News Trending War

Krasovsky: Russia bans ‘burn Ukrainian kids’ TV presenter

By 412 0

After Anton Krasovsky called for the burning and drowning of Ukrainian children, the Russian state channel RT suspended and denounced him. He has since apologised after his comments on television sparked outrage on social media.

Krasovsky was addressing science fiction author Sergei Lukyanenko, who claimed that in 1980, he had overheard children in western Ukraine saying, “Ukraine is invaded by Muscovites.” RT News has a strong pro-Kremlin stance.

Just drown those kids, Krasovsky said in the interview while grinning. He added that they could also be burned after being forced into shelters.

He also made light of the rape of Ukrainian grandparents by Russian soldiers.

Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT, referred to Krasovsky’s remarks as “wild and disgusting.”

The station has been charged with encouraging a genocide by Ukraine. Pundits and presenters who vehemently support the conflict against Ukraine and push for additional military aggression have received a lot of airtime on Russian state television. They frequently reject proof of Russian atrocities by asserting that it is “fabricated” Ukrainian evidence, following the Kremlin’s stance.

The investigation into Krasovsky’s remarks is currently being conducted by Russia’s Investigative Committee, which deals with major offences; however, it is not yet known which laws, if any, he may have broken.

“Well, it happens: you’re on air, you get carried away, and you can’t stop,” Krasovsky said in his Monday apology. “I’m terribly humiliated,” he remarked.

When he advocated LGBT rights and denounced Russia’s statute prohibiting gay awareness campaigns that target kids, Krasovsky rose to fame on a global scale. Supporters of the measure assert that it is a response to “homosexual propaganda.”

Krasovsky has been in charge of RT’s Russian-language programming for the previous two years. Because of his ardent support for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, he is subject to EU sanctions.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a well-known anti-Kremlin activist in London, voiced contempt for RT’s position. As he tweeted: “Margarita Simonyan refuses to work with Anton Krasovsky, who advocates for the murder of Ukrainian children. Margarita Simonyan, however, is unwilling to work with Putin since he murders Ukrainian children “.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending War

Ukraine war: Russia dive-bombs Kyiv with ‘kamikaze’ drones

By 414 0

Russia has launched a series of attacks against Ukraine, using what appear to be “kamikaze” drones produced in Iran to dive-bomb the city of Kyiv.  The administration claims that hundreds of towns and villages in the Kyiv, Dnipro, and Sumy regions had their energy shut off.

At least eight individuals were slain, including four each in Sumy and Kyiv. As Iran continues to deny providing drones to the Russian military, calls for sanctions against the country have grown.

Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian capital a week ago during rush hour as part of widespread attacks that claimed 19 lives. 28 drones targeted the capital in the most recent attack, which began at around 6:00 (03:30 GMT), but only five of them struck their intended targets, according to Vitaliy Klitschko, the mayor.

Gunfire rattled around the city as anti-aircraft batteries urgently attempted to shoot them down. One interception looked to be captured on video posted on social media.

Rescuers in the Shevchenkivskyi neighbourhood looked for survivors among the rubble of an apartment building that partially collapsed during one attack. As numerous firefighters and emergency personnel worked at the site, the street was blocked off. A pregnant woman was one of the four individuals slain in the area.

The offices of Ukraine’s energy business were also damaged; they were located across the street from the demolished structure. It’s likely that the facility was the strike’s intended target. The attacks were referred to as a “genocide of the Ukrainian people” by Mayor Klitschko, who added that “The Russians demand a Ukraine without Ukrainians.”

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending

Belarus, Ukraine, Russia activists win Nobel Peace Prize

By 438 0

The Nobel Peace Prize has been given to a jailed activist from Belarus as well as two organisations from Russia and Ukraine for promoting democracy and human rights. As a rebuke to two authoritarian governments, the choice to honour Ales Bialiatsky, Russia’s Memorial, and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties.

In December of last year, Russia forcibly closed Memorial in advance of Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. Alexander Lukashenko protests led to the imprisonment of Bialiatsky. The CCL of Ukraine has kept tabs on political repression and atrocities committed in regions of the nation that Russia has invaded or annexed.

All three had made “an excellent effort to expose war crimes, human rights abuses, and the misuse of power,” according to Berit Reiss-Andersen, head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, who spoke to reporters.

She responded that the Nobel prize was always given “for something and to somebody and not against anyone” when asked if the committee was making a statement to Russia’s president on the occasion of his 70th birthday.

Belarus’s long-time ruler is a close ally of President Putin. After a re-election in 2020 that was widely condemned as rigged, he brutally cracked down on protesters and then allowed Russian forces to use his country as a launchpad in its war against Ukraine.

Ales Bialiatsky, 60, established the civil rights organisation Viasna, which is Belarusian for spring, in 1996, two years after Mr. Lukashenko took office. He was first imprisoned in 2011, and last year, he was again incarcerated without being given a reason. He is one of the 1,348 individuals that Viasna claims are being imprisoned as political prisoners in Belarus at the moment.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, an exiled opposition activist, hailed the Nobel committee for “recognising all Belarusians struggling for freedom and democracy,” and Natallia Pinchuk, Bialiatsky’s wife, said she was “overwhelmed with emotion.”

A spokesman for the Minsk foreign ministry claimed that Alfred Nobel was “turning in his grave” as a result of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Bialiatsky.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending War

Ukraine war: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant chief detained by Russians – Kyiv

By 405 0

The head of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility has been taken prisoner by Russian forces, according to Enerhoatom, the country’s national nuclear regulator.

It claims that at around 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Friday, Ihor Murashov was detained as his automobile was travelling from the facility to the nearby town of Enerhodar.

According to the president of Enerhoatom, he was afterwards blindfolded and transferred to a detention facility in Enerhodar. Russia has made no remarks.

In March, Moscow took control of the largest nuclear power facility in Europe and retained its Ukrainian employees. In the midst of widespread worries that this could result in a significant radiation disaster in Europe, both Ukraine and Russia accuse one another of repeatedly shelling the plant.

President of Enerhoatom Petro Kotin stated that Mr. Murashov “bears major and exclusive responsibility for the nuclear and radiation safety” of the nuclear facility in a statement that was made public on Saturday.

The largest nuclear power plant in Europe and Ukraine’s operational safety, he claimed, are both at risk due to Friday’s imprisonment.

Furthermore, he informed the BBC that the arrest took place at the same time as Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the annexation of four regions of Ukraine, including Zaporizhzhia.

According to Mr. Kontin, Rosatom representatives paid a visit to the plant “only two days ago.” They said the power plant would be transferred from Ukrainian control to Rosatom’s control in line with the annexation of the region.

In the occupied portion of the southern Zaporizhzhia area of Ukraine, close to Enerhodar, is where the six-reactor Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility is situated.

According to Ukraine, Russian troops are utilising the station as a military base and are effectively holding the staff at gunpoint. Moscow refutes the assertion.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, announced the annexation of the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions on Friday. Ukraine and the West strongly denounced this action. None of the four eastern and southern areas of Ukraine are entirely under Moscow’s influence.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending War

Zelensky calls for ‘just punishment’ for Russia

By 379 0

During his address to the UN General Assembly in New York, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia must receive “due retribution” for its invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian president demanded the establishment of a unique war tribunal and described alleged war crimes committed by Russia in a pre-recorded video.

Additionally, he outlined a “formula” that included increasing military assistance and criticising Russia internationally. Vladimir Putin of Russia had earlier activated 300,000 reservists. Rare protests were sparked by the action in dozens of Russian cities, and Mr. Zelensky claimed that the partial mobilisation proved his adversary was not sincere in his desire for peace. Observational group OVD-Info said that 1,315 Russians had been detained.

According to the Kremlin, only individuals with significant talents and combat experience who have completed their military service will be called up. However, sources claim that some of those detained during Moscow protests were also informed they would need to sign up.

The head of Ukraine claimed that setting up a special court will aid in holding Moscow accountable for annexing land and killing thousands of people. Many of the participants in the session gave him a standing ovation after his speech on Wednesday.

Despite Russia’s determination to intensify its military campaign, the two sides participated in the largest prisoner exchange since the war’s inception.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending War

Ukraine war: Grave sites prompt calls for tribunal over Russian killings

By 455 0

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union leadership has called for an international tribunal. The appeal came from the Czech Republic, which is presently in charge of rotating the bloc’s presidency. It was made in response to the discovery of hundreds of graves in Izyum, a town that Ukrainian forces had just just recaptured.

It is said that many of them are civilians, including women and children. Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavsky stated, “We support the prosecution of all war criminals.” In Izyum, where 59 remains have already been exhumed and more are anticipated from graves in a forest on the outskirts of the city, Ukraine claims it believes war crimes have been committed.

“In the 21st Century, such attacks against the civilian population are unthinkable and abhorrent,” Mr Lipavsky said.

“We must not overlook it. We stand for the punishment of all war criminals,” he said.

“I call for the speedy establishment of a special international tribunal that will prosecute the crime of aggression.”

Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, announced in his weekly address on Saturday night that additional proof of torture against those interred in Izyum, in the Kharkiv region, had been uncovered.

More than ten torture chambers have already been discovered in various cities and towns throughout the Kharkiv region’s freed territory, according to Mr. Zelensky.

The Russians would be required to respond, he warned, “on the battlefield and in courtrooms.”

President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated on Thursday that she wanted Mr. Putin to testify before the International Criminal Court over war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending War

Ukraine war: We’ve retaken 6,000 sq km from Russia, says Zelensky

By 412 0

According to the president of the nation, Ukrainian forces are continuing their counteroffensive and have taken additional Russian land. According to Volodymyr Zelensky, forces have now liberated more than 6,000 sq km (2,317 sq miles) of territory in the east and south from Russian rule in September.

Some military experts believe that Russia’s admission that it lost important cities in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine could be a turning point in the war. Moscow refers to its recent troop pullout from the area as a “regrouping” with the intention of concentrating on the Luhansk and Donetsk areas in eastern Ukraine. Even in Russia, where many social media users have mocked the idea, the purported pullout has been called “shameful.”

