Ukraine's Zelenskyy visits Austria for first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of his country
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Austria on Monday in his first trip to the European Union member country since Russia 's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Austria is famously neutral — a stance it declared in 1955 after World War II — and Vienna has come under heavy criticism since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war for maintaining ties with Moscow.
Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 138 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, mainly at the eastern Donetsk region. Of those, 125 were either intercepted or jammed, while 10 reached their targets. Eight others caused damage as falling debris.
Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Christian Stocker, and the two presidents were set to hold a news conference later Monday.
This is Stocker's first high-profile visit from a foreign dignitary since he took office in March at the head of a previously untried three-party coalition after a record five-month wait for a new administration.
Zelenskyy's wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, and Doris Schmidauer, Van der Bellen's spouse, will also host a discussion about the role of women in promoting peace and security during the trip.
Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in the run-up to World War II, declared neutrality after the war under pressure from Western allies and the Soviet Union. It sought a role as a mediator between East and West, developing ties with Moscow that outlasted the Cold War.
The Austrian government has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine but also stressed the need to maintain diplomatic relations with Moscow. Vienna has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine but no weapons.
Former Chancellor Karl Nehammer was the first EU leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face after the war started. Nehammer traveled to Moscow in April 2022 in a fruitless attempt to persuade the Russian leader to end the invasion.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Kyiv mayor tells Trump: Come and see my bombed-out city
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, has invited Donald Trump to visit the Ukrainian capital to witness for himself the destructive toll of non-stop Russian bombardment. In an interview with The Telegraph, the former world heavyweight champion boxer said he used to be a tour guide and would be 'very happy' to return to the role for the US president. Besides the city's historical treasures, he 'will be presenting the buildings where civilians have been killed, children killed' in an effort to secure further defensive weapons for Ukraine. The day before meeting The Telegraph in his office in city hall, Russia launched one of its largest bombardments on the capital, firing around 300 drones and seven ballistic and cruise missiles on June 11. On Tuesday, 30 people were killed in a nine-hour-long attack on the city that included a Russian drone flying straight into a residential block, obliterating the building and trapping dozens under the rubble. What was a fairly intermittent threat to one of Europe's largest capitals has become a constant, harrowing bombardment, with residents spending hours each night in shelters as air defences rattle off gunfire to bring down swarms of whining Shaheds. Vladimir Putin can now fire over 4,000 drones at Ukraine per month, a tenfold increase compared to this time last year, following massive investment in manufacturing. 'We need more support,' says Mr Klitschko, leaning his 6ft 7in frame forward across the boardroom table. 'Because more and more drones are coming from the Russian Federation.' Kyiv is one of Ukraine's best-protected cities, using both Patriot air-defence batteries and a network of mobile gun-teams that chase after drones in pick-up trucks. But the sheer volume of attacks means more slip through. Russia's engineers have 'modernised' the Shahed kamikaze drone with their domestically produced variant known as the Geran, says Mr Klitschko. 'They are already much faster. They fly much higher. And sometimes it's very difficult to identify the drones,' he says. The latest Gerans can piggy-back on Ukrainian internet and mobile network systems, making it much harder to detect and spoof them with electronic warfare countermeasures. 'You question why [we need] the United States,' the mayor says. 'Right now we need the defensive weapons, because we are defending our territorial integrity and our independence. 'My first job, many, many, many years ago, before I started my sports club era, was working as a tour guide in my home town. And I will be very happy to make an excursion for Trump.' Getting the attention of the White House is a challenge, one made all the more difficult by the launch of Israel's war against Iran and its nuclear programme. Some 20,000 anti-drone missiles destined for Ukraine were recently transferred to the Middle East. Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, announced that from next year the US will no longer purchase new arms for Ukraine. Mr Trump often appears ringside at the Ultimate Fighting Championship, hugging and posing for pictures with the blood-slicked winners. Could Mr Klitschko, who was known as Dr Ironfist in the ring, appeal to him this way? 'We actually fought in Taj Mahal Palace,' says the mayor, referring to a 2002 bout against Ray Mercer at the president's now-closed casino resort in Atlantic City. The fight, like 45 of his 47, ended in victory for Mr Klitschko, during a period of almost total dominance of the heavyweight division, alongside his brother, Vladimir. 'Trump was in the first row, I guess,' he says. 'And we have good discussion, good communication. I hope it's very soon I have a chance to talk personally to Trump and give him lots of arguments.' In the June 8 barrage, a headquarters of the US defence giant Boeing was struck, along with a building used to process British visas until late last year. 'It is not possible to keep representatives from any country safe,' Mr Klitschko says. Flags, drone parts and a traditional Ukrainian mace adorn the mayor's office. Asked for his favourite memento, Mr Klitschko walks behind his desk and pulls out a photograph of his son, Maxim, as a seven-year-old boy. Then he shows a picture on his phone of himself standing by the side of a much taller man. This is Maxim at 7ft 5in , fully grown and, at the age of 20, a professional basketball player with AS Monaco. 'He makes us look small,' says Mr Klitschko with a smile. 'We hope he will join the NBA.' In Ukraine, debate rages over whether to lower the age of conscription, from 25 to 18, amid growing shortages of manpower. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, has resisted US pressure in favour of a reduction. Cautiously, Mr Klitschko opens a gap between himself and the commander-in-chief. 'If you go to the street and see, from 10 workers, you see seven women and three men,' he says. 'And in other cities the number of men is much smaller.' 'The age of mobilisation is not our responsibility, it's a decision of government, but we have right now a huge deficit of human resources, and, if possible, pretty soon, the central government can make this decision.' Does he think it would be right? Mr Klitschko says 'if we don't have another source' of men it may 'have to be', emphasising each word percussively. For years, Mr Klitschko and Mr Zelensky have been at each other's throats. When he was a comedian, the president played a 'translator' to the mayor in one long-running skit, turning Mr Klitschko's incomprehensible blithering and raspberries – played by an actor – into full sentences. The president appeared to recall the sketch when, in February, he responded to Mr Klitschko's suggestion that Ukraine might temporarily exchange the four regions occupied by Russia for peace. 'I know he's a great athlete,' Mr Zelensky said. 'But I didn't know he was a great speaker.' In the president's eyes, Mr Klitschko has allowed corruption to flourish, doing little to stem the 'Kyiv system' of kickbacks, elite contractors and backroom deals. The national anti-corruption bureau has recently arrested a string of the mayor's subordinates in city hall, with many cases focused on the sale of land permits. To Mr Klitschko, the president is an authoritarian intent on edging him out of power as he fears a rival with international clout. He accuses the president of undermining mayors from opposition parties and replacing them with allies under the guise of separate military administrations, such as that established in Kyiv. In the last couple of years, he says, the prosecutor's office has 'opened 1,500 criminal cases' against his administration. 'Maybe you can take [from this], that the prosecutor's office, police is working pretty well.' But opening criminal cases is 'very, very easy. How many go to court? Just eight'. The focus on corruption is because the 'whole media is in one hand' he claims and 'because a lot of politicians make a huge mistake... preparing for an election' after the war is over. 'Kyiv is one of the largest cities not just in Ukraine but also in Eastern Europe,' he says, adding that Mr Zelensky wants to 'control Kyiv [and] I'm not a member of the president's party'. Critics in the president's office would reply that Mr Klitschko is himself not immune to political manoeuvring. Ending the interview, the former boxer pokes his head back through the door to apologise for his English. 'I don't get much opportunity to practice any more,' says the one-time Los Angeles resident, now never dressed in anything but khaki. Then he is gone, with battles to be fought on all fronts.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Rachel Reeves's plan is unravelling. She could be gone before the next Budget
