http://feed.informer.com/digests/PAZ5XAQQ1J/feeder Russia and Ukraine News Review Respective post owners and feed distributors Tue, 27 Nov 2018 05:28:04 -0500 Feed Informer http://feed.informer.com/ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/26/us/politics/austin-russia-ukraine-defense-plot.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:62534a64-7c5b-23b5-9e1f-7d62e4edb66c Fri, 26 Jul 2024 22:26:35 -0400 Russia’s defense minister said he needed to talk to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about an alleged Ukrainian operation. What happened next remains murky. United States International Relations Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) United States Defense and Military Forces Austin, Lloyd J III Belousov, Andrei R Putin, Vladimir V Biden, Joseph R Jr Russia Crimea (Ukraine) Eric Schmitt https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/27/ukraine-war-briefing-kyivs-forces-strike-russian-military-airfield-in-crimea World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:4bfec783-eb10-a593-a06a-d302ce861a6b Fri, 26 Jul 2024 21:34:13 -0400 <p>Volodymyr Zelenskiy commends troops for hitting ‘Russian bases and logistics on occupied territory’; Russia hands out long jail terms for alleged anti-war plots. What we know on day 885</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine">See all our Ukraine war coverage</a></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/27/ukraine-war-briefing-kyivs-forces-strike-russian-military-airfield-in-crimea">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Guardian staff and agencies Photograph: Scott Peterson/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/teenage-suspect-remanded-over-of-ukraine-nationalist-lawmaker World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:dc822bfc-1570-3964-6a93-813bcb07be6c Fri, 26 Jul 2024 15:22:54 -0400 <p>Vyacheslav Zinchenko, 18, remanded in custody for 60 days after Iryna Farion shot in Lviv on 19 July</p><p>A Ukrainian court has remanded an 18-year-old man in custody over the murder of a nationalist former lawmaker, state media reported.</p><p>Iryna Farion – a divisive hardline campaigner against the use of Russian language – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/19/nationalist-campaigner-for-the-ukrainian-language-is-shot-dead-in-lviv">was shot near her flat in the western city of Lviv on 19 July.</a></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/teenage-suspect-remanded-over-of-ukraine-nationalist-lawmaker">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Europe Agence France-Presse in Kyiv Photograph: Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2024/jul/26/the-week-around-the-world-in-20-pictures World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:951b6573-f212-1419-2a7d-67569232f299 Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:58:57 -0400 <p>Wildfires in California, Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, Israeli bombardment in Gaza and Snoop Dogg at the Paris Olympics: the last seven days <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_twenty_photos_/">as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists</a></p><p><strong><em>• Warning: this gallery contains images that some readers may find distressing</em></strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2024/jul/26/the-week-around-the-world-in-20-pictures">Continue reading...</a> Photography Art and design Culture World news Israel-Gaza war Gaza Israel Hamas Middle East and north Africa Palestinian territories Ukraine Russia Climate crisis Jim Powell Photograph: Ben Thouard/AFP/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/26/ukraine-athletes-chase-dreams-amid-their-countrys-fight-for-survival World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:e3586ed2-3bcc-189a-8a88-e0d65315400a Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:32:40 -0400 <p>A resounding medal tally may be a secondary thought but podiums will offer powerful means of representation</p><p>Inside Ukraine’s ministry of youth and sports stands a solemn memorial, displayed along a section of wall, displaying the names of athletes and coaches at various levels who have died during Russia’s full-scale invasion. It was unveiled in May; around 500 are listed and the awful truth is that, as the country’s army continues to defend against relentless attack, the list is likely to grow before any resolution is reached.</p><p>So the sportspeople who represent Ukraine at Paris 2024 are the lucky ones, if anyone from a country experiencing such horrors can in any way be described thus. The reality is that each of them carries more on his or her shoulders than the vast majority of their competitors could ever imagine. There is no opportunity like an Olympics to test yourself and chase your dreams; this summer they must attempt that while embodying a nation’s fight for survival in front of the world and offering a hint of escapism for those putting lives on the line back home.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/26/ukraine-athletes-chase-dreams-amid-their-countrys-fight-for-survival">Continue reading...</a> Paris Olympic Games 2024 Olympic Games Sport Ukraine Nick Ames in Paris Photograph: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/26/ukraine-athletes-chase-dreams-amid-their-countrys-fight-for-survival World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:68ef23e8-7c8e-4777-40da-3e959671557b Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:32:40 -0400 <p>A resounding medal tally may be a secondary thought but podiums will offer powerful means of representation</p><p>Inside Ukraine’s ministry of youth and sports stands a solemn memorial, displayed along a section of wall, displaying the names of athletes and coaches at various levels who have died during Russia’s full-scale invasion. It was unveiled in May; around 500 are listed and the awful truth is that, as the country’s army continues to defend against relentless attack, the list is likely to grow before any resolution is reached.</p><p>So the sportspeople who represent Ukraine at Paris 2024 are the lucky ones, if anyone from a country experiencing such horrors can in any way be described thus. The reality is that each of them carries more on his or her shoulders than the vast majority of their competitors could ever imagine. There is no opportunity like an Olympics to test yourself and chase your dreams; this summer they must attempt that while embodying a nation’s fight for survival in front of the world and offering a hint of escapism for those putting lives on the line back home.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/26/ukraine-athletes-chase-dreams-amid-their-countrys-fight-for-survival">Continue reading...</a> Paris Olympic Games 2024 Olympic Games Sport Ukraine Nick Ames in Paris Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/26/world/europe/russia-inflation-interest-rate.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:84e27849-df60-a811-a24c-afd68456a126 Fri, 26 Jul 2024 11:54:44 -0400 The move underscored the wartime risks for the Kremlin as the government pumps enormous sums of money into the Russian economy. Banking and Financial Institutions Economic Conditions and Trends Embargoes and Sanctions Prices (Fares, Fees and Rates) Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Inflation (Economics) Interest Rates Defense and Military Forces Central Bank of Russia Nabiullina, Elvira S Russia Anton Troianovski https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/german-man-sentenced-to-death-in-belarus-begs-for-help-on-state-tv World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:2ca9ed07-6c3e-e02f-5d79-5915dc985ca0 Fri, 26 Jul 2024 10:20:15 -0400 <p>Rico Krieger admits role in Ukrainian plot and pleads for German chancellor to save him during broadcast</p><p>A German man <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/19/german-combat-medic-reportedly-sentenced-to-death-in-belarus">sentenced to death in Belarus</a> has appeared on state television in the country, in tears and begging the German government to intervene in his case.