Vladimir Putin Russia-Ukraine war

The United States pressed NATO allies to ramp up military support for Ukraine after Russia warned the threat of World War III was "real."

“Our sincere apologies for making a mistake in the previous version of the video. Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces early in the war and its residents took to the streets in protest against the occupation. Lavrov said the weapons shipments “will be a legitimate target,” adding that Russian forces had already targeted weapons warehouses in western Ukraine. He accused Ukrainian leaders of provoking Russia by asking NATO to become involved in the conflict. It comes just a day after several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades were reported to hit the ministry of state security in the city of Tiraspol, the region’s capital. During the call, Erdogan mentioned the importance of a cease-fire, humanitarian corridors and safe evacuations, according to the statement. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said three people died after Russian shells hit a residential building in the city of Popasna, which Russian forces have been trying to capture. “We have to move at the speed of war,” he said. Putin last week declared victory in Mariupol and ordered Russian troops not to storm the steel plant. The embassy tweeted that Tuesday's trip was "a first step ahead of more regular travel in the immediate future." It caused almost $1 billion in damage to three U.S. companies, including a Pennsylvania hospital system, alone, according to the Justice Department. “It is visible that there is damage, and we are assessing that because our job is to give precise information,” Grossi said.

A roundup of key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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United Nations: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, called for the establishment of safe and ...

Transnistria, a narrow strip of land bordering Ukraine, was carved out of Moldova in the country’s 1992 civil war and is held by pro-Russian separatists. Poland and other European nations rejected the demand. Bulgaria gets more than 75% of its gas from Russia and has few immediate options to replace that supply. Mondelez earlier this month was still promoting “The Batman” Oreo cookies, with a chance for Russians to win thousands of U.S. dollars in a related contest online. Earlier this year, Congress approved $13.6 billion in military, humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine as part of a broader spending bill. The company estimates that will lower its earnings by three cents per share this year. In March, Mondelez’s two Ukrainian factories were significantly damaged, the company said, and the war has increased its costs related to making and selling its snacks. Mondelez said it would discontinue new capital investments and suspend advertising media spending. But exports hit a snag in recent days when Rosneft Oil Co. struggled to find buyers for enough oil to fill a fleet of tankers, traders familiar with the sale said. Mr. Abramovich has become the highest-profile member of the oligarch class in recent weeks. Many U.S. allies left oil and gas shipments out of their harshest sanctions on Russia. Importers in India and elsewhere swooped in to buy cheap Russian barrels at a time of rocketing energy prices. Mr. Guterres travels to Kyiv on Thursday.

Russia has said that the threat of a nuclear war is very significant, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed the risks should not be underestimated. However ...

We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it cannot do the kinds of things it has done in invading Ukraine," Austin told the press. In terms of our — their ability to win, the first step in winning is believing that you can win. Heappey also appeared to emphasize that the West was not responsible for these attacks, despite providing Ukraine with weapons that have the range to reach Russian territory. "It is simply wrong to go first to Russia," Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy told press on Saturday. "There is no justice and no logic in this order. I don't think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation," James Heappey told the BBC Breakfast program on Tuesday. Kuleba said that the war would be over sooner if allies sent more weapons to Ukraine and imposed additional sanctions on Russian oil and gas. Simson did not specify exactly what the sanctions would target, though the EU has come under pressure for its continued buying of Russian energy resources, providing Moscow with billions in revenues every week. "The visit was a first step ahead of more regular travel in the immediate future," the embassy said. "The human impact and the suffering already caused by this war are staggering. Russia has said that the threat of a nuclear war is very significant, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed the risks should not be underestimated. "Nobody wants to see a nuclear war that nobody can win at. According to Turkey, Erdogan emphasized how important it was for Russia and Ukraine to continue high level talks like those that Erdogan hosted in Istanbul last month.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict: There has been much speculation with several health experts analysing Putin's body language and the way he has addressed public ...

