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☆ How Architecture Became One of Ukraine’s Essential Defenses
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Jason Farago | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the German Army finally broke through in central Ukraine in September 1941, pasting up ordinances around Kyiv to announce a new occupying authority, they had only a few days’ calm. Less than a week after the occupation began, an explosion went off in a children’s toy store on Khreshchatyk Street — the capital’s grandest shopping boulevard, Kyiv’s equivalent of Fifth Avenue or the Champs-Élysées. Soon the city hall and the Communist Party headquarters crumbled. Walk through central Kyiv today, down the Khreshchatyk, past the grand Independence Square and the ritzy Tsum department store, and you can read the history of postwar and post-independence Ukraine in the subsequent architecture. When the city is a battleground, architecture becomes an act of defense and defiance.

Organizations: German Army, Communist Party, New York Times Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia

☆ Ukraine moved to top of list to receive US air defense capabilities
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Kylie Atwood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A senior White House official described the action as a “rather extraordinary” policy adjustment at a critical moment for Ukraine. “If we didn’t do this for Ukraine, they would not have been able to maintain their critical air defense stockpile heading into the winter, period,” the official said. Ukraine is expected to get its first exports of the air defense capabilities this summer and the policy change will stay in place for 16 months, the official said. The White House official would not share the list of affected countries, other than to say that air defense exports to Taiwan would not be impacted. The move is being done in parallel with Biden administration efforts to get Ukraine more air defense systems as well, a second White House official said.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, Joe Biden, “, @POTUS, ” Zelensky, Zelensky, –, Donald Trump, Jake Sullivan, they’re, ” Biden, Daria Tarasova, Caitlin Danaher Organizations: CNN, White House, State Department, Pentagon, White, NATO, Republican, Ukraine, Congress, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Russia, United States, Taiwan, Kyiv, Italy

☆ From Ukraine, Two Enormous Passengers Are Trucked and Flown to Safety
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Marc Santora | Emily Anthes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was a whale of an evacuation. As Russian aerial bombardments of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, have intensified, the evacuation of Plombir, a 15-year-old male, and Miranda, a 14-year-old female, came just in time, marine mammal experts said. “If they had continued in Kharkiv, their chances of survival would have been very slim,” said Daniel Garcia-Párraga, director of zoological operations at Oceanogràfic de Valencia, who helped lead the rescue. Belugas, whose natural habitat is the Arctic, need cold water to survive. The devastation of the power grid in Kharkiv meant that the aquarium there had to rely on generator power, making it challenging to keep the waters cooled.

Persons: Miranda, ”, Daniel Garcia, Párraga, Oceanogràfic de Valencia Organizations: Oceanogràfic de Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine, Valencia, Spain, Russian, Ukraine’s, Plombir

The eventual language issued by the alliance about Ukraine during July’s summit in Washington is critical. Vague commitment in 2008It was back in 2008 at a NATO summit in Budapest that Ukraine was first offered a vague commitment of an invitation to join in the future. “Of course we’d be for ‘irreversible,’” a third Eastern European official said. Generally, throughout the conflict, British officials, the closest US allies in NATO, have consistently hoped the White House would take a more aggressive stance. “When the text is on the table and the countries start to negotiate we can see the full picture,” the Eastern European official said.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, we’ll, Antony Blinken, Biden, Stoltenberg, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, “, ” Stoltenberg, ”, doesn’t, It’s “, Vladimir Putin, ” Putin, Putin, Jennifer Hansler Organizations: CNN, NATO, Central, “, US, Biden, European, ”, US State Department, NATO Alliance, Eastern, Eastern European Locations: United States, United Kingdom, Washington, Russia’s, Ukraine, July’s, Russia, Prague, Hungary, Central European, Kyiv, Lithuanian, Vilnius, Budapest, Russian, ”, Kharkiv, London

☆ Kazakh government critic in hospital after being shot in Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Radina Gigova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A Kazakh government critic with a following of more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube survived an assassination attempt in central Kyiv, his wife and Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday. Journalist Aydos Sadykov, head of the opposition online media BӘCE and strong critic of the government of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is in hospital after a gunman ran to his car on Tuesday, shot him and fled, according to the Office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General. “Today in Kyiv, near his own house, an attempt was made on Aydos Sadykov’s life,” Sadykov’s wife, Natalya Sadykova, who was also in the car, said in a Facebook post after the assault. To squash the unrest, Tokayev ordered security forces to “kill without warning.”Law enforcement officers are working to identify Sadykov’s attacker, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said Wednesday. “The man is currently in hospital in serious condition.”Sadykov and his wife, also a journalist, have been living in Ukraine since 2014 and have “refugee status,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said.