</p><p>“Mr Scholz, please, I am still alive … it is not yet too late,” said Rico Krieger, who was pictured handcuffed inside a cell, appealing to the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/german-man-sentenced-to-death-in-belarus-begs-for-help-on-state-tv">Continue reading...</a> Germany Belarus Europe Russia Ukraine World news Shaun Walker in Warsaw and Deborah Cole in Berlin Photograph: Scott Peterson/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/russia-arrests-former-deputy-defence-minister-dmitry-bulgakov-corruption-charges World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:bd8f107c-d287-f1d7-178b-5a4174c3038c Fri, 26 Jul 2024 08:44:02 -0400 <p>Arrest of Dmitry Bulgakov is latest high-profile incident in ongoing purge within Moscow’s military top brass</p><p>A former senior Russian defence official has been arrested and charged with corruption in the latest high-profile incident in an ongoing purge within the country’s military top brass.</p><p>Dmitry Bulgakov, who was a deputy defence minister in charge of military logistics for almost 15 years until he was dismissed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/sep/24/russia-ukraine-war-latest-updates-kyiv-says-residents-coerced-to-vote-as-moscow-holds-referendums-in-parts-of-ukraine?page=with:block-632f4e058f0894f47d8a4deb#block-632f4e058f0894f47d8a4deb">in September 2022</a>, was detained by the FSB security service on Friday and placed in the notorious Lefortovo prison in Moscow.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/russia-arrests-former-deputy-defence-minister-dmitry-bulgakov-corruption-charges">Continue reading...</a> Russia Ukraine World news Europe Vladimir Putin Pjotr Sauer Photograph: Kirill Zykov/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/russia-arrests-former-deputy-defence-minister-dmitry-bulgakov-corruption-charges World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:8f9ffa22-5cb4-bacc-825e-4433e2c73ae8 Fri, 26 Jul 2024 08:44:02 -0400 <p>Arrest of Dmitry Bulgakov is latest high-profile incident in ongoing purge within Moscow’s military top brass</p><p>A former senior Russian defence official has been arrested and charged with corruption in the latest high-profile incident in an ongoing purge within the country’s military top brass.</p><p>Dmitry Bulgakov, who was a deputy defence minister in charge of military logistics for almost 15 years until he was dismissed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/sep/24/russia-ukraine-war-latest-updates-kyiv-says-residents-coerced-to-vote-as-moscow-holds-referendums-in-parts-of-ukraine?page=with:block-632f4e058f0894f47d8a4deb#block-632f4e058f0894f47d8a4deb">in September 2022</a>, was detained by the FSB security service on Friday and placed in the notorious Lefortovo prison in Moscow.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/russia-arrests-former-deputy-defence-minister-dmitry-bulgakov-corruption-charges">Continue reading...</a> Russia Ukraine World news Europe Vladimir Putin Pjotr Sauer Photograph: Kirill Zykov/Reuters https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/26/world/europe/vintage-of-war.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:6e397e39-2611-8bd8-8f40-fd48403046ed Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:01:18 -0400 A single image captures the change in fortunes for a wine cellar turned field hospital in Russian-occupied Ukraine. vis-photo Bakhmut (Ukraine) Russia Ukraine Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) internal-storyline-inline-no Nanna Heitmann and Eric Nagourney https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/ukraine-war-briefing-pentagon-accounting-error-creates-path-for-billions-more-to-be-sent-to-kyiv World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:28c79d8f-22ab-21e7-4a32-e8ba3b14c168 Thu, 25 Jul 2024 20:35:51 -0400 <p>Ukraine’s foreign minister calls on Hong Kong to prevent Russia from using region to circumvent sanctions; drone debris lands in Romania. What we know on day 884</p><p><strong>The Pentagon has found $2bn worth of additional errors in its calculations for ammunition, missiles and other equipment sent to Ukraine</strong>, increasing the improperly valued material to a total of $8.2bn, a US government report revealed on Thursday. In 2023, the Pentagon said staff used “replacement value” instead of “depreciated value” to tabulate the billions in materials sent to Ukraine. The $6.2bn error created a path for billions more to be sent to Kyiv.</p><p><strong>Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on Hong Kong to prevent Russia and Russian businesses from using the region to circumvent sanctions</strong>. Kuleba met with Hong Kong leader John Lee as part of a visit to China. He called on the administration to prevent Russia from using Hong Kong to circumvent restrictions resulting from Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a statement from the Ukrainian foreign affairs ministry. “These restrictive measures are necessary to weaken Russia’s potential to wage war and kill people in Ukraine,” the statement said.</p><p><strong>A court in Moscow on Thursday ordered the head of a defense ministry’s construction division to be detained for two months</strong> on suspicion of abuse of power, Russian news agencies reported, the latest in a series of arrests of high-ranking ministry officials this year. Andrei Belkov heads the Military Construction Company, which builds bases, hospitals, schools and other facilities for the military, according to its website.</p><p><strong>Russian and Chinese bombers flew together for the first time in international airspace off the coast of Alaska</strong>, in a new show of expanding military cooperation that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday raises concerns. The flights Wednesday were not seen as a threat but it was the first time that Chinese bomber aircraft have flown within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone. And it was the first time Chinese and Russian aircraft have taken off from the same base in northeast Russia.</p><p><strong>The Turkish navy intercepted a marine drone in the Black Sea off Istanbul</strong>, authorities said, with media reporting that it contained explosives and might be Ukrainian. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of <strong>Ukraine</strong> in February 2022, a number of mines suspected of having floated down from the conflict zone have been spotted off the Turkish coast. The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation.</p><p><strong>Debris from what is believed to be a Russian drone landed in a rural area of Romania</strong>, the country’s Defense Ministry said Thursday, in the latest apparent incident of drone wreckage from the war in neighbouring Ukraine falling on to the Nato member’s soil.</p><p><strong>The Netherlands and Denmark are to deliver 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine</strong> “before the end of summer”, the Dutch defence minister announced Wednesday, saying Kyiv “urgently” needed more military support. The two countries bought the German-made tanks last year for 165mn euros ($186m) before sending them for refurbishment.</p><p><em>With Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/ukraine-war-briefing-pentagon-accounting-error-creates-path-for-billions-more-to-be-sent-to-kyiv">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Europe World news Guardian staff and agencies Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/technology/russia-sanctions-chips.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:59d8a146-062d-e768-4e65-1273a283761a Thu, 25 Jul 2024 17:42:27 -0400 Defying sanctions, Russia has obtained nearly $4 billion in restricted chips since the war began in Ukraine. Many were shipped through a cluster of shell companies in Hong Kong. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Computer Chips Embargoes and Sanctions International Trade and World Market International Relations Computers and the Internet Defense and Military Forces Chichenev, Alexey Vinogradov, Mikhail Commerce Department Hong Kong China Russia Ukraine United States Toronto (Ontario) Aaron Krolik and Paul Mozur https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/world/africa/burkina-faso-extremists-coup.