The New York Post has even reported that the Russian President looked noticeably bloated when he posed for photographs at an awards ceremony for the country's Olympic athletes. Experts believe he has done this to enhance his “tough guy” image and to prevent his advancing age from betraying that representation, according to news.com.au. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shone a spotlight on President Vladimir Putin's personal life with several news outlets attempting to analyse the long time Russian head of state's health.

The Kremlin's move to cut off natural gas shipments to Bulgaria and Poland was a blow to Europe, which relies on Russia for much of its energy.

And that’s the best way to address that.” The weapons: Ukraine is making use of weapons such as Javelin antitank missiles and Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, provided by the United States and other allies. Russia is focusing most of its air activity on southern and eastern Ukraine, providing support to ground forces, the British defense officials said. The suspension will last from Wednesday “until the payments are made” in rubles, Gazprom said. Russian shelling and airstrikes devastated residential areas, causing fires and severe damage to homes and prompting evacuations, Haidai wrote Wednesday. He accused Russian forces of aiming at housing stock and reported that at least two people were killed, including a 68-year-old man whose yard was shelled. “I think he’s got a lot of room for maneuver.” The site’s loss could disrupt vital oil supplies to the Ukraine war’s northeastern front, where Russian troops are pressing ahead with an attempt to seize territory in the Donbas region. It is the first supply disruption since Russian President Vladimir Putin said “unfriendly countries” would have to pay for natural gas in rubles instead of other currencies. The governor didn’t speculate on the possible cause of the fire. I appeal to Russia’s soldiers & their superiors to put an end to their violence. “This is unjustified and unacceptable.” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, called the explosions that were reported overnight in three regions of Russia “karma” — without claiming responsibility — and suggested they may even have been a “divine intervention.” Russian media, citing local officials, said explosions were reported in the Belgorod, Voronezh and Kursk regions, although the claims could not be independently verified.

Polish PM says his country will 'deal with this blackmail' after Russia halts supply of gas; 287 British MPs 'closed from entering Russian Federation'

Kazakhstan, an oil-rich former Soviet republic, has so far not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has called for the crisis to be resolved in line with the United Nations charter. - US secretary of state Antony Blinken told Congress that the US is working on reopening its embassy inUkraine. “I think this will play out over the next few weeks,” he said. - A Ukrainian commander in the besieged city of Mariupol said there are more than 600 injured civilians and fighters in the Azovstal steel works. The money will come from the agriculture department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). “About 2,500km of roads and almost 300 bridges have been ruined or damaged.” - Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described Russia’s actions as amounting to “energy blackmail” against Europe in his nightly nationaladdress. US President Joe Biden saidnegotiations for the release of Trevor Reed, 30,“required difficult decisions that I do not take lightly”. They will not continue to rise if they do not play by the rules. - Truss singled out China, demanding it “play by the rules”. “China is not impervious. But my view, is that inaction would be the greatest provocation,” she said. “We’ve got to double down on our support for Ukraine,” she said. “This new humanitarian parole program will complement the existing legal pathways available to Ukrainians, including immigrant visas and refugee processing.

Russia has cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, targeting Europe's economy to pressure Ukraine's allies.

Bulgaria gets more than 90 percent of its gas from Russia, and officials have said they were working to find other sources, such as from Azerbaijan. The statement said the U.K. assesses Ukrainian forces pose a threat to Russian aircraft, but the ministry did not go into greater detail. And I was delighted to be able to share with them the good news about Trevor’s freedom,” Biden said in a statement. This followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's demand in March for European nations to pay for gas in rubles. “The Russian advances even in this area are proceeding methodically rather than rapidly,” said the report, released Monday evening. A massive fire also broke out this week at a fuel depot in nearby Bryansk. Ukraine didn’t confirm responsibility for the reported incidents on Russian territory. “His safe return is a testament to the priority my Administration places on bringing home Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained abroad. The move was made to help boost Ukraine’s economy and its exports to the trading bloc of 27 nations after Russia’s invasion. “This is not blackmail," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday. "Russia has been and remains a reliable supplier of energy resources to its consumers. Europe is heavily reliant on Russian energy supplies and the halt ratcheted up the economic stakes in a standoff that is increasingly resembling the Cold War. “The satellite recorded the excavated trenches on the territory of the Staryi Krym cemetery. Vadim Boychenko, Mariupol's mayor, claimed in the same statement that Russian forces have enlisted locals to help with burials in exchange for supplies.

