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BEIJING, Aug 6 (Reuters) - China's decision to join international talks in Saudi Arabia this weekend seeking to end Russia's war in Ukraine signals possible shifts in Beijing's approach but not a U-turn in its support for Moscow, analysts say. "Beijing will not want to be absent from other credible peace initiatives that are led by non-Western countries." China did not attend the talks in Copenhagen in late June, despite being invited and having proposed its own 12-point plan for peace. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Li's involvement a "considerable breakthrough", according to Ukrainian media. While China's move was good for its image, Singapore-based analyst Li Mingjiang said Beijing would be looking to fine-tune its positions.

Persons: Yun Sun, Li Hui, Xi Jinping, Qin, Vladimir Putin, Dmytro Kuleba, Shen Dingli, Shen, China's, Li Mingjiang, Li, Geng Shuang, Moritz Rudolf, Yale Law School's Paul Tsai, Laurie Chen, Martin Quin Pollard, Greg Torode, William Mallard Organizations: NATO, Stimson, Qin Gang, People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, U.S, Ukrainian, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, United Nations, Security, Yale Law, Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Moscow, Beijing, Denmark, Russia, China, Washington, Jeddah, Copenhagen, Shanghai, Singapore

☆ Ukraine and Poland call in envoys after war support comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Kyiv and Warsaw have been firm allies throughout the conflict that erupted with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said the Polish ambassador was told in the meeting that statements about Ukraine's alleged ungratefulness for Poland's help were "untrue and unacceptable". Poland also called in the Ukrainian ambassador to Warsaw in response to the "comments of representatives of Ukrainian authorities", Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. He also said: "I think it would be worthwhile for (Kyiv) to start appreciating what role Poland has played for Ukraine over past months and years." The Polish foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Persons: Marcin Przydacz, Oleh Nikolenko, Ukraine's, Przydacz, Poland, Anna Pruchnicka, Christina Fincher, Alex Richardson, Angus MacSwan, Alison Williams Organizations: Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Twitter, Kyiv, Ukraine, European Union, EU, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Polish, Kyiv, Warsaw, Ukrainian, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Central European

ISLAMABAD, July 20 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday called for the Black Sea grain initiative to be restored to meet the challenge of global food insecurity. "It is not only in our interest but in the world's interest that this grain initiative is restored," Zardari said. The Black Sea grain deal expired on Monday after Russia quit, despite a U.N. offer to President Vladimir Putin to re-establish access for a Russian bank to the SWIFT international payment system in return for an extension. The U.N. estimates the grain deal lowered food prices globally by 20%. Russia has warned that ships sailing to the Ukrainian Black Sea ports from Thursday will be seen as potential military targets.

Persons: Dmytro Kuleba, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, General Antonio Guterres, Zardari, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Kuleba, Asif Shahzad, David Evans, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Ukrainian, United Nations, Thomson, Reuters Locations: ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Kyiv, Russia, Moscow, Pakistan, Russian, Chornomorsk, China, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Shahid, Karachi

☆ NATO Summit 2023: Biden and alliance leaders enter summit with a show of force
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Betsy Klein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Vilnius, Lithuania CNN —President Joe Biden and alliance leaders enter the first day of the high-stakes NATO Summit Tuesday with a reinvigorated sense of unity after a major win on Monday evening when Turkey agreed to Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. Biden and other members have touted unprecedented unity among the alliance in the face of Russia’s war, and the move also provides leaders a significant show of force going into the summit. “We’re coming into this consequential summit with a full head of steam,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in Vilnius Tuesday morning. “When the NATO summit gets underway, our alliance will not only be bigger and stronger than ever, it will be more united, more purposeful, and more energized than at any point in modern memory. He pointed to questions about unity in the past week as he warned that the Vilnius summit will “very much disappoint” Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Persons: Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin’s, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Biden, Jake Sullivan, Biden’s, ”, Sullivan, Ulf Kristersson, Antony Blinken, Vladimir Putin, ” Sullivan, “, ’ Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Dmytro Kuleba, Kuleba, ” Biden, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Zakaria, Rishi Sunak, Gitanas Nausėda, Jens Stoltenberg, Erdoğan, Sunak, King Charles III Organizations: Lithuania CNN, NATO, Biden, Swedish, White, Transatlantic Alliance, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Ukraine, US, United, Prime, Oslo Convention, Lithuania, Windsor Castle Locations: Vilnius, Lithuania, Turkey, Russia, Sweden, Lithuanian, Turkish, Hungary, Ukraine, Oslo, United States, Windsor

[1/7] Top ranking official attendees of the NATO summit pose for a family picture in Bucharest April 3, 2008. And officials often cite the Bucharest declaration as a reference point. The parallels with the 2008 summit, held in the colossal Parliament Palace commissioned by Romanian communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, have struck many NATO-watchers. But others argue that promising Ukraine NATO membership after the war could encourage Putin to keep the conflict going. They say the Bucharest declaration in fact prompted Putin to test Western Ukrainian militarily in both Ukraine and Georgia.