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:b3c0c136-c90d-51b3-e2ea-602fdfd0059c Thu, 25 Jul 2024 13:08:54 -0400 The West African nation of Burkina Faso was once known for its lively arts scene. Now, it is a country torn apart by Islamist extremists and the government’s brutal effort to drive them out. Burkina Faso Russia Terrorism Coups D'Etat and Attempted Coups D'Etat Refugees and Displaced Persons Draft and Recruitment (Military) Traore, Ibrahim Al Qaeda Islamic State West African Province vis-photo Elian Peltier and Guerchom Ndebo https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/world/asia/russia-and-china-carry-out-first-joint-bomber-patrol-near-alaska.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:020977db-f03b-53f5-4572-6d29b2436ba9 Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:59:45 -0400 Two Russian and two Chinese bombers patrolled the airspace near American territory and were intercepted by U.S. and Canadian jets. Defense and Military Forces Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) International Relations United States International Relations Military Aircraft Politics and Government Alaska China Canada Russia Paul Sonne https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/25/the-misunderstood-ambitions-of-nato-and-the-eu World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:9447031d-b769-f636-dc87-c2c19a84d5f7 Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:38:19 -0400 <p>Far from enticing former Soviet states to join, <strong>William Wallace</strong> recalls caution and reluctance from the two bodies to sign up new members</p><p>Jonathan Gorse (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/ignoring-russias-fears-about-nato-expansion-was-a-mistake">Letters, 22 July</a>) accepts the justification for Vladimir Putin’s attacks on Ukraine that “the west” enticed states that were clearly within Russia’s sphere of influence to join an alliance that threatened Russia. The reality is that the states that emerged from the USSR looked both to Nato and the EU to guarantee their new-won independence, and were met initially by cautious and reluctant responses.</p><p>In December 1991, I was asked by a team from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard to join them in advising the newly independent government of Ukraine on its international priorities. At the opening session, Ukraine’s foreign minister declared that his country had “two strategic priorities for the next two years: to join Nato, and to join the EU”. My American colleagues left it to me to explain how slow and painful a transition Ukraine would face in qualifying for full membership of either body. The Baltic states and Georgia all made similarly optimistic declarations of their intent to join these institutions as soon as they could. <br><strong>William Wallace </strong><br><em>Liberal Democrat, House of Lords </em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/25/the-misunderstood-ambitions-of-nato-and-the-eu">Continue reading...</a> Nato European Union Ukraine Russia Europe Guardian Staff Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/podcasts/biden-speech-and-netanyahu-congress.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:61a48004-54ae-cd66-d131-18380cbc2a1a Thu, 25 Jul 2024 06:48:13 -0400 Plus, the illicit flow of technology to Russia. United States International Relations United States Politics and Government Politics and Government Elections New York Times X (Formerly Twitter) Biden, Joseph R Jr Musk, Elon Netanyahu, Benjamin Israel Russia Hong Kong Tracy Mumford, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Annie Karni, Ian Stewart and Jessica Metzger https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/podcasts/biden-speech-and-netanyahu-congress.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:b9d08cfa-7477-ae9d-eca2-517d24b5d25e Thu, 25 Jul 2024 06:04:28 -0400 Plus, the illicit flow of technology to Russia. United States International Relations United States Politics and Government Politics and Government Elections New York Times X (Formerly Twitter) Biden, Joseph R Jr Musk, Elon Netanyahu, Benjamin Israel Russia Hong Kong Tracy Mumford, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Annie Karni, Ian Stewart and Jessica Metzger https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/25/one-goal-is-to-destroy-ukrainian-identity-the-haunting-images-of-russias-prisoners-of-war World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:973fea24-0360-46fc-3359-111148b9cc27 Thu, 25 Jul 2024 03:00:42 -0400 <p>Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, its forces have detained and tortured thousands of fighters and civilians. Here, photojournalist Zoya Shu recounts five years of documenting their stories</p><ul><li>Photographs by Zoya Shu</li></ul><p>The pictures are haunting. There are portraits of Ukrainian men and women who have spent months and years in Russian captivity: soldiers, civilians, paramedics and volunteers. All experienced torture and brutal treatment. Many carry physical scars from their time as inmates. They are among the prisoners of war swapped since 2014, when Vladimir Putin began his Ukraine invasion, with a covert <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/04/ukraine-crisis-russian-troops-crimea-john-kerry-kiev">takeover in the east</a>.</p><p>In 2019, the <a href="https://www.zoyashu.info/">Ukrainian photojournalist Zoya Shu</a> began photographing those <a href="https://www.zoyashu.info/aftercaptivity">freed from Russian detention.</a> Over five years, she spent time with former prisoners of war (PoWs) in their homes, talking to them about their life stories and listening to their harrowing accounts of beatings and other forms of daily abuse.</p><p>Bogdan Sergiets shows the scar of a swastika carved into his back by pro-Russian militia in his home city of Donetsk in May 2014. He spent 10 hours in captivity and says his captors spoke about killing him to prevent their treatment of him being discovered</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/25/one-goal-is-to-destroy-ukrainian-identity-the-haunting-images-of-russias-prisoners-of-war">Continue reading...</a> Global development Ukraine Russia Europe Prisons War crimes Torture Luke Harding and Zoya Shu in Kiev Photograph: Zoya Shu https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/25/ukraine-war-russia-us-trump-election World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:b4fb5f06-97f1-39e0-0c88-783120224fb8 Thu, 25 Jul 2024 02:00:43 -0400 <p>Ukrainians are determined to fight on whatever the result, but without US support their position would be perilous</p><p>It’s a safe bet that no leader outside the United States is following its current election more closely than Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy – and with good reason. If Kamala Harris wins the US presidential election in November, she will almost certainly continue Joe Biden’s policy toward Ukraine, but if Donald Trump returns to the White House on 20 January, he could cease military support for Ukraine, meaning it would eventually run out of the weaponry it needs to resist Russia.</p><p>Or Trump could continue arming Ukraine for a while, but as a segue to a settlement – ideally one presided over by him. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/19/trump-rnc-republicans-speech">During his speech</a> accepting the Republican party’s presidential nomination, Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine. In a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/19/trump-zelenskyy-ukraine-call-00169905">phone call</a> with Zelenskiy the next day, he pledged to achieve a “just peace”, but Kyiv has good reason to fear that he would, at a minimum, allow Russia to retain the Ukrainian territory it holds and also shut Nato’s door on Ukraine.