Ukraine's Ministry of Defense on Thursday posted aerial video of what it said was Russian rockets hitting Ukrainian positions in the eastern part of the country as the 3-month-old war rages on.
The ministry said the video shows a series of rocket blasts hitting targets near Novomykhailivka, in the Donetsk region, triggering shockwaves and large plumes of smoke.
russian TOS-1A shelling Ukrainian positions near Novomykhailivka, Donetsk region. This is what the the largest and most horrific war of the 21st century looks like. Ukraine is ready to strike back. To do this, we need NATO-style MLRS. Immediately. pic.twitter.com/XwdBfAfEq8
"This is what largest and most horrific war of the 21st century looks like," the Ministry of Defense said.
The ministry added that "Ukraine is ready to strike back" — but can only do so it gets NATO-style multiple launch rocket systems "immediately."
Russian forces continued to press their offensive in several parts of the eastern Donbas region, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian military. That industrial heartland of coal mines and factories is now the focus of fighting after Russia suffered a series of setbacks and shifted to more limited goals.
Regional governors said at least four civilians were killed and seven others injured in shelling Thursday in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv, while three were killed by attacks in and around the eastern city of Lysychansk, which is a key focus of fighting.
Military officials said Russian forces continued to try to gain a foothold in the area of Sievierodonetsk, which is the only part of the Luhansk region in the Donbas under Ukrainian government control.
In the ravaged port city of Mariupol, Russia began broadcasting state television news, even as a leader of the Russia-backed separatists suggested there might be more Ukrainian fighters hiding in its sprawling Azovstal steelworks that was the focus of weeks of bombardment.
The Russian military declared Azovstal and Mariupol on the whole "completely liberated" on May 20 and reported that 2,439 fighters who had been holed up at the plant had surrendered.
The leader, Denis Pushilin, said some of the fighters may have been hiding, lost or lagged behind those who came out, adding that "there are already those that have been found" and captured.
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Ukraine aerial video shows massive Russian shelling: "What the largest and most horrific war of the 21st century looks like" - CBS News
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said the U.S. was not interested in entering into a "Cold War" with China and vowed to increase Washington’s lines of communication with Beijing.
"We are not looking for conflict or a new Cold War. To the contrary, we’re determined to avoid both," Blinken said speaking at George Washington University in D.C.
The secretary of state said the Biden administration does not want to block China’s economic growth or even its role as a world power.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks after viewing the "Burma's Path To Genocide" exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Monday, March 21, 2022. (Kevin Lamarque, Pool via AP)
Instead, Blinken said the U.S. will be taking a new approach to its top rival and said Washington will work with allies to strengthen international laws and institutions to shore up democratic values and maintain peace and security.
"We cannot rely on Beijing to change its trajectory. So we will shape the strategic environment around Beijing to advance our vision for an open, inclusive international system," he said.
Blinken’s comments come as Western nations have grown increasingly concerned that Beijing could feel emboldened by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brazen war in Ukraine and take similar steps against Taiwan.
"Even as President Putin's war continues, we will remain focused on the most serious long-term challenge to the international order — and that's posed by the People's Republic of China," Blinken said.
"The United States and China have to deal with each other for the foreseeable future," he added, claiming U.S.-China ties were one of the "most complex and consequential relationships" in the world today.
President Joe Biden meets virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, on Nov. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Senior China Fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former U.S. diplomat, Craig Singleton, told Fox News the secretary’s comments Thursday were "better late than never."
But he added, "There remain deep divisions within the Biden administration regarding major aspects of the U.S.-China strategic rivalry."
"Absent a clearer directive from the president himself, the inter-agency will likely remain dogged by ‘analysis paralysis’," he argued.
Singleton said he would like to see clearly stated policy objectives when it comes to dealing with Beijing on an array of issues from global security to trade.
The national security expert also warned against the U.S. pursuing a strategy with China that assumes Beijing's power is still on the rise, arguing leadership mismanagement in the wake of the pandemic by Chinese President Xi Jinping "has both hastened China’s rapid economic slowdown and exposed major deficiencies in the Chinese Communist Party’s governance model."
"The risk then is that Washington is committing itself to a counter-China strategy predicated on China’s rise, rather than one that seeks to safely manage China’s seeming decline," he added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a commendation ceremony for role models of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics at the Great Hall of the People on April 8 in Beijing. An Australian man provoked anger from supporters of Xi by holding a sign at a Sydney marker insulting the communist leader. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
President Biden earlier this week made headlines when he told reporters in Japan that the U.S. would intervene militarily should China attack Taiwan.
