Ukraine

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/33310425

[...]

For Trump, Ukraine's southern peninsula was "lost years ago" and "is not even a part of discussion" in peace talks.

But for Zelensky to renounce Crimea as an indivisible part of Ukraine would be unconscionable.

In the words of opposition MP Iryna Gerashchenko "territorial integrity and sovereignty is a red line for Ukraine and Ukrainians".

[...]

Putin later admitted hatching the land-grab [the attack on Crimea] in an all-night meeting with his officials days after Ukraine's pro-Russian leader was ousted in Kyiv.

[...]

Zelensky was adamant that he has no power to give up Crimea: "There's nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution."

Article 2 of the constitution states that Ukraine's sovereignty "extends throughout its entire territory" which "within its present border is indivisible and inviolable".

Any change to Ukraine's territory has to go to a national referendum, which must be authorised by the Ukrainian parliament.

[...]

Crimea along with the rest of Ukraine voted for independence from the collapsing Soviet Union in 1991. It had the status of autonomous republic within and Kyiv allowed Russia to lease the port of Sevastopol as a base for the Black Sea Fleet.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/33196646

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has taken at least 744,000 Ukrainian children to its territory, mostly accompanied by their parents, according to Daria Zarivna, Head of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative. Her remarks were published in an Espresso interview on April 19.

“Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine had approximately seven million children. According to human rights organizations, about 1.6 million children remain in temporarily occupied territories. Russia has stated that it took at least 744,000 children to its territory, mostly with their parents,” Zarivna said.

[...]

Due to the lack of access, it is unclear how many children have died, how many have been separated from their parents, or how many were born after February 2022.

According to official Ukrainian data, 19,546 cases of unlawful deportation or forced displacement of children have been documented. “The real number is much higher, but Russia blocks access to information, preventing a full assessment of the scale of this crime,” Zarivna added.

Through the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, Ukraine has managed to return 1,269 children—449 over the past year, and 18 in March 2025 alone.

[...]

Children are taken to filtration camps or sent deeper into occupied regions, where they are housed in “re-education camps,” orphanages, or medical facilities.

[...]

In other instances, children are forcibly taken from institutions. “Russia abducted 48 children from the Kherson Infant Home alone, many of whom have already been adopted by Russian families,” Zarivna said.

One example cited in the interview involved 17-year-old Vlad Rudenko from the Kherson region. Russian soldiers entered his home while he was alone, ordered him to pack his belongings, and transported him and his siblings to a military college in Crimea. Only months later was his mother able to locate him and begin the process to bring him home.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported that over 3,000 children were forcibly deported from occupied areas of Kherson during the summer of 2024 under the pretense of “vacation” programs. According to his statement, the children were taken to camps in remote Russian regions, where they were subjected to “re-education” activities aimed at erasing their Ukrainian identity.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2534660

• Zelenskiy says Chinese nationals help Russian drone production
• Says Russia may have obtained technology without China knowing
• Chinese ambassador summoned to Ukrainian Foreign Ministry

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/62096880

Vladimir Putin has offered to halt his invasion of Ukraine across the current front line as part of efforts to reach a peace deal with US President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.

https://archive.ph/nfKxL

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/62091365

Apparently, Ukrainian drones pushed through and started a chain reaction.

Explosions reportedly continued for hours, and authorities evacuated nearby settlements. Initial reports indicate that the site, previously protected by one of Russia’s densest air defense networks, suffered catastrophic damage.

cross-posted from: https://biglemmowski.win/post/6147124

A Moscow court has found Google, owned by U.S. tech giant Alphabet, guilty of disclosing personal data of Russian servicemen killed in Ukraine, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported on April 21.

The ruling reportedly stems from a YouTube video that allegedly revealed both casualty figures and personal details of Russian soldiers killed during the full-scale invasion.

The court found Google guilty under Article 13.41(2) of Russia’s administrative code, which covers the "violation of procedures for restricting access to information that must be limited under Russian law." The company was fined 3.8 million rubles (approximately $45,000), according to the court ruling.

I cannot find a proper link to the relevant video. If anyone can find it please link it.

