Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 854 ---AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

As the war enters its 854th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Friday, June 28, 2024. Fighting Ukraine’s military said its forces had forced Russian soldiers out of a district in the strategically important town of Chasiv Yar on the war’s eastern front. Russia, meanwhile, said its forces had destroyed a communications tower near the town and made further headway. The head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, said the country had sent about 10,000 naturalised citizens to fight in Ukraine, and that it was cracking down on those who had received Russian citizenship but were not registering with military authorities. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it launched missile attacks on Ukrainian airfields, which it believes have been designated to host Western military aircraft. It said the attacks were successful but did not provide any details. Politics and diplomacy Ukraine and the European Union signed a security pact to ensure long-term support to Kyiv, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the EU’s leaders to live up to their promises to provide military equipment including air defence systems. Lithuania and Estonia also signed security agreements with Ukraine. Jordan Bardella, who could become French prime minister if the far-right National Rally (RN) wins the election for the national assembly, said in a debate that he would “not let Russian imperialism absorb an allied state like Ukraine”. Bardella also said he was against sending longer-range missiles to Ukraine that could hit Russian territory “and place France and the French in a situation of co-belligerence”. The RN is currently tipped to win the polls, which take place on June 30 and July 7. Sri Lanka asked Russia to allow its former soldiers fighting for Russia against Ukraine to return home voluntarily, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement following two days of talks in Moscow. It also called for compensation for 17 Sri Lankans killed in the fighting. A Russian court in the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea sentenced a man in his early 30s to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of “high treason” for filming Russian military sites to help Ukraine’s armed forces, Russian news agencies reported. South Korea imposed sanctions on five companies and eight individuals it said were involved in illegal military transactions with North Korea. Weapons The Czech Republic called for more donors to join its initiative to supply ammunition to Ukraine, warning that more contributions were needed to meet its targets. Some 18 countries are currently involved in the plan, and Prague said earlier this week that the first shipment of ammunition – 155mm shells – bought under the initiative had reached Ukraine. SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more