Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Firefighters at the shopping centre in Kremenchuk AP

Russia demands Ukraine surrender as G7 vows to make Moscow pay

Eighteen people were killed in an attack yesterday in the city of Kremenchuk.

WESTERN ALLIES HAVE vowed to boost NATO’s defences and to back Ukraine to the end as Moscow demanded Kyiv’s surrender.

Allied leaders were gathered in Madrid for a NATO summit, even as Russian missiles continued to pound Ukrainian cities, including the city of Kremenchuk where a shopping centre was struck killing 18 people.

The NATO leaders faced tough talks with Turkey to unblock Sweden’s and Finland’s bids to defy Russian threats join the Atlantic alliance.

But they were determined to preserve a united front in the face of Moscow’s four-month-old invasion of pro-Western Ukraine.

embedded267636370 The attack was branded a war crime by Mr Macron and Ukrainian officials (AP)

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters arriving with President Joe Biden that Washington will announce “historic” new long-term military deployments in Europe.

The reinforcements will join NATO’s eastern flank, Russia’s nervous neighbours like the Baltic states, and reflect a long-term change “in the strategic reality” elsewhere in Europe.

Ahead of the summit, NATO chief Jen Stoltenberg has said the allies would boost their high-readiness forces from 40,000 to 300,000 men.

Before travelling to Madrid, Biden and other leaders of the G7 powers — the world’s richest democracies — had held a summit in the German Alps.

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz boasted afterwards that his country, a laggard in defence spending, would build “the largest conventional army within the NATO framework in Europe”.

russia-ukraine-war Many of the victims were said to have been burned beyond recognition (AP) AP / PA Images AP / PA Images / PA Images

Russia’s invasion, he said, had convinced Berlin “that we should spend more… an average of around 70 to 80 billion euros a year on defence over the next few years”.

NATO member Bulgaria announced just ahead of the summit that it would expel 70 staff from Russia’s diplomatic mission accused of working against its interests.

At the G7 summit, the leaders agreed to impose new sanctions targeting Moscow’s defence industry, raising tariffs and banning gold imports from the country.

The US Treasury said the measures “strike at the heart of Russia’s ability to develop and deploy weapons and technology used for Vladimir Putin’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine”.

The new set of sanctions target Rostec, Russia’s largest defence conglomerate, as well as military units and officers implicated in human rights abuses in Ukraine, the Treasury said.

Putin’s Kremlin was not fazed by the sanctions, warning that Ukraine’s forces’ only option was to lay down their arms in the face of the Russian invasion.

“The Ukrainian side can stop everything before the end of today,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“An order for the nationalist units to lay down their arms is necessary,” he said, adding that Kyiv had to fulfil a list of Moscow’s demands.

 - ‘Everything burned’ -

The consequences of Russia’s four-month-old invasion were on display in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, where shaken civilians recounted Monday’s missile strike on a shopping mall.

“Everything burned, really everything, like a spark to a touchpaper. I heard people screaming. It was horror,” witness Polina Puchintseva told AFP.

All that was left of centre — scene of at least 18 deaths — was charred debris, chunks of blackened walls and lettering from a smashed store front.

Russia claims its missile salvo was aimed at an arms depot — but none of the civilians who talked to AFP knew of any weapons store in the neighbourhood.

And, outside Russia, the latest carnage sparked only Ukrainian fury and western solidarity.

embedded267636379 At least 18 people were killed (AP)

“Indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians constitute a war crime,” the G7 leaders said in a statement, condemning the “abominable attack”.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky declared on his social media channels: “Only total insane terrorists, who should have no place on Earth, can strike missiles at civilian objects.

“Russia must be recognised as a state sponsor of terrorism. The world can and therefore must stop Russian terror,” he added.

The G7 leaders did not go so far as to brand Putin a terrorist — but they vowed that Russia, already under tough sanctions, would face more economic pain.

