Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #16

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  • #21
APR 26, 2025
In a notable departure from traditional protocol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was given a prominent front-row position at Pope Francis’s funeral in St. Peter’s Square, alongside other world leaders including Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron, The Telegraph reports.

Vatican protocols usually dictate that world leaders be seated in alphabetical order according to their country’s name in French, the traditional language of diplomacy. As president of Ukraine, Zelenskyy would normally have been positioned in the third row or further back.

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed Zelenskyy’s willingness to engage in peace talks following their meeting in Rome during Pope Francis’s funeral events.

“Ending the war in Ukraine. This is the goal we share with President Trump,” Macron stated on X. “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire. President Zelenskyy reiterated this to me today. He wants to work alongside the Americans and Europeans to implement it.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who also met with Zelenskyy, stressed “the urgency of an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as well as the need for a concrete commitment by Moscow to launch a peace process.”
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia’s Palm Sunday double missile attack on the centre of Sumy which killed 35 civilians, including two children, was ‘revenge’ for the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in border regions, including the Kursk oblast. The two ballistic missiles used cluster munitions which are designed to cause multiple explosions over a larger area, and left almost 120 civilians wounded, including 15 children. The missiles were aimed at the city centre on a Sunday morning as people were returning from church services or out for a stroll.
 
  • #22
APR 26, 2025
President Volodymyr Zelensky met French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni following his talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral in the Vatican on April 26.

European officials had reportedly worked behind the scenes to arrange the Vatican meeting between Trump and Zelensky, hoping it would help break the deadlock in peace negotiations.

Russia is waging small-scale assaults across the entire front, but the situation on the battlefield is nowhere near bad enough for Ukraine to be forced into an unfavorable peace deal, military analysts and soldiers told the Kyiv Independent.

"Ukraine's position is nowhere near bad enough that they would need to make such concessions, especially when Russia isn't making any actual concessions," said Jakub Janovsky, a Prague-based military analyst at the Oryx open-source project tracking Ukrainian and Russian equipment losses.

Karis, who sat next to Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during the funeral, said he asked Trump directly about the progress of the peace talks. According to Karis, Trump promised that the U.S. would continue to work towards a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

"I asked him how the peace process was going and asked him to do everything to ensure that the process continued, so that the U.S. did not withdraw (from the peace process)," Karis told ERR.

"He promised to do so and said that we were quite close to a solution, since he had just met with Zelensky."
 
  • #23
APR 26, 2025
In a notable departure from traditional protocol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was given a prominent front-row position at Pope Francis’s funeral in St. Peter’s Square, alongside other world leaders including Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron, The Telegraph reports.

Vatican protocols usually dictate that world leaders be seated in alphabetical order according to their country’s name in French, the traditional language of diplomacy. As president of Ukraine, Zelenskyy would normally have been positioned in the third row or further back.

Another thing that happened at the pope's funeral is that spontaneous applause broke out for Zelenskyy.


Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, whose appearance triggered a spontaneous outburst of applause from the assembled crowds.

 
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  • #24
APR 27, 2025
Speaking in an interview with the Hovoryt’ Velykyi Lviv Youtube channel, Kuleba said:

“We are nowhere near real negotiations to end the war. Some contacts exist, someone is speaking with us, but in terms of a ceasefire or ending the war, we are exactly where we were in January and last autumn.”
You will protect your mental health better until the moment when real steps towards at least a ceasefire, and hopefully the end of the war, take place,” he said.


1745763593898.webp


Russian forces launched a motorized assault on Ukrainian positions near Bahatyr in Donetsk Oblast using 18 motorcycles and 10 civilian vehicles equipped with anti-drone protection, according to Militarnyi.

For months, Russia has been pushing to capture the remaining parts of Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine, with a focus on Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar and other Ukrainian strongholds. Amid heavy losses of armored vehicles, Russia resorts to using motorcycles, scooters, and civilian cars in their assaults.

ISW cited footage published by the Russian Ministry of Defense on 26 April showing likely elements of the 299th (Airborne) VDV Regiment of the 98th VDV Division practicing offensive and defensive tactics on motorcycles in small groups at a Russian training ground.

ISW observed an increasing trend of Russian units conducting mechanized and combined motorized assaults and transporting infantry with motorcycles and civilian vehicles along the frontline. According to ISW, this adaptation aims to counter Ukrainian drone threats and to mitigate Russian equipment shortages caused by high losses of armored vehicles during summer and early fall 2024.

On 27 April 2025, Ukrainian partisans from the Atesh movement reported destroying a railway signal relay box near Stanytsia Luhanska in the occupied part of Luhansk Oblast. According to Atesh, the railway was actively used by Russian forces to transport resources, military equipment, and personnel supporting their operations in Ukraine.

The operation is part of a broader strategy to disrupt logistics supporting Russian military operations in occupied Ukrainian territories. Russian forces heavily depend on rail transport for moving troops and heavy weapons, maintaining a specialized branch called the railway troops. Reports of attacks on relay boxes in Russia and occupied Ukraine surface regularly.
 
