Polish FM says EU must end benefits for exiled Ukrainian men to help Kyiv’s call for more troops to fight Russian forces

Polish FM says EU must end benefits for exiled Ukrainian men to help Kyiv’s call for more troops to fight Russian forces
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a meeting in Kyiv on September 13, 2024, with Polish FM Radoslaw Sikorski and Lithuanian FM Gabrielius Landsbergis. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS)
Short Url
Updated 15 September 2024
Follow

Polish FM says EU must end benefits for exiled Ukrainian men to help Kyiv’s call for more troops to fight Russian forces

Polish FM says EU must end benefits for exiled Ukrainian men to help Kyiv’s call for more troops to fight Russian forces
  • Of more than 4.1 million Ukrainians on temporary protection status in the EU, 22 percent are adult males
  • Many Ukrainian men have reportedly fled abroad to avoid military service by bribing their way out

KYIV: European governments should halt welfare benefits to Ukrainian men of military age who are living in their countries, Poland’s foreign minister said, a measure he said would help Ukraine call up more troops to fight Russian forces.

Following a meeting in Kyiv with his Ukrainian counterpart, Poland’s Radoslaw Sikorski said ending social benefits for Ukrainian male refugees would also benefit state finances in host countries in Western Europe.

More than 4.1 million Ukrainians had temporary protection status in European Union countries as of July this year, and about 22 percent of them were adult men, according to data from the EU statistics office, Eurostat.

“Stop paying those social security payments for people who are eligible for the Ukrainian draft. There should be no financial incentives for avoiding the draft in Ukraine,” Sikorski said at a conference of international leaders in Kyiv. “It’s not a human right to be paid to avoid the draft, to defend your country. We in Poland don’t do it.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed Sikorski’s call. “It’s time really to raise the question of the European Union developing programs to return Ukrainians home. Certainly, appropriate conditions should be created for this. But this should be on the agenda. And I support the idea of Minister Sikorski,” Sybiha said.

Nearly 31 months into the war against Russia and with Moscow’s forces slowly but steadily advancing in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv needs more soldiers to maintain its defense lines, rotate out exhausted troops and make up for losses.

Russia has a significant advantage in staff numbers and weapons on the battlefield.

Earlier this year, Ukraine adopted new legislation and implemented other measures, including lowering the call-up age for combat duty to 25 from 27 to increase the pace of mobilization into the army.

Under the new law, Kyiv ordered Ukrainian men living abroad to renew their military draft information online and encouraged them to return to Ukraine and join the fight.

Ukraine imposed martial law at the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, banning men aged 18 to 60 from traveling abroad without special permission and beginning a rolling mobilization of civilian men into the armed forces.

But many men of military age have still fled abroad to avoid the draft amid reports of corruption in the army recruitment system, allowing some men to bribe their way out of army service.

 

 


Ukraine’s Zelensky city-hops across Europe, promoting ‘victory plan’ to allies

Ukraine’s Zelensky city-hops across Europe, promoting ‘victory plan’ to allies
Updated 12 sec ago
Follow