“The G7 stands united in its support for Ukraine,” Scholz told reporters.

“We will continue to keep up and drive up the economic and political costs of this war for President Putin and his regime.”

- Oil price cap -

Over the three days of their summit, the G7 had announced several new measures to put the squeeze on Putin, including a plan to work towards a price cap on Russian oil.

The group also agreed to impose an import ban on Russian gold. At the same time, the G7 powers heaped financial support on Ukraine, with aid now reaching $29.5 billion.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the West was “to give the Ukrainians the strategic endurance they need to try to shift the dial, to try to change the dynamic of the position”.

The Madrid summit will also try to overcome Turkey’s objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, and Biden is to talk to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged NATO allies to show they were united.

“The message that should come out of Madrid is a message of unity and strength for member countries, as well as for those that wish to join and whose applications we are supporting,” Macron said.

Sweden and Finland, traditionally non-aligned militarily, asked to join NATO after Putin’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, but Turkey accuses them of harbouring wanted Kurdish militants.

Erdogan met Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish premier Magdalena Andersson ahead of the NATO talks as the would be allies struggled to persuade him to drop their veto.

Meanwhile, with fierce artillery duels continuing in the eastern Donbas region, Ukrainian officials said the central city of Dnipro and several other sites had been hit by more Russian missiles.

Pro-Moscow forces detained Igor Kolykhayev, the elected mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

Russian media said the “nationalist” was an opponent of Moscow’s supposed efforts to “de-Nazify” Ukraine, but Kolykhayev’s aides said he had been “kidnapped” by the city’s illegitimate occupiers.

The United Nations said that 6.2 million people are now estimated to have been displaced within Ukraine, in addition to 5.26 million who have fled abroad.

“Ukraine now faces a brutality which we haven’t seen in Europe since the Second World War,” NATO Stoltenberg said as leaders began to gather in the Spanish capital.

Author
View 28 comments
Close
28 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Joe Toner
    Favourite Joe Toner
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:01 AM

    Not this w/anchor again….. Give us a break.

    158
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Connoroconner
    Favourite Connoroconner
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:44 AM

    @Joe Toner: they don’t report half the stuff he does. The whole truth is much worse.

    123
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mick.
    Favourite Mick.
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:22 AM

    His threat was baseless as he doesn’t control the funding, Congress does. And he and his Press Secretary were caught out openly lying about it.

    148
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Diaspora'd
    Favourite Diaspora'd
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:35 AM

    @Mick.: it’s called “quid pro quo”… but I am sure in his mind it was another “perfect” call

    52
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Connoroconner
    Favourite Connoroconner
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:56 AM

    @Mick.: he probably doesnt even know that.

    27
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ed
    Favourite Ed
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 11:02 AM

    @Mick.: A few weeks ago he was convinced he was some sort of king when it came to deciding when states reopened.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute tuco
    Favourite tuco
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:04 AM

    Richard Nixon resigned on a scandal that this buffoon seems to do on a daily basis and gets away with it.the role of president of America has been reduced to a daily sitcom with this gobdaw

    179
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bramley Hawthorne
    Favourite Bramley Hawthorne
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:34 AM

    We are watching a slow-moving coup d’etat as the limited democracy of the USA is being eaten away step by step.

    106
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Anthony John Cotter
    Favourite Anthony John Cotter
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:05 AM

    Dictator Donald minds himself while 100,000 of his people die.

    138
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gary O CONNOR
    Favourite Gary O CONNOR
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:13 AM

    Gotta love the Trumpy bashing stories..
    Sure a Boris one is due ..

    40
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Willie Murphy
    Favourite Willie Murphy
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:19 AM

    @Gary O CONNOR: He’s the gift that just keeps giving !!!

    128
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bennett blaster
    Favourite Bennett blaster
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 9:46 AM

    @Gary O CONNOR: He keeps supplying the ammo

    43
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Al Fresco
    Favourite Al Fresco
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 5:10 PM

    @Gary O CONNOR: yes, it’s very easy to both Trump,
    So let’s do it!!!

