Raphael Stevens

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    Russia claims control of three east Ukrainian villages

    Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreRussia’ says its forces have taken control of three villages in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.The Defence Ministry on Friday said Nadiivka, Novosilka and Novoocheretuvate had been taken, however, Reuters could not independently verify the advances.Even as it embarks on talks with the United States on ending the war, Russia continues to make slow but steady gains in Donetsk, a heavily urban and industrial region, parts of which have been controlled by Russian proxies since 2014.Russia declared in September 2022 that it had incorporated Donetsk and three other Ukrainian regions as part of its own territory, even though its forces did not fully control them – a move condemned as illegal by most countries at the United Nations.MAPPED: NadiivkaThe fate of Russian-occupied regions in the eastern part of the country could be a crucial part of any future peace deal. Meanwhile, Russia and the United States have made no progress on the venue for a meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, Russian news agencies cited the Kremlin as saying on Friday.Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk region in 2023 More

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    UK ambassador to the US gives awkward response to Trump’s attack on Zelensky

    UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson appeared somewhat awkward when asked about Donald Trump’s false claims Volodymyr Zelensky is a “dictator”.Lord Mandelson instead said Trump’s speech was “very interesting” and that he was “looking forward” to Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to the White House next week, when approached by Sky News on Wednesday (20 February).Mr Mandelson was leaving the Saudi-backed Miami conference where Trump doubled down on his attack on Mr Zelensky.In 2019 Mr Mandelson branded the president a “danger to the world” but retracted those comments ahead of his confirmation as ambassador earlier this year, calling his words “ill-judged”. More

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    Priti Patel defends Donald Trump after US president’s social media attack on Volodymyr Zelensky

    Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel defended Donald Trump over some of the comments he made during a social media attack on Volodoymyr Zelensky.Ms Patel said the US president has made “very significant points consistently”, stating Trump deserved credit for his involvement in Russia and Ukraine peace talks.Appearing on Sky Breakfast on Thursday (20 February), Ms Patel said: “He has made some very significant points consistently in all credit to President Trump about Europe, and Europe stepping up when it comes to defence spending.”When pressed about Trump’s false claims that the Ukrainian president was a “dicatator” for refusing to have elections, Ms Patel said he was not. More

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    Zelensky sends warning ahead of US talks with Trump representatives after president hurls insults at Ukraine leader

    Volodymyr Zelensky sent a warning ahead of US talks with Trump representative General Kellogg after the president hurled insults at Ukraine leader.Trump hurled insults at Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday (19 February), accusing him of being a “dictator” and falsely accusing him of starting the three-year war in Ukraine.Speaking in a video message, ahead of his meeting with Kellogg today, Zelensky said: “It is crucial for us that the meeting and our overall cooperation with America be constructive“Together with America and Europe, peace can be more secure, and that is our goal. But most importantly, this goal must be shared by our partners, not just by us.” More

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    Sadiq Khan hits out at Donald Trump’s ‘bonkers’ approach to Russia Ukraine peace talks

    London mayor Sadiq Khan has hit out at Donald Trump’s Russia and Ukraine peace talks, calling the situation “bonkers”.Mr Khan slammed the US president’s claim that Ukraine is responsible for Russia’s invasion as he criticised the recent discussions excluding Ukraine.“We have tens of thousands of Ukrainians who are refugees in our city because of Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” the mayor said during an interview with LBC on Wednesday, 19 February.He also condemned the idea of “rewarding the aggressor” by legitimising Russia’s occupation and praised Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko for his bravery and emphasised the suffering of Ukrainians. More

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    New Trump-inspired political party launched by Australian billionaire

    Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreAustralian mining magnate Clive Palmer has launched a political party directly inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump.The billionaire unveiled his plans for the Trumpet of Patriots party on Wednesday, just months out from the country’s federal election.”Trumpet of Patriots will put Australians first and make Australia great again,” he told reporters at Parliament House in Canberra.Palmer said he plans to “drain the swamp” in the country’s capital, a reference to Trump’s plans to drastically cut the size of government.”We think Donald Trump’s been very effective in reducing public expenditure,” Palmer said.He was also critical of mass immigration and said the party would only recognise two genders, male and female, reflecting positions also favoured by the U.S. President.The party plans to stand candidates in all 150 seats in Australia’s lower house, as well as the upper chamber, known as the Senate.When asked if he would be running at the election, Palmer said he was “too old” and will instead serve as the party’s chairman.Palmer said U.S. President Donald Trump has been ‘very effective in reducing public expenditure’ since being elected More

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    Trump says Zelensky will be involved in Russia Ukraine peace talks after three hour call with Putin

    US President Donald Trump says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be involved in conversations for a future ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.Trump made the comments to reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida where he was returning from the Daytona 500 event on Sunday (16 February).Trump also said that he “spoke long and hard” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff was with him for “a very extended period, like about three hours”.Trump added: “I think he wants to stop fighting.” More

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    Donald Trump defends JD Vance’s claims Europe is ‘losing its freedom of speech’

    President Donald Trump has defended comments made by Vice President JD Vance after he launched a scalding attack on European democracies.The US Vice President used his speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday (14 February) to say the greatest threat facing the continent was not from Russia and China, but “from within”.The address was met by silence in the hall, and later denounced by several politicians at the conference. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said it was “not acceptable”.President Trump was asked for his thoughts on Vance’s comments as he signed a further batch of executiv eorders on Friday. More