At least three explosions have been heard in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, after air raid sirens went off. Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said residential buildings in the central Shevchenkivskiy area have been damaged. Andriy Yermak, head of President Zelensky’s office, said the attacks were from so-called kamikaze drones. It comes a week after the capital was […]

The past few hours have seen wave after wave of explosions, not just in Kyiv, but all across Ukraine, from Lviv in the west to Kharkiv in the east and Odesa in the south. For those of us who were here when Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February, there’s an element of déjà vu. We’ve […]

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has signed the final papers to annex four regions of Ukraine – even as his military suffered further setbacks. The Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions are “accepted into the Russian Federation” the documents say. But in two of those areas – Luhansk and Kherson – Ukraine said it has been […]

The US’s decision to send more military aid to Ukraine “increases the danger of a direct military clash” between Russia and the West, Moscow has warned. Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said it was an “immediate threat” to Moscow, describing the US as “a participant of the conflict”. Earlier, the US announced another […]

[…]The post How We Came To This Pass – The Aragalaya Challenge appeared first on Colombo Telegraph.

Hundreds of people have been arrested by authorities as protests against Russia’s new “partial mobilisation” continue across the country, an independent rights group has said. OVD-Info said 724 people were detained across 32 different cities on Saturday. Widespread demonstrations have broken out since President Vladimir Putin announced plans to draft 300,000 men to fight in [R...

Russian men are attempting to leave the country to avoid a military call-up for the Ukraine war. Queues have formed at border crossings since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilisation on Wednesday, which could see 300,000 people summoned to fight. The Kremlin says reports of fighting-age men fleeing are exaggerated. But on the […]

The US central bank has pushed interest rates to the highest level in almost 15 years as it fights to rein in soaring prices in the world’s largest economy. The Federal Reserve announced it was raising its key rate by another 0.75 percentage points, lifting the target range to 3% to 3.25%. Borrowing costs are […]

Ukrainian forces have seized even more territory from Russia as they continue their counter-offensive, the country’s president has said. Volodymyr Zelensky said troops have now retaken more than 6,000 sq km (2,317 sq miles) from Russian control in September, in the east and the south. The BBC

Russia has blocked the adoption of a joint declaration by a United Nations conference on nuclear disarmament. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is reviewed by its 191 signatories every five years, aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. Russia objected to a draft text citing “grave concern” over military activities around Ukraine’s nuclear plants, in particular [...

A Russian rocket strike on a Ukrainian train station has killed 22 people, Ukraine says, on the day marking six months since Moscow’s invasion began. It says five of the victims of the attack in the eastern town of Chaplyne burnt to death in a vehicle. An 11-year-old boy also was killed. President Volodymyr Zelensky […]

[…]The post The Aragalaya & Morality appeared first on Colombo Telegraph.

One person has been killed after blasts rocked a military base in Crimea, the head of the Russia-appointed regional administration there said. Sergei Aksyonov wrote on social media that the blasts had taken place at the Saky military base near Novofedorivka on the peninsula’s western coast. Footage circulating on social media appeared to show multiple […]

Taiwan’s Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-chang expressed concern that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would have the ‘complete capability’ to attack Taiwan by 2025. The Minister expressed concern while also highlighted sanctions as the means to deter aggression during a virtual seminar titled “Taiwan: is it key to the continuing world order?” organised by The Democracy […]

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered all civilians still living in parts of eastern Donetsk region under Ukrainian control to evacuate. Speaking during a late-night address from Kyiv, Mr Zelensky warned of an intensification of fighting. “The more people leave Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he […]

Russia plans to annex more Ukrainian territory using a similar “playbook” to its takeover of Crimea, the US says. Citing US intelligence, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Russia is already laying the groundwork for annexation. Occupied regions of Ukraine could hold “sham” referenda on joining Russia as soon as September, he said. Russia […]

A cargo plane has crashed near the city of Kavala in northern Greece, local officials say. The Antonov-12 operated by a Ukraine-based company was flying from Serbia to Jordan when it went down on Saturday. It was not immediately known how many people were on board and whether there were any survivors. Greece’s ERT state […]

Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak has won the first round of voting by MPs to choose the next Conservative leader and prime minister. He got 88 votes, with Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt in second place on 67 and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss third on 50. Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt were eliminated […]

Russian missile and rocket strikes have caused more widespread damage in towns and cities across eastern and southern Ukraine, regional officials say. Four civilians died in a strike on Siversk, a town in Donetsk region, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. Civilian areas of Druzhkivka, in the same region, were also hit. A supermarket was destroyed […]

The heads of UK and US security services have made an unprecedented joint appearance to warn of the threat from China. FBI director Christopher Wray said China was the “biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security” and had interfered in politics, including recent elections. MI5 head Ken McCallum said his service had more […]

At least 21 people, including one child, have died in overnight Russian missile strikes on Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, Ukrainian officials say. The state emergency service, DSNS, says 16 people were killed in a nine-storey building hit by one missile in the village of Serhiyivka. Another five people, including the child, were killed in a […]

Nato member Turkey has agreed to support Sweden and Finland’s membership of the alliance. It had initially opposed the Scandinavian countries’ bids to join. Turkey was angered by what it saw as their willingness to host Kurdish militants. Sweden and Finland could not join Nato without Turkey’s support. Russia strongly opposes the two states joining […]

[…]The post War On China? – IV: Rules-Based International Order: Normalising Global State Terrorism appeared first on Colombo Telegraph.

[…]The post Why I Don’t Support The Aragalaya appeared first on Colombo Telegraph.

Ukraine and Moldova have both been granted EU candidate status, President of the European Council Charles Michel has announced. “Today marks a crucial step on your path towards the EU,” Mr Michel said, describing the European Council’s decision as a “historic moment”. Ukraine applied days after the Russian invasion in February, and the process moved […]

The US central bank has announced its biggest interest rate rise in nearly 30 years as it ramps up its fight to rein in soaring consumer prices. The Federal Reserve said it would increase its key interest rate by three quarters of a percentage point to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%. The rise, the […]

Thousands of civilians are trapped in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk with essential supplies running out, the United Nations is warning. Many of them are sheltering in bunkers beneath the city’s Azot chemical plant. The last bridge leading out of the city was destroyed in fighting earlier this week – effectively trapping its 12,000 remaining […]