Kyiv, 

Ukraine claimed full control of Russia's eastern logistics hub Lyman, its most significant battlefield gain in weeks, setting the stage for further advances aimed at cutting Russia's supply lines to its battered troops to a single route.

The stinging setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin was delivered after he proclaimed the annexation of four regions covering nearly a fifth of Ukraine on Friday, an area that includes Lyman. Kyiv and the West have condemned the proclamation as an illegitimate farce.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the capture of the town, where Ukrainian flags were raised over civic buildings on Saturday, demonstrated that Ukraine was capable of dislodging Russian forces and showed the impact Ukraine's deployment of advanced Western weapons was having on the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the success of the country's soldiers was not limited to Lyman.

Ukraine forces had liberated the small Arkhanhelske and Myrolyubivka settlements in the Kherson region as well, he said.

Ukraine's Interfax agency reported that according to Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces, Ukraine's forces recaptured Torske, a village in the Donetsk region, about 15 km (9 miles) east of the now liberated Lyman.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify the reports.

Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday it was pulling troops out of the Lyman area "in connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement".

It did not mention Lyman in its daily update on Sunday, although it said Russian forces had destroyed seven artillery and missile depots in the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Donetsk.

Russian forces had captured Lyman from Ukraine in May and had been using it as a hub for its operations in the north of the Donetsk region. Its recapture by Ukrainian troops is Russia's largest battlefield loss since Ukraine's lightning counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region in September.

Control over Lyman could prove a "key factor" in helping Ukraine reclaim lost territory in the Luhansk region, the full capture of which Russia announced in July after weeks of grinding advances, Luhansk governor Serhiy Gaidai said.

Lyman's operational importance was due to its command over a crossing of the Siverskyi Donets River, behind which Russia has been attempting to consolidate its defences, Britain's Ministry of Defence said.

"Thanks to the successful operation in Lyman we are moving towards the second north-south route ... and that means a second supply line will be disrupted," said reserve colonel Viktor Kevlyuk at Ukraine's Centre for Defence Strategies think tank.

"In that case, the Russian group in Luhansk and Donetsk could only be supplied strictly through (Russia's) Rostov region," Kevlyuk told media outlet Espreso TV.

Ukraine's military said early on Monday Russian forces had used missiles, air strikes and artillery in attacks on 35 settlements in the previous 24 hours. Ukraine’s air force had attacked a command post, weapons caches and an anti-aircraft missile complex, as well as bringing down one helicopter, one attack aircraft and eight drones, it said.

The governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, said Russian forces had attacked Zaporizhzhia city and nearby villages overnight, with at least 10 missiles.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

ANNEXED REGIONS

The areas Putin claimed as annexed just over seven months into Russia's invasion of its neighbour - Donetsk and Luhansk plus Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south - are equal to about 18% of Ukraine's total surface land area.

Russia's parliament is to consider on Monday bills and ratification treaties to absorb the regions, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin said.

A pomp-filled Kremlin signing ceremony with the regions' Russian-installed leaders on Friday failed to stem a wave of criticism within Russia of how the military operation is being handled.

Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's southern Chechnya region, on Saturday called for a change of strategy "right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons". The United States says it would respond decisively to any use of nuclear weapons.

Other hawkish Russian figures on Saturday criticised generals and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on social media for overseeing the setbacks but stopped short of attacking Putin.

The United States was "very encouraged" by Ukrainian gains, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday.

Pope Francis on Sunday made an appeal to Putin to stop "this spiral of violence and death" in Ukraine and also called on Zelenskiy to be open to any "serious peace proposal".

Zelenskiy said on Friday that peace talks with Russia while Putin was president would be impossible. "We are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia," he said.

Washington, October 3

Vivek Lall, an Indian-origin General Atomics CEO, is honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by US President Joe Biden with citation of 'With Grateful Recognition'.

