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Straits Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
German defence minister: not considering sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius speaks to the media as he visits a makeshift memorial for fallen Ukrainian defenders, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko BERLIN - German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday that Germany is not considering delivering Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine despite Kyiv's repeated requests. Although Germany is one of Ukraine's main military backers, Berlin has never supplied Taurus missiles, which have a range in excess of 300 miles (480 km). Answering a journalist's question during his fifth visit to Kyiv since the start of the war, Pistorius said, "Since you asked me whether we are considering this, my answer is no." In the same news conference, the minister said his country's military support for Ukraine had reached 7 billion euros ($8.12 billion) this year and a further 1.9 billion euros were pending parliamentary approval. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
09-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Russia says it takes more territory in east-central Ukraine, creating 'buffer zone' there
A missile smoke trail is seen in the sky, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Monday that its forces had taken control of more territory in Ukraine's east-central region of Dnipropetrovsk, where the Kremlin said fighting was partly aimed at creating a "buffer zone." State media quoted the Defence Ministry as saying that Russian troops "continued to advance into the depths of the enemy's defence" and had increased the area of territory in Dnipropetrovsk they controlled. Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report. Ukraine said at the weekend that its forces were holding the section of the front near the eastern border of Dnipropetrovsk. Asked if Russia was trying to create a buffer zone by pushing into Dnipropetrovsk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "Without a doubt that is part of it." The Russian offensive there is notable because Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five regions of Ukraine - including Crimea and four areas in the south and east of the country - that Russia has previously claimed as part of its own territory. The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War said the purpose of a Russian thrust into Dnipropetrovsk could be to cut off Ukraine's lines of communication and supply to its troops in the Donetsk region, further east. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said at the weekend that the Dnipropetrovsk offensive showed that if Ukraine did not want to accept the reality of Russia's territorial gains in peace talks then Moscow's forces would advance further on the ground. Russia and Ukraine renewed peace negotiations in Turkey last month after a gap of more than three years, but the conflict has actually intensified in recent weeks. Russia has advanced on the battlefield and carried out some of its heaviest air attacks of the war, while Ukraine conducted an audacious operation deep inside Russia on June 1 that inflicted serious damage on Moscow's fleet of nuclear-capable strategic bomber planes. (Reporting by Dmitry Antonov and Reuters in Moscow; writing by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Andrew Osborn)
Straits Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Russia says it takes more territory in east-central Ukraine, creating 'buffer zone' there
A missile smoke trail is seen in the sky, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo Russia says it takes more territory in east-central Ukraine, creating 'buffer zone' there MOSCOW - Russia said on Monday that its forces had taken control of more territory in Ukraine's east-central region of Dnipropetrovsk, where the Kremlin said fighting was partly aimed at creating a "buffer zone." State media quoted the Defence Ministry as saying that Russian troops "continued to advance into the depths of the enemy's defence" and had increased the area of territory in Dnipropetrovsk they controlled. Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report. Ukraine said at the weekend that its forces were holding the section of the front near the eastern border of Dnipropetrovsk. Asked if Russia was trying to create a buffer zone by pushing into Dnipropetrovsk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "Without a doubt that is part of it." The Russian offensive there is notable because Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five regions of Ukraine - including Crimea and four areas in the south and east of the country - that Russia has previously claimed as part of its own territory. The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War said the purpose of a Russian thrust into Dnipropetrovsk could be to cut off Ukraine's lines of communication and supply to its troops in the Donetsk region, further east. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said at the weekend that the Dnipropetrovsk offensive showed that if Ukraine did not want to accept the reality of Russia's territorial gains in peace talks then Moscow's forces would advance further on the ground. Russia and Ukraine renewed peace negotiations in Turkey last month after a gap of more than three years, but the conflict has actually intensified in recent weeks. Russia has advanced on the battlefield and carried out some of its heaviest air attacks of the war, while Ukraine conducted an audacious operation deep inside Russia on June 1 that inflicted serious damage on Moscow's fleet of nuclear-capable strategic bomber planes. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
GMA Network
07-06-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Six killed, 80 wounded in intense Russian air attacks on Ukraine
Bodies of rescuers killed in a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, lie on the ground at the site of the strike, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 6, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko KYIV - Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the early hours of Friday, killing at least six people, Ukrainian officials said, as powerful explosions reverberated across the country. The attacks followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin, conveyed via US President Donald Trump, that the Kremlin would hit back after Ukrainian drones destroyed several strategic bomber aircraft in attacks deep inside Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said three emergency responders were killed in the missile and drone salvo against the capital. Two died in an attack on the northern city of Chernihiv and at least one more in the northwestern city of Lutsk. "Those killed in Kyiv were rescue workers who arrived at the scene of an initial strike and, unfortunately, were killed in a repeat Russian strike," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing on X, said Russia had "'responded' to its destroyed aircraft... by attacking civilians in Ukraine.... Multi-storey buildings hit. Energy infrastructure damaged." Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces had carried out the strike on military and military-related targets in response to what it called Ukrainian "terrorist acts" against Russia. "They gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, when asked about how Ukraine's earlier drone strikes had affected the conflict. Zelenskiy said 80 people nationwide had been injured in the attacks, which also struck several other towns and cities. He said residents could still be trapped under rubble. In Chernihiv, the national emergency services said two bodies were recovered from the rubble of a wrecked industrial enterprise. In Lutsk, the body of a man was found in the ruins of an apartment block, while emergency crews kept searching for his wife. Thirty people were hurt in the city, where educational institutions and a government building were also hit. Russian forces also struck industrial facilities and infrastructure in the western city of Ternopil, leaving parts of it without power, Mayor Serhii Nadal said. The regional administration said the attack had injured 10 people and asked residents to temporarily stay inside due to a high concentration of toxic substances in the air after a fire. The air force said Russia had used 407 drones, one of the largest numbers recorded in a single attack. It said 45 cruise and ballistic missiles were also fired. Attacks hit Kyiv transport system Kyiv's metro transport system was disrupted by a Russian strike that hit and damaged tracks between stations, the military administration said. The state rail company said it was also diverting some trains due to rail damage outside the city. Reuters witnesses reported a series of booming explosions powerful enough to rattle windows far from the impact sites. Some Kyiv residents sought shelter in metro stations, or in underground car parks. In the capital's Solomianskyi district, a Russian drone slammed into the side of an apartment building, leaving a gaping hole and burn marks, a Reuters photographer at the scene said. Falling concrete blocks from the building crushed cars parked below. Two police investigators were examining what appeared to be the drone's engine. Earlier in the night, Reuters reporters heard the sound of Russian kamikaze drones buzzing in the sky, accompanied by the sounds of outgoing fire from Ukrainian anti-aircraft batteries. Zelenskiy called for concerted pressure on Russia. "If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives – that is complicity and accountability. We must act decisively," he wrote on X. The Ukrainian military said it had launched a pre-emptive strike overnight on the Engels and Dyagilevo airfields in the Russian regions of Saratov and Ryazan, in addition to striking at least three fuel reservoirs. In one of the most audacious attacks of the three-year-old war between Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian spies last weekend destroyed some of Russia's strategic bomber aircraft on the ground using quadrocopter drones hidden in wooden sheds. After a phone conversation with Putin on Wednesday, Trump said the Kremlin was planning an unspecified response to the Ukrainian attack on the Russian air bases. —Reuters
Straits Times
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Russia says its strike against Kyiv and other centres was a response to Ukrainian 'terrorist acts'
Firefighters work at the site of a Russian drone attack, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 6, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer Firefighters work at the site of a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 6, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Russia says its strike against Kyiv and other centres was a response to Ukrainian 'terrorist acts' MOSCOW - Russia's Defence Ministry said on Friday that its forces had carried out a massive and successful strike on military and military-related targets in Ukraine overnight in response to what it called Ukrainian "terrorist acts" against Russia. Russia's military released the statement after Ukrainian officials said Russia had launched an intense missile and drone barrage at Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, in the early hours of Friday and that three people had been killed. Russia has accused Ukraine of being behind a deadly bomb attack on a bridge over a railway line in western Russia at the weekend that was blown up just as a train carrying 388 passengers to Moscow was passing underneath. Seven people were killed and 155 injured in the incident which Kyiv has not taken responsibility for. Separately, Ukraine attacked Russian nuclear-capable bomber planes at airfields over the same weekend, causing significant damage. President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump this week that he would retaliate. The Kremlin confirmed on Friday that the big overnight strikes had been a response to what it called Kyiv's "acts of terrorism". "Everything that is taking place within the framework of the special military operation (in Ukraine), everything that is being done by our military on a daily basis, is a response to the actions of the Kyiv regime, which has acquired all the characteristics of a terrorist regime," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Ukraine has frequently accused Russia of terrorism, citing attacks in which thousands of civilians have been killed. Both sides say they do not target civilians. The Russian military said in its statement that it had used long-range weapons to strike Ukraine. "In response to terrorist acts by the Kyiv regime, the Russian Armed Forces carried out a massive strike overnight with long-range air, sea and land-based precision weapons," the ministry said. It said the strike had targeted "Ukrainian design bureaus, enterprises for the production and repair of weapons and military equipment, assembly workshops for strike drones, flight training centres, and Ukrainian armed forces weapons and military equipment depots." "The objective of the strike was achieved. All designated targets were hit." Russian troops had also taken control of the settlement of Fedorivka in eastern Ukraine, the Defence Ministry said. Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
