Putin agrees in Trump call to pause Ukraine energy attacks but no full ceasefire

18Mar

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World

Putin agrees in Trump call to pause Ukraine energy attacks but no full ceasefire

President Vladimir Putin has rejected an immediate and full ceasefire in Ukraine, agreeing only to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, following a call with US President Donald Trump. The Russian leader declined to sign up to the comprehensive month-long ceasefire that Trump's team recently worked out with Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia. He said a comprehensive truce could only work if foreign military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine came to an end. Ukraine's European allies have previously rejected such conditions. The US and Russian leaders did agree that further peace talks would take place immediately in the Middle East, but the results of the call amount to a retreat in the Trump administration's position from where it stood a week ago. When a US delegation met...

Ukraine launches new offensive in Russia’s Kursk region

Ukraine first launched its incursion into Russia's Kursk Region in August (file photo taken in September) Ukraine has launched a fresh offensive in Russia's Kursk region, the Russian Defence Ministry says. In a statement, the military said efforts to destroy the Ukrainian attack groups are ongoing. Officials in Ukraine have also suggested an operation is under way. Ukraine first launched its incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August last year, seizing a large chunk of territory. In recent months, Russian forces have made big gains in the area, pushing the Ukrainians back, but failing to eject them entirely. In a statement posted on Telegram on Sunday, Russia's defence ministry said: "At around 9am Moscow time, in order to stop the offensive by the Russian troops i...

Ukraine: two more cultural properties under “enhanced protection” of UNESCO

At the request of the Ukrainian authorities, the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict has just granted temporary enhanced protection to Babyn Yar, the site of one of the largest massacres of the ‘Holocaust by bullets’, and to the Odesa Literary Museum. This brings the number of cultural properties benefiting from this status in Ukraine to 27. Shutterstock// meunierd In times of war, international solidarity is crucial to protect threatened cultural heritage. This decision will make it possible to further strengthen the safety of these two Ukrainian cultural sites, including a major site for Holocaust remembrance. Audrey AzoulayUNESCO Director-General The ‘National Historical Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar’ is the site of one of...