The citation was given to Lall, who has done PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University in Kansas, by the AmeriCorps and the Office of the President. It was also personally signed by the President of the United States, as per the official statement.

AmeriCorps is a part of the US Government. The organisation aims to foster activities that bring Americans closer together to "serve communities." Dr Lall, an industry leader and scientific community titan works as Chief Executive at General Atomics. The company is a global leader in the specialised fields of nuclear technology and has developed state-of-the-art Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) like the Predator, Reaper and Guardian drones.

Lall, a son of an Indian diplomat, was one of the handfuls of individuals with Indian origins to have been invited to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the past year during his Washington visit.

Notably, before his leadership position in General Atomics, Dr Lall worked at other leading organisations like NASA, Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed Martin; his experience and accolades have been considered unparalleled by many in the scientific community and by long-term industry watchers alike.

He is serving as a US Technical Team Member to the Noth Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Science and Technology (STO) with the Pentagon.

He was appointed in a critical advisory role to the US Cabinet Secretary heading the Department of Transportation, encompassing entities like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in 2018.

 

 Dubai, October 2

A UAE-based business conglomerate, which has more than 50 supermarkets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, is showcasing Kashmiri apples in its stores, giving a boost to the export of the superior quality apples from India to the international market. The premium apples native to Kashmir are considered one of the best quality apples harvested mainly in the months of September and October.

Mir Syed Shahid Ahmed Kamili, president of the Federation Chambers of Industries, Kashmir, said India ranked seventh in apple production in the world.

“Kashmir boasts of 80 per cent of the apple production in India. We thank India as we are getting heavy subsidies and support to promote the export of Kashmiri products,” he said.

 

Al Maya Group has more than 50 supermarkets in the GCC members—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

 Toronto,(PTI) Canadian authorities have denied any vandalism at a recently unveiled park named ‘Shri Bhagavad Gita’ in Brampton city and clarified that the reported blank sign was left during the repair work, hours after India condemned the incident and urged the city administration to take prompt action.

The park – previously called Troyers Park – was renamed as Shri Bhagavad Gita Park and unveiled on September 28.

“We condemn the hate crime at the Shri Bhagavad Gita Park in Brampton. We urge Canadian authorities & @PeelPolice to investigate and take prompt action on the perpetrators,” the High Commission of India in Canada tweeted on Sunday.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown on Sunday night took to Twitter to clarify the matter.

Brampton is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario.

“Following yesterday’s reports of vandalism of the recently unveiled Shri Bhagavad Gita Park, we took swift action to investigate further. We learned that the reported blank sign was installed by the builder as a placeholder until the permanent Shri Bhagavad Gita Park sign can be replaced tomorrow,” Brown tweeted.

Brown also thanked the Indian community for flagging the issue and added: “We are pleased to learn of this outcome. We thank the community for bringing this to our attention, and ensuring Brampton is a safe and inclusive place to call home.” “The blank sign was left up during repairs. This is not a usual process as we never remove a sign unless damaged or its name changes,” he said in another tweet.

Peel Regional Police also said: “There was no evidence of vandalism to the permanent sign or any park structure.” “Permanent sign is still waiting for the lettering to be applied and it was a temporary park sign used in the park naming ceremony,” Peel Police tweeted.

Last month, India issued an advisory to its citizens in Canada citing a “sharp increase in incidents of hate crime, sectarian violence, and anti-India activities”.