In an address to the Council of Legislators in St Petersburg, the Russian leader said his response to any threats will be "lightning-fast" and deadly, ...

Previously, gas payments from Bulgaria and Poland have been made in euros. "Today, our prayers have been answered and Trevor is safely on his way back to the United States," his parents, Joey and Paula, and his sister, Taylor, said in a statement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said continual deliveries of supplies and weaponry to Ukraine means the NATO alliance has positioned itself as "in essence engaged in war with Russia" and accused the organisation of "pouring oil on the fire". In an address to the Council of Legislators in St Petersburg, the Russian leader said "all the objectives will definitely be carried out" in the Ukraine war. In an address to the Council of Legislators in St Petersburg, the Russian leader said his response to any threats will be "lightning-fast" and deadly, adding that "all the objectives will definitely be carried out" in the conflict with Ukraine. He said what he called the "special military operation" in Ukraine would "guarantee the safety" of people in the Donbas and Crimea.

Western nations' intervention in Ukraine will be met with a “lightning-quick” military response, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov called the suspension blackmail, adding: “We will not succumb to such a racket.” Russia claimed its missiles hit a batch of weapons that the United States and European nations had delivered to Ukraine. About 1,000 civilians were said to be taking shelter there with an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian defenders. “The countries that have historically tried to contain Russia don’t need a self-sufficient, massive country such as ours. Western officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings, said Russia has made slow progress in the Donbas region in the east with “minor gains”, including the capture of villages and small towns south of Izyum and on the outskirts of Rubizhne. The bellicose threat from Putin came as Russia claimed on Wednesday to have carried out a missile strike in southern Ukraine that destroyed a “large batch” of Western-supplied weapons.

Vladimir Putin warns against western intervention in Ukraine; Liz Truss says the war must be a 'catalyst for change'; António Guterres visits Kyiv.

A Ukrainian commander in the besieged city of Mariupol said there are more than 600 injured civilians and fighters in the Azovstal steel works. “More than 32m square metres of living space, more than 1,500 educational facilities and more than 350 medical facilities have been destroyed or damaged,” he added. Volodymyr Zelenskiy described Russia’s actions as amounting to “energy blackmail” against Europe in his nightly nationaladdress. “About 2,500km of roads and almost 300 bridges have been ruined or damaged.” But my view, is that inaction would be the greatest provocation,” she said. “We’ve got to double down on our support for Ukraine,” she said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that any country interfering in Ukraine would be met with a "lightning-fast" response from Moscow.

Russia's war on Ukraine is following this pattern. Given Russian President Vladimir Putin's vicious assault on civilians, it will mean many more Ukrainian dead and almost inevitably more atrocities and war crimes. But the conflict's reverberations are widening in a way that will leave few people on Earth -- from small-town America to poverty-stricken Africa -- untouched.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has warned the West of a "lightning fast" response to any country intervening in the war in Ukraine.

