KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Donald Trump to broker peace in Ukraine like in &quot;the Middle East&quot; during a phone call Saturday, saying if Trump could stop one war, &quot;others can be stopped as well&quot;. The call came a day after Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine&#39;s energy grid, knocking out power to parts of the capital Kyiv and nine other Ukrainian regions. Diplomatic efforts to end Russia&#39;s invasion of Ukraine have slowed in recent months, in part because global attention has shifted to Israel&#39;s two-year war with Palestinian group Hamas, Kyiv says. Trump, who announced the first phase of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday, met Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks in August but failed to extract any kind of peace deal. &quot;I had a call with US President Donald Trump. A very positive and productive one,&quot; Zelensky said on Facebook, congratulating Trump for his &quot;outstanding&quot; ceasefire plan in the Middle East. &quot;If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well, including the Russian war,&quot; Zelensky added, calling for Trump to pressure the Kremlin into negotiations. Relations between the two leaders have warmed dramatically since February, when they sparred during a now infamous televised meeting at the White House. Trump has since grown more hostile towards Moscow while expressing sympathy for Ukraine. In September, he wrote on Truth Social that Kyiv should try to &quot;take back&quot; all its occupied territory with Europe&#39;s and NATO&#39;s help. US First Lady Melania Trump said Friday she had secured the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia after establishing an extraordinary back channel of communication with Putin. Strikes cut powerRussian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five people on Saturday and cut power to parts of Ukraine&#39;s southern Odesa region, according to Ukrainian officials. Two of the people died inside a church in Kostyantynivka when it was hit by a strike, according to local authorities. In Russia&#39;s border region of Belgorod, a truck driver was killed by a Ukrainian strike, according to local officials. Moscow has targeted Ukraine&#39;s energy grid each winter since it invaded in 2022, cutting power and heating to millions of households and disrupting water supply in what Kyiv says is a brazen war crime. Russia denies targeting civilians and says Ukraine uses the energy sites to power its military sector. Ukrainian drone attacks meanwhile killed two people in Russia, according to regional officials. Both countries have accused each other of frustrating progress towards a peace deal in recent months. Russia blames Kyiv and its European allies for the impasse, accusing them of undermining peace negotiations with Washington. Ukraine and Europe accuse Russia of playing for time so it can seize more Ukrainian territory. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a &quot;special military operation&quot; to demilitarise the country and prevent the expansion of NATO. Kyiv and its European allies say the war is an illegal land grab that has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties and widespread destruction. Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes since 2022, while Russia now occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory -- much of it ravaged by fighting.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Donald Trump to mediate peace with Russia after major strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid, praising Trump’s Middle East ceasefire plan and calling for similar efforts to end the Ukraine war

Zelensky urges Trump to end Ukraine war like in 'the Middle East'

Reuters

Twenty-three Ukrainian children and adolescents have been brought out of Russian-occupied areas of the country to territory under Kyiv&#39;s control, President Volodymyr Zelensky&#39;s chief of staff said on Thursday. Andriy Yermak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the rescue was carried out under the president&#39;s &quot;Bring Kids Back UA&quot; programme aimed at bringing to safe areas children deported to Russia or confined to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. Yermak said those returning included two sisters who refused a demand to attend Russian schools made by Russia-installed authorities who had threatened to remove the girls from their mother&#39;s care. Refusal to attend Russian school&nbsp;Another teenage boy similarly refused to attend Russian school and one child and her mother were refused permission to leave occupied areas as one of their relatives was serving in the Ukrainian military. Ukraine says Russia has illegally deported or forcibly displaced more than 19,500 children to Russia and Belarus in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Research by Yale&#39;s School of Public Health suggested in September that the number could be closer to 35,000. Russia denies it has deported children from Ukraine, saying it has taken action to ensure they are safe from wartime hostilities.

Europe

Official says those returning included two sisters who refused a demand to attend Russian schools made by Russia-installed authorities; Ukraine says Russia has illegally deported or forcibly displaced more than 19,500 children to Russia.