"That’s the commitment we made," he said in reference to the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.
"We agree with a One China policy," Biden said. "We’ve signed on to it and all the intended agreements made from there. But the idea that, that it can be taken by force, just taken by force, is just not, is just not appropriate."
The White House immediately attempted to downplay the president’s comments, and Biden on Tuesday claimed the U.S.’s position on Taiwan had not changed.
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Russia blocking Ukrainian ports is "clear blackmail," Ukraine's foreign minister says
From CNN's Lindsay Isaac
Storage silos and shipping cranes at the Port of Odesa in Ukraine, on January 22.(Christopher Occhicone/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Russia is trying to “blackmail” the international community with an offer to unblock Ukrainian sea ports if sanctions against it are lessened, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
This is “clear blackmail," Kuleba claimed. "You could not find a better example of blackmail in international relations.”
He warned that if Russia does not lift its blockage of Ukrainian exports of crops, the entire agricultural cycle will be interrupted and could spur a “multi-year food crisis.”
Some background: Before the war,Ukraine was the world’s fourth-largest exporter of corn and fifth-largest exporter of wheat, according to the US State Department. Almost 30% of global trade in wheat came from Russia and Ukraine alone.
Speaking at a panel discussion, Kuleba said Russia and Ukraine are nowhere near the possibility of negotiated peace and that Russia has no intention of taking part in discussions aimed at ending the war.
“When you are conducting an operation like this, you basically say no to negotiations. If Russia had preferred talks to war, they would have behaved differently,” he said.
Making concessions to Russia has not worked since 2014 and won’t work now, Kuleba said.
“This strategy has been used by the leading global forces from 2014 to Feb. 24, 2022. Make concessions here, make concessions here, it will help prevent war. It has failed. Eight years of this strategy has resulted in missiles hitting Kyiv and bloodshed in Donbas," the foreign minister said.
Kuleba called again for further sanctions against Russia, namely stopping the purchase of Russian oil, which he said is keeping Moscow in a comfortable position.
“Ukraine is suffering more than Russia is with the sanctions against it. ... After three months of war, my message is simple: kill Russian exports. Stop buying from Russia and allowing them to make money that they invest in the war machine to kill and destroy,” he said.
Ukraine says at least 14 civilians were killed and 15 others injured in Russian attacks in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
The governor of Luhansk claims the situation there is getting “worse with every hour” amid increased Russian shelling.
The United States declares joint Russia-China military exercises demonstrate Beijing is still committed to its partnership with Moscow despite the invasion of Ukraine.
Washington will end an exemption allowing Moscow to pay its foreign debts with dollars held in Russia.
(Al Jazeera)
Here are all the latest updates:
Ukraine minister says only one way to prevent war from escalating: ‘Help Ukraine win’
The head of the office of Ukraine’s president has said that there is only one way to prevent the war in Ukraine from escalating: “Help Ukraine win.”
Andrii Yermak told a panel at Davos that Ukrainian leaders “keep hearing calls for capitulation for the sake of peace in Europe.”
But “history teaches us that pacifying an aggressor is futile. They always take peacefulness for weakness. They demand more with every next concession,” Yermak said.
“Therefore, there is only one way to prevent the war in Ukraine from escalating into a continental and even world war: Help Ukraine win. Now, you don’t have to wage this war. Just help us do it. Otherwise, you’ll have to. You’ll have to send your troops to the battles,” he added.
Ukraine’s first lady urges the world to keep speaking about her country
Ukraine’s first lady has urged the world not to become accustomed to what is happening in Ukraine and to continue to speak about it.
“We ask on behalf of the whole of Ukraine – do not to get used to the fact that somewhere in Europe children are bombed. Talk about it. Because as soon as we all get used to it, Putin will have a psychological victory,” Olena Zelenska said in a talk via video link to Ukraine House at Davos.
“Information warfare is also ongoing. And if you start to think that there may be some justification for attacking another country, that invasion may make some sense, it means that you are under the influence of the Russian media,” she added.
Swedish delegation arrives in Turkey to discuss NATO bid
A Swedish government delegation, including State Secretary with responsibility for Foreign Affairs, Oscar Stenstrom, arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday evening.
Turkish officials will meet with Swedish and Finnish delegations in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss Stockholm and Helsinki’s applications to become members of NATO, the Turkish foreign ministry confirmed.
Woman dies from shelling in Kharkiv region, another person injured
Russian shelling continued around Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv on Tuesday, even after Russian troops withdrew from its surroundings last week.