Persons: Francois Lenoir, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Dmytro Kuleba, Nicolae Ceausescu, Orysia, Zelenskiy, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Timothy Sayle, Andrew Gray, Kevin Liffey Organizations: NATO, REUTERS, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Chatham House, Russia, Ukraine NATO, University of Toronto, Thomson Locations: Bucharest, VILNIUS, Vilnius, Ukraine, Georgia, U.S, United States, France, Germany, Russia, Moscow, Soviet Union, NATO, Romanian, Russian, Eastern, Ossetia, Tbilisi, Crimea, Ukraine's

☆ US, Ukraine's top diplomats hold 'important' call before NATO summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger//File PhotoJuly 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said late on Sunday they held a phone call to discuss this week's NATO summit and Kyiv's counteroffensive campaign to reclaim land taken by Russia. "I had an important discussion with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba today ahead of this week's NATO Summit," Blinken said on Twitter. The U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a separate statement that the two diplomats discussed also "progress in Ukraine's counteroffensive." Kuleba said on Twitter that the call was to work out details ahead of the NATO summit, which starts on Tuesday in Vilnius. "I had a productive call with Secretary Blinken ahead of Vilnius," Kuleba said on Twitter.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Sarah Silbiger, Dmytro Kuleba, Blinken, Matthew Miller, Kuleba, Joe Biden, Lidia Kelly, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: State Department, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Ukraine's, Sunday, NATO, Ukrainian Foreign, Twitter, U.S . Department of State, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, Russia, Vilnius, Ukraine, U.S, Melbourne, Bengaluru

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing the greatest threat to his authority in two decades after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner paramilitary group and Putin’s former ally, launched an apparent insurrection. Prigozhin has been highly critical of Russia’s military leadership and their handling of the war in Ukraine, but he had always stopped short of criticizing Putin directly. Wagner group also claimed to have seized Russian facilities in a second city, Voronezh, some 600 kilometers (372 miles) to the north of Rostov-on-Don. Alexander Gusev, the governor of the Voronezh region, said the Russian military was engaging in “combat measures” in the area. Stunning escalationSaturday’s dramatic events come off the back of Prigozhin’s very public and months-long feud with Russia’s military leadership.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin, Putin, ” Putin, Igor Artamonov, Sergei Sobyanin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, “, ”, Don “, ” “, ” Prigozhin, Rostov, Don, Alexander Gusev, Shoigu, –, Gen, Vladimir Alekseev, Sergei Naryshkin, Naryshkin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Rogov, Rogov saif, ” Wagner, Stringer, Dmytro Kuleba, Serhii Cherevatyi Organizations: CNN, Prigozhin, Moscow, Terrorism, Security, Russian, RIA Novosti, Kremlin, Russian Southern Military Headquarters, Ministry of Defense, Russian Ministry of Defense, Foreign Intelligence Service, Russian Historical Society, Telegram, Southern Military District, Reuters, Russian Foreign, European Union, US State Department, Britain’s Ministry of Defense, Russian National Guard, Ukrainian, Twitter, Ukrainian Armed Forces Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Rostov, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Russia, St . Petersburg, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Prigozhin’s, Prigozhin, Don, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, EU

☆ Ukraine says Hungary ignores requests for contact with transferred prisoners of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Monday that Hungary has been ignoring requests for contact with prisoners of war that Kyiv said had been secretly transferred from Russia and called the move an act of self interest on Prime Minister Viktor Orban's side. Hungary, which under Orban has forged strong political and economic ties with Russia and has not cut them since Moscow invaded Ukraine 16 months ago, said on June 9 that it had received a group of 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia. "All attempts by Ukrainian diplomats over recent days to establish direct contact with Ukrainian citizens have failed," Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said on his Facebook page. Hungary's foreign ministry has not immediately responded to Reuters' requests for a comment. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the operation to transfer the prisoners was carried out solely in the political interests of Orban.