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Stan Kowalskis
    Favourite Stan Kowalskis
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:18 AM

    Come on lads jokes over get rid of him.

    43
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Edward Boyle
    Favourite Edward Boyle
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:49 AM

    For a nation that prides itself as the land of the free, why are they not seeing that this man is single handedly trying to erode this. I would have any voting machine/ process that is in use checked as it sounds that the most untrustworthy of individuals thinks he knows something that the sheep don’t.

    38
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Diaspora'd
    Favourite Diaspora'd
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:17 AM

    @Edward Boyle: He’s losing.. its over,

    Biden can stay in his basement till November and still win because Trump has dropped the ball so badly, Trump claimed covid was 15 cases soon to be zero and now we have 100k dead and Depression era unemployment levels,

    most voters will ask themselves are they better off now than they were in 2016 and given the fact he lost the popular vote in 2026 by 3million votes ..Trump is toast.

    44
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
    Favourite Dave O'Keeffe
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 9:11 AM

    @Diaspora’d: if only it were that easy. 32% of likely voters strongly approve of him. 46% approve.

    16
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute finbarr quirke
    Favourite finbarr quirke
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 9:46 AM

    @Edward Boyle: just going from twitter but his supporters believe the Democrats/liberals/the left are satan’s minions. The dems (in their mind) are baby kiillin, gun restricting, criminal releasing, LBGTQ+ loving idiots and apparently Trump is the opposite of this.

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Carlin Ite
    Favourite Carlin Ite
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:48 AM

    That guy is finished. The only problem is his opposition have no real policies, no real promises to undo the laws he passed and a candidate that has a rich history of voting with the republicans on some truly despicable bills!

    34
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Alan McArdle
    Favourite Alan McArdle
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:53 AM

    Half-statements and half-threats. That’s the way to conduct business, it seems.

    33
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David A. Murray
    Favourite David A. Murray
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:08 AM

    Widespread voting by mail favours Democrats over Republicans. There is a very long history of dirty tricks by both parties.

    31
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Coco86
    Favourite Coco86
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:25 AM

    @David A. Murray: How so?

    21
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Diaspora'd
    Favourite Diaspora'd
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:41 AM

    @David A. Murray: Trump set up a commission to look into Democrat leaning voter fraud after he lost the popular vote in 2016 and lo and behold they couldn’t find anything worth reporting. maybe you have some solid evidence they missed so please share with us..

    77
    See 10 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Cupid Stunt
    Favourite Cupid Stunt
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:53 AM

    @Coco86: His supporters don’t know what a pen is!

    31
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
    Favourite Dave O'Keeffe
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:30 AM

    @David A. Murray: yet there’s a republican operative due for trial for tampering with mail in ballots. Number of Dems on trial 0. The only way it favours Dems is that the more people that vote (legally) the better Dems do. There’s nothing dodgy or unethical about that. On the other hand trying to make it more difficult for people to vote (legally) is both dodgy and unethical.

    44
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute DJ François
    Favourite DJ François
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:33 AM

    @David A. Murray: voter fraud is minimal in the US. Gerrymandering on the other hand…

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Diaspora'd
    Favourite Diaspora'd
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:45 AM

    @DJ François: exactly right….for state legislatures and local elections. Both parties are guilty.

    Gerrymandering makes no difference in a presidential election because it goes by state lines however higher turnout usually favors the democratic candidate and republicans know the more voter suppression/difficult they make it for poorer people to vote the better the republican/conservative candidate does against the democratic candidate.

    14
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David A. Murray
    Favourite David A. Murray
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:47 AM

    @Coco86: Sorry, but I assumed my criticism of Republicans and Trump was obvious. Postal votes meaning greater support for Democrats has been very widely covered over the last 2 years. Trump/GOP have fought against postal voting.