It can't be easy living in the maelstrom of 11 Downing Street these days. First, Rachel Reeves had to endure almost four months of being warned what not to do with taxes, such was the brittleness of the UK economy. Then – after she chose to both increase taxes by a record amount and increase borrowing so she could afford her spending commitments – came months of warnings about the dire consequences. People are losing their jobs because of her choices, which will push up benefit claims and spending. Tax revenues will fall rather than increase by the numbers she expected. The economy has been flatlining with miniscule and highly erratic growth as it stops, starts, then stalls – seemingly on an endless repeat. Then there were the cuts to pensioners' heating allowances, the cuts to disability benefits, the death tax changes for farmers, businesses and pensions. On top of that, there were the tax rises we always knew were likely because Labour had refused to rule them out – the increases in capital gains tax and stamp duty, and the removal of incentives to entrepreneurs. It has maybe taken longer than some of us expected, but the bad news for the Chancellor – and us – now seems to be arriving like buses. I've imagined what it's like to be at the end of that constant deluge of bad numbers. 'Incoming!' The annual estimate for public sector borrowing for year ending March 2025 is £148.3bn – £17.2bn more than last year and £11bn more than the OBR forecast. Reeves carries on with her Sudoku. 'Incoming!' Oh no! The latest inflation figures for April have surged to 3.4pc, trending towards double the Bank of England's target of 2pc. Reeves stares out the window. 'Incoming!' The unemployment rate is up 0.2pc to 4.6pc – the highest since 2021. The unemployed claimant count is up 107,000 year-on-year to 1.73 million. 'Incoming!' Monthly GDP is down -0.3pc, three times worse than the -0.1pc consensus prediction. Reeves purses her lips. Looking forward, we can imagine over the months of July, August and September an unrelenting series of indicators breaking bad. 'Incoming!' The latest tax receipts are below estimates. The latest borrowing numbers are up again. Finally, the markets are beginning to react. 'Incoming!' The pound has fallen to $1.20, the lowest since 2023. Gilts are moving too. 'Incoming!' Ten-year gilt yields are over 5pc. The Bank of England reverses course and puts rates up to 4.5pc. 'Incoming!' The team from the IMF has arrived. 'Incoming!' Prime Minister! I have the Chancellor's letter of resignation. That type of scenario might seem far-fetched, but it is the trajectory the country is travelling. Unemployment is already up 10pc since Labour came to power, and sadly there's no reason to believe this trend will be reversed. Since 'modern' records began, in 1971, every Labour government has left office with unemployment higher in percentage and absolute numbers than when it took power. Reeves is continuing that tragic tradition. The spending statement from Rachel Reeves was not so much a review as a litany of unfunded spending commitments aimed not at reassuring the markets, but at reassuring Labour backbenchers. The brighter among them will not buy it. They will soon notice the important numbers getting worse every month as the full effect of the employers' National Insurance increase, the lowering of the threshold to start paying it and the increase in the minimum pay rates costs jobs and halts hiring. What does this all mean for people trying to get by: the savers, pensioners and those running their own businesses? It means that tax rises are not just inevitable in October's Budget, they will become a must-do if an embarrassing bail out is to be avoided. Labour likes to talk of having ended austerity – something that Philip Hammond, former Conservative chancellor, first claimed back in 2017. The truth of it is the UK has never had real austerity this century. The direction of travel of our public spending has always been up. When you hear of spending cuts, what you are being told about is cuts to the rate of increase in government spending, not a cut in the total amount of spending, which continues to rise year-on-year. Increasing taxes means an attack on our pensions, our savings and our properties. The tax hikes will be passed off as necessary to save the NHS when the NHS really requires an overhaul that boosts its productivity. The much hyped increases for the NHS of £29bn each year over the next three years is most likely to be eaten up by rising pay awards. The NHS is one of the world's largest employers, with around 1.3 million full-time equivalent staff in England (as of February 2024). Consequently, the wage bill for the NHS makes up a substantial proportion of its budget. Nurses are already being balloted about strike action over an 3.6pc inflation-busting pay offer – junior doctors are also wanting more again. In 2022-23, the total cost of employing the staff in the NHS was £71bn – 45.6pc of the NHS budget. These statistics don't include salaries for GPs (who are not directly employed by the NHS), nor employees in the Department of Health and Social Care and other national bodies, such as NHS England. GPs and GP practice staff are indirectly funded by the NHS through a complex system of contracts. The Resolution Foundation think tank estimates that, by the end of the decade, half of all public spending will be going to the NHS – and continuing to rise. So optimistic has Reeves been about 'fixing the foundations' and 'delivering growth' while 'making the right choices', that there will be no way back for the Chancellor when the next crisis begins. The next time someone shouts 'incoming!' in the Treasury, everyone had better duck under their desks. It will be to announce a new Chancellor.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Labour policy ‘actively working against job creation', says Currys boss