  • #25
APR 27, 2025
According to Ukrainian lawmaker and chair of the parliament's foreign affairs committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, it was an "important meeting" because the problem has always been in the lack of "direct contact" between Zelensky and Trump.

"It’s important even psychologically because so far, Trump views the war through the eye of (U.S. Special Envoy Steve) Witkoff, whom he trusts. Witkoff tends to share Putin’s viewpoint and promote Putin’s narrative, which is so dangerous," Merezhko told the Kyiv Independent.

"We need more direct contact; otherwise, people like Whitkoff will prevail and have more influence over Trump's decisions."

Trump’s post mentioning Putin was mainly dedicated to attacking the New York Times’ White House correspondent, whom he derided as “liddle” and a “very biased and untalented writer”. And Trump left the Vatican before a second meeting with Zelenskyy was supposed to take place.

And yet that one face-to-face with Zelenskyy may leave its mark. The photographs released from the summit were dramatic: the two men sat alone in simple chairs in front of a mosaic of Jesus being baptised in the river Jordan. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, felt compelled to quote the book of Matthew. “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God,” he wrote.

Experts say Donald Trump has a poor understanding of the history and causes of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Analysts believe these misconceptions and what observers identify as Trump’s affinity for Vladimir Putin, despite occasional criticism, have led to U.S. peace proposals that favor Russia and will cause Ukraine to face a new invasion.

“Trump’s contention that Ukraine’s hope of joining NATO ‘caused the war to start’ is a claim that is often made, but one that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny,” according to Syracuse University professor Brian Taylor, author of Russian Politics: A Very Short Introduction. “Given that there was no serious prospect of Ukraine joining NATO between 2008 and 2022, it’s hard to see how Ukraine’s hope of joining NATO at some point in the future caused the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Nothing had happened in the previous 14 years to make it likely that Ukraine could join NATO anytime soon.”

Ukrainian forces operating NASAMS air defense systems downed 11 Russian cruise missiles in less than two minutes during a mass aerial attack, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Kyrylo Peretyatko said in a video published on April 27.

"We probably broke all records of other countries for reload speed, and we are ready to keep doing it constantly to defend our country, as long as we have the missiles," he said.
 
  • #26

"Press about 'Francis' Miracle'.


1745774207331.webp

An unusual meeting of the presidents of the United States and Ukraine

took place in St. Peter's Basilica.


1745775959665.webp

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky

spoke before the funeral of Pope Francis,

which the Italian press is calling

'Francis's Miracle'.


During the Funeral Mass,
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re delivered a homily in which he recalled
Pope Francis’ appeals to build 'bridges, not walls'.

His words were addressed to world leaders gathered for the ceremony.

Commentators have called the meeting historic,
especially in the context of
earlier tensions between Trump and Zelensky.

'La Repubblica' described the conversation as a 'sign of peace in Vatican',
and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called it 'historic'.

'Corriere della Sera' describes it as
a 'summit in Basilica'
that could ignite
hopes for an end to the war in Ukraine.

The event was called 'Francis's miracle'
by the Italian newspaper 'Il Messaggero'."

More in both links


 
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  • #27
Well - it ^^ would definitely be a "miracle" if trump DID something !! Like get russia to stop this war!!!! No land deals either....
 
  • #28

"Sergei Lavrov:

'Russia does not negotiate about its territory'.


1745777523413.webp


Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister,
ruled out
giving up Crimea and the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant

in an interview with CBS.

He clearly stated that
the issue of Crimea is closed for Russia.

During the interview,
referring to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant
the minister noted
that Russia had not received any detailed proposal regarding the transfer of the plant,
and if such a proposal appeared,
Russia would explain that the plant was in good hands of the Rosatom concern.
Lavrov emphasized
that no change in this matter was possible.

The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
It has been occupied by Russian troops since March 2022.
The Russians have repeatedly shelled the plant's premises, thus creating - in the opinion of the authorities in Kiev -
a radiation hazard with consequences that are difficult to predict.

What is Russia's position on sanctions?

Lavrov also addressed
the issue of US sanctions imposed on Russia.

The minister said that Russia is not interested in their lifting,
because the country's economy is stronger and more self-sufficient thanks to them.

He warned
that if American companies want to return to Russia,
they may encounter difficulties,
because their place may already be taken by Russian or foreign investors."


From both links.
Much more in them:


 
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  • #29

"Sergei Lavrov:

'Russia does not negotiate about its territory'.


View attachment 582041

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister,
ruled out
giving up Crimea and the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant

in an interview with CBS.

He clearly stated that
the issue of Crimea is closed for Russia.

During the interview,
referring to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant
the minister noted
that Russia had not received any detailed proposal regarding the transfer of the plant,
and if such a proposal appeared,
Russia would explain that the plant was in good hands of the Rosatom concern.
Lavrov emphasized
that no change in this matter was possible.

The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
It has been occupied by Russian troops since March 2022.
The Russians have repeatedly shelled the plant's premises, thus creating - in the opinion of the authorities in Kiev -
a radiation hazard with consequences that are difficult to predict.

What is Russia's position on sanctions?

Lavrov also addressed
the issue of US sanctions imposed on Russia.

