Germany plans to halve its military aid to Ukraine to €4bn next year, despite concerns of dwindling support from the US. According to a draft of the 2025 budget, the military aid for Ukraine will be cut down to €4bn (£3.36bn) in 2025 from around €8bn (£6.72bn) in 2024.
The country’s finance minister assured that the bulk of the money and military aid Kyiv needs has been secured “for the foreseeable future thanks to European instruments and the G7 loans.”
Germany has faced criticism for repeatedly missing a Nato target of spending 2 per cent of its economic output on defence.
The blow to Kyiv comes as Donald Trump named as his vice presidential pick Senator JD Vance, who opposes military aid for Ukraine and warned Europe will have to rely less on the US to defend the continent.
Ukraine’s defence minister has said the war-hit nation will find a way to battle Russia’s invading forces even if Mr Trump wins a second term and imperils vital US support. “At this stage, we will focus on the battlefield,” Rustem Umerov said. “Whatever the outcome” of the US elections, “we will find solutions.”
Key Points
- Germany to halve military aid for Ukraine in deepening crisis
- Putin's house fortified as Kyiv's drone attack successes grow
- Russia and China begin live-fire naval exercises in South China Sea
- Russia and Ukraine conduct prisoner exchange involving 190 soldiers
- One dead, eight wounded in Ukrainian attacks on Kherson region
- Switzerland opens dozens of Russian sanctions cases
Germany to halve military aid for Ukraine in deepening crisis
04:18
Arpan Rai
Germany has said it will halve its military aid to Ukraine next year, despite concerns that US support for Kyiv could potentially diminish if Republican candidate Donald Trump returns to the White House.
It will be cut down to €4bn (£3.36bn) in 2025 from around €8bn (£6.72bn) in 2024, according to a draft of the 2025 budget seen by Reuters. Germany has faced criticism for repeatedly missing a Nato target of spending 2 per cent of its economic output on defence.
Germany hopes Ukraine will be able to meet the bulk of its military needs with the $50bn in loans from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets approved by the Group of Seven, and that funds earmarked for armaments will not be fully used.
“Ukraine’s financing is secured for the foreseeable future thanks to European instruments and the G7 loans,” German finance minister Christian Lindner said yesterday at a news conference.
Officials say EU leaders agreed to the idea in part because it reduces the chance of Ukraine being short of funds if Trump returns to the White House.
Alarm bells rang across Europe this week after Trump picked Senator JD Vance, who opposes military aid for Ukraine and warned Europe will have to rely less on the United States to defend the continent, as his candidate for vice president.
Mayor of Russia's Black Sea port Novorossiisk issues sea drone alert
04:03
Arpan Rai
The mayor of the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiisk issued a sea drone alert this morning, warning of a likely attack from Ukraine on Russia.
Mayor Andrei Kravchenko urged locals to stay away from the shoreline. Ukrainian sea drones have in the past attacked Russian ships near the port, disrupting traffic.
Novorossiisk is Russia’s largest Black Sea port and a key outlet for crude oil and oil product exports in Russia’s south. It also loads oil coming from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and handles grain, coal, fertilizers, timber, containers, food and chemical cargoes.
This coincides with Russian forces saying they destroyed a Ukrainian sea drone in the Black Sea near the city, according to the Russian-appointed governor of the city of Sevastopol in Crimea.
Germany to halve military aid for Ukraine next year
04:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Germany will halve military aid for Ukraine next year, even with the possibility that Republican candidate Donald Trump could return to the White House and curb support for Kyiv.
German aid to Ukraine will be cut to 4 billion euros ($4.35 billion) in 2025 from around 8 billion euros in 2024, according to a draft of the 2025 budget seen by Reuters.
Germany hopes Ukraine will be able to meet the bulk of its military needs with the $50 billion in loans from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets agreed by the Group of Seven, and that funds earmarked for armaments will not be fully used.
The stocks of Germany’s armed forces, already run down by decades of underinvestment, have been further depleted by arms supplies to Kyiv.
So far, Berlin has donated three Patriot air defence units to Kyiv, more than any other country, bringing down the number of Patriot systems in Germany to nine.
Although military aid to Ukraine will be cut, Germany will comply with the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defence in 2025, with a total of 75.3 billion euros.