Ukrainian regional officials said the city of Derhachi was hit and a 69-year-old woman died and another person was injured.
Derhachi is southwest of the city of Kharkiv and has previously come under Russian shelling.
Ukraine says Russia firing at border guards in Sumy
The Ukrainian military has said Russia fired at Ukrainian border guards in the northeastern Sumy region in the latest of a series of alleged cross-border attacks over the past few weeks.
Military officials say observers Tuesday night recorded seven shots from Russian territory toward the village of Boyaro-Lezhachi, most likely mortar fire.
The Ukrainian Operational Command North said on its Facebook post that eight other shots were heard Tuesday afternoon near a neighbouring village. There were no reports of any deaths.
US official heads to India to talk about US sanctions on Russia
A Biden administration official is travelling to India to talk with officials and private industry about US sanctions, the Treasury Department has said, as Washington seeks to keep India’s purchases of Russian oil from rising.
Elizabeth Rosenberg, the assistant secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, will visit New Delhi and Mumbai through Thursday, a Treasury spokesperson said.
The visit is part of a wider Biden administration effort to fan out to partners and allies around the world to talk with officials and industry about the implementation of US sanctions and export controls, the spokesperson said.
Zelenskyy says Russian defence minister’s comments are ‘pathetic’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blasted comments made earlier by Russia’s Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, who said that Russia was deliberately slowing its offensive in Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate.
“And they are trying to cover this up with lies about how they are supposedly not fighting at full strength? How pathetic – and the time will come when they will recognise this themselves,” Zelenskyy said in a late-night address.
Zelenskyy said Shoigu’s comments were “absolutely unreal”, given that Kyiv estimates Moscow has lost nearly 30,000 soldiers and thousands of tanks and other armoured vehicles.
Ukrainian refugee camp in Mexico City to close: Organisers
Organisers of a camp for Ukrainian refugees who had travelled to Mexico in hopes of reaching the US have said they will soon close it while discouraging Ukrainians still in Europe from travelling to Mexico.
“We are asking people from Europe, Ukrainians, to go through the programme from Europe, do not come to Mexico because it is much more expensive for them, it is a lot of travelling,” said Anastasiya Polo, spokeswoman for United with Ukraine.
The camp will close by June 1, but Ukrainians remaining in Mexico will continue receiving support.
Some 1,000 Ukrainians passed through the camp during the month that it was open on the east side of Mexico City. Now, only about 120 remain and 98 percent of those already have sponsors lined up in the US and expect to soon travel there, the organisation said.
Situation in Luhansk getting ‘worse with every hour’, governor says
The governor of Luhansk says the situation is getting “worse with every hour” as Russian attacks on the eastern Ukrainian region continue.
“The situation is very difficult and unfortunately it is only getting worse. It is getting worse with every day and even with every hour,” Governor Serhiy Haidai said in a video posted on Telegram.
“Shelling is increasing more and more. The Russian army has decided to completely destroy [key city] Severodonetsk.”
A resident sits outside a house ruined by shelling in Irpin, outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 24, 2022 [Natacha Pisarenko/AP]
US criticises Russia-China military exercise
The US has criticised a joint military exercise between Russia and China, saying that it demonstrated that Beijing is still committed to its partnership with Moscow despite the invasion of Ukraine.
“This exercise was likely planned well in advance by both countries,” said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.
“And Beijing’s decision to cooperate with Moscow in this way amid Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin’s dangerous nuclear rhetoric demonstrates the ‘no limits partnerships’ that they talked about in their joint communique is quite alive and well.”
Early in February, before the Ukraine war, Russia and China released a lengthy joint statement that reaffirmed their alliance and expressed opposition to NATO expansion.
Ukraine post-war reconstruction, recovery to be key topics at int’l forum: Minister
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says the country’s “post-war reconstruction and recovery” will be key topics at an upcoming international forum in Switzerland.
The Ukraine Recovery Conference will take place in the town of Lugano on July 4 and 5, the Swiss government said earlier in a separate statement. Forty states and 18 international organisations have been invited.
“Switzerland is our trusted partner,” Kuleba tweeted alongside photos with Swiss Confederation President Ignazio Cassis at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We focused on Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction and recovery, which will be the key topics of this year’s conference in Lugano.”
