DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ China doesn't really care who wins the war in Ukraine — it just wants to win the peace, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

There's little doubt that China wants the war between Russia and Ukraine to end, and soon. Political analysts and China watchers note that, ultimately, Beijing doesn't really care who "wins" the war — or what form a peace deal takes. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping via phone line, in Kyiv on April 26, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands during a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. Any peace will be hard-wonNo-one is underestimating the challenges any would-be peace broker has before them.

The novelist is an outspoken champion of Russia's war in Ukraine and has boasted of taking part in military combat there. He was the third prominent pro-war figure to be targeted by a bomb since Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022. [1/2] A view shows a destroyed vehicle, which transported Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin allegedly wounded in a car bombing in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia, May 6, 2023. On Wednesday, Russia accused Ukraine of trying to kill President Vladimir Putin with a night-time drone attack on the Kremlin. TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as declining to comment on Saturday's car bomb in the absence of information from investigators.

CNN —Ukrainian air defenses withstood Russia’s most intense air attack on Kyiv since the start of the year overnight into Thursday, the capital region’s military chief said. Last night, the aggressor launched another large-scale air strike on the capital,” Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, wrote on Telegram. Russian air attacks have targeted Kyiv on three days out of the past four, Popko said. Russian oil refinery firesAlso early on Thursday, fires broke out in two oil refineries in southwestern Russia, following separate alleged drone strikes. It is unclear who is responsible for the drone attack.

☆ False flag? Analysts says Russia 'likely staged' Kremlin drone attack it blamed on Ukraine and the West
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Ukraine denied any involvement in the incident, with officials saying it more likely signaled that Russia was planning a large-scale terrorist attack against Ukraine in the coming days. The Kremlin went further in its accusations on Thursday, claiming that Washington had helped Ukraine to plot and orchestrate the drone attack. CNBC contacted the Kremlin for a response to claims that it was likely behind the drone attack itself. A view of the roof of Senate Palace of the Kremlin from Red Square on May 3, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. The Kremlin said the drone attack had taken place "on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9th Parade, at which the presence of foreign guests is also planned."

☆ Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin by drone, Kremlin says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Shortly after the Kremlin announcement, Ukraine reported alerts for air strikes over the capital Kyiv and other cities. "The Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit," the Kremlin added. "When the enemy can achieve nothing on the battlefield, it strikes at peaceful cities," Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhii Cherevatyi said. Elsewhere, oil depots were ablaze in southern Russia and Ukraine alike as both sides escalated a drone war ahead of Kyiv's promised spring counteroffensive against Russian forces. Blinken said later the U.S. government had authorised another $300 million worth of arms and equipment for Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Russia reserved the right to retaliate, and hardliners demanded swift retribution against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in comments sent to Reuters: "Ukraine has nothing to do with drone attacks on the Kremlin. Another video circulating on Russian social media appeared to show a plume of smoke over the Kremlin after the purported attack. Russia marks the occasion with a huge military parade on Red Square, for which seating has already been erected. Ukraine typically declines to claim responsibility for attacks on Russia or Russian-annexed Crimea, though Kyiv officials have frequently celebrated such attacks with cryptic or mocking remarks.

CNN —Moscow alleged Wednesday Ukraine flew two drones toward the Kremlin overnight in what it claimed was an attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine says it had no knowledge of any attempted drone strike on the Kremlin, that it did not attack other countries. “As President Zelensky has stated numerous times before, Ukraine uses all means at its disposal to free its own territory, not to attack others,” Nykyforov added. The Kremlin Press Service called the purported drone attack an “attempt on the President’s life.” “Russia reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit,” it added. Russia has accused Ukraine of multiple attempted drone strikes deep inside Russian territory, including one earlier this year when the governor of the Moscow region claimed a Ukrainian drone had crashed near the village of Gubastovo, southeast of the capital.

☆ China’s Xi Makes First Call to Ukraine’s Zelensky Since Russian Invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on Wednesday. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/AFP/Getty Images; Noel Celis/AFP/Getty ImagesChinese leader Xi Jinping called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, their first conversation since the Russian invasion more than a year ago, as Beijing attempts to portray itself as a potential peacemaker in the conflict. China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted to its website that it would send a special representative for Eurasian affairs to Ukraine and other countries “for in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.”

☆ China's Xi holds first call with Ukraine's Zelenskiy since Russian invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Xi told Zelenskiy that China would send special representatives to Ukraine and hold talks with all parties seeking peace, Chinese state media reported. Xi, the most powerful world leader to have refrained from denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, made a state visit to Russia last month. China will focus on promoting peace talks, and make efforts for a ceasefire as soon as possible, Xi told Zelenskiy, according to the Chinese state media reports. In early April, the Chinese president said he was willing to speak with Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy had repeatedly asked Xi to meet him or speak to him, including after the Chinese leader visited Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month.

