Latest news with #Kiev-based
Qatar Tribune
02-07-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
US halts weapons supply; Ukraine fears increased Russian aggression
agencies kiev Kiev has warned that an interruption of US weapons shipments will encourage Russia to prolong the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. On Tuesday the White House said that it had cut off some weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The decision was taken 'to put America's interests first' following a Department of Defense review of US 'military support and assistance to other countries', White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement that 'any delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine's defence capabilities would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, rather than seek peace.' It particularly emphasised the need for Kiev to strengthen its air defences - as Russia continues to pummel the country with missiles and drones on a near-nightly basis. A Kiev-based US diplomat was invited to the foreign ministry for talks on Wednesday. However, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said it had not received any official notification from the US about the 'suspension or revision' of the weapons deliveries, and urged people not to speculate on the basis of partial information. But in a statement the defence ministry also said that the path to ending the war was 'through consistent and joint pressure on the aggressor'. At the weekend Ukraine endured its biggest aerial attack since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, with more than 500 drones and ballistic and cruise missiles launched at its cities. US officials did not immediately say which shipments were being halted. According to US broadcaster NBC the weapons being delayed could include Patriot interceptors, Howitzer munitions, missiles and grenade launchers. The US has sent tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, leading some in the Trump administration to voice concerns that US stockpiles are too low. The Kremlin, for its part, welcomed news of the reduction in weapons shipments, saying reducing the flow of weapons to Kiev will help end the conflict faster. 'The fewer the number of weapons that are delivered to Ukraine, the closer the end of the special military operation,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Fedir Venislavskyi, an MP for Ukraine's ruling party, said the decision was 'painful, and against the background of the terrorist attacks which Russia commits against Ukraine... it's a very unpleasant situation.'
Russia Today
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Most Ukrainians don't trust Trump
Nearly 90% of Ukrainians don't have faith in Donald Trump, according to a new poll released to mark the US president's first 100 days in office. The survey, conducted by Info Sapiens for the Kiev-based New Europe Center (NEC) and published on Monday, suggests that 89% of Ukrainians said they don't trust Trump, while only 7.4% said the opposite. A similar poll in November 2024, before Trump was sworn in for his second term, indicated that 44.6% of Ukrainians said they trusted Trump, and 47.2% said they didn't. The NEC attributed Trump's 'relatively high score' at the time to the 'general disappointment with the hesitant policy of Joe Biden's administration toward supporting Ukraine,' as well as Trump's campaign promise to quickly negotiate a peace deal. Trust in the US president has since plummeted in Ukraine because his strategy 'at times, seemed more in line with Russia's revanchist vision than with international law,' the NEC said. While Trump has criticized both Russia and Ukraine, he blamed Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky for the conflict. Their meeting in the Oval Office in February descended into a shouting match, during which Trump and US Vice President J.D. Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful for American aid and 'gambling with World War III.' Trump has declined to offer security guarantees to Ukraine, instead pressuring Kiev to sign a deal that would allow the US to profit from the country's natural resources. The peace agreement proposed by Washington reportedly includes US recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, freezing the conflict along the current front line, and acknowledging Moscow's control over large parts of the four former Ukrainian regions that voted to join Russia. The deal would also reportedly prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and initiate a phased removal of sanctions imposed on Russia. Moscow has said that a viable peace could only be achieved if Ukraine abandoned its territorial claims and dropped plans to join NATO – something Kiev has refused to do.
Russia Today
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukrainian MPs support Zelensky's rule at second attempt
Ukrainian lawmakers have a passed a motion in support of Vladimir Zelensky's claim to presidential powers, one day after a failed attempt to do so. Zelensky's five-year presidential term expired last year, although he has declined to conduct new elections, citing the martial law imposed in 2022. US President Donald Trump last week branded the Ukrainian leader a 'dictator without elections.' The parliament in Kiev initially voted on a declaration of support for Zelensky during a visit by senior EU officials on the third anniversary of the Ukraine conflict on Monday, but the resolution was rejected. However, it garnered enough support at the second attempt on Tuesday, when 280 lawmakers voted in favor, as reported by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak. The declaration denounces Russian President Vladimir Putin as being 'responsible for the impossibility of organizing free, transparent, democratic elections in Ukraine.' The text also asserts that Ukraine is a democratic state and that its people do not question Zelensky's mandate, based on MPs' discretion. As such, lawmakers argue that Zelensky should retain presidential powers until a proper replacement can be elected once the conflict concludes. While the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits parliamentary and presidential elections during wartime and allows for the extension of the sitting parliament's term, it lacks similar provisions for the presidency. On the contrary, it states that if no valid replacement is available in due time, presidential authority should transfer to the parliament's speaker. Putin has cited Ukrainian law to explain why Russia questions Zelensky's claim to power. This month, Trump publicly described Zelensky as a 'dictator without elections,' claiming that the Ukrainian leader's domestic approval ratings are in single digits. Zelensky has countered the criticism by referencing an opinion poll from a Kiev-based firm, suggesting that a majority of Ukrainians support his leadership. The EU has expressed solidarity with Zelensky, with foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stating on Monday that 'there is no need to hold elections' in Ukraine.
