Drone attack in Moscow: Buildings damaged in suspected attack
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Volodymyr Zelensky visited 10 countries and held more than 60 meetings last month in a bid to secure more weapons with one official saying “everything is needed” for a counteroffensive.
The Ukrainian president held three meetings with Rishi Sunak as part of his efforts to bolster arsenals and air defenses with talks of a spring push that looks more likely to happen in the summer.
Dr. Ihor Zhovkva, Ukraine’s deputy chief of the president’s office and chief foreign affairs adviser, has said the country needs more weapons to retake land where Russia has advanced.
“I’m not a military man,” he told The Sunday Times. “I am working on the diplomatic front and my task is more weapons, more support, more ammunition.
“But if you want to launch a successful counteroffensive, you need everything at your disposal, including artillery, armored vehicles and tanks, so we probably don’t have enough.”
The official’s comment follows group leader Wagner saying on Saturday that factional fighting in the Kremlin had opened a Pandora’s box of rifts.
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Ukraine: “We need more weapons for the counteroffensive”
Dr. Ihor Zhovkva, Ukraine’s deputy chief of the president’s office and chief foreign affairs adviser, has said the country needs more weapons to retake land where Russia has advanced.
“I’m not a military man,” he told The Sunday Times. “I am working on the diplomatic front and my task is more weapons, more support, more ammunition.
“But if you want to launch a successful counteroffensive, you need everything at your disposal, including artillery, armored vehicles and tanks, so we probably don’t have enough.”
Guillem MataJune 3, 2023 8:23 p.m
Zelensky shared his condolences after the train crash in India
Volodymyr Zelensky has shared a condolence message after the train accident in Odisha.
He tweeted on Saturday: “On behalf of myself and the people of Ukraine, I express my deepest condolences to Prime Minister @narendramodi and all the family and friends of those killed in the train accident in Odisha state.
“We share the pain of your loss. We wish a speedy recovery for all those injured.”
Guillem MataJune 3, 2023 8:00 p.m
Summary: Some key events from June 3
Here are some of Saturday’s headlines:
First, the leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner said on Saturday that factional fighting in the Kremlin had opened a Pandora’s box of rifts. “Pandora’s Box is already open – we are not the ones who opened it,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a message published by his press service. See above for more information on this one.
Civilian security concerns rose in Ukraine on Saturday, as officials announced an inspection had found nearly a quarter of the country’s air raid shelters closed or unused, just days after a woman in Kiev reportedly died waiting outside one shelter closed during a Russian missile. ravine Full story here.
(Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Guillem MataJune 3, 2023 7:00 p.m
China / USA / Turkey: meetings and big decisions ahead
Leaders and negotiators from three countries with interests in Russia and Ukraine are set to meet and make decisions this weekend. Here’s a quick summary:
First, Turkey’s former president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will be sworn in for his third term on Saturday. The country of 85 million controls NATO’s second-largest army, hosts millions of refugees and played a crucial role in negotiating a deal that allowed grain to be shipped from Ukraine, averting a global food crisis .
Guillem MataJune 3, 2023 6:00 p.m
The Pope will visit Mongolia at the end of the summer in a visit rich in geopolitical importance
Pope Francis is traveling to Mongolia at the end of the summer, a visit that will be a first for a pontiff and rich in geopolitical significance given its proximity to Russia and China.
The Vatican on Saturday confirmed the Aug. 31-Sept. 4 trip to the landlocked U.S. ally between Russia and China, two countries popes have never visited.
The visit comes as Francis tries to tread a diplomatic line in his relations with both countries: With Moscow, Francis is seeking an opening for a peace envoy to push Russia and Ukraine into negotiations to end the war.
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Wagner’s boss says Kremlin factions are destroying the Russian state
Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday that Kremlin factions were destroying the state by trying to sow discord between him and Chechen fighters.
That row had now been resolved, but infighting in the Kremlin had opened a Pandora’s Box of rifts, he said.
Prigozhin, a 62-year-old former restaurateur who founded Wagner’s mercenary group and is a member of President Vladimir Putin’s wider circle, has gained notoriety during the 15-month war in Ukraine.