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David A. Murray
    Favourite David A. Murray
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:54 AM

    @David A. Murray: Okay, my original comment was badly worded and very unclear. Post voting rebalances GOP dirty tactics to suppress Democratic votes. That’s what I meant, but failed to communicate.

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David A. Murray
    Favourite David A. Murray
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:58 AM

    @David A. Murray: And it is true that both parties manipulate the voting system and engage in dirty tricks. This is historical record, not accusations. So my current sympathy for Democrats is completely relative.

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute 8-Bit-Relic
    Favourite 8-Bit-Relic
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 9:06 AM

    @David A. Murray: Well, to have people with rifles in the South who are deciding who is allowed to go to the ballots might be a reason…

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute eddie horgan
    Favourite eddie horgan
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 2:18 PM

    @Coco86: Because Democrats are more likely to be more able to put an X in the box

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute D H
    Favourite D H
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 2:54 PM

    @David A. Murray: The last voting by mail “anomalie” favoured republicans but any way, you keeping spouting Donalds conspiracy theories

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute John Byrne
    Favourite John Byrne
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:26 AM

    The movie idiocracy is so relevant now , from the Whitehouse down . It is an embarrassment to the human race .

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Barry Teehan
    Favourite Barry Teehan
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:45 AM

    Wun wabbit, wun wabbit, wun wun wun …

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian McHale-Boyle
    Favourite Brian McHale-Boyle
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:44 AM

    Postal votes… sounds legit!

    * Yes, I am aware postal votes have been allowed for certain segments of voters to date, but a blind man can see the reasons for the attempted widespread implementation of them now. I ain’t no Trump fan but he’s correct to think this may be an attempt to subvert democratic process.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dec Quinlan
    Favourite Dec Quinlan
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:54 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: Emm…yes. It says so right there in the article. Postal voting is recommended by the CDC as a safe option of voting during the pandemic.

    44
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian McHale-Boyle
    Favourite Brian McHale-Boyle
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 7:56 AM

    @Dec Quinlan: LOL The CDC recommend? A truly impartial and apolitical organization, I’m sure. Dream on.

    15
    See 8 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Diaspora'd
    Favourite Diaspora'd
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:07 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: This is just another Trump diversion tactic. Nobody is getting a presidential election “ballot” in the mail yet. The election is in November and It’s not even June yet, the Democratic Party candidate hasn’t even been confirmed, so ballots haven’t even been printed yet.

    Every citizen is entitled to make an ‘application’ to register for absentee mail-in ballots for any upcoming state, local or federal elections and with the covid19 crisis more people are now looking to vote by mail.

    What’s bothering Trump? he is so low in the polls he’s worried a high turnout/votes cast will be bad for him. He himself votes by mail but he doesn’t want that convenience to be afforded to so many people who will probably vote against him.

    Trump is just worried that if it’s

    42
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Stephen Rogan
    Favourite Stephen Rogan
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:12 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: at first glance, I would broadly agree with your point. But then i saw that Trump, as an official Palm Beach County resident, voted by mail in the Florida presidential primaries in March – presumably for himself – while at the same time screaming that noone else should be allowed to do so. His objection to it is 100% self-serving.

    34
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian McHale-Boyle
    Favourite Brian McHale-Boyle
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:13 AM

    @Diaspora’d: Trump had a 1.2% chance of winning the Presidency according to “the polls”. How did that work out? It’s all propaganda.

    If you can’t look beyond your dislike of Trump and see what’s going on here, then it’s true that mass media propaganda works.

    I dislike Trump. But I really despise cheap propaganda tactics and attempts to subvert democracy.