☆ NATO's chief is talking openly about alliance membership for Ukraine as Putin's war continues to shoot Russia in the foot
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has long sought NATO membership, something Vladimir Putin deeply opposes. Ukraine has long sought NATO membership. As early as April 2008, NATO said it "welcomed" aspirations from Ukraine and Georgia — the latter was attacked by Russia later that year — to join the military alliance. Finland officially became the 31st member of the military alliance earlier this month, a huge setback for Putin. in a Friday tweet that included a link to a media report about Stoltenberg telling Zelenskyy Ukraine belongs in NATO.

☆ NATO chief visits Kyiv: Jens Stoltenberg says Ukraine's "rightful place" is in the alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Sana Noor Haq Luke Mcgee Alex Hardie Zahid Mahmood Victoria Butenko | Sana Noor Haq | Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday “Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” in his strongest remarks reaffirming ties with Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visits the Wall of Remembrance to pay tribute to fallen Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv on April 20, 2023. Gleb Garanich/ReutersStoltenberg (left) and President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) meet during the alliance chief's historic trip to Ukraine on Thursday. Finnish public support for accession snowballed following the invasion of Ukraine, and also reignited calls from Kyiv to join. Speaking at a joint conference in Kyiv, Zelensky said he valued the support from the alliance but pressed Stoltenberg on when Ukraine would be invited to join NATO.

Kyiv and the West accuse Russian forces of committing war crimes in occupied Ukrainian territory, which Moscow denies. Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk are the four regions that Putin proclaimed annexed last September following what Ukraine said were sham referendums. Russian forces only partly control the four regions. HEAVY ARTILLERYFighting has raged in and around Bakhmut in Donetsk region for months, with Ukrainian forces holding out despite regular claims by Russia to have taken the city. "Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences," they said.

☆ Ukraine brings home 130 military in Easter prisoner exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, April 16 (Reuters) - One hundred and thirty Ukrainian prisoners of war have been released and returned home in a "great Easter exchange", a senior Ukrainian presidential official said on Sunday, the day of Orthodox Easter. Ukrainian and Russian forces have held regular prisoner exchanges during Moscow's invasion, now in its 14th month. Yermak said those returning home included military, border guards, national guard members, sailors and employees of the state border guard. The exchange was the second large prisoner swap in the past week. On Monday, Russia and Ukraine said they carried out a major prisoner swap with 106 Russian prisoners of war being freed in exchange for 100 Ukrainians.

☆ Leaked Pentagon documents appeared on a 'Minecraft' Discord server weeks before officials knew about a breach: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Leaked Pentagon documents appeared on Discord servers weeks before the received official attention. At least 10 documents appeared on the server "Minecraft Earth Map" on March 4, Bellingcat reported. At least 10 such documents were posted in March on a Discord server dedicated to the "Minecraft " video game, Bellingcat investigator Aric Toler reported. Wow_Mao told The New York Times he does not spend much time managing his Discord server but admits he could have moderated it better. The analyst cited conversations with several members of the Discord server, who sent him images of the documents.

☆ One of Russia's few remaining allies asked Moscow for guarantees that it would defend his country if it was attacked
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko asked Russia to defend it if attacked, state media reported. The embattled leader asked Russia to protect his country "as its own territory." Lukashenko met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Minsk on Monday, according to Belarusian state-owned news agency Belta. In the meeting, Lukashenko requested that "in case of aggression against Belarus the Russian Federation protects Belarus as its own territory," the outlet reporting him as saying. Belarus has avoided committing troops to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but has aided it by training Russian troops and allowing Russian use of its military bases.

☆ What's in the leaked Pentagon documents that could hurt Ukraine and has US officials panicking
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( John Haltiwanger | Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Dozens of secret Pentagon documents were leaked online in recent weeks. Many of the documents appear to be intelligence briefing materials on a wide range of subjects, dating back to around early March. When were the documents leaked and who leaked them? But Bellingcat reported that some of the materials date back to January and may have been leaked online earlier. Leaked documents claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought to attack Russian troop deployments inside Russia with drones.

☆ Ukraine's military intel chief privately warned Bakhmut was 'catastrophic' as he made a gamble to get it under control, leaked documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The disclosure offers a glimpse into Ukrainian decision-making as Russian forces were closing in. Ukrainian soldiers ride atop a tank in the frontline in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. The leaked US intelligence on Bakhmut, which offers insight into high-level Ukrainian decision-making, is only a slice of what the documents contain about Kyiv's military. One document in particular includes information about casualties on each side and indicates that more than twice as many Russian soldiers as Ukrainian soldiers have died fighting. Ukrainian soldiers help a wounded comrade into an evacuation vehicle in the frontline in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023.