Persons: Aydos Sadykov, Kassym, ”, Natalya Sadykova, autocrat Tokayev, Tokayev, “, ” Sadykov, General’s, Sadykova, Aydos, ” Sadykova Organizations: CNN, YouTube, Ukraine’s, “, General’s Locations: Kazakh, Kyiv, Kazakhstan, Soviet, Shevchenkivskyi, Ukraine, ”

☆ Taiwan to acquire more than 1,000 armed drones in new US arms sale
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The United States has approved the $360 million sale of more than 1,000 small armed drones to Taiwan, as the self-ruled island claimed by China aims to strengthen its asymmetrical warfare abilities with an eye on successful tactics used on the battlefield in Ukraine. The proposed sale comes as China increases military pressure on Taiwan, with extensive military exercises around it and almost daily warplane flights near the island. In a statement Wednesday, Taiwan’s presidential office thanked the US for its security commitments, adding this was the Biden administration’s 15th weapons sale to the island since 2021. That includes $6.1 billion in asymmetrical weapon systems, including Harpoon missiles, PAC-3 missile interceptors and MQ-9B aerial drones, Cato said. Many analysts have urged Taiwan to pursue more asymmetrical weapons, which they say would be harder for China to counter than conventional arms in any invasion of the island.

Persons: “, Adm, Dong Jun, ”, Wahid Nawabi, Anduril, Biden, Karen Kuo, Cato Organizations: US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Communist Party, Taiwan Relations, Washington, Chinese Defense, “, Cato Institute, Harpoon Locations: States, Taiwan, China, Ukraine, Taipei, Beijing, Singapore, “ Taiwan, Washington

☆ Putin may need arms from North Korea’s Kim for Ukraine war, but what is he willing to give in return?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

North Korea launched its first spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, in November. The arrangement may also enable North Korea to gain real-world intel on the functioning of its weaponry and help it ramp up exports more broadly. Such satellites can help North Korea improve its ground-based military capabilities, for example enabling it to more accurately target opponents’ forces with its own missiles. Both countries in recent years have blocked movement in the council related to North Korea as they grew skeptical of US-backed sanctions. He pointed to his experiences during the former US President Barack Obama administration working on nonproliferation efforts related to North Korea and Iran.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin ramped, Kim Jong, Putin, ”, Edward Howell, Xi Jinping, Kim, ” Putin, “ Kim Jong, he’ll, Ankit, Sofiia Gatilova, Putin –, “ Putin, –, John Erath, Erath, Xi, it’s, Michael McFaul, Barack Obama, ” McFaul, … we’re Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, University of Oxford, KCNA, intel, South, United Nations, North, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Kremlin, UN Security Council, Center for Arms Control, Observers, UN, National Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies Locations: Hong Kong, North Korea, Ukraine, Russia, Pyongyang, Moscow, Eurasia, United Kingdom, United States, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Seoul, Washington, North Korean, Korea, Russian, Kharkiv, Kyiv, China, Iran

☆ Trump Whistle-Blower Wins House Primary in Virginia
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Jonathan Weisman | More About Jonathan Weisman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At the time, Mr. Biden was widely expected to be Mr. Trump’s opponent in the 2020 election. Eugene Vindman, who was dismissed from the White House early in 2020, he says as improper retaliation for his whistle-blowing actions, raised a remarkable sum of money for a first-time candidate. “I sacrificed my military career to expose Trump’s corruption,” Eugene Vindman said in one of his campaign ads. His election to the House is not guaranteed. But Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, won the district the year before by 4.9 points en route to winning the governor’s mansion.

Persons: Mike O’Brien, Janelle Stelson, Scott Perry, Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden’s, Hunter, Biden, Alexander Vindman, Eugene Vindman, “, ” Eugene Vindman, Spanberger, Glenn Youngkin Organizations: Marine Corps, Pennsylvania Democratic, Trump Republican, Army, White House National Security Council, Ukraine’s, Mr, Democrat, Republican Locations: Pennsylvania, Washington’s, Richmond

A Ukrainian reporter who revealed that a state news agency tried to bar interviews with opposition politicians said he received a draft notification the next day. Ukraine’s domestic spy agency spied on staff members of an investigative news outlet through peepholes in their hotel rooms. Journalists and groups monitoring press freedoms are raising alarms over what they say are increasing restrictions and pressures on the media in Ukraine under the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky that go well beyond the country’s wartime needs. “It’s really disturbing,” said Oksana Romanyuk, director of the Institute of Mass Information, a nonprofit that monitors media freedoms. That is particularly true, she said, in a war where Ukraine is “fighting for democracy against the values of dictatorship embodied by Russia.”

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ”, Oksana Romanyuk Organizations: of Mass Locations: Ukrainian, peepholes, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Opinion: Putin’s North Korea visit comes at a crucial moment
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and senior columnist for World Politics Review. CNN —When Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in North Korea on Tuesday, it will kick up yet another gust in the recent swirl of diplomatic activity surrounding Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine. The allies have good reason to believe Putin aims to outlast Western support. South Korean intelligence estimates that North Korea has delivered as many as 5 million artillery rounds, along with ballistic missiles and other ammunition. Putin, meanwhile, will visit one-party ruled Vietnam later this week, not exactly a military powerhouse, but at least one country that is not backing Ukraine.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Read, Vladimir Putin, Moscow –, Ukraine’s, –, Putin, Donald Trump, Putin’s, Putin –, Trump, wouldn’t, he’d, Ursula von der Leyen, Olaf Scholz, Mark Rutte, ”, Volodomyr Zelensky, Hitler, Joe Biden, Biden, Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Ukraine, Frida Ghitis CNN, North, Kyiv, White, European, Dutch, Peace, Biden, Trump acolytes, Republican, Zelensky, NATO Locations: North Korea, Pyongyang, Moscow, Kyiv, Ukraine, Putin’s Russia, Iran, Russia, China, Europe, Cuba, Russian, Normandy, Western, Italy’s Puglia, Switzerland, Korea, Germany, Ukrainian, Puglia, “, Washington, Vietnam

☆ Euro 2024: Romania stuns Ukraine 3-0 in its opening group stage match
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukraine suffered a disastrous start to its Euro 2024 campaign, losing 3-0 to Romania in its opening match in Group E on Monday. Damaged seats from a stadium in Kharkiv, Ukraine, are seen in an installation set up on June 17, 2024 in Munich, Germany. Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty ImagesThe UAF said the stadium, used to co-host Euro 2012, had been destroyed by Russian troops in May 2022. The stand will go on a tour of Germany, following the Ukrainian team throughout its group stage matches. Ukraine’s players looked sheepish as they trudged of the pitch at full-time, but will have the chance to kick-start their Euro 2024 campaign against Slovakia on Friday.

Persons: Nicolae Stanciu, Răzvan Marin, Denis Drăguș, Marin, Andriy Lunin, Romania's Nicolae Stanciu, Matthias Schrader, Tobias Schwarz Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian Football Association, Getty, Slovakia Locations: Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Munich, Germany, Kharkiv, Ukrainian

☆ More Than 80 Nations Back Talks to Ease Path to Peace in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Scores of countries at a two-day summit in Switzerland joined Ukraine on Sunday in calling for “dialogue between all parties” to end the war with Russia. But Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said he remained steadfast in opposing any negotiations that could require his country to cede territory. The summit over the weekend drew dignitaries from about 90 countries to a Swiss Alpine resort; Russia was not invited and, because of that, China and Brazil declined to participate. At the end of the meeting, most of the delegations signed on to a statement of shared principles like promoting prisoner exchanges and nuclear safety. They also said that “further engagement of the representatives of all parties” was necessary to proceed, a vague formulation underscoring the lack of common ground on the biggest question hanging over the gathering: When, and how, should Ukraine and Russia seek to negotiate peace?

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Organizations: Ukraine Locations: Switzerland, Russia, Swiss, China, Brazil, Ukraine

CNN —Fierce fighting is taking place around the Ukrainian town of Vovchansk as Kyiv’s troops seek to isolate Russian units that have advanced across the nearby border. Ukrainian soldiers of the 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade set up positions on the front line near Vovchansk on June 12, 2024. DeepState – a Ukrainian monitoring group – says small groups of Russian soldiers have repeatedly attempted to secure the aggregate plant, but have been repelled by Ukraine forces. Suggesting that resupply to the Russian soldiers has become difficult, DeepState says that food and water are being delivered to them by drones. Russian military blogger WarGonzo said on Telegram that fighting in the area is “fierce” as “Ukrainian troops are carrying out counterattacks, trying to dislodge the Russian Armed Forces from their occupied positions” but did not mention troops being surrounded.

