Explainer – Russia unfolds annexation plan for Ukraine
London, UKReuters Russia on Tuesday announced plans by separatists in Ukraine to hold referendums paving the way for the formal annexation of swathes of territory after nearly seven months of war with its neighbour, a former Soviet republic. Pedestrians walk past a monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Luhansk, Ukraine, on 20th […]
Russia’s war aims in Ukraine widen; Ukrainian First Lady appeals to US Congress
Reuters Russia’s military “tasks” in Ukraine now go beyond the eastern Donbas region, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday, as its forces shelled eastern and southern Ukraine. Lavrov also told state news agency RIA Novosti that Moscow’s objectives will expand still further if the West keeps supplying Kyiv with long-range weapons such as the […]
Ukraine says tens of thousands killed in Mariupol, accuses Russia of abuses
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Ukraine on Monday said tens of thousands of people have likely been killed in Russia’s assault on the south-eastern city of Mariupol while the country’s rights ombudswoman accused Russian forces in the region of torture and executions. Reuters has confirmed widespread destruction in Mariupol but could not verify the alleged crimes or the […]
Putin recognises Ukraine rebel regions, sends troops on what Moscow calls peacekeeping mission
Updated: 9.25am (AEDT)Moscow, Russia Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent on Monday and ordered the Russian army to launch what Moscow called a peacekeeping operation in the area, upping the ante in a crisis the West fears could unleash a major war. Putin told Russia’s defence ministry […]
“Where can we go?” Fear and self-defence near Ukraine’s eastern frontiers
Donetsk/Kharkiv, Ukraine Reuters Viktor, a pensioner, goes to sleep in breakaway eastern Ukraine, listening out for shelling in case he needs to take cover. In the city of Kharkiv, Viktoria Makarova, a building firm manager, is learning to fire a rifle in case of an invasion. Far from the rarefied rounds of diplomacy aimed at […]