Such instruments that no one can boast of ... and we're going to use them if we have to. Truss' comments come at a time when tensions between Western nations and Russia have risen significantly, with President Vladimir Putin warning that Russia will retaliate against any intervention in the Ukraine war. "The Europeans have, I think, genuinely ambitious plans to move away from this reliance on Russian energy. Gas is a bigger challenge," he added. We have all instruments for that. "I want to stress once more, the special military operation in the Ukraine and Donbas, which started in February, all the objectives will be definitely carried out to guarantee the security of people in the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, the Russian Crimea and all our country," Putin said before Russia's Council of Legislators in St Petersburg. The latest military aid package of $800 million, which is the eighth installment of aid, comes after eight weeks of war and as Russian forces prepare for a renewed fight in the east and south of Ukraine. The fate of Ukraine is hanging in the balance and Western allies must "double down" on their support for the country to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine, the U.K.'s foreign secretary said Wednesday. "I think you are likely to see in the coming weeks further progress on the oil side of the equation in terms of Russian imports. "Ukraine's victory is a strategic imperative for us all," Liz Truss said in a speech in London last night, as she argued the Group of Seven industrialized nations and their allies need to maintain pressure on Russia through tougher sanctions, including "cutting off oil and gas imports once and for all," providing further military aid, and continued humanitarian support. Russia's President Vladimir Putin has warned the West of a "lightning fast" response to any country intervening in the Ukraine war and creating "strategic threats for Russia." "We have all the instruments [to respond] that no one can boast of ... we're going to use them if we have to," he said, in what has widely been seen as an allusion to Russia's arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

Ukraine's Zelensky, who hosts the U.N. secretary general on Thursday, called Russia's suspension of gas deliveries to two E.U. countries “blackmail.”

The weapons: Ukraine is making use of weapons such as Javelin antitank missiles and Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, provided by the United States and other allies. Mariupol: The United Nations said this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed “in principle” to allow international groups to help evacuate civilians from this wrecked port city. Kherson: Ukrainian leaders said Russian forces used tear gas to break up protesters Wednesday in this occupied southern city. Northwest of Kharkiv, the Sumy region bordering Russia has also suffered shelling for several days, an official said. “Virtually the entire territory of Luhansk” was shelled Tuesday in attacks that set homes on fire, Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said. “Cyber operations can’t win wars,” Jacquelyn Schneider, a researcher at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, told The Post’s Joseph Marks. “And they don’t start wars either. The technology company said it has helped Ukraine identify threats and on Wednesday released its report detailing alleged Russian activities. And the evidence of this criminality is mounting daily,” Van Schaack said. The episode shows that Russia’s alleged war crimes are not isolated events carried out by rogue individuals, Van Schaack said. China “will not continue to rise if they do not play by the rules,” Truss said. Russian troops have installed a pro-Moscow administration in Kherson, local officials said. The U.N. chief said he would persist with efforts to facilitate civilian evacuations.

President Joe Biden will ask Congress to fund a new Ukraine aid package after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of further retaliation following the ...

Kherson has been occupied by Russian forces since early in the war. In almost all directions, the Russian occupiers are exerting intense fire,” he said in an operational update. Administration officials earlier described the amount of the request as “massive” but would not provide a specific dollar amount. NBC News has not independently verified the allegation. Zelenskyy will hold talks with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in Kyiv on Thursday, after Guterres met with Putin earlier this week to promote diplomacy and efforts to evacuate civilians trapped in Mariupol. We exercise together,” Stoltenberg said.

The Kremlin raises the prospect of shutting off gas to Germany and Italy, and dangles the possibility of dragging Moldova into the war.

The remainder would come from reduced demand and from increases in renewable energy capacity. Gas makes up just 20 per cent of Poland’s energy mix. On the energy front, Mr Putin’s latest gas gambit is showing mixed results so far. Ms von der Leyen said Mr Putin’s attempt to sow discord had failed. We have already taken all the decisions on this,” he said. All eyes are now on Germany’s response. Russia is the source of almost 40 per cent of the EU’s gas supply, with one-third of its gas exports going to Germany and 11 per cent to Italy. The EU’s plan is to try and cut 100 billion cubic meters of gas from the bloc’s consumption this year – a reduction of about a quarter from last year, and equivalent to about two-thirds of its 2021 imports from Russia. “These countries are landlocked and import gas through pipelines so would not be able to ramp up LNG imports in the same way that Poland may be able to.” “We have all the tools for this. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) that the EU would not submit to “blackmail” and warned European buyers that paying for gas in roubles would breach sanctions. Russia has dangled the prospect of cutting gas supplies to major European economies such as Germany and Italy, as President Vladimir Putin looks to sap the Continent’s resolve and unity.

