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“As a Sukhoi Su-34 air force plane was flying over the city of Belgorod there was an accidental discharge of aviation ammunition,” the defence ministry said, according to Tass. FILE: In this photo taken from video released by Russian TV Pool, Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) visits Mariupol in Russian-controlled Donetsk region in Ukraine. A Russian warplane accidentally discharged a weapon that exploded in the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the Ukrainian border, late Thursday night, causing an explosion and injuring several people, Politico, quoting state media, reports. “At around 22:15 Moscow time on April 20, when a Su-34 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces was performing a flight above the city of Belgorod, an emergency release of an air ordnance occurred,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement to TASS, which didn’t specify the weapon that caused the damage, the report said. The Sukhoi Su-34 is a supersonic fighter-bomber jet. Late on Thursday, local autho...

  Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late on Sunday that about 60 people who were sheltering at a school in the eastern village of Bilohorivka were killed by a Russian bombing. “As a result of a Russian strike on Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region, about 60 people were killed, civilians, who simply hid at the school, sheltering from shelling,” Mr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. To know more:  https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2022/02/18/russia-ukraine-latest-news/

  Russia plans to take full control of Donbas and Southern Ukraine as part of the second phase of the military operation, the deputy commander of Russia’s central military district said on Friday, the Interfax news agency reported. Stay with TOI for live updates To Know More:  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-live-updates-april-21/liveblog/90966633.cms

  Ahmad has been selling naem, a Ramadan delicacy, for years. He makes the sweet bread himself, mixing water, flour and grape molasses, a concoction that proves popular every year with the public in Damascus. But business is flagging, and the prices of the ingredients he uses are at an all-time high. To Know More: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-ramadan-impoverished-food-scarce-exorbitant-prices

For 20 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been hiding his daughters from his marriage to Lyudmila Putina. They lived under assumed surnames and never appeared in public in connection to him. He attributed this to security concerns and to their own reluctance to take on public roles. To Know More : https://www.occrp.org/en/37-ccblog/ccblog/16172-2022-04-07-16-58-45  

MADRID, April 5 (Reuters) - Spain will expel some 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff from Madrid, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday, in response to alleged war crimes by the Russian military in Ukraine. "We have decided to expel Russian diplomats and staff from the Russian embassy in Spain who represent a threat to the interests and security of our country," he said after the weekly cabinet meeting, without ruling out further measures. A source said the Russian ambassador was not among the diplomats to be expelled. Italy, Denmark and Sweden also announced expulsions of Russian diplomats earlier on Tuesday.

  With war entering fourth week, US increases support for Ukraine as diplomatic efforts to secure ceasefire continue. Firefighters work at residential buildings damaged by shelling, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues To Know More: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/16/russian-slams-biden-for-calling-putin-a-war-criminal-liveblog

Presidents of eight EU states have called to immediately grant EU candidate country status to Ukraine, paving the way for accession to the 27-member bloc. It's now the fifth day of the conflict. The International Criminal Court plans to open an investigation into Russia's invasion of Ukraine and alleged war crimes committed there. A picture taken on February 19, 2020 shows the European Union flags fluttering outside the European Commission building in Brussels. Russia has been expelled from the 2022 World Cup and Russian athletes and teams have been banned from international sporting events. The rouble plunged to an all-time low on Monday after Western nations announced fresh sanctions and Russian President Vladimir Putin put nuclear-armed forces on high alert. In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Putin said that the West recognising Russia's sovereignty over Crimea and the demilitarisation of Ukraine were pre-requisites for putting an end to fighti...

Encountering deepening global isolation, Russia faced urgent calls Monday to end its "unprovoked" and "unjustified" assault on Ukraine as the UN General Assembly's 193 members held an extraordinary debate on the invasion of the ex-Soviet state. Ukraine's UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya holds a copy of a screen shot he read from during his address to the emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly, Monday, Feb. 28, 2022 During the rare emergency special session, just the 11th the Assembly has held in its history, Russia defended its decision to invade its neighbour as nation after nation urged peace from the podium. On the sidelines, the United States said it was expelling from the country 12 "intelligence operatives" at Russia's United Nations mission for "engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security." Inside the General Assembly hall, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, plea...

