China hits back at Nato over Russia accusations - BBC

AFP

Tessa Wong

BBC News

12 July 2024, 05:17 BST

Updated 45 minutes ago

China's foreign minister Wang Yi has hit back at Nato's "groundless accusations" that Beijing is helping Russia in its war on Ukraine.

He has also warned the Western alliance against stirring up confrontation.

Mr Wang's comments, made in a call with his Dutch counterpart, came hours after leaders of Nato member states gathered in Washington DC and issued a declaration that mentioned the war.

They accused China of being a "decisive enabler" of Russia through its "large-scale support for Russia's defence industrial base", in some of their harshest remarks yet about Beijing.

They called on China to stop "all material and political support" to Russia's war effort such as the supply of dual-use materials, which are items that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.

Western states have previously accused Beijing of transferring drone and missile technology and satellite imagery to Moscow. The US estimates about 70% of the machine tools and 90% of the microelectronics Russia imports now come from China.

Beijing was also accused of conducting "malicious cyber and hybrid activities, including disinformation" on Nato states.

On Thursday, while speaking to the Netherlands' new foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp, Mr Wang said "China absolutely does not accept" all these accusations and insisted that they have "always been a force for peace and force for stability".

In comments carried by state media, he said that China's different political system and values "should not be used as a reason for Nato to incite confrontation with China", and called for Nato to "stay within its bounds".

His remarks was the latest in a flurry of angry responses from Beijing.

Earlier on Thursday, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Nato was smearing China with "fabricated disinformation", while Beijing's mission to the EU told the alliance to "stop hyping up the so-called China threat".

Beijing has long rebutted accusations that it has been aiding Russia in the war and insists that it remains a neutral party. It has called for an end to the conflict and proposed a peace plan, which Ukraine has rejected.

But, besides the growing accusations of military support, observers have also pointed out that Beijing's purchases of vast amounts of oil and gas have helped prop up Russia's economy crippled by sanctions and replenish coffers drained by war spending.

Beijing's official rhetoric on the conflict often mirrors Moscow's - like them, China still does not call it a war - and Chinese President Xi Jinping has maintained a close relationship with President Vladimir Putin, with both of them famously declaring their partnership has "no limits".

Beijing has accused the US and other Western states of pouring "fuel on the fire" by supplying lethal weapons and technology to Ukraine for its defence.

In recent weeks, several countries have gone a step further and allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to hit targets inside Russia.

During Nato's three-day summit, which ended on Thursday, the alliance continued to underscore its commitment to Ukraine. Member states said they would support Ukraine on its "irreversible path" to future membership, adding that "Ukraine's future in Nato".

They also announced further integration with Ukraine's military and support for its defence. The alliance has committed at least €40bn ($43.3bn, £33.7bn) in aid in the next year, including F-16 fighter jets and air defence support.

Related Topics

• War in Ukraine
• Asia
• China
• Russia
• Nato

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A game of football, a boom, then scattered bodies: video shows moment of Israeli strike on Gaza school - The Guardian

The scene shows a moment of respite and relative calm in Gaza: a crowd of people watching a football match in a school playground. A player fails to control a long pass from a teammate. The opposing goalkeeper gathers the ball and looks to launch it back up the pitch.

But just after he throws the ball, a deafening boom sends everyone present running for cover, including the person filming. “A strike! A strike!” someone screams.

The footage, broadcast by Al Jazeera, showed the moment of an Israeli airstrike next to the gate of al-Awda school in Abasan al-Kabira, east of the city of Khan Younis in Gaza, on Tuesday. As the person who was filming the match flees, they pass dead bodies and severely injured people among the debris.

The death toll from the strike – which hit an area were hundreds of displaced people from villages east of Khan Younis had set up makeshift camps – rose to 31 on Wednesday, officials at the nearby Nasser hospital said. Dozens more were injured.

Witnesses said the area was bustling with people and market traders when the strike occurred.

“We were sitting at the entrance of the school … suddenly and without warning, rockets were fired,” Mohammed Sukkar, a witness, told Agence France-Presse.

A Palestinian boy who lost several relatives told Al Jazeera: “A missile fell and destroyed everything. I lost my uncle, my cousins and my relatives.”

People recounted seeing individuals with severed limbs and body parts scattered around.

