UK and allies to announce new sanctions against Russia
Britain and its G7 allies are expected to announce further sanctions against Russia today, the government said, stepping up pressure on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
“We are finalising a further sanctions package – and I want to work with all of our G7 partners to squeeze Russia’s energy revenues and reduce the funds they are able to pour into their illegal war,” Sir Keir Starmer is expected to say.
Britain has already sanctioned over 2,300 individuals, entities and ships as part of sanctions against Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“We should take this moment to increase economic pressure and show President (Vladimir) Putin it is in his – and Russia’s interests – to demonstrate he is serious about peace,” Sir Keir is expected to say.
Sir Keir Starmer spoke to reporters while travelling to Canada for the G7 summit (PA Wire)
Arpan Rai17 June 2025 07:50
Watch: Live: Aftermath of Russian missile and drone strike on Ukraine as 14 killed and 40 injured
Arpan Rai17 June 2025 07:38
Kyiv faces ‘one of the most horrific attacks’ overnight, says Zelensky
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has witnessed “one of the most horrific attacks” overnight as Russia fired almost 500 drones and missiles on the war-hit country, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“More than 440 drones and 32 missiles were used. Kyiv has faced one of the most horrific attacks. Also, overnight, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions were attacked,” Mr Zelensky said.
“All the affected are receiving the necessary assistance. 75 people have been reported injured. As of now, 15 people are confirmed dead,” he said.
The Ukrainian president said that it’s still unclear how many remain trapped under the debris.
He added: “Such attacks are pure terrorism. And the whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilized society responds to terrorists.”
Arpan Rai17 June 2025 07:37
Russian attack on Kyiv during G7 summit shows disrespect to US, foreign minister says
A deadly Russian attack on Kyiv during the Group of Seven summit sent signal of disrespect to the US and other partners who have called for an end to the war, Ukraine’s foreign minister said today.
“Putin’s goal is very simple: make the G7 leaders appear weak. Only strong steps and real pressure on Moscow can prove him wrong,” Andrii Sybiha said on X.
Arpan Rai17 June 2025 07:21
Shoigu reaches North Korea on Putin’s instructions
Russia’s top presidential security adviser Sergei Shoigu was expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after arriving in Pyongyang “on special instructions” from president Vladimir Putin, Russia’s Tass news agency reported today.
Mr Shoigu will hold talks with the North Korean “leadership on implementing agreements” reached during his visit earlier in June under the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed by the two leaders last year, Tass reported.
It did not elaborate on the details of Mr Shoigu’s expected talks or what the Russian president’s instructions were.
The visit by Mr Shoigu is the third in nearly three months as the two countries rapidly advanced diplomatic and security ties in the past two years, including North Korea’s military support for Russia in the war against Ukraine.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meeting with secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang (EPA)
Arpan Rai17 June 2025 07:08
Russia downs 147 Ukrainian drones overnight, defence ministry says
Air defence units intercepted and destroyed 147 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, including the Moscow region, overnight, the defence ministry said this morning.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin earlier said that two Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow had been repelled.
Arpan Rai17 June 2025 06:59
Fears Trump will veto G7 joint statement on Russia sanctions and Israel
Efforts by the world’s biggest democracies to toughen sanctions against Russia and hold a joint position on the Middle East crisis look set to be thrown into chaos by Donald Trump.
The US President, who landed in Alberta, Canada late on Sunday night, opened off his remarks at the G7 summit by suggesting it had been a “mistake” to boot Russia out of the former G8.
It had already been reported by CBS News that Mr Trump does not intend to sign a G7 statement related to Israel and Iran, citing unnamed US officials.
Arpan Rai17 June 2025 06:27
14 killed, 40 injured in major Russian attack on Kyiv overnight
At least 14 people were killed and 44 others were injured in a Russian attack on Kyiv overnight, Ukraine’s interior minister said this morning.
The attack damaged residential buildings, educational institutions and critical infrastructure facilities, minister Ihor Klymenko said on his Telegram channel.
Smoke rises in the city after a Russian missile and drone strike in Kyiv (Reuters)
Arpan Rai17 June 2025 06:08
Arpan Rai17 June 2025 06:03
Trump defends Putin over G7 ejection: ‘He’s not happy about it’
US president Donald Trump made a brief one-day visit to the G7 summit in Canada on Monday and largely made headlines for expressing unhappiness over the 2014 expulsion of Vladimir Putin from the group.
“This was a big mistake,” Mr Trump said, adding he believed Russia would not have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Putin not been ejected from the high-profile group of nations.
“I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if you had Russia in, and you wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump were president four years ago,” he said.
“They threw Russia out, which I claimed was a very big mistake, even though I wasn’t in politics then.
“Putin speaks to me. He doesn’t speak to anybody else … he’s not a happy person about it. I can tell you that he basically doesn’t even speak to the people that threw him out, and I agree with him,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump stopped short of saying Russia should be reinstated in the group.
His remarks come at a time when European nations say they want to persuade the US president to back tougher sanctions against Moscow.
The US leader has indicated that he would rather have the G7 become the G8 or possibly even the G9, adding Russia and China as authoritarian governments to an organisation whose members are otherwise democracies.
“It was a rough start,” said Josh Lipsky, a former senior IMF official who now chairs the international economics department at the Atlantic Council.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, US president Donald Trump and British prime minister Keir Starmer pose for a family photo during the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at the Kananaskis Country Golf Course in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada (AFP via Getty Images)
Arpan Rai17 June 2025 05:48