The advisory said: “In view of the increasing incidences of crimes as described above, Indian nationals and students from India in Canada and those proceeding to Canada for travel/ education are advised to exercise due caution and remain vigilant.” On September 15, a prominent Hindu temple, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, was defaced by “Canadian Khalistani extremists” with anti-India graffiti in an apparent hate crime. PTI 

गुट निरपेक्ष शब्द का प्रयोग पहली बार संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघ में भारत ,युगोस्लाविया तथा मिस्र के द्वारा १९५० में किया गया था, 1 सितंबर 1961 को बेलग्रेड (युगोस्लाविया)में इसका गठन किया गया , इसे अमलीजामा पहनाने का कार्य 1955 में बांडुंग(इंडोनेशिया) सम्मेलन , १९५६ में युगोस्लाविया के तत्कालीन राष्ट्रपति मार्शल टीटो, भारत के प्रधानमंत्री जवाहरलाल नेहरू तथा मिस्त्र के राष्ट्रपति अब्देल नासिर ने किया, गुट निरपेक्ष आंदोलन को कुछ और देशों द्वारा समर्थन भी मिला तथा इसका उद्देश्य दोनों महाशक्तियों सोवियत संघ तथा अमेरिका के बढ़ते साम्राज्यवाद तथा उनके नाजायज दखल को रोकना था, तत्कालीन भारतीय प्रधानमंत्री जवाहरलाल नेहरू इस मामले में बेहद प्रखर रहे, गुट निरपेक्ष आंदोलन द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध की विभीषिका से उपजा था जिसमें अपार जन धन हानि हुई थी , इस युद्ध में लगभग पांच से छह करोड़ लोग मारे गए थे , तथा अमेरिका जापान पर परमाणु बम गिराकर एक वैश्विक शक्ति बन गया था, रूस भी अमेरिका के बराबर खड़ा होना चाहता था तथा उसने भी साम्यवादी देशों का अपना एक गुट बना लिया था , इसमें सबसे आश्चर्यजनक यह था कि अमेरिका, ब्रिटेन तथा सोवियत संघ मित्र राष्ट्रों के रूप में मिलकर धुरी राष्ट्रों जापान, इटली ,जर्मनी के खिलाफ लड़े थे ,अमेरिका अपने समर्थक देशों के साथ 'नाटो' याने नॉर्थ अटलांटिक आर्गेनाइजेशनल बना चुका था दुनिया दो हिस्सों में बंटी नजर आ रही थी तथा यह बंटवारा आगामी विश्व युद्ध को फिर जन्म दे सकता था इसलिए गुट निरपेक्ष आंदोलन प्रासंगिक था लेकिन यह दुनिया में अपना रोल उतना प्रभावी बना नहीं पाया जैसा होना था बाद में यह आंदोलन दबता चला गया, 1962 के भारत चीन युद्ध में नेहरू काल में भारत को पराजय का सामना करना पड़ा तथा इसमें चौंका देने वाली बात यह थी कि उस समय तत्कालीन प्रधान मंत्री नेहरू को अमेरिका से सहायता लेनी पड़ी थी, खुद बखुद भारत को १९७१ के भारत पाकिस्तान युद्ध के समय सोवियत संघ से समझौता करना पड़ा, उसके बाद अमेरिका वियतनाम युद्ध में अमेरिका अपनी मनमानी पर उतर आया, इसके बाद १९९० में खाड़ी युद्ध में अमरीकी दादागिरी, रूस की सीरिया में दखल,अमेरिका का अफगानिस्तान में हमला, अब रूस ने यूक्रेन में आक्रमण कर दिया ,आखिर कहां हैं हमारा गुट निरपेक्ष आंदोलन?

 India has abstained on a draft resolution tabled in the UN Security Council which condemned Russia's "illegal referenda" and annexation of four Ukrainian territories and called for an immediate cessation of violence while underlining the need to find pathways for a return to the negotiating table.

The 15-nation UN Security Council on Friday voted on the draft resolution tabled by the US and Albania that condemns Russia's "organisation of illegal so-called referenda in regions within Ukraine's internationally recognised borders."

The resolution declares that Russia's "unlawful actions" with regards to the "illegal so-called referenda" taken on September 23 to 27 this year in parts of Ukraine's regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya that are under Russia's temporary control can have "no validity" and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine, including any "purported annexation" of any of these regions by Moscow.

The resolution failed to get adopted as Russia vetoed it. Of the 15-nation Council, 10 nations voted for the resolution while China, Gabon, India and Brazil abstained.