Persons: CNN —, Stanislav Buniatov, Osman, ” Buniatov, Viacheslav Ratynskyi, DeepState –, DeepState, WarGonzo Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, Reuters, Russian Armed Forces, Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense Locations: Vovchansk, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, ”, Russian, Belgorod, Ukraine, Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s

☆ Major Ukraine summit ends with fresh plea for peace but key powers spurn final agreement
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A two-day summit in Switzerland dedicated to forging a path forward to end the war in Ukraine concluded with key powers spurning a joint communique agreed to by more than 80 other countries and international organizations. The world cares deeply about the war provoked by Russia’s aggression,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. The sides also said that all children and civilians that were unlawfully displaced must be returned to Ukraine. And Ukraine must disarm so that is vulnerable to future Russian aggression down the road. No responsible nation could say that is a reasonable basis for peace,” Sullivan said.

Persons: spurning, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Kamala Harris, Ursula von der Leyen, Jake Sullivan, ”, Putin, ” Sullivan Organizations: CNN, United Arab, European Union, Kremlin, NATO, Russian, Luhansk –, US National Security, Ukrainian Locations: Switzerland, Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Ghana, Canada, Chile, Lucerne, Argentina, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, China, Moscow, Russian, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Harris

☆ Inside the Chechen Units Helping to Fight Russia’s War
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Nanna Heitmann | Neil Macfarquhar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Russia’s fighters are waging bloody battles in Ukraine’s east to add to its captured territory. Moscow supports this war effort with soldiers from outside the regular army, including some from a training camp in Chechnya. Some join for the money, others to escape everyday drudgery. Soldiers trained in Chechnya sign up to fight for Russia for a variety of reasons: money, boredom patriotism. Mayhem awaits them, as evident in the devastation of the city of Bakhmut.

Organizations: Russia Locations: Ukraine’s, Moscow, Chechnya, Bakhmut

☆ Election Updates: Biden goes to Hollywood, Trump surrogates go to the Sunday shows.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Maggie Astor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

“He was the one with the super predators,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Biden. A New York Times/Siena College poll of battleground states in May showed 23 percent of Black voters supporting Mr. Trump, a record level. In Detroit, Mr. Trump highlighted the funding bill that he signed for Black higher education institutions, which Congress passed. At the church, Mr. Trump stuck to the themes that have animated his outreach to Black voters. He again tried to seize on pessimism over the economy by blaming Mr. Biden for inflation and high rents.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Abraham Lincoln, Mr, Biden, Brittany Greeson, “, ” Mr, Trump’s, Angelo Brown, Brown, repurposing, Amber Rose, ”, Charlie Kirk, ” Jasmine Harris, Biden’s, ” Ms, Harris, Ronny Jackson, “ Ronny Johnson, Volodymyr Zelensky, that’s, ” Simon J, Levien Organizations: Black, Control, The New York Times, New York Times, Siena College, Trump, Mr, Kodak, Black Republicans Locations: Detroit, U.S, Ukraine, United States, Atlanta, Michigan, stoke, Hell, “

What is the value of peace talks that aren’t actually talks between the warring sides? President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was due to open a peace conference in Switzerland on Saturday that is intended to shore up support for his country’s negotiating positions with backing from as many nations as possible. Yet even as the two-day gathering has emerged as the most widely embraced diplomatic effort to date to end the war, for now, the effort excludes Russia. The plan has drawn criticism from some countries, like China and Brazil, that say Russia and Ukraine need to negotiate directly for any chance to end the fighting. Mr. Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan involves Russia’s withdrawing in full from Ukrainian territory, paying reparations and facing justice over any war crimes.

