Navalny supporters chant outside funeral service in Moscow
Joe Biden in his State of the Union address warned Vladimir Putin would not stop at Ukraine as the US president asked Congress to “stand up” to Russia’s aggression.
“If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not,” Mr Biden said.
Mr Biden’s statement comes a day after a senior Russian officer warned of a full-scale war in Europe as Sweden finally joined Nato.
Colonel-General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, head of the Russian army’s Military Academy of the General Staff, made the comments in an article for “Military Thought”, a defence ministry publication, the state RIA news agency reported on Thursday.
“The possibility of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine – from the expansion of participants in ‘proxy forces’ used for military confrontation with Russia to a large-scale war in Europe – cannot be ruled out,” RIA cited him as saying.
Sweden became the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have spiked following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
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Ukraine to appoint former army chief as UK ambassador
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former commander-in-chief of Ukraine, will become the country’s next ambassador to the UK.
The announcement comes a month after he was fired by president Volodymyr Zelensky in a major shake-up to the country’s military following failed counteroffensive efforts.
The Ukrainian general rose to popularity after leading the war efforts against Russia in 2022 and is seen as a potential political rival to Mr Zelensky.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 March 2024 06:30
‘The Kremlin tried to recruit me – but when I condemned the war, I was forced into exile’
Pinchas Goldschmidt, the chief Rabbi of Moscow, witnessed first-hand the rise of Putin, writes Adam Luck. Now that he’s fled the country after criticising the Ukraine war, he has a stark warning for the West – the Russian leader has his sights set on more than just Kyiv…
Read the full interview here…
Lydia Patrick8 March 2024 06:00
Russia rejects UN call for demilitarisation of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The UN nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors voted on Thursday to demand Russia withdraw from Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
It was the board’s fourth resolution condemning Russia’s actions against Ukrainian nuclear facilities. The first was passed in March 2022, the day before Russia captured Europe’s largest nuclear plant.
The board called “for the urgent withdrawal of all unauthorised military and other unauthorised personnel” from the nuclear facility.
It asked the plant to be immediately returned to the full control of the “competent Ukrainian authorities”.
However, the demilitarisation demand was rejected by Russia, saying that “their implementation will make the plant even more vulnerable”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 March 2024 05:30
Cameron stresses UK-German unity when asked about leaked call on visit to Berlin
Lord David Cameron said there was “incredible unity between allies” when asked about a leaked call between German military officials about Ukraine which included details of UK operations.
The Foreign Secretary’s visit to Berlin on Thursday came just days after Russia intercepted a telephone conversation in which officials were heard suggesting British service personnel were on the ground in Ukraine.
He was asked at a press conference alongside his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock whether he agreed with Berlin’s assessment that trust among allies was unbroken.
Lord Cameron said: “I don’t want to play into the hands of some Russian narrative about divisions between allies. What I see … is incredible unity between allies, incredible unity in Nato.
“Of course, we’re going to have areas where we want to discuss what more we can do, what more we can help. And those are the sorts of discussions that good friends and allies with this unity have in private.”
Read the full story here…
Lydia Patrick8 March 2024 05:00
Why are so many Indians being forced to work in war zones?
Pat Nibin Maxwell moved from India to Israel at the height of the Gaza conflict in December last year, leaving behind a pregnant wife and a four-year-old daughter. The decision to relocate to another country in search of work was not an easy one, particularly to such a restive region.
It was a choice driven by “financial reasons”, his cousin Jose Dennis tells The Independent. Maxwell was among hundreds of Indian youths taking up blue-collar jobs in dangerous locations, including Russia’s frontline with Ukraine, driven by what an economist describes as “extreme desperation” due to the lack of well-paid employment in India.
On 4 March, Maxwell’s family were told on a call that the 31-year-old was grievously injured in an anti-tank missile strike on a poultry farm in northern Israel. “He was hospitalised along with two other Indians,” Dennis says. “Later, we learnt that he has died.”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 March 2024 04:30
Biden asks Congress to ‘stand up’ to Putin
President Joe Biden in his State of Union address called on Congress to “stand up” to Russian president Vladimir Putin as he criticised his Republican rival for allegedly “bowing down” to Russia.
Mr Biden on Thursday warned freedom and democracy were “under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time”.
“If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not,” Mr Biden said.
Without naming Donald Trump, Mr Biden said: “Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, ‘Do whatever you want’.“I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable.”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 March 2024 04:21
Watch – Alexei Navalny’s wife calls for Russians to protest on election day
Alexei Navalny’s wife calls for Russians to protest on election day
Lydia Patrick8 March 2024 04:00
Major Russian steel producer hit in drone attack
Russia’s second-largest steel plant in Cherepovets has suffered damages in a drone attack, said Vologda Oblast, the acting regional governor Georgy Filimonov.
“This morning there was an incident at Severstal in the area of the blast furnace — it was hit by an unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV] of unknown origin,” the governor announced on Telegram.
No casualties were reported from the incident and the furnace’s operation “was not disrupted”, he added.
The attack comes a day after two Ukrainian drones struck fuel facilities at one of Russia’s largest iron ore plants on Wednesday.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 March 2024 03:48
Two killed in Russian attack on Kupiansk
At least two people were killed in a Russian aerial attack on the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk on Thursday.
The attack damaged several homes and vehicles, Kharkiv Oblast governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Kupiansk was previously occupied by Russian forces shortly following Vladimir Putin’s invasion in February 2022 and recently has come under heavy attack.
Mr Syniehubov said all residents from 57 settlements of Kupiansk would be evacuated to “protect families with children from Russian terror of civilians in the Kharkiv region”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 March 2024 03:21
Britain increases drone funding for Ukraine by over $150 million
Britain will increase its spending on drones for Ukraine by 125 million pounds ($160 million), raising the total number of drones supplied to more than 10,000, the government said on Thursday as Defence Secretary Grant Shapps visited Kyiv.
Britain’s support comes at a crucial time for Ukraine in the two-year war. Vital U.S. military aid has stalled, while Russia’s offensive looks more assertive after it took the city of Avdiivka last month, its biggest gain since May 2023.
Drones, which are cheap to produce and can conduct surveillance or target enemies with great accuracy, have emerged as a key weapon in the conflict, with both Ukraine and Russia striving for the upper hand in technology.
“I am ramping up our commitment to arm Ukraine with cutting-edge new drones coming directly from the UK’s world-leading defence industries – straight from the factory floor to the frontline. I encourage international partners to join the UK in this effort,” Shapps said, as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Britain said it would expand its drone package to 325 million pounds from the 200 million pounds announced in January.
The package includes thousands of first-person view drones, 1,000 one-way attack drones researched and developed in Britain as well as surveillance and maritime drones.
Lydia Patrick8 March 2024 03:00