[🇺🇦] Monitoring Russian and Ukraine War.

[Saif]

French, UK military chiefs discuss support with Ukraine

British and French military chiefs travelled to Kyiv this week to discuss strengthening the Ukrainian army and ways to support the war-torn country after any end of hostilities with Russia, France’s Thierry Burkhard said on Saturday.

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French, UK military chiefs discuss support with Ukraine
Agence France-Presse . Paris, France 06 April, 2025, 00:31

British and French military chiefs travelled to Kyiv this week to discuss strengthening the Ukrainian army and ways to support the war-torn country after any end of hostilities with Russia, France’s Thierry Burkhard said on Saturday.

On Friday, Burkhard and British chief of the defence staff Tony Radakin held talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky and defence minister Rustem Umerov.

French president Emmanuel Macron and British prime minister Keir Starmer are spearheading European efforts to send a ‘reassurance force’ to Ukraine after any end to the war sparked by Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Ukraine has said Russia does not want a ceasefire.

The visit to Kyiv by the French and British military chiefs came on the same day that a Russian ballistic missile strike on Zelensky’s home city of Kryvyi Rig killed at least 18 people, among them nine children, authorities said.

Zelensky called the meeting with Burkhard and Radakin ‘fundamental’.

‘We are discussing presence on the ground, in the sky and at sea. We are also discussing air defence. And some other sensitive things,’ he said on Friday evening without elaborating.

‘We will be meeting at the level of our military every week. Our partners already have a lot of understanding of what Ukraine needs,’ he added.

Burkhard, the chief of staff of France’s armed forces, said on Saturday they had discussed ‘reassurance options’ to be provided by an international coalition.

‘Together, we want to guarantee a lasting and solid peace in Ukraine, an essential condition for the security of the European continent,’ he said on X.

The goal of the joint trip was to ‘maintain determined support’ for the Ukrainian army which would allow it to continue to fight against Russian forces, he added.

Another goal was to ‘define a long-term strategy for the reconstruction and transformation of the army,’ he added.​

 

[Saif]

Russian missile strike kills one, injures three in Kyiv, Ukraine says

A Russian missile attack on Kyiv killed one man and injured three other people overnight, causing damage and fires in several districts in the biggest such attack on Ukraine for weeks, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. The strike was the first large-scale attack using missiles and drones since t

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Russian missile strike kills one, injures three in Kyiv, Ukraine says
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 06, 2025 21:00
Updated :
Apr 06, 2025 21:00

Vendors put their wares on display at a flea market as smoke rises from a nearby site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Apr 6, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Thomas Peter

A Russian missile attack on Kyiv killed one man and injured three other people overnight, causing damage and fires in several districts in the biggest such attack on Ukraine for weeks, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.

The strike was the first large-scale attack using missiles and drones since the US said late last month it had negotiated two ceasefire accords with Russia and Ukraine, including one that would halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said ongoing attacks showed Russia did not want to end the three-year-old war.

“Such attacks are Putin’s response to all international diplomatic efforts. Each of our partners - America, the whole of Europe, the whole world - has seen that Russia is going to continue to fight and kill,” he said on the Telegram messaging app.

“Therefore, there can be no easing of pressure. All efforts should be made to ensure security and bring peace,” he said.

Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, posted a video of firefighters trying to put out fires at badly damaged buildings.

Russian forces used ballistic and cruise missiles launched from both strategic bombers and naval fleets, as well as drones, during the overnight attack, Ukraine’s air force said.

Zelensky said that over the past week, Russia had launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones and more than 30 missiles of various types against Ukraine.

POLAND ON HIGH ALERT

Warnings from the air force of an attack including regions bordering Poland forced the neighbouring NATO-member country to scramble aircraft to ensure air safety.

Poland has been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck the southern Polish village of Przewodow in 2022, killing two people.

In Kyiv, several loud explosions were heard overnight.

Fires broke out in at least three districts of Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post.

“The body of a man killed in an enemy attack was found in Darnytskiy district (of Kyiv). He was on the street, near the epicentre of the explosion,” Klitschko said.

He added that two civilians had been taken to hospital after they were injured in Darnytskiy, on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River that splits the city.

The Sunday strikes on Kyiv came after officials in the southern region of Mykolaiv reported three people had been injured in Russian strikes. A day earlier, a Russian attack killed at least 19 people including nine children in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.

There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia started with a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour. Thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.