Persons: aren’t, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Celso Amorim, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, “, ” Mr, Zelensky, Zelensky’s Locations: Ukraine, Switzerland, Russia, Lucerne, China, Brazil

☆ The Sticking Points That Kept Russia and Ukraine Apart
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Anton Troianovski | Michael Schwirtz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

The Sticking Points That Kept Russia and Ukraine ApartRussia and Ukraine failed to agree on a range of critical issues when they held peace talks in the spring of 2022. Russia’s Position Russia demanded that Ukraine never join NATO or other alliances; host foreign military bases or weapons; or conduct military exercises with other countries without its consent. Russia’s Position Russia agreed to much of Ukraine’s security guarantees proposal but with key exceptions. Russia’s Position Russia’s stance has also fluctuated. Russia’s Position But Russia’s definition of “denazification” shifted quickly after its initial invasion failed.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, —, Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia’s, ” Organizations: The New York Times, NATO, European Union, Ukraine’s, Crimea ”, Ukraine, Mr, Russia’s, ” International, United Nations Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, France, China, guarantors, Belarus, Turkey, Territory, Crimea, Moscow, Ukrainian, Russian

☆ Ukraine peace summit to kick off in Switzerland without China and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Nearly 100 countries and organizations are attending a major conference in Switzerland dedicated to setting out a path toward peace between Ukraine and Russia, but there will be no delegation from Moscow. The meeting, which is being held at a resort near Lucerne, will be attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who wants to gather support for the 10-point peace plan he first outlined late in 2022. It has said that any such meeting needs to be attended by both Russia and Ukraine. On Friday, the day before the summit was set to kick off, Russian President Vladimir Putin restated the Kremlin’s own peace plan, which Ukraine is unlikely to ever agree to. That most of the world is on the side of Ukraine, on the side of life.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Kamala Harris, Fumio Kishida, Ukraine’s , Vladimir Putin, Putin, Zelensky, ”, Zelensky “ Putin, ” Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, White, Japanese, NATO, Russian, Luhansk – Locations: Switzerland, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Lucerne, France, Germany, China, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia

Representatives from the warring nations held peace talks in the early weeks of the Russian invasion. It was the only time that Ukrainian and Russian officials are known to have engaged in direct peace talks. This includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Mr. Putin annexed in 2014 in a swift operation that he considers central to his legacy. At another point, Russia’s lead negotiator, Mr. Medinsky, interrupted a video conference by claiming that Mr. Putin was phoning him directly. There were signs that Mr. Putin was micromanaging not only the Russian invasion but also the peace talks.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, —, Putin’s, … ”, “, Oleksandr Chalyi, Mr, Vladimir Medinsky, Oleksii Reznikov, Vladimir Putin, Leonid Slutsky, Medinsky, ”, Aleksandr Fomin, Reznikov, Ukraine’s, … “, Sergey Ponomarev, Ukraine —, Andrzej Duda, Duda, Putin “, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Murat Cetin Muhurdar, Russia’s, Zelensky, …, ‘, ’, Daniel Berehulak, Davyd Arakhamia, ” “, Roman Abramovich, ” Mr, Arakhamia, Abramovich, micromanaging, Nanna Heitmann, France —, Laetitia Vancon, Kamala Harris, Volodymyr Zelensky, “ Putin, Marc Weller, Russia “, Weller Organizations: The New York Times, Ukraine, Kremlin, NATO, “, Russian Federation, ”, European Union, West, Ministry, Times, Europe’s, Russian, Moscow, Donetsk People's, Nazi, U.S, Ukrainian, Turkish Presidential Press Service, Agence France, The Times, Russia, New York Times, stoke, Cambridge Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Crimean, Switzerland, Ukrainian, Crimea, “ Ukraine, Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol, ”, … ” Russia, Russian, ” Russia, Istanbul, Geneva, Belarus, Western, Russia’s, Donetsk, Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Simferopol, Poland, Germany, France, European, Brussels, Turkish, Zelensky, “, Great Britain, China, United States, Turkey, Canada, Italy, Israel, Bucha, Washington, Swiss, Russians

