Russia and Ukraine to talk about peace but are still far apart

Russia and Ukraine to talk about peace but are still far apart

By Vladimir Soldatkin and Tom Balmforth ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Russian and Ukrainian officials are due to sit down on Monday in the Turkish city of Istanbul for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022, but the two sides are still far apart on how to end the war and the fighting is stepping up. U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded Russia and Ukraine make peace, but so far they have not and the White House has repeatedly warned the United States will "walk away" from the war if the two sides are too stubborn to reach a peace deal. The first round of talks on May 16 yielded the biggest prisoner swap of the war but no sign of peace - or even a ceasefire as both sides merely set out their own opening negotiating positions. After keeping the world guessing on whether Ukraine would even turn up for the second round, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Defence Minister Rustem Umerov would meet with Russian officials in Istanbul. The Russian delegation will be headed by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who after the first round invoked French general and statesman Napoleon Bonaparte to assert that war and negotiations should always be conducted at the same time. On Sunday, Ukraine launched one of its most ambitious attacks of the war, targeting Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers in Siberia and other military bases, while the Kremlin launched 472 drones at Ukraine, Ukraine's air force said, the highest nightly total of the war. The idea of direct talks was first proposed by President Vladimir Putin after Ukraine and European powers demanded that he agree to a ceasefire which the Kremlin dismissed. Putin said Russia would draft a memorandum setting out the broad contours of a possible peace accord and only then discuss a ceasefire. Kyiv said over the weekend it was still waiting for draft memorandum from the Russian side. Medinsky, the lead Kremlin negotiator, said on Sunday that Moscow had received a Ukraine's draft memorandum and told Russia's RIA news agency the Kremlin would react to it on Monday. According to Trump envoy Keith Kellogg, the two sides will in Turkey present their respective documents outlining their ideas for peace terms, though it is clear that after three years of war Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart. Kellogg has indicated that the U.S. will be involved in the talks and that even representatives from Britain, France and Germany will be too, though it was not clear at what level the United States would be represented. Ukraine's delegation will also include its deputy foreign minister, as well as several military and intelligence officials, according to an executive order by Zelenskiy on Sunday. In June last year, Putin set out his opening terms for an immediate end to the war: Ukraine must drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw all of its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia. Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul will present to the Russian side a proposed roadmap for reaching a lasting peace settlement, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters. According to the document, there will be no restrictions on Ukraine's military strength after a peace deal is struck, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow's forces, and reparations for Ukraine. The document also stated that the current location of the front line will be the starting point for negotiations about territory. Russia currently controls a little under one fifth of Ukraine, or about 113,100 square km, about the same size as the U.S. state of Ohio. Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. The United States says over 1.2 million people have been killed and injured in the war since 2022. Trump has called Putin "crazy" and berated Zelenskiy in public in the Oval Office, but the U.S. president has also said that he thinks peace is achievable and that if Putin delays then he could impose tough sanctions on Russia. (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Jane Merriman and Lincoln Feast.)

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June 01, 2025

Russia and Ukraine to talk about peace but are still far apart

Russia and Ukraine to talk about peace but are still far apart By Vladimir Soldatkin and Tom Balmforth ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Russian and Ukrai...

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Videos show chaotic scene after man set members of Boulder's Jewish community on fire

Videos show chaotic scene after man set members of Boulder's Jewish community on fire