The boss of one of Britain's biggest electricals retailers has criticised government policy for 'actively working against job creation' amid a raft of tax increases and looming worker rights reforms. Writing in The Telegraph, Alex Baldock, the chief executive of Currys, said Labour risked making it 'harder, riskier and more expensive to hire people' as Angela Rayner prepares to implement the Employment Rights Bill, which is making its way through the House of Lords. Mr Baldock said the retailer had already faced a 13pc overnight increase in the cost of employing part-time workers from Rachel Reeves's £25bn National Insurance raid, while its property tax bill also rose. He said Currys was now facing 'new and counter-productive red tape in the shape of employment law changes'. Mr Baldock added: 'Smart people know that changing your mind in the face of compelling evidence is a sign of strength, not weakness. 'It's not too late for the Government to change its mind on employment law changes that would lead to less employment.' It comes amid growing warnings from bosses that the Government risks derailing its growth ambitions by piling higher taxes and more red tape on businesses. In a recent poll by the Institute of Directors, a quarter of business leaders said the Employment Rights Bill made it likely that they would make redundancies. Under the planned reforms, workers will be entitled to contracts with a minimum number of weekly hours baked in, giving them the same number of hours as they have worked in the recent past. However, retail and hospitality chiefs have called for a rethink of the plans amid concerns that the changes risk stopping them from hiring extra people during crucial trading periods such as Christmas. Bosses have said they cannot afford to offer everyone more shifts all year round when stores are quieter. Mr Baldock said businesses including Currys were 'ready to play our part in getting Britain back to work', adding: 'Enlist us in this cause, don't hammer us.' In a House of Lords debate in April, Lord Wolfson, the boss of Next, said the employment rights reforms risked making it 'almost impossible for businesses to offer additional voluntary hours to workers' because they could then end up overstaffed at some times of the year. Lord Wolfson said: 'There is a world of difference between tackling potentially abusive zero-hours contracts and eliminating the flexibility that legitimate part-time contracts provide to those who need and want them.' A government spokesman said: 'Through our transformative Plan for Change, this Government is delivering the biggest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation, and our measures already have strong support amongst business and the public. 'We've consulted extensively with business on our proposals, and we will continue to work closely with employers to ensure new laws, including the right to guaranteed hours, work for them while putting money back into the pockets of working people and giving them greater job security and stability.' Enlist us in getting Britain back to work, don't hammer us By Alex Baldock, the chief executive of Currys The Government talks a lot about growth and jobs, with plenty of warm words and encouragement for growth drivers such as high-tech manufacturing, life sciences and the creative industries. Next week these are expected to be at the heart of the government's new Industrial Strategy. And more power to such exciting sectors, where the UK enjoys a real competitive edge. Yet the engine room of the British economy lies elsewhere. The likes of retail, leisure and hospitality may be less glamorous. But they employ 6m people – nearly a quarter of the private sector workforce – bringing prosperity and prospects to every corner of the country. They're no less innovative, either. Retailer productivity is growing at twice the national rate, as we deploy AI and other technology to improve customer service and empower colleagues. And boosting Britain's moribund productivity, as every economist will tell you, is essential for growth. Nor are these retail and hospitality jobs just any jobs. They're great introductions (or re-introductions) to work. Once we've given colleagues this leg up, and as they gain in confidence and experience, we often find they progress rapidly, taking on more hours, moving into management or moving on to other work with our good wishes. My first job as a spotty teenager was in a high street retailer (Waterstones in Newbury, as it happens), and I'm far from alone. Flexible and entry-level as they often are, retail jobs help people break into the world of work. They help those coming back after having children or caring for their elders – and, crucially, to those seeking a way off benefits. It's crucial because of the UK's biggest domestic challenge today: the human and economic crisis of worklessness. The UK now has almost 1m 16-24 year olds not in employment, education or training, out of fully 3m people not in work because of physical or mental ill health. This is much more than pre-pandemic, and much higher than in other countries.
