Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

11 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

12 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

15 hours ago

Elon Musk Says Senate Bill Would Destroy Jobs and Harm US

15 hours ago

Israel Strikes Pound Gaza, Killing 60, Ahead of US Talks on Ceasefire

16 hours ago

Trump’s Administration Finds Harvard Violated Students’ Civil Rights, WSJ Reports

17 hours ago

How Did the Supreme Court Rule? Here’s a Look at the Big Cases

3 days ago
Blinken Says No Ukraine Cease-Fire Without a Peace Deal That Includes Russia's Withdrawal
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
June 2, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that there can be no cease-fire in the war in Ukraine unless it is part of a “just and lasting” peace deal that includes Russia’s military withdrawal.

Blinken said that “a cease-fire that simply freezes current lines in place” and allows Russian President Vladimir Putin “to consolidate control over the territory he has seized, and rest, rearm, and reattack — that is not a just and lasting peace.”

Russia must also pay a share of Ukraine’s reconstruction and be held accountable for launching its full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, Blinken said in a speech during a visit to Finland, which recently joined NATO and shares a long border with Russia.

Allowing Moscow to keep the one-fifth of Ukraine territory it has occupied would send the wrong message to Russia and to “other would-be aggressors around the world,” according to Blinken.

Washington is ready to support peace efforts by other countries, including recent overtures from China and Brazil, he said. But any peace agreement must uphold the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.

The United States is a leading Western ally and supplier of arms to Kyiv to help it push back against the Kremlin’s forces.

China Urges End to Ukraine Weapons Delivery

China, which says it is neutral and wants to serve as a mediator but has supported Moscow politically, on Friday urged countries to stop sending weapons to Ukraine.

In Ukraine, air defenses shot down more than 30 Russian cruise missiles and drones Friday in Moscow’s sixth air attack in six days on Kyiv, local officials said.

The Ukrainian capital was simultaneously attacked from different directions by Iranian-made Shahed drones and cruise missiles from the Caspian region, senior Kyiv official Serhii Popko wrote on Telegram.

A 68-year-old man and an 11-year-old child were wounded in the attack, with private houses, outbuildings and cars sustaining damage from falling debris, according to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office.

A recent spate of attacks on the capital has put strain on residents and tested the strength of Ukraine’s air defenses while Kyiv officials plot what they say is an upcoming counteroffensive to push back the Kremlin’s forces 15 months after their full-scale invasion. Kyiv was the target of drone and missile attacks on 17 days last month, including daylight attacks.

Moscow’s strategy could backfire, however, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.

The air campaign aims to “degrade Ukrainian counteroffensive capabilities, but … the Russian prioritization of Kyiv is likely further limiting the campaign’s ability to meaningfully constrain potential Ukrainian counteroffensive actions,” it said in an assessment late Thursday.

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted all 15 cruise missiles and 21 attack drones, Ukraine’s chief of staff, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said.

Ukraine’s presidential office said Friday that at least four civilians were killed and 42 wounded over the previous 24 hours.

Meanwhile, border regions of Russia once again came under fire from Ukraine. Recent cross-border raids have also rattled those regions of Russia and put the Kremlin on guard.

That could be a Ukrainian strategy to disperse Russian forces before a counteroffensive begins.

“Russian commanders now face an acute dilemma of whether to (strengthen) defenses in Russia’s border regions or reinforce their lines in occupied Ukraine,” the U.K. ministry of defense said Friday.

Air defense systems shot down “several Ukrainian drones” overnight Thursday in Russia’s southern Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, regional Gov. Roman Starovoit wrote on Telegram.

In the neighboring Bryansk region, which also borders Ukraine, regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said that Ukrainian forces shelled two villages on Friday morning. No casualties were reported.

Two drones also attacked energy facilities in Russia’s western Smolensk region, which borders Belarus, in the early hours of Friday, officials said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

DON'T MISS

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

UP NEXT

935 People Killed in Israeli Strikes on Iran, Official Says

UP NEXT

US Revokes Visas for Bob Vylan After Music Duo’s Glastonbury Chants

UP NEXT

Israel Acknowledges Palestinian Civilians Harmed at Gaza Aid Sites, Says ‘Lessons Learned’

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Genocide Accusations Amid Gaza Food Aid Killings

UP NEXT

Iran-Linked Hackers May Target US Firms and Critical Infrastructure, US Government Warns

UP NEXT

Israel Strikes Pound Gaza, Killing 60, Ahead of US Talks on Ceasefire

UP NEXT

US to Restart Trade Negotiations With Canada Immediately, White House Says

UP NEXT

Trump to Sign Order Related to Syria Sanctions Easing, CBS News Reports

UP NEXT

Trump Says a Deal Related to Trade Was Signed With China on Wednesday

UP NEXT

State Department Approves $30 Million for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

9 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

9 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

9 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

9 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

10 hours ago

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

10 hours ago

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

10 hours ago

DOJ Announces Arrest, Indictments in North Korean IT Worker Scheme

10 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Clovis for Sex-Related Crimes Against Minor

10 hours ago

Dyer’s Lobbying Works. Fresno Gets $100M for Downtown From State

10 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

The Clovis Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating an at-risk missing adult last seen on Thursday. Pathmani Goonawarde...

8 hours ago

Clovis Police are searching for Pathmani Goonawardena, 82, who went missing nearly three weeks ago and was last seen driving a white Volvo near Copper and Auberry, possibly en route to Coarsegold. (CHP)
8 hours ago

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

fresno
8 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk attend a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

9 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

Bryan Koberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students, listens during a hearing to overturn his grand jury indictment in Moscow, Idaho, U.S., October 26, 2023. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

The Blanca Fire, burning 12 acres northwest of Lake Madera Country Estates in Madera County, remains active with 0% containment and no reported injuries or structural damage as the cause is under investigation as of Monday, June 30, 2025. (CalFire)
9 hours ago

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

Fresno County CHP arrested two on Interstate 5 after finding about one kilogram of suspected cocaine, a loaded ghost gun, and counterfeit money during a vehicle search on Sunday, June 29, 2025. (CHP)
9 hours ago

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

Gov. Newsom warns Californians to celebrate the Fourth of July safely, emphasizing zero tolerance for illegal fireworks which have surged to over 600,000 pounds seized this year. (Shutterstock)
10 hours ago

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend