SINGAPORE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived Saturday at a Singapore security forum, as he seeks to rally support for Kyiv while a Russian offensive gains ground.
Zelensky will speak at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said, saying that Zelensky would appear in person.
There had been speculation that Zelensky would make an appearance at this weekend’s security forum attended by defense ministers from around the world, including the United States and China.
Zelensky has been touring European nations in recent days to appeal for more military aid for the Ukrainian army, which has been ceding ground to relentless Russian attacks.
The Singapore announcement follows a US decision to partially lift restrictions on using US-provided weapons to strike inside Russia, which Zelensky has hailed as a “step forward.”
US President Joe Biden had come under increasing pressure from a desperate Ukraine to ease his ban but had resisted for fear it could drag NATO into direct conflict or even a nuclear standoff with Moscow.
Germany said Friday it too had given Ukraine permission to fire German-delivered weapons at targets in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Tuesday that there would be “serious consequences” if Western countries gave approval to Ukraine.
Ukraine is struggling to hold back a Russian ground offensive in the Kharkiv region, where Moscow recently made its largest territorial gains in 18 months.
With Russia’s war against Ukraine in its third year, Ukrainian soldiers are exhausted and outgunned.
Many Kyiv allies remain uneasy about the prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine.
In February, French President Emmanuel Macron sparked an uproar among NATO members when he refused to rule out sending troops to Ukraine.
Zelensky has visited Spain, Sweden, Portugal and Belgium in recent days as he seeks more weapons and aid for his struggling military, and to whip up support for a peace summit due to be held in Switzerland this month.
Sweden pledged on Wednesday military aid of 13.3 billion kronor ($1.25 billion) to Ukraine.
The Scandinavian country, which formally joined NATO in March, will donate a range of military supplies, including ASC 890 surveillance aircraft, Rb 99 medium-range air-to-air missiles and artillery ammunition, and its entire fleet of PBV 302 armored tracked personnel carriers.
Russia fired a combined 100 missiles and drones at Ukraine, in an overnight barrage targeting energy sites across the country, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.
Russia has launched hundreds of aerial attacks at Ukraine’s power facilities throughout the war, causing significant damage and energy shortages as Ukraine’s stretched air defenses struggle to repel waves of drones and missiles.
Ukraine’s Zelensky arrives at Singapore security forum
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Ukraine’s Zelensky arrives at Singapore security forum
- Ukrainian leader has been touring European nations in recent days to appeal for more military aid for the army
Myanmar, Afghan hopeful scholars mourn UK study visa ban
- Myanmar, Afghanistan, Sudan and Cameroon citizens will be barred from obtaining university visas
- Britain’s travel block is “really painful” for Afghan women hoping to escape to an education abroad, said one female
YANGON, Myanmar: Aspiring students are lamenting Britain’s ban on education visas for their war-weary countries — dashing dreams of bettering themselves and their home nations.
Myanmar, Afghanistan, Sudan and Cameroon citizens will be barred from obtaining university visas, London announced this week, saying asylum applications by visiting students had “rocketed” nearly 500 percent from 2021 to 2025.
“It’s like the country is punishing the weak, the most vulnerable people,” said one woman from Myanmar.
She was preparing for a scholarship interview for a master’s in climate change finance when her plans were upended by Downing Street’s decree on Wednesday.
“I could not focus the whole morning,” the 28-year-old told AFP from Yangon, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons in a country riven by civil war since a 2021 military coup.
“I can’t picture my future.”
Like in much of the developed world, immigration has become a divisive issue in Britain.
Efforts to beat back arrivals mirror the sweeping travel bans issued by US President Donald Trump which have shut out citizens of Myanmar, Sudan and Afghanistan.
Since the chaotic military withdrawal of Britain, the United States and other NATO nations in 2021, Afghanistan has been ruled by a resurgent Taliban government which has banned women over age 12 from attending school.
Britain’s travel block is “really painful” for Afghan women hoping to escape to an education abroad, said one female child social worker in Ghazni province, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.
She has now canceled her plans to study for a master’s in both the US and the UK.
“Now I am trying to be hopeful, but I think it would also be a mistake,” said the 27-year-old.
In the summer of 2024, Arefa Mohammadi fled to neighboring Pakistan, living in limbo as she applied to universities.
She got an offer to study public health in England but now cannot accept it.
“It was truly shocking for me,” said the 24-year-old.
“This situation put me in a place where I haven’t any goals, because all my goals and all my futures are unpredictable.”
- ‘Cruel and short-sighted’ -
In Kabul, a 39-year-old man faces similar heartbreak.
He was accepted to study specialist subjects related to water management at three universities in England and Scotland.
“When I was a child I witnessed several challenges like flash floods, water scarcity, environmental neglect, inefficient irrigation systems,” he said, asking to remain anonymous for security reasons. “To address these challenges I made my application.”
“I hoped to acquire modern knowledge. It’s impossible to acquire in Afghanistan,” he added.
Some 33 million people in the country face severe water shortages, aid agencies say, a result of compounding multi-year droughts, climate change and infrastructure battered by decades of war.
Britain’s Labour government made the decision to curb visas as the right-wing Reform UK party surges in opinion polls with its hard-line stance against immigration.
The UK Home Office said almost 135,000 asylum seekers had entered the country through legal routes since 2021.
Activist organization Burma Campaign UK called the visa ban “exceptionally cruel and shortsighted.”
“The opportunity to come to the UK to study is life-changing for the individual student but also an investment in the future of Myanmar,” said program director Zoya Phan in a statement.
One exiled Myanmar journalist has been living over the border in Thailand after escaping the military rule which has clamped down on press freedoms.
“When the military coup happened I was just 22, so I had a lot of dreams,” she said. “But over the past five years there have been a lot of struggles — I couldn’t complete my dreams.”
Every year since the junta takeover she applied for further education to buoy her spirits.
But she received an email Thursday morning canceling her place to study for a master’s at a London university.
“Everything is gone,” she said. “My UK dream is all disappeared.”