In the explanation of the vote, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said that India was deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine and New Delhi has always advocated that no solution can ever arrive at the cost of human lives.

"We urge that all efforts are made by concerned sides for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities. Dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment," she said.

"The path to peace requires us to keep all channels of diplomacy open," she said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "unequivocally conveyed" this in his discussions with world leaders, including with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

She also referred to statements made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Ukraine during the high-level General Assembly session last week.

Referring to Modi's remark to Putin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan's Samarkand that "today's era is not an era of war", Kamboj said New Delhi sincerely hopes for an early resumption of peace talks to bring about an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the conflict.

"India's position has been clear and consistent from the very beginning of this conflict. The global order is anchored on the principles of the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and the territorial integrity of all states. Escalation of rhetoric or tension is in no one's interest," she said.

"It is important that pathways are found for a return to the negotiating table. Keeping in view the totality of the evolving situation, India decided to abstain on the resolution," Kamboj said.

Russian President Putin on Friday proclaimed the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The announcement came a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that "any annexation of a State's territory by another State resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the Principles of the UN Charter and international law."

"Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned," Guterres said.

"It cannot be reconciled with the international legal framework. It stands against everything the international community is meant to stand for. It flouts the purposes and principles of the United Nations. It is a dangerous escalation. It has no place in the modern world. It must not be accepted," the UN chief said.

The resolution also calls upon all States, international organisations and specialised agencies not to recognise any alteration of the status of Ukraine's regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson or Zaporizhzhya on the basis of Russia's "unlawful actions" with regards to the illegal so-called referenda taken on September 23 to 27, and to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognising any such altered status.

It also decides that Russia shall "immediately, completely and unconditionally" withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, which includes those regions addressed by the "illegal so-called referenda" to enable a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through political dialogue, negotiation, mediation or other peaceful means.

 In a first, Mahatma Gandhi made a special appearance at the United Nations, sharing his message on education at the world organisation as it commemorated the International Day of Non-Violence on the occasion of the Indian leader’s birth anniversary.

A special life-size hologram of Gandhi was projected during a panel discussion organised on Friday by India’s Permanent Mission to the U.N. and UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) at the U.N. headquarters here to commemorate the International Day of Non-Violence, marking Gandhi’s birth anniversary on October 2.

The International Day of Non-Violence is observed on October 2, the birthday of Gandhi. According to the General Assembly resolution of June 2007, which established the commemoration, the day is an occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness".

The resolution reaffirms "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" and the desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence".

The panel discussion featured India’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, CEO of The King Center, Atlanta Bernice King and youth representative and digital education transformation champion Princess Hayu of Indonesia.

The discussion, moderated by UNESCO MGIEP Director Anantha Duraiappah, was focussed on ‘Education for Human Flourishing’.

It was part of the Ahinsa Lecture Series and kickstarted the 10-year celebration of UNESCO MGIEP. It was for the first time at the U.N. that a life-size hologram of Mahatma Gandhi led the panel discussion, a statement said.

A voice-over accompanying the Gandhi hologram shared the iconic leader’s thoughts on education.

“Literacy is not the end of education or even the beginning. By education, I mean an all-around drawing out of the best in the child and the man, body, mind and spirit. By spiritual training, I mean education of the heart,” the Gandhi hologram said.

Ahead of the panel discussion, a message by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was read out.

In his message, Mr. Guterres said Gandhi’s life and example reveal a timeless pathway to a more peaceful and tolerant world, as the U.N. chief called on the international community to walk this path together, in solidarity, as one human family.

Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Digital Museum in Hyderabad Birad Yajnik told the event’s audience that the hologram was the second edition of the Gandhi hologram in 4k.

He recalled that the making of the hologram was a process that started in 2018 when Ambassador Kamboj was in South Africa.

