Russia condemns Israel's strikes on Iran

Russia Government Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has condemned Israel for its military attacks on Iran on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Peskov said if Israel decides to assassinate Iran's supreme leader, Russia will 'strongly disapprove it'.
'It should be unacceptable,' Mr Peskov said.

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The Advertiser

3 hours ago

• The Advertiser

Putin says 'the whole of Ukraine is ours'

Russian President Vladimir Putin says in his view, the whole of Ukraine is "ours" and cautioned that advancing Russian forces could take the Ukrainian city of Sumy as part of a bid to carve out a buffer zone along the border. Ukraine's foreign minister denounced Friday's statements as evidence of Russian "disdain" for US peace efforts and said Moscow was bent on seizing more territory and killing more Ukrainians. Russia currently controls about a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region, over 70 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and fragments of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Asked about fresh Russian advances, Putin told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that he considered Russians and Ukrainians to be one people and "in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours". Kyiv and its Western allies say Moscow's claims to four Ukrainian regions and Crimea are illegal, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly rejected the notion that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. He has also said that Putin's terms for peace are akin to capitulation. Putin, who ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, said on Friday he was not questioning Ukraine's independence or its people's striving for sovereignty, but he underscored that when Ukraine declared independence as the Soviet Union fell in 1991 it had also declared its neutrality. Putin said Moscow wanted Ukraine to accept the reality on the ground if there was to be a chance of peace - Russia's shorthand for the reality of Russia's control over a chunk of Ukrainian territory bigger than the US state of Virginia. "We have a saying, or a parable," Putin said. "Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing in English on the X social media platform, said: "Putin's cynical statements demonstrate complete disdain for US peace efforts." "While the United States and the rest of the world have called for an immediate end to the killing, Russia's top war criminal discusses plans to seize more Ukrainian territory and kill more Ukrainians." Wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, "he brings along only death, destruction, and devastation," Sybiha said. Zelenskiy said commanders had discussed action in Ukraine's northern Sumy region and that Russia had "various plans and intentions, completely mad as always. We are holding them back and eliminating these killers, defending our Sumy region." Putin said Russian forces were carving out a buffer zone in the Sumy region in order to protect Russian territory. "Next is the city of Sumy, the regional centre. We don't have the task of taking it, but in principle I don't rule it out," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin says in his view, the whole of Ukraine is "ours" and cautioned that advancing Russian forces could take the Ukrainian city of Sumy as part of a bid to carve out a buffer zone along the border. Ukraine's foreign minister denounced Friday's statements as evidence of Russian "disdain" for US peace efforts and said Moscow was bent on seizing more territory and killing more Ukrainians. Russia currently controls about a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region, over 70 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and fragments of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Asked about fresh Russian advances, Putin told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that he considered Russians and Ukrainians to be one people and "in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours". Kyiv and its Western allies say Moscow's claims to four Ukrainian regions and Crimea are illegal, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly rejected the notion that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. He has also said that Putin's terms for peace are akin to capitulation. Putin, who ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, said on Friday he was not questioning Ukraine's independence or its people's striving for sovereignty, but he underscored that when Ukraine declared independence as the Soviet Union fell in 1991 it had also declared its neutrality. Putin said Moscow wanted Ukraine to accept the reality on the ground if there was to be a chance of peace - Russia's shorthand for the reality of Russia's control over a chunk of Ukrainian territory bigger than the US state of Virginia. "We have a saying, or a parable," Putin said. "Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing in English on the X social media platform, said: "Putin's cynical statements demonstrate complete disdain for US peace efforts." "While the United States and the rest of the world have called for an immediate end to the killing, Russia's top war criminal discusses plans to seize more Ukrainian territory and kill more Ukrainians." Wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, "he brings along only death, destruction, and devastation," Sybiha said. Zelenskiy said commanders had discussed action in Ukraine's northern Sumy region and that Russia had "various plans and intentions, completely mad as always. We are holding them back and eliminating these killers, defending our Sumy