DUBAI: A cross-border raid into Russia from Ukraine this week has fueled calls for Moscow to allow local self-defense units to be armed, with one influential lawmaker suggesting a new military border command structure be set up.
The raid on Belgorod region by Ukraine-based ethnic Russian fighters who oppose the Kremlin, apparently equipped with US-made military vehicles, spanned two days, forcing Moscow to call in air and artillery strikes to drive the raiders out.
The attack, in which Russia said at least one civilian was killed, has prompted debate about what Moscow, which invaded Ukraine 15 months ago in what it called a “special military operation” — can do to better protect its own border.
Ukraine-based fighters made a similar armed incursion into another border region — Bryansk — in March, and Ukraine, which has long promised a powerful counter-offensive to drive Russian forces from its own territory, appears to have been ramping up drone and sabotage attacks against targets inside Russia.
After this week’s attack, the governors of two regions which border Ukraine — Belgorod and Kursk — said they favored changing the law to allow local volunteer self-defense units to be armed when necessary.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, said he and others were working to try to change the law.
“We have them (local self-defense units). We have nearly 3,000 people in seven battalions along the border,” said Gladkov.
But although he said they were combat-ready and had been in training since November last year, he said they remained unarmed because it was illegal to give them weapons under current Russian law.
“We’re now searching for a legal basis...(for them) to be able to push back the enemy if necessary for those who are trained, able and professional,” he said. “I think it would be the right decision.”
Arming such forces could save the defense ministry from being forced to divert some of the troops it needs on the front line to respond to similar raids in future.
Roman Starovoit, governor of the Kursk region which also borders Ukraine, said he favored the idea too which has a powerful backer in the form of Andrei Turchak, first deputy speaker of the upper house of parliament.
Turchak told President Vladimir Putin in a Kremlin meeting last month the issue had to be resolved.
“The legal status of these formations is now extremely restricted, and most importantly they do not have the right to carry and use weapons. We propose that this anomaly be eliminated at the legislative level,” Turchak told Putin, who took away a report with recommendations to study.
Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov, an influential lawmaker who chairs the lower house of parliament’s defense committee, believes bigger structural changes are needed to secure the border too.
He told the RBK news outlet that a unified headquarters that could coordinate and was in charge of all the military and security forces in Russia’s border regions with Ukraine was now needed.
Cross-border raid fuels calls for Russia to arm its self-defense forces
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Cross-border raid fuels calls for Russia to arm its self-defense forces
- The raid on Belgorod region by Ukraine-based ethnic Russian fighters who oppose the Kremlin, apparently equipped with U.S.-made military vehicles, spanned two days
- Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, said: “We have them (local self-defence units). We have nearly 3,000 people in seven battalions along the border”
Biden, Sunak vow to stick together on Ukraine, deepen cooperation on clean energy transition, AI
- The US and UK are the two biggest donors to the Ukraine war effort
- Agreement to serve as framework on the development of emerging technologies, protecting technology deemed critical to national security
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday reiterated their commitment to help Ukraine repel Russia’s ongoing invasion, while agreeing to step up cooperation on challenges their economies face with artificial intelligence, clean energy, and critical minerals.
The leaders said the “first of its kind” agreement— what they are calling the “Atlantic Declaration”— will serve as a framework for the two countries on the development of emerging technologies, protecting technology that is critical to national security and other economic security issues.
“We will put our values front and center,” Biden said as the two leaders started talks in the Oval Office. He later added at a joint news conference that the agreement will help both nations “adapt and upgrade our partnership to ensure our countries remain on the cutting edge of a rapidly changing world.”
As part of the declaration announced Thursday, the two sides will kick off negotiations on the use of minerals from the UK that are critical in the production of electric vehicles that are eligible for US tax credits. The administration has also opened talks with the European Union and forged a deal with Japan that allow certain critical raw materials for EVs to be treated as if they were sourced in the United States.
Allies have raised concerns about incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act favoring the North American auto industry. The legislation — one of Biden’s key policy victories — invests some $375 billion to transition the United States to cleaner cars and energy sources.
