Islamabad: Criticizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pakistani billionaire, Mohammad Zahoor aka "Pakistani press prince of Kyiv" has called on the international community to support Kyiv, as Russian forces step up attacks on cities and nuclear facilities. However, Pakistan's relationship with the Western countries has been shaky since the visit of former Prime Minister Imran Khan to Moscow on the day Russia launched its military operations in Ukraine and the subsequent stance of Pakistan in United Nations resolutions against Russia where Pakistan abstained.Zahoor was a major figure in the Ukrainian media and steel industries and also became involved in Ukraine's media and entertainment scene as he bought Kyiv Post in 2009, the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, which he owned for nearly a decade, gaining the title of "Pakistani press prince of Kyiv."Fluent in the region's languages and familiar with its politics, the billionaire told Arab News in an exclusive interview, he urged the world to take sides. "This is time, actually, for us not to keep quiet. We have to take sides. I am openly taking the side of Ukraine because after seeing (reports from) Western, Ukrainian and Russian media, I can see and decide who is telling the truth. This is the time actually for everyone to speak up for Ukraine otherwise every big country is going to swallow its next-door neighbor," Zahoor said in a statement. As international sanctions followed Russia's invasion, aiming to cut Moscow off from the world's financial arteries, Zahoor said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had called for the world's intervention before the violence broke out as the shelling of nuclear facilities by Russian forces pose a severe danger to the world.Calling the Russian aggression brutal, Zahoor said the war may have consequences for Russia similar to the fallout from the Soviet-Afghan war from 1979 to 1989, which drastically weakened the Russian military and economy. That defeat in Afghanistan was one of the major reasons for the dissolution of the Soviet Union. "Ukraine is going to be the next Afghanistan for Russia," he said. "I don't know how many years they are going to be in Ukraine, but once they are out, they will be broken into pieces." The Russians have reportedly captured Europe's largest nuclear power plant after attacking it overnight Friday, which started at least one fire, raising widespread concerns that a meltdown happened and that the consequences would likely be much worse than Chornobyl.On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine as Russia said that the aim of its operation is "demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine."—ANI

Criticizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pakistani billionaire, Mohammad Zahoor aka "Pakistani press prince of Kyiv" has called on the international community to support Kyiv, as Russian forces step up attacks on cities and nuclear facilities.

'Pakistani press prince of Kyiv' urges world to stand in solidarity with Ukraine

Kyiv: Two Reuters journalists were injured and a driver was killed on Friday in eastern Ukraine, according to media reports. “Two Reuters journalists injured, driver killed near Sievierodonetsk. Reuters reported that photographer Alexander Ermochenko and cameraman Pavel Klimov had sustained minor injuries after the vehicle they were in came under fire while en route to Sievierodonetsk,” The Kyiv Independent said in a Tweet on Saturday. “They were traveling in a car provided by Russian proxies on a Russian-controlled road. The news agency said it couldn’t establish the identity of the driver who had been assigned by the Russian proxies for the reporting trip,” The Kyiv Independent said.On Monday, French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff was killed in eastern Ukraine. “Journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff was in Ukraine to show the reality of the war. On board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape the Russian bombs, he was fatally shot,” Macron tweeted Monday. Thousands of people have died since Russia’s operations in Ukraine began 100 days ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces currently occupy 20 per cent of Ukraine in an address on Thursday. Zelenskyy said that 50 embassies have resumed operations in Kyiv, Ukraine, and termed it a testament to their faith in the country’s victory. He on Thursday said that this is important news not just practically, but also symbolically. “Every new embassy that returns to our capital is a testament to our faith in our victory,” Zelensky said, reported The Kyiv Independent.Earlier, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that the Indian Embassy in Ukraine, which was temporarily operating out of Poland, would resume its operation in Kyiv from May 17. Russia started its military operation in Ukraine on February 24. This large-scale operation has reportedly resulted in a humanitarian crisis, leading to crippling sanctions from Western countries targeting Moscow’s high-profile individuals and companies. “We played Prime Volleyball just a few months ago. At that time, we had said that we would get a big break via the PVL. And, here we are in the Maldivian League, where we will get good exposure. For the first time, I will be a guest player [in a foreign land],” Guru Prasanth, employed at GST and Central Excise in Chennai, told DT Next in a virtual interaction. “In sports, we are at our prime only for a short span of time. So, I am happy that I got the opportunity to play in a tournament like this. I want to play as many matches as possible. I look forward to participating in more such tournaments,” added Guru Prasanth.Since India (64th) stands 40 places above the Maldives (joint 104th) in the world rankings, a lot will be expected from the League’s ‘international’ players. However, Guru Prasanth is not worried about shouldering responsibility. “Being a youngster, I was under more pressure during Prime Volleyball. Everyone will have a bit of self-doubt, but my PVL form has been giving me confidence. The key thing is to adapt to the new environment – the athletes and the way they work,” said Guru Prasanth, adding that the “reunion” with John and Amit at Offu will make life easier for him. “We (three of them) are happy to join forces again. We have trained and played together in the past, so it will be helpful for us. We share a good camaraderie on court. Hopefully, it reflects in the matches that we play,” signed off Guru Prasanth.—ANI

Two Reuters journalists were injured and a driver was killed on Friday in eastern Ukraine, according to media reports.