Ukraine’s Zelensky city-hops across Europe, promoting ‘victory plan’ to allies

Ukraine’s Zelensky city-hops across Europe, promoting ‘victory plan’ to allies
  • He detailed the proposals Thursday to European allies after a summit with President Joe Biden was derailed by Hurricane Milton
ROME: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was city-hopping across Europe on Thursday to promote a “victory plan” that he said “aims to create the right conditions for a just end to the war” against Russia, detailing the proposals to European allies after a summit with President Joe Biden was derailed by Hurricane Milton.
Zelensky’s talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte were quickly followed by another meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, who just the previous day sent a strong signal of support for Ukraine by visiting Ukrainian troops being trained in France.
Zelensky posted on X that he “outlined the details” of the Ukrainian victory plan to Starmer and added: “We have agreed to work on it together with our allies.”
Starmer’s Downing Street office said the leaders discussed the blueprint, the challenges for Ukraine of the approaching winter and “how investment in the country’s security today would support Europe’s broader security for generations to come.”
The Ukrainian leader also met Rutte with Starmer. Zelensky posted afterward that they discussed trans-Atlantic cooperation and further reinforcing Ukraine militarily. He gave no details but posted that “these are the steps that will create the best conditions for restoring a just peace.”
Zelensky has yet to publicly present his proposals for victory. But the timing of his efforts to lock in European support appeared to have the looming US election in mind. Former President Donald Trump has long been critical of US aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky had planned to present his blueprint at a weekend meeting of Western leaders in Germany, but it was postponed after Biden stayed home because of the hurricane that struck Florida.
Zelensky then embarked on his whistle-stop tour of European capitals that have been among Ukraine’s staunchest allies outside of the United States.
In Paris, Macron and Zelensky hugged before talks on the plan at the French presidential Elysee Palace. Afterward, Zelensky said “all the details” would come in November and that he’s talking with allies about securing more military aid and permission for Ukrainian forces to carry out long-range strikes.
Kyiv wants Western partners to allow strikes deep inside Russia, using long-range weapons they provide. Some, including the UK and France, appear willing, but Biden is reticent about escalating the conflict.
“The situation looks bleak for all sides,” Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said Thursday on X. “The West hesitates amid internal divisions, Ukraine struggles while bracing for a harsh winter, and Russia presses forward without any strategic shifts in its favor, yet grows increasingly impatient.”
Later Thursday, Zelensky met in Rome with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who ensured Italy’s full and continued support “at both bilateral and multilateral level in order to put Kyiv in the best position possible to build a just and lasting peace.”
Meloni said the meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the situation on the ground and Ukraine’s “most immediate military, financial and humanitarian needs, as well as the forthcoming diplomatic initiatives and the pathway to bring an end to the conflict.”
She added that Rome will continue to do its part also in the future reconstruction of Ukraine and announced the dates for the next Ukraine recovery conference, which will be held in Rome in July 2025.
Zelensky stressed that his priority is to strengthen Ukraine’s position, with the help of its international partners, to create the necessary conditions for diplomacy.
“Russia is not really looking for a diplomatic path,” he said. “If we are able to implement the victory plan, Russia won’t be able to continue the war.”
Zelensky is scheduled to meet Pope Francis Friday morning for a half-hour audience, the Vatican said. Later in the day, he’ll meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.
Ukraine relies heavily on Western support, including tens of billions of dollars’ worth of military and financial aid, to keep up the fight against its bigger enemy after almost 1,000 days of fighting since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022.
Fearing that crucial help could be in jeopardy due to political changes in donor countries, Ukraine has been building up its domestic arms industry. It also wants to raise more money from taxpayers to pay for the war effort. The Ukrainian parliament passed a bill on second reading Thursday that raises the so-called military tax from 1.5 percent to 5 percent. Some amendments are expected before it becomes law.
Zelensky’s tour comes as Russia continues a slow but relentless drive deeper into Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and targets key infrastructure with airstrikes.
Zelensky said Wednesday that the victory plan seeks to strengthen Ukraine “both geopolitically and on the battlefield” before any kind of dialogue with Russia.
“Weakness of any of our allies will inspire (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” he said. “That’s why we’re asking them to strengthen us, in terms of security guarantees, in terms of weapons, in terms of our future after this war. In my view, he (Putin) only understands force.”
The death toll from a Russian ballistic missile strike on Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa rose Thursday to eight, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said. It was the latest in a string of assaults on the Black Sea port.
Authorities in Kyiv also announced Thursday that Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna died while being in Russian captivity, although the circumstances of her death remained unknown. Moscow admitted detaining Roshchyna, who went missing in 2023 while on a reporting trip to Russia-occupied areas.

Four killed by Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s Odesa region

Four killed by Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s Odesa region
Updated 11 October 2024
Follow

Four killed by Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s Odesa region

Four killed by Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s Odesa region

KIEV: Four people were killed by a Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region on Friday, Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app.
Kiper said a ballistic missile struck a two-story building where civilians lived and worked. Ten more people were wounded.


UN: Half a million stateless people got citizenship in past decade

UN: Half a million stateless people got citizenship in past decade
Updated 11 October 2024
Follow

UN: Half a million stateless people got citizenship in past decade

UN: Half a million stateless people got citizenship in past decade
  • The UNHCR describes statelessness as ‘a major human rights violation’
  • Last year, the UNHCR reported that there were 4.4 million stateless people recorded

GENEVA: The UN said Friday that in the decade since it launched a campaign to end the limbo of statelessness, over half a million people without a nationality had acquired citizenship.
In a report, the United Nations’ refugee agency detailed the progress made since it launched its #IBelong campaign in 2014. Its aim was to mobilize international action to resolve the problem of statelessness.
The UNHCR described statelessness as “a major human rights violation.”
It leaves people politically and economically marginalized, unable to access critical services and particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, the agency argued.
Last year, the UNHCR reported that there were 4.4 million stateless people recorded, but that millions more were affected since the data only covers around half of the world’s countries.
The campaign, which ends this year, aimed to address “a largely invisible crisis: that of millions of people around the world living in the shadows, without a nationality, unable to assert their most basic human rights,” said UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi.
While welcoming “significant progress” toward the ambitious goal of ending statelessness, he added “our work is not yet done.”
The report found that “more than 565,900 stateless people and persons with undetermined nationality gained nationality” over the past decade.
Australian actor Cate Blanchett, UNHCR’s goodwill ambassador, said the progress had been “remarkable.”
“Twenty countries have improved rights for stateless people, (and) 13 countries have passed laws to ensure that no child is born stateless,” she said.
“We must make sure that anyone still living without nationality is given the right to be recognized and included.”
UNHCR highlighted the efforts made in several countries, including Turkmenistan, Portugal, North Macedonia, Rwanda, Brazil and Thailand.
Kyrgyzstan has resolved all known cases of statelessness on its territory, the agency added.
It pointed out that 77 more countries had joined the UN Statelessness Conventions, and at least 22 countries had adopted national action plans toward ending statelessness.
“Great strides have been made to remedy this devastating blight, but the need for further action remains critical,” said Ruven Menikdiwela, UNHCR’s assistant high commissioner for protection.
“There are still countless people who do not exist on paper — and hence are pushed to the fringes of society, simply because of ethnic, religious or gender discrimination, or because of flaws in nationality laws and policies,” she said.
While the #IBelong campaign is wrapping up, UNHCR said it would host a high-level meeting on statelessness during its executive committee meeting in Geneva Monday.
It also said it was launching a new “Global Alliance to end Statelessness.”