Later on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces had made “substantial progress,” but cautioned that it was still too early to determine the outcome.

According to Mr. Blinken, “The Russians continue to utilise extremely considerable forces, as well as equipment, ammunition, and munitions, against not just the Ukrainian armed forces, but also against civilians and civilian infrastructure.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine completely. About a fifth of the country is still under Russian control. In his late-night video message on Monday, President Zelensky stated: “Our fighters have already liberated more than 6,000 sq km of the territory of Ukraine from the beginning of September till today.

The counteroffensive seems to have started quickly. President Zelensky claimed on Thursday that Ukrainian forces had retaken 1,000 square kilometres, but by Sunday, that claim had increased to 3,000 square kilometres.

Several Ukrainian brigades that participated in the counteroffensive were thanked by Mr. Zelensky, who called their soldiers “real heroes.” He withheld the names of the liberated Ukrainian towns and villages.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending

Ukraine war: Russians ‘outnumbered 8-1’ in counter-attack

By 378 0

According to Russia’s top occupation official there, Ukrainian forces outnumbered Russian ones eight to one during the counterattack last week in the Kharkiv region.  According to Vitaly Ganchev, who appeared on Russian television, the Ukrainian army had taken settlements in the north and reached the Russian border.

In a potential turning point in the six-month war, Ukraine claims to have reclaimed control over 3,000 sq km (1,158 sq miles) of land. The Ukrainian army claims that during its ongoing counteroffensive in the country’s northeast, 20 villages have been retaken in the last 24 hours alone.

Additionally, it said that its troops had taken control of almost 500 square kilometres in the southern Kherson region of the nation.

The success of the Ukrainian army, according to UK defence sources, will have “major ramifications” for Russia’s broader military strategy.

However, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, remained unfazed and declared that operations in Ukraine will continue “until all the tasks that were initially established” had been accomplished. He continued that President Vladimir Putin was regularly informed of the most recent events.

Russia said that its soldiers were conducting strikes in the recent retaken Ukrainian territory. This included the Izyum and Kupiansk targets that Ukraine captured on Saturday. Russia declared that its troops had left both towns and that this would give them time to “regroup.”

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending War

Ukraine: Ben Stiller and Sean Penn latest Americans banned from Russia

By 379 0

US actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn are no longer permitted to travel Russia after being added to the “stop list” by Kremlin officials. They join celebrities including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, and fellow Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia and a few Western countries have been exchanging rounds of sanctions. Similar travel restrictions have been imposed on oligarchs connected to Vladimir Putin in the West.

The names of 25 prominent US politicians, businesspeople, and actresses were released by the Russian foreign ministry on Monday, along with a statement that they were prohibited from entering Russia “permanently.” Six US senators, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, four deputy commerce secretaries, and more were listed.

The ministry declared that “the unfriendly acts of the American authorities, which continue to pursue a Russophobic course, damaging bilateral ties and growing conflict between Russia and the United States, will continue to be decisively rebuffed.”

Both Stiller and Penn have visited Kiev since the start of the conflict and have been strong opponents of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On a visit to Ukraine in June to commemorate World Refugee Day, Stiller, a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), expressed his thoughts for President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a video of the two, the celebrity tells Zelensky, “You’re my hero, you’re fantastic,” and thanks him for “taking the time” to meet him.

While making a documentary about the conflict in Ukraine in March, Penn—who is well-known for both his films and his political activism—fled the country. Later, he admitted that he had pondered enlisting in the Ukrainian military to combat Russia.

Currently, 1,073 names, including the two actors, are on Russia’s “stop list.” Numerous UK, US, and EU officials are also there, along with US director of photography Rob Reiner and incoming British Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Russia’s most recent retaliatory actions are in response to sanctions imposed by the US government. The most recent ones were made public on Friday as part of a larger G7 proposal to control the price of Russian oil in an effort to hinder Moscow’s ability to fund its conflict.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending War

Ukraine war: Russia to keep key gas pipeline to EU closed

By 397 0

Concerns over energy supply this winter have increased as a result of Russia’s main gas pipeline to Europe not reopening as scheduled on Saturday. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline may be permanently shut down after the state-owned energy company Gazprom reported discovering a leak.

Germany-bound pipeline has been closed for three days for what Gazprom referred to as maintenance work. In the midst of the turmoil in Ukraine, Europe accused Russia of exploiting its gas supply to threaten Europe. Moscow disputes this accusation. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, energy prices have increased sharply, and dwindling supplies could cause prices to rise even more.

Families in the EU are worried that they won’t be able to pay the expense of heating this winter.

The UK might be impacted as well. Although not dependent on Nord Stream 1, the interruption of the pipeline might increase the cost of wholesale gas, which is what has caused the energy price cap to grow exponentially.

Germany’s gas reserves have increased from less than half in June to 84% full today as a result of the standoff with Russia, which has compelled countries to replenish their own gas supply.

As a result, although they have decreased during the previous week, global gas prices are still high by historical norms.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright