A man stands next to Ukrainian flags with names of service members, who are in Russian captivity, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at the Independence square in Kyiv, Ukraine August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoRussia-Ukraine War Live: Russian authorities have detained politician Yevgeny Roizman known for his criticism of the Kremlin and, more recently, of the military campaign in Ukraine, Russia’s TASS news agency reported. Roizman, a former mayor of the city of Yekaterinburg, is being investigated for “discrediting the Russian army”, TASS reported, citing Yekaterinburg security services. Six months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he is sending $2.98 billion in new military aid to Ukraine that will enable forces there to fight for years to come.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians marked 31 years since they broke free from the Russia-dominated Soviet Union on Wednesday in what is certain to be a day of defiance against the Kremlin’s six-month-old war to subdue the country once again. Ukraine’s Independence Day falls on the six-month anniversary of Russia’s February 24 invasion and will be marked by subdued celebrations under the threat of attacks from land, air and sea.
Public gatherings are banned in the capital Kyiv and a curfew is in force in the frontline eastern city of Kharkiv, which has weathered months of shelling. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned late on Tuesday of the possibility of “repugnant Russian provocations” and authorities urged people to take air raid warnings seriously.
Members of the Honour Guard attend a rising ceremony of the Ukraine's biggest national flag to mark the Day of the State Flag, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv. (Reuters)
Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican on Wednesday criticised Pope Francis for referring to Darya Dugina, daughter of a prominent Russian ultra-nationalist, who was killed by a car bomb near Moscow, as an innocent victim of war.
It is highly unusual for ambassadors to the Vatican to criticise the pope publicly.
"Innocents pay for war," Francis said earlier at his Wednesday general audience in a sentence where he referred to "that poor girl thrown in the air by a bomb under the seat of a car in Moscow". Russia blamed the killing on Ukrainian agents, a charge Kyiv denies.
Alexander Dugin, Darya's father, has long advocated the unification of Russian-speaking and other territories in a new Russian empire that would include Ukraine. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden marked Ukraine's Independence Day on Wednesday with a new security assistance package of about $3 billion in military aid for Kyiv in its war with Russia.
It is the single largest tranche of support for Kyiv since Russia's invasion six months ago, and it comes as US officials warn that Russia appears to be planning to launch fresh attacks against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and government facilities in coming days.
"The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the fight to defend their sovereignty," Biden said in a statement announcing the package.
In total, the United States has committed approximately $10.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration. (Reuters)
Residents of Kyiv woke up to air raid sirens as Ukraine observed its Independence Day on Wednesday, which also marked exactly six months since the start of Russia's military invasion.
Authorities in the capital banned large-scale gatherings until Thursday, fearing the national holiday might bring particularly heavy Russian missile attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the public to be vigilant. “Russian provocations and brutal strikes are a possibility,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “Please strictly follow the safety rules. Please observe the curfew. Pay attention to the air sirens. Pay attention to official announcements. And remember: We must all achieve victory together.”
Last year, crowds turned out in Kyiv to watch a military parade marking Ukraine's 30-year independence anniversary. But this year, just a small number of residents gathered at Kyiv's central square, where destroyed Russian tanks and mobile artillery were put on display over the weekend, and the national anthem is played every day at 7 am. (AP)
Cold winters helped Moscow defeat Napoleon and Hitler. President Vladimir Putin is now betting that sky-rocketing energy prices and possible shortages this winter will persuade Europe to strong arm Ukraine into a truce -- on Russia's terms.
That, say two Russian sources familiar with Kremlin thinking, is the only path to peace that Moscow sees, given Kyiv says it will not negotiate until Russia leaves all of Ukraine.
"We have time, we can wait," said one source close to the Russian authorities, who declined to be named because they are not authorised to speak to the media.
"It's going to be a difficult winter for Europeans. We could see protests, unrest. Some European leaders might think twice about continuing to support Ukraine and think it's time for a deal." A second source close to the Kremlin said Moscow thought it could already detect faltering European unity and expected that process to accelerate amid winter hardship. (Reuters)
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainians in an emotional speech to mark 31 years of independence that Ukraine was reborn when Russia invaded on Feb. 24 and would recapture annexed Crimea and occupied areas in the east.
In the recorded speech aired on the six-month anniversary of Russia's Feb. 24 invasion, Zelenskiy said that Ukraine no longer saw the war ending when there was peace, but when Kyiv was actually victorious.
"A new nation appeared in the world on Feb. 24 at 4 in the morning. It was not born, but reborn. A nation that did not cry, scream or take fright. One that did not flee. Did not give up. And did not forget," he said.
The 44-year-old wartime leader delivered the speech in his trademark combat fatigues in front of Kyiv's central monument to independence from the Russia-controlled Soviet Union. "What for us is the end of the war? We used to say: peace. Now we say: victory," he said. (Reuters)
The Biden administration is expected on Wednesday to announce an additional roughly USD 3 billion in aid to train and equip Ukrainian forces to fight for years to come, US officials said.
The officials told The Associated Press that the package will fund contracts for as many as three types of drones and other weapons, ammunition and equipment that may not see the battlefront for a year or two.
The total of the aid package — it is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative — could change, but not likely by much.
Officials said it will include money for the small, hand-launched Puma drones, the longer-endurance Scan Eagle surveillance drones, which are launched by catapult, and, for the first time, the British Vampire drone system, which can be launched off ships. Several officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the aid before its public release. (AP)
Russian authorities have detained politician Yevgeny Roizman known for his criticism of the Kremlin and, more recently, of the military campaign in Ukraine, Russia's TASS news agency reported.
Roizman, a former mayor of the city of Yekaterinburg, is being investigated for "discrediting the Russian army", TASS reported, citing Yekaterinburg security services.
Roizman was one of a handful of Kremlin critics who won mayoral posts following a series of big opposition demonstrations as President Vladimir Putin campaigned for office in 2012. (Reuters)
Ukrainians mark 31 years since they broke free from the Russia-dominated Soviet Union in what is certain to be a day of defiance against the Kremlin's six-month-old war to subdue the country once again.
Ukraine's Independence Day falls on the six-month anniversary of Russia's Feb. 24 invasion and will be marked by subdued celebrations under the threat of attacks from land, air and sea. Public gatherings are banned in the capital Kyiv and a curfew is in force in the frontline eastern city of Kharkiv, which has weathered months of shelling.
The government laid out the carcasses of burnt-out Russian tanks and armoured vehicles like war trophies in central Kyiv in a show of defiance. (Reuters)
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Britain on Wednesday said it had launched talks with Kyiv over removing barriers digital trade as part of its efforts to support Ukraine following Russia's invasion of the country.
Britain in May removed all tariffs on Ukrainian goods, and is now looking to smooth trade in the digital sphere. "The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and will use trade as a force for good to help the country rebuild its modern economy after this barbaric war," trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said.
"Our partnership with Ukraine will help them seize the brighter days ahead, and we will continue to do everything in our power to protect Ukrainian jobs, livelihoods and families." (Reuters)
The U.N. nuclear agency renewed its request Tuesday to assess the safety and security at Europe’s largest nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine which Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling, sparking warnings of a possible nuclear catastrophe.
U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo announced at the start of an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant that Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, requested to send an IAEA mission “to carry out essential safety, security and safeguard activities at the site.”
“Preparations for the mission are proceeding and the IAEA is in active consultations with all parties regarding its efforts to send such a mission as soon as possible,” DiCarlo said. (AP)