Switzerland opens dozens of Russian sanctions cases
03:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Switzerland has opened investigations into more than 50 cases of possible sanctions violations and has found breaches in 15 of them so far, the government said in a statement on Wednesday.
Since Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland has adopted sanctions similar to those of other Western countries, passing new measures earlier this month.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said in an email to Reuters that the effective implementation of sanctions was a government priority and that it had opened 56 violations proceedings to date.
Of those, around half have been dropped and penalties have been ordered for 15 of them. The others remain under investigation, it said.
SECO did not name the sectors involved, nor the individual companies subject to investigation.
Switzerland said earlier this year it had set up a specialist team to investigate and enforce sanctions that Bern imposed following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine conduct prisoner exchange involving 190 soldiers, says Russian defence ministry
02:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 95 prisoners of war from each side after the United Arab Emirates acted as an intermediary, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
Russia‘s Defence Ministry, in a statement on the Telegram messaging app, said the returning Russian soldiers would undergo medical examinations in Moscow.
The ministry noted the UAE’s “humanitarian mediation.”
Russia holds a UN meeting about global cooperation. US calls it 'hypocrisy' after Ukraine invasion
01:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia’s foreign minister accused the United States on Tuesday of holding the entire West “at gunpoint” and impeding international cooperation, a claim the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations denounced as “hypocrisy” by a country that invaded neighboring Ukraine.
The finger-pointing came at Russia ’s showcase event during its presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month, and it chose the topic — “Multilateral cooperation for a more just, democratic and sustainable world order.” Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, flew in from Moscow to preside.
US tells Russian minister Putin should release detained Americans including Gershkovich and Whelan
Thursday 18 July 2024 00:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations told Russia’s foreign minister on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin should release detained Americans, singling out journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan, and accused the Russian leader of treating “human beings as bargaining chips.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield took the opportunity of Moscow’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, presiding at a U.N. Security Council meeting to promote multilateralism and democracy to appeal for the release of Americans.
Scientists, a journalist and even a bakery worker are among those convicted of treason in Russia
Wednesday 17 July 2024 23:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Over the past decade, Russia has seen a sharp increase in treason and espionage cases.
Lawyers and experts say prosecutions for these high crimes started to grow after 2014 – the year when Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula. That’s also when Moscow backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
The number of these cases in Russia spiked significantly after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, urged the security services to “harshly suppress the actions of foreign intelligence services [and] promptly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs”. The crackdown has ensnared scientists and journalists, as well as ordinary citizens.
One of Ukraine’s biggest war challenges is being tackled on the streets of Kyiv
Wednesday 17 July 2024 22:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Seeing the military patrol handing out call-up papers on the outskirts of Kyiv, one man slipped into a nearby store. Another refused to even stop for the officers. Others, however, quietly obliged.
While men may be coming round to Ukraine’s ramped-up mobilisation drive to replenish troop numbers more than 28 months since Russia’s invasion, they are less eager to fight than before, said a draft officer, who uses the call sign “Fantomas”.
“Now, as far as I know, most of the queues [at draft offices] are people who want to obtain some sort of exemption [from fighting],” said the 36-year-old, who was accompanied by Reuters on a recent draft patrol in the Ukrainian capital.
Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary's Orban after his outreach to Russia, China
Wednesday 17 July 2024 21:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Top EU officials will boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary while the country has the EU’s rotating presidency, after Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a series of rogue meetings with foreign leaders about Ukraine that angered European partners.
The highly unusual decision to have the European Commission president and other top officials of the body boycott the meetings was made ‘’in light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian (EU) presidency,” commission spokesperson Eric Mamer posted Monday on X.
Zelensky pleads for more F-16 fighter jets and air defences from West to protect from Russian missile attacks
Wednesday 17 July 2024 20:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for Western nations to send more Patriot air defence systems and F-16 fighter jets to protect the country from Russian missile attacks.
After months of calls from Kyiv, the first F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine and will be flying sorties this summer, the White House confirmed at a Nato summit in Washington earlier this month.
Speaking on Monday, Mr Zelensky welcomed the package, without saying exactly how many jets it will be made up of.
Ukraine struggles with heatwave as power cuts leave millions without air conditioning
Wednesday 17 July 2024 19:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
On some evenings, Ukrainian mother Margaryta Zakharchuk wanders around her neighbourhood in the sweltering heat waiting for the electricity to come back on so she can take the lift to her 12th-floor apartment.
