Latest news with #Ukr
Korea Herald
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Sacked Russian transport minister found dead in his car
Russia's sacked transport minister has been found dead in his car outside Moscow with a gunshot wound and the principal hypothesis is that he took his own life, state investigators said on Monday, hours after President Vladimir Putin fired him. A presidential decree published earlier on Monday gave no reason for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit, 53, after barely a year in the job, though political analysts were quick to raise the possibility that he may have been dismissed in connection with an investigation into corruption in the region he once ran. Reuters could not independently confirm these suggestions, though a transport industry source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Starovoit's position had been in question for months due to questions about the same corruption scandal. That investigation centers on whether 19.4 billion roubles ($246 million) earmarked in 2022 for fortifying Russia's border with Ukraine in the Kursk region was properly spent or whether some of that money was embezzled. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement it was working to establish the precise circumstances of Starovoit's death. A pistol belonging to Starovoit, who was divorced with two daughters, had been found near his body, various Russian media outlets cited law enforcement sources as saying. Some Russian media, citing law enforcement sources, also said his body had been found with a gunshot wound to the head in bushes near his car, a Tesla, rather than in the car itself. The vehicle was left near a park not far from his home in the Moscow region. Before being appointed transport minister in May 2024, Starovoit had been governor of the Kursk region for nearly five years. Three months after he became transport minister, Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Kursk in the biggest foreign incursion into Russian territory since World War II and were only pushed out earlier this year after fierce fighting and widespread destruction. In April this year, Starovoit's successor as governor and his former deputy, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with embezzling money earmarked for defense purposes amid accusations that funds intended for border defences had been stolen, leaving Kursk more vulnerable to Ukrainian attack. Various Russian media outlets reported on Monday that Smirnov had told state investigators that Starovoit had also been in on the fraud. Reuters could not confirm that, and a lawyer for Smirnov -- who has pleaded not guilty to embezzlement -- told the state RIA news agency that he couldn't comment. Starovoit's dismissal comes at a time of significant challenges for Russia's transport sector as the war in Ukraine drags on for a fourth year. Russia's aviation sector is short of spare parts and Russian Railways, the country's largest employer, is grappling with soaring interest costs as high rates -- needed to curb higher inflation exacerbated by the war -- take their toll. Long-range Ukrainian drones also frequently force Russian airports to suspend their activities for safety reasons, sometimes causing major disruption. The Kremlin said Andrei Nikitin, a former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed acting transport minister, and it published photographs of him shaking hands with Putin in the Kremlin. Asked about Nikitin's swift appointment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin thought Nikitin had the right professional qualities and experience for the job. The Transport Ministry declined to comment.
Bangkok Post
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
Russian forces claim first foothold in new Ukraine region
KYIV (UKRAINE) - Russia said Monday it captured its first village in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region after grinding towards the border for months, dealing a physchological blow for Kyiv as its worries mount. Moscow launched a fresh large-scale drone and missile barrage before the announcement, including on Ukraine's army recruitment centres, as part of an escalating series of attacks that come as ceasefire talks led by the United States stall. The Russian defence ministry said its forces captured the village of Dachne in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial mining territory that has also come under mounting Russian air attacks. Russian forces appear to have made crossing the border a key strategic objective over recent months, and deeper advances into the region could pose logistics and economic problems for Kyiv. Kyiv has so far denied any Russian foothold in Dnipropetrovsk. Moscow first said last month its forces had crossed the border, more than three years since launching its invasion and pushing through the neighbouring Donetsk region. Earlier Monday, Ukraine's army said its forces "repelled" attacks in Dnipropetrovsk, including "in the vicinity" of Dachne. Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea -- that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory. - Sheltering in basements - Russia used its main city of Dnipro as a testing ground for its "experimental" Oreshnik missile in late 2024, claiming to have struck an aeronautics production facility. An AFP reporter in the eastern city of Kharkiv saw civilians with their belongings being evacuated from a residential building damaged during Russia's overnight attacks, and others sheltering with pets in a basement. At least four people were killed and dozens wounded across Ukraine, mostly in the Kharkiv region bordering Russia and in a late-morning attack on the industrial city of Zaphorizhzhia. "Air defence remains the top priority for protecting lives," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media after the attacks, as fears mount over the continuing deliveries of US military aid. Zelensky said Ukraine was "strongly counting on our partners to fully deliver on what we have agreed". The air force said Moscow had launched 101 drones across the country and four missiles. Seventy-five of the drones were downed, it added. Attacks on Monday targeted two recruitment centres in separate cities wounding four people, the Ukrainian army said, in what appears to be a new trend following similar strikes over the weekend and last week. "These strikes are part of a comprehensive enemy operation aimed at disrupting mobilisation in Ukraine," Ukraine's Centre for Strategic Communications, a government-funded body, wrote on social media. It added that Russia had attacked recruitment centres last week in the cities of Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rig, and Poltava. In Russia, the defence ministry said that it had shot down 91 Ukrainian drones overnight, including eight in the Moscow region, with the majority of the rest in regions bordering Ukraine.
