Tag: Ukraine Russia War

Explosions Heard In Kyiv

By LokMarg

Explosions were heard in Kyiv early on Monday morning, days after Russia blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet.

According to CNN, it comes after a week of power outages in the capital and other parts of Ukraine caused by Russian attacks on the country’s power infrastructure.
Air raid sirens also sounded across the city, the Kyiv Regional State Administration said on Telegram. Air defense systems were working and people have been asked to stay indoors in shelters and other safe places, the administration added.

Russian missiles struck key infrastructure facilities in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and the central region of Cherkasy, Ukrainian officials said Monday.

Kharkiv’s Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram that two missiles hit a critical infrastructure facility in the city.

Parts of the Cherkasy region have lost power after a critical infrastructure facility was hit, regional military administration head Ihor Taburets said.

Parts of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv are without electricity and water after critical infrastructure facilities were hit, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

Power outages caused by Russian attacks continued in Kyiv over the weekend. Klitschko said earlier it will take weeks to repair electrical systems.

Ukrainian officials believe Russia’s countrywide drone and cruise missile attacks are being carefully orchestrated to target important infrastructure as Ukraine heads into winter, reported CNN.

By hitting thermal power stations, electricity sub-stations, transformers and pipelines, Russian forces have been directly impacting Ukrainians’ ability to access power, water and the internet.

Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Ukrainian forces repelled “fierce Russian assault” in Donetsk, reported CNN.

Ukrainian forces fought off a “fierce assault” by Russian troops in the eastern city of Donetsk on Sunday, ZelenskyY said in his daily televised briefing.

“Today, they stopped a fierce assault by the enemy,” Zelenskyy said. “The Russian attack was repelled.”

Russia suspended its participation in a UN-brokered grain deal viewed as key to addressing the global food shortage, according to the country’s defence ministry.

Moscow announced it was leaving the deal after blaming Ukraine for a drone attack on Crimea Saturday. Kyiv accused Russia of inventing “fictitious terrorist attacks” and using the deal as “blackmail.”

By Sunday, more than 200 vessels had been blocked from making shipments, Ukraine said. A growing number of Kyiv’s allies condemned Moscow’s move. (ANI)

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Putin Oversees Drills Nuclear

Putin Oversees Drills Of Nuclear Forces Amid Escalating Tensions With Ukraine

By LokMarg

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday monitored drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces involving multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, the Kremlin said.

State television showed Putin overseeing the drills from a control room.
The manoeuvres followed President Vladimir Putin’s warning about his readiness to use “all means available” to fend off attacks on Russia’s territory, in a clear reference to the country’s nuclear arsenals, reported Sky News.

The drills come amid growing fears Russia may trigger a major escalation in Ukraine.

During the exercises, the country’s nuclear forces carried out multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, reported Sky News.

Russia’s Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, said that Putin had overseen the training, which he said was being held to practice delivering a “huge nuclear strike in response to an enemy nuclear strike”.

The drills saw the test-firing of a Yars land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the launch of a Sineva ICBM by a Russian nuclear submarine and the Tu-95 strategic bombers set off cruise missiles at practice targets, reported Sky News.

Meanwhile, the US said that it was notified Russia was planning to stage the routine drills and the country had complied with the terms of the nations’ last arms control agreement.

Military exercises involving land, sea and air components of the Russian nuclear triad have taken place on an annual basis to train the country’s nuclear forces and demonstrate their readiness.

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig Gen Pat Ryder in a press briefing said, “The US was notified, and, as we’ve highlighted before, this is a routine annual exercise by Russia.”

The move comes amid Russia’s claim this week that Ukraine could use a so-called “dirty bomb” on its own territory. It is seen by analysts as a new attempt to stoke fear of nuclear escalation among Kyiv’s backers, if not a pure one and simple distraction.

Meanwhile, The US and other Western officials have dismissed Moscow’s claim that Ukraine plans to use a so-called dirty bomb as a Russian false-flag operation.

A “dirty bomb” is a conventional bomb laced with radioactive, biological or chemical materials disseminated in an explosion.

The term is often used interchangeably with radiological dispersal device (RDD), a bomb where radioactive materials are used.

In a joint statement, the US, France and Britain — three of the other nuclear powers on the United Nations Security Council — said Sunday that Russia’s claims were “transparently false”.