Persons: Viktor Orban's, Orban, Oleg Nikolenko, Gergely Gulyas, Gulyas, Dmytro Kuleba, Viktor Orban, Kuleba, Lidia Kelly, Michael Perry Organizations: Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Hungary, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, Melbourne

☆ Ukraine repatriates three POWs from Russia via Hungary - Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 20 (Reuters) - Kyiv repatriated three Ukrainian prisoners of war from Hungary after a group of POWs was transferred there from Russia without coordination with Kyiv, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. "The Embassy of Ukraine in Budapest managed to bring back three Ukrainian prisoners of war from Hungary," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on his Facebook page. Ukraine said on Monday that Hungary has been ignoring its requests for contact with the prisoners of war. It has cast the transfer of the POWs to Hungary as a publicity stunt by Orban. Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka and Kyiv newsroom; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Viktor Orban, Oleg Nikolenko, Nikolenko, Orban, Gergely Gulyas, Anna Pruchnicka, Tom Balmforth, Alison Williams Organizations: Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Hungary, Russia, Moscow, Budapest, Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ Ukraine’s counteroffensive is now underway. Here’s what’s happened so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces has not yet gained the momentum that some overly optimistic observers anticipated. Still it is a formidable task: in the south especially, Ukrainian forces must conduct a frontal assault against deeply prepared defensive positions, and critically they lack air superiority. It’s worth noting that Russian units in one heavily-contested area – belonging to the 58th Combined Arms Army – are among the most effective in the military. Ukrainian units in the area have had to adapt, often breaking down into smaller groups that are less easily detected. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, has said that if the offensive succeeds in expelling Russian forces from Ukrainian land, “It will be the last.

Persons: CNN —, pare, Volodymyr Zelensky’s, Mykhailo Podolyak, ”, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Yan Dobronosov, Matthew Schmidt, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Mick Ryan, don’t, Gerasimov, Valentyna, Alexander Ermochenko, Olga Maltseva, Schmidt, “, Richard Haas, Charles Kupchan, Dmytro Kuleba Organizations: CNN, CNN — Ukraine’s, Russian, Ukrainian Land Forces, University of New, Staff, Army, Air Force, Reuters, Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, “ Aviation, Getty, Kremlin Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Donetsk, Russian, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, “ Ukraine, University of New Haven, Washington, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Zaporizhzhia, AFP

"(This) creates a very good defending position for Russians who expect Ukrainian offensive activity,” Matysiak said. Russia has denied responsibility and accused Ukraine of sabotaging the dam to deflect from what Moscow said were Ukrainian military failures. "For Russians the reason to do it would have been to stop the Ukrainian counteroffensive, obviously. For Ukraine, the breach might have provided a way of distracting the Russians while Kyiv launches its counteroffensive, she added. Patricia Lewis, Research Director for International Security at the Chatham House think tank, said the situation helps Russia even if the Ukrainian counteroffensive later makes inroads.

Persons: Ruslan Strilets, Ben Barry, Maciej Matysiak, ” Matysiak, Strilets, Mohammad Heidarzadeh, Heidarzadeh, Dmytro Kuleba, Marina Miron, Patricia Lewis, they're, Aiden Nulty, Ben Tavener, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Kyiv, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Stratpoints Foundation, University of Bath, Civil, Engineering, University of Warwick, Reserve, Nova Kakhovka, King's College, International Security, Chatham House, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Dnipro, Kyiv, Nova, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, Kherson, Crimea, Britain, London

☆ Russia says it thwarts another major attack in Ukraine, inflicting heavy losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

On Monday, Russia said Ukrainian forces over the weekend had begun a major offensive in the southern part of the Donetsk region, which it had also thwarted. The latest Russian defence ministry statement said Russian forces had inflicted huge personnel losses on attacking Ukrainian forces and destroyed 28 tanks, including eight Leopard main battle tanks and 109 armoured vehicles. It said total Ukrainian losses amounted to 1,500 troops. Russia and Ukraine have often made claims of inflicting heavy human losses on each other which could not be independently verified. In a promotional video released on Sunday and urging silence in regards to any military actions, Ukraine's defence ministry said: "Plans like silence - the beginning will not be announced."

Persons: Zelenskiy, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Vladimir Putin, Bakhmut, John Kirby, I'm, Dmytro Kuleba, Hanna Maliar, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Reuters bureaux, Lidia Kelly, Ron Popeski, David Brunnstrom, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Defence Ministry, Sunday Ukraine, KYIV, Kremlin, Ukrainian, Reuters, Washington Post, White House, Monday Ukraine, Ukraine's, Staff, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Crimean, Kiev, Kyiv, Crimea

☆ Ukraine has enough weapons to begin counter-offensive, says foreign minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary Ukraine has 'unlocked all weapons' from allies -foreign ministerNATO membership is last major aim - Foreign Minister KulebaKyiv confident allies to keep supplying arms until Ukraine achieves goalsSuccessful counter-offensive could be key to NATO membershipKYIV, June 5 (Reuters) - Ukraine has enough weapons to begin its counter-offensive against Russia, and the operation will give the country the victory it needs to join NATO, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Reuters on Monday. "NATO membership cannot stop this war, but NATO membership will stop further wars. [1/3] Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 5, 2023. REUTERS/Alina SmutkoKuleba said that while Ukraine now had enough arms to begin its counter-offensive, it would still need continued deliveries from its allies to sustain the effort. "It is crucial for partners to ramp up production of weapons, not only for Ukraine but for themselves.

Persons: Kuleba, Dmytro Kuleba, Hanna Maliar, Alina Smutko Kuleba, Saudi Arabia's, haven't, Max Hunder, Andrew Heavens, Hugh Lawson Organizations: NATO, KYIV, Russia, Foreign, Reuters, Kyiv, Deputy, Ukrainian Foreign, REUTERS, Saudi, Kremlin Russian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kuleba Kyiv, Kyiv, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine’s Donetsk, Bakhmut, Russian, Belgorod

☆ Who are the Freedom of Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, June 5 (Reuters) - Two armed groups, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and Freedom of Russia Legion, say they have carried out attacks in Russia's western Belgorod region in recent weeks. RUSSIAN VOLUNTEER CORPSThe RVC was founded by a far-right Russian national last August and comprises Russians who have been fighting in and for Ukraine against their own country. [1/2] Members of Russian Volunteer Corps stand next to an armoured vehicle in this undated handout picture obtained by Reuters on May 23, 2023. "I have my set of views, it's a patriotic set of views, it's a traditionalist set of views, it's a right-wing set of views," he said. FREEDOM OF RUSSIA LEGIONThe Freedom of Russia Legion says it was formed in spring 2022 "out of the wish of Russians to fight in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Putin's armed gang".

Persons: REUTERS Denis Kapustin, it's, you'll, Tom Balmforth, Max Hunder, Timothy Organizations: Russian Volunteer Corps, of Russia Legion, Kyiv, Russian, Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Legion, Foreign, Reuters, REUTERS, Defamation, Nazi, RUSSIA, Russia Legion, Armed Forces of, Belgorod, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Russia's, Belgorod, Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Russian, Germany, Armed Forces of Ukraine

☆ Visiting Ukraine, China's envoy urged all sides to create space for peace talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, May 18 (Reuters) - Beijing's special envoy noted there was no panacea to the war in Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv earlier this week, but urged all parties to create conditions for peace talks, China's foreign ministry said on Thursday. Ukraine's foreign minister told Li on Wednesday that Kyiv would not accept any proposals to end the war that involved losing territory or freezing the conflict, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said. Li, who is a former ambassador to Russia, will also visit Poland, France, Germany and finally Russia during a multi-day trip. He is the most senior Chinese official to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. During Li's visit to Kyiv, bilateral relations were also discussed, and both sides agreed to work to maintain mutual respect and keep moving forward with mutually beneficial co-operation, China's foreign ministry said.

☆ Ukraine tells Chinese envoy it won't accept ceding land to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, May 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine's foreign minister told a top Chinese envoy at talks in Kyiv on Wednesday that Kyiv would not accept any proposals to end the war with Russia that involved it losing territory or freezing the conflict, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said. Li Hui, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs and former ambassador to Russia, visited Ukraine on Tuesday and Wednesday, and met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the ministry said in a statement. The visit is the first to Kyiv by a senior envoy from China, which has burgeoning ties with Russia, since Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022. "He stressed that Ukraine did not accept any proposals involving the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict," it said. The senior Chinese official's trip to Europe is expected also to include talks in Russia, Poland, France and Germany.

☆ Georgia to resume flights to Russia this week, drawing EU and Ukrainian criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 16 (Reuters) - Georgian Airways will resume direct flights to Russia from Saturday, the country's civil aviation authority said, drawing criticism from Ukraine and the European Union. "The world is isolating Russia to force it to stop the war, but Georgia is welcoming Russian airlines and sending its own to Moscow. All while 20% of Georgian territory remains occupied by Russia with impunity," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said on Twitter. The EU said it regretted that Georgia was resuming flights to Russia at a time when the bloc has closed its airspace to Russian planes in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "This latest decision by Georgia's authorities raises concerns in terms of Georgia's EU path," EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano said.