    8
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Diaspora'd
    Favourite Diaspora'd
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:29 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: the effort to suppress turnout is being instigated by Trump and the GOP. I live in a state where voters including myself had to queue for 2 hours to vote because Trump and the GOP wanted a recent election to go ahead during the covid19 lockdown because the usual number of polling stations were reduced and voters had to travel to polling stations further away. Trump and the GOP thought this would suppress turnout so the GOP/conservative candidates would win. It turned out that the “anybody but Trump” sentiment is rising and the conservative candidates lost.

    Trump is in trouble and he knows.

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian McHale-Boyle
    Favourite Brian McHale-Boyle
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:38 AM

    @Diaspora’d: I am NOT disputing that there are constant attempts to affect polling numbers and also gerrymander from BOTH parties.

    I AM saying that this postal voting move is a little “too obvious” and needs to be called out for what it is.

    *I am not a Trump supporter and ridiculous that I am receiving horrific DMs and threats to Dox me to my twitter account merely for saying that he may have a point.

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Diaspora'd
    Favourite Diaspora'd
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:56 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: the whole “widespread voter fraud by mail” thing is a myth.

    The more people who can vote in an election the better in my opinion. I normally vote in person in every state and federal election but if I know I won’t be in town, I “apply” a week or two in advance and get a mail-in ballot. The system has been working fine for years. Trump is bringing it up now as an issue because it’s in his and the GOPs interest to get a low turnout.

    23
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Drunk in Dublin
    Favourite Drunk in Dublin
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 9:46 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: US military who work overseas have been voting by post for decades. Absentee voting also happens by mail and it’s a secure process. There is far more fraud to be had with electronic voting machines than with paper ballots, and Trump knows this. That’s why he doesn’t like paper, it leaves a trail.

    17
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
    Favourite Dave O'Keeffe
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 1:51 PM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: which party has an operative awaiting trial for interfering with mail in ballots?

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gerald OBrien
    Favourite Gerald OBrien
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 9:15 AM

    That’s a good sign. He must be clutching at straws.

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave Thomas
    Favourite Dave Thomas
    Report
    May 22nd 2020, 12:29 AM

    @Gerald OBrien: he usually is.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Keith O'Reilly
    Favourite Keith O'Reilly
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 12:06 PM

    I’m still convinced that if he loses in November (I don’t think he will unfortunately) he won’t give up the office voluntarily.

    8
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute A2 Poster
    Favourite A2 Poster
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 12:42 PM

    This is very dangerous talk. He’s planting the seed that these votes are suspect before the election even takes place. If he loses, he already has his excuse baked in. There will be legal challenges after that, and then the question of if he will leave office peacefully. Either way it’s a long road and it could be a major effort to wrest power away from this nutcase.

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Charles Coughlan
    Favourite Charles Coughlan
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:20 AM

    Any chance of a Trump filter on the Journal pretty please.

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian McHale-Boyle
    Favourite Brian McHale-Boyle
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:23 AM

    Oh, no, I didn’t scream that I hate Trump enough, so that must mean that I support him, so it looks like my opinion has been cancelled. No thumbs up for Brian! /sadface emoji

    My voter’s in the post, baby!

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute DJ François
    Favourite DJ François
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:35 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: eh?

    20
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bennett blaster
    Favourite Bennett blaster
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 9:47 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: Do you need attention Brian?

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute ger o' dwyer
    Favourite ger o' dwyer
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 10:54 AM

    You’d have to hand it to Trump. He knows that no matter what he says or does the clowns that vote for him will continue to do so.

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ed
    Favourite Ed
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 11:01 AM

    I’ve seen excrement that is more appealing.

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mary N. Cooke
    Favourite Mary N. Cooke
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 12:09 PM

    Didn’t Nero fiddle while Rome burned?
    Or is it the Queen in Snow White?
    ” yes i told everybody again today how great I really am”

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Sean Fahey
    Favourite Sean Fahey
    Report
    May 21st 2020, 8:53 PM

    I like how Trump has strategically assigned his vote to the biggest swing state of them all. Just in case. Text book stable genius move.

    2
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel