Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine Thursday. Kiev has confirmed war has broken out between Russia and Ukraine, and Moscow has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The White House has reportedly begun “urgent” discussions with Western allies on seizing frozen Russian assets and using them to help Ukraine, The New York Times has reported, citing anonymous sources. The alleged move comes as the West struggles to greenlight new aid packages for Kiev.
Ukraine is facing significant battlefield losses, and its counteroffensive has failed to impress its foreign backers, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated. He pointed out that Kiev’s forces are having these problems despite receiving high-grade Western military equipment.
Ukraine’s total losses since the start of Moscow’s military campaign are approaching 400,000 troops, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu claimed on Tuesday.
Efforts by Ukraine and its Western backers to convince, shame and sanction firms into leaving the Russian market have backfired, placing lucrative enterprises in Russian hands at discount prices and pumping more than a billion dollars’ worth of exit taxes into Moscow’s coffers, according to a report.
The United States has to review its current position on both the Ukraine conflict and relations with Russia if it wants to restore dialogue with Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told NBC in an interview published on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised a “victory” for Ukraine and Europe after European Union leaders agreed to open membership talks with Kyiv, but the mood was soured just hours later when Hungary threatened to block crucial financial aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces made another attempt to attack the Russian capital with two drones, hitting outside of the city, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Thursday morning. Sobyanin added the drones were shot down by air defenses over Moscow Region’s Naro-Fominsk District.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has insisted EU leaders should stop looking to Washington when making decisions regarding continued support for Kiev.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington has proved to be void, as he failed to persuade the US authorities that Ukraine is more important than US’ own security, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has stated.
Russia has lost a staggering 87 percent of the total number of active-duty ground troops it had prior to launching its military operation against Ukraine and two-thirds of its pre-invasion tanks, a source familiar with a declassified US intelligence assessment provided to Congress told CNN.
Both United States President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have pushed back against the assertion that Kiev's counteroffensive is stalling, providing "examples of successes" on the battlefield.
Kiev’s main backers in the EU may overcome Hungarian opposition to the proposed allocation of $54 billion in long-term aid for Ukraine by providing funds outside of the bloc’s joint budget, the Financial Times has reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an impassioned plea for continued US military support in a Washington speech, warning that failure to help Kiev defeat Russian invasion is fulfilling the Kremlin’s “dreams of wrecking democracy in Europe."
Unease and alarm are rising across many European states over the weakened state of national armed forces and depleted military arsenals as the United States takes an increasingly isolationist stance in the Ukrainian conflict, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Ukraine’s possible accession to the EU will not be on the agenda at the bloc’s summit this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said. She added that the 27 leaders of the European Union would merely discuss whether to launch membership talks with Kiev, with the road to actual accession likely to be lengthy.
Americans are increasingly turning against funding Ukraine’s conflict with Russia, two recent opinion polls have shown. Partisan divisions have had a serious impact on attitudes towards the provision of aid in the United States.
Persistent persecution of ethnic Russians in Ukraine was one of the key reasons behind the decision to launch the military operation in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has explained. He stated that he believes the authorities in Kiev have since gone completely “crazy”.
Moscow will not allow Ukraine to continue being a “Nazi state” that poses a threat to both Russia and other nations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stressed.
Kiev needs to understand that Washington earns billions on the war in Ukraine while ordinary Ukrainians die, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed.
Ukraine can’t expect additional funding from the US until it is approved in the Congress, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has stated.
Warplanes supplied by NATO member states to Ukraine will be a legitimate targets for Moscow, increasing the risks of a direct military clash with the alliance, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stated.
UK special forces were embedded with Ukrainian troops in the early days of the conflict, Declassified UK reported on Wednesday, citing the newly published book by Polish journalist Zbigniew Parafianowicz.
Moscow is ready to resolve the ongoing conflict with Kiev through diplomatic means at any moment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He added Russia has never rejected such an option, and it was Kiev that withdrew from the talks in spring 2022.