Biden and Sunak have already had four face-to-face meetings since Sunak became prime minister in October, but the talks in Washington offered the two leaders a chance for their most sustained interaction to date.
Sunak reflected on the significant conversations their respective predecessors have had over the years in the Oval Office and acknowledged that both he and Biden were facing their own daunting moment. The visit to Washington is Sunak’s first since becoming Britain’s prime minister in October.
“Our economies are seeing perhaps the biggest transformation since the Industrial Revolution as new technologies provide incredible opportunities, but also give our adversaries more tools,” Sunak said.
The 15-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine was high on the agenda. The US and UK are the two biggest donors to the Ukraine war effort and play a central role in a long-term effort announced last month to train, and eventually equip, Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
Biden reiterated confidence that Congress would continue to provide Ukraine funding as needed despite some hesitation among Republican leaders at the growing cost of the war for American taxpayers.
“The US and the UK have stood together to support Ukraine,” Biden said at the start of their meeting.
Sunak also made the case to Biden for UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace to succeed outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who is set to end his term leading the 31-member alliance in September. Stoltenberg is slated to meet with Biden in Washington on Monday, and leaders from the alliance are set to gather in Lithuania on July 11-12 for their annual summit.
Asked if it was time for a UK leader for NATO, Biden said “it may be” but “that remains to be seen.”
“We’re going to have to get a consensus within NATO,” he said.
Biden also reflected that the two countries have worked through some of the toughest moments in modern history side-by-side, recalling the meetings that Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt held in the White House.
“You know Prime Minister Churchill and Roosevelt met here a little over 70 years ago and they asserted that the strength of the partnership between Great Britain and the United States was strength of the free world,” Biden told Sunak. “I still think there’s truth to that assertion.”
Sunak is keen to make the UK a key player in artificial intelligence, and announced that his government will gather politicians, scientists and tech executives for a summit on AI safety in the fall.
He said it was vital to ensure that “paradigm-shifting new technologies” are harnessed for the good of humanity.
“No one country can do this alone,” Sunak said Wednesday. “This is going to take a global effort.”
Biden said the challenges that comes with the advancement of AI technology are “staggering.”
“It is a limitless capacity and possibility but we have to do it with great care,” said Biden, who added that he welcomed the UK’s leadership on the issue.
Sunak’s visit comes as US and British intelligence officials are still trying to sort out blame for the breaching of a major dam in southern Ukraine, which sent floodwaters gushing through towns and over farmland. Neither Washington nor London has officially accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam.
Sunak said Wednesday that UK intelligence services are still assessing the evidence, but “if it does prove to be intentional, it will represent a new low ... an appalling barbarism on Russia’s part.”
“Russia throughout this war has used as a deliberate active strategy to target civilian infrastructure,” he told broadcaster ITV in Washington.
The two sides looked to demonstrate that the US-UK relationship remains as strong as ever despite recent political and economic upheaval in the UK Sunak is one of three British prime ministers Biden has dealt with since taking office in 2021, and the administrations have had differences over Brexit and its impact on Northern Ireland.
Nonetheless, there’s a sense in the Biden administration that the US-UK relationship is back on more stable footing after the sometimes choppy tenure of Boris Johnson and the 45-day premiership of Liz Truss.
“I think there’s a sense of relief to some degree, not just in the White House, but throughout Washington, that the Sunak government has been very pragmatic and maintained the UK’s robust commitment to Ukraine and to increasing defense spending,” said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He added that with Sunak, there’s also been “somewhat of a return to pragmatism” on economic issues and relations with the European Union post-Brexit.
Sunak at the press conference sought to hammer home that the UK remains “as reliable an ally as ever.”
“I know some people have wondered what kind of partner Britain would be after we left the EU,” Sunak said. “I’d say judge us by our actions.”
Biden invited Sunak to stay at Blair House, the official presidential guest residence on Lafayette Square. Before the US government purchased Blair House in 1942, foreign leaders visiting the president often stayed at the White House.
In a lighter moment, the president began telling the story of how in the pre-Blair House days Churchill wandered toward the president’s family quarters in the wee hours to rouse the sleeping Roosevelt for conversation. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt was said to have cut off Churchill before he could make it to the president.
“Don’t worry,” Sunak interjected. “You won’t see me bothering you and the first lady.”
Trump indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents
- The controversial former president said he was due in court Tuesday in Miami, calls it a "DARK DAY for the United States of America"
- Trump has already been indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that also could lead to criminal charges
MIAMI: Donald Trump said Thursday he’s been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
The Justice Department did not immediately publicly confirm the indictment. But two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss it publicly said Trump’s team had been informed that he had been indicted on seven counts and that prosecutors had contacted lawyers to advise them of the indictment shortly before Trump announced it himself on his Truth Social platform. The PBS NewsHour confirmed the indictment and that Trump has been instructed to appear in US District Court in Miami at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday.
“This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America,” Trump posted. “We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!”
Within 20 minutes of his announcement, Trump, who said he was due in court Tuesday afternoon in Miami, had begun fundraising off it for his 2024 presidential campaign.
The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump, who has already been indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that also could lead to criminal charges. As the prosecution moves forward, it will pit Trump’s claims of sweeping executive power against Attorney General Merrick Garland’s oft-stated mantra that no person, including a former commander in chief, should be regarded as above the law.
The indictment arises from a monthslong investigation by special counsel Jack Smith into whether Trump broke the law by holding onto hundreds of documents marked classified at his Palm Beach property, Mar-a-Lago, and whether Trump took steps to obstruct the government’s efforts to recover the records.
Prosecutors have said that Trump took roughly 300 classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, including some 100 that were seized by the FBI last August in a search of the home that underscored the gravity of the Justice Department’s investigation.
Trump and his team have long seen the special counsel investigation as far more perilous than the New York matter — both politically and legally. Campaign aides had been bracing for the fallout since Trump’s attorneys were notified that he was the target of the investigation, assuming it was not a matter of if charges would be brought, but when.
But it remains unclear what the immediate and long-term political consequences will be for Trump. His first indictment spurred millions of dollars in contributions from angry supporters and didn’t damage Trump in the polls. No matter what, the indictment — and the legal fight that follows — will throw Trump back into the spotlight, sucking attention away from the other candidates who are trying to build momentum in the 2024 presidential race.
Trump has insisted he was entitled to keep the classified documents when he left the White House, and has also claimed without evidence that he had declassified them.
The former president has long sought to use mounting legal troubles to his political advantage, complaining on social media and at public events that the cases are being driven by Democratic prosecutors out to hurt his 2024 election campaign. He is likely to rely on that playbook again, reviving his longstanding claims that the Justice Department — which, during his presidency, investigated whether his 2016 campaign had colluded with Russia — is somehow weaponized against him.
The case is a milestone for a Justice Department that had investigated Trump for years — as president and private citizen — but had never before charged him with a crime. Garland was appointed by President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection in 2024.
Among the various state and federal investigations that Trump faces, legal experts — including Trump’s own former attorney general — had long seen the Mar-a-Lago probe as one of the most likely to result in indictment and the one where evidence seemed to favor the government. Court records unsealed last year showed federal investigators believed they had probable cause that multiple crimes had been committed, including the retention of national defense information, destruction of government records and obstruction of an investigation.
Since then, the Justice Department has amassed additional evidence and secured grand jury testimony from people close to Trump, including his own lawyers. The statutes governing the handling of classified records and obstruction are felonies that could carry years in prison in the event of a conviction.
Signs had mounted for weeks that an indictment was near, including a June 5 meeting between Trump’s lawyers and Justice Department officials. After that meeting, Trump said on social media that he anticipated he could be charged, even as he insisted he had done nothing wrong.
Though the bulk of the investigative work had been handled in Washington, with a grand jury meeting there for months, it recently emerged that prosecutors were presenting evidence before a separate panel in Florida, where many of the alleged acts of obstruction scrutinized by prosecutors — including efforts to move the boxes — took place.
Trump’s legal troubles extend beyond the New York indictment and classified documents case.
The special counsel has a separate probe underway focused on efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. And the district attorney in Georgia’s Fulton County is investigating Trump over alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election in that state.