Twenty-three children rescued from Russian-occupied areas: Ukrainian official 

KYIV: The Ukrainian capital was plunged into darkness early on Friday by what the air force called a &quot;massive attack,&quot; as Russia pummeled Kyiv&#39;s infrastructure, cutting off water and energy supplies. The Kremlin has escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems over recent weeks, mirroring similar campaigns launched over the previous three winters that left people without heating in frigid temperatures. AFP journalists in Kyiv heard several powerful explosions on Friday and experienced blackouts at their homes across different districts of the city. &quot;The capital of the country is under an enemy ballistic missile attack and a massive attack by the enemy strike drones,&quot; the Ukrainian air force said, urging people in Kyiv to remain in shelters. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Russian forces had targeted &quot;critical infrastructure&quot; and wounded at least nine people, five of whom were taken to hospital. &quot;The left bank of the capital is without electricity. There are also problems with water supply,&quot; Klitschko posted on Telegram. Ukrainian Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk said Russian forces were &quot;inflicting a massive strike&quot; on the grid. &quot;Energy workers are taking all necessary measures to minimize the negative consequences,&quot; Grynchuk wrote on Facebook. &quot;As soon as security conditions allow, energy workers will begin clarifying the consequences of the attack and restoration work,&quot; she said. Fearing an incoming hypersonic Kinzhal missile &mdash; which are harder to detect and intercept &mdash; Ukraine put the entire country on alert on Friday. Russia also hit the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia with at least seven overnight drone strikes, killing a seven-year-old and wounding at least three people, according to Ivan Fedorov, the head of the regional military administration. &#39;Create chaos&#39;&nbsp;Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Moscow was seeking to &quot;create chaos and apply psychological pressure&quot; through crippling energy facilities and railways. According to Zelensky, Russian attacks this year have already strained Ukrainian gas infrastructure, and more strikes could force his country to ramp up imports. Ukraine has also stepped up its drone and missile strikes on Russian territory, a tactic that Zelensky said was showing &quot;results&quot; and pushing up fuel prices in Russia. A Ukrainian hit on a power station in the Russian border region of Belgorod also caused power outages. Russia accused Ukraine on Thursday of rupturing a now-defunct pipeline near the frontline used to transport ammonia into Ukraine for export, releasing toxic gas. It posted a video showing what appeared to be clouds of a chemical compound spewing from a source in the ground. Authorities in Ukraine&#39;s eastern Donetsk region said the incident did not present a &quot;menace to the lives of people&quot; living nearby. Frontline evacuations&nbsp;Citing a recent uptick in Russian drone attacks, Ukrainian authorities ordered the evacuation of children and their guardians from Kramatorsk, the largest civilian hub in the Donetsk region still under Kyiv&#39;s control. In Sloviansk, another Donbas city under Ukrainian control, the mayor recently advised children and elderly people to leave, citing incessant attacks on the energy system. Ukrainian authorities said Russia is increasingly deploying small, cheap first-person-view drones that have dramatically changed the character of fighting across the sprawling front line over recent months. A Ukrainian delegation led by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is expected to visit the United States early next week to discuss, among other topics, energy and air defense under intensifying Russian strikes. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Washington and NATO allies were &quot;stepping up the pressure&quot; to end the war in Ukraine, though his attempts to negotiate with Russia&#39;s Vladimir Putin have so far failed to achieve a ceasefire. Trump hosted Putin in Alaska in August, after which Russia&#39;s attacks on Ukraine escalated. Russia said this week that momentum toward a peace deal had largely vanished.

Mayor says Russian forces targeted 'critical infrastructure', wounded at least nine people; Ukrainian delegation expected to visit US early next week to discuss energy, air defense; Russia also hit southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia with at least seven overnight drone strikes.

