KYIV:&nbsp;Russia fired a barrage of missiles at several major Ukrainian cities on Monday, killing at least 11 people and sparking a fire at one of the most important Orthodox monasteries. AFP journalists across Kyiv witnessed residents running through the streets seeking shelter throughout the night as projectiles were intercepted in the sky and glowing debris fell across the darkened city. In response to the assault Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for more pressure on Moscow from G7 leaders, who were gathering at a summit in France set to be dominated by the US-Iranian deal to end the Middle East war. UNESCO heritage siteThe violence killed five people and wounded 34 in the capital as fire broke out on the grounds of the UNESCO world heritage site Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, setting ablaze the roof of its Dormition Cathedral. &quot;This is one of Russia&#39;s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date,&quot; Zelensky said on social media. Founded in the 11th century, the site holds huge significance for Orthodox believers in both Ukraine and Russia. Russia&#39;s military said it had carried out a &quot;massive strike&quot; on military sites in Kyiv, as well as the Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, but denied targeting the Lavra, saying it was hit by an outdated US Patriot air defence missile. Moscow fired 70 missiles and 611 drones, mainly targeting the capital, Ukraine&#39;s air force said, adding it had downed 50 of the missiles and 582 drones. In the morning Kyiv sun, an AFP reporter saw rescuers carefully cleaning up rubble at the monastery, as the church bells rang out the tune of the Ukrainian anthem. Zelensky called for G7 leaders, meeting for a summit in France, to give a &quot;decisive and substantive&quot; response to the attacks. He urged &quot;more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine&#39;s air defence, especially anti-ballistic capabilities.&quot; EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the G7 leaders will &quot;discuss the next steps to increase pressure on Russia, bring (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to the negotiating table, and end this senseless killing.&quot; <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;You cannot strike shrines&#39; </h2>In Kyiv, museum worker Natalia Korol said she was &quot;outraged&quot; by the strike on the monastery. &quot;It is a shrine. They also say that it is their shrine. You cannot strike shrines,&quot; the 52-year-old woman told AFP. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a monastery with emblematic golden domes, is venerated by both the Russian and Ukrainian wings of the Orthodox Church as one of their most important spiritual centers. Its sprawling cave system holds the relics of dozens of saints revered by both churches. The Dormition Cathedral, set alight in the overnight attacks, was almost completely destroyed during World War II and rebuilt only in the 1990s. The Russian Orthodox Church administered the site via its Ukrainian branch for centuries. In 2022-2023, the monks serving in the Ukrainian branch of the Moscow church were evicted from the monastery, accused of having ties to Russia. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the strikes saying &quot;nothing justifies this attack on our universal heritage.&quot; Kyiv&#39;s Metropolitan Epiphanius denounced the attack. &quot;What more must the Kremlin antichrist do for the world to realize that decisive action must be taken to stop Russian terror against Ukraine and against the very principles of peace?&quot; A building in the capital&#39;s Mystetsky Arsenal National Art and Museum Complex also caught fire, according to Ukraine&#39;s emergency service. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Bring about peace&#39;&nbsp;</h2>In total, 11 people were killed in the overnight barrage, including four in Kyiv and five -- rescue workers and a civil servant -- in the northeastern city of Kharkiv. In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike also killed three people and wounded three others in the Russian city of Tula, around 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of Moscow, the regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said on Monday. The strikes came hours after the US and Iran announced a peace deal and after Zelensky and Putin both called their US counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday to discuss the conflict in Ukraine. Russia&#39;s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has turned into Europe&#39;s worst conflict since World War II, with thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of troops killed. Amid near-daily pummeling of its cities by Russian drones and missiles, Ukraine has in recent weeks stepped up its own aerial attacks, which it says mostly target Russia&#39;s oil infrastructure to sap its profits that fund the war.

Europe

Russia fired a barrage of missiles at several major Ukrainian cities on Monday, killing at least 11 people and sparking a fire at one of the most important Orthodox monasteries.