“We walk around outside until 10 o’clock so we don’t need to climb up with two kids,” she said.
Zakharchuk, 43, is among the millions of Ukrainians struggling amid a record heat wave compounded by regular power cuts that make household appliances like air conditioning units and refrigerators useless.
Wife of jailed Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza calls for West to step in now after prison hospital transfer
Wednesday 17 July 2024 18:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The wife of jailed British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza has urged the West to step in now to help her husband, fearing what the Kremlin may do to him while he is being treated in a prison hospital.
Tom Watling reports:
Donald Trump would be ‘strong and decisive’ in support for Ukraine, says Boris Johnson
Wednesday 17 July 2024 17:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has claimed that Donald Trump “will be strong and decisive” in his support of Ukraine and in “defending democracy”.
The Conservative ex-premier was in Washington this week to attend the Republican National Conference in Milwaukee, where Mr Trump was named the party’s official candidate in the upcoming US presidential elections.
After a photograph circulated showing him giving a speech to a near-empty room at the conference on Tuesday, Mr Johnson later shared an image of himself meeting with Mr Trump, just days after the ex-president survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Ukraine and Russia exchange 95 prisoners of war each in latest deal
Wednesday 17 July 2024 16:30
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine and Russia have carried out one of their largest prisoner exchanges of the war – 190 people in total –following negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian prisoners of war (PoWs) were filmed arriving in coaches at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Wednesday, before being draped in national flags and chanting “Glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes”.
Footage released by Ukraine’s commission for human rights also showed multiple soldiers holding emotional phone calls with their families, the first time they had spoken to relatives since being captured, while another man was pictured in tears collapsing onto the ground.
Tom Watling reports:
US tells Russian minister Putin should release detained Americans including Gershkovich and Whelan
Wednesday 17 July 2024 16:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations told Russia’s foreign minister on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin should release detained Americans, singling out journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan, and accused the Russian leader of treating “human beings as bargaining chips.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield took the opportunity of Moscow’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, presiding at a U.N. Security Council meeting to promote multilateralism and democracy to appeal for the release of Americans.
Arrests of Americans are increasingly common in Russia, with nine U.S. citizens known to be currently detained there as tensions between the two countries have escalated, especially since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine faces twin challenges of fighting Russia and shifting political sands in the US
Wednesday 17 July 2024 15:20
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
After almost 30 months of war with Russia, Ukraine’s difficulties on the battlefield are mounting even as its vital support from the United States is increasingly at the mercy of changing political winds.
A six-month delay in military assistance from the U.S., the biggest single contributor to Ukraine, opened the door for the Kremlin’s forces to push on the front line. Ukrainian troops are now fighting to check the slow but gradual gains by Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army.
“The next two or three months are going to be probably the hardest this year for Ukraine,” military analyst Michael Kofman of the Carnegie Endowment said in a recent podcast.
Germany's Lindner: G7 loan plan secures Ukraine's financing for foreseeable future
Wednesday 17 July 2024 14:53
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Ukraine‘s financing is secured “for the foreseeable future” thanks to a Group of Seven plan to use proceeds from frozen Russian assets to give the country $50 billion in loans.
Donald Trump would be ‘strong and decisive’ in support for Ukraine, says Boris Johnson
Wednesday 17 July 2024 14:15
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has claimed that Donald Trump “will be strong and decisive” in his support of Ukraine and in “defending democracy”.
The Conservative ex-premier was in Washington this week to attend the Republican National Conference in Milwaukee, where Mr Trump was named the party’s official candidate in the upcoming US presidential elections.
After a photograph circulated showing him giving a speech to a near-empty room at the conference on Tuesday, Mr Johnson later shared an image of himself meeting with Mr Trump, just days after the ex-president survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Trump will push for Ukraine-Russia peace immediately if elected, Hungary’s Orban tells EU leaders
Wednesday 17 July 2024 13:45
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Donald Trump will push for peace over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “immediately” if he is elected for a second term in the White House, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has claimed in a letter to European Union leaders.
The letter, addressed to European Council president Charles Michel and shared with all EU leaders, was written after Mr Orban held talks with the Republican presidential candidate, as well as with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and China.
