The latest news on the war between Russia and Ukraine | Wilnesh News

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at Sweden’s official accession ceremony that Sweden’s formal membership of NATO last week showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal of weakening Ukraine has failed.

“When President Putin launched a full-scale invasion two years ago, he wanted to reduce the number of NATO and strengthen control over neighboring countries. He wanted to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign country, but he failed,” Stoltenberg said, standing in Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said next to him. Before the raising of the Swedish flag outside NATO headquarters in Brussels.

“NATO has become bigger and stronger,” he added.

In May 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden applied to join the military alliance for the first time, ending its historical non-aligned position. However, the country’s accession has been blocked by member states Turkey and Hungary. Hungary voted for the country to join the union just last month.

— Natasha Turak

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on state television after meeting Trump in Florida that former U.S. President Donald Trump would “not give a penny to Ukraine for its war with Russia” if re-elected .

“He will not invest a single penny in Ukraine’s war with Russia, so the war will end because it is clear that Ukraine cannot stand alone,” Orban said on Sunday night.

“If the Americans don’t give money and weapons, and the Europeans don’t give money and weapons, then this war will end. And if the Americans don’t give money, and the Europeans can’t finance the war themselves, then the war will end. ”.

Orban has long maintained friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, refused to send weapons to Ukraine and maintained active economic ties with Moscow despite EU sanctions. He met Putin in China last October despite criticism from other European leaders.

— Natasha Turak

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa that he opposed sending Western troops to Ukraine, saying it would harm diplomatic opportunities.

“Sending troops to Ukraine would be a unilateral step in escalation that would hinder diplomacy. After two years of war, there is no point in considering this now,” Crosetto said.

He also mentioned Poland and France, whose leaders have hinted at the possibility of sending Western troops to the war-torn country, saying they only represented themselves and not NATO, which “formally and voluntarily Away from the war”.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in an interview with Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Sunday that he opposed sending Western troops to Ukraine, even on a training mission, saying they would be targeted by Russia.

— Natasha Turak

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba directly criticized the Vatican and Pope Francis’ “white flag” remarks via X on Sunday, saying Ukraine would never surrender to Russia.

“Our flag is yellow and blue. It is the flag by which we live, die and win. We will never raise any other flag,” Kuleba wrote. His post was a response to remarks made by the pope in an interview in which he said the “strongest” side in the Ukraine-Russia war was the one with “white flag courage.”

“Speaking of the white flag, we know the Vatican’s strategy since the first half of the twentieth century,” Kuleba wrote. “I urge to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and to support Ukraine and its people in their just struggle for survival.”

— Natasha Turak

India is seeking the release of Indian nationals who were “cheated” into serving in the Russian army, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday, in a rare disagreement with Moscow.

Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “Several Indian citizens were deceived into cooperating with Russian forces. We have strongly discussed this matter with the Russian government so that these Indian citizens can be demobilized at the earliest.” “Already A case of human trafficking was registered against several agents.”

He called on Indian nationals “not to be swayed by offers from agents to provide support work for the Russian military. This is fraught with danger and risk to life,” stressing that New Delhi remains “committed to the early release of our nationals who work in support roles” to join the Russian military and Finally return home. “

Read the full report here.

— Ruksandra Jordash

Russian shelling in eastern Ukraine killed three people and wounded many others, the Ukrainian government said on Sunday.

A Russian attack on a residential building in the eastern town of Mirnograd injured more than a dozen people, according to local authorities.

“Today’s shelling in Donetsk region killed three people,” Vadym Filashkin, the governor of the war-torn region, said in a post on Telegram.

A Russian woman was killed in a Ukrainian shelling attack just miles from the border in the Kursk frontline region of western Russia, local authorities said.

Kursk Region Governor Roman Starovoyt said in a Telegram post: “A local woman died due to a fire in a residential building due to a direct shell hit. Her husband was severely burned and is currently receiving medical treatment.” medical care.”

— Natasha Turak

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke in a speech that appeared to criticize Pope Francis’ recent remarks about what steps Ukraine should take to end its war with Russia.

In an evening speech posted on Telegram on Sunday, Zelensky thanked Ukrainian religious leaders for their “prayer and discussion” in support of the Ukrainian military, adding, “This is truly a ‘church with the people,’ It’s different than a virtual mediation 2,500 kilometers away.”

all weekend, Part of an interview with the Pope Audio recordings made in February have been released, in which religious leaders advocate negotiations with Russia. The interview was recorded by Swiss broadcaster RSI.

“I think the strongest people are the ones who look at the situation, think about the people, have white-flag courage and negotiate,” Francis said when asked whether Ukraine should abandon its position, which has been fighting Russian forces.

“The word negotiation is a brave word. When you see yourself being outplayed and things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate.”

— Natasha Turak

Ukrainian documentary “20 Days in Mariupol” has won the country’s first Oscar, with its director Mstislav Chernov accepting the award at the 96th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Ukrainian journalist Chernov shot the film in the besieged port city of Mariupol, which was bombed by Russian forces shortly after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“I’m honored, but I’m probably the first director to say on this stage that I wish I had never made this movie,” Chernoff said in his acceptance speech.

“I would like to be able to exchange this for Russia to never attack Ukraine, never invade our cities. I would like to be able to exchange this for Russia not to kill 10,000 of my fellow Ukrainians.”

“I can’t change history. I can’t change the past. But together we all, you – some of the most talented people in the world – can ensure that the historical record is corrected, that the truth will prevail, and that the people of Mariupol and those we will never Those who lost their lives will be forgotten,” he said.

“Because movies form memories, and memories form history.”

Before the invasion, nearly half a million people lived in the southeastern Ukrainian city. The area was illegally annexed by Russia in late 2022 and is currently fully occupied by Russia. According to the Ukrainian government, approximately 120,000 people remained there as of May 2023.

— Natasha Turak

Microsoft said on Friday that Russian group Nobelium, which the company calls Midnight Blizzard, has been trying to access its internal systems and source code repositories.

“In recent weeks, we have seen evidence that Midnight Blizzard is using information originally leaked from our company email systems to gain or attempt to gain unauthorized access. This includes access to some of the company’s source code repositories and internal systems ,” Microsoft said in its blog postal.

Microsoft said Midnight Blizzard is trying to obtain secrets, including those shared between Microsoft and its customers, but it is reaching out and helping affected customers.

“The February Midnight Blizzard increased the number of attacks on some aspects (such as password spraying) by as much as 10x compared to the scale we saw in January 2024,” the report said.

Microsoft first said in January that it had detected a cyber attack from Nobelium, a Russian group that stole the emails of top executives.

——Sophie Kidlin