5 Jul, 2024 10:03

Orban defies EU officials with Putin meeting: As it happened

The Hungarian prime minister went to Russia, days after he visited Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made a surprise visit to Russia on Friday. His trip came days after he traveled to Kiev to urge Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky to consider an immediate ceasefire with Moscow and begin peace talks.While Hungary holds the rotating EU presidency, Orban’s visit to Russia for talks has sparked sharp criticism from senior bloc officials, despite the prime minister insisting earlier in the day that he is not representing the union.

• 05 July 2024

15:27 GMT: “Hungary is a sovereign state,” Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Russian reporters on Friday when asked about Brussels’ criticism of the Hungarian delegation’s visit to Moscow. “Don’t confuse pro-war politicians with people in Europe,” he stated.

• 15:00 GMT: There has been no progress in moving towards peace negotiations on the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, noting Kiev’s unwillingness to enter talks.

“(President Putin) said that there is no progress yet. We have repeatedly said that so far there is no discernible desire on Kiev’s part to negotiate. On the contrary, there is a reluctance to negotiate,” Peskov told reporters following Putin’s meeting with Orban.

• 14:12 GMT: Orban declined to reveal the content of his discussions with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, but said he conveyed to Putin his impressions from the visit to Kiev. The media briefing is now over.

• 14:09 GMT: Orban said he wanted to hear directly from Putin how Russia perceives various peace initiatives, calling it an important step, even though the frank discussion confirmed that there was a major rift between the conflicting sides.

• 14:04 GMT: Russia wants a full resolution of the conflict, not its freezing, which would allow Kiev to rearm and rebuild its military again, Putin has said. Russia’s relations with the EU are at their lowest level in decades, the Russian leader has said. As Hungary holds the rotating presidency of the bloc, Orban and Putin discussed this aspect of tensions between Russia and the West, he added.

• 14:01 GMT: Putin has said that judging by Orban’s account, Kiev intends to fight with Russia to the end, and is not prepared to drop that stance. Peace would require an end of martial law and an election in Ukraine, which the country’s current leadership would definitely lose, the Russian president added.

• 14:00 GMT: Putin and Orban are speaking to the media after their meeting in Moscow.

• 13:51 GMT: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed that Orban’s visit to Russia has nothing to do with the EU, and that the bloc’s position on the conflict remains unchanged.

• 13:30 GMT: The talks between Putin and Orban have concluded, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has announced. The two leaders are expected to deliver a joint statement for the press soon.

• 13:20 GMT:The Ukraine crisis was one of the priorities in the “earnest discussions” between Putin and Orban, according to Yury Ushakov, a senior aide to the Russian president. The Hungarian leader did not pass any messages from Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky during the talks, the official told journalists.

https://www.rt.com/news/600479-hungary-orban-moscow-visit/

>>21143761

5 Jul, 2024 13:35

Kiev (has another tantrum and) outraged over Orban’s visit to Moscow

The Ukrainian authorities have complained that the Hungarian prime minister did not coordinate his trip with them (KEK)

Kiev has expressed outrage over Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s surprise trip to Russia, complaining thatUkrainian authorities had not been informed of the visit beforehand. (Why would he have to, Ukraine is not part of EU, nor Europe, and Zelensky treated Orban like shit when he reached out to Kiev)

Orban landed in Moscow on Friday morning and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ways to establish an immediate ceasefire and begin peace talks to resolve the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier this week, he also traveled to Kiev to meet with Vladimir Zelensky and held similar discussions.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has complained on its official website thatOrban’s decision to travel to Moscow was “made by the Hungarian side without approval or coordination with Ukraine.” It stressed that Kiev is against any negotiations regarding the conflict without its direct participation.

“We remind that the principle of ‘no agreements on Ukraine without Ukraine’ remains inviolable for our country and call on all states to strictly adhere to it,” the ministry’s statement read. Zelensky’s ‘peace formula’ is “the only realistic way to restore a just peace,” it added. (So Kiev “Peace Summit” intentionally did not invite Russia, and they have the same stance, No Peace plan without Russia, so Kiev are hypocrites.)

Orban’s trip to Moscow has also been criticized by other Western leaders. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, set to replace Josep Borrell as the EU's chief diplomat, accused the Hungarian prime minister of “sowing confusion” and exploiting the rotating EU presidency, which Budapest assumed at the start of July.

European Council President Charles Michel has also condemned Orban’s trip, suggesting that Hungary has “no mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU,” and stressing that “no discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine.”

Orban, however, has insisted that he does not need a mandate to seek peace and pointed out that Hungary has relatively limited political clout and is not formally holding negotiations.

“We can be a good tool in the hands of God, we can be a good tool in the hands of people who want peace,” the prime minister said. He explained that he hopes to convince Moscow and Kiev of the need to work together in order to achieve a ceasefire and initiate peace talks.

Meanwhile,Kiev has continued to insist on Zelensky’s peace plan, which consists of ten steps that include the full withdrawal of Russian forces from territories Kiev claims as its own, reparation payments, and an international war crime tribunal for the Russian leadership.

Moscow has vehemently rejected Zelensky’s plan as a non-starter, insisting that any negotiations to resolve the conflict must take into account the “realities on the ground.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/600511-ukraine-upset-orban-russia/

(I hope Orban has very serious security, the EU is as dangerous as Kiev is)

5 Jul, 2024 12:58

Russia reveals scale of strikes on Ukrainian targets

Airfields, energy infrastructure, and missile depots used by Kiev’s forces have been hit during the past week, Moscow has said

Russian forces have carried out23 combined strikes on Ukrainian targets in the past week, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

The attacks, which took place between June 29 and July 5, involved both “high precision weapons” and drones, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

They hitUkrainian airfields, as well asenergy infrastructureused to power the country’s military-industrial complex.Sites where Kiev’s missiles were being storedand prepared for launch were also successfully targeted.