“I can ... surely state that shortly after his election victory, he will not wait until his inauguration, [Mr Trump] will be ready to act as a peace broker immediately. He has detailed and well-founded plans for this,” Mr Orban wrote.
Russia and Ukraine conduct prisoner exchange involving 190 soldiers, says Russian defence ministry
Wednesday 17 July 2024 13:14
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 95 prisoners of war from each side after the United Arab Emirates acted as an intermediary, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
Russia‘s Defence Ministry, in a statement on the Telegram messaging app, said the returning Russian soldiers would undergo medical examinations in Moscow.
The ministry noted the UAE’s “humanitarian mediation.”
Baltic countries inform Russia and Belarus of their exit from Moscow power system
Wednesday 17 July 2024 12:50
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The electricity grid operators of the three Baltic countries on Tuesday officially notified Russia and Belarus that they will exit a 2001 agreement that has kept Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania connected to an electricity transmission system controlled by Moscow.
The Baltic countries already have stopped buying electricity from Russia. And in a plan announced last year as part of moves to sever ties with Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine, the countries will shift their grid connections next February to the main continental European energy network in a move to end reliance.
Utility operators Elering of Estonia, AST of Latvia and Litgrid of Lithuania said that the exit notice was signed in the Latvian capital of Riga on Tuesday. The joint agreement with Moscow and Minsk will end Feb. 7, and the Baltic systems will be disconnected from the grid the next day.
Switzerland opens dozens of Russian sanctions cases
Wednesday 17 July 2024 11:53
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Switzerland has opened investigations into more than 50 cases of possible sanctions violations and has found breaches in 15 of them so far, the government said in a statement on Wednesday.
Since Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland has adopted sanctions similar to those of other Western countries, passing new measures earlier this month.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said in an email to Reuters that the effective implementation of sanctions was a government priority and that it had opened 56 violations proceedings to date.
Of those, around half have been dropped and penalties have been ordered for 15 of them. The others remain under investigation, it said.
SECO did not name the sectors involved, nor the individual companies subject to investigation.
Switzerland said earlier this year it had set up a specialist team to investigate and enforce sanctions that Bern imposed following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia holds a UN meeting about global cooperation. US calls it 'hypocrisy' after Ukraine invasion
Wednesday 17 July 2024 11:26
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia’s foreign minister accused the United States on Tuesday of holding the entire West “at gunpoint” and impeding international cooperation, a claim the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations denounced as “hypocrisy” by a country that invaded neighboring Ukraine.
The finger-pointing came at Russia ’s showcase event during its presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month, and it chose the topic — “Multilateral cooperation for a more just, democratic and sustainable world order.” Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, flew in from Moscow to preside.
Just before the meeting, Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, read a statement on behalf of about 50 countries, including the United States, whose ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield was among the several dozen U.N. envoys surrounding him.
Wednesday 17 July 2024 10:54
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Germany will halve military aid for Ukraine next year, even with the possibility that Republican candidate Donald Trump could return to the White House and curb support for Kyiv.
German aid to Ukraine will be cut to 4 billion euros ($4.35 billion) in 2025 from around 8 billion euros in 2024, according to a draft of the 2025 budget seen by Reuters.
Germany hopes Ukraine will be able to meet the bulk of its military needs with the $50 billion in loans from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets agreed by the Group of Seven, and that funds earmarked for armaments will not be fully used.
The stocks of Germany’s armed forces, already run down by decades of underinvestment, have been further depleted by arms supplies to Kyiv.
So far, Berlin has donated three Patriot air defence units to Kyiv, more than any other country, bringing down the number of Patriot systems in Germany to nine.
Although military aid to Ukraine will be cut, Germany will comply with the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defence in 2025, with a total of 75.3 billion euros.
China and Russia carry out live-fire naval exercises in South China Sea
Wednesday 17 July 2024 10:23
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
China and Russia carried out live-fire naval exercises in the South China Sea this week, Russian and Chinese state media reported, with the two countries having strengthened military and trade ties in recent years following US sanctions.
Both countries were to deploy at least three vessels each for the three-day exercises, China’s state controlled Global Times newspaper said late on Tuesday, citing the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
The opening ceremony of the Russian-Chinese naval exercise ‘Maritime Cooperation - 2024’ took place in the Chinese port of Zhanjiang, the Russian defence ministry said earlier this week on the Telegram messaging app.