Videos posted on social media appear to show the hectic moments after a man attacked members of the Jewish community in Boulder, Colorado, with aMolotov cocktailduring a march calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. In one video, a shirtless man in dark sunglasses believed to be the suspect holds two glass containers filled with a clear liquid and paces back and forth on a patch of grass, shouting at people nearby. Off to the side, bystanders appear to provide first aid to a person lying on the ground. Authorities said a male suspect had been taken in custody. Police identified the suspect as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45. The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that works to fight antisemitism and bias, said the53-second videowas shot after the June 1 attack in which multiple people were set on fire on a pedestrian mall in what the FBI described as a "targeted terrorist attack." The ADL said, based on its analysis, the shirtless man appears to be saying, "How many children have you killed?" and "'We need to end Zionists." The organization said the man also gestured toward what appeared to be victims of the attack and proclaimed: "They are killers." FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson said on X that the suspect "shouted 'Free Palestine' while throwing fire bombs at a crowd of Jewish people." Six people ranging in ages 67 to 88 were injured and were transported to local hospitals. Aaron Brooks of Boulder was riding his bike when he heard someone yelling for a doctor and saw a friend running from the courthouse. Brooks said he often participates in the march, so he headed toward the courthouse to see what was going on. The attack had just happened, he said. "I saw smoke coming from the ground, blood on the ground, smoke coming from a person," Brooks said. "It looked like somebody was burning and people were throwing water on her." Brooks said he also saw a shirtless man who was shouting and holding two bottles filled with liquid. He saw another man yelling and assumed they were together, although he later learned the second man was trying to stop the suspect. "I yelled at him, 'What are you doing? Why did you do this?'" Brooks said. "My friends were burning and hurt, and I got emotional." In the video analyzed by ADL, someone off camera shouts "stay away, stay away" as the shirtless man continues to pace back and forth and shout. At one point, the man raises his hands and then lies down on the grass as a police officer, gun drawn, approaches. The officer appears to handcuff the man as another officer approaches. The video ends with the man still on the ground and the police officers standing over him. Jonathan Greenblatt, national director and chief executive officer of the ADL, noted that the attack is the second on the Jewish community in the United States in just two weeks. "First, a young couple slaughtered in DC. And now, a firebomb thrown at a group in Boulder, Colorado, as they gathered to express solidarity with the 58 hostages still being held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists," he said. Greenblatt said the attacks are part of "a global campaign of intimidation and terror deliberately directed against the Jewish people." In the past few days, he said, Jewish youth in London were assaulted, public spaces in Brisbane, Australia, were defaced with antisemitic graffiti, and synagogues, a Holocaust memorial and a kosher restaurant in Paris were vandalized. "Sadly, none of this is surprising," he said. "In fact, it's entirely predictable. This is precisely where anti-Jewish incitement leads. This is exactly what vicious anti-Zionism enables." Follow Michael Collins on X @mcollinsNEWS. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Videos show aftermath of attack on Jewish community in Boulder

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June 01, 2025

Videos show chaotic scene after man set members of Boulder's Jewish community on fire

Videos show chaotic scene after man set members of Boulder's Jewish community on fire Videos posted on social media appear to show the h...

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'Saddened and heartbroken': Attack rocks Boulder days after Israeli staffers slain

'Saddened and heartbroken': Attack rocks Boulder days after Israeli staffers slain

Anattack that rocked Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday on a group gathered to support Israeli hostages comes less than two weeks aftertwo Israeli Embassy staff memberswere brazenly shot to death in the nation's capital − and amid a rise in incidents of antisemitism across the United States. A male suspect was arrested after multiple people were set on fire in Boulder in the vicinity of a walk to remember the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza abducted byHamas on Oct. 7, 2023.The suspect, identified by authorities as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, yelled "Free Palestine" during the attack, Mark Michalek, special agent in charge at the FBI's Denver field office, said. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement that the attack appeared to be a "hate crime given the group that was targeted." Weiser said the group meets weekly at the Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder to urge the release of the Gaza hostages. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, condemned the attack in a post on X."This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism." Colorado Gov. Jared Polis also blasted the incident as a"heinous act of terror. Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable." In a statement on social media, the Boulder Jewish Community Center said it was in touch with law enforcement about the Jewish community in the city, noting that safety is the "highest priority." "We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Their Lives walk on Pearl Street as they were raising awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza," the Boulder Jewish Community Center said. On May 21,Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and his girlfriend Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were gunned down in Washington, D.C., as they exited the Capital Jewish Museum about a mile from the White House. Elias Rodriguez, 31, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and was also facing several firearms charges and counts of killing foreign officials. Authorities said that the attack is being investigated as a hate and terrorism crime. Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador to the United States, said the two victims killed were a "young couple about to be engaged." And just days after that shooting, a dual U.S. and German citizen wasarrested in New Yorkfor allegedly attempting to firebomb a branch office of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, authorities said. Reports of incidents of antisemitismhave continued to rise for a second year in a row, accoding to anannual reportreleased by the Anti-Defamation League in April. ADL researchers counted 9,354 incidents of antisemiticassault,harassment, and vandalism across the country in 2024 − a 5% increase from2023, which was also a record-breaking year. The number of incidents was the highest since the ADL started tracking antisemitism data in 1979. Israel's war on Gaza, in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack−which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 taken as hostages into Gaza − has led to a climate of heightened tensions throughout the United States. It also comes at a time when the Trump administration has detained pro-Palestinian protesters without charges and halted funding to certain U.S. universities that have been the site of Gaza protests. Israel's campaign has devastated much of Gaza, killing over 54,000 Palestinians and destroying most buildings. Contributing: Will Carless, Thao Nguyen, John Bacon This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Colorado attack rocks community after fatal Israel Embassy shooting

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June 01, 2025

'Saddened and heartbroken': Attack rocks Boulder days after Israeli staffers slain

'Saddened and heartbroken': Attack rocks Boulder days after Israeli staffers slain Anattack that rocked Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday...