They and Kyiv suspect that Russia might use a dirty bomb in a “false flag” attack, possibly to justify Moscow’s use of conventional nuclear weapons as it finds itself on the back foot in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Russia on Tuesday also flagged allegations to the UN Security Council that Ukraine is preparing to use a “dirty bomb” on its own territory.

Under the New START Treaty, Russia is obliged to provide advance notification of such missile launches.

New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was the last remaining arms reduction pact between the former Cold War rivals and caps 1,550 the number of nuclear warheads that can be deployed by Russia and the United States of America. (ANI)

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Multiple Explosions In Kyiv

Multiple Explosions In Kyiv, Kamikaze Drone Attacks

By LokMarg

Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv was rocked by multiple explosions early on Monday in an attack by “Kamikaze” drones, a Ukrainian official said.

Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office of Ukraine, said kamikaze drones were attacking the city.
“The Russians think it will help them, but these actions look like desperation,” Yermak said in a statement, blaming Russia for the attack, CNN reported.

Several residential buildings were damaged in the attack.

In a Telegram message, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the “drone attack” caused a “fire in a non-residential building.”

Kyiv says Moscow has used Iranian-supplied drones in the strikes against Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, and other cities across Ukraine in recent weeks, and pleaded with Western countries to step up their assistance in the face of the new challenge, CNN reported.

At least three explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital at around 6:45 a.m. local time on Monday as a result of apparent Russian strikes, according to CNN.

One of the blasts was in the Shevchenkivskyi district in the center of the Ukrainian capital. In order to tackle the situation, emergency services have been sent on-site.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has only escalated after a truck recently exploded on the Crimea road bridge, causing seven fuel tanks of a train heading to the Crimean Peninsula to catch fire. Three people were killed in the blast, which also led to the partial collapse of two spans of the road bridge.

The Crimean Bridge was opened in 2018 by President Vladimir Putin, four years after Moscow annexed Crimea, and was designed to link the peninsula to Russia’s transport network.

The 19-kilometer bridge, which runs across the Kerch Strait and connects Crimea with mainland Russia, consists of a railway and vehicle sections. It became fully operational in 2020.

Earlier, the transport ministry had said the bridge, which consists of two parallel routes for automobiles and trains, will possibly open to trains by 8 pm Moscow time (1700 GMT) on Saturday. (ANI)

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ICC Issues Arrest Warrant Against Putin Over Alleged War Crimes In Ukraine

Russia won’t Sell Oil At Lower Price: Putin

By LokMarg

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced that Moscow would not sell oil at a lower price cap after the Group of Seven (G7) pledged to put a cap on the price of Russian oil sold across the world.

Speaking at the Russian Energy Week 2022 event at the Russia state-affiliated media – RT, Putin said, “I have to say that Russia will not act against our own benefit, we will not act to decrease our standing by providing oil or gas at lower prices. No, we will not succumb to this. We will not play by the rules others set and will not act to our detriment.”
Western countries are stepping up efforts to strip Russia of its largest source of income ‘oil’.

As the war in Ukraine nears its eighth month with no resolution in sight, the West suspects the Kremlin is bankrolling the invasion with its profits from the continued sale of fossil fuels, which make up over 40 per cent of its budget, reported Euronews.

The cap by G7 would prevent Russian cargoes from selling oil that exceeds the still-undefined G7 limit. As a result, Russia would be deprived of a significant portion of the oil revenues that it would otherwise earn without the cap.

According to Russia’s central bank, crude oil exports accounted for Euro113 billion in 2021, on top of the Euro70 billion earned from refined products, such as gasoline and diesel, reported Euronews.

Recently, Saudi Arabia and Russia, acting as leaders of the OPEC Plus energy cartel, agreed to their first large production cut in more than two years in a bid to raise prices, countering efforts by the United States and Europe to choke off the enormous revenue that Moscow reaps from the sale of crude.

President Biden and European leaders have urged more oil production to ease gasoline prices and punish Moscow for its aggression in Ukraine. Putin has been accused of using energy as a weapon against countries opposing its invasion of Ukraine, and the optics of the decision could not be missed, reported The New York Times.

The White House was not happy. “The president is disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC Plus to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, and Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said in a statement.