In 2019, in association with the MGIEP, a dialogue with a hologram of Gandhi was envisioned. Ananda and his team researched the collected works of Gandhi and his thoughts on education.

“At our end, digitally graphic files were further sculpted, merged with motion graphics to produce a high-definition hologram that narrated the script,” Mr. Yajnik said. Mr. Yajnik added that this version led the panel discussion at UNESCO in Paris and later in New Delhi.

“The future of this hologram is to enable it with AI (Artificial Intelligence) voice engine that can engage the people of the world. The message of Mahatma Gandhi is a message of peace and love, a message that the world desperately needs today. And this would be our small effort to bring it to the youth of the world through the language of technology,” Mr. Yajnik said.

Mr. Guterres said in his message that the International Day of Non-Violence celebrates not only Gandhi’s birthday, but the values he embodied that echo across the decades: peace, mutual respect and the essential dignity shared by every person.

“Sadly, our world is not living up to those values. We see this through growing conflicts and climate chaos. Poverty, hunger and deepening inequalities. Prejudice, racism and rising hate speech. And a morally bankrupt global financial system that entrenches poverty and stymies recovery for developing countries,” Mr. Guterres said.

The U.N. chief emphasised that the world can defeat these challenges by embracing Gandhi’s values and working across cultures and borders to build a better, more peaceful future for all.

“By investing in people’s health, education, decent jobs and social protection to prevent people from falling and catch them when they do. By ensuring access to financing and debt relief for all countries. By supporting developing countries as they build resilient infrastructure and protect populations from the impacts of climate change, while also accelerating the transition from planet-killing fossil fuels to renewable energy.”

“By securing and upholding the rights and dignity of all people — especially the most vulnerable, and girls and women who are too often denied their basic rights. By taking concrete action for inclusion, recognising multicultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnic societies as a richness, not a threat,” he said.

The Gandhi hologram made three appearances during the panel discussion, showing him both sitting and standing as he spoke about the values of education.

“We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or shares in the stock market. We want to provide only such education as would enable the student to earn more.”

"We hardly give any thought to the improvement of the character of the educated. The schools and colleges are really a factory of turning out clerks for the government. On the contrary, real education consists in drawing the best out of yourself. What better book can there be than the book of humanity,” the Gandhi hologram said.

Education should provide access, equity, quality and affordability, Kamboj said, adding that it is very critical to provide holistic development as well as upliftment and dignity for every individual.

Stressing the importance of resilience, Ms. Kamboj said while education is imparted in schools and colleges, “I wonder how much we teach our children how to deal with the ups and downs.”

“That is also very critical…life doesn't always dish out the best moments, you have to learn to deal with the ups and downs and, therefore, I think education should also be transformative in the sense that you teach youngsters to be able to take setbacks as you also take your successes,” she said.  

 Kyiv, September 30

Russia pounded Ukrainian cities with missiles, rockets and suicide drones, with one strike reported to have killed 25 people, as it moved on Friday to annex Ukrainian territory into Russia and put it under the protection of Moscow’s nuclear umbrella, opening an internationally condemned phase of the seven-month war.

But even as it prepared to celebrate the incorporation of four occupied Ukrainian regions, the Kremlin was on the verge of another stinging battlefield loss.

Russian and Western analysts reported the imminent Ukrainian encirclement of the eastern city of Lyman. Retaking the city could open the path for Ukraine to push deep into one of the regions Russia is absorbing in a move widely condemned as illegal.

The salvos of Russian strikes reported in Ukrainian cities together amounted to the heaviest barrage that Russia has unleashed for weeks.

They followed analysts’ warnings that Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely to dip more heavily into his dwindling stocks of precision weapons and step up attacks as part of a strategy to escalate the war to an extent that would shatter Western support for Ukraine.

The Kremlin preceded its scheduled annexation ceremonies on Friday with another warning to Ukraine that it shouldn’t fight to take back the four regions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would view a Ukrainian attack on the taken territory as an act of aggression against Russia itself.

