Ukraine

Zelensky, Europe Rights Body Sign Accord for Ukraine War Tribunal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday signed an accord with pan-European rights body the Council of Europe for establishing a special tribunal to try top officials responsible for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The court would prosecute the "crime of aggression" in the invasion, which Russia launched in February 2022, and could, in ...

Zelensky-Trump Meeting Planned Wednesday

Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump are planning to meet on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, a senior source in the Ukrainian presidency told AFP. The war-time leader has been a central figure at recent summits but given his fractious relationship with Trump, Zelensky has not been invited to the main ...

Russian Drone Attacks Kill three in Northeast Ukraine

Russian drone attacks killed three people near the northeastern city of Sumy, including a five-year-old child, local authorities said on Tuesday. It came a day after Ukraine said Russia carried out dozens of drone and missile strikes on its territory, killing 10 people in the capital Kyiv. Diplomatic efforts to end the three-year war have ...

Russian drone and missile barrage kills eight in Kyiv

  Ukraine said on Monday that Russia had fired dozens of drones and missiles at the country, ripping open a residential building and killing eight civilians in Kyiv. A flurry of diplomatic efforts to end the three-year war have stalled, with the last direct meeting between Kyiv and Moscow almost three weeks ago and no follow-up talks ...

Belarus frees jailed opposition leader after appeal from US

Belarus freed top opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky and over a dozen other political prisoners on Saturday following an appeal from the White House, Minsk said, a sign of warming ties between Washington and Belarus-ally Moscow. The release came just hours after US special envoy Keith Kellogg met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in ...

What Would Actually Set Off a Nuclear Disaster

Since the Israeli strikes on Iran’s Natanz nuclear site on June 13, one question has taken on new urgency: What exactly needs to be hit in a nuclear facility to trigger a radioactive or chemical leak? And more critically, did the recent strikes come dangerously close to that threshold? To assess the risk, we first need to understand what a ...

Putin says NATO Rearmament Not a 'Threat' to Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that NATO's push to ramp up defense spending was not a "threat" to Russia, days before the alliance was set to sign-off on a plan to boost its military capacity across Europe. In a late-night press conference, the Russian leader also said his troops would not stop pushing forward in Ukraine and ...

G7 Shows Support for Ukraine but Avoids Condemning Russia Amid Trump’s Absence

Group of Seven leaders on Tuesday vowed greater support for Ukraine but stopped short of joint condemnation of Russia for its growing attacks, at a summit missing Donald Trump. The US president had been due to speak at the G7 summit with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he has had a volatile relationship, but flew back ...

Nuclear Flashpoint: Understanding the NPT in Today’s Geopolitical Climate

As Israeli strikes on Iranian targets intensify, Tehran is now threatening to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) – a cornerstone of the global nuclear order signed over half a century ago, yet still at the heart of today’s regional tensions. A Treaty Born in the Shadow of the Bomb The NPT was signed in ...

Putin, Trump Discuss Middle East, Ukraine in Call

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran, as well as efforts towards a Ukraine settlement in a phone call with US counterpart Donald Trump, the Kremlin said Saturday. It was the fourth phone call between the two leaders under efforts to reset relations since Trump took office, in a stark pivot from the ...

Israeli Embassies in US, UK Among Several Closing Worldwide

Israeli embassies in the United States and the United Kingdom were among several to close around the globe on Friday following deadly Israeli strikes in Iran. "In light of recent developments, Israeli missions around the world will be closed and consular services will not be provided," read a message posted by the country's embassies in the ...