The cut of two million barrels a day represents about 2 percent of global oil production.

By reducing output, OPEC Plus was also seeking to make a statement to energy markets about the group’s cohesion during the Ukraine war and its willingness to act quickly to defend prices, analysts say.

Out of all sanctions imposed by the bloc, this gradual ban on Russian oil is arguably the most radical decision owing to its potentially disruptive impact on the economies of both Russia and Europe. It was also subject to fraught negotiations between EU countries, reported Euronews.

The West now plans to go beyond national embargoes.

An international price cap “will help deliver a major blow for Russian finances and will both hinder Russia’s ability to fight its unprovoked war in Ukraine and hasten the deterioration of the Russian economy,” said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

But analysts warn the G7 initiative is untested and ridden with risks and unknowns, many of which escape Western control. A botched implementation, they say, could reverberate on a global scale. (ANI)

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Non-Essential Travel To Ukraine

India Advises Citizens To Avoid Non-Essential Travel To Ukraine

By LokMarg

Amid the escalating situation in Ukraine, Indian nationals in Ukraine are advised to avoid all non-essential travel to and within Ukraine, the Embassy of India in Kyiv said in a statement on Monday.

The Indian Embassy in Kyiv advised the Indian citizens to strictly adhere to the safety and security guidelines issued by the Ukrainian Government and local authorities and avoid non-essential travel within the country.
“In view of the current escalation of hostilities in Ukraine, Indian nationals are advised to avoid all non-essential travel to and within Ukraine. They must strictly follow the safety and security guidelines issued by the Ukrainian Government and local authorities,” the statement read.

“Indian nationals are requested to keep the Embassy informed about the status of their presence in Ukraine to enable the Embassy to reach out to them, where required,” it added.

Moreover, India urged both Russia and Ukraine for the immediate cessation of hostilities and an urgent return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue.

“We reiterate escalation of hostilities is in no one’s interest. We urge immediate cessation of hostilities and urgent return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue,” read the MEA release.

The release further added that India stands ready to support all such efforts aimed at de-escalation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday warned of “harsh” reprisals after the Crimea bridge attack on Saturday. In a television appearance Monday, Putin said Russia had struck military and infrastructure targets across Ukraine following the Crimea bridge blast.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack on the Kerch bridge, a key link between the Russian mainland and Crimea.

Powerful explosions were heard across Kyiv on Monday morning, leaving multiple people dead while at the same time, regional authorities also reported missile and rocket attacks in Kharkiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk. (ANI)

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Kyiv, Other Ukrainian Cities Come Under Multiple Rocket Strikes

By LokMarg

Multiple explosions rocked Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Monday morning local media reported citing the city’s mayor.

Plumes of smoke were seen billowing out from several areas in Kyiv.
Explosions were also reported in the cities of Lviv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsky, Dnipro, and, Ternopil. Multiple explosions are being reported in cities all across the country. Eyewitnesses are reporting powerful explosions and power outages in Kyiv, according to the local media, The Kyiv Independent.

Dramatic footage of BBC correspondent Hugo Bachega who was reporting live from the area ducking as explosions were heard in the capital Kyiv, soon began to be circulated on social media. Suddenly, several explosions were heard from behind following which the reporting was cut short.

Ukraine’s local media portal Kyiv Independent quoted city mayor Vitali Klitschko stating that there had been multiple explosions and that the emergency services were on site. Klitschko said further details would follow, the portal added.

The explosions came in the wake of the attack on the Kerch bridge on Saturday where a truck exploded, causing seven fuel tanks of a train heading to the Crimean Peninsula to catch fire. Three people were killed in the blast, which also led to the partial collapse of two spans of the road bridge, according to media reports.

Shortly afterward, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on enhancing security measures for the Crimea bridge. In the decree, Putin also called for securing the energy bridge and the gas pipeline connecting the peninsula with mainland Russia.

Media reports said that Putin plans to hold an operational meeting of his Security Council today.

The bridge was opened in 2018 by Putin, four years after Moscow annexed Crimea, and was designed to link the peninsula to Russia’s transport network. The 19-kilometer bridge, which runs across the Kerch Strait and connects Crimea with mainland Russia, consists of a railway and vehicle sections. It became fully operational in 2020.

On Saturday, at least 17 people were killed and 40 others injured after a rocket struck Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia area. Acting Mayor of Zaporizhzhia Anatoly Kurtev said that in the attack, five houses were destroyed and apartment buildings were damaged, CNN reported. (ANI)

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Participation In Ukraine Grain Deal

Putin Hails Citizens In Annexed Ukraine Territories For Siding With Russia

By LokMarg

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the millions of ordinary citizens, whose culture has been “destroyed”, carried the “love for their historical homeland in their hearts” and in the heat of the battle, “heroically” came to the referendum and made their choice to be with Russia.

Putin made the remarks at the “People’s Choice: Together Forever” concert rally from Red Square which was organized on Friday, the same day when Putin formally announced the annexation of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Lugansk.

The Russian President took part in the rally in support of the accession of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions to Russia. He called the day a “special, momentous and, without exaggeration, historic day, a day of truth and justice.”

Speaking in retrospect, Putin said that he cannot help but go back to the time when the Soviet Union was formed and when Russia was creating “modern Ukraine.”

“It was Russia that created modern Ukraine, giving it significant swathes of land, historical lands of Russia, along with the people, who no one asked about where and how they want to live, how they see the future of their children, and in which country. The same thing happened when the Soviet Union broke apart. The elites decided everything among themselves, and no one asked millions of ordinary citizens anything,” he said as per the Kremlin press release.

He asserted that only now, only “modern Russia” has given the residents of the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Donetsk People’s Republic, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson the “right to choose.”

Putin that even though shelling was going on in Lugansk they remained in the line to the polling station to defend their choice. “The elections were going on in Lugansk, and people were standing in line in the street waiting to get into the polling station. The artillery shelling began. A shell landed nearby, not far away, but no one left the line to the polling station. Amazing!”

For decades, he pointed out, “they have been trying to eradicate historical consciousness from these people, to destroy their traditions, to forbid them from speaking their native language, and to ban culture – nothing of that came to pass.”

“These people carried the love for their historical homeland in their hearts and passed it along to their children. That is why we are saying that Russia is not just opening the doors of its native home to our brothers and sisters; it is opening its heart to them. Welcome home!”

Putin gave the credit of Friday’s “triumph” to heroic “soldiers and officers, Donbass militia and volunteers.”

“You and I are here today on Red Square, but they are not here at the parade. They are in the heat of the battle, heroically defending the choice that the people made several days ago. I know what I am talking about. Heroically is the word.”

As a sign of support and gratitude, and in recognition of their “service, their heroism and self-sacrifice”, Putin proposed sending from Red Square, a signal of his “support, respect and admiration for their sacrifice and heroism” and gave them a triple “Hurrah.”

Take a deep breath and go at my command on the count of three, Putin said, “One, two, three, go: Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!”

Calling the people of the regions “brothers and sisters” Putin assured that Russia “will do everything it can” to ensure security and to improve safety in these territories for these people.

“We will do everything to revive the economy, to rebuild infrastructure, to build new schools and other educational institutions, hospitals and outpatient clinics. We are now stronger because we are together. The truth is on our side, and the truth means strength, which means victory. Victory will be ours!”

After Putin’s formal announcement of annexation of the said four regions, western leaders condemned it, termed it “illegal” and vowed that they will “never recognize” these areas. (ANI)

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US: Senate Approves $12.3 BN Aid For Ukraine

By LokMarg

US Senate on Thursday approved emergency aid of USD 12.3 billion to Ukraine in its war against Russia. The measure will not only continue government spending for several weeks but will also help Ukraine in war to a greater extent.

According to the New York Times, the US Senate on Thursday approved a temporary spending package to keep the government funded past a Friday deadline.
Under the legislation, the measure would provide about USD 12.3 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine which includes USD 3 billion for supplies and arms for Ukraine’s military.

It also provides USD 4.5 billion for Kyiv to keep the country’s finances stable and keep the government running in order to provide basic services to the people of the war-torn country.

The aid for Ukraine comes straight after Congress approved approximately USD 54 billion in two previous packages.

On August 19, the US Defence Department announced that it would provide a new USD 775 million in additional military assistance to Ukraine, including HIMARS missiles, artillery, and mine-clearing systems.