Qatar Tribune
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Russia's deadliest attack on Kiev for months flattens apartment block
Agencies Kiev Russia has carried out a mass missile and drone attack on Ukraine's capital, Kiev, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 100 others, officials said. A drone smashed into an apartment block, destroying dozens of flats and Ukraine's interior minister said the country had been hit by 440 drones and 32 missiles. Officials said initially that 15 people had died in the capital, but later revised the number down to 10, with another two fatalities in the southern port city of Odesa. The attack overnight into Tuesday was among the biggest on the capital since the start of Russia's full-scale war and President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was 'one of the most terrifying strikes'. Russia's defence ministry said it had targeted Ukraine's military-industrial complexes and that all its targets had been hit. The strikes on Kiev lasted more than nine hours – sending residents fleeing to underground shelters from before midnight until after sunrise. Officials said a ballistic missile hit a nine-storey apartment building in one district, with a total of 27 locations in the city coming under fire. An entrance to the building in the southwestern Solomyanskyi district came crashing down and there were concerns the number of casualties could rise. A 62-year-old US citizen was among those killed, Kiev's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Standing in front of the remains of the building, Klitschko said more than 40 apartments had been destroyed and more people might be trapped under the rubble. He accused Russia of firing cluster bomblets filled with ball bearings to kill as many people as possible. 'Waking up in utter nightmare: people trapped under rubble and full buildings collapsed,' Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko wrote on X. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that a variety of buildings had come under Russian attack, including residential, critical infrastructure and educational facilities. People were still under the rubble by late afternoon and rescue work was going on at two sites, he said. Klymenko explained that initial mistakes made in counting the dead often happened because body parts were wrongly identified. Loud explosions rocked the city in the early hours of Tuesday, along with the rattle of the machine guns used by mobile Ukrainian air defence units to shoot down drones. More sirens later in the morning disrupted rescue operations in the city, hampering emergency workers searching the rubble for survivors. Russia has intensified its air attacks against Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, with a tactic of sending large waves of drones and decoys designed to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences. Kiev has launched attacks of its own, as direct talks between the warring sides failed to secure a ceasefire or significant breakthrough. Russia accused Ukrainian forces of launching a missile strike on a district in occupied Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, and Russia-appointed officials said at least 10 people had been hurt. A reported 147 Ukrainian drones were shot down over nine Russian regions overnight, Russian news agencies said. President Zelensky, who has travelled to the G7 summit in Canada, called Russia's most recent wave of strikes 'pure terrorism'. He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of carrying out the large-scale strikes 'solely because he can afford to continue this war'. 'It is bad when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to this,' he said, adding: 'It is the terrorists who should feel the pain, not normal, peaceful people.' Drone strikes also hit the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, killing two people and wounding 10 others, officials said.
Scottish Sun
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Trump gives Putin two-week ceasefire DEADLINE as tyrant masses 50k troops at border – but will new talks stop bloodbath?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A FRUSTRATED Donald Trump has issued Vladimir Putin a two-week deadline for a ceasefire - warning of a different response if Putin is "tapping us along". The US president's ultimatum comes as Russia launches its deadliest strikes yet on Ukraine, with Kyiv fearing Moscow is massing troops for a major new offensive. 3 Donald Trump has given Putin a two-week ceasefire deadline 3 A Ukrainian firefighter at the site of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on the Sumy region Credit: Reuters 3 Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday: 'I'm very disappointed at what happened a couple of nights now where people were killed in the middle of what you would call a negotiation." He added: 'When I see rockets being shot into cities, that's no good. We're not going to allow it.' When asked if Putin really wants to end the war, Trump replied: "I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about two weeks. "Within two weeks. We're gonna find out whether or not (Putin is) tapping us along or not. "And if he is, we'll respond a little bit differently." The US president's comments came just minutes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed a second round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. He said the proposed talks on June 2 would be a continuation of negotiations. Kyiv has said it's "not opposed" to meetings. The White House has ramped up its efforts to push for a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine. Trump and Putin recently had a two-hour phone call, after which Putin said he was ready to work with Ukraine on a "memorandum on a possible future peace agreement". Trump 'not happy' with Putin after war's biggest air attack on Ukraine killing 13 as Don considers sanctions on Russia The White House has been accused of appeasing Moscow - most notably when Trump shifted the focus from the 30-day ceasefire mentioned in the call and later opted for a summit with Putin. But the US has rejected these claims, pointing out that all sanctions remain in force against Russia. The Kremlin has not yet sent a memorandum, claiming it's currently drafting its version and that there cannot be a fixed deadline for ceasefire details to be agreed. Meanwhile, over the past few days, the US president has lashed out at his Russian counterpart on social media. He said on Tuesday that Putin has gone "absolutely crazy" and is "playing with fire" after Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine. Trump added that "lots of bad things" would have happened to Russia if it were not for his involvement. He broke his silence on Sunday after Russia fired 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities in the largest aerial attack of the war now in its fourth year. Russian strikes in Kyiv killed at least 13 people and injured dozens more. Putin has been building up a 50,000-strong force alongside the border of Kharkiv, for an offensive in the eastern region of Sumy, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Tuesday, it was revealed that Putin's forces had snatched another four villages in Ukraine's Sumy region. Sumy governor Oleh Hryhorov wrote in a post: "The enemy is continuing attempts to advance with the aim of setting up a so-called buffer zone". Hryhorov said the villages of Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka and Zhuravka had been overrun and the resident evacuated. In response, Ukraine launched a wave of brutal drone strikes on the Russian capital. Zelensky has accused Moscow of delaying the peace process and claimed Ukrainian intelligence shows Putin has no intention of ending the war. According to top Russian officials, Putin wants a "written" pledge from Western leaders to stop Nato's expansion to countries eastward, it was revealed to Reuters. The eastward expansion refers to Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other former Soviet republics.
Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Times
Ukraine will not accept ‘stitch-up' deal, says MP turned soldier
Ukraine will not have a 'stitch-up deal' forced upon it and its armed forces are prepared to carry on fighting without US backing, according to a British former MP turned soldier in Ukraine's military. Jack Lopresti, who is serving in the International Legion's military intelligence unit as well as in a liaison role helping with weapons procurement, said Donald Trump's ceasefire proposal amounted to 'appeasement' of a dictator. On a brief visit to London, he said that Ukraine could continue to fight without US equipment as long as Britain and Europe ramped up their military support. He said: 'They are not going to put up with having a stitch-up deal forced upon them. They are prepared to fight and carry on fighting. The morale is incredibly high; it's astonishing. 'They are fighting for their existence, for their survival, and they are not going to give up any time soon, even if America withdraws.' Washington's proposal is to recognise the Russian annexation of Crimea and Russia's conquest of a fifth of Ukraine's territory in the east. Kyiv must also accept that membership of Nato is ruled out indefinitely, and hand over immediate control of Ukraine's rare earth resources, as well as its oil and gas industries, to a joint fund from which America could profit. Trump's administration has already threatened to remove itself from the discussions if the two sides do not agree, raising fears US support for Ukraine could be pulled altogether. 'It's been our worst nightmare what has transpired,' Lopresti said, wearing a fleece inscribed with 'freedom can't be stopped' in Ukrainian. 'I think the deal is pretty disgusting, it's appeasement. 'It basically says if you are a dictator and you take land and you kill people and commit war crimes and kidnap over 20,000 children, as long as you stay put, eventually you will get something and then you can come back for more.' Lopresti, 55, a father-of-four, spoke to The Times after coming off the phone to friends in Kyiv. He had called them to check they were safe after a deadly Russian missile and drone attack on Wednesday night. He travelled to Ukraine early this year to join Ukraine's equivalent of the Foreign Legion after losing his parliamentary seat in July last year. After serving as a reservist in the British Army, which included a deployment to Afghanistan, he was elected MP for Filton & Bradley Stoke, near Bristol, in 2010. He also served as Conservative Party deputy chairman. During his time as an MP he had stage four bowel cancer but recovered after chemotherapy. When he signed up to help Ukraine at the end of last year, he had been prepared to fight in the trenches, he said. Although he generally carries out more of a liaison role to make use of his skills, he has also been deployed to the front line where he has come under Russian drone attack. • Western officials have recently said that Russia's progress on the battlefield has slowed, although it is still advancing. Some experts question how long Ukraine could fight on without US support. In March, when the US suspended military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, a senior official said Ukraine could 'last a matter of months, maybe less' without US support. However, striking a relatively upbeat tone about the challenge Ukraine faces, Lopresti said: 'They are not losing … cities are being smashed, but they are holding the line, they are successfully defending their country.' He believes Britain and Europe could fill any void left by the US if necessary. He insisted that Ukraine wants peace, ,but was 'not going to be shafted'. He said: 'They are going to remain a sovereign independent country.' If President Zelensky were to agree to Trump's demands, he would have to change the constitution, which states that Ukraine's sovereignty 'extends throughout its entire territory' which 'within its present border is indivisible and inviolable'. The former MP said that if there was a frozen conflict, Putin would return again to take more territory. 'The defence of the UK starts in Ukraine,' he warned. Would he die for Ukraine? 'I'm joining a military of a country at war, fighting for its own survival,' he said. 'I could have been killed last night. You have to be prepared to make those sorts of sacrifices, otherwise there is no point.'