His troops have led battles in the city of Bakhmut and elsewhere, but he has also sparred with the Russian military over tactics, logistical support and other issues.
Prigozhin said a dispute between him and Chechen forces also fighting alongside the Russian military in Ukraine had been resolved. But he blamed the discord on unidentified factions in the Kremlin, which he calls “Kremlin towers.”
Their machinations had gotten so out of control that Putin had been forced to reprimand them at a Security Council meeting, he said.
“Pandora’s Box is already open – we are not the ones who opened it,” Prigozhin said in a message released by his press service. “Some tower in the Kremlin decided to play dangerous games.”
“Dangerous games have become commonplace in the Kremlin towers…they are simply destroying the Russian state.”
He did not identify the Kremlin faction, but said it continued its attempts to sow discord, which would have “hell to pay.” The Kremlin did not comment on his statements.
(PRIGOZHIN PRESS SERVICE)
Maryam Zakir-HussainJune 3, 2023 3:28 p.m
The Kremlin says that France can hardly be a “moderator” of the conflict in Ukraine
France can hardly be a “moderator” of the Ukrainian conflict because of its active participation in it, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Peskov told Russian state television reporter Pavel Zarubin that, at the same time, President Vladimir Putin is open to any contact to achieve Russia’s goals.
Maryam Zakir-HussainJune 3, 2023 3:08 p.m
US, allies clash with Russia, China over North Korea’s failed military spy satellite launch
The United States and its allies clashed with Russia and China on Friday over North Korea’s botched launch of a military spy satellite this week in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, which Moscow and Beijing refused to condemn.
The standoff was the latest over the North’s escalating nuclear, ballistic missile and military programs, which US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood warned threatened international peace and security. The failed launch “not only disrupted sea and air traffic in the region, but also caused alarm to its neighbors in Japan and the Republic of Korea,” he said.
Pyongyang threatens another launch soon.
Maryam Zakir-HussainJune 3, 2023 2:15 p.m
A six-year-old Ukrainian girl saved for adoption or a murderous adult impostor: who is Natalia Grace really?
Michael and Kristine Barnett of Indiana decided in 2010 to open their home to a disabled six-year-old boy from Ukraine, or so they thought.
What followed was a rapid cascade of suspicion and allegations that led to the demise of their marriage, criminal charges against each of them and an incredible story that calls into question the innocence of all involved, she writes. Sheila Flynn:
Six-year-old girl saved by adoption or by a murderous adult impostor: who is Natalia Grace?
Michael and Kristine Barnett of Indiana decided in 2010 to open their home to a disabled six-year-old boy from Ukraine, or so they thought. What followed was a rapid cascade of suspicion and allegations that led to the demise of their marriage, criminal charges against each of them and an incredible story that calls into question the innocence of all involved, writes Sheila Flynn.
Maryam Zakir-HussainJune 3, 2023 1:45 p.m
Russia warns US: Don’t make ultimatums on arms control
Russia warned the United States on Saturday that it should stop brandishing ultimatums over the collapse of arms control deals, saying Moscow would only return to a nuclear arms reduction treaty if Washington abandons its hostile stance.
Russia and the United States, by far the biggest nuclear powers, have expressed regret over the disintegration of the tangle of arms control treaties that were meant to curb the Cold War arms race and reduce the risk of a nuclear war
Amid the crisis sparked by the Ukraine conflict, President Vladimir Putin announced in February that Russia was suspending participation in the New START treaty, an agreement signed in 2010 that limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by Russia and the United States .
The United States said this week it will stop providing Russia with some required notifications under the treaty, including updates on the location of its missiles and launchers, in retaliation for Moscow’s “ongoing violations” of the deal.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Washington had informed Moscow of the move before making it public, so it was no surprise.
But Ryabkov said the pillars of arms control were collapsing and in a “semi-lethal” condition because of what he called hostile US policies.
“Talking to the Russian Federation in the language of ultimatums simply does not work,” Ryabkov told Russia’s three main news agencies.
“Because of the United States, many elements of the ancient architecture of this area have been completely destroyed or moved into a semi-lethal state.”
(Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
Maryam Zakir-HussainJune 3, 2023 1:15 p.m