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/25/ukraine-war-russia-us-trump-election">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Donald Trump Volodymyr Zelenskiy US elections 2024 Republicans Rajan Menon Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/25/ukraine-war-briefing-sea-of-azov-emptied-of-russian-warships-says-ukrainian-navy World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:2a53e2ab-43c2-effe-77c7-db6d1a271a55 Wed, 24 Jul 2024 22:53:59 -0400 <p>Recent attacks in the Black Sea have forced the Russian navy to rebase its ships elsewhere, says Ukrainian navy; multiple Russian strikes on Kharkiv damage Swiss NGO office. What we know on day 883</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine">See all our Ukraine war coverage</a></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/25/ukraine-war-briefing-sea-of-azov-emptied-of-russian-warships-says-ukrainian-navy">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Warren Murray and agencies Photograph: Universal Images Group/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/jul/24/hell-jumper-review-the-heartstopping-tale-of-the-volunteer-who-saved-hundreds-of-ukrainians World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:488f7baa-bd83-eab1-2c80-6d70f37d1a4b Wed, 24 Jul 2024 17:30:28 -0400 <p>This documentary about Chris Parry, 28 – who died rescuing civilians from the frontline – is profoundly human. His bodycam footage feels like a dystopian video game</p><p>What a title for a documentary: Hell Jumper is the nickname given to a particular kind of overseas volunteer in Ukraine, one who specialises in driving to the frontline to pick up stranded civilians. Chris Parry, a young Cornishman addicted to adventure and compassion, was one of them until he was shot dead by Russian mercenaries in January 2023. He was 28.</p><p>The film commemorating Parry is blessed by modern technologies. Hell jumpers strap digital cameras to themselves to record their evacuations; Parry’s habit of leaving voice notes for loved ones means we also have access to his thoughts, clearly spoken.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/jul/24/hell-jumper-review-the-heartstopping-tale-of-the-volunteer-who-saved-hundreds-of-ukrainians">Continue reading...</a> Television & radio Culture Television Ukraine Jack Seale Photograph: Csar Ngo/BBC/Expectation Entertainment/CSAR-Ukraine https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/24/putin-lies-russian-economy-eu-ministers World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:1f730cd2-e7d8-d5c9-9c20-860ad008c46c Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:00:08 -0400 <p>Group of finance ministers call for sanctions to be ratcheted up amid signs Moscow’s war machine is weakening</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/24/russia-economic-growth-western-sanctions-vladimir-putin-moscow">Opinion: Russia sanctions are working – and we need more</a></li></ul><p>Vladimir Putin is “peddling lies” about the strength of the Russian economy that must be refuted, finance ministers from eight EU member states have said, with growing signs of deterioration in the face of biting sanctions.</p><p>They say there are signs that the economy is being “sovietised” with many hallmarks of the former USSR including expropriation of private assets to fund public spending, a “total disregard to the social and economic wellbeing of the population” and reorientation of the economy towards its war in Ukraine.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/24/putin-lies-russian-economy-eu-ministers">Continue reading...</a> Russia Ukraine Vladimir Putin European Union World news Europe Lisa O&#x27;Carroll Photograph: Vyacheslav Prokofiev/Sputnik/Kremlin pool/EPA https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/24/russia-economic-growth-western-sanctions-vladimir-putin-moscow World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:b6fc49d3-243c-619a-736d-ea4acb76f7cc Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:00:08 -0400 <p>The signs are clear that not everything is as rosy in Putin’s Soviet-style war economy as Moscow would have us believe</p><p>President Vladimir Putin and his authoritarian regime are peddling the false narrative that the Russian economy is strong, and that its war machine is unharmed by western sanctions. This is a lie that must be rebutted. In fact, there are many signs that the Russian war economy is deteriorating. The sanctions and other measures to weaken the Russian economy are effective, but even more can be done. We must continue to increase pressure on Putin’s regime and support Ukraine.</p><p>During the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/11/nato-summit-achievements-overshadowed-by-looming-us-election">Nato summit in Washington DC</a>, western leaders reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine’s defence. But Russia’s war against Ukraine is not only being fought by soldiers on the ground. It is also a war of information, on which the Kremlin spends an estimated $1.5bn (£1.2bn) a year, and of economic strength. Putin and his authoritarian regime want us to believe that Russia stands unmoved by sanctions and other efforts made to support Ukraine, freedom and democracy. Thus, it is extremely important that politicians, the media and economic institutions in the west do not take the information coming out of the Kremlin at face value. When taking a closer look at the signals, it becomes clear that everything is not as rosy with the Russian economy as Moscow would have us believe.</p><p>Elisabeth Svantesson, minister for finance, Sweden</p><p>Stephanie Lose, minister for economic affairs, Denmark</p><p>Mart Võrklaev, minister of finance, Estonia</p><p>Riikka Purra, minister of finance, Finland</p><p>Arvils Ašeradens, minister of finance, Latvia</p><p>Gintarė Skaistė, minister of finance, Lithuania</p><p>Eelco Heinen, minister of finance, Netherlands</p><p>Andrzej Domański, minister of finance, Poland<br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/24/russia-economic-growth-western-sanctions-vladimir-putin-moscow">Continue reading...</a> Russia Ukraine Economics European Union Financial crisis Business Europe Eight European finance ministers Photograph: Ramil Sitdikov/AFP/Getty Images https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/24/world/europe/ukraine-death-doula-russia-war.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:b49ac7f8-b1c9-eb20-81c2-6e6118d3a914 Wed, 24 Jul 2024 00:01:43 -0400 The work of those who guide people coping with acute grief has grown in importance in war-torn Ukraine, where death has become a daily reality since the Russian invasion. Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Death and Dying Grief (Emotion) Mental Health and Disorders Deaths (Fatalities) Kharkiv (Ukraine) Lviv (Ukraine) Russia Ukraine Daria Mitiuk, Constant Méheut and Laura Boushnak https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/24/i-know-we-will-win-and-how-ukraines-top-general-on-turning-the-tables-against-russia World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:1471ce53-19fb-216d-f4cd-fd50bce3eb3c Wed, 24 Jul 2024 00:00:10 -0400 <p>Exclusive: Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi weighs Ukraine’s recent setbacks, counter strikes and the changing face of Europe’s biggest war since 1945</p><p>Sitting on a stack of ammunition crates at a secret military base, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi was tight-lipped about when Ukraine will receive a long-awaited delivery of F-16 fighter jets. The Dutch and other allies <a href="https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/eng/news/2024/07/10/7189905/">have said they will arrive soon</a>. This week? Or maybe August? “I know. But I can’t tell you about it, unfortunately,” he said, with an apologetic grin, as gulls squawked nearby.</p><p>Syrskyi is Ukraine’s new commander-in-chief. His unenviable task is to defeat a bigger Russian army. Two and half years into Vladimir Putin’s full-scale onslaught, he acknowledges the Russians are much better resourced. They have more of everything: tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, soldiers. Their original 100,000-strong invasion force has grown to 520,000, he said, with a goal by the end of 2024 of 690,000 men. The figures for Ukraine have not been made public.