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Russia threatens ‘coordinated strikes on a regular basis’ after Ukraine’s biggest assault on Moscow
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The Kremlin has said that Russia is open to dialogue with Europe but “won’t accept ultimatums” in a statement on Friday.
Russian strikes killed at least two people and wounded two others in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy after Moscow threatened escalation for Ukraine’s biggest assault so far.
Another nine people, including four children, suffered injuries in Kharkiv, which was attacked with Russian guided aerial bombs.
Ukraine on Friday morning claimed that a crew member of a Panama-flagged ship was killed in a Russian drone attack in the Black Sea waters. Oleksiy Kuleba said that another vessel under the Saint Kitts and Nevis flag was also hit.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov previously warned of “massive coordinated strikes on a regular basis” in response to Ukraine‘s attack on a Moscow oil refinery for the second time this week.
Ukraine earlier launched a heavy drone strike on Russia in retaliation for damage done to a historic monastery in Kyiv this week. Hundreds of drones targeted Moscow overnight, hitting the Russian capital’s oil refinery for the second time this week, in one of the biggest aerial assaults on Russia of the war so far.
Nearly 25,000 children caught in conflict were victims of a record number of violations last year, including killings, rape and recruitment to fight, and for the first time, government forces — not armed groups — were the main perpetrators, a new United Nations report says.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ annual report, released this week, has a blacklist of violators against children: government forces from eight nations and 67 armed groups from 16 countries and territories.
Europeans must be at the table as and when there are peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, said French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday.
“We have always backed the idea that when the talks take place, Europeans must be at the table, because this concerns the interests of Europe,” said Macron, speaking at an EU summit in Brussels drew to a close.
Macron added that Antonio Costa – president of the European Council – could have his place at such negotiations, if his role in this capacity was clearly specified.
Hours after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth upbraided his Nato allies and announced a Pentagon review of their performance, the leaders of many European nations were assessing a check list of progress made on security priorities.
In essence, Hegseth was telling the Europeans things they already know.
The list included their hike in defence spending, investment in industry to boost the production of military equipment, best use of lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, and the need to buy or develop drones, air defence systems and long-range weapons.
The European Union has reached out to Moscow in a tentative bid to open a line of communication so the continent is not sidelined in any potential talks to end Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine, officials said Thursday.
The news emerged as Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone attacks since Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour more than four years ago, Russian officials said Thursday. A major Moscow oil refinery was hit for a second time in a week and commercial flights at Moscow airports were disrupted.
Against the backdrop of conflict, the EU has been quietly seeking to reopen communications with Moscow even as it doubles down on its support for Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, has tried to cut out Europe and Kyiv and negotiate Ukraine’s future with Washington.
At least one crew member was killed after Russia attacked two vessels in the Black Sea, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksii Kuleba said.
“One crew member of a Panama-flagged ship was killed as a result of a Russian UAV attack on civilian vessels in the Black Sea,” he said on social media.
He added that two more sailors had been injured, one of them critically.
The minister said three other crew members on board a vessel sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis suffered injuries following a Russian attack.
“This is further proof that Russia is waging a war against freedom of navigation, international trade and global food security. Civilian crews, merchant vessels and maritime infrastructure that supports humanitarian and export routes are all under threat,” he added.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Europe’s latest proposal for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv amounts to an ultimatum.
Lavrov argued that Moscow cannot negotiate based on EU’s earlier demands.“
Trust cannot be restored, nor can dialogue be resumed, through ultimatums such as the one issued to Russia in London,” he wrote in an op-ed his ministry said was prepared for Politico-Europe. The essay was later pulled from publication, Bloomberg reported.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that an escalation between Russia and Nato could lead to a nuclear strikes exchange with catastrophic consequences.
“A direct confrontation between Nato and Russia could rapidly escalate into an exchange of nuclear strikes, with catastrophic consequences,” he wrote in an article posted on the Russian foreign ministry’s website.
“Under the banner of ‘strategic autonomy,’ Europe is witnessing a significant build-up of its military capabilities, including in the nuclear sphere.
“Paris’s intention to extend its ‘nuclear umbrella’ to several EU and NATO member states is a source of deep concern.
“This will do nothing to strengthen the security of France itself or the recipients of its so-called protection.”
The EU leaders have agreed to extend sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine for another 12 months.
The decision was taken during a European Council summit in Brussels, which saw the participation of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
The decision marked the first time such sanctions, which target certain sectors of the Russian economy, have been renewed for a year. They had previously been rolled over every six months.
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