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Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia, gaining independence from the Soviet Union and declaring neutrality in 1991. In February 2022, Russia's President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine under the auspices of a "special military operation" to "de-nazify" the country. The move turned Moscow into a global pariah, and the Ukrainian army - backed financially and militarily by the US and western European countries - continues to fight off the invading forces. Nuclear-armed Russia has warned of consequences if Nato interferes in the war, while strategic ally China urges a peaceful, diplomatic solution.
State Department’s No 2 now admits Aukus joint submarine project between three of the Five Eyes is tied to Taiwan and mainland China.
Putin’s re-election is positive for the increasingly close alliance with Beijing, but China’s diplomatic efforts require striking a fine balance ahead of Xi’s proposed trip to Europe.
Foreign minister makes it clear that China will be a stabilising, cooperative force in international affairs, and calls on US to honour its pledges with a warning over Taiwan.
- The Ukraine president says China could play a role in securing an end to the war, as he seeks Beijing’s backing for a peace summit in Switzerland
- During his visit, Scholz asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to ‘exert pressure on Russia’ so Putin would withdraw his troops
The destroyed Trypilska thermal power plant was the largest energy facility near Kyiv and was built to have a capacity of 1,800 megawatts, more than the pre-war needs of Ukraine’s biggest city
Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled an elaborate plan to break a US aid package into separate votes to squeeze through the House’s political divides on foreign policy. The move could end a months-long Republican blockade on help for Ukraine.
The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine has come under a series of drone attacks since April 7.
Readers say Ukraine’s Nato status is unlikely to change the course of the war, and praise atomic bomb survivor Japan’s decision to finally screen Oppenheimer film
Kyiv said the feared operation would make Ukraine appear responsible for whatever took place at the nuclear site in southern Ukraine, which has been occupied by Russian troops since 2022.
Warmer weather has allowed Russia to ramp up its assaults in the region, as tanks can now more easily move across previously muddy terrain.
Ukraine’s first beer sommelier, Lana Svitankova, is working with Ukrainian breweries to promote its golden ale. She sees the country’s craft beers as part of its global identity that needs asserting.
Moscow is receiving drone and missile tech, satellite imagery and machine tools, aiding its biggest military build-up since the Soviet era, US officials say.
The Netherlands will release €1 billion for Ukraine this year, on top of €2 billion that had already been agreed.
A dire shortage of ammunition and manpower along the 1,200km front and gaps in air defence show that Ukraine is at its most fragile moment in over two years of war, according to Western officials.
Switzerland on Wednesday announced that a high-level conference on the Ukraine conflict would be held on June 15-16, but without Russia.
Reason for evacuation was the almost daily shelling of towns in the region by Russia. Regional governor promised that all those affected would receive humanitarian and legal aid.
‘China’s current external stance and military actions present … the greatest strategic challenge,’ Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tells joint session of Congress.
Ukraine’s parliament passed a bill to overhaul the rules governing how the military mobilises civilians into its ranks as the war rages on with no end in sight.
Warning from the top general for US forces in Europe comes as Republicans in Congress block tens of billions of dollars in US military aid for Kyiv.
Agreements spanning defence, space, culture, diplomacy and research come amid rising Indo-Pacific tensions and Tokyo’s more robust role in the region.
Ukraine and up to 100 countries would attend the conference at the luxury Burgenstock resort near the central city of Luzern on June 15-16.
Kurt Campbell, No 2 at US State Department, echoes Beijing’s language of ‘red line’ and ‘core interest’ to mark out Washington’s strategic interest.
The small arms and ammunition were being sent to Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to the US military.
Russia warned of ‘unprecedented’ flooding in coming days as locals in a city partially submerged by rising waters took to the streets in rare protest at the authorities’ handling of the crisis.
Russia’s daily losses on the Ukrainian battlefield have been ticking upwards – from 400 in 2022, to 693 in 2023, to 913 through the first quarter of 2024 – according to UK intelligence.
The head of the UN’s atomic watchdog agency condemned a drone strike on one of six nuclear reactors at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
The president said that if his nation does not win, ‘other states will be attacked’.
Kyiv’s forces are also out of shells for counteroffensive actions and are using their limited ammunition for defensive purposes.
Top diplomat will meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to discuss Ukraine, the Asia-Pacific and other issues, Russian foreign ministry says.
Finland closed the border in mid-December after nearly 1,000 migrants arrived without a visa through its border crossings with Russia since August.
Of the 22 arrested, eight were put in detention pending trial and the other 14 were under house arrest, with one, an accountant, banned from practising.
Nato anniversary comes as the now-32-nation alliance weighs a plan to provide more predictable longer-term military support to Ukraine.
