Latest news with #Yermak
ABC News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Ukraine calls deadly Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia prison 'another war crime'
Russian glide bombs and missiles have struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight, killing at least 21 people, Ukrainian officials say. The Russian bombardment of civilian areas comes despite US President Donald Trump's threat to soon punish Russia with sanctions and tariffs unless it stops. A Russian air strike on a prison in Ukraine's south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 17 inmates and wounded more than 80 others, officials said. In the Dnipro region, authorities reported at least four people were killed and eight injured. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, condemned the strikes as "another war crime" committed by Russia. "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin's regime, which also issues threats against the United States through some of its mouthpieces, must face economic and military blows that strip it of the capacity to wage war," Mr Yermak said on X. Mr Trump said on Monday he was giving Russian President Vladimir Putin 10 to 12 days to stop the killing in Ukraine after three years of war, moving up a 50-day deadline he had given the Russian leader two weeks ago. The move means Mr Trump wants peace efforts to make progress by August 7 to 9. Mr Trump has repeatedly rebuked Mr Putin for talking about ending the war but continuing to bombard Ukrainian civilians. But the Kremlin has not changed its tactics. "I'm disappointed in President Putin," Mr Trump said during a visit to Scotland. The Kremlin pushed back, however, with a top Putin lieutenant warning Mr Trump against "playing the ultimatum game with Russia". "Russia isn't Israel or even Iran," former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy head of the country's Security Council, wrote online. "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country." Since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour, the Kremlin has warned Kyiv's Western backers that their involvement could end up broadening the war to NATO countries. The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles along with 37 Shahed-type strike drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight. They say 32 Shahed drones were intercepted or neutralised by Ukrainian air defences. The Russian attack close to midnight on Monday hit the Bilenkivska Correctional Facility with four guided aerial bombs, according to the State Criminal Executive Service of Ukraine. At least 42 inmates were hospitalised with serious injuries, while another 40 people, including one staff member, sustained various injuries. The strike destroyed the prison's dining hall, damaged administrative and quarantine buildings, but the perimeter fence held and no escapes were reported, authorities said. Ukrainian officials condemned the attack, saying targeting civilian infrastructure, such as prisons, was a war crime under international conventions. In Dnipro, missiles hit the city of Kamianske, partially destroying a three-story building and damaging nearby medical facilities, including a maternity hospital and a city hospital ward. Two people were killed and five were wounded, including a pregnant woman who is now in a serious condition, according to regional head Serhii Lysak. Further Russian attacks hit communities in Synelnykivskyi district with FPV drones and aerial bombs, killing at least one person and injuring two others. According to Lysak, Russian forces also targeted the community of Velykomykhailivska, killing a 75-year-old woman and injuring a 68-year-old man. AP
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia hits Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles prompting NATO response
Polish and allied NATO aircraft were scrambled in response to a large Russian drone and missile attack launched into Ukraine on Sunday night, the Polish military's Operational Command said in a statement. "Polish and allied duty aircraft have been scrambled and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness," the command said in a statement posted to X in the early hours of Monday morning, as hundreds of drones and missiles targeted sites across Ukraine. The alert lasted for around three hours, after which the command posted another statement saying that "deployed forces and resources have returned to standard operational activities." NATO's Air Command and Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighters stationed in Poland took part in the response, the Polish Operational Command said. An official at Lithuania's Defense Ministry confirmed to ABC News that a drone also crossed into Lithuania from Belarusian airspace. Russian forces regularly route drones through Belarusian airspace to attack Ukrainian targets from the north. A search for the drone was still underway as of Monday morning, the official said. Russia launched 324 drones and seven missiles into Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said in a statement published on Telegram. Of those, 309 drones and two missiles were shot down or suppressed, it said, with 15 strike drones and two missiles impacting across three locations. At least eight people were injured in Kyiv after a Russian drone hit a residential highrise, the head of the city's military administration said in a post to Telegram. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, wrote on Telegram that the most recent barrage was evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin's lack of commitment to a proposed ceasefire, "This is how Putin responds to calls to end the war and sit at the negotiating table," he wrote. "Russian air attacks are still ongoing, with civilian infrastructure, homes and people, including in Kyiv, already affected." MORE: Scale of Russia-Ukraine drone strikes builds ahead of possible ceasefire talks "There is no alternative to sanctions, strengthening Ukraine's long-range capabilities and tough actions against Putin's circle and Putin himself," Yermak wrote. "He wants nothing but war and Ukraine's defeat. And there will be no defeat." Referring to the scrambling of NATO aircraft and the drone crossing into Lithuania, Yermak added, "The Russians and their satellites are testing NATO's reaction. Drones entering the airspace of the Baltic countries are signals that cannot be ignored." Zelenskyy also posted to Telegram noting that Kyiv is "constantly strengthening the Ukrainian air shield and it is very important to maintain full understanding among partners about how exactly they can help. Step by step, we are closing the funding gap for drone production and this week I will have new talks with partners regarding this task." "Restoration and rescue work is currently underway everywhere it is needed," the president added of the overnight drone and missile impacts. "This particularly concerns electricity supply. Necessary assistance is being provided to the wounded." Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down seven Ukrainian drones overnight.
2 days ago
- Politics
NATO aircraft scrambled during major Russian drone, missile strike on Ukraine
LONDON -- Polish and allied NATO aircraft were scrambled in response to a large Russian drone and missile attack launched into Ukraine on Sunday night, the Polish military's Operational Command said in a statement. "Polish and allied duty aircraft have been scrambled and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness," the command said in a statement posted to X in the early hours of Monday morning, as hundreds of drones and missiles targeted sites across Ukraine. The alert lasted for around three hours, after which the command posted another statement saying that "deployed forces and resources have returned to standard operational activities." NATO's Air Command and Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighters stationed in Poland took part in the response, the Polish Operational Command said. An official at Lithuania's Defense Ministry confirmed to ABC News that a drone also crossed into Lithuania from Belarusian airspace. Russian forces regularly route drones through Belarusian airspace to attack Ukrainian targets from the north. A search for the drone was still underway as of Monday morning, the official said. Russia launched 324 drones and seven missiles into Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said in a statement published on Telegram. Of those, 309 drones and two missiles were shot down or suppressed, it said, with 15 strike drones and two missiles impacting across three locations. At least eight people were injured in Kyiv after a Russian drone hit a residential highrise, the head of the city's military administration said in a post to Telegram. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, wrote on Telegram that the most recent barrage was evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin's lack of commitment to a proposed ceasefire, "This is how Putin responds to calls to end the war and sit at the negotiating table," he wrote. "Russian air attacks are still ongoing, with civilian infrastructure, homes and people, including in Kyiv, already affected." "There is no alternative to sanctions, strengthening Ukraine's long-range capabilities and tough actions against Putin's circle and Putin himself," Yermak wrote. "He wants nothing but war and Ukraine's defeat. And there will be no defeat." Referring to the scrambling of NATO aircraft and the drone crossing into Lithuania, Yermak added, "The Russians and their satellites are testing NATO's reaction. Drones entering the airspace of the Baltic countries are signals that cannot be ignored." Zelenskyy also posted to Telegram noting that Kyiv is "constantly strengthening the Ukrainian air shield and it is very important to maintain full understanding among partners about how exactly they can help. Step by step, we are closing the funding gap for drone production and this week I will have new talks with partners regarding this task." "Restoration and rescue work is currently underway everywhere it is needed," the president added of the overnight drone and missile impacts. "This particularly concerns electricity supply. Necessary assistance is being provided to the wounded."