During their sea manoeuvres, the crews of ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the PLA Navy were to conduct joint air defense exercises and anti-submarine drills with the involvement of PLA naval anti-submarine aviation, the Russian defence ministry said.
The drills follow the completion of a separate joint naval patrol in the north Pacific, which the Russian defence ministry said earlier involved a detachment of Russia‘s Pacific Fleet ships, including two corvettes, the Rezky and the Gromky.
Russian-installed official says one dead, eight wounded in Ukrainian attacks on Kherson region
Wednesday 17 July 2024 09:40
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
One person was killed and eight were wounded in Ukrainian attacks on part of the southern Kherson region which is controlled by Russian forces, Vladimir Saldo, the area’s Russian-backed governor, wrote on Telegram.
Saldo accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the area and of striking it with drones.
Reuters could not independently verify his assertions and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Ukraine faces twin challenges of fighting Russia and shifting political sands in the US
Wednesday 17 July 2024 09:02
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
After almost 30 months of war with Russia, Ukraine’s difficulties on the battlefield are mounting even as its vital support from the United States is increasingly at the mercy of changing political winds.
A six-month delay in military assistance from the U.S., the biggest single contributor to Ukraine, opened the door for the Kremlin’s forces to push on the front line. Ukrainian troops are now fighting to check the slow but gradual gains by Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army.
“The next two or three months are going to be probably the hardest this year for Ukraine,” military analyst Michael Kofman of the Carnegie Endowment said in a recent podcast.
Donald Trump would be ‘strong and decisive’ in support for Ukraine, says Boris Johnson
Wednesday 17 July 2024 08:33
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has claimed that Donald Trump “will be strong and decisive” in his support of Ukraine and in “defending democracy”.
The Conservative ex-premier was in Washington this week to attend the Republican National Conference in Milwaukee, where Mr Trump was named the party’s official candidate in the upcoming US presidential elections.
After a photograph circulated showing him giving a speech to a near-empty room at the conference on Tuesday, Mr Johnson later shared an image of himself meeting with Mr Trump, just days after the ex-president survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Wife of jailed Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza calls for West to step in now after prison hospital transfer
Wednesday 17 July 2024 08:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The wife of jailed British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza has urged the West to step in now to help her husband, fearing what the Kremlin may do to him while he is being treated in a prison hospital, Tom Watling reports.
The 42-year-old face of the Russian opposition to Vladimir Putin, who grew up in London and earned a history degree from Cambridge University, is currently being held in a medical facility connected to his Siberian penal colony, having been moved there on 4 July. Evgenia Kara-Murza spent days not knowing where or how he was.
Hungary says efforts continuing on second peace summit for Ukraine, RIA reports
Wednesday 17 July 2024 07:25
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Efforts are being made to hold a second peace summit on Ukraine this year, Hungary Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Russia‘s RIA state news agency in remarks published on Wednesday.
“Efforts are being made to hold the next round of the peace conference this year, which we would certainly welcome and appreciate,” Szijjarto told the agency.
“I believe that if we want to hope for any peace conference in the future to be successful, we need to make sure that both sides are represented.”
Russia, Ukraine to exchange 90 prisoners of war today
Wednesday 17 July 2024 07:15
Arpan Rai
Russia and Ukraine are set to exchange 90 prisoners of war on Wednesday in a deal facilitated by the United Arab Emirates, a person familiar with the matter said.
Last week, Ukrainian parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets had said the government, with the help of the UAE, was planning “a big” prisoner exchange with Russia soon.
Russia and Ukraine have conducted a few prisoner swaps in the 27-month-old war that started after Russia invaded its smaller neighbour.
In their last such exchange in June, which was also facilitated by the UAE, Russia and Ukraine each handed back 90 prisoners.
US journalist Evan Gershkovich will appear in court for the second hearing in his trial
Wednesday 17 July 2024 07:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will appear in court on Thursday for the second hearing in his trial on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government vehemently deny, court records showed.
The trial is taking place behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains where the 32-year-old journalist was detained while on a reporting trip.
At the first hearing last month the court had adjourned until mid-August. But Gershkovich’s lawyers petitioned the court to hold the second hearing earlier, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and independent news site Mediazona reported Tuesday, citing court officials.