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/24/i-know-we-will-win-and-how-ukraines-top-general-on-turning-the-tables-against-russia">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Europe World news Luke Harding, photos by Alessio Mamo Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/24/ukraine-war-briefing-occupiers-ship-severely-damaged-in-kavkas-across-from-crimea World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:6a26eeb0-5a5f-aa90-4da4-8f4bda990c0d Tue, 23 Jul 2024 20:30:59 -0400 <p>Zelenskiy’s and Kamala Harris’s aides hold phone talks; Spanish pensioner jailed over anti-Ukraine letter bombs. What we know on day 882</p><p>Ukraine said its drones <strong>attacked a Russian ship used for military cargo</strong> moored at <strong>Kavkaz in Russia’s Krasnodar region</strong>, across the Kerch Strait from illegally occupied Crimea. Ukraine’s armed forces said “the occupiers’ ship is severely damaged in the Kavkaz port” and posted a picture of black smoke rising from a vessel on fire. Russia “used this ship to transport railway carriages, vehicles and containers for military purposes”, Ukraine said. Russian authorities said the attack on what it called a cargo ship killed one person and wounded four. Slavyanin is a Russian-flagged rail and vehicle carrier that departed from a port in Bulgaria in May, according to global tracking service MarineTraffic.</p><p>Ukraine has once again asked the Pentagon to <strong>lift restrictions on firing US weapons at military targets on Russian soil</strong>. The Ukrainian defence minister, Rustem Umerov, and his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, on Tuesday held their first talks since Joe Biden’s announcement that he was ending his presidential re-election bid. “During the call, the secretary reaffirmed the unwavering support of the United States for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression,” said the Pentagon’s press secretary, Maj Gen Pat Ryder. A statement from Umerov said: “I once again highlighted the <strong>importance and urgency of lifting the bans on long-range fires</strong>.”</p><p>Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has spoken by phone with Phil Gordon, <strong>national security adviser to Kamala Harris</strong>, the presumptive Democratic nominee for US president. The Ukrainian president’s office said they discussed the situation at the front and Russia’s campaign of aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. Zelenskiy highlighted in his nightly video address that Harris had represented the US at the June peace summit in Switzerland.</p><p><strong>Zelenskiy has praised Vatican efforts in seeking peace</strong> and securing the release of prisoners of war after the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, visited four cities in Ukraine. Zelenskiy said talks with the pope’s second in charge focused on “what can be done this year to bring closer a just peace for Ukraine”.</p><p>Ukraine’s foreign minister, <strong>Dmytro Kuleba,</strong> said after arriving in Beijing that it was “important” for Ukraine and China – an ally of Russia – to have <strong>“direct dialogue and an exchange of positions”</strong> about plans to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. “Ahead are <strong>extensive, detailed, substantive talks with (my) Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi,</strong> on ways to a just peace,” Kuleba said.</p><p>A Spanish court has sentenced a pensioner to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/23/spain-court-sentences-pompeyo-gonzalez-pascual-prison-letter-bombs">18 years in prison over </a><strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/23/spain-court-sentences-pompeyo-gonzalez-pascual-prison-letter-bombs">letter bombs</a></strong> sent to Spain’s prime minister, the US and Ukrainian embassies and an arms maker in 2022. Pompeyo Gonzalez Pascual – who opposed western support for Ukraine following Russia’s February 2022 invasion – was <strong>found guilty of terrorism and manufacturing explosives</strong> in Spain’s top criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional.</p><p>A court in Moscow said it had found <strong>Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar</strong> guilty in absentia of knowingly distributing false information and sentenced him to eight and a half years in prison. Zygar had written about <strong>war crimes committed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha</strong>, near Kyiv.</p><p><strong>Hungary</strong> has said it is <strong>blocking European Peace Facility funding for Ukraine</strong> until the government in Kyiv allows Russian oil to resume flowing through its territory. Slovakia and Hungary said this month that they had stopped receiving oil from Lukoil through the Druzhba pipeline after Ukraine imposed a ban. Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said only that Moscow was working to ensure Russian oil supplies via Ukraine continued but would not comment on supply interruptions.</p><p><strong>Estonia’s incoming prime minister, Kirsten Michal</strong>, has pledged continued support for Ukraine until “victory” against Russia. Michal, 49, has <strong>replaced Kaja Kallas</strong>, who resigned to become the EU’s foreign policy chief. Michal said Estonia would also increase its own defence expenditure: “The message to our enemies is that Estonia is well defended.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/24/ukraine-war-briefing-occupiers-ship-severely-damaged-in-kavkas-across-from-crimea">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Warren Murray and agencies Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jul/23/yuriy-vernydub-soldier-football-coach-europa-league-ukraine-russia-war World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:49d6a869-85ba-a01a-8ba0-b94da6bc7a7d Tue, 23 Jul 2024 15:00:00 -0400 <p>Yuriy Vernydub combines managing Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih with helping his country in their war against Russia</p><p>Yuriy Vernydub is busy preparing Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih for their Europa League qualifying campaign but unlike other coaches in the competition he knows the call from his military unit could come at any time. “I am still a soldier,” the 58-year-old says. “I haven’t been demobilised.”</p><p>Vernydub joined the Ukrainian army immediately after Russia’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/feb/21/two-years-of-war-in-ukraine-then-and-now">full-scale invasion</a> in February 2022. He had just signed a lucrative contract extension at the Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol but did not think twice when his country needed him.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jul/23/yuriy-vernydub-soldier-football-coach-europa-league-ukraine-russia-war">Continue reading...</a> Football Ukraine Sport Michael Yokhin Photograph: Yuriy Vernydub https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jul/23/yuriy-vernydub-soldier-football-coach-europa-league-ukraine-russia-war World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:691452e7-4e8d-e8be-a029-f23ed68d15cc Tue, 23 Jul 2024 15:00:00 -0400 <p>Ukrainian combines managing Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih with helping his country in the war against Russia</p><p>Yuriy Vernydub is busy preparing Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih for their Europa League qualifying campaign but unlike other coaches in the competition he knows the call from his military unit could come at any time. “I am still a soldier,” the 58-year-old says. “I haven’t been demobilised.”</p><p>Vernydub joined the Ukrainian army immediately after Russia’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/feb/21/two-years-of-war-in-ukraine-then-and-now">full-scale invasion</a> in February 2022. He had just signed a lucrative contract extension at the Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol but did not think twice when his country needed him.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jul/23/yuriy-vernydub-soldier-football-coach-europa-league-ukraine-russia-war">Continue reading...</a> Football Ukraine Sport Michael Yokhin Photograph: Yuriy Vernydub https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/23/british-defence-chief-vows-to-triple-fighting-power-but-shies-away-from-conscription World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:91fa4457-d02b-129b-d948-9b7e7047d7a1 Tue, 23 Jul 2024 14:06:27 -0400 <p>Gen Sir Roly Walker says west faces ‘axis of upheaval’ with increasing threats from Russia, China and Iran</p><p>Britain must be prepared to fight a war in three years’ time and double the lethality of its army as the separate threats of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea come to a head, the new chief of the army has warned.</p><p>Gen Sir Roly Walker, the chief of the general staff, told reporters that the west faced “an axis of upheaval” with increasing military ambition and that a conflict involving one of the countries could lead to “a significant detonation” in another theatre.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/23/british-defence-chief-vows-to-triple-fighting-power-but-shies-away-from-conscription">Continue reading...</a> British army Military UK news Ukraine Europe World news Defence policy Politics Russia China Iran Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/23/spain-court-sentences-pompeyo-gonzalez-pascual-prison-letter-bombs Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:f76b03e8-0746-b580-4642-12e28eb0d444 Tue, 23 Jul 2024 12:28:00 -0400 <p>Pompeyo González Pascual, 76, sent explosive packages to Spain’s prime minister and US and Ukrainian embassies</p><p>A Spanish court has sentenced an elderly man to 18 years in prison over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/01/spanish-police-investigate-four-devices-ukraine-embassy-blast-madrid">letter bombs sent to Spain’s prime minister and the US and Ukrainian embassies</a> in 2022.</p><p>Pompeyo González Pascual, 76, who opposed western support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, was found guilty of terrorism and manufacturing explosives by Spain’s top criminal court, the audiencia nacional.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/23/spain-court-sentences-pompeyo-gonzalez-pascual-prison-letter-bombs">Continue reading...</a> Spain Ukraine Russia US news Europe World news Agence France-Presse in Madrid Photograph: Susana Vera/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/23/spain-court-sentences-pompeyo-gonzalez-pascual-prison-letter-bombs World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:32de7407-fedd-76ef-7ca2-584a42bb7b8d Tue, 23 Jul 2024 12:28:00 -0400 <p>Pompeyo González Pascual, 76, sent explosive packages to Spain’s prime minister and US and Ukrainian embassies</p><p>A Spanish court has sentenced a man to 18 years in prison over <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/01/spanish-police-investigate-four-devices-ukraine-embassy-blast-madrid">letter bombs sent to Spain’s prime minister and the US and Ukrainian embassies</a> in 2022.</p><p>Pompeyo González Pascual, 76, who opposed western support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, was found guilty of terrorism and manufacturing explosives by Spain’s top criminal court, the audiencia nacional.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/23/spain-court-sentences-pompeyo-gonzalez-pascual-prison-letter-bombs">Continue reading...</a> Spain Ukraine Russia US news Europe World news Agence France-Presse in Madrid Photograph: Susana Vera/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/23/russia-belarus-olympic-games-ukraine-war-ioc World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:e5660454-848b-1a9f-e5c2-3a0011afec2f Tue, 23 Jul 2024 12:21:33 -0400 <ul><li>Dossier covers 17 athletes due to compete in Paris</li><li>IOC accused of negligence over own rules</li></ul><p>A human rights law firm has accused the International Olympic Committee of negligence after releasing a dossier of 17 Russian and Belarusian athletes due to compete at Paris, who it said had shown support for the war in Ukraine in breach of Olympic rules.</p><p>Global Rights Compliance, based in London and Kyiv, said the athletes had either liked social media posts supporting the invasion of Ukraine, competed in pro-war competitions or were members of military-linked sports clubs.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/23/russia-belarus-olympic-games-ukraine-war-ioc">Continue reading...</a> Paris Olympic Games 2024 Russia Olympic team Olympic Games Belarus Ukraine Europe Sport Dan Sabbagh Photograph: Michel Euler/AP https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/23/central-african-republic-women-girls-rape-sexual-violence-conflict-food-security-wagner-russian-mercenaries-un Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:798ea2e5-6054-2bbf-54ad-03373e71bff1 Tue, 23 Jul 2024 09:24:44 -0400 <p>A rise in sexual violence means food prices have leapt in CAR as women and girls say they fear working in the fields</p><p>The two sisters had just arrived at their family’s field when two Russian mercenaries showed up. They held the girls at gunpoint and took turns raping them. “We told them we were virgins and begged them not to touch us. But they wouldn’t listen,” says Koko*.</p><p>She was 17 when the attack happened on a Saturday morning last September in the family’s field of yams and cassava in Ngaguene village, near the Central African Republic (CAR) town of Bouar.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/23/central-african-republic-women-girls-rape-sexual-violence-conflict-food-security-wagner-russian-mercenaries-un">Continue reading...</a> Global development Sexual violence Rape and sexual assault Africa Central African Republic Human rights World news Society War crimes Law Conflict and arms Russia Europe Yevgeny Prigozhin United Nations Women Food security Philip Obaji Jr in Bouar Photograph: Philip Obaji Jr https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/23/british-defence-chief-vows-to-triple-fighting-power-but-shies-away-from-conscription World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:80191d53-6ffc-4e41-97cd-e512ad4703ad Tue, 23 Jul 2024 07:05:36 -0400 <p>Adm Sir Tony Radakin says British army could justify extra investment if its effectiveness improves</p><p>Britain’s most senior military officer has promised the army will double its lethality in three years, but backed away from the idea of endorsing conscription in his first speech following the general election.</p><p>Adm Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of defence staff, said that the British army could justify extra investment if its effectiveness improved, though he stopped short of asking for more money while Labour ministers reviewed the public finances.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/23/british-defence-chief-vows-to-triple-fighting-power-but-shies-away-from-conscription">Continue reading...</a> British army Military UK news Ukraine Europe World news Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/23/large-scale-and-intense-wildfires-carrying-smoke-across-northern-hemisphere Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:adb1e8da-7ebc-44ab-7a76-6acd76f20dc2 Tue, 23 Jul 2024 00:00:04 -0400 <p>Late spring and early summer blazes in Canada, Alaska and eastern Russia add to carbon emissions</p><p>The northern hemisphere has had a large number of intense wildfires in the first half of summer, carrying vast amounts of smoke across Eurasia and North America.</p><p>Research by the <a href="https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/copernicus-large-wildfires-affect-russia-and-north-america-early-boreal-summer">Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service</a> (Cams) showed large-scale and intense wildfires had been developing throughout the late spring and summer, with numerous fires burning in Canada, Alaska and eastern Russia.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/23/large-scale-and-intense-wildfires-carrying-smoke-across-northern-hemisphere">Continue reading...</a> Wildfires World news Environment Russia Alaska Canada US news Europe Americas Ellen McNally Photograph: Jesse Winter/Reuters https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/23/ukraine-war-briefing-dmytro-kuleba-visits-russias-no-limits-ally-china World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:6d6cfedd-8819-89ec-8812-adebdf73e12b Mon, 22 Jul 2024 21:22:29 -0400 <p>Ukrainian foreign minister seeking ways for China to help end war; Hungary stripped of EU meeting over Orbán forays. What we know on day 881</p><p><strong>Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, is in China</strong> on Tuesday for talks on how officials there might help end the war with Russia. China presents itself as a neutral party in the war, however its deepening “no limits” partnership with Russia led Nato members to declare it a <strong>“decisive enabler” of the invasion</strong>, which Beijing has never condemned. The US and Europe have accused Beijing of <strong>sending components and equipment used to keep Russian military production going</strong>.