Support truly
independent journalism
Support Now
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Joe Biden said Ukraine “can and will stop” Vladimir Putin as he pledged to forcefully defend the war-hit nation as the Nato summit began in Washington. “Putin wants nothing less, nothing less, than Ukraine’s total subjugation… and to wipe Ukraine off the map,” the US president said about his Russian counterpart in his welcome speech to Nato member states.
The summit, which will mark the 75th anniversary of the Western alliance, begin in Washington DC yesterday. Leaders are expected to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and support for Kyiv at the summit.
Last week, it was revealed Nato allies agreed to fund military aid for Ukraine with €40bn ($43bn) over the next year.
Mr Zelensky, who arrived in Washington yesterday and is due to meet with Mr Biden tomorrow, has said Ukraine needed a minimum of seven Patriot systems, a goal met by the fresh deliveries announced last night. “We are fighting for additional security guarantees for Ukraine – and these are weapons and finances, political support,” he said on social media.
Key points
- Historic Nato summit begins in Washington
- Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko issues plea for air defences
- Modi under fire for bear-hugging ‘mass murderer’ Putin
- US president Biden slams Russian ‘brutality'
- UN assessment suggests Ukraine children's hospital hit by Russian missile
Why does it take Russia bombing a children’s hospital to make us care about Ukraine?
Why does it take Russia bombing a children’s hospital to make us care about Ukraine?
The heinous bombing of Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv is a reminder of just how cruel and ruthless Putin is, but it shouldn’t take events like these to jolt our consciences back to life, writes Sean O’Grady
Alexander Butler10 July 2024 07:00 1720589997Football fan Starmer will have to rely on notes from officials to keep up with England game
Sir Keir Starmer will need to rely on notes from officials to keep up to date with England’s Euro 2024 semi final against the Netherlands.
The new prime minister, an avid Arsenal fan, will be unable to watch one of his favourite players Bukayo Saka and his team mates take on the Dutch on Wednesday for the right to play Spain in Sunday’s final.
Worse still, Sir Keir’s phone will be taken off him for security reasons as he joins other Nato leaders for talks on Ukraine at the Nato summit in Washington DC.
It means that he will not be able to quietly check the score in the middle of the talks on how to deal with Vladimir Putin.
Starmer will have to rely on notes from officials to keep up with England game
Prime Minister learns early lesson that official duties can get in the way of supporting the England football team
Arpan Rai10 July 2024 06:39 1720588901Starmer wants Nato to ‘lock in’ Trump proof military aid plan for Ukraine
Keir Starmer has indicated that he hopes the Nato summit in Washington will “Trump proof” aid to Ukraine to help it hold off Russia.
Speaking to journalists on his flight over to the summit in the USA, the new prime minister insisted that the defence and security of Britain and its allies will be his first priority.
But he again declined to give a timetable for when his “iron clad commitment” to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent will come into force.
His comments came as it emerged he had not been included in a discussion on air cover for Ukraine organised by the US government and including other allies.
But Sir Keir made it clear in the press briefing that he believes the summit over the next few days will “lock in” financial aid to Ukraine for its war effort.
Starmer wants Nato to ‘lock in’ Trump proof military aid plan for Ukraine
New PM speaks on threat Republican candidate could cancel aid to Kyiv if he wins election in November
Arpan Rai10 July 2024 06:21 1720587600Biden hosts Nato members in Washington as he looks for reprieve from campaign pressures
Biden hosts NATO members in DC as he looks for reprieve from campaign pressures
President Joe Biden will address NATO members on Tuesday evening to mark the start of the alliance’s annual summit
Alexander Butler10 July 2024 06:00 1720587513Russia allows Indian recruits to leave its military after Modi-Putin talks
Russia has “broadly agreed” to discharge all Indian citizens working in its military following a meeting between Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
India’s foreign ministry last month demanded a “verified stop” on the recruitment of its citizens allegedly “misled” into serving in the Russian army after two Indians were killed fighting in Ukraine. Two Indian nationals had been killed in March as well.
Mr Modi brought up the matter during a private dinner hosted by Mr Putin on Monday, news agency PTI reported, citing unnamed sources. The Indian leader is on a two-day visit to Moscow.
Russia was expected to formally announce the decision to discharge all Indians from its military following official talks on Tuesday.