“I witnessed ... people thrown around and body parts scattered, blood,” a young woman called Ghazzal Nasser told Reuters. Before the attack “everything was normal”, she added. “People were playing, others were buying and selling [food and drinks]. There was no sound of planes or anything.”

Ayman Al-Dahma, 21, said the number of casualties was “unimaginable”.

“They said it was a safe place,” he told the BBC, “that there were water and food, there were schools and everything … Suddenly a rocket comes down on you and all the people around you.”

Asmaa Qudeih, a witness who lost some relatives in the attack, told Reuters: “Bodies flew in the wind, body parts flew, I don’t know how to describe it.”

Videos from Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where the casualties were taken, showed dozens of dead and seriously injured people, including children, strewn across the floor of a room.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was reviewing reports that civilians were harmed and that the incident was under investigation.

“A warplane, using precision munitions, attacked a terrorist from the military wing of Hamas who participated in the hideous massacre on 7 October,” the IDF said in a statement.

In a statement on X, the German foreign ministry said: “People seeking shelter in schools getting killed is unacceptable. The repeated attacks on schools by the Israeli army must stop and an investigation must come quickly.”

Wednesday’s attack was the fourth on or near schools sheltering displaced Palestinians in four days.

Israel said the strikes were aimed at targeting militants hiding in the buildings.

“Schools have gone from safe places of education and hope for children to overcrowded shelters and often ending up a place of death and misery,” the head of refugee agency Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini, wrote on X. Lazzarini said two-thirds of Unrwa’s schools in Gaza had been targeted, and some had been “bombed out”, since the start of the war.

“The blatant disregard of international humanitarian law cannot become the new normal,” he added.

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Ukraine war briefing: Path to Nato membership ‘irreversible’ - The Guardian

• Nato allies at their Washington summit have said Ukraine’s “future is in Nato” and its path to membership is “irreversible”, making the declaration in a statement published on Thursday. Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, said Ukraine’s membership to Nato is not a “question of if, but when”.

• The member states criticised China in stronger language than before for assisting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “decisive enabler” supplying components for military equipment and chemicals for explosives. “This increases the threat Russia poses to its neighbours and to Euro-Atlantic security,” they declared in their summit communique.

• The first F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine and will be flying missions this summer, the Dutch and Danish governments have said. Dan Sabbagh writes that they will be the first of about 85 of the combat aircraft that have been committed to Kyiv to turn around its fortunes on the battlefield, and Ukraine signalled more may be to come.

• A Russian missile attack on the Odesa region killed two people and damaged port infrastructure on Wednesday, the region’s governor said.

• Russia’s security service, the FSB, claimed to have thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian intelligence services to induce a crew member on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in Murmansk to sabotage the ship.

• The Kremlin has criticised the new British prime minister, Keir Starmer, for his comments affirming that Ukraine can use British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles against legitimate targets within Russia.

• Keir Starmer is expected to promise that the UK will support Ukraine for “as long as it takes” as he confirms Britain’s £3bn a year funding package for Kyiv will continue for as long as needed. At the Nato summit on Thursday, Starmer will warn that the frontline defence of the Euro-Atlantic region is the Ukrainian trenches. Britain’s new defence secretary, John Healey, has visited Ukraine promising artillery guns and shells and 90 Brimstone missiles. The UK has also confirmed it will contribute £40m to Nato’s comprehensive assistance package for Ukraine and the UK-administered international fund for Ukraine will place a new order, worth £300m, for 120,000 rounds of 152mm artillery ammunition.

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2024-07-10 23:58:00Z
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Biden hits out at Putin in Nato summit speech after ‘hell of attack’ on Kyiv hospital - The Independent

Zelensky says China trying to undermine Ukraine peace summit

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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.

1720600823

Death toll in Kyiv rises to 33

The death toll from Russia’s multiple attacks on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Monday has risen to 33, the state emergency service has announced.

It comes after they found the body of a girl born in 2006 buried beneath the rubble of a destroyed building in the northwest Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv.

Two buildings were destroyed in that district, including the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. The girl’s body was discovered in the second destroyed building.

Tom Watling10 July 2024 09:40

1720599623

Russia attacks energy facility in Ukraine's Rivne region, national grid operator says

Russia-launched drones attacked an energy facility in Ukraine‘s Rivne region, national grid operator Ukrenergo said on Wednesday.

Fire has been localized at the site and no casualties were reported, according to Rivne regional governor Oleksandr Koval.

The attack caused temporary power cuts for consumers in the region, Ukrenergo said.

