forces in their defence of Pokrovsk, a logistics hub in eastern Donetsk region that has weathered months of Russian attempts to capture it in their troops' slow advance westward. Syrskyi said he had presented a report to the president describing the challenges facing Ukrainian troops along the 1,000-km (620-mile) front. "Most attention was focused on the Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka sectors, where our soldiers are courageously containing intense pressure and destroying the Russian aggressor," Syrskyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "The enemy is continuing to deploy its tactic of small infantry groups, but has proved powerless on its attempts to seize Pokrovsk. Today, they tried to break through with sabotage groups but were exposed and destroyed by Ukrainian defenders." Zelenskiy, in his account of the commander's report, singled out for praise those defending Pokrovsk, particularly from sabotage groups "trying to advance and enter Ukrainian cities and villages. No such Russian group will have a chance of survival." Syrskyi issued his report at the end of a week of upheaval in the government, now focused on boosting domestic arms production. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Critical infrastructure in S'pore under attack by cyber espionage group: Shanmugam Singapore What is UNC3886, the group that attacked Singapore's critical information infrastructure? Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Asia Indonesia court jails former trade minister for 4½ years in sugar graft case Singapore Singapore police in contact with Indonesian authorities over baby trafficking allegations Singapore NTU upholds zero grade for student accused of using AI in essay; panel found 14 false citations or data Singapore 7-year-old girl, cabby taken to hospital after vehicle pile-up in City Hall area Singapore Former NUH male nurse charged after he allegedly molested man at hospital Zelenskiy appointed a new Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, and put her predecessor, Denys Shmyhal, at the head of the Defence Ministry. The outgoing Defence Minister, Rustem Umerov, was named chairman of the National Security and Defence Council and told to "intensify" peace talks with Russia. Russia's military has been advancing through Donetsk region, with the Russian Defence Ministry announcing almost daily the capture of villages on the approaches to Pokrovsk. The capture of one such village, Popiv Yar, was announced on Thursday. Ukraine has reported some successes in pushing back Russian troops from the area in recent months. Pokrovsk is a road and rail hub used to supply other frontline towns. Most of Pokrovsk's pre-war population of 60,000 has been evacuated. Ukraine's only mine that produces coking coal - used in its once vast steel industry -- lies idle outside the city. In Kyiv, Ukrainian air defence units repelled Russian drones on Friday evening. Fragments from one intercepted drone fell on a dwelling in an eastern suburb, but no injuries were reported. REUTERS
Straits Times
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Ukraine struggles to contain Russian summer advances as US aid stalls
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian service members of the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system towards Russian troops near the frontline town of Pokrovsk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine April 19, 2025. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov/File Photo KYIV - Russia has made incursions near two towns key to army supply routes in eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said on Wednesday, as Moscow seeks a breakthrough in a summer offensive at a time of uncertainty over U.S. support for Kyiv. In recent weeks, Russia has amassed forces and despite heavy losses has advanced in rural areas either side of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka, which both sit on crossroads running to the frontline from larger cities in Ukrainian-controlled territory. Russia's advances on the front are matched by an intensification of drone and missile strikes on Kyiv and other cities, following signs that Washington's support for Ukraine's war effort is faltering. So far, the efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump have failed to achieve a ceasefire in the full-scale invasion launched by Russia in 2022. One of the aims of the Russian offensive is to occupy the rest of the Donetsk region. Now, they are using small assault groups, light vehicles, and drones to push towards the neighbouring region, said Viktor Trehubov, a spokesperson for the Khortytsia group of forces. "There are constant attacks with the intent of breaking through" to the border of the Dnipropetrovsk region at any cost, Trehubov said in written comments to Reuters. Russia now has 111,000 soldiers in the Pokrovsk area, which it has been trying to seize since early last year, Ukraine's top armed forces commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said last week, describing dozens of battles in the area every day. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore and Cambodia to expand collaboration in renewable energy, carbon markets and agri-trade Singapore Ong Beng Seng's court hearing rescheduled one day before he was expected to plead guilty Singapore ByteDance food poisoning: Catering firm convicted after cockroach infestation found on premises Singapore Three hair salons raided in clampdown on touting, vice, drugs in Geylang and Joo Chiat Singapore The romance continues: Former 'Singapore girl', 77, returns to Osaka Expo after 55 years Singapore Granddaughter of Hin Leong founder O.K. Lim fails to keep 3 insurance policies from creditors' reach Singapore Man on trial for raping drunken woman after offering to drive her and her friend home Singapore 3 weeks' jail for man who touched himself on train, flicked bodily fluid on female passenger A decision by Washington to halt some deliveries of various weapons including precision rocket artillery to Kyiv will worsen the situation on the ground for Ukraine's forces, said Jack Watling, a senior researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, a think-tank. "The loss of these supplies will significantly degrade Ukraine's ability to strike Russian forces beyond 30 km (19 miles) from the front line and therefore allow Russia to improve its logistics," Watling said. RUSSIAN GAINS Ukrainian blog DeepState, which uses open-source data to map the frontline, said the Russian military in June had seized 556 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory, which it said was the largest monthly loss of ground since November. Russian forces, which have numerical superiority, cut the main road linking Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in May, complicating Ukrainian movements and resupply efforts. "The Russian advance is being contained, but their crossing of the Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka highway is a strategic and logistical setback," Trehubov said. Heavy Russian losses have prevented Russian advances toward Kostiantynivka via Chasiv Yar, or along the western Pokrovsk front. "Now they are attempting (to advance) further away from populated areas," Trehubov said. DeepState also reported that Russian advances in June near Pokrovsk and nearby Novopavlivka accounted for more than half of all Russian gains along the entire frontline in all of Ukraine. Trehubov said Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka remain Ukrainian logistical hubs, despite setbacks and drone activity which make some defensive fortifications less effective. "(Drones) hinder logistics for both sides but don't make it impossible. Drones after all are not invulnerable," he said. REUTERS
The Irish Sun
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
What Trump and Zelensky ‘said to each other at Pope funeral revealed' as pressure mounts on Putin to make a deal
VOLODYMYR Zelensky is said to have urged Donald Trump to take a tougher stance against Russia when the leaders met during Pope Francis' funeral. Top US officials revealed that the 8 Trump and Zelensky meeting inside St Pater's Basilica Credit: Ukraine Presidential Office 8 The pair met ahead of the Pope's funeral Credit: Ukraine Presidential Office 8 Ukrainian service members of the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system towards Russian troops Credit: Reuters The whole world's eyes were on It was the first time they were pictured meeting together since their historic - and disastrous - However, both presidents agreed to hold a quick, 15-minute one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral. more on Russia-Ukraine war The chat Two senior sources familiar with the contents of the meeting told The Ukrainian leader is also said to have retreated his demands for an unconditional ceasefire, which was proposed by the US weeks ago but rejected by the Kremlin. It is understood that Zelensky told Trump he was ready to make concessions in a bid to bring peace to his war-torn nation, but demanded strong security guarantees in return. Most read in The Sun He added: "We discussed a lot one-on-one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting the lives of our people. "Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out." How scheming Putin has undermined Trump's 100 day peace plan for finally end bloody war in Ukraine Sources told Axios that Trump seemed to agree to what Zelensky was asking. The White House didn't confirm or deny it. He is said to have replied by saying he might have changed his approach to dealing with Putin, which was visible shortly after their chat. Just hours after the meeting, Trump slammed Putin for "tapping him along" during his efforts for peace. He said: "There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns over the last few days. 8 US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office of the White House in February Credit: AFP 8 Macron and Starmer have were also pictured with the pair 8 Rescuers work at the site of a drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine Credit: EPA 8 Experts beloved Trump is being played by Putin Credit: AFP "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?' Too many people are dying!!!" Trump also ordered Putin to The US and Ukrainian leaders have vowed to hold further talks in the coming days. Trump said on Sunday he was both "surprised and disappointed, very disappointed" that mad Vlad continued to bomb Ukraine, despite the dictator It came after earlier this week that left at least 12 dead. Russia announced a token ceasefire to coincide with VE Day after President Trump accused Putin of stringing him along on peace talks. The Kremlin said troops will stop fighting for 96 hours midnight on 7 May. The pause will coincide with events to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2 in Europe. But Moscow dashed hopes of a peace deal by repeating demands that Ukraine must surrender and disarm. Trump is said to be growing "increasingly frustrated" with both Putin and Zelensky in his attempts to bring the Ukraine war to a close. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump has "made it clear" he wants a permanent ceasefire, rather than the temporary pause offered by the scheming Russian tyrant. But experts say this was like a fiddle . ART OF THE DEAL One of the topics that Trump brought up during the 15-minute chat is understood to be the re-negotiated US-Ukraine minerals deal, which fell apart after the historic Oval Office spat. Trump is said to have pressed Zelensky to agree to the deal as soon as possible, the sources told Axios. Ukraine and the US officials said today they were ready to sign a minerals deal imminently after months of sometimes fraught negotiations. However, an eleventh-hour snag injected uncertainty into the timing. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at the White House: "Our side is ready to sign. The Ukrainians decided last night to make some last-minute changes. "We're sure that they will reconsider that, and we are ready, if they are." US-Ukraine minerals deal explained By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter The minerals draft sets out the creation of a joint US-Ukrainian fund for reconstruction, which will receive 50 per cent of profits and royalties accruing to the Ukrainian state from new natural resources permits in Ukraine. The draft does not spell out how the joint fund's revenues will be spent, who benefits or who controls decisions about the spending. Once the main agreement was signed, the two sides would agree on two further technical and supplementary documents outlining issues such as how the funds are accumulated. Ukraine would retain control of all its resources in the deal, while the fund will invest in the development of Ukraine for 10 years, according to the country's prime minister Denys Shmyhal. The U.S could use its future military assistance to Ukraine as its contribution to the fund, Shmyhal said, with no previous military aid to the country reflected in the deal. "Ukraine will only make a contribution from new licenses, from new royalties on mineral resources. This will be our contribution, 50% of which will be given to this fund," he added. A draft of the main minerals agreement showed that Ukraine had secured the removal of any requirement for it to pay back the US for past military assistance, something Ukraine had staunchly opposed. Washington has been Ukraine's single largest military donor since Russia's 2022 invasion, with aid of more than 64 billion euros ($72 billion), according to the Kiel Institute in Germany. A Ukrainian official was on the way to Washington for the signing. But a source said the US was pushing Ukraine to sign two additional documents and that Kyiv felt it was premature. Bessent denied the US made any attempt to change the accord the two sides agreed to over the weekend. The agreement, which would give the United States access to Ukraine's mineral deposits, is central to Kyiv's efforts to mend ties with Trump For the White House, it is a bid to secure a peace settlement in Russia's war in Ukraine. Two sources said it could happen later on Wednesday. Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko was flying to the United States to sign the deal, the country's prime minister said earlier. Trump repeated on Wednesday that the U.S. should get something for its prior aid to Kyiv, thus the effort to secure a deal for Ukraine's plentiful deposits of rare earth minerals. "I assume they're going to honour the deal. ... We haven't really seen the fruits of that deal yet. I suspect we will," Trump said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Ukrainian officials hope that signing the deal promoted by Trump will firm up American support for Kyiv in the more than three-year-old war. A former Trump advisor told LBC the developing US-Ukraine minerals deal will be a "trip wire" that Russia will not cross. He said: "It would engage the American military. It puts the Americans squarely in the middle of the Ukrainian state. It is a trip wire that Putin would dare not to cross." 8
Scottish Sun
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Scheming Putin announces ANOTHER temporary ceasefire in Ukraine for Russian ‘Victory Day' – as Trump's patience runs out
PEACE BID Scheming Putin announces ANOTHER temporary ceasefire in Ukraine for Russian 'Victory Day' – as Trump's patience runs out Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SCHEMING Vladimir Putin has announced another temporary ceasefire in Ukraine for Russia's Victory Day - as Donald Trump's patience runs out. A four-day ceasefire in Ukraine will begin from midnight on 8 May until May 11, based around mad Vlad's 80th anniversary celebrations marking the end of the Second World War. 3 Putin speaks during a news conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko Credit: AP 3 A woman is helped from the rubble after a strike in Kyiv on 24 April Credit: Getty 3 Ukrainian service members of the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system towards Russian troops Credit: Reuters The Kremlin said on Telegram that Russia "believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example". It added: "In case of violation of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will provide an adequate and effective response. "The Russian side once again declares its readiness for peace negotiations without preconditions, aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, and constructive interaction with international partners." Putin had previously announced a 30-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over the Easter weekend - but Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troops violated it nearly 3,000 times. More to follow... For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