Russia allows Indian recruits to leave its military after Modi-Putin talks
Dozens of Indian citizens were reportedly recruited by Russian armed forces, some of whom complained they had been tricked
Arpan Rai10 July 2024 05:58 1720584000Kyiv hospital took direct hit from Russian missile, UN analysis suggests
There was a “high likelihood” that Kyiv’s major children’s hospital took a direct hit from a Russian missile during a series of airstrikes on Ukrainian cities, a UN human rights mission said.
“Analysis of the video footage and an assessment made at the incident site indicates a high likelihood that the children’s hospital suffered a direct hit rather than receiving damage due to an intercepted weapon system,” the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said.
Ukraine’s security service said it had unequivocal evidence the medical facility was hit by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile during the deadliest series of strikes in months, and published images of what it said were fragments of the weapon’s engine.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko issues plea for air defences
A Russian missile attack directed against Ukraine’s top children’s hospital was one of the most “painful” days in the country’s recent history, the mayor of Kyiv, where the missile hit, has told The Independent.
Vitali Klitschko, a former boxing world heavyweight champion turned politician, cut an uncharacteristically tired figure as he recounted Monday’s events.
At least 29 people have been killed and more than 90 wounded in the multiple attacks. Seven districts across the city, on both sides of the dividing Dnipro river, were hit. The attack on Okhmatdyt children’s hospital killed two and injured roughly 50 others.
“It is very painful to spend time with parents who can’t find their children, to see them crying,” he said. “We are still working in the rubble to try to find those that are missing. I hope we find them alive. There’s a lot still of people missing. I call it genocide. Genocide.”
Tom Watling reports:
Kyiv mayor Klitschko’s urgent plea after ‘very painful’ Russian attack on hospitals
Kyiv mayor says Ukraine needs air defences now more than ever after 29 civilians were killed during sweeping Russian missile strikes across the capital
Arpan Rai10 July 2024 04:41 1720581886Watch: Rubble removed after Kyiv children’s hospital hit in Russian attack
Ukrainian emergency services continued to clear the rubble yesterday after a Russian missile attack on a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
Russia hit the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital with a missile in broad daylight on Monday 8 July and rained missiles down on other cities across Ukraine, killing at least 41 civilians in the deadliest wave of air strikes for months.
Parents holding babies walked in the street outside the hospital, dazed and sobbing after the rare daylight aerial attack.
Windows had been smashed and panels ripped off, and hundreds of Kyiv residents were helping to clear debris.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who stopped in Poland before heading off to Washington for a Nato summit, put the death toll at 37, including three children.
Watch: Rubble removed after Kyiv children’s hospital hit in Russian attack
Watch as Ukrainian emergency services clear rubble after a Russian missile attack on a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
Arpan Rai10 July 2024 04:24 1720581035Zelensky says can’t predict Trump’s actions if he is elected
Volodymyr Zelensky said he could not predict what Donald Trump would do if he regains the US presidency in November, but the whole world, including Russian leader Vladimir Putin, was awaiting the outcome of the ballot.
“I don’t know (him) very well,” Mr Zelensky said of Mr Trump, adding he had “good meetings” with him during the Republican candidate’s first presidency but said that was before Russia’s 2022 invasion.
“I can’t tell you what he will do, if he will be the president of the United States. I don’t know.”
The Ukrainian leader, speaking ahead of this week’s Nato summit, said he hoped Trump would not quit the 75-year-old Nato alliance and that America would keep supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s more than two-year-old invasion.
“Everyone is waiting for November. Americans are waiting for November, in Europe, Middle East, in the Pacific, the whole world is looking towards November and, truly speaking, Putin awaits November too,” Mr Zelensky said.
“It is time to step out of the shadows, to make strong decisions... to act and not to wait for November or any other month.”
Mr Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the US presidential election in November, has frequently criticised the size of US military support for Ukraine - some $60bn since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 - and called Mr Zelensky “the greatest salesman ever.”
Arpan Rai10 July 2024 04:10 1720580400Kyiv says it has unequivocal evidence to prove children's hospital hit by Russian missile
The Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) has presented new evidence it says proves that Kyiv’s main children’s hospital had been directly hit by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile.
“The experts’ conclusions are unequivocal, it was a direct strike,” the SBU said on Telegram.
It shared images of a missile engine fragment it said was found at the site. The SBU added that analysis of trajectory and nature of damage caused prove the was a direct strike.
Alexander Butler10 July 2024 04:00 Newer1 / 5OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
