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Russia on Wednesday shut down its oldest gas route to Europe, which runs through Ukraine, after a transit deal expired in the early hours of January 1, 2025, without an accord extension. Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine accelerated Europe’s efforts to end its dependence on Russian gas, an endeavor hailed by Kyiv. Source link
Russia and Ukraine swapped more than 300 prisoners of war on Monday in an exchange brokered by the United Arab Emirates ahead of New Year’s Eve, officials from both countries said. The two sides have exchanged hundreds of captive soldiers since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in one of the […]
Soft lighting, rounded forms and neutral colours create a welcoming atmosphere inside this sex shop in Kyiv by Ukrainian designers Sofiia Hupalovska and Nataliya Stukonog, with playful details including a phallic pouf. Hupalovska and Stukonog, who worked together at architecture and interiors studio Balbek Bureau before Hupalovska set up her own firm in 2021, wanted […]
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Russian retaliation for a Ukrainian targeted strike, the United States killing an Islamic State leader in Syria as U.S. diplomats visit Damascus, and Canada’s cabinet reshuffle. World Brief will be taking a short break for the holiday season. The newsletter will return to your inbox on […]
Opening summary One person was reported killed on Friday in a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where AFP staff saw smoke rise over parts of the city after a series of explosions. “According to preliminary reports, one person was killed,” the head of the city’s military administration, Sergiy Popko, said on Telegram. […]
Russian missiles targeted the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Friday, killing at least one person and cutting heating to hundreds of buildings amid cold temperatures. The first explosions echoed around 7:00 am local time when authorities warned of a ballistic missile threat. Ukraine’s airforce said it downed all five Iskander missiles Russia launched at the capital, but […]
London: Australia will reopen its embassy in war-torn Kyiv next month almost three years since its diplomats fled to neighbouring Poland in the days ahead of Russia’s brutal invasion. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, on her first visit to Ukraine since Putin’s troops rolled across the border in February 2022, confirmed Australia’s ambassador would return full-time […]
North Korean soldiers are preparing to imminently target Ukrainian forces in Kursk, according to Kyiv. On Saturday, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement that on Friday, North Korean units had been “put on alert and ordered to wait further instructions” with some of Pyongyang’s troops being covertly transferred to the front by civilian trucks. […]
US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday landed in Paris on his first international trip since his election win, preparing for a day of intense diplomacy before attending the reopening ceremony for the Notre Dame cathedral restored after the 2019 fire. President Emmanuel Macron scored a major coup in Trump’s acceptance of the invitation to attend […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved budget plans, raising 2025 military spending to record levels as Moscow seeks to prevail in the war in Ukraine. Around 32.5% of the budget posted on a government website Sunday has been allocated for national defense, amounting to 13.5 trillion rubles (over $145 billion), up from a reported 28.3% this year. Lawmakers in both houses […]