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/25781973

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/32890522

• Ukraine president says China providing artillery and gunpowder
• Zelenskiy also says Beijing helping make weapons in Russia
• Beijing accused of direct military aid for Russia for first time
• Russia waging a more than three-year-old invasion of Ukraine

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61295662

cross-posted from: https://lemmit.online/post/5647456

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/ukrainianconflict by /u/UNITED24Media on 2025-04-14 07:50:24+00:00.

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/28500874

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61085519

Gen Keith Kellogg appeared to suggest the country could be split into zones of control

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2384290

Japan expressed interest Tuesday in participating in the NATO command for its Ukrainian mission based in Germany in what would be a major boost in ties with the largely European alliance.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced his country’s interest during talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Tokyo. After providing the war-torn country with defense equipment and support, Japan now wants to join NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, or NSATU, headquartered at a U.S. base in the German town of Wiesbaden.

Details of the mission, including the possibility of sending any Japan Self Defense Force members to Wiesbaden, were still to be discussed. But any Japanese cooperation was not expected to involve combat, in line with what has been Tokyo’s post-World War II tradition of limiting its military’s role.

Nakatani said Japan wants to further deepen security cooperation with NATO and that participation in the NSATU mission would help Tokyo learn lessons from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

...

Japan has said that Russia’s war on Ukraine underscores that security risks in Europe and Asia are inseparable, and Tokyo has sought closer ties with NATO while also joining the United States in expanding defense ties with other friendly nations in the Indo-Pacific.

...

Japan considers China a threat in the region and has in recent years accelerated its military buildup, including preparing to acquire strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles.

...

NATO has stepped up its ties with Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, known as the IP4, in recent years, with their officials attending NATO ministerial and summit meetings.

...

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/32335303

Ukrainian forces have captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting for the Russian army in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The Ukrainian president said intelligence suggested the number of Chinese soldiers in Russia's army is "much higher than two".

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Chinese troops fighting on Ukrainian territory "puts into question China's declared stance for peace" and added that their envoy in Kyiv has been summoned for an explanation.

It marks the first official allegation that China is supplying Russia with manpower for its war in Ukraine. There has been no immediate response to the claims from Moscow or Beijing.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://biglemmowski.win/post/5842702

Germany is financing Ukraine's access to a satellite internet network operated by French company Eutelsat, Reuters reported on April 4, citing Eutelsat CEO Eva Berneke.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27547831

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27483725

Paywall? https://archive.is/FrNa4

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59524776

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/35051968

In an interview with Fox News on March 23, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff discussed negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, expressing his optimism about Russian President Vladimir Putin's commitment to peace.

Witkoff, who brokered the now broken Jan. 15 ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, has become a leading figure in negotiations regarding Russia and Ukraine.

When asked whether he was convinced that Putin was seeking peace, he responded in the affirmative: "I feel that he wants peace," said Witkoff.

cross-posted from: https://europe.pub/post/49748

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/24399065

Archive: none required, use reader mode if necessary

“They come highly motivated, much more so than the average recruit today,” says Valentyn about the former prisoners. There are hundreds of them, although he doesn’t reveal the exact number. In routine training, at least 50 huddle among the trees of a dense forest of bare branches on the outskirts of Kramatorsk. Some receive instructions to simulate an assault, others practice with their rifles, and others learn how to provide first aid to a wounded person.

Not every prisoner benefits from the new law. Those convicted of treason are excluded, as are drug traffickers, rapists, pedophiles, or those convicted of murder. The final say on release always rests with a judge. “There are mainly thieves and those convicted of assault,” Arey believes. Garik, a 28-year-old professional middleweight boxer, ended up in prison over a fight. He broke several bones in a man’s face, and because he was a federated athlete, the judge gave him a sentence equivalent to if he had committed assault with a knife, an aggravating circumstance that also exists in Spain. He received 13 years, but his lawyer managed to get his sentence reduced to eight. “I had been in my cell for two years, with nothing to do, when they asked me if I wanted to come. I didn’t think twice,” he says.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/34877118

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59160092

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27227073

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26985200