KYIV: The United States and Britain have not authorized Ukraine to use long-range missiles on targets inside Russia possibly fearing an “escalation,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that firing long-range weapons into Russia would signify that NATO countries were at war with Moscow.
“Neither America nor the United Kingdom gave us permission to use these weapons on the territory of Russia, on any targets, at any distance,” Zelensky told reporters late on Friday.
“I think they are worried about an escalation (of hostilities),” he said.
The weapons are supplied by Ukraine’s Western allies.
Zelensky also said Ukraine’s allies had increased their military support to the Ukrainian army, which is struggling to stop the advance of Russian forces in the east of their country.
“(Aid) accelerated in September. We are glad. We can feel the difference,” he said.
Delays in the supply of weapons due to political divisions between allies left Ukrainian forces short of supplies early this year
Kyiv is heavily dependent on this military support.
Its army has fewer men and weapons than the Russian forces it has been fighting since Moscow launched a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Efforts to end the war have not yet proved successful.
Zelensky dismissed a peace plan put forward in spring by China and Brazil as too nebulous.
“I don’t think it was a concrete plan. I don’t see any specific action or stages in it, just generalized procedures,” he said on Friday evening.
“Generalizations always hide something.” he told reporters.
China and Brazil had promoted the idea of an international peace conference acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine, in which both sides would participate equally and all options would be on the table.
Beijing and Moscow have close ties which have strengthened since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The United States alleges that while China does not supply weapons to Russia directly, it helps Moscow increase domestic production of missiles, military drone and tanks.
Zelensky hopes to propose his so-called “victory plan” to end the war when he meets President Joe Biden in the United States next week.
“The plan is designed for decisions that will have to happen from October to December... We would like that very much. Then we believe that the plan will work,” he had said earlier.
The Ukrainian leader also said he would meet Donald Trump probably on September 26 or 27.
Trump, who was US president between 2017 and 2021, has been very critical of the billions of dollars Washington has provided to Kyiv in aid and has claimed he can help end the war within 24 hours without ever explaining how.
Iran on Saturday meanwhile unveiled a new ballistic missile and an upgraded one-way attack drone, amid soaring regional tensions and allegations of arming Russia.
Iran stands accused by Western governments of supplying both drones and missiles to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine, a charge it has repeatedly denied.
Britain, France, Germany and the United States slapped new sanctions on Iran earlier this month, alleging that it had been providing ballistic missiles for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
Zelensky says no UK, US go-ahead to use long-range missiles
https://arab.news/54477
Zelensky says no UK, US go-ahead to use long-range missiles
Two high-speed trains derail in Spain, police sources say 21 people killed
- The accident happened near Adamuz, in Cordoba province. So far, 21 people have been confirmed dead by police
MADRID: A high-speed train derailed and smashed into another oncoming train in southern Spain on Sunday, pushing the second train off the tracks in a collision that police sources confirmed to Reuters had killed at least 21 people.
The accident happened near Adamuz, in Cordoba province. So far, 21 people have been confirmed dead by police, with state broadcaster Television Espanola adding that 100 people had been injured, 25 seriously. The driver of one of the trains, which was traveling from Madrid to Huelva, was among those who died, the TV station added.
“The Iryo 6189 Malaga — (to Madrid) train has derailed from the track at Adamuz, crashing onto the adjacent track. The (Madrid) to Huelva train which was traveling on the adjacent track has also derailed,” said Adif, which runs the rail network, in a social media post.
Adif said the accident happened at 6:40 p.m. (1740 GMT), about 10 minutes after the Iryo train left Cordoba heading toward Madrid.
Iryo is a private rail operator, majority-owned by Italian state-controlled railway group Ferrovie dello Stato. The train involved was a Freccia 1000 train which was traveling between Malaga and Madrid, a spokesperson for Ferrovie dello Stato said.
The company said in a statement that it deeply regretted what had happened and had activated all emergency protocols to work closely with the relevant authorities to manage the situation.
The second train was operated by Renfe, which also did not respond to a request for comment.
Adif has suspended all rail services between Madrid and Andalusia.
HORRIFIC SCENE
The Iryo train had more than 300 passengers on board, while the Renfe train had around 100.
Paco Carmona, Cordoba fire chief, told TVE the first train heading to Madrid from Malaga had been evacuated.
The other train’s carriages were badly damaged, he said, with twisted metal and seats. “There are still people trapped. We don’t know how many people have died and the operation is concentrating on getting people out of areas which are very narrow,” he said. “We have to remove the bodies to reach anyone who is still alive. It is proving to be a complicated task.”
Transport Minister Oscar Puente said he was following events from rail operator Adif’s headquarters in Madrid.
“The latest information is very serious,” he posted on X. “The impact was terrible, causing the first two carriages of the Renfe train to be thrown off the track. The number of victims cannot be confirmed at this time. The most important thing now is to help the victims.”
The mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, told El Pais newspaper that he had been among the first to arrive at the scene of the accident alongside the local police and saw what he believed to be a badly lacerated body several meters from the accident site.
“The scene is horrific,” he said. “I don’t think they were on the same track, but it’s not clear. Now the mayors and residents of the area are focused on helping the passengers.”
CALLS FOR MEDICS
Images on local television showed a reception center set up for passengers in the town of Adamuz, population 5,000, with locals coming and going with food and blankets amid nighttime temperatures of around 42 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius).
A woman named Carmen posted on X that she had been on board the Iryo train to Madrid. “Ten minutes after departing (from Cordoba) the train started to shake a lot, and it derailed from coach 6 behind us. The lights went out.”
Footage posted by another Iryo train passenger, also on X, showed an Iryo staffer in a fluorescent jacket instructing passengers to remain in their seats in the darkened carriages, and those with first aid training to keep watch over fellow passengers. He also urged people to maintain mobile phone batteries to be able to use their torches when they disembarked.
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist for RTVE who was on board the Iryo train, shared images showing the nose of the rear carriage of the train lying on its side, with evacuated passengers sitting on the side of the carriage facing upwards.
Jimenez told TVE by phone from beside the stricken trains that passengers had used emergency hammers to smash the windows and climb out, and they had seen two people taken out of the overturned carriages on stretchers.
“There’s a certain uncertainty about when we’ll get to Madrid, where we’ll spend the night, we’ve had no message from the train company yet,” he said. “It’s very cold but here we are.”