Hungary says efforts continuing on second peace summit for Ukraine
Wednesday 17 July 2024 06:56
Arpan Rai
Efforts are being made to hold a second peace summit on Ukraine this year, Hungary foreign minister Peter Szijjarto told Russia’s RIA state news agency in remarks published this morning.
“Efforts are being made to hold the next round of the peace conference this year, which we would certainly welcome and appreciate,” Szijjarto said.
“I believe that if we want to hope for any peace conference in the future to be successful, we need to make sure that both sides are represented.”
This comes just days after Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán made a surprise visit to Ukraine, his first since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. He followed it up with similarly unannounced visits to Russia and China.
Putin's house fortified as Kyiv's drone attack successes grow
Wednesday 17 July 2024 06:20
Arpan Rai
Successful Ukrainian strikes deep inside enemy territory have forced Russia to beef up defences around Vladimir Putin’s home outside St Petersburg.
Satellite imagery collected on 6 May shows Russian forces have concentrated at least seven Pantsir-1 medium-range air defence systems around Russian president Vladimir Putin’s residence in Valdai, Leningrad oblast, according to the US-based think tank The Institute for the Study of War.
The images were first shared by the Russian service of Radio Liberty showing the bulky air defence system in a compound on the leader’s residence amid lush forest.
The drone strikes, which have successfully hit Russian air bases, have forced the Russian military command to prioritise limited air defence assets to cover what it deems high-value targets, the ISW said. The move could be futile as Ukrainian drones can still bypass the air defence coverage to strike from uncovered directions, experts told ISW.
“Such ‘focal’ air defence coverage (static coverage of a singular target) is meaningless at scale because it allows Ukrainian drones to bypass Russian air defence coverage and strike from uncovered directions,” said Ruslan Pukhov, the head of the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies and a member of a Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) civilian advisory board.
It added that the Russian military apparently lacks the required conventional air defence systems to protect all critical facilities within western Russia and has even struggled to cover important potential targets in reportedly well-defended areas within Russia.
Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary's Orban after his outreach to Russia, China
Wednesday 17 July 2024 06:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Top EU officials will boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary while the country has the EU’s rotating presidency, after Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a series of rogue meetings with foreign leaders about Ukraine that angered European partners.
The highly unusual decision to have the European Commission president and other top officials of the body boycott the meetings was made ‘’in light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian (EU) presidency,” commission spokesperson Eric Mamer posted Monday on X.
Russia and China begin live-fire naval exercises in South China Sea
Wednesday 17 July 2024 05:20
Arpan Rai
China and Russia have begun live-fire naval exercises in the South China Sea, and have deployed at least three vessels each for the three-day exercises despite mounting criticism of Beijing from Nato.
Last week, China was slammed by Nato for being “decisive enabler” of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The exercises will see the two countries engage in live-fire training, reconnaissance and early warning drills, search and rescue, and air defence, according to a state-run Chinese publication yesterday evening, which quoted the Chinese military’s South Sea Fleet.
Military official Wang Guangzheng told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV that “the China-Russia joint patrol has promoted the deepening and practical cooperation between the two in multiple directions and fields”.
“And [it has] effectively enhanced the ability of the two sides to jointly respond to maritime security threats.”
The participating vessels set off from a naval port in Zhanjiang in southern China’s Guangdong province on Monday, the report added, citing a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy statement.
The report did not specify where in the contested waterway the drills would take place. The drills follow the completion of a separate joint naval patrol in the north Pacific, other state media said.
China claims control over almost the entire South China Sea, including the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a rusty warship that it deliberately grounded in 1999 to reinforce its maritime claims and which has been central to a recent standoff between the two countries.
Ukraine struggles with heatwave as power cuts leave millions without air conditioning
Wednesday 17 July 2024 05:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
On some evenings, Ukrainian mother Margaryta Zakharchuk wanders around her neighbourhood in the sweltering heat waiting for the electricity to come back on so she can take the lift to her 12th-floor apartment.
“We walk around outside until 10 o’clock so we don’t need to climb up with two kids,” she said.
Zakharchuk, 43, is among the millions of Ukrainians struggling amid a record heat wave compounded by regular power cuts that make household appliances like air conditioning units and refrigerators useless.