Russia Today
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
World War III was ‘not so far away'
US President Donald Trump has argued that his electoral victory was critical in preventing World War III. He has claimed that if former Vice President Kamala Harris had been elected last November, a global conflict would have arisen within a year. Trump reiterated his desire to be remembered as 'a peacemaker and a unifier' on Wednesday in Miami Beach during an event organized by the Future Investment Initiative Institute, a non-profit run by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. He said that resolving the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are his key foreign policy objectives. 'There's no profit for anyone in having World War III, and you're not so far away from it,' Trump told the audience. 'If we would have had this administration for another year, you would have been in World War III, and now it's not going to happen.' In his farewell speech at the State Department last month, then-President Joe Biden said his administration's biggest goals were to 'rally the world and defend Ukraine' and to 'avoid war between two nuclear powers.' Trump has criticized Biden and his team, including Harris, for what he claims was gross incompetence. He has often argued that under his leadership, the tensions over Ukraine would not have escalated into an armed conflict. Earlier this week, senior officials from Russia and the US met in Saudi Arabia to discuss repairing relations which were strained under Biden. Trump commended Riyadh's role in facilitating the talks, calling them highly successful and reinforcing his administration's efforts to tackle the Ukraine crisis. This diplomatic engagement has led to tension between Trump and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, who insisted that negotiations regarding the conflict should not occur without Kiev's involvement. Trump criticized Zelensky during his speech, labeling him a 'dictator without elections' who has been draining American resources instead of seeking a diplomatic resolution with Russia. He suggested that Zelensky 'wants to keep the gravy train going,' and warned that he 'better move fast, or he's not going to have a country left.' Zelensky previously accused Trump of echoing 'Russian disinformation' regarding his low approval ratings in Ukraine, citing a survey from a Kiev-based pollster that indicated public support for his rule. In response, Trump claimed he was referencing 'real Ukrainian polls.'
Russia Today
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukraine wants EU to replace lost US aid
Ukrainian members of parliament have appealed to non-US donors to step in and fund local media outlets and NGOs following Washington's suspension of most foreign assistance programs. Last week, President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day review of aid schemes, halting cash flows. Many affected programs were run by USAID, Washington's soft power agency that distributes billions of dollars of assistance each year for projects that promote the US interests around the world, under the premise of humanitarian development. It spent over $60 billion in 2023 alone. Ukrainian recipients of American grants were hit 'worse than it may seem,' a statement by the parliamentary committee on humanitarian affairs said on Wednesday. Lawmakers anticipate that it will take up to six months for US funding to fully resume, and have urged European sponsors step in. 'Given the constraints on public funding, grants remain virtually the only way for cultural and media projects to function,' it said. Read more Nearly all Ukrainian media depends on US cash – NGO chief The urgency of the situation was previously highlighted by Ukrainian content creators. Oksana Romanyuk, executive director of a Kiev-based media research non-profit, warned that 90% of news outlets in Ukraine rely heavily on foreign grants. With USAID operations frozen, many of them are now soliciting emergency donations. The Ukrainian MPs described foreign assistance as 'an important part of our path to democratic development and sustainability' . They empathized that USAID was funding projects for children, with thousands of minors attending schools that depend on American taxpayer dollars. According to media reports, senior officials in the Department of State have lobbied Secretary Marco Rubio to make exemptions for their preferred aid programs, arguing that they are essential for US interests. Meanwhile, at least 60 senior USAID officials reportedly have been placed on paid administrative leave.