Two Reuters journalists injured, driver killed in Ukraine: Reports

Kiev (The Hawk): According to the president of Ukraine, six million homes in his country still lack electricity as a result of this week's widespread missile attacks.
Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his nightly address that "as of this evening, blackouts persist in the majority of regions and in Kyiv."
Since Wednesday, the number of impacted households has dropped by 50%, he added.
However, as winter approaches, millions are left without access to heat, water, or light.
President Zelensky stated in a televised address that the attacks had had a particularly negative impact on the capital city and its surrounding area. Many city inhabitants, according to him, have been without electricity "for 20 or even 30 hours."
He added that the more central Vinnytsia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as well as Odesa and Lviv in the south and west, are among the worst impacted.
Everyone was urged by President Zelensky to utilise energy-efficient appliances: "Even if you don't have a power outage, the issue may still exist. Please remember that just because you have access to electricity does not give you permission to use many large appliances at once."
We must withstand this winter, which will be remembered by everyone, he remarked.
Despite the attacks, practically all of the nation's vital infrastructure has been restored, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, including items like water utilities, heat producing facilities, hospitals, and emergency services.
However, he noted, scheduled power outages continue to affect regular people in every part of Ukraine.
There are worries that the targeting of Ukrainian infrastructure by Russia, along with snowfall and extremely low temperatures, could lead to a health disaster.
Russia has always refuted Ukraine's and its Western allies' accusations that it committed war crimes by attacking vital civilian infrastructure.
The Kherson regional governor claimed on Friday that "continuous Russian shelling" had forced medical patients to leave the area.
Officials from the municipal council reported that 15 people had died this week in the eastern city, which Ukrainian forces have just lately retaken.
As the UN nuclear agency announced that three nuclear plants on Ukrainian soil had been restored to the grid after being forced to shut down during this week's bombardment, the Russian air assault began.
On Thursday, a fourth nuclear power plant that is located in Zaporizhzhia and is under Russian control restarted.
(Inputs from Agencies)

According to the president of Ukraine, six million homes in his country still lack electricity as a result of this week's widespread missile attacks. Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his nightly address that "as of this evening, blackouts persist in the majority of regions and in Kyiv."

6 million Ukrainian households are without power

According to the president of Ukraine, six million homes in his country still lack electricity as a result of this week's widespread missile attacks.
Volodymyr Zelensky stated in his nightly address that "as of this evening, blackouts persist in the majority of regions and in Kyiv."

Dec 22: Russian drones targeted the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early on Friday, injuring two people and damaging property in the city in Moscow's latest overnight drone strike against Ukraine.
It was the sixth such attack on the capital this month and part of a larger drone swarm that targeted parts of central, southern and western Ukraine, the country's air force said.  Ukrainian air defence shot down 24 out of 28 attack drones, it said.  Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said a drone had hit a block of flats in the Solomyanskyi district, south of the city centre, triggering a fire on the upper floors that was quickly brought under control.
<a href="https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1737890105640010201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1737890105640010201%7Ctwgr%5E9fa5a2319b18e36d507bc30656064440fd84da33%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.deccanherald.com%2Fworld%2Frussian-drones-hit-several-kyiv-districts-causing-massive-destruction-2821974" target="_self">https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1737890105640010201?</a>
Emergency services also said several apartments were damaged on the 24th, 25th and 26th storeys of the building. Two people were injured, including one being treated in hospital.  The incident occurred a few hundred metres from a maternity hospital.  A video posted on social media showed a giant orange flame going skyward in the night.  Klitschko also said drone fragments had set fire to a house under construction in Darnytskyi district on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River that runs through the city. He said there were no injuries. Pictures posted online showed construction materials strewn about the site. Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, reported fragments from a downed drone had struck an apartment building in a third area— Holosiivskyi district, also south of the city centre. Popko posted pictures showing smashed windows and heavy damage to apartments.
—Reuters

Russian drones targeted the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early on Friday, injuring two people and damaging property in the city in Moscow's latest overnight