Tom Watling10 July 2024 09:20

1720598423

Russian attack on Odesa region kills two, damages port infrastructure, governor says

A Russian missile attack on the Odesa region killed two people and damaged port infrastructure on Wednesday, the region’s governor said.

The attack damaged warehouses, trucks and a civilian ship, the governor said. One person was also injured, he said.

Tom Watling10 July 2024 09:00

1720597223

Here are the latest photos from Ukraine

Good morning.

Below are some of the latest photos coming out of Ukraine.

A Ukrainian soldier makes rehabilitation exercises at a rehabilitation center for Ukrainian soldiers in Ourem, Portugal (AFP via Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Washington, DC (AFP via Getty Images)

Oksana Femeniuk shows the backpack of her daughter Solomiia, a day after they survived a Russian missile strike on Okhmatdyt children's hospital, in Kyiv, (AP)

Tom Watling10 July 2024 08:40

1720596023

‘The whole room was covered in blood’: Inside the Russian missile strike on a Kyiv children’s hospital

Tom Watling10 July 2024 08:20

1720594835

A hospital interrupts a teen's dialysis as Kyiv's bombardment shows the cost of improved war tactics

The sky was crystal clear as Oksana Femeniuk took her daughter to Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital for routine dialysis.

Around 10 a.m, air-raid sirens blared. Sixteen-year old Solomiia was undergoing the treatment that required her to sit still for up to five hours and could not be interrupted. Her mother had to flee to the hospital’s basement shelter without her.

Hurtling toward them at 700-800 kilometers (435-497 miles) per hour was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, according to Ukraine’s security service, the United Nations and open-source investigators. Using painstaking trial and error, Russia has modified the weapon over the last year to defeat Ukraine’s air defense systems by flying at low altititude and hugging terrain, according to military analysts.

Arpan Rai10 July 2024 08:00

1720592980

Biden seeks to quell domestic fears over his fitness with Nato address

75 years after 12 countries came together in Washington to sign a historic mutual defense pact in the wake of the Second World War, the president touted the alliance’s progress before leaders representing the 32 treaty signatories at the annual NATO leaders’ summit.

Speaking before an audience of NATO leaders, including newly-minted British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Biden said the North Atlantic Treaty, that the alliance birthed 75 years ago, is stronger and more vital than ever and promised it would continue to support Ukraine’s defense needs.

“We know Putin won’t stop at Ukraine, but make no mistake, Ukraine can and will stop Putin,” he said. The US and partner nations intend to provide Ukraine with five “strategic air defense systems” in the coming months and “dozens” of “tactical air defense systems”, Biden added.

Arpan Rai10 July 2024 07:29

1720591449

Biden says Nato will send dozens of air defences to Ukraine

Joe Biden has announced another major air defence package for Ukraine, and said the war-hit nation’s allies will back Ukrainian forces for as long as needed.

“The United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Italy will provide Ukraine with… five additional strategic air defence systems,” Mr Biden said.

“In the coming months, the United States and our partners intend to provide Ukraine with dozens of additional tactical air defence systems. The United States will make sure that when we export critical air defence interceptors, Ukraine goes to the front of the line,” the US president said in Washington as Nato summit began.

The outgoing Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance had signed the Stinger contract.

“There is no way to provide strong defence without a strong defense industry,” Mr Stoltenberg said while announcing the contract.

Arpan Rai10 July 2024 07:04

1720591200

Why does it take Russia bombing a children’s hospital to make us care about Ukraine?

Alexander Butler10 July 2024 07:00

1720589997

Football fan Starmer will have to rely on notes from officials to keep up with England game

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.

Arpan Rai10 July 2024 06:39

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2024-07-10 08:33:40Z
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UN says ‘high likelihood’ a Russian cruise missile hit Ukraine’s main children’s hospital - CNN

CNN  — 

Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital likely took a direct hit from a Russian missile on Monday, a United Nations assessment has found, as NATO agreed to strengthen Kyiv’s air defenses in the wake of the attack.

Russia has repeatedly denied targeting the hospital in Kyiv and alleged, without evidence, that a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile caused the blast. But a UN human rights official said evidence suggested Moscow’s forces were responsible for the deadly strike.

“Analysis of the video footage and assessment made at the incident site indicates a high likelihood that the children’s hospital suffered a direct hit rather than receiving damages due to an intercepted weapons system,” Danielle Bell, head of the UN’s Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, told reporters Tuesday.