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Nonprofit ship sets sail for Gaza after drone attack setback

Nonprofit ship sets sail for Gaza after drone attack setback

CATANIA (Reuters) -International nonprofit organisation Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said one of its vessels left the Italian port of Catania on Sunday, heading for Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, after a previous attempt failed due to a drone attack on a separate ship in the Mediterranean. The crew of volunteers, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and Irish actor Liam Cunningham, set sail on the Madleen, carrying barrels of what the group called "limited amounts, though symbolic", of relief supplies. Another vessel operated by the group, the Conscience, was hit by two drones just outside Maltese territorial waters in early May. FFC said Israel was to blame for the incident. Israel has not responded to requests for comment. "We are doing this because no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying, because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity," Thunberg told reporters at a conference before the departure. She added that "no matter how dangerous this mission is, it is nowhere near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the lives being genocised". FFC said the trip "is not charity. This is a non-violent, direct action to challenge Israel's illegal siege and escalating war crimes". The situation in Gaza is the worst since the war between Israel and Hamas militants began 19 months ago, the United Nations said on Friday, despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries in the Palestinian enclave. Under growing global pressure, Israel ended an 11-week blockade on Gaza, allowing limited U.N.-led operations to resume. On Monday, a new avenue for aid distribution was also launched - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - backed by the United States and Israel, but with which the U.N. and international aid groups have refused to work, saying it is not neutral and has a distribution model that forces the displacement of Palestinians. (Reporting by Danilo Arnone in Catania and Giulia Segreti in Rome; Editing by David Holmes)

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June 01, 2025

Nonprofit ship sets sail for Gaza after drone attack setback

Nonprofit ship sets sail for Gaza after drone attack setback CATANIA (Reuters) -International nonprofit organisation Freedom Flotilla Coalit...

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People know 'they're going to die': Democrat hits GOP senator over viral town hall exchange

People know 'they're going to die': Democrat hits GOP senator over viral town hall exchange

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, hit back at a Republican colleaguewho went viralafter telling a town hall audience member that "we all are going to die" in response to concerns over Medicaid cuts. "I think everybody in that audience knows that they're going to die," Murphy told CNN's Dana Bash. "They would just rather die in old age at 85 or 90, instead of dying at 40." The comment come after Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, addressedfederal cuts to Medicaid– which Republicans have proposed as part of PresidentDonald Trump'ssweeping tax bill – during a town hall in Parkersburg, Iowa, on May 30. As she was speaking, someone shouted from the audience, "people will die!" Ernst then told the auditorium, "People are not – well, we all are going to die. For heaven's sakes, folks." Medicaid, the program that provides health insurance to more than 71 million low-income Americans, would undergobig changesunder the bill that passed in the House last month. That includes new work requirements for some adults beginning in December 2026, more frequent eligibility checks and disincentives for states to cover unauthorized migrant children, among other provisions. Collectively, the Medicaid proposal would save at least $625 billion and cause 7.6 million Americans to lose their health insurance over the next 10 years, according to initial estimates by the nonpartisanCongressional Budget Office. Still, Ernst shared asarcastic apology videoafter facing criticism from Democrats over her response to the town hall attendees' concerns. "Hello everyone," she said in a video posted to social media. "I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for a statement that I made yesterday at my town hall." "I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth," she added. "So, I apologize. And I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well." Republicans have said the proposed changes to Medicaid protect the program for those who need it, and their legislation is curbing waste and fraud. Democrats, like Murphy,argue the falloutwill be felt by Americans across the country. "When rural hospitals close because of this bill, when drug treatment clinics close in Iowa and rural America because of this bill, more people will die at a younger age," Murphy alleged in the interview on June 1. Though Republicans control the Senate, the legislation isn't expected to sail through the upper chamber. Several Senate Republicans, including Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky,argue the billcomes with too high a price tag. "This is our moment," Johnson told CNN's Jake Tapper in May. "We have witnessed an unprecedented level of increased spending ... This is our only chance to reset that to a reasonable pre-pandemic level." House SpeakerMike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and other champions of the legislation argue the legislation is an investment in America's economy. But it's expected to addaround $3.3 trillionto the nation's deficit over the next 10 years and swell the federal government's debt. Contributing: Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register; Riley Beggin This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Dem Chris Muphy hits Republican Joni Ernst town hall Medicaid comment

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June 01, 2025

People know 'they're going to die': Democrat hits GOP senator over viral town hall exchange

People know 'they're going to die': Democrat hits GOP senator over viral town hall exchange Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, hi...

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