</p><p><strong>Hungary will not be allowed</strong> to host a strategic EU meeting next month because of Viktor Orbán’s self-proclaimed “peace mission” trips to Moscow and Beijing without the union’s authority, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/top-eu-diplomat-calls-rival-meeting-in-response-to-hungarys-rogue-diplomacy">Jennifer Rankin reports</a>. “We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal,” said the EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, explaining that he had decided the upcoming foreign and defence ministers’ meeting would <strong>take place in Brussels instead of Budapest</strong>. Hungary holds the rotating EU presidency, and as such would normally host the annual late August gathering.</p><p>Ukraine’s top commander said on Monday that Russian forces were staging relentless assaults to try to <strong>advance towards the town of Pokrovsk</strong>, a logistics hub in the east, and that there was active fighting taking place along the entire frontline. Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi said fierce battles raged near several eastern villages and towns, including <strong>Krasnohorivka and Chasiv Yar</strong>, a strategic hilltop town whose capture would bring Russia closer to threatening important Donetsk region cities.</p><p>A Russian court has <strong>sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist</strong> for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), to <strong>more than six years in prison</strong> for spreading false information about the Russian army. Her husband, Pavel Butorin, who also works for RFE/RL, said her arrest was <strong>related to a book that she had edited</strong> entitled Saying No to War: 40 Stories of Russians Who Oppose the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. “My daughters and I know Alsu has done nothing wrong. And the world knows it too. We need her home.” The RFE/RL president and CEO, Stephen Capus, called Kurmasheva’s rapid, secretly held trial and conviction “a mockery of justice”. Kurmasheva, 47, is based in Prague but was <strong>arrested while visiting family</strong> in Tatarstan, Russia.</p><p>Ukraine’s government said on Monday it had struck a preliminary deal with international creditors to <strong>restructure government debt worth more than $20bn</strong>.</p><p>Several thousand people have attended the funeral in Lviv of Iryna Farion, a <strong>former Ukrainian MP who was assassinated on Friday</strong>. Farion was best known for her campaigns to promote the speaking of Ukrainian and expunge the Russian language from Ukrainian officialdom. She criticised Russian-speaking members of Ukraine’s Azov regiment who defended Mariupol in the first days of the Russian full-scale invasion. Ukrainian police are searching for the unidentified assassin.</p><p>The EU has <strong>extended sanctions against Russia</strong> for a further six months, until 31 January 2025.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/23/ukraine-war-briefing-dmytro-kuleba-visits-russias-no-limits-ally-china">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Europe World news Warren Murray with Guardian staff and agencies Photograph: Gleb Garanich/Reuters file https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/23/british-library-wanted-to-buy-archive-of-double-agent-kim-philby-from-his-widow Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:70425c3c-2132-b9af-7683-4001f6dd8c02 Mon, 22 Jul 2024 19:01:47 -0400 <p>National Archives files show officials were troubled by idea of institution enriching widow of Cambridge Five agent</p><p>The British Library wanted to acquire the personal archive of the notorious double agent Kim Philby in a deal worth tens of thousands of pounds to his widow, according to newly released government files.</p><p>Papers released by the National Archives in Kew show that officials in the mid-1990s were horrified by the prospect of such an institution being party to an arrangement that would enrich the family of a man whose treachery was blamed for countless agent deaths.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/23/british-library-wanted-to-buy-archive-of-double-agent-kim-philby-from-his-widow">Continue reading...</a> National Archives Kim Philby Espionage World news Russia UK news British Library Jamie Grierson Photograph: PA https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/top-eu-diplomat-calls-rival-meeting-in-response-to-hungarys-rogue-diplomacy Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:0c3ecd3e-c885-d503-8211-d947f61ed4d7 Mon, 22 Jul 2024 14:45:49 -0400 <p>Meeting of bloc’s foreign ministers organised by Josep Borrell is in effect a boycott of a gathering in Budapest</p><p>The EU’s most senior diplomat, Josep Borrell, has called a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels – in effect a boycott of a rival gathering in Budapest – to register widespread anger over Hungary’s rogue diplomacy.</p><p>Borrell announced that he had decided to convene informal meetings of EU foreign affairs and defence ministers in Brussels after the summer break, meaning the same participants will not gather in Budapest as originally planned.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/top-eu-diplomat-calls-rival-meeting-in-response-to-hungarys-rogue-diplomacy">Continue reading...</a> European Union Hungary Viktor Orbán Russia China Donald Trump Jennifer Rankin in Brussels Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/22/world/europe/alsu-kurmasheva-sentence-russia.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:eb6467b5-7ade-d533-d740-33941707b252 Mon, 22 Jul 2024 14:11:04 -0400 Ms. Kurmasheva, a Russian American working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, had been charged in relation to an antiwar book she edited. Kurmasheva, Alsu Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty Sentences (Criminal) Political Prisoners United States International Relations Kazan (Russia) Russia Ivan Nechepurenko https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/opinion/trump-administration-chaos.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:069fa3fd-0aa7-6bb0-ab73-fba51866737d Mon, 22 Jul 2024 12:02:54 -0400 It was one long exercise in creating memories of a Trump term that never existed. Republican National Convention Trump, Donald J Republican Party Presidential Election of 2024 United States Politics and Government United States International Relations Rumors and Misinformation Crime and Criminals Murders, Attempted Murders and Homicides Biden, Joseph R Jr Syria Iran Russia United States Ukraine Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) United States Defense and Military Forces David French https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/ignoring-russias-fears-about-nato-expansion-was-a-mistake Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:f2281ff8-2c11-68cb-1f4f-824741b0785c Mon, 22 Jul 2024 11:43:54 -0400 <p><strong>Jonathan Gorse</strong> believes the Russian position is understandable, while <strong>Karen Miller</strong> says placating Putin will not work. Plus a letter from <strong>Dr Wolfgang Heinemann</strong></p><p>Simon Jenkins, describing his horror at our new prime minister considering whether to allow Ukraine to use British missiles for strikes deep into Russia, is a rare voice of reason in a chorus of relentless escalation (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/15/prime-minister-cheerleading-war-ukraine-starmer-iraq-nato">It’s worrying to see the prime minister cheerleading for war. Will Ukraine turn into Starmer’s Iraq?, 15 July</a>). Western&nbsp;leaders across the board seem to have forgotten the promises made to Mikhail Gorbachev more than 30 years ago, assuring him of our commitment to not extend the borders of Nato into the old Soviet bloc.</p><p>Since then, we have seen numerous former Soviet states join Nato, leaving Russia encircled to the west, with hostile missiles, troops, tanks and planes now pointing in its direction from its own backyard. Russian discomfort at this situation over the past 20 years has been ignored, and it is my belief that the invasion of Ukraine was entirely due to the fear that Ukraine too would be accepted into the Nato alliance.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/ignoring-russias-fears-about-nato-expansion-was-a-mistake">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine Russia Crimea Volodymyr Zelenskiy Europe Vladimir Putin Keir Starmer Nato Politics Foreign policy Guardian Staff Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/russian-court-jails-journalist-alsu-kurmasheva-secret-trial Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:a07dccd7-274a-1b9b-1cd7-2a60483ffb79 Mon, 22 Jul 2024 11:01:33 -0400 <p>Russian-American editor Alsu Kurmasheva convicted for spreading ‘false information’ about armed forces</p><p><br> A Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to six-and-a-half years in prison after a rushed, secret trial.</p><p>Kurmasheva, a Prague-based editor, was arrested last year during a family visit to the city of Kazan in south-west Russia for failing to register as a “foreign agent” and for spreading “false information” about the country’s armed forces, under crippling censorship laws enacted after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/russian-court-jails-journalist-alsu-kurmasheva-secret-trial">Continue reading...</a> Russia US news World news Media Journalist safety Pjotr Sauer Photograph: AP https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/russian-court-jails-journalist-alsu-kurmasheva-secret-trial Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:2e62007e-0741-ea23-9552-3069da8b8168 Mon, 22 Jul 2024 11:01:33 -0400 <p>Alsu Kurmasheva convicted after secret trial for spreading ‘false information’ about armed forces</p><p>A Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to six-and-a-half years in prison after a rushed, secret trial.</p><p>Kurmasheva, a Prague-based editor, was arrested last year during a family visit to the city of Kazan in south-west Russia for failing to register as a “foreign agent” and for spreading “false information” about the country’s armed forces, under crippling censorship laws enacted after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/russian-court-jails-journalist-alsu-kurmasheva-secret-trial">Continue reading...</a> Russia US news World news Media Journalist safety Pjotr Sauer Photograph: AP https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/russian-court-jails-journalist-alsu-kurmasheva-secret-trial Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:7fb6ce15-ae43-f98f-0fc8-16a7df3cec8f Mon, 22 Jul 2024 11:01:33 -0400 <p>Alsu Kurmasheva convicted after secret trial for spreading ‘false information’ about armed forces</p><p>A Russian court has sentenced Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to six-and-a-half years in prison after a rushed, secret trial.</p><p>Kurmasheva, a Prague-based editor, was arrested last year during a family visit to the city of Kazan in south-west Russia for failing to register as a “foreign agent” and for spreading “false information” about the country’s armed forces, under crippling censorship laws enacted after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/russian-court-jails-journalist-alsu-kurmasheva-secret-trial">Continue reading...</a> Russia US news World news Media Journalist safety Pjotr Sauer Photograph: AP https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/ukraine-targets-bipartisan-support-avoid-dragged-us-election World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:7a937925-b7f2-a5f4-a344-0a69388d4463 Mon, 22 Jul 2024 10:20:24 -0400 <p>Kyiv indicates it will keep reaching out to Republicans and Democrats, as Zelenskiy pays tribute to Biden</p><p>Ukraine will continue to reach out to Republicans and Democrats and avoid being sucked into US internal politics and a bruising probable contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, officials in Kyiv indicated on Monday.</p><p>Its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1815144292182348062">paid a warm tribute</a> to the departing Joe Biden on Sunday, thanking him for his “unwavering support”. He praised the US president’s “bold steps” taken in response to “challenging times” and Russia’s 2022 invasion.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/ukraine-targets-bipartisan-support-avoid-dragged-us-election">Continue reading...</a> Ukraine US elections 2024 Donald Trump Kamala Harris Republicans Democrats Joe Biden US foreign policy Europe US news World news Luke Harding in Kyiv Photograph: Alessandro Della Valle/AFP/Getty Images https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/22/world/europe/biden-ukraine-nato.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:d9f4cd13-e950-82e1-1254-7612e2b6ca81 Mon, 22 Jul 2024 09:24:46 -0400 President Biden’s stance on Ukraine was shaped by a deep commitment to America’s trans-Atlantic alliance. Some Europeans fear he may be among the last of his kind. United States International Relations United States Politics and Government Presidential Election of 2024 International Relations Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) Defense and Military Forces Democratic Party North Atlantic Treaty Organization Europe United States Ukraine Russia Biden, Joseph R Jr Harris, Kamala D Trump, Donald J Matina Stevis-Gridneff https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/czech-republic-shells-ukraine-plan-fall-short-more-money World news: Ukraine | theguardian.com urn:uuid:9533162d-0b00-761c-05d0-79be0bc95c30 Mon, 22 Jul 2024 07:51:28 -0400 <p>Prague’s foreign minister urges donor countries to pay extra to avoid 800k target being missed by over a third</p><p>A Czech initiative to supply Ukraine with 800,000 shells by the end of the year will fall short by more than a third unless donor countries come forward with more money, the Czech foreign minister has said.</p><p>“We have secured funding for half a million pieces of large-calibre ammunition, which we will deliver by the end of this year,” Jan Lipavský told reporters in Brussels on Monday.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/czech-republic-shells-ukraine-plan-fall-short-more-money">Continue reading...</a> Czech Republic Ukraine Arms trade Europe World news Jennifer Rankin in Brussels Photograph: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/22/us/politics/biden-legacy-harris-nato.html NYT > Russia urn:uuid:8672510c-af52-6d13-6708-6eaa3f85325c Mon, 22 Jul 2024 05:03:35 -0400 More than any election in decades, this one will be marked by starkly different approaches to an era of simultaneous confrontations, from China to Russia to the Middle East. United States International Relations Presidential Election of 2024 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022) China Russia Ukraine Biden, Joseph R Jr Harris, Kamala D Putin, Vladimir V Trump, Donald J David E. Sanger https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/hong-kong-trade-hub-report Russia | The Guardian urn:uuid:76a98d95-90b9-92f9-198f-d8c7fa87372c Mon, 22 Jul 2024 03:00:30 -0400 <p>Pro-democracy campaign group finds exports of goods to Russia, vital to its war efforts, roughly doubled in a year</p><p>Hong Kong has become a global trade hub for “the world’s most brutal regimes”, according to a report examining the city’s role in facilitating the flow of goods to countries under sanctions by the west, including Russia, Iran and North Korea.</p><p>A report published on Monday by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, a campaign group, found that between 2021 and 2022, exports of semiconductors from Hong Kong to Russia roughly doubled to $400m (£310m), second only to shipments from mainland China. Semiconductors are vital to Russia’s war effort as they are a component in weaponry such as drones and cruise missiles.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/22/hong-kong-trade-hub-report">Continue reading...</a> Hong Kong Russia World news Trade and development Society Asia Pacific Europe Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent Photograph: Kan Wang/Getty Images