Russia

Russian bombing in Kharkiv kills 94-year-old woman, leaving 42 injured

The strike, hit a shopping mall and a major sports center in the Saltivskyi and Nemyshlianskyi districts

2 killed in Odesa after Moscow and Kyiv exchange drone, missile attacks

Two people died in a missile attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, local officials said, as Moscow and Kyiv exchanged drone and missile attacks The Ukrainian air force said Sunday it shot down 10 of the 14 drones and one of the three missiles Russia launched overnight, while the rest hit the suburbs of Odesa. Oleh Kiper, Odesa's regional governor, said the two who died Saturday night were a married couple, and that another person was wounded in the attack. Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said it downed 29 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday over western and southwestern regions, with no damage caused by the falling debris. It also said another Ukrainian drone was shot down Sunday morning over the western Ryazan region. While Ukraine and Russia regularly launch overnight drone raids on each other's territory, Ukrainian officials generally do not confirm or deny attacks within Russia's borders. The latest attacks came after Ukraine made a new call Saturday

Biden meets Britain's PM, brushes off Putin's threats about war with West

President Joe Biden brushed off a threat from Russian leader Vladimir Putin about war against the West if Ukraine's allies allow it to use weapons deeper inside Russia. It's a shift that Kyiv has pleaded for but does not appear likely to be announced following a meeting Friday between Biden and Britain's prime minister. Ukraine and many of its supporters in the US and Europe want Biden to lift restrictions on Western-provided long-range weapons, and there are signs Biden might shift the administration's policy. But the US, concerned about any step that could lead Russia to escalate the conflict, has moved cautiously before granting a series of earlier requests from Ukraine for specific arms, including advanced tanks, missiles and rocket systems, and F-16 fighter jets. Russian officials have issued similar threats before many of those past decisions. Ukraine was a key topic for Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer following this week's visit to Kyiv by their top diplomats, w

US sanctions Russian state media over raising funds for troops in Ukraine

The US State Department announced new sanctions on Russian state media Friday, accusing a Kremlin news outlet of working hand-in-hand with the Russian military and running fundraising campaigns to pay for sniper rifles, body armour and other equipment for soldiers fighting in Ukraine. While the outlet, RT, has previously been sanctioned for its work to spread Kremlin propaganda and disinformation, the allegations announced Friday suggest its role goes far beyond influence operations. Instead, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, RT is a key part of Russia's war machine and its efforts to undermine its democratic allies. RT has also created websites posing as legitimate news sites to spread disinformation and propaganda in Europe, Africa and elsewhere, officials said. They say the outlet has also expanded its use of cyber operations with a new unit with ties to Russian intelligence.

Putin sent clear message to West on long-range missiles for Ukraine: Russia

U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will discuss whether to give the go-ahead for such strikes at talks in Washington on Friday

Russia to expel 6 British diplomats over spying, subversive activities

Russia's Federal Security Service on Friday accused six British diplomats of spying and said a decision has been made to withdraw their accreditation. Russian state TV quoted an official from the security service known as the FSB as saying that they will be expelled. The expulsions come as Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits Washington for talks with President Joe Biden that will include Ukraine's request to use Western-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia. Starmer said on his way to the US that Britain does not seek any conflict with Russia. Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia could end this conflict straight away, he told reporters. Ukraine has the right to self-defense and we've obviously been absolutely fully supportive of Ukraine's right to self-defense we're providing training capability, as you know. But we don't seek any conflict with Russia that's not our intention in the slightest, he said. The FSB said it received documents

NSA Doval meets Putin, conveys Modi's Russia-Ukraine peace plan: Top points

NSA Ajit Doval also held talks with the Chinese foreign minister to discuss disengagement in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh and border issues

Strikes deep inside Russia will mean US, Europe at war, says Putin

Putin warned that the West will have direct involvement in the conflict if they allowed Ukraine to use long-range missiles

35 Indians discharged from Russian army since PM raised issue in July: MEA

Forty-five Indians have been discharged from the Russian military and efforts are on to secure release of around 50 more soon, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday. Out of 45 Indian nationals, 35 were discharged after Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing. The issue of Indians recruited in the Russian Army has emerged as an irritant in India-Russia ties. Modi had strongly raised the issue of early discharge of Indian nationals working in the Russian Army during his talks with Putin in Moscow in July. Jaiswal said six Indians returned two days ago and several others would be coming back home shortly. "In July when the prime minister travelled to Russia, he took up the matter with President Putin and since the prime minister's visit, 35 Indian nationals have been discharged," Jaiswal said. "Prior to his visit, 10 Indian nationals had been discharged. .

