Connect with us

Published

on

A middle-aged woman with a bright yellow hat stepped out of a white van close to the frontline Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, one of the most dangerous places on the planet.

Smiling cheerfully, Liudmyla Bila handed out a jumble of supplies – from woollen socks and metal pans to dried noodles and cans of beans – to a small group of grateful soldiers.

She even gave them periscopes – useful to peer over the top of a trench – and heart-shaped biscuits.

“The guys are helping us [the troops gave her fuel] – and we are helping them”, Liudmyla, 45, said, before jumping back into her van, with two other companions, and heading into Bakhmut.

Liudmyla
Image:
Liudmyla Bila hands out supplies to grateful Ukrainian soldiers

The trio is among a band of volunteers that braves the treacherous journey to distribute aid to the few thousand residents who are still living in the town despite months of relentless bombardments by Russian forces that have prompted most people to flee.

As well as providing supplies, the volunteers try to convince remaining residents to be evacuated, offering to drive them out to safety themselves.

There is no electricity or running water in Bakhmut and the threat of death from incoming rounds is constant.

More on Russia

Russia is desperate to take the town, in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, after suffering humiliating defeats elsewhere.

Ukrainian troops are defending hard but the bloody battle – one of the fiercest of the war – has been dubbed a “meat grinder” because of the huge and growing number of casualties.

A local resident leaves his home after Russian shelling destroyed an apartment house in Bakhmut, Donetsk 
PIC:AP
Image:
A resident leaves his home after Russian shelling destroyed an apartment building in Bakhmut. Pic: AP

For local people caught in the middle, there is an added danger as winter falls and temperatures drop below freezing.

The active combat means even entering the town is high risk.

But Liudmyla said her only son, 22, is a soldier fighting around Bakhmut. She said she wanted to be nearby, adding: “I am not afraid.”

Her voluntary group of some 20 people is called Wings of Liberty, based in the city of Dnipro, about a five hour drive from Bakhmut.

Ukrainian soldiers in a shelter in the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/LIBKOS)
Image:
Ukrainian soldiers in a shelter in the frontline near Bakhmut. Pic: AP/LIBKOS

She makes the round trip to the town every week.

Sky News followed her and her team – 35-year-old Olha Ekzarkhova, whose brother was killed on the frontline two months ago, and Ian Boiko, 39, who drives the van – into Bakhmut on Wednesday morning.

They stopped in a residential area, surrounded by large, concrete apartment blocks.

Glass was shattered across the ground – evidence of past blasts having blown out windows.

The volunteers had to work quickly – wanting to minimise their time on the ground. The sound of distant explosions and gunfire could be heard.

“People!” shouted Liudmyla as she and Olha darted from the van to one of the blocks, carrying bottles of water, candles, blankets and food.

No one immediately appeared.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘Ferocious’ battle for Bakhmut

They left the aid at the top of a short flight of steps leading down to a shelter in the basement. Liudmyla said people are living in there.

We knocked on the door to the shelter but there was no reply. It turned out they had gone to another spot in town where it is still possible to pick up mobile phone signal.

A tired-looking man was shuffling around the entrance of the apartment block next door.

Sky News approached him, but he did not want to speak and said no one else was around.

Aid delivered, Liudmyla and her team headed further into town.

We peeled off to speak with people in a small crowd on the side of a main road.

Desperate and weary, they queued at a window to try to receive stoves to heat their homes.

Read more:
Eyewitness | Ukrainians fight Russian mercenaries and plummeting temperatures in the Battle for Bakhmut

One woman moved away from the window empty handed.

Asked how life is in Bakhmut, Oksana, 75, said: “Very difficult. Very difficult.”

Then her face crumpled and her voice broke.

It is “impossible, cold – without blankets”, she said.

“This is bad. We are freezing. The temperature is only 3 to 5 degrees inside our home.

“We are waiting here for a stove. They told us to put your names on a list and wait. When will it end? When will it end? Oh God.

“Why are they [Russians] so stubborn when it comes to our Bakhmut? And here: war, war, war. They have been hitting us all the time for more than half a year already.”

The Ukrainian service members fight and stay warm in the Donetsk region
Sergiy, 35, an operator for a self propelled artillery vehicle with the 24th Mechanized Brigade of King Danylo of the Ukrainian Army heats up water for coffee while waiting for coordinates to strike a Russian military target as Russia’s invasion on Ukraine continues near Bakhmut in Ukraine, December 3, 2022. REUTERS/ Leah Millis
Image:
Ukrainian service members fight and stay warm close to Bakhmut

She explained that she lived with her husband who is 82 and too frail to be evacuated.

“How can I leave him? There are no doctors here. No nurses. Nothing is here.”

Oksana said she was worried about having to live through the winter. As she spoke booms from incoming rounds could be heard, again in the distance.

“We are in the Stone Age. It is terrifying to live like this in the 21st century. And no one in the world can help us. How can it be?”

With the sound of explosions growing louder, we decided to leave.

Click to subscribe to Beth Rigby Interviews… wherever you get your podcasts

On the way out of town, an artillery round or some other form of munition exploded up ahead. We did not see the impact but could see the smoke.

Suddenly, there was a loud blast and our vehicle shook.

A second round had smashed into the ground to the right of us, sending shrapnel across the road. It narrowly missed a small car that was just ahead of ours – a reminder of the reality and the randomness of this war.

Continue Reading

World

US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York

Published

on

By

US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations' annual meeting in New York

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.

It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.

Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month's meeting. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters

“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.