Bell said the attack damaged the intensive care, surgical and oncology wards at Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt hospital, which has been vital in the care of some of the sickest children from across the country, adding that Ukrainian officials have since transferred 600 children to other hospitals.

“This terrible attack shows that nowhere is safe in Ukraine,” Bell added.

Two adults were killed in the strike and 16 others - including seven children - were injured, according to Ukrainian officials, as Russia launched a brazen daytime aerial assault on targets in cities across Ukraine during morning rush hour, killing at least 43 people in total.

The strikes across Ukraine were “strongly” condemned by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, while the UN’s human rights chief Volker Turk called for “prompt, thorough and independent investigations” into the attacks.

The Russian attacks came as NATO leaders gathered in Washington, where the United States and NATO allies agreed to give Ukraine more Patriot batteries and additional systems to strengthen Kyiv’s air defenses, members of the defense alliance said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden also announced plans to supply new air defenses to Ukraine in a speech opening the NATO summit – providing much-needed support for the country at a critical juncture in its defense against Russia’s invasion.

During his speech on Tuesday, Biden vowed that “the United States will make sure that when we export critical air defense interceptors, Ukraine goes to the front of the line.”

‘Targeted attack by Russia’

Images and video from the aftermath of the strike on the Kyiv hospital show children with cancer being treated outside the facility and an injured toddler with blood on his face and arms.

A CNN team at the site on Tuesday said the level of destruction there showed how forceful the explosion must have been. A pile of debris could be seen in place of where part of the facility once stood, while underneath a section of flooring lay the remnants of a car that was completely flattened when the building came crashing down.

The UN’s monitoring mission said it was likely that a KH-101 cruise missile launched by Russia struck the children’s hospital. It made the determination “based on video footage, which shows the technical specification of the type of weapon that was used” and that such footage “shows the weapon directly impacting the hospital rather than being intercepted in the air,” Bell said.

A military expert who visited the site following the blast said the damage is “consistent with a direct hit,” according to Bell.

The UN mission’s assessment matches analysis from weapons experts who told CNN that footage of the hospital strike is consistent with a cruise missile rather than a Ukrainian air defense missile.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Washington on Tuesday that “Russia always knows where its missiles hit. Always.”

On Tuesday, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia reiterated Moscow’s denial that it had targeted the children’s hospital.

“We have not bombed the children’s hospital,” Nebenzia said at a special meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) convened following the attack. “If this had been a Russian strike, there would have been nothing left of the building at all. All the children and most of the adults would have been killed, not wounded.”

But the US also blamed Russia for the hospital strike. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UNSC meeting that the Russian “attack makes abundantly clear: Putin is not interested in peace.”

Kyiv described the strike as a “targeted attack by Russia,” with the Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) saying a Russian long-range cruise missile struck the facility.

“Relevant evidence has already been found at the scene of the tragedy: in particular, fragments of the rear part of the Kh-101 missile with a serial number and part of the steering wheel of the same missile,” the SBU said.

SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk vowed the agency would respond to what he said were Russian war crimes.

“This retribution will be both legal and moral,” he said.

CNN’s Sahar Akbarzai, Richard Roth, Daria Tarasova, Eve Brennan, Niamh Kennedy, Oren Liebermann and Kayla Tausche contributed reporting.

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2024-07-10 04:26:00Z
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Kyiv mourns 41 dead in mass strikes by Putin's forces ahead of key Nato summit - The Independent

Zelensky says China trying to undermine Ukraine peace summit

Support truly
independent journalism

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

Ukraine is observing a day of mourning after dozens of missiles fired by Russia struck a number of cities across the country, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 150. Officials have prohibited entertainment events and lowered the flags.

One of the 38 missiles fired by Vladimir Putin’s forces hit the Okhmatdyt hospital, which was treating children in the oncology department among others in the deadliest attack the war-hit nation has seen in months.

More than 100 buildings were damaged, including the children’s hospital and a maternity centre in Kyiv, children’s nurseries and a business centre and homes, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“The Russian terrorists must answer for this,” he wrote. “Being concerned does not stop terror. Condolences are not a weapon.” Ukraine’s central cities of Kryvyi Rih and Dnipro and two eastern cities were also hit, Ukraine’s interior ministry said.

Vladimir Putin’s latest attack amounts to a war crime, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani alleged, calling for condemnation from the entire international community.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said his nation would take revenge for the strikes, which his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, described as “genocide”.

1720506084

Here are some of the latest photos from Ukraine

Good morning.

Below are some of the latest photos coming out of Ukraine.

Ukrainians, a few of them displaced from Mariupol during the war, practice rowing on the Dnipro River as the sun sets, in Dnipro, central Ukraine (AP)

Vasilisa plays with her mother, Polina Ihrak, during a boxing tournament in honor of her father, Maksym Halinichev, who was killed during fighting with Russian forces in March 2023, in Romny, Sumy region (AP)

Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine (REUTERS)

Tom Watling9 July 2024 07:21

1720505002

Russian airports restrict flights after drone attack – report

Russia’s Astrakhan and Volgograd airports restricted flights this morning after a suspected Ukrainian drone attack, Russian news agencies reported.

Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 38 drones that Ukraine launched overnight on several Russian regions, Russia’s defence ministry said earlier.

Additionally, one person reportedly died while two power substations and an oil depot caught fire, after Ukraine launched tens of drones in attacks on several regions.

Russian air defence systems claim to have destroyed 38 drones, including 21 over the southern region of Rostov and seven over Kursk, both of which border Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said.

The total number of drones launched by Ukraine was not immediately clear.

Explosions were heard in the town of Kalach-on-the-Don in Russia’s southern region of Volgograd, said the Baza Telegram channel, which has sources in Russian law enforcement.

In a Telegram post, regional governor Andrei Bocharov said a power sub-station and an oil depot were set ablaze by falling debris from drones destroyed by Russian air defence systems.

Arpan Rai9 July 2024 07:03

1720504800

Kremlin denies hospital attack

The Kremlin said Kyiv’s claim Russian troops targeted the hospital was “absolutely untrue” and the destruction was caused by Ukrainian air defence missiles.

A spokesperson said: “The objectives of the strike have been achieved. Designated targets are hit. Statements by representatives of the Kyiv regime about an allegedly intentional missile strike by Russia on civilian targets are absolutely untrue.”

In response to the attack, Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov urged the country’s allies to provide more air defence technology to the country.

“Our defence capabilities are still insufficient. We need more air defence systems,” Mr Umerov said on Telegram.

Alexander Butler9 July 2024 07:00

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UN says Russian missile attacks ‘abominable, particularly shocking’

The United Nations has called an emergency meeting on the Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities yesterday which killed 41 people and condemned them as “shocking”.

“Among the victims were Ukraine’s sickest children,” said Volker Türk, the UN human rights commissioner. A UN team visited the hospital shortly after it was hit and saw the children receiving cancer treatments in hospital beds set up outdoors, he added. “This is abominable, and I implore those with influence to do everything in their power to ensure these attacks stop immediately,” Mr Türk said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned yesterday’s missile strikes as “particularly shocking”, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the attacks for Tuesday at the request of France and Ecuador. Russia, which holds the council’s rotating presidency this month, will preside at the meeting.

The International Criminal Court’s founding charter says it is a war crime to intentionally attack “hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Security Service said it found wreckage from a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile at the site and opened proceedings on war crime charges. The Kh-101 is an air-launched missile that flies low to avoid detection by radar. Ukraine said it shot down 11 of 13 Kh-101 missiles launched yesterday.

Arpan Rai9 July 2024 06:55

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Debris from missile attack fell into patients’s open chest mid-surgery – Ukrainian minister

The Russian hypersonic missile attack on the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital yesterday caused debris to fall into heart patients’ open chests in the middle of surgery, reported The Associated Press. Cancer patients had their beds wheeled into parks and onto the streets.

At the time of the strike, three heart operations were being performed, leading to the contamination of the patients’ open chests with blast debris, health minister Viktor Liashko said.

The hospital lost water, light and oxygen, and the patients were transferred to other hospitals, he told Ukrainian television.

Rescuers searched for victims under the rubble of a partially collapsed, two-story wing of the facility, at the hospital that was hit by a missile. At the main 10-story building, windows and doors were blown out, and walls were blackened. Blood was spattered on the floor in one room.

The intensive care unit, operating theaters and oncology departments all were damaged, officials said. Rescuers formed a line, passing bricks and other debris to each other as they sifted through rubble. Smoke rose from the building, and volunteers and emergency crews worked in protective masks. Some mothers were seen carrying their children away on their backs, while others waited in the courtyard with their children as calls to doctors’ phones rang unanswered.

It was Russia’s heaviest bombardment of Kyiv in almost four months, hitting seven of the city’s 10 districts.

Arpan Rai9 July 2024 06:06

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Zelensky condemns Modi’s Russian visit as Putin’s forces attack children

Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s display of hugging Vladimir Putin on the same day Russian forces bombarded Ukrainian cities, killing dozens of people.

“In Ukraine today, 37 people were killed, three of whom were children, and 170 were injured, including 13 children, as a result of Russia’s brutal missile strike. A Russian missile struck the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble,” he said on X, sharing photos of the attack’s impact on children and families.

“It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day,” he said.

Arpan Rai9 July 2024 05:58

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Biden says deadly missile strikes are 'horrific reminder of Russia's brutality'

Joe Biden said deadly Russian missile strikes in Ukraine, including on the main children’s hospital in Kyiv, were “a horrific reminder of Russia’s brutality.”

“Russia’s missile strikes that today killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians and caused damage and casualties at Kyiv’s largest children’s hospital are a horrific reminder of Russia’s brutality,” Mr Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

The US president said Washington and its Nato allies will be announcing this week new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences.

“It is critical that the world continues to stand with Ukraine at this important moment and that we not ignore Russian aggression,” Mr Biden said.

His remarks come as president Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would retaliate and called on Kyiv’s Western allies to give a firm response to the attack.

Arpan Rai9 July 2024 05:10

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A Ukrainian author turned soldier has a stark warning for the West: ‘Be prepared for war with Russia’

Alexander Butler9 July 2024 05:00

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Fire at Russian power substation after Ukraine drone attack

A fire broke out at a power substation in Russia’s Rostov region after Ukraine launched “tens” of drones overnight, Vasily Golubev, governor of the southern Russia region that borders Ukraine said today.

“As a result of an air attack in the Rodionovo-Nesvetaysky district, two transformers caught fire at a power substation,” Golubev said, adding that air defence systems destroyed tens of drones.

Arpan Rai9 July 2024 04:49

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Ukrainian Elina Svitolina breaks down in tears at Wimbledon over missile strikes on Kyiv

Many more were left injured on Monday, officials said, with one missile striking a large children’s hospital in the capital Kyiv.

Svitolina played with a black ribbon on her white top throughout the match on No.2 Court, with the 21st seed triumphing over Xinyu Wang 6-2, 6-1 after a fine performance.

And as emergency crews search the rubble for casualties back in Ukraine after the latest Russian barrage, Svitolina opened up on court about the difficulty in playing under the circumstances.

”For sure it was a good performance from my side,” Svitolina said, acknowledging her team courtside, including her partner and fellow player Gael Monfils. “It’s a very difficult day today for Ukrainian people.”

Arpan Rai9 July 2024 04:17

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2024-07-09 07:45:19Z
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French election gridlock means yet more uncertainty for Europe - POLITICO Europe

But that’s where the good news ends as France — alongside Germany, the other big beast in the EU, which has its own internal struggles — has now been plunged into political chaos, with no party winning enough seats for a majority. The paralysis could last months — and damage the EU.

“If soon everything stalls in both Paris and Berlin because of international political disagreements, Europe will really have a problem,” said an EU diplomat who, like others quoted in this piece, was granted anonymity to speak freely.

Macron has been a huge presence on the European front, whether by reshaping the EU’s trade agenda, pushing for a more ambitious industrial defense and competitiveness agenda, or eyeing more strategic autonomy ahead of a potential second Donald Trump presidency. 

Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s failure to grab the reins of the French parliament will have delighted mainstream pro-Europeans. | Dimitar Dilkoff/Getty Images

Now, the French president is weakened and distracted by his troubles at home. Whatever government eventually emerges from the fragmented French parliament, it is unlikely to be stable for long.

French politicians will also have the presidential election of 2027 on their minds while making decisions from now on. The teaming up of mainstream and leftist parties to keep the far-right out may not happen again, and the 2027 election could result in a far-right president.

“A new government is likely to focus on domestic issues rather than foreign policy. However, French politics will remain divisive and hard to manage, which will diminish France’s clout on the European and international stage,” said Célia Belin of the Paris office of the European Council of Foreign Relations, a think tank.

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2024-07-09 03:00:00Z
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