The annexations are Russia’s attempt to set its gains in stone, at least on paper, and scare Ukraine and its Western backers with the prospect of an increasingly escalatory conflict unless they back down — which they show no signs of doing.

The Kremlin paved the way for the land-grabs with “referendums”, sometimes at gunpoint, that Ukraine and its Western backers universally dismissed as rigged shams.

“It looks quite pathetic. Ukrainians are doing something, taking steps in the real material world, while the Kremlin is building some kind of a virtual reality, incapable of responding in the real world,” former Kremlin speechwriter turned political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said.

“People understand that the politics is now on the battlefield,” he added. “What’s important is who advances and who retreats. In that sense, the Kremlin cannot offer anything comforting to the Russians.”            A recent Ukrainian counter-offensive backed by Western-supplied weapons has deprived Moscow of mastering its fate on the military fields of battle.

Its hold of the Luhansk region appears increasingly shaky, as Ukrainian forces make inroads there, with the pincer assault on Lyman. Ukraine also still has a large foothold in the neighbouring Donetsk region.

Luhansk and Donetsk – wrecked by fighting since separatists there declared independence in 2014 – form the wider Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that Putin has long vowed, but so far failed, to make completely Russian.

Peskov said that both Donetsk and Luhansk will be incorporated on Friday into Russia in their entirety.

All of Kherson and parts of Zaporizhzhia, two other regions being prepared for annexation, were newly occupied in the invasion’s opening phase.

It’s unclear whether the Kremlin will declare all, or just part, of that occupied territory as Russia’s. Peskov wouldn’t say in a call on Friday with reporters

In the Zaporizhzhia region’s capital, anti-aircraft missiles that Russia has repurposed as ground-attack weapons rained down on Friday on people who were waiting in cars to cross into Russian-occupied territory so they could bring family members back across the front lines, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said.

The general prosecutor’s office said 25 people were killed and 50 wounded.

The strike left deep impact craters and sent shrapnel tearing through the humanitarian convoy’s lined-up vehicles, killing their passengers. Nearby buildings were demolished. Trash bags, blankets and, for one victim, a blood-soaked towel, were used to cover bodies.

Russian-installed officials in Zaporizhzhia blamed Ukrainian forces for the strike, but provided no evidence.

Russian strikes were also reported in the city of Dnipro.

The regional governor, Valentyn Reznichenko, said at least one person was killed and five others were wounded by Russian Iskander missiles that slammed into a transportation company, destroying buses, and that also damaged high-rise buildings.

Ukraine’s air force said the southern cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa were also targeted again with Iranian-supplied suicide drones that Russia has increasingly deployed in recent weeks, seemingly to avoid losing more pilots who don’t have control of Ukraine’s skies.

Putin was expected to give a major speech at the Kremlin ceremony to fold Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into Russia.

The Kremlin planned for the region’s pro-Moscow administrators to sign annexation treaties in the ornate St. George’s Hall of the palace in Moscow that is Putin’s seat of power.

Ukraine’s air force said the southern cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa were also targeted again with Iranian-supplied suicide drones that Russia has increasingly deployed in recent weeks, seemingly to avoid losing more pilots who don’t have control of Ukraine’s skies.

Putin was expected to give a major speech at the Kremlin ceremony to fold Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into Russia.

The Kremlin planned for the region’s pro-Moscow administrators to sign annexation treaties in the ornate St. George’s Hall of the palace in Moscow that is Putin’s seat of power.

With Ukraine vowing to take back all occupied territory and Russia pledging to defend its gains, and threatening nuclear-weapon use to do so, the two nations are on an increasingly escalatory collision course.

That was underscored by the fighting for the city of Lyman, some 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

A key node for Russian military operations in the contested Donbas region, Lyman is a sought-after prize in the Ukrainian counteroffensive that has had spectacular success since its launch in late August.

