WorldAugust 24 marks Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence and four and a half years of conflict with Russia. As European leaders gather in Kyiv, the Coalition of the Willing is due to chair talks with Volodymyr Zelensky on strengthening support for Ukraine amid an escalating bombing campaign from Moscow.
WorldUK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has arrived in Kyiv on his first overseas visit as prime minister. He is expected to provide blueprints enabling Ukraine to build its own long-range missiles, after the government agreed to let MBDA declassify information on UK components for the long-range Scalp missile, the French equivalent of Storm Shadow.
BBC News
WorldEuropean leaders joined President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on August 24 for official celebrations of Ukraine’s Independence Day as Russia’s four-year invasion continues. New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham was among the guests, making his first overseas trip since taking office in July.
WorldGrant Newsham, a senior research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, says South Korean reports that North Korea is continuing preparations to send troops to Russia are credible. Future deployments could include drone operators, missile troops and engineers. He says closer military cooperation with Moscow and battlefield experience in Ukraine are making Pyongyang a more formidable threat, no longer the “laughing…”
WorldUkraine marks its 35th Independence Day on Aug 24 as its war with Russia enters a fifth year. In Belgium, Ukrainians displaced by the conflict are building new lives while hoping to return home. Their future is also linked to whether Europe can sustain support for Kyiv, including air defences and economic pressure on Moscow.
WorldLeaders from Nordic and Baltic countries visited Kyiv on Sunday and pledged to keep providing Ukraine with military and financial support at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Associated Press
PoliticsUkraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has flatly rejected calls from popular former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov for wartime elections. Zelenskyy likened holding a vote during the war with Russia to a “tsunami” that could split Ukraine apart. Elections are legally suspended under martial law.
PoliticsKyiv hosted talks involving President Zelenskiy and leaders from Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland during Ukraine’s National Flag Day observance.
Reuters
PoliticsFormer Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov told the BBC he still supports nationwide elections despite the war. The popular minister, credited with modernising the military and advancing drone warfare, was dismissed last month. He has also accused people in government of corruption and said democracy should not be Putin’s “hostage”.
BBC News
WorldWestern leaders have arrived in Kyiv while Ukrainian forces turn their attention to Russia’s Ozon. Russian forces also launched several attacks on Ukraine’s railway network on Sunday as Ukrainians prepared for the country’s Independence Day.
WorldWestern leaders have arrived in Kyiv as Ukrainian forces set their sights on Russia’s Ozon. Russian forces also carried out several attacks on Ukraine’s railway network on Sunday, as Ukrainians prepare for the country’s Independence Day.
PoliticsUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says elections held during wartime would threaten the country, after his former defence minister controversially called for preparations for a vote. A Kyiv Institute of Sociology poll conducted this summer found that only 15 percent of respondents want an election now.
Politics6:45Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the prospect of holding elections during wartime as highly dangerous. His response follows a call from former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whom Zelensky fired last month, to organise a vote.
WorldVladimir Putin warned that Russia could retaliate against Ukraine’s most sensitive economic sectors, following Ukrainian strikes on Russian economic and industrial infrastructure. The warning came after a Russian drone attack on a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih left at least 16 dead and more than 130 injured.
WorldPutin threatens to retaliate against Ukraine’s economic sectors as both sides intensify strikes on infrastructure far behind the front lines. An analyst considers whether the war has become a conflict with no end in sight.
WorldRussian President Vladimir Putin says Ukraine has “opened Pandora’s box” by targeting Russian economic sites, warning that Moscow will retaliate against Ukraine’s most sensitive economic sectors. His remarks followed a deadly Russian drone strike on a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih that killed at least 16 people and injured more than 130. Rescue workers are still searching the wreckage for missing people.
WorldUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked visiting leaders from Nordic and Baltic countries at a flag-raising ceremony in Kyiv on Sunday, as Ukraine marked National Flag Day.
The Associated Press
PoliticsUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke against holding elections during the war on Sunday, saying the move would be too dangerous and could “split” Ukraine. His former defence minister had publicly called for a vote.
WorldRescuers are still searching through the rubble in Kryvyi Rih after a Russian strike on a shopping centre killed at least 16 people, with several others unaccounted for. The attack has intensified President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's months-long appeal for more Patriot interceptors as winter approaches.
WorldRussian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Ukraine had “opened Pandora’s box” by seeking to damage Russia’s economy. He said Moscow had begun responding to Ukrainian attacks on civilian industrial and logistics facilities and that Kyiv could not gain an advantage.
The Associated Press
WorldDeadly heat and dangerous storms put millions at risk, while the U.S.-Canada trade war intensifies with new tariffs. Russia and Ukraine exchange deadly strikes as the war escalates, alongside other reports in the broadcast.
NBC News
WorldRussia’s war against Ukraine and the US-Iran conflict are becoming increasingly intertwined. Iranian drones in Ukraine, Ukrainian support for Gulf states, North Korea’s role, rising oil prices, the Strait of Hormuz and shifting alliances are blurring the boundaries between separate conflicts. The question is whether this points toward World War 3 or a new form of globalized conflict.
WorldVladimir Putin says Ukraine opened a “Pandora’s box” by attacking economic targets in Russia. Ukraine says it struck a Russian online retailer’s warehouse and an oil refinery in the Samara region overnight. The claims follow a Russian double-tap drone strike on a Ukrainian shopping center that killed 16 people, with others still missing.
WorldRescuers cleared rubble from a shopping center in Kryvyi Rih after a Russian drone strike killed more than a dozen people and injured at least 130. Survivor Kateryna recalled the horror and chaos that followed.
Reuters