Latest news with #RussianAggression
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
This Oregon Native Went to Kyiv as a Volunteer. He Died in a Russian Attack.
Fred Grandy, an American artist who made whimsical wooden signs and colorful metal flowers, came to Kyiv because he was devastated that the United States seemed to be turning its back on the war in Ukraine. He arrived in the Ukrainian capital in late May, close to his 62nd birthday, and volunteered to clean up the rubble left by Russian attacks, family members said. 'He was a person who wanted to make a difference so badly,' said his sister Sietska Reed, 75, who lives near Bend, Ore. 'I talked to him about five days ago, and he told me that he felt he was right where he should be. And he was hoping he could stay for five or six months more and help.' Instead, Mr. Grandy was one of at least 28 people killed in a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv that started Monday night and stretched into Tuesday, hitting neighborhoods across the Ukrainian capital. The nine-hour onslaught was one of the largest such attacks of the war. Emergency workers were still pulling bodies from the rubble on Wednesday, and damage was reported at more than two dozen sites. Most victims died in a nine-story apartment building in western Kyiv that was practically leveled. The Russian Defense Ministry, which regularly denies killing Ukrainian civilians, said the strikes achieved their objectives and hit 'all designated objects.' Russian air assaults have intensified in recent weeks, dimming already faint hopes for a cease-fire. Over 13,300 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to the United Nations, although the actual toll is likely much higher. But it is rare for a foreign civilian to be killed in a missile or drone attack. Mr. Grandy appears to be the first American civilian killed in an aerial strike in Kyiv. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
We must listen to the Baltic States. The Russian hybrid threat is growing
During his visit to London last week, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte issued this dire warning about the threat of Russian aggression: 'Russia could be ready to use military force against Nato within five years. Let's not kid ourselves, we are all on the Eastern flank now.' Rutte warned that Russia produces more ammunition in three months than Nato manufactures in a year and spotlit Chinese technology's critical role in reconstituting Russia's military arsenal. Rutte's stark warning aimed to snap European countries out of their state of complacency but received a mixed reception on the continent. As Russia helplessly watched the destruction of some of its most-prized strategic bombers and struggles to gain a decisive offensive advantage in eastern Ukraine, Rutte's framing seemed hyperbolic to many in Western Europe. For the Baltic States, however, Rutte's rhetoric was not nearly strident enough. Due to his past support for the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline and sluggish approach to increasing defence spending as Dutch Prime Minister, Rutte was already an unpopular figure in the Baltic States. Rutte's latest comments reawakened those critiques as they depicted Russia as a long-term danger rather than an urgent threat to Nato's security. The Baltic States have compelling reasons to be frustrated with Rutte's incrementalism. By illegally transiting its shadow fleet of oil tankers through the Baltic Sea, weaponising migration across land borders and carrying out disruptive cyberattacks, Russia has demonstrated that it is on a war footing with the Baltic States. By dismissing these aggressive actions as mere hybrid threats, Nato risks trivialising an existential threat to the cogency of its alliance. The mood of frustration in the Baltic States is especially pronounced because of the long build-up to Russia's current escalations against them. When I spoke to senior Estonian officials last month, they argued that Russia never truly viewed the Baltic States as sovereign after they restored their independence in 1991. As Estonia pushed for Nato membership during the 1990s, Russian ultranationalists began issuing apocalyptic threats. After earning a plurality of votes in the 1993 legislative elections, LDPR leader and ultranationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky warned Estonians to flee to Sweden on fishing boats and threatened to deport the Estonians who stayed home to Siberia. But instead of being recognised for presciently warning about the Russian threat, the Baltic States were all-too-often accused of crying wolf. Even after Russia displayed its true hand by illegally annexing Crimea in 2014 and launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Baltic States still struggled to get their message heard. In response to tightening sanctions against Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko warned in May 2021 that he would allow drugs and migrants to flood into European Union (EU) territory. Lukashenko's threats came to pass as illegal migrants overwhelmed Latvia and Lithuania's border defences in the autumn of 2021. Despite the scale of this threat, the EU refused to finance the construction of a border wall on Lithuania's frontiers. In response to the unresponsiveness of key Nato countries to their concerns, the Baltic States have taken matters into their own hands. From announcing 5 per cent of GDP defence spending targets to Lithuania's investment of $1.2 billion in border security with Belarus and Russia, three of Nato's smallest member states are setting a positive example for the rest of the alliance. These states are also trying to steer Nato towards committing to a firmer response to security threats that fall below the threshold of conventional war. Their argument is that Russia's hybrid threats are steps on an escalation ladder that could lead to full-scale war. Lithuanian officials justified this contention by arguing that shadow-fleet ships could escalate from cutting undersea cables to destroying liquefied natural gas terminals and use disruptive GPS jamming to down civilian aeroplanes. Based on its track record, Russia would maintain a level of deniability around these aggressive actions and any Baltic retaliation could lead to an invasion. As Nato's Article 5 security guarantees do not clearly extend to hybrid