US President Donald Trump, who took office in January after pledging he would end the war in 24 hours, has sought to broker an end to the conflict.​

 

[Saif]

Russian troops push into Ukraine’s Sumy region

Russia said on Sunday that its troops had taken the village of Basivka in Ukraine's Sumy region, and were battering Ukrainian forces at a host of settlements in the area. More than two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv sent thousands of troops over the border into Russia's Kursk re

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Russian troops push into Ukraine’s Sumy region
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 06, 2025 19:52
Updated :
Apr 06, 2025 19:52

Russia said on Sunday that its troops had taken the village of Basivka in Ukraine's Sumy region, and were battering Ukrainian forces at a host of settlements in the area.

More than two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv sent thousands of troops over the border into Russia's Kursk region in August last year though a Russian offensive over recent months has pushed most of Ukrainian forces out of Kursk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly suggested that Russian forces carve out a buffer zone along the border.

Russia's defence ministry said that it had taken the village of Basivka, just over the border from Sudzha, and had struck Ukrainian forces at 12 other points in the Sumy region.

It said that Russia had defeated Ukrainian units in the Russian settlements of Gornal, Guevo, and Oleshnya.

The pro-Ukrainian DeepState war map shows Ukraine in control of about 63 square kilometres (24 square miles) of Russian territory, down from as much as 1,400 square kilometres claimed by Kyiv last year.

Another 81 square kilometres of territory along the border - including Basivka - is classed by DeepState as of "unknown" control.

Russia currently controls a little under one fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014, and most but not all of four other regions which Moscow now claims are part of Russia - a claim not recognised by most countries.

Russia controls all of Crimea, almost all of Luhansk, and more than 70 percent of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, according to Russian estimates. It also controls a sliver of Kharkiv region.​

 

[Saif]

Zelensky slams lack of US response to Putin truce rejection

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday lamented the lack of a US response to Russia’s refusal to agree ‘a full, unconditional ceasefire’ as two people were killed in Moscow’s latest aerial bombardment...

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Zelensky slams lack of US response to Putin truce rejection
Agence France-Presse . Kyiv, Ukraine 08 April, 2025, 00:06

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday lamented the lack of a US response to Russia’s refusal to agree ‘a full, unconditional ceasefire’ as two people were killed in Moscow’s latest aerial bombardment.

Russia mounted a ‘massive’ missile and drone attack on Ukraine that also wounded seven people, Zelensky said, warning that Moscow was stepping up its aerial attacks.

Ukraine has agreed to an unconditional truce in the more than three-year-long war proposed by the United States but Russian president Vladimir Putin has refused to do so.

‘We are waiting for the United States to respond — so far there has been no response,’ said Zelensky.

Russia claimed the capture of a village in Ukraine’s Sumy region in a rare cross-border advance, but Ukraine branded that as ‘disinformation’.

Earlier, Russia ‘launched a massive nationwide attack on Ukraine using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones’, said Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

Zelensky said ‘the number of Russian air attacks is increasing’, which he said proved that ‘the pressure on Russia is still insufficient’.

In Kyiv, explosions were heard in the night and a smoke rose up from the city on Sunday morning.

One person was killed and three people were wounded, the head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, wrote on social media.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that ‘the body of a man killed in an enemy attack was discovered in Darnytsia district.’

A missile strike partially destroyed a building housing state foreign-language broadcasters, the Russian-language Freedom television channel reported, saying that its newsroom had been destroyed.

Emergency services said that fires broke out in non-residential buildings in Kyiv. In a nearby region, a man was burned when an attack sparked a house fire, the head of the military administration said.

Russia attacked Ukraine with 23 cruise and ballistic missiles and 109 drones during the night, the Ukrainian air force said.

The air force said it shot down 13 of the missiles and 40 drones while 54 others caused no damage.

In the southern Kherson region, a drone killed a 59-year-old man, while in the northeastern Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia, two people were wounded in an aerial bomb attack, regional officials said.

In the western region of Khmelnytsky, authorities said air defences destroyed a missile but falling fragments damaged a house and wounded a woman.

Over the past week, Russia has launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones, and over 30 missiles of various types on Ukraine, Zelensky said.

Russia’s defence ministry said troops ‘liberated’ the village of Basivka, close to the border with Russia’s Kursk region. Ukraine quickly rejected the report.

‘The enemy continues its disinformation campaign regarding the seizure of settlements in Sumy region or the breakthrough of the border,’ Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, said.

French president Emmanuel Macron echoed Zelensky’s calls for a stronger response to Russia.

‘A ceasefire is needed as soon as possible. And strong action if Russia continues to try to buy time and refuse peace,’ Macron said on X on Sunday.

Russia continues ‘to murder children and civilians’, he added.