☆ Ukraine battles rage, Kyiv reported to rethink counter-offensive after leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The head of the Moscow-controlled part of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said Russian forces now held 75% of the city. As the battles ground on, U.S. media outlet CNN reported that Ukraine was forced to amend some military plans ahead of its long-anticipated counter-offensive because of the leak of dozens of secret documents. HOT ON THE EASTERN FRONTA Ukrainian counter-offensive has long been expected after months of attritional warfare in the east. Elsewhere, Russia's defence ministry said its forces destroyed a depot with 70,000 tonnes of fuel near Zaporizhzhia, and Ukraine reported widespread Russian shelling in northern regions. In a rare coordination between the warring parties, Russia and Ukraine carried out another prisoner swap, with 106 Russian captives freed in exchange for 100 Ukrainians.

☆ Ukraine says data leak is Russian effort to sow doubt about counter-offensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, April 7 (Reuters) - A leak of classified documents detailing secret U.S. and NATO plans to help Kyiv looks like a Russian disinformation operation to sow doubts about Ukraine's planned counter-offensive, a Ukrainian presidential official said on Friday. Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters that the leaked data reported by the New York Times contained a "very large amount of fictitious information" and that Russia was trying to seize back the initiative in its invasion. "To try to influence the scenarios for Ukraine's counteroffensive plans. Ukrainian troops have faced for months a Russian onslaught in its east concentrated around the city of Bakhmut. It hopes to launch a counter-offensive in the coming weeks or months to wrest back territory held by Russia.

☆ Ukraine discusses preventing military leaks after report of breach
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Ukrainian servicemen prepare to fire a mortar, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Oleksandr KlymenkoKYIV, April 7 (Reuters) - Ukraine's president and top security brass discussed ways to prevent leaks of military information at a meeting on Friday, Kyiv said, after secret documents detailing Western help for Ukraine reportedly ended up online. It also did not refer to a New York Times report that said documents about U.S. and NATO plans to build up the Ukrainian military had been leaked online. A spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence said it was possible the information in the posts was entirely fictitious, and that there had been no leak. One part offered an estimate for Ukrainian military losses that was far higher than Western estimates made available so far.

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - Russia or pro-Russian elements are likely behind the leak of several classified U.S. military documents posted on social media that offer a partial, month-old snapshot of the war in Ukraine, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday. "We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the Department (of Defense) is reviewing the matter," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said. One document posted on social media said 16,000 to 17,500 Russian forces had been killed since Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine. The United States believes that actual figure is much higher, at around 200,000 Russians killed and wounded, officials say. Still, the document leak came as speculation mounts about what offensives Kyiv and Moscow might attempt in the war's second year.

☆ Top Saudi, Iranian diplomats to meet in China - official, media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The meeting between Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, will be the first formal meeting between Saudi Arabia and Iran's most senior diplomats in more than seven years. 6 in Beijing as the deal was facilitated by China," a senior Iranian official told Reuters. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran was stormed during a dispute between the two countries over Riyadh's execution of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric. The kingdom subsequently asked Iranian diplomats to leave within 48 hours while it evacuated its embassy staff from Teheran. The relationship had worsened since 2015, after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intervened in the Yemen war, where the Iran-aligned Houthi movement ousted a Saudi-backed government and took over the capital Sanaa.

☆ Factbox: Who was Vladlen Tatarsky and why was he targeted?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 3 (Reuters) - Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb attack in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in which some 30 other people were wounded. Tatarsky – real name Maxim Fomin - was among the best-known members of an influential group of military bloggers who have provided a running commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Tatarsky, 40, was among those who publicly demanded that Russia pursue the war even more aggressively. Tatarsky was the second high-profile war propagandist to be assassinated in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Tatarsky also had ties to Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group fighting for Russia in Ukraine and also the former owner of the cafe.

☆ Russia says it arrests woman suspected of blowing up war blogger in cafe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The woman arrested - Darya Trepova - was a Russian citizen who had previously been detained for protesting against the war in Ukraine, the state news agency TASS said. Some Russian commentators saw the bombing as the latest sign that violence related to the war in Ukraine is increasingly spilling onto Russian territory. Russian investigators said they had arrested Trepova, a 26-year-old, who they said was suspected of bringing the explosives into the St Petersburg cafe. Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist ideologue, was killed in a car bomb attack outside Moscow last summer that Russia blamed on Kyiv. Simonyan, like other hawkish commentators, made it clear on Telegram that she wanted Russia to hit back hard against whoever had killed Tatarsky.

☆ Bomb kills Russian pro-war blogger in St. Petersburg café
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A leading Russian military blogger was killed on April 2, 2023 in an explosion in Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg, the interior ministry said. Olga Maltseva | AFP | Getty ImagesWell-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by a bomb blast in a St Petersburg café on Sunday in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine. The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Sunday he would "not blame the Kyiv regime" for it. Vladlen Tatarsky Russian blogger, speaking last SeptemberBut another leading Russian official pointed the finger at Ukraine, without providing evidence. The Kyiv regime is a terrorist regime.

Search resuls for: "Ukrainian Presidential"

25 mentions found