☆ Putin Makes Cease-Fire Offer With Sweeping Demands on Ukraine’s Territory
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin said on Friday that Russia would be ready to order a cease-fire in Ukraine and enter negotiations with its government if Kyiv withdrew troops from the four regions that Moscow has claimed as its own and dropped its aspirations to join NATO. Ukraine’s foreign ministry quickly denounced Mr. Putin’s statement, saying that his goal was “to mislead the international community, undermine diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a just peace and split the unity of the world over the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter.”Mr. Putin’s new announcement stipulates that Ukraine effectively surrender huge swaths of its land to Moscow, including the capitals of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. They represent Mr. Putin’s most concrete set of territorial conditions to stop the war to date. Until now, Mr. Putin has said that any negotiations should take into account “the realities of today,” a stance that some analysts interpreted as offering a cease-fire at the current battle lines.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Putin’s Organizations: NATO, United Nations Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Potential of a Trump return inspires Biden and G7 rush to guarantee long-term support for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Trump argued, as he had before, that if he were president the war wouldn’t still be going. Opposed to additional Ukraine aid and openly skeptical of NATO, Trump could rip up the bilateral agreement Biden signed Thursday if he returned to office. Yet with uncertainty swirling around any American support in the future, the time to act appeared short. Biden pushes G7 to back reproductive rightsEven on an issue unrelated to Ukraine, Biden sought this week to consolidate G7 support in a way that would be unlikely if Trump were to return to the summit. American allies in Europe are collectively preparing for a second Trump administration with a sense both of trepidation and exhaustion.

Persons: Joe Biden, ” Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ”, Donald Trump, Biden, Trump, John Bolton, doesn’t, Zelensky, –, Putin, Ursula von der Leyen, Jake Sullivan, Ukraine “, Ukraine —, Giorgia Meloni Organizations: CNN, Republicans, Capitol, NATO, Trump, Biden, Democratic, White Locations: Italy, Ukraine, Washington, Kyiv, Paris, Iran, Russia, Puglia, Italian, Hiroshima, Japan, Europe, Sicily, haggling, Quebec, Biarritz

As well as withdrawing from the four occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine, Putin said Ukraine must demilitarize and that Western countries must lift their sanctions on Russia, which have damaged but not crippled its economy. Nearly 28 months later, Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula it annexed a decade ago. Moscow only controls these regions partially, but claimed the whole of each region was part of Russia’s territory in 2022. He asked that his terms for ending the war would need to be cemented in international agreements. “That is why we must not trust these messages, because Putin follows the same course,” Zelensky warned.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Louisa Gouliamaki, ” Putin’s, Zelensky, Adolf Hitler, ” Zelensky, “, Hitler, ‘, Mykhailo Podolyak, ” Podolyak Organizations: CNN, NATO, Reuters, Sky Tg24 Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Switzerland, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Italy, Europe, Czechoslovakia, Sudetenland, Swiss

☆ Ukraine's peace summit lacks clout as Russia, China and others stay away
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a military honour ceremony on June 7, 2024 in Paris, France. Marc Piasecki | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesUkraine's leadership has been talking about this weekend's peace summit in Switzerland for months, desperately trying to drum up international enthusiasm for — and investment in — Kyiv's peace plan. watch nowRussia has repeatedly slammed the gathering, saying a peace summit without its participation is meaningless. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia and China of working together to sabotage the summit and pressurizing other countries not to attend. Dubovyk dismissed the absence of countries like China and Saudi Arabia, saying their presence at previous, similar meetings had not helped to bring peace closer.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Marc Piasecki, wasn't, Russia —, What's, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, Zelenskyy, Putin, Shelby Magid, Viola Amherd, Ignazio Cassis, Volodymyr Dubovyk, Dubovyk Organizations: Getty, Peace, Kremlin, CNBC, Kyiv, House, Omaha Beach, Anadolu, Council's Eurasia, Ukraine, Swiss, Democratic, Center for Locations: Paris, France, Switzerland, Peace, Ukraine, Swiss, Bürgenstock, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India, South Africa, Turkey, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, cyberattacks, Central, Eastern Europe, U.S, California, Hollywood, Moscow, Normandy, Ukrainian, Bern, Russian, Kharkiv

Max, a recruitment officer for the DaVinci Wolves Battalion, talks with 39 year-old Mykhailo during his recruitment interview at a recruitment office on February 22, in Kyiv, Ukraine. But the pledge is expected to be an “executive agreement,” the sources said, making it less formal than a treaty and not necessarily binding for any future presidents. The US-Ukraine agreement does not make a specific monetary pledge to support Ukraine’s defense, two of the sources familiar with the agreement said. An annex in the agreement will lay out how the Biden administration plans to work with Congress on the implementation of the security commitments, one of the sources said, specifically the long-term funding that will be needed to support Ukraine’s defense. Keep reading here about the agreement.

Persons: Max, Mykhailo, Chris McGrath, Donald Trump, he’d, Russia “, Biden Organizations: DaVinci Wolves Battalion, CNN Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Italy, Russia, Europe

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