Ukraine-Russia struggle newest: Lavrov ‘ready’ to satisfy with Marco Rubio after reviews of rift with Putin | EUROtoday

Naive, self-sabotaging and riddled with Moscow’s brokers, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and an arms trade that produced a 3rd of the Soviet Union’s provide, trusted the West and the Kremlin to guard it, and was left preventing for its life.

Now, 30 years on, the start-up nation redefining how struggle is fought has been pressured right into a bodge-and-make-do world of arms manufacturing, fusing outdated expertise with IT know-how to interrupt the bonds its allies tied to make Kyiv battle one-handed.

The newest innovation is a cruise missile with a variety of three,000km, a most pace of 900kmph and a payload of over a tonne, which has been utilized in strikes deep into Russian territory.

The FP-5 “Flamingo” missile is powered by a rocket and a Soviet-era turbofan jet engine bolted on high. Some of these engines have been dug out of landfill dumps.

Russian air defence techniques destroyed or intercepted 71 Ukrainian drones in a single day, the Russian defence ministry mentioned on its Telegram channel.

Of these, seven had been downed over the Kursk area and 7 had been downed over the Black Sea. Most of the drones had been shot down within the bordering areas of Ukraine and Russia, the defence ministry mentioned.

Russian international minister Sergei Lavrov mentioned he was prepared to satisfy US secretary of state Marco Rubio however that Russia wouldn’t abandon its core situations for ending the Ukraine struggle.

“Secretary of state Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication,” Lavrov, Putin’s international minister since 2004, instructed state information company RIA Novosti.

“It is important for discussing the Ukrainian issue and promoting the bilateral agenda. That is why we communicate by telephone and are ready to hold face-to-face meetings when necessary,” Lavrov mentioned.

Europe might want to spend money on Ukraine’s defence to halt Russia’s struggle and make sure the continent’s safety in opposition to rising threats from Moscow, Czech Republic international minister Jan Lipavsky mentioned.

“We know that if we want to stop Russia, we have to pay for it,” Lipavsky instructed AFP from the sidelines of the European Union-CELAC summit in Santa Maria, Colombia yesterday.

The center-right authorities in Prague has been a powerful ally for Kyiv for the reason that starting of Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Russia will abide by its obligations below a world nuclear ban, the Kremlin spokesperson mentioned Dmitry Peskov mentioned.

The remarks from Moscow come after days of uncertainty over remarks by US president Donald Trump that appeared to recommend Washington may restart atomic assessments after greater than three many years.

Trump’s feedback got here after Russia introduced it had examined a brand new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone and a brand new nuclear-powered cruise missile.

But Moscow didn’t announce any assessments of its nuclear weapons, which final occurred in 1990.

“Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is committed to its obligation to end nuclear tests, and that we have no intention” of conducting them, Peskov told reporters.

Earlier this week, Putin ordered officials to study the possibility of resuming nuclear testing, though Russia said it would not do so unless the US did so first.

Slovakia will not be party to use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, the country’s prime minister Robert Fico said.

His remarks come as the European Commission proposed a plan to allow the EU nations to use up to €185 billion, comprising majority of Russia’s sovereign assets currently frozen in Europe, in order to support Ukraine, without formally confiscating them.

“Slovakia won’t take part in any legal or financial schemes to seize frozen assets if those funds would be spent on military costs in Ukraine,” Fico mentioned, stating that use of those belongings will solely gasoline the struggle.

“Do we want to end the war or are we stoking it? We are going to give €140 billion to Ukraine to keep the war going. So what does that mean? That the war will go on for at least another two years,” Fico said.

Ukrainian repair services have deployed workers non-stop to fix the damage to power grids caused by massive Russian airstrikes, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“Repair crews are working almost around the clock in most regions,” Zelensky said in his evening address.

“Restoration efforts are ongoing, and although the situation is difficult, thousands of people are involved in stabilising the system and repairing the damage.”

Around 100,000 homes in the Kharkiv region have plunged into darkness after Russian airstrikes through the weekend.

The massive attacks on Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure have heightened scrutiny over the the energy ministry’s apparent failure to protect the country’s most critical energy facilities near nuclear power sites, according to several current and former officials who spoke to AP.

Ukraine was looking to order 27 Patriot air defence systems from US companies, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

In the meantime, he added, the war-hit nation was looking to borrow essential anti-missile defence systems from its European allies.

Additional help was always needed until Russia continued to wage war, the Ukrainian president said.

“It’s never enough. It’s enough when the war ends. And enough when Putin understands that he has to stop,” he said.

Naive, self-sabotaging and riddled with Moscow’s agents, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and an arms industry that produced a third of the Soviet Union’s supply, trusted the West and the Kremlin to protect it, and was left fighting for its life.

Now, 30 years on, the start-up nation redefining how war is fought has been forced into a bodge-and-make-do world of arms production, fusing old technology with IT know-how to break the bonds its allies tied to make Kyiv fight one-handed.

The latest innovation is a cruise missile with a range of 3,000km, a maximum speed of 900kmph and a payload of over a tonne, which has been used in strikes deep into Russian territory.

The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports from Kyiv:

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he has good relations with US president Donald Trump and that unlike other western leaders, he was not afraid of him.

“Everyone in the world” was afraid of Trump, Zelensky instructed The Guardian in an interview on the presidential palace in Kyiv. “That’s the truth”.

But denied the place for Kyiv. “No… we are not enemies with America. We are friends. So why should we be afraid,” he mentioned.