Russian missiles and UAVs also destroyedfuel depotsused for Ukrainian hardware, and assembly shops for aerial drones and unmanned boats, the ministry added.

Moscow reported several major strikes in Ukraine during the past week, including an attack on theMirgorod airfieldin Poltava Region on Tuesday, in whichfive of Kiev’s Su-27 fighter jets were destroyedand two others damaged.

During the past week, Russian air-defense systemsshot down two Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29sandone Su-27 jet, five US-supplied ATACMS missiles, 14 Storm Shadow cruise missilesthat had been donated by Britain, 42 rockets for US-made HIMARS, and Czech-made Vampire systems,as well as 451 drones of various types, the statement read.

The total losses incurred by the Ukrainian military over the pastseven days have reached up to 13,500 servicemen, according to the defense ministry.

The most intense fighting apparently took place in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), where more than 7,700 Ukrainian troops were killed or severely wounded.

In the DPR, the villages of Spornoe, Shumy, Novoaleksandrovka, and Novopokrovskoe, as well as the Novy district of the strategic town of Chasov Yar,have been “liberated,”the ministry said.

In Ukraine’s Kharkov Region,Russian forces took controlof the settlement ofStepovaya Novoselovka, it added.

Moscow launched its offensive in the northeastern Kharkov Region in early May in response to frequent cross-border strikes by Kiev’s forces on civilian targets in Russia’s Belgorod Region. According to Russian President VladimirPutin, the goal of the operation is to establish a buffer zonethat will make further Ukrainian attacks impossible.

https://www.rt.com/russia/600508-russia-scale-strikes-ukraine/

5 Jul, 2024 11:47

Trump likely ‘sincere’ on Ukraine pledge – Putin

The statements by the US presidential candidate are taken seriously in Moscow, the Russian leader has said

Donald Trump’s claims that he wants to end the Ukraine conflictdeserve Moscow’s attention, Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalists on Thursday.

The former US president has accused the incumbent Joe Biden, his presumed Democratic rival in the November election, of having allowed hostilities between Russia and Ukraine to flare up in 2022. Trump has claimed on numerous occasions that this would not have happened if he were in office, and that, if elected again, he could end the fighting in 24 hours.

”The remarks that Trump made in his capacity as a candidate, that he wants to stop the war in Ukraine – we take them quite seriously,”Putin said during a press conference in Astana, Kazakhstan. (I think this means Trump never lied to Putin while president)

”I certainly don’t know what, exactly, his proposal would be and how he plans to achieve that. And that is the key question.But I don’t doubt his sincerity and we welcome” the sentiment, the Russian leader added.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has challenged Trump to make public his plans on resolving the crisis, or at least to share them with the government in Kiev. In an interview with Bloomberg this week, he urged the Republican to clarify the policies he wants to adopt regarding his country.

”If there are risks to Ukrainian independence, if we lose statehood – we want to be ready for this; we want to know,” he said. (Z can demand all he wants, Trump doesn't have to answer this puny tyrant)

Putin also distanced himself from the US presidential debate last week, in which Biden failed to perform well, possibly furthering Trump’s chances of victory. The Russian president said the event was of limited interest to his office, even though the US as a great power has significant influence on Ukraine.

Putin has previously claimed that he preferredBidento retain the US presidency for another term,since the Democrat is an old-school politician, whose actions are more predictable than Trump’s.

Asked whether he considered his “bet” on Biden in doubt after the debate, Putin saidhe remained convinced that US policy regarding Russia will not change meaningfully regardless of who wins the upcoming election.

https://www.rt.com/russia/600495-putin-trump-ukraine-plan/

(Putin finally says why he prefers Bidan, Trump is too unpredictable, I totally get that.)

5 Jul, 2024 03:33

Farage ‘coming for Labour’ after ‘the end’ of the Tories

The Reform UK leader has been elected as a member of parliament on his eighth attempt

Eurosceptic firebrand Nigel Farage won a seat in the UK parliament for the first time in Thursday's general election, defeating his Conservative challenger in the Essex constituency of Clacton, and promising to mount a strong opposition to Labour.

Farage called his victory “the first step of something that is going to stun all of you,” pledging to turn his Reform UK party into the main opposition. The former Brexit Party, created in 2018, is projected to win 13 out of 650 seats.

“There is a massive gap on the centre-right of British politics and my job is to fill it,” he said, claiming: “this is the beginning of the end of the Conservative Party.”

The Tories have suffered their worst-ever election defeat, securing only 131 seats, according to exit polls and early results. Before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dissolved parliament and called a general election, the ruling party held 344 constituencies. (I think Sunak wanted to lose after announcing during the elections he was going to enforce a conscripted draft down to 18 years old)

Farage proclaimed that his party would “now be targeting Labour votes,” and cited polls suggesting the centre-left landslide was motivated by resentment against the Conservatives, rather than confidence in the incoming prime minister, Keir Starmer.

“What is interesting is, there’s no enthusiasm for Labour, there’s no enthusiasm for Starmer whatsoever. In fact, about half of the vote is simply an anti-Conservative vote,” he said. “We’re coming for Labour, be in no doubt about that.”

Farage served as a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 until the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in 2020, but had never previously been elected to the British parliament.

Ahead of the election, Farage was accused of being a Moscow sympathizer after he blamed NATO expansion in Europe for the Ukraine conflict. During a BBC interview last month he claimed the US-led bloc gave the Russian government an excuse to rally domestic support for the military operation.

Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin said he expected accusations of election interference, but that the change of government was unlikely to alter Britain’s policy towards Russia

https://www.rt.com/news/600466-nigel-farage-uk-election/