Belarus opposition told to “be ready” for democracy push as rumours of leader’s ill health swirl
Reuters Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told her supporters on Monday to be ready to grab any chance to turn her country into a democracy as speculation about the health of veteran President Alexander Lukashenko swirled. Shortly after her message to supporters via Twitter, a Belarusian state news channel released a photo of Lukashenko, […]
Russia marks Victory Day with new strikes on Ukraine, but pared-back parade
Updated: 8:30am, 10th May, 2023 (AEST)Moscow, Russia Reuters Russia fired cruise missiles at Kyiv on Tuesday and paraded troops across Moscow’s Red Square for its annual celebration of victory in World War II, pared back amid shortages of manpower and arms at the front after a failed winter campaign in Ukraine. In a fiery 10-minute […]
Russia launches new attack on Ukraine on Moscow’s ‘sacred’ day
Kyiv, UkraineReuters Russia launched a new attack on Ukraine on Tuesday as Russia celebrated the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, with Ukraine’s air defences destroying 23 of 25 missiles fired, chiefly at the capital Kyiv, officials said. The attack – the fifth in May – came a day after Russia launched […]
Updated: Russia launches mass strikes on Ukraine ahead of 9th May Victory Day holiday
Updated: 8am, 9th May, 2023 (AEST)Kyiv, UkraineReuters Russia launched its biggest swarm of drones for months against Ukraine on Monday, the eve of Russia’s May 9 holiday celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, striking the capital Kyiv and the Black Sea city of Odesa and shelling other cities. Kyiv’s mayor said Russia had […]
Updated: Putin’s Victory Day speech gives no clue on Ukraine escalation
Updated: 8am, 10th May, 2022 (AEST)Kyiv/Kharkiv, Ukraine Reuters Vladimir Putin exhorted Russians to battle in a defiant Victory Day speech on Monday, but was silent about plans for any escalation in Ukraine, despite Western warnings he might use his Red Square address to order a national mobilisation. In Ukraine, there was no let up in […]
Essay: What a cathedral and a massive military parade show about Putin’s Russia
In an article first published on The Conversation, US-based scholar of nationalism LENA SURZHKO HARNED looks at how a fusion of World War II, religion and Russian nationalism have been embodied in the Main Church of the Russian Armed Forces on the outskirts of Moscow…
Sixty feared dead in bombing of Ukraine school; G7 condemns Putin; Bono gives ‘freedom’ concert in Kyiv
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine Reuters As many as 60 people are feared to have been killed when a bomb struck a village school in eastern Ukraine, the regional governor said on Sunday while Russian forces continued shelling the last holdout of Ukrainian resistance in the ruined south-eastern port of Mariupol. Luhansk region Governor Serhiy Gaidai said the […]