The minister said that Russia is not interested in their lifting,
because the country's economy is stronger and more self-sufficient thanks to them.

He warned
that if American companies want to return to Russia,
they may encounter difficulties,
because their place may already be taken by Russian or foreign investors."


From both links.
Much more in them:


Like this is surprising Russia hasn't changed its views or priorities in years they want back what they had in ussr days and more
 
  • #30
Our military continues to operate in the Kursk and Belgorod regions - we maintain our presence in Russia. Pokrovsk, all other directions in Donetsk region - I thank our warriors for resilience. Incredible job!

We are keeping all our positions strong so that we have every opportunity for proper diplomacy. The Russians talk a lot about their alleged readiness to accept American proposals, but so far, there have been no signs of the Russian army preparing for real silence. On the contrary, since Easter, the occupier has resumed its usual assault activity - at the cost of significant losses, the Russians are trying to advance. And every day of such battles at the front proves that Russia is really trying to deceive the world - to deceive America and others - and to further prolong this war.

And that is why we need pressure. Pressure is indispensable to make the Russians take all the steps - whatever is necessary to stop the war.

Russian commander contradicts Kremlin, admits Ukrainian forces still fighting in Kursk Oblast. Ukraine also earlier denied the Kremlin's claim, saying that the statements "do not correspond to reality."

North Korea has confirmed for the first time that it sent troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Kursk Oblast under the orders of Kim Jong-un.
 
  • #31
Putin announces "truce" on Victory Day's 80th anniversary, pausing military activities from 7 to 10 May

During a previous such initiative on Easter, Ukraine accused Russia of nearly 3,000 ceasefire violations.

"Why wait until 8 May?" Ukraine's Foreign Minister reacted to Russia's ceasefire proposal on Victory Day.

Andrii Sybiha argued that a genuine desire for peace would not require waiting for a specific date.

Putin announced a planned ceasefire from 8-11 May, but Ukraine recorded over 2,000 violations during the previous Easter ceasefire attempt.

Sybiha noted that Ukraine continues to propose a sustainable 30-day ceasefire as a meaningful step toward peace.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov: Ukraine must stay out of NATO and recognize annexed territories as Russian for any peace talks to begin - in an interview with Brazil's O Globo.

Russia demands:
  • Ukraine must permanently commit to not joining NATO
  • Ukraine must confirm neutral and non-bloc status
  • International recognition of Russian control over occupied Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
  • All agreements must be legally binding with enforcement mechanisms
  • "Demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine
  • Lifting of all sanctions against Russia
  • Return of Russian assets frozen by Western countries
However, President Zelenskyy maintains Ukraine won't negotiate under conditions that undermine its sovereignty or legitimize Russian territorial claims.

Zelenskyy argues Russia is using ceasefire proposals as stalling tactics rather than seeking genuine peace and insists that a real signal from Russia would be a “complete unconditional ceasefire.”
 
  • #32
North Korea acknowledges participation of its military in Russia’s war against Ukraine

Kim Jong Un personally ordered North Korean military participation in Russia’s war, citing Article 4 of a strategic partnership treaty signed with Moscow in 2024

SIPRI: Russia increased its military spending to $ 149 bn, widening gap with Ukraine

Global military expenditure reached $2.7 trillion in 2024, marking the steepest year-on-year increase since the end of the Cold War, the SIPRI reported

Russia's military building up at Finland's border over potential NATO clash, WSJ reports.

Russia is expanding its military infrastructure near the border with Finland in what experts and officials say could be a preparation for a potential clash with NATO, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 28.
 
  • #33
Trump says he believes Zelensky is ready to give up Crimea to Russia. When asked on April 27 whether he thought Volodymyr Zelensky was willing to cede the peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, Donald Trump responded: "I think so."

'It's their own business' — China refuses to comment on North Korean troops fighting for Russia in Ukraine. Both Moscow and Pyongyang have confirmed the involvement of North Korean troops fighting against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast.

Russia will NOT transfer control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the United States — Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov
 
  • #34
PommyMommy from tweet post #32 said:
snipped...

Russia's military building up at Finland's border over potential NATO clash, WSJ reports.

Russia is expanding its military infrastructure near the border with Finland in what experts and officials say could be a preparation for a potential clash with NATO, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 28.

Well - THAT doesn't sound good...

I've heard a few jets going over lately.... russia has been "testing" the NATO borders I've read.
 
  • #35

"White House's firm response

to Putin's temporary proposal.


1745861495385.webp


The US president
has made it clear
that he wants a permanent ceasefire in Ukraine,
not any temporary pauses in hostilities.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in response
to Vladimir Putin's proposal for a three-day truce in connection with Victory Day celebrations.

'From what I understand,
Putin this morning proposed a temporary ceasefire.
President Trump has made it clear that he wants a permanent ceasefire —
first and foremost to stop the killing and end the bloodshed.
While he remains optimistic about the possibility of a deal,
he also remains realistic',

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.

On 9th May,
Russia celebrates Victory Day,
a national holiday commemorating the end of World War II."

More in the link:

 
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  • #36
  • #37
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