region." Putin said Russian forces were carving out a buffer zone in the Sumy region in order to protect Russian territory. "Next is the city of Sumy, the regional centre. We don't have the task of taking it, but in principle I don't rule it out," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin says in his view, the whole of Ukraine is "ours" and cautioned that advancing Russian forces could take the Ukrainian city of Sumy as part of a bid to carve out a buffer zone along the border. Ukraine's foreign minister denounced Friday's statements as evidence of Russian "disdain" for US peace efforts and said Moscow was bent on seizing more territory and killing more Ukrainians. Russia currently controls about a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region, over 70 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and fragments of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Asked about fresh Russian advances, Putin told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that he considered Russians and Ukrainians to be one people and "in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours". Kyiv and its Western allies say Moscow's claims to four Ukrainian regions and Crimea are illegal, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly rejected the notion that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. He has also said that Putin's terms for peace are akin to capitulation. Putin, who ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, said on Friday he was not questioning Ukraine's independence or its people's striving for sovereignty, but he underscored that when Ukraine declared independence as the Soviet Union fell in 1991 it had also declared its neutrality. Putin said Moscow wanted Ukraine to accept the reality on the ground if there was to be a chance of peace - Russia's shorthand for the reality of Russia's control over a chunk of Ukrainian territory bigger than the US state of Virginia. "We have a saying, or a parable," Putin said. "Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing in English on the X social media platform, said: "Putin's cynical statements demonstrate complete disdain for US peace efforts." "While the United States and the rest of the world have called for an immediate end to the killing, Russia's top war criminal discusses plans to seize more Ukrainian territory and kill more Ukrainians." Wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, "he brings along only death, destruction, and devastation," Sybiha said. Zelenskiy said commanders had discussed action in Ukraine's northern Sumy region and that Russia had "various plans and intentions, completely mad as always. We are holding them back and eliminating these killers, defending our Sumy region." Putin said Russian forces were carving out a buffer zone in the Sumy region in order to protect Russian territory. "Next is the city of Sumy, the regional centre. We don't have the task of taking it, but in principle I don't rule it out," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin says in his view, the whole of Ukraine is "ours" and cautioned that advancing Russian forces could take the Ukrainian city of Sumy as part of a bid to carve out a buffer zone along the border. Ukraine's foreign minister denounced Friday's statements as evidence of Russian "disdain" for US peace efforts and said Moscow was bent on seizing more territory and killing more Ukrainians. Russia currently controls about a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region, over 70 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and fragments of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Asked about fresh Russian advances, Putin told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that he considered Russians and Ukrainians to be one people and "in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours". Kyiv and its Western allies say Moscow's claims to four Ukrainian regions and Crimea are illegal, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly rejected the notion that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. He has also said that Putin's terms for peace are akin to capitulation. Putin, who ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, said on Friday he was not questioning Ukraine's independence or its people's striving for sovereignty, but he underscored that when Ukraine declared independence as the Soviet Union fell in 1991 it had also declared its neutrality. Putin said Moscow wanted Ukraine to accept the reality on the ground if there was to be a chance of peace - Russia's shorthand for the reality of Russia's control over a chunk of Ukrainian territory bigger than the US state of Virginia. "We have a saying, or a parable," Putin said. "Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing in English on the X social media platform, said: "Putin's cynical statements demonstrate complete disdain for US peace efforts." "While the United States and the rest of the world have called for an immediate end to the killing, Russia's top war criminal discusses plans to seize more Ukrainian territory and kill more Ukrainians." Wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, "he brings along only death, destruction, and devastation," Sybiha said. Zelenskiy said commanders had discussed action in Ukraine's northern Sumy region and that Russia had "various plans and intentions, completely mad as always. We are holding them back and eliminating these killers, defending our Sumy region." Putin said Russian forces were carving out a buffer zone in the Sumy region in order to protect Russian territory. "Next is the city of Sumy, the regional centre. We don't have the task of taking it, but in principle I don't rule it out," he said.

