Ukrainian Paralympic team to boycott Milano Cortina opening ceremony, demands flag not to be used
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a phone call this past week with United States President Donald Trump, demanded that Kyiv surrender full control of Donetsk, a strategically vital region in eastern Ukraine, as a condition for ending the war, said two senior officials familiar with the conversation, the Washington Post reported.
Ukraine has rejected Putin's demand and termed it a 'complete sham' and 'offensive to common sense'.
The explosions came in the wake of the attack on the Kerch bridge on Saturday.
According to Kyiv, Russia blew up the dam "in panic" ahead of a planned Ukraine counter-offensive, while Russia accuses Ukraine of launching "mass artillery attacks" on the structure to deprive Crimea of water and provide a distraction from the battlefield.
The 19-kilometre (11.8 miles) bridge, which runs across the Kerch Strait and connects Crimea with mainland Russia, consists of a railway and vehicle sections.
'The Russians think it will help them, but these actions look like desperation'
The fall of Kherson -- a city of 300,000 people, northwest of the Crimean peninsula -- is significant because it would allow the Russians to control more of Ukraine's southern coastline and to push west toward the city of Odessa, the NYT reported.
Scenes from the fighting near the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
In a letter published in the Kyiv Post, Rishi had said that he will be a lifelong friend and help Ukraine rebuild into a prosperous, ambitious and forward-looking country.
'Will the Crimean peninsula's flavour change again as even more Russians come stomping through? Will the Russian bear be content with lunching on Crimea? Or will he eventually bumble into Kiev's Independence Square to squat for good?' Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel looks back on a trip to Crimea, the setting for Tennyson's famous poem, Charge of the Light Brigade.
Alina Kabaeva was first linked to Putin more than a decade ago, while she was a medal-winning gymnast.
Ukraine government officials have accused Russian forces of destroying grain storage facilities in the country. Nearly 25 million tonnes of grains are stuck in Ukrainian warehouses and unable to move out due to Vladimir Putin's War.
The leaders of the Group of Seven on Sunday (local time) mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin over his shirtless, bare-chested horse-riding picture.
The World Bank has announced that it will stop all its programmes in Russia and Belarus with "immediate effect" in response to Moscow's military operations in Ukraine and "hostilities" against the people of the war-torn country. On February 24, Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine, three days after Moscow recognised Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. The decision comes as a large number of countries, organisations and businesses are severing ties and have imposed sanctions on Russia over the country's invasion of Ukraine, and with Belarus for its support and cooperation with Moscow.
A convoy with military equipment of the Russian southern military district units crossed the Crimean bridge on the way to the places of permanent deployment following the planned drills in Crimea, the Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday.
European governments have stepped up diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, encouraged by Russian President Vladimir Putin's assurance that his country has no intention to annexe the Crimean peninsula or to wage a war against its neighbour.
Croatia's Football Federation (HNS) sacked Ognjen Vukojevic, a member of the national team's coaching staff, over a "glory to Ukraine" video posted after Croatia beat Russia in the World Cup quarter-finals, HNS said in a statement on Monday.
Crimean clubs have been suspended by UEFA from playing in Russian domestic competitions.
Vladimir Putin climbed into a three-seat submersible craft on Tuesday to check out an ancient sunken ship found recently in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea.
'Manmohan Singh's fond hope of avoiding conflict over territory by 'making borders irrelevant' is increasingly difficult to realise in a world where institutional restraints on aggression are weakening and the new game in town is unalloyed power play,' notes T N Ninan.
With Pakyong now usable by AN-32s, the Indian Army can quickly move soldiers, weapons and supplies to this highly sensitive sector, which includes flashpoints like Doklam, Nathu La and the Siliguri Corridor.
Putin is looking beyond the current regime in Kyiv. Of course, if the Western military assistance to Kyiv continues in any form, Washington knows that Russia will regard it as a hostile act and there will be severe consequences, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The US has slapped additional tough sanctions on Russia's financial services and energy sectors for the failure of Moscow to taken enough steps to address the volatile political situation in Ukraine.
The BrahMos systems for the two ships are estimated to cost Rs 25 billion, making it the world's most expensive anti-ship missile.
The foreign ministers of the European Union will on Monday decide whether to impose tough sanctions against Russia in the wake of voting by the people of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula to join the Russian Federation.
As the threat of a showdown between Russia and the West over Ukraine loomed large, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has deplored Moscow's military build up on the Crimean peninsula and called on President Vladimir Putin to respect the country's territorial integrity.
The stagnation in US-Russia relations does not augur well for New Delhi's strategic interests, says Harsh V Pant and Raj Kumar Sharma.
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