Blast kills 11 during funeral of deputy governor in northern Afghanistan
- Daesh claimed responsibility for a car bomb on Tuesday that killed Badakhshan’s deputy governor
- Daesh claimed killing of governor of northern Balkh province in attack on his office in March
KABUL: An explosion took place inside a mosque in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing at least eleven people during the funeral of the Taliban’s provincial deputy governor who died in an attack earlier this week, officials said.
The Taliban-run Ministry of Interior said that over 30 people had also been injured in the blast in Badakhshan, a province in the far north of the country that shares borders with China and Tajikistan.
Daesh claimed responsibility for a car bomb on Tuesday that killed Badakhshan’s deputy governor.
The Taliban administration has been carrying out raids against members of Daesh, which had claimed several major attacks in urban centers.
The Daesh group has targeted Taliban administration officials, including claiming the killing of the governor of northern Balkh province in an attack on his office in March.
Before-and-after satellite images show profound toll of Ukraine dam collapse
- Before the Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River broke, farm fields appear green and crossed by peaceful streets and farm roads and dotted with trees
- Afterward, only metal roofs and treetops poke above the murky water
KHERSON, Ukraine: Before-and-after images of the area downstream from a dam that collapsed Tuesday vividly show the extent of the devastation of a large, flooded swathe of southern Ukraine.
Before the Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River broke, farm fields appear green and crossed by peaceful streets and farm roads and dotted with trees. Afterward, only metal roofs and treetops poke above the murky water. Greenhouses and homes are almost entirely submerged.
The pre-collapse satellite photos were taken in May and early June. Photos of the same area taken after the dam collapsed clearly show how much of it has become unlivable. Brown water as high as people covers much of the territory captured in the images.
Paired with exclusive drone footage of the Ukrainian dam and surrounding villages occupied by Russia, the before-and-after satellite images illustrate the profound changes wrought by the disaster.
Ukraine has warned since last October that the hydroelectric dam was mined by Russian forces, and accused them of touching off an explosion that has turned the downstream areas into a waterlogged wasteland. Russia said Ukraine hit the dam with a missile. But while the AP footage clearly shows the extent of the damage to the region, it offered a limited snapshot of the partially submerged dam, making it difficult to categorically rule out any scenario.
Experts have said the structure was in disrepair, which could also have led to its collapse.
WHO rushes supplies to Ukraine, readies to tackle disease in flood areas
- Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the bursting of the Soviet-era Kakhovka hydroelectric dam
- "The impact of the region's water supply sanitation systems and public health services cannot be underestimated," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing
GENEVA: The World Health Organization has rushed emergency supplies to flood-hit parts of Ukraine and are preparing to respond to an array of health risks including trauma, drowning and waterborne diseases like cholera, officials said on Thursday.
Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the bursting of the Soviet-era Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, which sent waters cascading across the war zone of southern Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.
“The impact of the region’s water supply sanitation systems and public health services cannot be underestimated,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing.
“The WHO has rushed in to support the authorities and health care workers in preventive measures against waterborne diseases and to improve disease surveillance.”
Asked specifically about cholera, WHO technical officer Teresa Zakaria said that the risk of an outbreak was present since the pathogen exists in the environment. She said that the WHO was working with Ukraine’s health ministry to put mechanisms in place to ensure that vaccines can be imported if needed.
“We are trying to address quite a wide range of health risks actually associated with the floods, starting from trauma to drowning, to waterborne diseases but also all the way to the potential implications of disruption to chronic treatment,” she added.
The huge Kakhovka Dam on the Dnipro River separates Russian and Ukrainian forces and people have been affected on both sides of its banks. WHO’s Emergencies Director Mike Ryan said the WHO has offered assistance to Russian-controlled areas but that its operational presence was “primarily” on the Ukrainian side.
He said Russian authorities had given them assurances that people living in areas it occupies were being “well monitored, well cared for, well fed (and) well supported.”
“We will be delighted to be able to access those areas and be able to monitor health as we would in most situations wish to do,” he said, adding it would be for the Ukrainian and Russian authorities to agree how that could be achieved.