The Communist nominee in France’s April presidential election has suggested storming Russian oligarchs’ winter palaces on the French Riviera and handing them over to Ukrainian refugees as candidates scramble to adjust their pitches in a campaign hijacked by the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian flag and anti-Putin messages painted on the gate of a villa belonging to the Russian president’s former wife in Anglet, near Biarritz, on February 27, 2022 With the first round of France’s presidential election less than six weeks away, a lacklustre campaign already overshadowed by the lingering Covid-19 pandemic has been thrown further off course by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Foreign policy is typically a sideshow in French presidential campaigns, but Europe’s biggest military invasion since World War II has left France’s presidential hopefuls with no option but to venture into geopolitics and test their credentials as future commanders-in-chief. With a few notable exceptions, ca...

  Russian artillery bombarded residential districts of Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv on Monday, with Moscow facing increasing international isolation as talks to resolve the conflict failed to make a breakthrough. Ukrainian officials said the Kharkiv attacks had killed civilians, including children. Follow our liveblog for updates. Reports of a Russian air strike on Kyiv. Cars are seen through the damaged window of a vehicle hit by bullets, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 28, 2022 Satellite images show a huge convoy of Russian armour is advancing on Kyiv. Russian artillery bombarded residential districts of Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv on Monday, killing possibly dozens of people, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine’s ambassador to the US said Russia had used a vacuum bomb on Monday in its invasion of Kyiv says 352 civilians have been killed, including 14 children, since the invasion began last Thursday. The first talks aimed at s...

  Ukraine crisis: Eleven nations favoured the resolution while China and the UAE, apart from India, skipped voting. India skipped voting  against Russia as a resolution to halt troops in Ukraine was taken up at an emegency meeting at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). While Moscow vetoed the resolution, the US and many other nations used the platform to corner the Kremlin as it continues attack on the Ukrainian capital that has been on edge amid fresh explosions since Saturday morning. TS Tirumurti, the permanent representative to the UN, said India chose to abstain on the UNSC resolution on Ukraine because the path of diplomacy was given up. Eleven nations favoured the resolution to stop the war in Ukraine while China and the UAE, apart from India, skipped voting. India’s Permanent Representative to UN, TS Tirumurti, gave a point-by-point breakdown on the reason of abstention. Speaking on an urgent need of dialogue and sovereignity of states, Tirumurti said: “It is a...

Ukrainian communities in the US and Canada are organising demonstrations, fundraisers after Russian invasion of Ukraine. ​ Los Angeles, California – In response to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States and Canada is demonstrating, fundraising, organising social media campaigns, and calling on their elected leaders to act. Demonstrations and flash mobs began in the United States in the first hours after the Russian invasion and more are planned in the coming days On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine, bombing cities across the country, including the capital, Kyiv, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least 137 Ukrainians had been killed on the first day of the attack. Watching the news from New York City, Ukrainian-born Dmytro Shein felt the urge to help. His grandmother had moved from Ukraine to the US in the 1990s, and he and his mother followed in the early 2000s. His father, uncles and aunts still live i...

Soldiers who reportedly stood their ground in the face of Russian naval attack to be honoured, Ukraine president says. Ukraine says it will posthumously honour a group of Ukrainian border guards who were killed defending a tiny island in the Black Sea during a multi-pronged Russian invasion. A Ukrainian official says 13 border guards were killed after a defiant verbal exchange between Ukraine and Russian forces Ukraine lost contact with its forces on Zmiinyi (Snake) Island , a speck of land south of the port of Odesa, on Thursday after Russia conducted strikes from air and sea. A Ukrainian official said 13 soldiers were killed and he circulated an audio clip that he and media outlet Ukrainskaya Pravda said was a verbal exchange between Ukrainian and Russian forces. “This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary victims. Otherwise you will be bombed,” audio of the alleged Russian warning said. “Russia...

Ukraine’s president finds himself the number one target of the Russian army as Moscow reportedly seeks regime change. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to power in 2019, taking charge of the war-torn, corruption-plagued country of about 45 million without any prior political experience. Zelenskyy came to power in 2019 as a political novice The political novice and former sitcom actor and comedian, who was dismissed by critics as a puppet of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, won his presidency by securing more than 73 percent of ballots, promising to balance the defence of Ukraine from Russian aggression with protecting the Russian speakers of his country. Born in the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, the father of two was seen as best placed to succeed in his mission and shortly after becoming president, used diplomacy to get Moscow to exchange several groups of Ukrainian prisoners of war. But the goodwill of Rus...

