Ukraine war: Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticises Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko in rare sign of discontent

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3 years ago

November 26, 2022

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised the mayor of Kyiv over the provision of emergency shelters, in a sign of discontent rarely seen between Ukrainian leaders since the start of Russia’s invasion.

The president indicated that Vitali Klitschko, the boxing legend turned politician, had not done enough to help the capital’s residents cope with Moscow’s most devastating strikes of the war.

Putin’s warning for Russian mothers – live war updates

Most regions across Ukraine have been impacted by blackouts this week, and while the six million people currently affected is down from a peak of 12 million a few days ago, Mr Zelenskyy said “the biggest problems” were in Kyiv.

“Unfortunately, local authorities have not performed well in all cities,” he said in his nightly video address.

“In particular, there are a lot of complaints in Kyiv. To put it mildly, more work is needed.”

Mr Zelenskyy said that many of the city’s residents had been without power “for 20 or even 30 hours”, and called for “more support” and “quality work” from the mayor’s office.

Ukraine’s ‘invincibility centres’

In the wake of Russia‘s aerial bombardment on its neighbour’s energy infrastructure, an apparent cynical attempt to inflict maximum damage as winter looms, Ukraine has been setting up “invincibility centres”.

These are emergency shelters where people can access heat, water, internet, and mobile phone service.

More than 4,000 have been set up so far, but – according to Mr Zelenskyy – not enough in Kyiv.

Mr Klitschko, a key face of Ukrainian resistance since Vladimir Putin‘s full-scale invasion began in February, has not responded to his president’s criticism.

Meanwhile, the national power grid operator Ukrenergo said its engineers are “working around the clock” to restore energy supplies, but 30% are still out despite the reconnection of Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants.

Three are in Ukrainian-held territory and one is in Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia. They were all back online late on Friday after attacks forced them to shut for the first time in 40 years.

Putin shows no sign of backing down

The Kremlin has claimed that the attacks on Ukraine’s basic infrastructure are militarily legitimate, just as it’s tried to justify the actions of its forces throughout the war.

In a meeting with the mothers of Russian servicemen on Friday, Mr Putin again defended the invasion.

“Russia is first and foremost about people, their culture, their traditions, their history, which is passed down from generation to generation and absorbed with mother’s milk,” he said.

“The main guarantee of our success is our unity.”

While Mr Putin was having tea, his Ukrainian counterpart went to the town of Vyshhorodm, slightly north of Kyiv, to observe damage to buildings and one of the new emergency centres.

Earlier, the president met with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who pledged continued British support and condemned Russia’s “brutal attacks”.

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It comes ahead of Ukraine marking the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor famine, which the country recognises as a genocide against its people by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

Historians dispute whether the famine, which killed millions of Ukrainians, was a purposefully orchestrated bid to eradicate an independence movement, or a botched nationalisation policy.

It saw Stalin order police to seize grain, livestock and seed from Ukrainian farms.

Mr Cleverly used his visit to Kyiv to accuse Mr Putin of a similar attempt to starve Ukraine’s people.

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Thousands defy ban to join Pride march in Budapest

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3 hours ago

June 28, 2025

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Thousands defy ban to join Pride march in Budapest

If Hungary’s authorities thought banning this year’s Pride march would keep people off the streets, they were wrong.

Thousands turned out in Budapest, defying a law which said LGBTQ+ events like this should be cancelled to protect children.

The crowd was determined to fight for their rights.

“This is a special march, not just because it was the 30th, but also because it was banned,” said Orsi, who proudly wore a rainbow headband and waved a rainbow flag.

“I mean that’s all the more reason to go out on the street and show that Budapest and Hungary is a place where everybody is welcome, where love is equal,” she added.

Attendees had been warned that just being there could mean a 500 euro fine or prison time for the organisers.

They were told police would use facial recognition cameras to identify them, but they didn’t care.

Orsi said it was worth a fine.

Leonas had travelled from Poland to show his support and was also happy to take the risk.

“LGBT rights are attacked across the whole world, and we need to defend each other and work with each other,” he said.

Viktor Orban’s government has repeatedly pitched family values against LGBTQ+ rights.

“The mother is a woman, the father is a man and leave our kids alone,” he told conservative audiences in the past.

He says he is protecting Hungary’s Christian values, but critics say this is just part of a wider attack on democracy which has happened during his 15 years in control.

The Pride ban is just the latest targeting of LGBTQ+ communities.

In 2020, the country abolished its legal recognition of transgender people, and in 2021, politicians passed a law banning the depiction of homosexuality to under-18s.

While many were outraged by the attempt to cancel the Pride march, a small number of far-right activists organised demonstrations to show their support:

“Hungary and the Hungarian nation don’t want the aggressive LGBTQ+ propaganda. They are dangerous for our families, they are dangerous for our kids,” said Gabor Kelemen, a member of the 64 Counties Youth Movement.

However, the packed streets showed many disagree.

At one point, as far as the eye could see, the march snaked through streets and across the city’s bridges. The sound of drums and whistles mixing with gay anthems blaring out of speakers.

The organisers said they believed this will be the largest Pride march ever in Budapest.

The crowd was eclectic, with Hungarians from different communities joining a demonstration which many believe is now part of a fight for Hungary’s future.

“This is not only about the complexity of Pride, not only about love or equality… for Hungarians, it’s about sticking together, supporting each other, showing the government that we believe in a different kind of Hungary. We believe in freedom, we believe in democracy,” said activist Adam Kanicsar.

Despite the ban, today Pride attendees were celebrating a victory. But make no mistake, many in Hungary do not support the parade or what they see as an attack on traditional values.

Next year, the country will hold a general election, a vote which will expose how divided Hungary really is.

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Chants of ‘death to America’ at funeral for Iranian military commanders and scientists

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3 hours ago

June 28, 2025

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Chants of 'death to America' at funeral for Iranian military commanders and scientists

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Tehran to mourn top military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Iran’s 12-day war with Israel.

State-run Press TV said the event – dubbed the “funeral procession of the Martyrs of Power” – was held for 60 people, including four women and four children.

It said at least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among the dead, including head of the Revolutionary Guard General Hossein Salami and the head of the guard’s ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Their coffins were driven to Azadi Square on trucks adorned with their pictures as well as rose petals and flowers, as crowds waved Iranian flags.

Chants of “death to America” and “death to Israel” could be heard.

Attending the funeral were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures, including Ali Shamkhani who was seriously wounded during the fighting and is an adviser to Iran‘s supreme leader.

There was no immediate sign of the supreme leader in the state broadcast of the funeral.

Iran’s president later thanked people for turning out.

“From the bottom of my heart, I thank you dear people,” Mr Pezeshkian wrote on social media.

“With love, you bid farewell to the martyrs of our homeland, and our voice of unity reached the ears of the world.”

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi called the deaths “hard and painful”.

Seemingly referencing the recent airstrikes, he added: “Institutions and structures, however important and valuable, return with new glory and greater strength over time, even if it takes years.”

Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said its attacks on Iran aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.

The US joined in by launching strikes on three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran, which Donald Trump said left them “obliterated”, however the exact extent of the damage remains unclear.

Iran denies having a nuclear weapons programme and the UN nuclear watchdog, which carries out inspections in Iran, has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons project.

Over almost two weeks of fighting, Israel claimed it killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, before a ceasefire began on Tuesday.