The latest attacks came two days after a missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig killed 18 people including nine children.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, denounced Russia’s ‘reckless disregard’ for human life in using ‘an explosive weapon with wide area effects’.

Russia on Sunday said it had struck a central artillery base and enterprises involved in producing drones.

It accused Ukraine of striking its energy infrastructure including a gas distribution facility in the Voronezh region.

US president Donald Trump is pushing the two sides to agree a partial ceasefire, but has so far failed to broker an accord acceptable to both sides.

The United States is also seeking better ties with Russia and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev in an interview with state television said that the next US-Russian contacts could be ‘next week’, Russian news agencies reported.

Dmitriev last week became the most senior Russian official to visit Washington since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.​

 

[Saif]

Ukraine’s military chief says new Russian offensive has begun

Ukraine’s military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview published on Wednesday that Russia had launched a new offensive on the northeast of the country, adding that a large increase in assaults was already being observed. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had warned earlier that Russia w

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Ukraine’s military chief says new Russian offensive has begun
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 09, 2025 19:32
Updated :
Apr 09, 2025 19:32

Ukraine’s military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in an interview published on Wednesday that Russia had launched a new offensive on the northeast of the country, adding that a large increase in assaults was already being observed.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had warned earlier that Russia was preparing an offensive on the two regions of Kharkiv and Sumy.

“I can say that the president is absolutely right and this offensive has actually already begun,” Syrskyi said in an interview with Ukrainian publication LB.

“For several days, almost a week, we have been observing almost a doubling of the number of enemy attacks in all main directions (on the frontline),” he said.

Moscow is close to fully pushing Ukrainian forces out of their foothold in Kursk region, which they held since last August and which lies over the border from Sumy region.

Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukrainian forces were also present in the adjacent Russian region of Belgorod.

The war, the first year of which was marked by rapid Russian territorial gains followed by Ukrainian counter-attacks, has since become far more of a battlefield stalemate, with Moscow grinding out relatively small gains by attacking with wave after wave of infantry squads.​

 

[Saif]

Europeans discuss Ukraine peace force but big questions unanswered

Defence ministers from some 30 countries met in Brussels on Thursday to discuss a "reassurance force" for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire in the war with Russia but key questions about its mission and any US support remained unanswered. The gathering at NATO headquarters was the latest in a se

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Europeans discuss Ukraine peace force but big questions unanswered
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 10, 2025 21:27
Updated :
Apr 10, 2025 21:29

Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey, Britain's Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and France's Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu attend a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in defence ministers format, hosted by the United Kingdom and France, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium April 10, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Yves Herman

Defence ministers from some 30 countries met in Brussels on Thursday to discuss a "reassurance force" for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire in the war with Russia but key questions about its mission and any US support remained unanswered.

The gathering at NATO headquarters was the latest in a series of meetings of the "coalition of the willing" of mainly European nations, led by Britain and France, on how they could cement peace if the US brokers a halt to the fighting.

"Together we're stepping up as one, ready to secure Ukraine's future following any peace deal," British Defence Secretary John Healey said at the start of the meeting.

"We advance the momentum of that planning here today, planning to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, to protect its sovereignty and to deter any further Russian aggression."

Many senior European officials assess that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in halting his invasion but they are keen to show US President Donald Trump that they are ready to play their part if his outreach to Moscow pays off.

Trump has made clear he expects Europeans to secure any peace that may result from his administration's talks. Ukraine has said it is ready to accept a ceasefire while Russia has said it needs answers to multiple questions before it can decide.

European nations say they are ready to step up but would likely need assurances that US forces would come to their aid and help with logistics and intelligence to deploy to Ukraine. Trump has so far declined to provide such assurances.

Arriving at the meeting, several ministers said they needed more clarity on issues such as the precise mission of any reassurance force and its rules of engagement before they could decide whether to contribute troops.

"I don't exclude the possibility that Sweden is going to participate, but there's a number of questions that we need to get clarified," Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson said.

Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said it was important to discuss how a force would operate in different scenarios, such as any escalation by Russia, and how it might operate with a potential ceasefire monitoring force.

"It's important that there is a clear picture on what such a mission would entail, and then we can also have our national decision-making process," he said.​

 

[Saif]

Foreign fighters in Ukraine war: What we know

Zelensky said this week more than 150 Chinese nationals were fighting for Russia's army in its war against Ukraine

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Foreign fighters in Ukraine war: What we know
AFP
Published: 11 Apr 2025, 17: 12

Founder of Wagner private mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin makes a statement as he stand next to Wagner fighters in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Bakhmut, Ukraine, in this still image taken from video released 20 May, 2023 AFP

Volodymyr Zelensky said this week more than 150 Chinese nationals were fighting for Russia's army in its war against Ukraine and accused Moscow of "dragging" other countries into its invasion.

It was the latest accusation of foreign involvement in a conflict which has seen both Russia and Ukraine deploy fighters from other countries.

Here is what we know about their use on the battlefield:

The most significant presence of foreign fighters in the war is Russia's use of North Korean troops in its Western Kursk region.

Kyiv, the West and South Korea all say Pyongyang despatched more than 10,000 soldiers from its army after Ukraine launched a shock cross-border offensive there in August 2024.

North Korean officials initially denied the deployment though Russian President Vladimir Putin sidestepped the issue when asked about Western satellite images apparently showing North Korean troops movements.

"Images are a serious thing; if there are images, they reflect something," he said in October.

Ukraine last year said it had captured two wounded North Korean soldiers, publishing video interrogations with them.

Other foreign fighters on both sides are largely volunteers who travelled to fight on their own accord, moved by a desire to help Ukraine defend itself in the face of the Russian invasion, or lured by high salaries on offer by both militaries.

Moscow has also faced allegations and complaints from other countries, including India and Bangladesh, that military recruiters have duped or coerced their citizens into fighting for the army.

Russia classes foreigners fighting for Ukraine as "mercenaries", a crime punishable by years in prison under Russian law.

Moscow has also offered fast-track citizenship to those who join its army during the Ukraine offensive in a bid to attract recruits.

Zelensky on Wednesday said Russia had been recruiting Chinese fighters through adverts on TikTok and other social media channels.

Neither side routinely provides information on how many foreign fighters have joined their militaries.

In March 2022, two weeks after Russia invaded, Ukraine said more than 20,000 had said they wanted to sign up to join a specially created military unit for foreigners, called the "International Legion."

Ukrainian officials have not given any detailed update on how many of them actually served in combat or on the size of the Legion today.

Russia has similarly not given any information on how many foreign citizens have joined its army, but in November 2024, the interior ministry said it had awarded Russian citizenship to 3,300 foreigners that year who had served in its military.

Throughout the conflict, AFP journalists in eastern Ukraine have spoken to soldiers fighting on the Ukrainian side from the likes of the United States, Britain, France, Japan, Ireland and as far away as Colombia.

Many had professional military experience and were motivated to fight against Russia's invasion and help Ukraine defend itself.

Notable numbers of Georgians and Chechens -- who fought against Russia's army in the 1990s and 2000s -- are also known to have travelled to Ukraine to support Kyiv's military.

As have some Russian citizens, outraged at President Vladimir Putin and having decided to take up arms against their own country.

Alongside the use of North Korean troops, Russia has largely recruited soldiers from poor countries, offering huge salaries to fighters from Cuba, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Somalia, among others -- according to accounts from prisoners of war and media reports in Ukraine, Russia and those countries.

According to media reports in Central Asia, Moscow has also recruited hundreds from ex-Soviet countries in the region.​

 

[Saif]

Europe vows more arms for Ukraine

Ukraine’s European allies vowed Friday to step up weapons deliveries as support from the United States dries up under president Donald Trump.

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Europe vows more arms for Ukraine
Agence France-Presse . Brussels, Belgium 11 April, 2025, 22:43

Ukraine’s European allies vowed Friday to step up weapons deliveries as support from the United States dries up under president Donald Trump.

The US leader has switched Washington’s focus from backing Kyiv’s fight against Russia’s invasion to trying to negotiate a peace deal with President Vladimir Putin to halt the war.

Britain and Germany took the reins of a meeting of Ukraine’s backers at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels—that used to be chaired by the United States under president Joe Biden.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth dialled into the talks via video call.

‘In the weeks to come, we will see what’s going to happen with the US participation, with the US support. I am not able to have a look in the crystal ball,’ German defence minister Boris Pistorius said.

‘We take on more responsibility as Europeans.’

British defence minister John Healey said overall $24 billion more has been promised towards helping arm Ukraine.

He said London was looking to surge support worth $450 million—including thousands of drones—to Kyiv’s fighters on the front line.

‘2025 is the critical year for this war in Ukraine, and now is the critical moment in that war,’ Healey said.

‘We are sending a signal to Putin, but we are also sending a message to Ukraine, and we are saying to Ukraine, we stand with you in the fight.’

Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, said that ‘Europe is taking over the lead in security assistance, for which we are thankful’.

‘It’s a share of responsibilities, European partners are taking the lead and the US is beside us and focused on the peace.’​