Perth Now

4 hours ago

• Perth Now

Putin says 'the whole of Ukraine is ours'

Russian President Vladimir Putin says in his view, the whole of Ukraine is "ours" and cautioned that advancing Russian forces could take the Ukrainian city of Sumy as part of a bid to carve out a buffer zone along the border. Ukraine's foreign minister denounced Friday's statements as evidence of Russian "disdain" for US peace efforts and said Moscow was bent on seizing more territory and killing more Ukrainians. Russia currently controls about a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region, over 70 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and fragments of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Asked about fresh Russian advances, Putin told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that he considered Russians and Ukrainians to be one people and "in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours". Kyiv and its Western allies say Moscow's claims to four Ukrainian regions and Crimea are illegal, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly rejected the notion that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. He has also said that Putin's terms for peace are akin to capitulation. Putin, who ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, said on Friday he was not questioning Ukraine's independence or its people's striving for sovereignty, but he underscored that when Ukraine declared independence as the Soviet Union fell in 1991 it had also declared its neutrality. Putin said Moscow wanted Ukraine to accept the reality on the ground if there was to be a chance of peace - Russia's shorthand for the reality of Russia's control over a chunk of Ukrainian territory bigger than the US state of Virginia. "We have a saying, or a parable," Putin said. "Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing in English on the X social media platform, said: "Putin's cynical statements demonstrate complete disdain for US peace efforts." "While the United States and the rest of the world have called for an immediate end to the killing, Russia's top war criminal discusses plans to seize more Ukrainian territory and kill more Ukrainians." Wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, "he brings along only death, destruction, and devastation," Sybiha said. Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, said Russia had shown "openly and utterly cynically that they 'don't feel like' agreeing to a ceasefire. Russia wants to continue the war." Zelenskiy said commanders had discussed action in Ukraine's northern Sumy region and that Russia had "various plans and intentions, completely mad as always. We are holding them back and eliminating these killers, defending our Sumy region." Putin said Russian forces were carving out a buffer zone in the Sumy region in order to protect Russian territory. "Next is the city of Sumy, the regional centre. We don't have the task of taking it, but in principle I don't rule it out," he said.

The Advertiser

10 hours ago

• The Advertiser

Russian drones slam into two Ukrainian cities

Russian drones have slammed into two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person in night-time attacks, authorities say, as a Kremlin official says he expects an announcement on dates for a fresh round of direct peace talks. Russia's drone assault targeted the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, hitting apartment blocks, officials said on Friday. The barrage of more than 20 drones injured almost two dozen civilians, including girls aged 17 and 12, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. "Russia continues its tactics of targeted terror against our people," Zelenskiy said on messaging app Telegram, urging the United States and the European Union to crank up economic pressure on Russia. Russia has shown no signs of relenting in its attacks, more than three years after it invaded its neighbour. It is pressing a summer offensive on parts of the roughly 1000km front line and has kept up long-range strikes that have hit civilian areas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the date for the next round peace talks was expected to be agreed upon next week. Kyiv officials have not recently spoken about resuming talks with Russia, last held when delegations met in Istanbul on June 2, though Ukraine continues to offer a ceasefire and support US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. The two rounds of brief talks yielded only agreements on the exchange of prisoners and wounded soldiers. Ukraine and Russia's defence ministry announced the latest swap on Friday, although they did not specify how many troops were involved. Zelenskiy said most of those returning home had been in captivity for more than two years. A fire caused by Russia's night-time strike on Odesa engulfed a four-storey residential building, which partly collapsed and injured three emergency workers. A separate fire spread across the upper floors of a high-rise, leading to the evacuation of about 600 residents. In Kharkiv, at least eight drones hit civilian infrastructure, injuring four people, including two children, according to Ukraine's Emergency Service. Russia launched 80 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, Ukraine's air force said, claiming that air defenses shot down or jammed 70 of them. Russian drones have slammed into two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person in night-time attacks, authorities say, as a Kremlin official says he expects an announcement on dates for a fresh round of direct peace talks. Russia's drone assault targeted the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, hitting apartment blocks, officials said on Friday. The barrage of more than 20 drones injured almost two dozen civilians, including girls aged 17 and 12, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. "Russia continues its tactics of targeted terror against our people," Zelenskiy said on messaging app Telegram, urging the United States and the European Union to crank up economic pressure on Russia. Russia has shown no signs of relenting in its attacks, more than three years after it invaded its neighbour. It is pressing a summer offensive on parts of the roughly 1000km front line and has kept up long-range strikes that have hit civilian areas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the date for the next round peace talks was expected to be agreed upon next week. Kyiv officials have not recently spoken about resuming talks with Russia, last held when delegations met in Istanbul on June 2, though Ukraine continues to offer a ceasefire and support US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. The two rounds of brief talks yielded only agreements on the exchange of prisoners and wounded soldiers. Ukraine and Russia's defence ministry announced the latest swap on Friday, although they did not specify how many troops were involved. Zelenskiy said most of those returning home had been in captivity for more than two years. A fire caused by Russia's night-time strike on Odesa engulfed a four-storey residential building, which partly collapsed and injured three emergency workers. A separate fire spread across the upper floors of a high-rise, leading to the evacuation of about 600 residents. In Kharkiv, at least eight drones hit civilian infrastructure, injuring four people, including two children, according to Ukraine's Emergency Service. Russia launched 80 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, Ukraine's air force said, claiming that air defenses shot down or jammed 70 of them. Russian drones have slammed into two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person in night-time attacks, authorities say, as a Kremlin official says he expects an announcement on dates for a fresh round of direct peace talks. Russia's drone assault targeted the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, hitting apartment blocks, officials said on Friday. The barrage of more than 20 drones injured almost two dozen civilians, including girls aged 17 and 12, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. "Russia continues its tactics of targeted terror against our people," Zelenskiy said on messaging app Telegram, urging the United States and the European Union to crank up economic pressure on Russia. Russia has shown no signs of relenting in its attacks, more than three years after it invaded its neighbour. It is pressing a summer offensive on parts of the roughly 1000km front line and has kept up long-range strikes that have hit civilian areas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the date for the next round peace talks was expected to be agreed upon next week. Kyiv officials have not recently spoken about resuming talks with Russia, last held when delegations met in Istanbul on June 2, though Ukraine continues to offer a ceasefire and support US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. The two rounds of brief talks yielded only agreements on the exchange of prisoners and wounded soldiers. Ukraine and Russia's defence ministry announced the latest swap on Friday, although they did not specify how many troops were involved. Zelenskiy said most of those returning home had been in captivity for more than two years. A fire caused by Russia's night-time strike on Odesa engulfed a four-storey residential building, which partly collapsed and injured three emergency workers. A separate fire spread across the upper floors of a high-rise, leading to the evacuation of about 600 residents. In Kharkiv, at least eight drones hit civilian infrastructure, injuring four people, including two children, according to Ukraine's Emergency Service. Russia launched 80 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, Ukraine's air force said, claiming that air defenses shot down or jammed 70 of them. Russian drones have slammed into two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person in night-time attacks, authorities say, as a Kremlin official says he expects an announcement on dates for a fresh round of direct peace talks. Russia's drone assault targeted the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, hitting apartment blocks, officials said on Friday. The barrage of more than 20 drones injured almost two dozen civilians, including girls aged 17 and 12, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. "Russia continues its tactics of targeted terror against our people," Zelenskiy said on messaging app Telegram, urging the United States and the European Union to crank up economic pressure on Russia. Russia has shown no signs of relenting in its attacks, more than three years after it invaded its neighbour. It is pressing a summer offensive on parts of the roughly 1000km front line and has kept up long-range strikes that have hit civilian areas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the date for the next round peace talks was expected to be agreed upon next week. Kyiv officials have not recently spoken about resuming talks with Russia, last held when delegations met in Istanbul on June 2, though Ukraine continues to offer a ceasefire and support US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. The two rounds of brief talks yielded only agreements on the exchange of prisoners and wounded soldiers. Ukraine and Russia's defence ministry announced the latest swap on Friday, although they did not specify how many troops were involved. Zelenskiy said most of those returning home had been in captivity for more than two years. A fire caused by Russia's night-time strike on Odesa engulfed a four-storey residential building, which partly collapsed and injured three emergency workers. A separate fire spread across the upper floors of a high-rise, leading to the evacuation of about 600 residents. In Kharkiv, at least eight drones hit civilian infrastructure, injuring four people, including two children, according to Ukraine's Emergency Service. Russia launched 80 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, Ukraine's air force said, claiming that air defenses shot down or jammed 70 of them.