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a self-shot video from central Kyiv on Friday vowing alongside key aides to stay and defend the capital against the Russian invasion. This screen grab taken from a video of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky shows himself speaking on Feb. 25, 2022 “We’re all here. Our military is here. Citizens in society are here. We’re all here defending our independence, our country, and it will stay this way,” Zelensky said standing outside the presidency building. Wearing olive green military-style clothing and standing with his prime minister, chief of staff and other senior aides, Zelensky appeared to be responding to pressure from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Russian troops clashed briefly with Ukrainian forces for the first time within Kyiv itself on Friday. Larger forces are bearing down on the capital and the city was braced for a possible night of air strikes. Meanwhile, in a televised address from Moscow, Putin branded Z...

The US sanctioned Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and his top diplomat Sergei Lavrov Friday in the latest of a string of Western moves in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Members of the Russian national security team, including Defense Minister Shoigu and First Deputy Defense Minister Gerasimov, were also sanctioned. Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and his top diplomat Sergei Lavrov at the Kremlin “Treasury is continuing to inflict costs on the Russian Federation and President Putin for their brutal and unprovoked assault on the people of Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “We are united with our international allies and partners to ensure Russia pays a severe economic and diplomatic price for its further invasion of Ukraine. If necessary, we are prepared to impose further costs on Russia for its appalling behavior on the world stage.” Putin is one of the few heads of state to be designated by the US, which sends more of a signal than it...

Warning comes as Western powers say Russian ‘invasion’ of Ukraine has started with moves in Donbas. Ukraine has urged its citizens to leave Russia and has slapped sanctions on hundreds of Russians as war fears rise. In an advisory note issued on Wednesday, Ukraine’s foreign ministry recommended that nationals “refrain from any trips” to the country and said those who were already there should depart “immediately”. Russia’s recognition of two areas of eastern Ukraine as independent has further inflamed one of Europe’s worst security crises in decades The warning came as Ukraine’s parliament approved imposing sanctions on 351 Russians, including lawmakers who supported President Vladimir Putin’s move to recognise eastern Ukraine’s self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics as independent and deploy troops to the breakaway regions. Ukraine’s parliament votes to give permission for civilians to carry firearms Ukraine’s parliament has voted to approve in the first reading a draf...

Ukrainians rally in the eastern city of Mariupol after Russia recognises the independence of breakaway regions. Mariupol, Ukraine – Waving blue and yellow Ukrainian flags and singing a patriotic military song, hundreds of residents of the once largely pro-Russian city of Mariupol gathered in the central Theatre Square with a defiant message for President Vladimir Putin: Russia is not welcome here. People protesting in front of Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama in Mariupol On Tuesday, as people stopped for pictures next to a sign calling Moscow an aggressor, the possibility of an advance by Russian-backed separatists was a bitter pill to swallow. The port city of nearly 500,000 people in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine was briefly controlled by the rebels in 2014 and has seen significant waves of violence since. “I came to show that we love Ukraine and we don’t want Russian ‘peace’ here,” said Andriy Voytsekhovskyy, 28, a painter and skater. “I think it’s complete nonsense what Pu...

Washington warns of a ‘horrific’ war in Ukraine as Moscow accuses the United States of drumming up the threat of Russian invasion. The United States and Russia have sparred over the Ukraine crisis at the UN Security Council, with Washington warning of a “horrific” war should Moscow decide to invade its neighbour and Russian diplomats playing down the threat of military conflict. US instructors train Ukrainian soldiers at the Yavoriv military training ground, close to Lviv, western Ukraine US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the council during a special open session on Monday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would threaten global security. “Colleagues, the situation we’re facing in Europe is urgent and dangerous, and the stakes for Ukraine and for every UN member state could not be higher,” said Thomas-Greenfield, warning of “horrific” consequences if Russia attacks Ukraine. “Russia’s actions strike at the very heart of the UN charter. This is as clear a...