Russia Ukraine war has now entered day 64 with Vladimir Putin warning nations against interference in Moscow's actions in Kyiv or facing a "lightning-fast" ...

"In the case of India, there is a relationship that goes back decades. Notably, Brimstone missile 2 has a range of up to 37 miles with a diameter of 180mm and is equipped with a 6.3kg warhead that explodes in stages and can be fired from jets including the Tornado GR4, the Typhoon F2, and Reaper drones, as per The Times report. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has called for the countries of the world to "push" Russia out of whole Ukraine, denouncing its “appalling barbarism and war crimes” in the sovereign nation. Reasoning that New Delhi has maintained ties with Russia out of necessity as Washington was not in the position to do so earlier, Blinken said that US President utilised 'a lot of time engaging with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India's leadership'. Russian forces have shelled dozens of homes in the eastern Donbass region, officials in Donetsk said posting photographs of of the damaged homes in the region on teelgram. “This is fundamentally about the right of every nation in Europe to decide its own future. Authorities have also opened 170 investigations over the use of the ‘Z’ symbol that in some contexts is considered to be a show of support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, which Germany deems illegal. But if they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed, and I expect the process to go quickly,” he told a conference on Thursday. Canadian MPs have passed a motion, officially recognizing Russia's atrocities in Ukraine as the "acts of genocide." German police have recorded more than 1,700 crimes in the country in connection with the war in Ukraine, most of them property damage and insults. Britain’s defense ministry says the Russian navy still has the ability to strike coastal targets in Ukraine, even after the losses of two warships. As several blasts resonated in the Russian regions, which latter blamed on the Ukraine's military, Ukrainian official described it as a payback and “karma” for its invasion.

President Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech on Thursday morning from the White House. Russia and the West are preparing for a protracted struggle, ...

“They brought destructive efforts, they brought espionage efforts, they brought all their best actors to focus on this,” said Tom Burt, who oversees Microsoft’s investigations into the biggest and most complex cyberattacks that are visible through its global networks. Mr. Niblett said a new expansion of NATO — just what Mr. Putin has been objecting to for the last two decades — would “make explicit the new front lines of the standoff with Russia.” Russia has its own handbook, episodically arguing that its goals go beyond “denazification” of Ukraine to the removal of NATO forces and weapons from allied countries that did not host either before 1997. The play, “Mama Po Skaipu,” or “Mother via Skype,” is based on stories by nearly a dozen Ukrainian writers, and it was a rare cultural event in a city now under regular air-raid alerts. But so far, the war has stayed largely within the geographical confines of Ukraine. The United States and its allies said their goal was to get Russia to withdraw its forces “irreversibly,” as Mr. Blinken put it, and respect Ukraine’s borders as they existed before the invasion. In the past three days, the American secretary of defense has called for an effort to degrade the capability of the Russian military so that it could not invade another country for years to come. “Putin is not willing to back down, nor are the Ukrainians, so there is more blood to come,” said Robin Niblett, the director of Chatham House, a British think tank. “This is a time when we need to mobilize the law and send it into battle,” Mr. Khan told the U.N. meeting. And a 85-year-old woman was killed after a hospital was targeted in the city of Severodonetsk. They will form a new ensemble, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, and make an 11-city tour of Europe and the United States in July and August, the orchestra announced this week. “But when we talk about war crimes, we cannot forget that the worst of crimes is war itself.” Maria Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, urged Kyiv and Western capitals to take seriously Russia’s statements “that further calls on Ukraine to strike Russian facilities would definitely lead to a tough response from Russia.”