Florida counts cost of Hurricane Milton amid political storm

Florida counts cost of Hurricane Milton amid political storm
Updated 11 October 2024
Follow

Florida counts cost of Hurricane Milton amid political storm

Florida counts cost of Hurricane Milton amid political storm
  • While Milton did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared in Florida, the clean-up operation could take many weeks or months for some people

FORT PIERCE/ST. PETERSBURG, Florida: F lorida on Friday was clearing downed trees and power lines and mopping up flooded neighborhoods after Hurricane Milton roared through leaving at least 16 people dead.
While Milton did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared in Florida, one of many states hit by Hurricane Helene about two weeks ago, the clean-up operation could take many weeks or months for some people.
“It opens your eyes to what Mother Nature can do,” said Chase Pierce, 25 of west St. Petersburg, who, with his girlfriend, saw transformers blow up, sparks fly and a power line fall in the back yard.
The fifth-most-intense Atlantic hurricane on record, Milton could cost insurers alone up to $100 billion, analysts say.
The White House pledged government support as the full extent of the damage was still being surveyed.
But Republican Donald Trump, who trails Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris according to recent Reuters/Ipsos polling ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, attacked his opponents for their handling of storm recovery efforts.
“The federal government ... has not done what you are supposed to be doing, in particular, with respect to North Carolina,” he said on Thursday. North Carolina was hard-hit by Helene, and Trump faces a tight battle against Harris there.
Harris, who has said Trump is spreading lies about the government’s response, hit back at the politicization of the issue during a town hall event on Univision on Thursday.
“Sadly, we have seen over the last two weeks, since Hurricane Helene, and now in the immediate aftermath of Milton, where people are playing political games,” she said, without naming Trump.
Politicians of both stripes are deeply aware of how Republican President George W. Bush’s approval ratings fell after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005 and never recovered from a response deemed inadequate by many at the time.
The Biden administration said the Federal Emergency Management Agency will need additional funding from Congress, where the Republicans control the House and Democrats control the Senate, and urged lawmakers, who are on recess, to act.
DEADLY TORNADOES
Floridians say they came through a double disaster.
While Milton came ashore on the state’s western coast on Wednesday evening, some of its worst havoc was wrought more than 100 miles (160 km) away along the state’s eastern shore.
There were at least 16 hurricane-related deaths, CBS News cited the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as saying.
In St. Lucie County, an advance flurry of tornadoes killed several people, including at least two in the senior-living Spanish Lakes communities, according to local officials.
Between Siesta Key and Fort Myers Beach, peak water levels reached 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 m) above ground level, according a preliminary analysis posted by the National Hurricane Center.
Some 2.75 million homes and businesses in Florida overall were without power late on Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us.
Some have been waiting days for power to be restored after Hurricane Helene hit the area.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis cautioned on Thursday that although the state had avoided the “worst-case scenario,” the damage was still significant.


At least 20 killed in attack on miners in southwestern Pakistan, police say

At least 20 killed in attack on miners in southwestern Pakistan, police say
Updated 11 October 2024
Follow

At least 20 killed in attack on miners in southwestern Pakistan, police say

At least 20 killed in attack on miners in southwestern Pakistan, police say
  • The attackers gathered the miners at one place and opened fire on them, local media reported
  • There are ten coal mines located in the area, a company official told local media

QUETTA, Pakistan: At least 20 miners were killed and seven injured in an attack by armed men on a small private coal mine in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan on Friday, police said.
The mineral-rich region borders Afghanistan and Iran and has been troubled for decades as Baloch insurgent groups fight against the state, saying it denies them their share of regional resources.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“A group of armed men attacked the Junaid Coal company mines in the Duki area in the wee hours using heavy weapons,” said Humayun Khan, the police station house officer for the town, located east of the city of Quetta.
They fired rockets and grenades at the mines as well, he added.
The attackers gathered the miners at one place and opened fire on them, local media reported, adding that they also set mining machinery on fire.
There are ten coal mines located in the area, a company official told local media.
“We have received 20 bodies and six injured so far at the district hospital,” said Johar Khan Shadizai, a doctor in Duki.
Pakistan has seen a resurgence of Islamist militancy since 2022 when a ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban and the government broke down.
Two Chinese nationals working for a power plant were killed and a third injured in an explosion near the international airport in the southern city of Karachi earlier this week.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of several insurgent groups battling the government, claimed responsibility for the attack.
BLA was also behind Balochistan’s most widespread violence in years in August, when separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines, and highways, killing more than 70 people.
The region saw violence last month too when armed men stormed a residence housing laborers from eastern Punjab province, killing seven of them.
The attacks come as the country is preparing to host the summit of the eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in capital Islamabad next week.
The event is expected to see high-level Chinese representation and will also be attended by India’s foreign minister.