All posts tagged: Zelenskiy

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy: Russia wants to bring in 30,000 North Korean troops to conflict

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy: Russia wants to bring in 30,000 North Korean troops to conflict

July 25 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Russia wanted to ‌bring in 30,000 North Korean troops ‌to take part in its more than four-year-old conflict and ​was already preparing to receive them. Under a mutual defense pact, North Korea sent an estimated 14,000 soldiers to Russia’s Kursk Region in 2024 ‌to help Moscow ⁠beat back a major incursion into the region by Ukrainian forces. “We also ⁠see Russia’s cooperation with North Korea. Russia wants to bring in another 30,000 North Korean troops,” ​Zelenskiy said ​in his nightly ​video address. “Preparations have been ‌under way in Russia’s Voronezh region since June to receive them.” Zelenskiy said North Korea was preparing to supply Russia with new launchers for ballistic missiles. “This is a threat not only to ‌Ukraine. Russia is helping ​North Korea learn how to ​wage war, ​improve its weapons and gain real ‌combat experience in using them,” he ​said. “All of ​this poses a threat to every country in Asia that lies within range of ​North Korean ‌missiles.” Zelenskiy vowed …

Ukraine Returns 160 Servicemen From Russian Captivity, Zelenskiy Says

Ukraine Returns 160 Servicemen From Russian Captivity, Zelenskiy Says

KYIV, ⁠June ⁠26 (Reuters) – Ukraine ⁠has ​brought ‌home 160 ‌servicemen ⁠from Russian ⁠captivity, President Volodymyr ​Zelenskiy ​said on ⁠Friday. All ⁠of ⁠them had been ​held ​since ⁠2022, ⁠he added in a statement ⁠on the Telegram messaging app. (Reporting ⁠by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by ​Aidan ​Lewis) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Photos You Should See – June 2026 Source link

Zelenskiy Warns of Impending Massive Russian Attack on Ukraine

Zelenskiy Warns of Impending Massive Russian Attack on Ukraine

June 20 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on ⁠Saturday ⁠that Russian forces were ⁠preparing an impending massive attack on Ukraine and warned ​residents to take special care as Russian strikes in different regions killed at ‌least six people. “Tonight and in ‌the coming hours, it is especially important to pay close attention ⁠to air ⁠raid warnings,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “The Russians ​have prepared for a massive attack. Please take care of yourselves.” Russian forces have staged a series of heavy attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks and in ​other major cities. Strikes last Monday killed 10 people throughout the country ⁠and ⁠badly damaged the Pechersk Lavra ⁠monastery, ​a 1,000-year-old monastery that stands as a symbol of Ukrainian spiritual and cultural ​heritage. Zelenskiy has pledged ⁠that his military would press on with its campaign of medium and long-range strikes, focused on the oil sector. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in Tyumen region in western Siberia on Saturday and Ukrainian ⁠drones also struck Moscow’s oil refinery twice this week. …

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Says He Returned State Decoration to Polish President

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Says He Returned State Decoration to Polish President

By Dan Peleschuk and Anna Koper KYIV/WARSAW, June 20 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on ⁠Saturday ⁠he had returned a state decoration a day after ⁠Poland’s president said he had stripped him of the award in connection with a dispute over events in World War ​Two. Three former Ukrainian presidents said they were also returning their state awards to Poland, as did other senior officials. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said on Friday he had revoked the Order ‌of the White Eagle awarded to Zelenskiy in ‌2023 after the Ukrainian president renamed a military unit in honour of World War Two-era Ukrainian insurgents accused of massacring Poles. The row over the role of the Ukrainian Insurgent ⁠Army (UPA) threatens to deepen ⁠a diplomatic rift between the close strategic partners as Kyiv rallies allies to push Russia to end ​its more than four-year-old war on Ukraine. “We believed that the Order of the White Eagle, awarded in 2023, was meant for the Ukrainian People and our army. That is what was said at the time,” …

Poland Strips Zelenskiy of Top Honour as WW2 Dispute Sours Ties

Poland Strips Zelenskiy of Top Honour as WW2 Dispute Sours Ties

WARSAW, June 19 (Reuters) – Poland’s president has decided to strip Volodymyr Zelenskiy of ⁠the ⁠country’s top honour after the Ukrainian president caused ⁠outrage by renaming an army unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), nationalists who massacred Poles during World ​War Two. President Karol Nawrocki’s decision looked likely to unleash a severe diplomatic crisis between the neighbours just days ahead of a conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction in ‌the Polish city of Gdansk. “In light of ‌President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s consent to name one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Heroes of the UPA,”… I have decided to revoke ⁠the Order of ⁠the White Eagle from the President of Ukraine,” Nawrocki said in a statement. “At this point, ​I would like to emphasize: this decision is not directed against the Ukrainian people. It does not signify a change in the strategic direction of Polish security policy.” There was no immediate comment from Zelenskiy’s office. While Warsaw is a strong supporter of Kyiv’s war effort, public sentiment towards Ukraine has become more and more ​negative in …

Russian Nationalists Slam Zelenskiy Letter as PR Stunt Designed to Stir Discontent

Russian Nationalists Slam Zelenskiy Letter as PR Stunt Designed to Stir Discontent

MOSCOW, June 5 (Reuters) – Russian nationalists dismissed on Friday an open ⁠letter ⁠penned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to President ⁠Vladimir Putin as a malicious public relations stunt designed to stir up discontent inside Russia rather ​than end the war.    Zelenskiy published his letter, in which he proposed the two leaders meet to agree an end to more than four years of fighting, ‌as Putin was holding an event with ‌foreign news editors at his showcase economic forum in St Petersburg. Putin stuck to his hardline stance on the war during the meeting and said ⁠his troops were ⁠advancing on the battlefield every day. But he also said U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposals ​for peace could end the fighting if Kyiv was ready to compromise. Both sides accuse the other of refusing to compromise. Putin – who is due to speak later on Friday at the forum – has yet to respond to the letter, but his spokesman said he had been briefed on its contents. Russian nationalists and war bloggers ​were scathing in …

Zelenskiy Says Ukrainian Military Can Hit Russian Logistics Throughout Occupied Areas

Zelenskiy Says Ukrainian Military Can Hit Russian Logistics Throughout Occupied Areas

June 1 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ⁠said ⁠on Monday that ⁠Ukraine’s military was now capable of ​hitting Russian logistics throughout occupied areas of Ukraine and ‌had created shortages of ‌fuel in Crimea and other Russian-held ⁠regions. “Our ⁠troops are now capable of reaching Russian military logistics ​across virtually the entire depth of the temporarily occupied territories,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “In ​practice, there are almost no safe roads left ⁠for ⁠the occupier in the ⁠south ​and east of our country.” Ukraine in recent months has ​stepped up strikes ⁠on medium-range targets as well as others many hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine’s borders, focusing on Russia’s oil industry. Zelenskiy said that from ⁠January to May, Ukrainian forces had struck 15 Russian oil ⁠refineries. Ukraine’s actions, he said, provided “further proof that there will be no peaceful times for the occupier on our land.” “This is also reflected in shortages, above all fuel shortages in Crimea and in other areas that remain under occupation.” Drivers in Crimea, the Ukrainian ⁠peninsula annexed by Russia …

Zelenskiy Could Be Stripped of Top Polish Honour, Poland’s President Says

Zelenskiy Could Be Stripped of Top Polish Honour, Poland’s President Says

By Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk WARSAW, May 29 (Reuters) – Poland’s president said on Friday he wanted ⁠a ⁠state body to discuss stripping Ukrainian President Volodymyr ⁠Zelenskiy of Poland’s top honour, after Ukraine renamed an army unit after nationalist insurgents who massacred ​Poles in World War Two. Poland has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv during Russia’s war in Ukraine, and former President Andrzej Duda awarded Zelenskiy the ‌Order of the White Eagle in 2023. But Zelenskiy ‌has caused indignation in Poland by signing a decree recognising a Ukrainian special forces unit’s contribution to the fight against Russian forces by ⁠naming it after ⁠the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Some Ukrainians regard the UPA as heroes for the resistance they mounted ​against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and as symbols of Kyiv’s struggle for independence from Moscow. But the UPA was also involved in the Volhynia massacres, a series of killings from 1943 to 1945 in which Poland says around 100,000 Poles were killed by Ukrainian nationalists. Thousands of Ukrainians also died in reprisal ​killings. “Glorifying the …

Russia Preparing Strike on Ukraine Using Hypersonic ‘Oreshnik’ Missile, Zelenskiy Says

Russia Preparing Strike on Ukraine Using Hypersonic ‘Oreshnik’ Missile, Zelenskiy Says

KYIV, May 23 (Reuters) – Russia is preparing a ⁠strike ⁠against Ukraine using a hypersonic ⁠Oreshnik ballistic missile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday, ​citing intelligence from Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe. The warning came a day after Russian ‌President Vladimir Putin ordered his ‌military to prepare options for retaliation against Ukraine for a drone strike ⁠on a ⁠student dorm in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s military ​denied responsibility for that attack. “We are seeing signs of preparation for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv, involving various types of weaponry. The specified intermediate-range weapons could ​be used in such a strike,” Zelenskiy said in an X post that ⁠did ⁠not mention the drone ⁠attack. Russia has ​already attacked Ukraine twice with the Oreshnik, a missile which President Vladimir Putin ​has boasted is impossible ⁠to intercept because of its reported velocity of more than 10 times the speed of sound. Moscow first fired an Oreshnik against what it said was a military factory in Ukraine in November 2024. On that …

Kremlin Dismisses Zelenskiy Warning on Russian Threat to NATO From Belarus

Kremlin Dismisses Zelenskiy Warning on Russian Threat to NATO From Belarus

MOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters) – The Kremlin ⁠said ⁠on Monday that ⁠Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s assertion that ​Russia was considering an attack on a NATO country ‌from Belarus did not ‌deserve a response from Russia. On Friday, Zelenskiy ⁠said ⁠Russia was seeking to draw Belarus deeper into its ​war in Ukraine and was weighing plans to attack Ukraine’s north or a NATO country from Belarusian ​territory. Belarus borders Ukraine to the south, and NATO ⁠members Poland, ⁠Lithuania and Latvia ⁠to ​the north and west. It allowed Russia to use its ​territory as ⁠a launchpad for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and hosts Russian tactical nuclear weapons.  Asked about Zelenskiy’s allegation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Such a ⁠statement is nothing other than an attempt at further incitement ⁠aimed at prolonging the war and escalating tensions.” “We do not think that such a statement deserves any comment,” he told journalists. On Monday, the Belarusian Defence Ministry said its armed forces, in cooperation with Russia, had begun an exercise to test the military’s readiness to ⁠deploy nuclear …