All posts tagged: Vladimir Putin

Russia ‘abducting children and training them to fight on frontline’ | World | News

Russia ‘abducting children and training them to fight on frontline’ | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed Russian soldiers are attempting to abduct and train Ukrainian children to fight on the frontlines. The Ukrainian leader made the claim in a recent interview where he outlined how Russian soldiers were, under orders from Vladimir Putin, kidnapping the children and turning them against their home country. Speaking to CBS News, Mr Zelensky said: “When these children grow up, they push these boys to the battlefield.” He went on to claim that he has “evidence of it” happening but did not provide any further details. Mr Zelensky went on to outline how Russia had been offering to trade the children for soldiers captured on the battlefield. He said: “It’s important to get back our warriors, war prisoners, but we can’t exchange them [for] the children. “Can you imagine, how we can exchange our children? We can’t. First of all, it’s out of the law. We can’t exchange civilians.” The president also told CBS that Ukraine has documented the abduction of at least 20,000 Ukrainian children, and wants help tracking down …

North Korean POWs: Political pawns in Russia’s war on Ukraine? | Kim Jong Un

North Korean POWs: Political pawns in Russia’s war on Ukraine? | Kim Jong Un

Published by Sam Flores

101 East investigates the plight of two North Korean POWs in Ukraine and the campaign to transfer them to South Korea. In January 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced to the world the capture of two North Korean soldiers. It was the first hard evidence that Kim Jong Un had secretly deployed some 15,000 special forces troops to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine in exchange for billions of dollars worth of military technology and cash for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme. But posting the POWs’ images online and opening their prison doors to media caused alarm, with international human rights organisations arguing that such exposure breaches the Geneva Convention and puts the soldiers and their families in North Korea in grave danger. As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, 101 East investigates whether North Korean POWs are being used as political pawns and the challenges of bringing them to safety in South Korea. Published On 30 May 202630 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Source link

Talk to Russia? First, Europe needs to pick an envoy – and know what it wants to say

Talk to Russia? First, Europe needs to pick an envoy – and know what it wants to say

Published by Sam Flores

With Washington distracted by the US-Israeli war against Iran and Russian President Vladimir Putin appearing on the back foot as his troops’ advance slows, Europe is seriously weighing the possibility of talking to Moscow about ending the war in Ukraine. But before they consider sitting down with the Kremlin, Kyiv’s European backers are first looking to decide what they want to discuss with Putin – and who could represent them. Trying to get a better picture of those goals and determining if talking to Russia is even realistic now is top of the agenda at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Cyprus on Thursday. “Before we talk to the Russians, we should agree and talk amongst ourselves what we want to talk to the Russians about,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. The debate on re-engaging with Moscow has been getting louder as US efforts to end the bloodshed have hit a dead end and President Donald Trump’s attention has been consumed by Iran. Ukraine is pushing for Europe – sidelined until now by Washington – to …

Ukraine war briefing: Eliminate Putin’s ‘last major advantage,’ Zelenskyy urges Washington

Ukraine war briefing: Eliminate Putin’s ‘last major advantage,’ Zelenskyy urges Washington

Published by Sam Flores

Nearly half a million Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion more than four years ago, according to a new estimate from Anne Keast-Butler, head of the British electronic intelligence agency GCHQ. Keast-Butler said Russia was “going backwards on the battlefield” inside Ukraine for the first time since late 2022, Dan Sabbagh writes. Russian casualties, killed and wounded, have been estimated by the west to be running at about 30,000 a month during April. This month, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said that, of those, 15,000 to 20,000 a month were killed. Source link

Russia could pull European nation into gruelling war with Ukraine | World | News

Russia could pull European nation into gruelling war with Ukraine | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

Russia could drag another European country into the ongoing war with Ukraine, a UK Defence Journal spokesperson has warned. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was launched in February 2022 and has shown no sign of stopping. Defence expert George Allison says that Russia will aim to include an ally state in the hopes of gaining power in the stalemate. Whether Belarus joins the war against Ukraine is yet to be seen, but UK Defence Journal editor Allison suggests it would benefit the country, which borders Russia. Speaking to Metro, Allison outlined how Russia had already built up a military infrastructure within the neighbouring country. Allison said: “Ukraine has warned repeatedly this year that Russia is building up military infrastructure in Belarus, including new roads and artillery positions along the northern border. Kyiv says Moscow has been actively pressuring Lukashenko to commit Belarusian forces to the conflict, and claims to have details of direct conversations between Putin and the Belarusian leader. “Zelensky says Ukraine is war-gaming scenarios in which Russia uses Belarus to strike toward (Ukrainian …

Putin’s message finds a home on French TV  – POLITICO

Putin’s message finds a home on French TV  – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

French operation In a memoir published last year, Fedorova mentions her “deeply personal” bond with Ukraine, where both her parents were born when it was still part of the Soviet Union. She grew up partly in Austria, where her widowed mother — whom she describes as a former journalist-turned-entrepreneur — emigrated with her seven children to escape the chaos that followed the collapse of the Iron Curtain. Fedorova said she had first considered a career in diplomacy and studied international relations before deciding to turn to journalism. Her international background and language skills — Russian, German, English and some French, which she studied in Paris for several months — landed her a job with RT, where she rose quickly through the ranks. Aged 37 at the time of RT France’s launch, Fedorova had spent much of her career inside the RT group, working in Moscow and Berlin before being tapped to lead the French operation. Encouraged by Simonyan, she became the outlet’s president and editorial director, building its newsroom, overseeing operations and shaping the channel’s …

Putin burns through his best missiles in desperate Ukraine fightback

Putin burns through his best missiles in desperate Ukraine fightback

Published by Sam Flores

Credit: Telegram/Censor.net Until this weekend, the prevailing narrative in the Russia-Ukraine war was that Vladimir Putin was on the back foot. Ukraine’s long-range drones struck four miles from the Kremlin. Russia’s victory day parade was only possible because Volodymyr Zelensky agreed not to attack it. Putin now spends much of his time in underground bunkers. The Russian people are frustrated and worried in equal measure as the war is thrust upon them at home. Looking to arrest the decline, Putin fired 90 of his biggest, most damaging missiles at Kyiv. On Sunday, every one of the Ukrainian capital’s districts was hit, by Kh-101 cruise missiles, Iskander-M/S-400s, Kh-47M2 Kinzhals, 3M22 Zircons and one hypersonic Oreshnik. Russia fired 83 missiles throughout May 2025. At the weekend, it surpassed that in one barrage. Moscow was willing to ransack its reserves to send a message. The package of missiles and drones cost some £268m, including the £37m cost of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile that hit the town of Bila Tserkva, some 50 miles south of Kyiv, in only its …

Zelenskyy’s top negotiator flies to Berlin for talks with Germany, France, UK – POLITICO

Zelenskyy’s top negotiator flies to Berlin for talks with Germany, France, UK – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The diplomatic engagement comes at a crucial moment after Russia executed a massive attack on Kyiv over the weekend and threatened further “consistent and systemic strikes.” The Russian foreign ministry urged diplomats and foreign citizens to leave the city “as soon as possible,” while the EU’s ambassador to Ukraine rejected the demand, saying, “We stay in Kyiv. We stay with Ukraine.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated Friday that America would backtrack from Ukraine peace talks it was leading, saying they “were not fruitful, unfortunately” and adding, “If someone else would like to handle it, they should.” European officials have in recent weeks discussed whether to reach out directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin for negotiations, with names such as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel being floated for the role — although she said she wouldn’t be the right person. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told German daily Welt earlier this month that the E3 group was “making a fresh attempt to re-enter negotiations — with Europe playing a greater role in the coming …

How the Venice Biennale became Russia’s way back into Europe – POLITICO

How the Venice Biennale became Russia’s way back into Europe – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Featuring giant floral installations and various musical performances, Russia’s exhibit was one of the most politically explosive in years, drawing politicians, artists, dissidents and European institutions into an increasingly bitter clash over culture, propaganda and freedom of expression. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini personally visited the pavilion during the pre-opening days. “Art has no borders, no censorship, no gag,” he said. “Culture and sport should remain neutral spaces and places of encounter.” But for critics of Russia’s participation, Russia’s display was less about artistic freedom than an attempt to regain international legitimacy after the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A Ukrainian protester is pictured in front of the closed Russian pavilion on the day of the Biennale’s official opening to the public. | Martina Sapio/POLITICO “The presence of Russia at the Biennale is an attempt to normalize the war,” said Ksenia Malykh, curator of the Ukrainian pavilion, which had its central installation — a deer statue called “Security Guarantees” — installed within sight of the Russia’s building. These concerns had already triggered …