India to lead global oil demand growth in 2024, surpassing China: IEA

Global oil demand is experiencing its slowest growth since 2020, primarily due to weak demand from China and a drop in Russia's global oil supply

Ukraine businesses hire more women, teens as labour shortages bite

Male-dominated industries are more affected by staff shortages, the central bank said

Russian expert pushes case for Putin to toughen policy on nuclear weapons

The current doctrine states that Russia would be prepared to use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack by another country or a conventional attack that threatened the existence of the state

Could combine potential with China if face threat from US, says Russia

"I would like to remind you that Moscow and Beijing will respond to 'double containment' by the United States with 'double counteraction'," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said

Trump insists Russia war must end, no response if he wants Ukraine to win

Former President Donald Trump spoke heatedly in Tuesday's presidential debate about wanting Russia's war in Ukraine to be over - but twice refused to directly answer a question about whether he wanted US ally Ukraine to win. Trump also falsely claimed that the war had killed millions since Russia invaded Ukraine 2 1/2 years ago, while the UN says 11,700 civilian deaths have been verified. And he claimed without evidence that Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, had bungled a diplomatic mission just days before Russia launched the invasion. Trump's comments are likely to heighten concern among Ukraine and its supporters that his return to the White House could push Ukraine into a losing peace deal with its stronger neighbour, Russia. Western-allied Ukraine depends on US military and financial aid to keep up its fight against Russian forces, and it would have grave difficulty withstanding their attacks if the US were to pull that support. It's "a very simple question

Blinken, Lammy arrive in Kyiv as Ukraine pushes for strikes against Russia

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrived in Kyiv on a joint visit Wednesday, as Ukraine presses the West to allow it to use long-range missiles against Russia. The top diplomats reached the Ukrainian capital by train hours after the US presidential debate during which Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump sparred over the 2 1/2-year war in Ukraine. Blinken travelled from London, where he accused Iran of providing Russia with Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles, calling the move a dramatic escalation of the war. For months, Ukraine has been requesting approval to use long-range weapons from the United States and Western allies to strike targets in Russia, and is expected to press harder given Russia's latest reported weapons acquisition. If we are allowed to destroy military targets or weapons prepared by the enemy for attacks on Ukraine, it would certainly bring more safety for our civilians, our people, and our ..

Ukraine wants India to play more active role in ending war with Russia

India is reliant on Russia for military weapons and cheap oil, and has refrained from condemning Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine two years ago

Freight train derails in southwest Russia due to 'interference': Officials

The accident happened in the Novooskolsky district of the region of the Belgorod region

Tech firm executives to testify before US Senate about election threats

Google parent Alphabet's global affairs president Kent Walker, Meta's global affairs president Nick Clegg, Microsoft President Brad Smith and a representative from Adobe will testify at the Sept 18

Ukraine braces for hardest winter due to Russian attacks on energy infra

Ukraine's prime minister warned on Tuesday that the country could be facing its toughest winter since the full-scale Russian invasion began, as airstrikes against the country's beleaguered energy infrastructure intensify. Russian attacks continue to hammer Ukraine's energy generation capacity, leaving the country heavily reliant on its three functioning nuclear power stations and electricity imports from European Union countries. Energy resilience is one of our greatest challenges this year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told a news conference in Kyiv. We successfully got through what was essentially two and a half winters. We will get through three, with this upcoming heating season likely being just as difficult, if not the hardest, he said. Shmyhal said Ukraine's government, helped by European countries, was urgently developing initiatives to decentralise its power generation, to make it less vulnerable to attacks. That includes expanding renewable power capacity a development .

Russia sees lowest birth rate in decades; June births fall below 100,000

Statistics from Rosstat indicate that Russia saw 599,600 births during the first half of 2024, a decrease of 16,000 from the same period in 2023, representing the lowest number since 1999