☆ UN efforts to save Black Sea grain deal to continue in coming days
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The final two ships are due to leave Ukrainian ports on Tuesday under the Black Sea deal, said a U.N. spokesperson. "The (Black Sea) Initiative refers to the export of ammonia, but this has not yet been realized," Griffiths said. "While Russia keeps Ukrainian grain supplies from feeding the hungry, Russia is successfully exporting its own bumper crop of grain," Deputy U.S. 'CRUCIAL'Nebenzia again complained that not enough poor countries were benefiting from the Black Sea grain deal. Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to deliver Russian grain and fertilizers free of charge to African countries.

☆ EU ministers braced for Ukrainian frustration over ammunition plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Andrew Gray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

loading"The inability of the EU to implement its own decision on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine is frustrating," Kuleba said on Thursday. Kuleba can make his case directly when he discusses the state of the war and Ukraine's needs by video link to a regular meeting of EU foreign ministers, taking place in Luxembourg. EU officials pushed back against Kuleba's criticism by stressing that this fast track is up and running so ammunition is already flowing to Kyiv. But the second track, worth another 1 billion euros to fund joint procurement, has yet to be finalised. EU officials and diplomats said they expected an agreement that would satisfy all sides in the coming days.

Speaking at a lunch with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Lula said a group of neutral nations must come together to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. A White House spokesman accused Lula of "parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without looking at the facts." Lula has pitched himself as a peace broker to end the war, which began when Russia invaded the neighboring country in February 2022. The European Union has also rejected Lula's suggestion that both Ukraine and Russia are to blame for the war. Among Western nations so far, only French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed Lula's peace initiative.

The Black Sea and its Ukrainian coast have been crucial theatres of war since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. "The Black Sea is instrumental for making the whole of Europe peaceful and future-oriented," Kuleba, speaking via video link, told a Black Sea security conference in the Romanian capital Bucharest. It's time to turn the Black Sea into what the Baltic Sea has become, a sea of NATO." The remarks were brushed aside in Moscow, where Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing: "The Black Sea can never be a NATO sea." Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said a strong NATO foothold in the Black Sea going forward was a "must."

☆ Kyiv compares Russia to Islamic State after beheading video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KYIV, April 12 (Reuters) - Ukraine compared Russia on Wednesday to Islamic State and called on the International Criminal Court to investigate after a video emerged online showing apparent Russian soldiers filming themselves beheading a Ukrainian captive with a knife. "There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these beasts kill," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video message. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Twitter: "A horrific video of Russian troops decapitating a Ukrainian prisoner of war is circulating online. Ukraine's domestic security agency said it had started an investigation into a suspected war crime over the video. As well as the purported execution, another video shows mutilated bodies of apparent Ukrainian prisoners of war, it said.

☆ Russia's Wagner claims it controls most of Bakhmut; Kyiv says forces holding firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File PhotoApril 11 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group on Tuesday said his forces controlled more than 80% of the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after some of war's heaviest and bloodiest fighting. Senior Ukrainian military officials did not address the claims directly, but said their forces were holding firm against fierce attacks in what once was a city of 70,000 and keeping Russian forces in check. The Russian-installed head of Donetsk region, one of four areas declared annexed by Moscow last September, said Russian forces had backed Ukrainian defenders into a corner. But Russian forces, she said, "are generally losing to us in street battles so they are simply destroying all buildings and structures". Russian forces have made only incremental gains in their advance through eastern Ukraine.

☆ 'A bad joke': Russia takes the reins of the UN Security Council, to Ukrainian outcry
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vasily Nebenzya speaks during an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., May 13, 2022. "I don't think Russia will be able to change the balance inside the Security Council during its presidency. The country that systematically violated all fundamental rules of international security is presiding over a body whose only mission is to protect international security," Kuleba told a Chatham House event via video link from Kyiv. Russia assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council over the weekend, even as its own invasion of Ukraine continues to escalate . The five permanent members have veto power, meaning all five must affirm any resolution for a vote to pass.

☆ Russia bid to 'weaponize energy' on Blinken agenda at NATO meet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will push back on Russia's attempts to "weaponize energy" and rally support for a Ukrainian counteroffensive when he meets NATO foreign ministers in Brussels next week, an official said on Thursday. A meeting of the U.S.-EU Energy Council will focus on joint efforts to "blunt Russia's attempts to weaponize energy ... (and) bolstering energy supplies for the coming winters," Dereck Hogan, the State Department's principal deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, told reporters. NATO has sent large amounts of weapons and other aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded, which has also spurred moves to expand the alliance. The top U.S. diplomat will meet with European Union High Representative and Vice President Josep Borrell, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba in Belgium on Tuesday and Wednesday, the State Department said. Reporting by Simon Lewis, Doina Chiacu and Daphne Psaledakis; editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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