Retaking the city could allow Kyiv to push into deeper into Russian-occupied Luhansk province, which would be a stinging blow for Moscow after its stage-managed “referendum” there.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said the city’s fall to Ukrainian forces “is imminent” unless Russia can ward off the collapse with speedy reinforcements, which appeared “highly unlikely.” AP

 

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said the audio leak of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan has debunked the narrative that he was ousted from power through foreign conspiracy, noting that the former premier’s “detestable face” was revealed to the entire nation.

A leaked audio tape purportedly of Pakistan’s former prime minister Khan has surfaced in which he is talking about how to exploit the controversial cypher from the Pakistani envoy to Washington to portray his ouster in a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly in April as a conspiracy

The clip making rounds on social media features a conversation between Khan and his then principal secretary Azam Khan about a cypher sent by Pakistan’s Ambassador in Washington Asad Majeed about his meeting with a US official.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Donald Lu was the central figure in Khan’s claims about a US-backed regime-change conspiracy.

He accused Lu of threatening Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed, that a failure to remove Khan through a no-confidence vote would herald “consequences” for Pakistan and vice versa.

Addressing a ceremony after laying the foundation stone of the Bhara Kahu bypass in Islamabad, Prime Minister Sharif accused Khan of deceiving the nation by making false claims.

“Till when will [your] lies survive … I don’t think there can be a more heinous crime,” he said.

“Everything became clear after Wednesday’s audio leak,” Sharif said, adding that Khan’s “detestable face” had been revealed to the entire nation.

Sharif said he had not seen a “more irresponsible person and a bigger liar” than Khan during the “40 years that I spent under the leadership of my elder brother”.

Khan was ousted from power in April after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan

Referring to the audio leak, Sharif accused his predecessor of asking his then-principal secretary to “hatch a conspiracy against Pakistan”.

“And Imran even conspired to divide the country’s institutions,” he alleged.

“There are no two ways about it. But the worst conspiracy against Pakistan was him defaming the country’s politicians by labelling them as traitors,” he lamented.

Sharif went on to add that Pakistan was “ashamed” because of Imran lying about a foreign conspiracy narrative to oust his government.

Sharif said Imran’s allegations were “the worst conspiracy against Pakistan”.

In the leaked audio, Khan is heard as saying: “We only have to play on this (cypher). We don’t have to name [any country]. We only have to play with this, that this date (of no-trust motion) was [decided] before (it was moved against him).” The second voice is apparently of Azam Khan who is heard as suggesting holding a meeting on the cypher.

“See, if you recall, in that the ambassador has written in the end to [send] a demarche. Even if the demarche is not to be sent, as I have thought a lot about it at night — you said they raised it — I thought about how to cover all this.

“Let’s hold a meeting with Shah Mahmood Qureshi (who was the foreign minister in Imran’s government) and the foreign secretary. Shah Mahmood Qureshi will read out that letter and whatever he reads out will be converted into a copy. I will then make minutes [out of it and say] that the foreign secretary has prepared this.

“But its (cypher’s) analysis will have to be conducted here. We will carry out the analysis and convert it into minutes as we want so that it becomes [part of] the official record,” says the former principal secretary.

The leak is the latest in the string of audio tapes of conversations recorded in the Prime Minister’s House.

On Friday, authorities completed debugging the Prime Minister’s House in the wake of recent explosive audio leaks of secret conversations.

 Washington, September 29

India strives to have a relationship with China that is built on mutual sensitivity, respect and interest, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said as he asserted that the betterment and strengthening of the Indo-Pacific was a shared objective of New Delhi and Washington, amid Beijing's growing military muscle-flexing in the region.

China, which has territorial disputes with many countries in the strategic Indo-Pacific, has been opposing the US' proactive policy specifically in the disputed South China Sea. "We continue to strive for a relationship with China, but one that is built on mutual sensitivity, mutual respect and mutual interest," Jaishankar told Indian mediapersons as he concluded his four-day visit to Washington and held talks with top US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.