threats, former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves and former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis recently called for the creation of a new permanent discussion forum on hybrid threats and the potential construction of a Baltic regional security organisation with robust military capabilities. In the European Parliament and Nato gatherings, Baltic officials are calling for European countries to re-evaluate their risk aversion in confronting Russian aggression head-on and to more thoroughly sanction the financial infrastructure that supports the shadow fleet. The efficacy of Ukraine's cross-border operations and the limitations of Russia's retaliatory capacity has caused some Baltic officials to view an exclusive focus on deterrence as obsolete. Ahead of the Nato summit in the Hague later this month, there will be a major focus on Ukraine's future within the organisation. Time should also be devoted to addressing the concerns of the Nato alliance's three most vulnerable and committed participants.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russians launch 14 Shahed drones on Zaporizhzhia, injuring two police officers
Russian forces attacked the city of Zaporizhzhia with 14 Shahed kamikaze drones on the night of 13-14 June, killing two law enforcement officers and damaging civilian infrastructure and cars. Source: Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram Details: Fedorov said the Russians had attacked the city with 14 Shahed drones at dawn. Two police officers have been injured in the attack. Firefighter extinguishing fire Photo: Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration Damaged high-rise building Photo: Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration Affected shops Photo: Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration Quote: "A humanitarian facility caught fire due to the Russian attack. Cars, a shop and a public transport stop were damaged. The blast wave blew out windows in high-rise buildings." Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy says troops contesting Russian advance in Sumy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainian forces are pushing back against Russian forces in the border Sumy region where they have established a foothold in recent weeks. 'Our units in Sumy region are gradually pushing back the occupiers,' said Ukraine's president in his nightly video address. 'I thank you! Thanks to every soldier, sergeant and officer for this result.' The Ukrainian president provided no further details and offered no proof of Ukrainian advances in the area, and the claim contradicts prevailing assessments of continued Russian gains in Sumy. Russia has seized over 190 sq km (73 sq miles) of the Sumy region in less than a month, according to pro-Ukrainian open-source maps. They have captured more ground in the past days, advancing to around 20km from the city of Sumy's northern suburbs and rendering it vulnerable to long-range artillery and drones. The number of displaced people arriving in Sumy city is increasing, said Kateryna Arisoi, head of Pluriton, an aid organisation running shelters. 'So far evacuation has been ordered in more than 200 settlements,' she said. Last week, a Russian rocket attack on Sumy city killed three people and injured 28, including three children, while also damaging several buildings. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said there had been a concentration of Russian men and equipment in Sumy region because of months of military operations across the border in Kursk region. He advised caution to establish details of the situation on the ground. 'I think [Ukraine's] military has the situation under control and I think we shall see a different picture in the coming days.' Ukrainian police said two people were killed and six were injured in the past 24 hours in the eastern Donetsk region, the focus of the Russian offensive. One person was killed and 14 others were also injured in the southern Kherson region, which is partly occupied by Russian forces, police said. The authorities in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, said 18 people including four children were injured by Russian drone attacks over Wednesday night. Boris Pistorius on a surprise visit to Kyiv said Germany was not planning to deliver Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine that could allow it to strike deep into Russian territory. Instead, the German defence minister announced €1.9bn in additional military aid. Pistorius underscored that Germany would help Ukraine build its own long-range missile systems and help it finance purchases of homemade material. 'The first systems should be available in the coming months,' Russian has exceeded a million troops killed or wounded in its Ukraine war, according to the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces and western intelligence estimates. The UK defence ministry also announced the figure on Thursday. The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington has called it 'a stunning and grisly milestone'. Zelenskyy said he hoped to press Donald Trump at the G7 summit this weekend to step up sanctions against Russia. The US president said at the White House on Thursday that 'I'm very disappointed in Russia, but I'm disappointed in Ukraine also, because I think deals could have been made'. Two weeks ago, Trump indicated he would do something by now if it turned out Putin had been 'tapping him along', but the US president has so far failed to follow through. The US Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, is pushing what he calls a bipartisan 'bone-breaking' bill to introduce a 500% tariff on countries buying Russian oil and gas – mostly targeting China and India.
Washington Post
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Serbia's Moscow-friendly president visits Ukraine but refuses to sign 'anti-Russian' declaration
BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia's Russia-friendly leader made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Wednesday for a summit on strengthening European support for Kyiv's fight against Russian aggression, but he refused to sign a joint declaration calling for tougher sanctions against Moscow. It was President Aleksandar Vucic's first visit to Ukraine since taking office over a decade ago. He attended the summit between Ukraine and 12 Southeast European states in Odesa.