'Massive attack' cuts power in Ukrainian capital

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Washington and NATO allies were &quot;stepping up the pressure&quot; to end the war in Ukraine, after his outreach to Russia&#39;s Vladimir Putin failed to achieve a ceasefire. &quot;Yeah, we are stepping up the pressure,&quot; Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb when asked by an AFP reporter if he would increase efforts for a deal. &quot;We&#39;re stepping it up together. We&#39;re all stepping it up. NATO has been great,&quot; he added. Trump this week brokered a peace deal in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, but has said that the war sparked by Russia&#39;s 2022 invasion of Ukraine was proving even harder to solve. Trump hosted Putin in Alaska in August but failed to achieve a breakthrough, and since then Russia&#39;s attacks on Ukraine have escalated. Russia said on Wednesday that momentum towards reaching a peace deal in Ukraine had largely vanished following the meeting. Stubb said he was confident that Trump would be able to push through a deal on Ukraine following the Gaza deal between Israel and Hamas. &quot;I think this one will be the next big one,&quot; Stubb told reporters. Suggests Spain be expelled from NATO&nbsp;While speaking, President Trump suggested that Spain be expelled from NATO over its failure to match the higher defense spending requirement he has engineered. &quot;We had one laggard, it was Spain,&quot; Trump told reporters.&nbsp; &quot;They have no excuse not to do this, but that&#39;s all right. Maybe you should throw them out of NATO frankly.&quot; In June, the 32-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreed to massively boost defense spending over the next decade under pressure from Trump, who at the time threatened to punish Madrid on trade for resisting the new target of five percent of GDP. Spain&#39;s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has insisted Madrid would not need to hit the headline figure. Spain has been one of the lowest-spending NATO countries on defense in relative terms. The US president &mdash; who has repeatedly suggested Washington could withhold protection from European countries unwilling to spend more on defense &mdash; rammed through the commitment to spend 5% of their GDPs on security-related spending in a move seen as key to keeping him engaged with NATO. That headline figure breaks down as 3.5% on core defense spending and 1.5% on a looser range of areas such as infrastructure and cyber security. The new target replaces the alliance&#39;s former military spending goal of 2%, first set back in 2014.

Finnish President Stubb confident Trump will be able to push through a deal on Ukraine; Trump suggests Spain be expelled from NATO. 

Trump says 'stepping up pressure' to end Ukraine war

KYIV: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused Kyiv of conducting strikes around the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and warned Moscow may respond reciprocally. &quot;They still have functional nuclear power plants on their side. What prevents us from responding in kind? Let them think about this,&quot; he said in answer to a question about the nuclear facility, now off the grid for more than a week after strikes, for which Russia and Ukraine have traded blame.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of striking near the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and warned Moscow could respond similarly, stressing Ukraine also has nuclear facilities. Both sides continue blaming each other for recent attacks.

Putin warns Kyiv Russia may strike Ukraine's nuclear plants

MOSCOW: Russia on Saturday claimed to have captured three villages in eastern Ukraine, as its forces slowly grind through Ukrainian defenses in costly battles.&nbsp;Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in fierce meter-for-meter skirmishes for largely devastated areas in eastern Ukraine, with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.&nbsp;Moscow has captured about 0.8 percent of Ukraine&#39;s total land area since the beginning of the year, according to Russia&#39;s Ministry of Defense.&nbsp;The villages of Derylove and Maiske were seized in the Donetsk region, Moscow&#39;s army said in a statement, while the settlement of Stepove was taken in the Dnipropetrovsk region.&nbsp;Ukraine said an overnight Russian barrage killed one person and wounded 12 in the southeastern Kherson region, and damaged railways in the neighboring Odesa region.&nbsp;Russia said an oil pumping station in the Chuvashia republic suspended operation after a Ukrainian drone strike deep behind the front line.&nbsp;Kyiv has been targeting Russian refineries for months, calling the attacks fair retribution for Moscow&#39;s own barrages and an attempt to cut off energy revenues that fund Russia&#39;s army.&nbsp;Diplomatic efforts to stop the war, now nearing its fourth year, have faltered, with US President Donald Trump recently floating the idea that Ukraine may be able to take back all of its lost land from Russia, which vowed to press on the offensive.

Russia Ukraine war, Russia Ukraine conflict

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in fierce meter-for-meter skirmishes for largely devastated areas in eastern Ukraine, with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia says seized three villages in east Ukraine

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The top US diplomat Marco Rubio issued a blunt call to his Russian counterpart to halt the &quot;killing&quot; in Ukraine Wednesday, as Washington&#39;s stance on Moscow hardens, AFP reported. Rubio &quot;reiterated President (Donald) Trump&#39;s call for the killing to stop and the need for Moscow to take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war,&quot; State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. Lavrov fired back and &quot;stressed the unacceptability of the schemes promoted by Kyiv and some European capitals aimed at prolonging the conflict,&quot; according to a readout of their conversation supplied by the Russian side. Unexpected turn&nbsp;Rubio&#39;s comments came after President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Trump following the US president&#39;s unexpected turn against Russia Tuesday, in which he suggested that Kyiv could not only win the war and re-take its territory -- but could even expand it. But the Ukrainian leader cast doubt Wednesday on NATO&#39;s ability to guarantee Kyiv&#39;s security. &quot;Because international institutions are too weak, this madness continues. Even being part of the long-standing military alliance doesn&#39;t automatically mean you are safe,&quot; Zelensky told the UN General Assembly. &lsquo;Good meeting&rsquo;Zelensky said he had a &quot;good meeting&quot; with Trump, who has ruled out NATO membership for Kyiv and berated the Ukrainian leader at a February encounter at the White House before warming to him. &quot;Of course we are doing everything to make sure Europe truly helps and of course, we count on the United States,&quot; Zelensky said. Trump&#39;s suggestion Tuesday that Kyiv could win, with support from the European Union and NATO, marked an extraordinary shift after months of saying Ukraine would not get back swaths of territory taken by Russia, AFP reported. Trump said Ukraine could regain all its land and suggested, without elaborating, that Kyiv could &quot;maybe even go further than that!&quot; In a social media post on White House X handle, President Trump said &ldquo;Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.&rdquo;&nbsp;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1970564074850123952&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=0694ba007bfe0945f9eda993896e78df390988cc&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 686px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1970564074850123952">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&ldquo;In any event, I wish both Countries well. We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them. Good luck to all!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#39;Big fat missiles&#39;&nbsp;The US leader&#39;s comments marked his latest in a series of policy switches on Ukraine, including a sudden pivot to peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin early this year that stunned allies, AFP reported. Zelensky, in his speech at the UN, appealed: &ldquo;Be the force that acts. Act together. Unite at last to stop Russia&rsquo;s war. We know how to guarantee security. What we need now is a strong push &ndash; to force Russia toward peace.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1970614234179674386&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=0694ba007bfe0945f9eda993896e78df390988cc&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 456px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1970614234179674386"></iframe></div></div>Zelensky warned Wednesday that Europe could not afford to lose strategically located Moldova to Russian influence and let it follow Belarus and Georgia into Moscow&#39;s orbit, AFP reported. Moldova, a former Soviet republic, goes to the polls on Sunday with pro-EU President Maia Sandu facing a barrage of deepfake videos and other disinformation linked to Russia. Zelensky also sounded the alarm over the development of autonomous drones and unmanned aerial vehicles capable of shooting down other drones and targeting critical infrastructure. &lsquo;Friends and weapons&rsquo;&quot;We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history, because this time it includes artificial intelligence,&quot; he said, adding that the only real security guarantees are &quot;friends and weapons.&quot; &quot;If the world can&#39;t respond even to all threats, and if there is no strong platform for international security, will there be any peace left on earth?&quot; The wartime leader, who has a packed itinerary of meetings with world leaders while in New York for the UN&#39;s signature diplomatic week, stressed that Ukraine had been forced to ramp up its military production. &quot;Ukraine doesn&#39;t have the big fat missiles dictators love to show off in parades, but we do have drones that can fly up to 2,000, 3,000 kilometers. &quot;We had no choice but to build them to protect our right to life.&quot;

US Secretary Marco Rubio urged Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine, echoing Trump’s surprising shift supporting Kyiv's victory. Zelensky, citing weak global institutions, urged unified action to resist Russia and defend democracy.

Articles tagged with "Russia-Ukraine War"