Since 1993, the US has invested over USD 4.2 billion for the safe clearance of landmines and explosive weapons of war (ERW) as well as the securing and safe disposal of excess small arms and light weapons (SA/LW) and munitions in more than 100 countries and territories.

In total, the United States has now committed approximately USD 9.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than USD 11.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.

Notably, Russia launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, which the West has termed an unprovoked war. As a result of this, the Western countries have also imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow.

Moreover, Russia will hold a signing ceremony on Friday to incorporate the annexed four occupied regions of Ukraine at Kremlin, Moscow’s President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“Tomorrow in the Georgian Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace at 15:00 [1200 GMT] a signing ceremony will take place on the incorporation of the new territories into Russia,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

He further added that Putin will make a speech at this event.

The referendum by the Russian authorities on the annexation of occupied territories of Ukraine was largely seen as a “sham referendum” and has been widely criticised by various countries.(ANI)

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PM Modi On Ukraine Conflict

US Backs PM Modi On Ukraine Conflict: Not An Era Of War

By LokMarg

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday (local time) emphasized the remarks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand, and said that he “could not agree more” with PM Modi’s advice.

On the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand on September 16, PM Modi had said “today’s era isn’t of war” while emphasising the need to find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers.

“I really want to emphasize on what PM Modi said. I think he captured, as well as anyone I have heard, fundamentally what this moment is about as he said, this is not an era, the time for war and we could not agree more,” Blinken during a joint press conference said.

He also noted that India and Unites States have made real progress in elevating their partnership through institutions like QUAD and G20 and international organisations at the United Nations.

“The partnership between India and US is simply one of the most consequential in the world. It is to address any global challenge that our people face – health security, climate change, food security and upholding free and open international order. Over the past years, we have made real progress in elevating that partnership bilaterally — through institutions like QUAD and G20 and international organisations at the United Nations,” Blinken said here.

India will take over the presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) in December.

Speaking over the presidency, Blinken said: “With India holding the presidency at the UNSC in December and taking over the presidency at G20 next year, we will be able to drive more global cooperation and action together.”

“I really want to emphasize on what PM Modi said, I think he captured, as well as anyone I have heard, fundamentally what this moment is about as he said, this is not an era, the time for war & we could not agree more: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted several issues inlucing the ongoing Ukraine conflict, the Indo-Pacific situation, during the during a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. (ANI)

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Putin

Putin to Modi On Ukraine Conflict: ‘We Want All This To End’

By LokMarg

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit here that he knows about India’s position on the Ukraine conflict and “we want all of this to end as soon as possible”.

“I know about your position on Ukraine conflict. I know about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible,” Putin said.

“But the other party, the leadership of Ukraine has claimed… that they refuse to engage in the negotiation process. They said they want to achieve their objectives, as they say, on the battlefield militarily. We will keep you abreast of everything that is happening over there,” he added.

Putin said that relations between Russia and India are in the nature of privileged strategic partnership and they continue to develop very rapidly.

“We are actively engaging at international platforms. We are in discussion on international issues. Sometimes these issues are something that is not very good news…,” he said.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “today’s era is not of war”.

“Today’s era is not of war and I have spoken to you about it on the call. Today we will get the opportunity to talk about how we can progress on the path of peace. India, Russia have stayed together with each other for several decades,” PM Modi said.

“We spoke several times on the phone about India-Russia bilateral relations and various issues. We should find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers. I want to thank Russia and Ukraine for helping us to evacuate our students from Ukraine,” he added.

Russia had launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February this year.

Uzbekistan is the current chair of SCO 2022 whereas India will be the next chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have congratulated India for the SCO Presidency in 2023 during the meeting of the expanded circle of the Heads of SCO.

This is the first in-person SCO Summit after the Covid pandemic hit the world. The last in-person SCO Heads of State Summit was held in Bishkek in June 2019.

The SCO currently comprises eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), four Observer States interested in acceding to full membership (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia) and six “Dialogue Partners” (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey).

The Shanghai Five, formed in 1996, became the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2001 with the inclusion of Uzbekistan. With India and Pakistan entering the grouping in 2017 and the decision to admit Tehran as a full member in 2021, SCO became one of the largest multilateral organisations, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the global GDP and 40 per cent of the world’s population. (ANI)

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