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Kharkiv with missiles on Thursday, killing seven people in a printing house, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called out his western allies for not providing enough military support to rebuff Russian attacks. Moscow's forces have hammered the northeastern city for months and launched a ground assault into the north of the surrounding region on May 10, an offensive that Kyiv says has stalled on two lines of attack for now. Authorities said Russia fired about 15 missiles at the city and the nearby town of Liubotyn, targeting mostly transport infrastructure and a large printing house in Kharkiv where around 50 people were located at the time of the strike.

Ukraine's allies are looking for ways to squeeze money out of frozen Russian assets and use it to help Kyiv fend off Moscow's invasion

missiles slammed into Ukraine's second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least six civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv's army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin's larger and better-equipped forces. At least 16 people were injured as S-300 missiles struck the city of Kharkiv, regional Gov Oleh Syniehubov said. The sound of 15 explosions reverberated around the city of some 1 million people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack «extremely cruel.» He expressed renewed frustration at not getting enough air defense systems from the country's Western partners to prevent the barrages after more than two years of unrelenting war. The city of Kharkiv, which is the capital of the region of the same name, lies about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Russian border. Moscow's troops have in recent weeks captured villages in the area as part of a broad push, and analysts say they may be trying to get within artillery range of the city.

China is sending «lethal aid» to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine, Britain's defence minister Grant Shapps said on Wednesday. «Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine,» he said in a speech at a London conference. Shapps warned that NATO needed to «wake up» and bolster defence spending across the alliance.

Pentagon has given out the details of a Russian counter space weapon that was launched earlier into the Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This weapon is said to be capable enough of attacking US Space assets. The US said that this launch took place on May 16, 2024.

Afghanistan's Taliban have confirmed the resumption of Turkish Airlines flights to Kabul’s international airport

“This is 1938," historian Timothy Snyder said at a weekend conference in Estonia. He warned that a Ukrainian defeat would shift the calendar to 1939. Many Americans still don’t fully grasp how serious the international situation has become.

India's Russian oil imports rose a nine-month high in April after shipments on non-sanctioned tankers operated by Russia's largest shipping company Sovcomflot resumed, tanker data obtained from shipping and trade sources showed. Refiners in India briefly stopped importing Russian oil in tankers belonging to Sovcomflot after the company's ships, along with its 14 tankers, were designated by Washington in February as being in breach of Western sanctions. The West has imposed the sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine in 2022 and has enacted price caps on oil and oil products loaded at Russian ports aimed at cutting Moscow's oil revenue that funds the war.

Russia to halt its military invasion of Ukraine, China is supporting its ally as fully as it can without triggering Western sanctions. The farewell hug between the autocratic leaders of the respective nations — Chairman Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin — made a mockery of China's profession of being a neutral party. In his first overseas trip after commencing his fifth term in power, Putin visited China on 16-17 May. The occasion marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and a 7,000-word joint statement enthused that «Russian- Chinese relations stand the test of rapid changes in the world, demonstrating strength and stability, and are experiencing the best period in their history». Beijing previously declared a «no-limits strategic partnership» with Moscow, and the state visit reinforced the closeness between the two regimes. Instead of urging an end to the war, Xi embraced the Russian strongman and issued assurances of undying support. The joint statement noted the nations would «further deepen mutual military trust and cooperation». This includes expansion of military exercises, regular maritime and air patrols, and strengthening bilateral and multilateral coordination.

The Russian crypto mining industry could grow “by between 20% and 40%” in 2024, a new report has claimed.

REVINGEHED, Sweden—Deep in the Scandinavian forest, Elin Forsberg’s face is planted in the grass, her arms pinned to her back by two soldiers in mock arrest. The 19-year-old high achiever is one of the newest members of Sweden’s armed forces and a product of its fiercely competitive conscription process. “It’s a privilege," Forsberg says of being chosen for military service—less than 10% make the cut.

Mohammad Mokhber, 68, has been appointed as Iran's interim president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. Mokhber, Iran's first vice president, now leads a three-person council responsible for organizing a new presidential election within 50 days.

Russia and India on visa-free tourism will begin in June, according to a senior Russian official. «India is at the final stage of internal state coordination,» Nikita Kondratyev, director of the Russian Economic Development Ministry's Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects, said on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum «Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum 2024» in Kazan. Both sides will sign a pact for visa-free tourism this year, he said, adding that the first discussion on a draft agreement is scheduled to take place in June and a signing is expected by the end of the year.

Russia and China are interested in increasing their oil and gas trade, President Vladimir Putin told reporters in Harbin on Friday. «Mutual interest in implementation of such projects has been confirmed,» Putin said in the final hours of his state visit to China, as per a briefing broadcast by state-run Rossiya 24 TV. «We have a huge common border and nothing can interfere: neither sanctions against the tanker fleet, nor sanctions against financial institutions. We will buy and sell everything in national currencies.» Russia's relations with western nations, formerly its main energy market, are at the lowest point since the Cold War due to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. That makes Moscow increasingly reliant on oil and gas deliveries to growing Asian economies. China, the word's largest energy importer, is currently a key buyer of Russian barrels and Gazprom PJSC's natural gas.

On Friday, President Vladimir Putin expressed concern that the U.S. sanctions policy was eroding confidence in the dollar. He highlighted that Russia and China were exploring solutions to prevent the imposition of measures against Chinese banks from disrupting their growing trade.

KYIV: A massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea early Friday has left the city of Sevastopol without power and set a refinery ablaze in southern Russia, Russian authorities said. The drone raids marked Kyiv's attempt to strike back during Moscow's offensive in northeastern Ukraine, which has added to the pressure on outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces who are waiting for delayed deliveries of crucial weapons and ammunition from Western partners. The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 51 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, another 44 over the Krasnodar region and six over the Belgorod region. It said Russian warplanes and patrol boats also destroyed six sea drones in the Black Sea.

China visit, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke highly of the people-to-people ties between the two countries, saying that the Russians and the Chinese are "brothers forever", state news agency TASS reported. Weighing in on the relations between Moscow and Beijing, the Russian President compared it to a song from the 1940s.

discussed measures to “deepen" their strategic cooperation and partnership. A lot happened on the first day of Putin's visit to China. Here's all you need to know: Xi Jinping welcomed Putin, saying, “Dear President Putin, my old friend, we welcome your participation in the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation." Later, the two leaders held a key meeting on Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked Chinese leader Xi Jinping for China’s proposals on ending the war in Ukraine, which have been rejected by Ukraine and its Western supporters as largely following the Kremlin’s line

Taliban in Kabul, the next UN meeting on Afghanistan, and ways to stop terrorism originating from the Af-Pak and Eurasia regions. Senior Russian diplomat and President's special envoy on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov and JP Singh, JS (Pak-Afghan-Iran) MEA met here to discuss Afghanistan's current situation, Taliban engagement, Daesh/ISIS threats, and narcotics trafficking, according to people familiar with the issue. While Singh visited Kabul sometime ago, Kabulov was there in April to meet the entire Taliban leadership. Kabulov, a former envoy to Kabul, is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on Afghanistan. According to ET, the purpose of the meeting on Wednesday was to discuss the notes from these visits and come to a consensus regarding Afghanistan under Taliban.

Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine, in an interview with Chinese media on the eve of visit to partner Beijing that has backed Moscow in its full-scale invasion of its neighbour. «We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours,» Putin was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency on Wednesday.