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Russia Using Kidnapped Ukrainian Children As Soldiers: Top Zelensky Aide
Ukraine has accused Russia of abducting Ukrainian children during its ongoing invasion and forcing them into military service once they turn 18, sending them to fight against their own people. Kyiv says the disturbing practice is part of a coordinated, state-driven plan approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Ukrainian forces were now encountering these young men on the frontlines, according to a report in The New York Post. Many were taken as minors and subjected to years of ideological indoctrination and military training in occupied territories, Mr Yermak said. One such case is that of 19-year-old Vlad Rudenko, who shared his ordeal with The Times of London. He recalled being subjected to daily routines that included singing the Russian national anthem, undergoing intense physical drills such as jumping, squatting, running and crawling, along with firearms training. He explained that teenagers were subjected to different levels of training depending on their age. 'The 16- and 17-year-olds were given dummy rifles and the older ones used live ammunition,' he said. Rudenko was reportedly just 16 when Russian forces picked him at gunpoint during their occupation of Kherson in October 2022. He was taken to Crimea, where he spent three years in a re-education facility. Eventually, with help from his mother, he escaped and made his way back across the frontlines. Mr Yermak condemned the actions as part of a broader campaign by Moscow, calling it the work of a 'terroristic regime.' According to him, the scheme serves a dual purpose: to replenish Russia's dwindling military ranks and to psychologically devastate Ukrainian troops by forcing them to fight against their own kin. 'The Russians want to destroy the new generation of the Ukrainians, and they are building new soldiers against the country where they were born. It is terrible,' Mr Yermak said. 'Putin's goal is [that] he doesn't want Ukraine to exist.' The scale of the operation has drawn international scrutiny. The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, which has partnered with Kyiv to trace missing Ukrainian children, has documented dozens of Russian-run indoctrination camps, reported The New York Post. In these camps, children are immersed in Russian culture, forbidden from speaking Ukrainian, and shaped into what the Kremlin calls 'ideal citizens.' Some have been paraded on Russian state television, including a Mariupol boy reportedly adopted by Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children's rights. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for President Putin in 2023, citing child abductions as a central charge. The Kremlin has denied wrongdoing, but human rights groups continue to raise alarm over the long-term consequences of such forced conscription.
France 24
17-07-2025
- Business
- France 24
Ukraine's new PM: a deal-maker as head of wartime government
The 39-year-old, who was appointed economy minister just months before the Kremlin launched its full-scale assault in February 2022, shot to international prominence this year when she championed a vital economic accord between Kyiv and Washington. "It is a great honor for me to lead the Government of Ukraine today," Svyrydenko said on social media, adding that "war leaves no room for delay. We must act swiftly and decisively". Svyrydenko led fraught negotiations around a minerals and investment agreement with the United States that nearly derailed ties between Kyiv and its most important military ally. The deal was central to a disastrous televised spat between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in February 2025. Not long after, Svyrydenko travelled to Washington to finalise an agreement that many Ukrainians hoped would placate Trump by giving him a sellable victory and ensure more critical US support for Kyiv. "She was the key and the only person leading these negotiations. She managed to prevent them from unravelling," said Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former economy minister who worked with Svyrydenko. She earned the respect of US partners during the negotiations, according to several analysts, including Mylovanov, who described Svyrydenko as preferring a level-headed, non-confrontational approach in politics. 'Wartime economy minister' Svyrydenko is also viewed as loyal to the powerful head of Zelensky's office, Andriy Yermak, with some seeing her nomination as another attempt from the presidency to consolidate power. She is taking the helm at a precarious moment, in a country exhausted by more than three years of war and dependent on its foreign allies for survival. The role of prime minister does not typically include a say on military strategy or frontline operations, where Zelensky and his military chiefs call the shots. Yet Svyrydenko is central to a young generation of Ukrainian leaders, like Zelensky, who have guided the country through the Russian invasion and contrast starkly with the Soviet-styled elites that dominate in Russia. She was not yet 30 when the Kremlin helped foment a violent overthrow of authorities in eastern Ukraine, as popular protests demanded that Kyiv pursue closer integration with Europe. And her native region of Chernigiv, which borders Russia and its war ally Belarus, was briefly occupied at the start of the invasion launched in February 2022. Despite being ravaged and facing a potentially crippling recession, she kept Ukraine's economy afloat during the war, including by pushing for some businesses to have exemptions from key staff being mobilised into the armed forces. Keeping businesses going will be "her legacy as the wartime economy minister," Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, told AFP. 'Emblematic' "Svyrydenko is emblematic of the Ukrainian people's resilience," then-US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo wrote of her in Time Magazine in 2023. Svyrydenko, who mostly avoids the press, moved through the ranks of government quickly after graduating with honours from the National University of Trade and Economics and a brief spell in the private sector. She held a variety of posts in her native Chernigiv region before being appointed by presidential decree as deputy head of the president's office in 2020. Less than a year later, she became deputy prime minister and economy minister. Svyrydenko has said that civil service was a part of her life since childhood, as both her parents worked in government.