It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.

Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’

Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.

More on Mahmoud Abbas

Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.

The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes

Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.

Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.

An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Image:
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP

Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
Image:
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.

He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.

The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.

The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
Image:
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP

US decision ‘contravenes international law’

The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.

Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters

The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.

Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.

But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.

Read more from Sky News:
Analysis: Israel is killing a lot of journalists
Hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ by malnutrition cases
Tony Blair meets Trump over Gaza

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.

Continue Reading

World

Brazil implores businesses to attend major climate summit, despite ‘second thoughts’ amid Trump backlash

Published

on

By

Brazil implores businesses to attend major climate summit, despite 'second thoughts' amid Trump backlash

The Brazilian hosts of the biggest climate meeting of the year have implored businesses to attend in November, amid concerns some are backing away from the climate agenda into the shadow of Donald Trump.

In an interview with Sky News, Ana Toni, chief executive of the COP30 climate summit in November, admitted some companies were having “second thoughts” about the global switch to green economies because policymakers were creating uncertainty.

The US President Donald Trump has been attacking wind farms and waging tariff wars that could slow the transition to green energy.

Banks including HSBC and Barclays have ditched a net zero alliance set up just four years ago by Mark Carney, now the Canadian Prime Minister.

Ana Toni, Brazil's climate secretary, is chief executive of the COP30 climate talks. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Ana Toni, Brazil’s climate secretary, is chief executive of the COP30 climate talks. Pic: Reuters

But even before Trump took office, tech companies were quietly dropping climate targets to prioritise energy-hungry AI, and other businesses were “greenhushing” their climate initiatives for fear of backlash.

In this environment, there are fears fewer business leaders will attend the annual talks, which are also being hosted in a city on the edge of the Amazon that hasn’t enough hotel rooms.

On Friday, the COP30 team wrote to business leaders urging them to “step forward, not back” and travel to Belem, despite “logistical challenges” and the “background of systemic uncertainty”.

More on Cop30

Ana Toni told Sky News: “We are very concerned that the enabling conditions must be there so that the private sector can also deliver where they do best, which is bringing in technology, bringing innovation and accelerating the process of decarbonisation.”

In August the share price of Danish wind farm developer plummeted after the US halted its Rhode Island wind farm, while the British Tories and Reform parties are also attacking net zero.

Ana Toni met with King Charles and leaders of other COP summits at Clarence House last year. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Ana Toni met with King Charles and leaders of other COP summits at Clarence House last year. Pic: Reuters

But Ms Toni there is “nothing to panic [about], because we can see that the transition is inevitable,” citing major progress in China, India and Europe and Brazil.

Referring to the US’s withdrawal from the COP process, she said: “198 countries minus one is not zero. And we will put all our efforts of working with the 197 countries that want to go forward and want to protect their population.”

“Climate action is not only [still] cool, it is necessary,” Ms Toni said.

“We all need to face reality. We are going through a huge climate crisis… If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Companies understand that.”

Continue Reading

World

Donald Trump revokes Secret Service protection for former vice president Kamala Harris

Published

on

By

Donald Trump revokes Secret Service protection for former vice president Kamala Harris

US President Donald Trump has revoked Secret Service protection for former vice president and 2024 Democratic rival Kamala Harris.

A senior adviser to Ms Harris, Kirsten Allen, confirmed the decision. “The vice president is grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety,” said the adviser.

Typically, vice presidents receive a six-month security detail from the Secret Service after they leave office, although it had been extended to 18 months for Ms Harris, according to officials.

Initially, then-president Joe Biden extended her security arrangements to one year, or January 2026, according to reports.

However, a Secret Service official told Sky News’ US partner, NBC, that Mr Biden subsequently signed an executive memorandum in January increasing the then vice-president’s protection period even further, to 18 months.

Former US presidents receive Secret Service protection for life.

Read more from Sky News:
Ed Davey has written to King to explain Trump dinner boycott
Thai prime minister sacked for ethics violation

Revoking Harris’ federal protection will be deemed ‘malicious’ by Trump’s critics

We don’t know why the former vice president’s Secret Service protection has been revoked – the White House gave no explanation.

We do know why former president Joe Biden extended it from the usual six months to 18 months before he left office.

Such decisions tend to be based on advice from the Department of Homeland Security, determined by the perceived threat level.

Kamala Harris isn’t just a former vice president of the United States. She was the first woman and first African American to hold that office.

In addition to that, she was the Democratic candidate in last year’s election – the battle against Donald Trump raising her profile even higher.

By early 2025, she had plans for a book tour. Her memoir, 107 Days, marking the short period of her candidature, is due out next month.

Extending federal protection would have bolstered Ms Harris’ safety during extensive public appearances.

In short, the extension reflected heightened security needs – her symbolic status and increased visibility from upcoming public engagements.

But the White House has pulled her Secret Service security detail, a move that will be deemed malicious by the president’s critics.

Ms Harris, who lost the 2024 presidential election to Mr Trump, is due to start a book tour for her memoir, 107 Days, shortly.

She was the Democratic nominee for 107 days after Mr Biden exited the race in the weeks following a challenging debate against Mr Trump.

Mr Trump has also ended federal security protection for others, including former national security adviser John Bolton. Last week, FBI agents raided Mr Bolton’s Maryland home.

In March, the president ended protection for Mr Biden’s children, Hunter and Ashley Biden.

Ms Harris has not ruled out a possible presidential run in 2028. She announced in July that she would not run for governor of California in 2026.

Continue Reading

Trending