Putin warns Moscow will shoot down F-16 jets supplied by West – Russia Ukraine war

Since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, fears have risen in neighboring Moldova that it could also be in Moscow’s crosshairs.

Like Ukraine, Moldova is a former Soviet republic that has aligned itself with the West and aspires to join the European Union. And both countries hope to eventually reintegrate Russian-speaking breakaway territories that view Moscow as their protector.

After a short war in the early 1990s, Transnistria declared independence from Moldova, where today’s pro-Western government has firmly opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine.

Russia’s ministry of health posted photos of the 71-year-old meeting patients at the capital’s Pirogov National Medical Center.

“What happened was a terrible tragedy that should not have happened,” he said. “And I think that Russia will serve as an example and let the world understand that you can’t just do this to any people and go unpunished.

Ukraine‘s foreign minister arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for a two-day visit to boost bilateral ties and cooperation with India, which considers Russia a time-tested ally from the Cold War-era.

Dmytro Kuleba will meet with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday, as well as the deputy national security advisor, according to India’s Foreign Ministry. On Thursday, Kuleba will pay his respects to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi at the Rajghat memorial site.

His visit comes a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladmir Putin, whom India has so far avoided criticizing over the war in Ukraine. Instead, New Delhi has stressed the need for diplomacy and dialogue on ending the war and has expressed its willingness to contribute to peace efforts.

Russia‘s top investigative body said Thursday that another suspect has been detained as an accomplice in the attack by gunmen on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 143 people.

A statement from the Investigative Committee said the latest person detained was involved in financing Friday’s attack on the Crocus City concert hall in which gunmen shot people who were waiting for a show by a popular rock band and then set the building on fire. It did not give further details of the suspect’s identity or alleged actions.

Officials previously said that 11 suspects had been arrested, including four who allegedly carried out the attack. Those four, identified as Tajik nationals, appeared in a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.

A $10 billion battle over more than 200 jets stuck in Russia should be heard in London rather than Moscow, London’s High Court has ruled on Thursday.

The battle is between reinsurers and aircraft leasing companies seeking payouts.

Aircraft lessors, including Ireland’s AerCap and US-listed Carlyle Aviation Partners, are pursuing insurers for losses after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grounded their jets in Russia.

Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution Thursday in a move that effectively abolishes the monitoring by United Nations experts of U.N. sanctions against North Korea aimed at reining in its nuclear program, though the sanctions themselves remain in place.

Russia’s vote sparked Western accusations that Moscow was acting to shield its weapons purchases from North Korea for use in its war against Ukraine, which violate U.N. sanctions.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have heightened with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatening nuclear conflict and escalating tests of nuclear-capable missiles designed to target South Korea, the United States and Japan. The three countries have responded by strengthening their combined military exercises and updating their deterrence plans.

President Volodymyr Zelensky told the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives during a phone call on Thursday that it was vital that Congress passes a new military aid package for Kyiv rapidly.

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has held up a bill for months that would supply $60 billion in military and financial aid for Ukraine.

“Quick passage of U.S. aid to Ukraine by Congress is vital. We recognise that there are differing views in the House of Representatives on how to proceed, but the key is to keep the issue of aid to Ukraine as a unifying factor,” Zelensky said on X.

Ukrainian troops are on the back foot on the battlefield, facing shortages of artillery supplies with the U.S. assistance held up in Congress and the European Union failing to deliver on time munitions that it had promised earlier.

In a statement, Zelensky said he briefed Johnson about the situation on the battlefield and also spoke about “the dramatic increase in Russia‘s air terror”.

The Ukrainian military later said that its top commander, Oleksander Syrskyi, had spoken to the U.S. Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Charles Brown, about battlefield issues.

Poland and Ukraine are closer to reaching an agreement regarding agricultural imports, the Polish prime minister said on Thurdsay after intergovernmental talks, as Warsaw seeks to defuse farmers’ protests.

“We are close to a solution,” Donald Tusk told a news conference. “This applies to the amount of products that can flow into Poland, once we determine it, we are close to ensuring that transit does not disturb the Polish market.”

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has told the speaker of the US House of Representatives in a phone call that it was vital that Congress rapidly pass a new military aid package for Kyiv.

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has held up a bill for months that would supply $60 billion in military and financial aid for Ukraine.

“Quick passage of US aid to Ukraine by Congress is vital. We recognise that there are differing views in the House of Representatives on how to proceed, but the key is to keep the issue of aid to Ukraine as a unifying factor,” Zelensky wrote on social media.

Ukrainian troops are on the back foot on the battlefield, facing shortages of artillery supplies with the US assistance held up in Congress and the European Union failing to deliver on time munitions that it had promised.

Mr Zelensky warned Mr Johnson about “the dramatic increase in Russia’s air terror”.