Russian drones hit several Kyiv districts causing massive destruction

Kyiv: Heavy Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv killed two civilians, wounded dozens and caused widespread damage on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.
The attacks struck residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, hours after President Vladimir Putin said an air strike on the Russian city of Belgorod that Moscow said killed 24 civilians and blamed on Ukraine "will not go unpunished".  Russia has stepped up air strikes on Ukraine over the New Year period, and on Friday conducted its largest air attack of the almost two-year-old war on Ukraine, killing at least 39 people.
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Russia attacked with waves of different missiles during the morning rush hour on Tuesday. Military authorities issued air alerts that lasted for at least three hours.  Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said an elderly woman had died in an ambulance after being wounded. He had earlier said that at least 16 people had been wounded in the capital.  He said gas pipelines had been damaged in Kyiv's Pecherskyi district, and electricity and water had been cut off in several districts of the capital. Rescuers were putting out fires in several places, he said.
The loss of electricity and water brought back memories of last winter when Russia pounded the energy grid with missiles, causing frequent power cuts and plunging millions into darkness.  Oleh Synehubov, Kharkiv's regional governor, said the central part of the city of Kharkiv was attacked at about 07:30 am (0530 GMT). He said on the Telegram messaging app that one person had been killed the attack and 41 had been wounded.  After the initial aerial barrage, Yuri Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force, said the situation remained tense and that air defences were bracing for more Russian missile launches.
—Reuters

Heavy Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv killed two civilians, wounded dozens and caused widespread damage

Russian air strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv kill two, wound dozens: Ukrainian officials

Kyiv: Two people were killed after Russia unleashed its second overnight mass drone attack on Ukraine in two days, authorities in Ukraine said on Friday.
Kyiv's air force said all 27 Iranian-made drones had been shot down by air defences over seven regions across the country, including around the capital.  Two people were killed in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia when a residential building was damaged in the strike, according to the regional governor.
The air force also said Russian forces had fired eight missiles in eastern and central Ukraine, but offered no further details.  Friday's attack follows a overnight drone strike on Thursday during which Russian forces targeted civilian infrastructure in northeastern Ukraine.  That attack knocked out television and radio signals in five cities and towns, in an apparent attempt to cut people off from information, officials in Kyiv said.  Russia has carried out regular air strikes on population centres far behind the lines of its two-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
—Reuters

Russia's second massive drone attack in two days on Ukraine kills two, damages homes. Kyiv's air force shoots down 27 drones, amidst ongoing conflict.

Two killed in latest Russian drone attack on Ukraine

Kyiv [Ukraine]: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, "in the strongest terms", condemned the large-scale missile strikes by Russia on Ukraine, that have caused widespread destruction, and have reportedly killed and injured many civilians. In an official statement, the Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq said the Secretary-General was "appalled by the continued killing and destruction".
"The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms today's large-scale missile and drone attacks by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian cities and towns across the country, including against civilians, energy and other critical infrastructure," Haq quoted Guterres as saying. The strikes have inflicted severe damage, including on the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant in the Zaporizhzhia region. "The Secretary-General is appalled by the continued killing and destruction and once again underlines that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law. They are unacceptable and must end immediately," the statement read.
"The attacks reportedly killed and injured many civilians and caused major damage, including to the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant in the Zaporizhzhia region, leaving more than one million Ukrainians without access to electricity and water in Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, and Zaporizhzhia," it added. Russia plundered Kyiv with a barrage of missiles on Thursday, injuring at least 13 people and damaging several residential buildings and industrial facilities, in what was the biggest assault on the Ukrainian capital in weeks, the New York Times reported, citing local officials. The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defence systems had intercepted all 31 of the Russian missiles that targeted Kyiv. But, still, the debris from the downed missiles fell in various parts of the city, causing injuries and damage. No deaths have been reported so far. "Such terror continues every day and night," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post to which he tagged a video purportedly showing firefighters dousing burning buildings with water. The attack took place in the early hours of the day, with loud blasts jolting residents awake around 5 am (local time) as air defence systems went into action. Many people rushed to take shelter in subway stations.
Several orange fireballs lit up the sky, apparently the result of missile interceptions. Air-raid alerts ended at 6:10 am (locKyiv Mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said that missile debris had caused fires in at least three residential buildings and in parking lots. He said on Telegram that emergency responders had been deployed to help victims. Four people were hospitalised, the city's military administration said.al time) just as the sun rose, revealing the damage. Thursday's assault came at a difficult time for Ukraine's military, with Russian forces pressing ahead with ground attacks at several locations along the front line of more than 600 miles, the New York Times reported. Faced with a shortfall of troops and ammunition, Ukraine has struggled to contain Russian assaults in its east and south. Ukrainian officials have vowed to launch a counteroffensive this year, but experts say the military has yet to receive the kinds of weapons that would let it regain the initiative on the battlefield, with American aid held up in Congress.
—ANI

UN Secretary-General strongly condemns Russia's missile strikes on Ukraine, causing widespread destruction and civilian casualties.

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'Pakistani press prince of Kyiv' urges world to stand in solidarity with Ukraine

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'Pakistani press prince of Kyiv' urges world to stand in solidarity with Ukraine

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