Ukraine-Russia war latest: Mercenaries from China, Pakistan and Africa fighting for Moscow, claims Zelensky

Finland’s president Alexander Stubb held a cellphone name along with his American counterpart Donald Trump to debate Russia’s struggle in Ukraine, expressing assist for all efforts in the direction of a direct ceasefire.

Mr Trump has threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia and patrons of its oil, together with India and China, except president Vladimir Putin agrees by Friday to finish the three-and-a-half-year-old struggle in Ukraine.

“President Trump’s deadline for a ceasefire is approaching. Finland helps all efforts in the direction of a direct ceasefire. Longterm negotiations should result in an enduring and simply peace,” Stubb mentioned in a put up on X.

Stubb added that his name with Trump additionally lined ongoing discussions about icebreakers.

In June, Trump talked about the US is negotiating the acquisition of 15 icebreakers from Finland.

“Finland has constructed 60 % of the world’s icebreakers. We’ve got the capability to construct them reliably and quick,” Stubb mentioned in his put up.

Trump has persistently advocated for the US to amass as many as 40 new icebreakers to reinforce nationwide safety within the Arctic. The icebreakers might assist corporations with logistics and maintain open provide strains for potential oil and gasoline and mineral growth within the rugged and frigid area.

Two youngsters have been amongst a number of individuals injured in Russia’s largest air assault on the Ukrainian city of Lozova for the reason that struggle started, the top of the native administration mentioned this morning.

“Crucial infrastructure, residence buildings and personal houses have been broken,” mentioned Serhiy Zelensky, the top of the town’s council.

“Lozova has endured the most important assault for the reason that starting of the struggle,” he mentioned, including a number of individuals together with two youngsters have been wounded within the city within the japanese Ukrainian area of Kharkiv.

The dimensions of the assault in town, which had a pre-war inhabitants of about 55,000, was not instantly clear.

The Kharkiv area, which lies close to the border with Russia, has been the goal of standard Russian drone and missile assaults for the reason that begin of the struggle.

Components of Lozova, a city within the southern components of the Kharkiv area, have been left with out energy and water provide, Mr Zelensky mentioned. “We’ll persevere!” he added.

Steve Witkoff, the New York actual property developer turned roving peace envoy for president Donald Trump, is heading to Russia this week for yet one more spherical of talks with officers in Moscow with an eye fixed in the direction of pushing Russian president Vladimir Putin to finish his years-long struggle towards Ukraine.

Trump instructed reporters on Sunday that Witkoff, who has additionally been tasked with serving as a mediator within the Israel-Hamas battle, could be touring to Russia on both Tuesday or Wednesday for conferences forward of Friday’s deadline for Moscow to name off the struggle or face extra US sanctions.

Requested what Putin might do to keep away from harsh penalties, together with secondary tariffs on items from nations that buy Russian oil, he instructed reporters: “Get a deal the place individuals cease getting killed.”

However the president additionally expressed skepticism that new sanctions might damage Russia’s financial system, citing Moscow’s demonstrated potential to evade them.

An in a single day Ukrainian drone assault sparked a number of fires, together with at an influence substation, within the southern Russian area of Rostov, the performing regional governor mentioned this morning.

There have been no accidents on account of the assault and the hearth on the substation on an space of about 500 sq. metres (5,400 sq. ft) has been extinguished, Rostov’s performing governor Yuri Slyusar mentioned on his Telegram channel.

Russia’s defence ministry mentioned its defence models destroyed a complete of 24 Ukrainian drones in a single day, together with seven over the Rostov area, which has been a frequent goal of Ukraine’s strikes.

Russian defence ministry solely studies the variety of downed drones and never what number of complete drones are launched by Ukraine.

India is currently going through relentless American strain over its relations with Russia, a longstanding defence and commerce accomplice.

Mr Trump, who had listed ending the struggle in Ukraine a high precedence for his second presidential time period, has been threatening sanctions on nations buying and selling with Moscow after accusing Mr Putin of stalling ceasefire talks. The US president has additionally resumed sending weapons to Ukraine.

India is the most important purchaser of seaborne crude from Russia, importing about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil from January to June this 12 months, up 1 per cent from a 12 months in the past, in keeping with knowledge supplied to Reuters by commerce sources.

India started importing oil from Russia as a result of conventional provides have been diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the Ukraine battle, the Indian spokesperson mentioned, calling it a “necessity compelled by international market scenario.”

The spokesperson additionally famous the West’s, significantly the European Union’s, bilateral commerce with Russia: “It’s revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in commerce with Russia.”

Regardless of the Indian authorities’s defiance, the nation’s predominant refiners paused shopping for Russian oil final week, sources instructed Reuters. Reductions to different suppliers narrowed after Trump threatened hefty tariffs on nations that make any such purchases.

Indian authorities officers denied any coverage change.

The nation’s largest refiner, Indian Oil Corp, has purchased 7 million barrels of crude from the USA, Canada and the Center East, 4 commerce sources instructed Reuters on Monday.

The unpredictability of the Trump administration creates a problem for Delhi, mentioned Richard Rossow, head of the India program at Washington’s Middle for Strategic and Worldwide Research (CSIS).

“India’s continued power and defence purchases from Russia presents a bigger problem, the place India doesn’t really feel it will possibly predict how the Trump administration will strategy Russia from month to month,” he mentioned.

US president Donald Trump has once more threatened to lift tariffs on items from India over its Russian oil purchases because the commerce rift between the 2 nations deepens.

Final week, Trump has mentioned that from Friday he’ll impose new sanctions on Russia in addition to on nations that purchase its power exports, except Moscow takes steps to finish its struggle with Ukraine.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has proven no public signal of altering his stance regardless of the deadline.

In a social media put up, Trump wrote, “India shouldn’t be solely shopping for large quantities of Russian Oil, they’re then, for a lot of the Oil bought, promoting it on the Open Marketplace for huge income. They do not care how many individuals in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian Warfare Machine.”

“Due to this, I shall be considerably elevating the Tariff paid by India to the USA,” he added.

A spokesperson for India’s overseas ministry mentioned in response that India will “take all mandatory measures to safeguard its nationwide pursuits and financial safety.”

“The concentrating on of India is unjustified and unreasonable,” the spokesperson added.

Russia is reportedly stepping up efforts to launch extra drone assaults on Ukraine from occupied territories, in keeping with new satellite tv for pc evaluation.

A Ukrainian Telegram channel mentioned imagery from July reveals development work at Donetsk Metropolis airport in Russian-occupied japanese Ukraine.

Fortifications on the runway have been partially cleared, and staff look like getting ready parking areas, probably for gasoline tanks, in keeping with the studies shared by the Institute for the Examine of Warfare (ISW).

The Ukrainian open-source intelligence group CyberBoroshno added that the pictures recommend Russian forces are constructing closed storage close to the destroyed terminal, in addition to guide drone management factors, warhead unloading areas, and surveillance posts.

CyberBoroshno assessed that the location might quickly be used to launch Shahed-type assault drones, Gerbera decoy drones and doubtlessly Geran (Shahed) jet-powered drones.

Utilizing long-range drones from areas nearer to the frontline might shorten the response time for Ukrainian air defences, the group warned.

The Kremlin has warned that everybody must be cautious about nuclear rhetoric, after Donald Trump ordered a repositioning of US nuclear submarines.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov performed down the importance of Mr Trump’s announcement final Friday that he had ordered two submarines to be moved to “the suitable areas”.

The transfer got here after former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev made remarks concerning the threat of struggle between the nuclear-armed adversaries.

“On this case, it’s apparent that American submarines are already on fight obligation. That is an ongoing course of, that’s the very first thing,” Mr Peskov mentioned.

“However usually, after all, we’d not wish to become involved in such an argument and wouldn’t wish to touch upon it in any method,” he added.

“After all, we consider that everybody must be very, very cautious with nuclear rhetoric.”

Mr Peskov mentioned that Russia didn’t see Mr Trump’s assertion as marking an escalation in nuclear pressure.

He additionally declined to reply immediately when requested whether or not the Kremlin had tried to warn Mr Medvedev to tone down his on-line altercation with the US president.

Overseas “mercenaries” from China, Pakistan and components of Africa are preventing alongside Russian forces in Moscow’s struggle in Ukraine, the war-hit nation’s president Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned, vowing a response.

“We spoke with commanders concerning the frontline scenario, the defence of Vovchansk, and the dynamics of the battles,” Mr Zelensky wrote on X after visiting a frontline space within the northeastern Kharkiv area.

“Our warriors on this sector are reporting the participation of mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and African nations within the struggle. We’ll reply,” Mr Zelensky mentioned yesterday.

The Ukrainian president has beforehand accused Moscow of recruiting Chinese language fighters for its struggle effort towards Ukraine, fees Beijing denied, and had issued the primary indicators of North Korean troopers preventing Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk area.

Embassies of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan in Kyiv haven’t issued a remark instantly.