At the onset of my visit to Davos I was warmly welcomed by the President of the Swiss Confederation @ignaziocassis. Switzerland is our trusted partner. We focused on Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction and recovery, which will be the key topics of this year’s conference in Lugano. pic.twitter.com/qGVMoQrARm
Ukraine says 14 civilians killed in Russian attacks in Luhansk, Donetsk
Ukraine’s military has said Russian troops killed at least 14 civilians and injured 15 more on Tuesday during attacks in the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
In a Facebook post, the military said Russian troops had used aircraft, multiple rocket launchers, artillery, tanks, mortars and missiles in their assault on the two regions.
Former German leader rejects Gazprom board nomination
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder has said he rejected his nomination to the supervisory board of Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom.
“I gave up my nomination to Gazprom’s Supervisory Board a long time ago. I have reported this to the company as well,” Schroder wrote on his LinkedIn account.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to huge public pressure in Germany for Schroder to turn his back on President Vladimir Putin and to sever his ties with Russia’s biggest energy companies.
US will not extend key Russian debt payment waiver
The US will not extend a key waiver that allows Russia to pay US bondholders, which could push Moscow closer to the brink of default as Washington ramps up pressure on the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
The US Treasury Department said on its website it would not extend a license, set to expire at 12:01am local time in Washington, DC, (04:01 GMT) on Wednesday, allowing Russia to make payments on its sovereign debt to US persons.
The waiver had allowed Moscow to keep paying interest and principal and avert default on its government debt.
Afghanistan's Taliban have mandated a new rule requiring all women news anchors to cover their faces while on TV. The Taliban's Virtue and Vice ministry announced the change on Thursday and began enforcing it over the weekend.
The Taliban said the decision was "final and nonnegotiable", adding that women could opt for medical masks. By Sunday, most female presenters had covered their faces, while some male colleagues reportedly wore masks as well in support of their colleagues.
International human rights groups voiced concern the Taliban would re-impose strict regulations on women after seizing power last year.
Between 1996 and 2001, during the Taliban’s last time in power, women were banned from much of public life and education.
Khatereh Ahmadi, a TV anchor, wearing a face covering as she read the news on TOLO NEWS, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
This time, the Taliban argued it would take a more moderate approach. The past week’s sweeping change, however, solidified global concerns.
Earlier this month, the Taliban also announced women must fully cover up in public, leaving only their eyes visible. Women are also expected to only leave home when necessary. Failing to comply could result in their male family members being sent to court or to jail.
TV anchor Nesar Nabil wearing a face mask to protest the Taliban's new order that female presenters cover their faces, as he read the news on TOLOnews, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi))
The international community has also pressed the Taliban leadership for educational opportunities for kids. Currently, girls can only attend school until 6th grade, roughly the age of 11.
Despite previous promises from the Taliban that girls would soon have access to education, there have been no changes to date.
Eleven people, eight of them women, were killed in simultaneous shooting attacks on two bars in north-central Mexico, authorities said Tuesday.
Handwritten signs left at the scenes of the killings suggested the attacks were part of a rivalry between two drug cartels that have been battling for control of Guanajuato state for several years.
Police in the city of Celaya said the attacks occurred late Monday at two bars on the same street. They said 10 of the victims died at the scene, and another was declared dead at a hospital later.
A National Guard member walks towards soldiers chatting at the scene where gunmen opened fire in two bars, killing at least 11 people, in Celaya, Mexico, on May 23, 2022. STRINGER / REUTERS
More than a dozen gunmen took part in the attack, Mexican newspaper El Universal reported.
Police confirmed that messages were left at the scene, but did not confirm what they said. But photos posted on social media suggested the killers were from the Santa Rosa de Lima gang. The messages appeared to accuse the bars' owners of supporting the rival Jalisco cartel, which the Department of Justice considers to be "one of the five most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world."
The photos showed women - it was not clear if they were bar employees or customers - heaped in pools of blood between tables. Part of one bar also appeared to have been partly burned.
Guanajuato, a thriving industrial region that hosts a refinery and a major pipeline, has become one of Mexico's most violent states due to a dispute between the cartels. The gangs fight for control of trafficking routes for drugs and stolen fuel.
In March, the charred bodies of seven people were found abandoned in a pick-up truck in Celaya.
And in January, six members of a family were murdered in a rural community in Guanajuato state -- the fifth such attack in the municipality of Silao in four months.
In March, 20 people were shot and killed at a venue often used for hosting illegal betting on cockfights in the neighboring state of Michoacan. An American mother of four was among the victims.
Since December 2006, when the government launched a controversial military anti-drug operation, Mexico has recorded more than 340,000 murders, according to official figures.
In April, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed that Mexico had dissolved a special unit trained by U.S. authorities to fight drug cartels because it was infiltrated by criminals.