Deadly Russian strikes leave landmark Kyiv cathedral in flames

GENEVA:&nbsp;The United Nations rights chief warned Thursday against a &quot;dangerous escalation&quot; in Ukraine, and Russia&#39;s threats to ramp up attacks, urging both sides to return to the negotiating table. &quot;I strongly urge restraint. Resume negotiations and end the suffering,&quot; Volker Turk said in a statement. His appeal comes days after one of the worst combined missile and drone attacks on Kyiv since <a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/russia-threatens-more-strikes-on-kyiv-urges-foreigners-to-leave-city" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Russia</a> launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago. It was the latest in a string of large-scale attacks by Russia in recent weeks. The <a href="https://pakistantv.com/article/russia-kills-4-in-massive-ukraine-attack-after-vowing-retaliation" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">UN rights office</a> said 815 civilians had been killed and 4,174 injured in Ukraine in the first four months of 2026 -- a 21% increase in civilian casualties over the same period last year. &quot;As if all these casualty figures weren&#39;t horrifying enough on their own, following these attacks, Russian officials have publicly threatened to increase attacks across Kyiv,&quot; Turk said.&nbsp;Call for avoiding civilian harm&quot;International humanitarian law demands that parties to a conflict take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm,&quot; he said. &quot;These are not simply suggestions or recommendations, but binding obligations carrying legal responsibility for those involved.&quot; His office also pointed to an attack by Ukrainian armed forces on an educational complex in the occupied city of Starobilsk on May 21-22, in which Russian authorities say 21 people were killed and 44 injured. &quot;The UN Human Rights Office has conducted a thorough review of publicly-available information, which indicates that the educational facilities were operational at the time of the attack and that civilians -- many of them students -- were killed or injured,&quot; it said. Eighteen of those killed were women, it said, adding that attacks by Ukrainian armed forces had also killed and injured civilians within Russia itself. Turk called on both Russian and Ukrainian authorities to conduct &quot;prompt, independent, and effective investigations and hold those responsible accountable&quot;.

The UN rights office said 815 civilians had been killed and 4,174 injured in Ukraine in the first four months of 2026 -- a 21% increase in civilian casualties over the same period last year.

UN condemns 'dangerous escalation' in Ukraine war

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;US President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia starting Saturday, saying he hoped it could lead to long term deal to end Moscow&#39;s war.&nbsp;Russia had previously announced a two-day unilateral ceasefire to mark its May 9 World War II Victory Day on Saturday. Ukraine previously stated that it too had offered a truce but that this had been ignored by Moscow.&nbsp;The truce would also include a mutual swap of 1,000 prisoners each, said Trump, who has struggled to end the four-year conflict he once pledged to solve within a day of taking office last year.&nbsp;&quot;I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,&quot; Trump said on his Truth Social network.&nbsp;&quot;This request was made directly by me, and I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,&quot; said the US president.&nbsp;&quot;Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War.&quot;&nbsp;Fighting continuesRussia and Ukraine traded attacks on Friday before Trump&#39;s announcement.&nbsp;Ukraine had previously never said it would abide by Moscow&#39;s call to briefly halt strikes, lambasting Putin for only wanting to pause fighting so he could stage Saturday&#39;s annual military parade on Red Square.&nbsp;Kyiv said Moscow had ignored a Ukrainian proposal to halt fighting earlier this week -- a counter-offer for a short-term ceasefire. Zelensky had cast it as a test of whether the Kremlin was serious about providing a brief respite in the four-year war.&nbsp;Russia has threatened a massive strike on the heart of Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the Victory Day parade, repeatedly urging foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital ahead of time.&nbsp;On the streets of Kyiv before Trump&#39;s announcement, some brushed off the Russian threats.&nbsp;&quot;Nothing new will happen,&quot; Vasyl Kobzar, a 40-year-old bank employee, told AFP. &quot;I&#39;m worried, but it&#39;s become routine, unfortunately.&quot;&nbsp;Ukrainian officials told AFP there had been no orders for additional security measures to be taken so far. &quot;We&#39;re just giving (the Russians) the finger,&quot; said one lawmaker, speaking anonymously.&nbsp;Ukraine&#39;s air force said Russia had fired 67 drones overnight -- the lowest number in almost a month.&nbsp;&quot;Despite the declared ceasefire, the enemy has not reduced the intensity of assault operations,&quot; Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine was responding in kind.&nbsp;Russia said it had downed more than 400 Ukrainian drones -- 100 of them targeting Moscow -- since midnight, and that its troops were &quot;responding symmetrically&quot;.&nbsp;A Ukrainian drone killed a 41-year-old man and his 15-year-old daughter in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine&rsquo;s Kherson region, said the Moscow-backed administration.&nbsp;Zelensky hailed a Ukrainian strike on an oil depot in the Yaroslavl region, around 200 kilometres (about 125 miles) northeast of Moscow.&nbsp;Some 13 airports in southern Russia were closed Friday after a Ukrainian drone hit an air navigation centre in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, Moscow&#39;s transport ministry said. It later said that flights had been partially restored.&nbsp;Putin convened a security council meeting over the strike, calling it an &quot;act of a terrorist nature&quot; that could endanger civil aviation.&nbsp;No tanksUkraine had dismissed Russia&#39;s temporary truce as a propaganda measure to protect the victory parade on May 9 -- one of the most important patriotic events for Putin.&nbsp;Hours before Russia&#39;s ceasefire began, Zelensky warned Moscow&#39;s allies against attending the parade.&nbsp;Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides and tens of thousands of civilians, most of them in Ukraine, have been killed since Putin ordered the invasion in February 2022.&nbsp;Putin has made memory of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany a central narrative of his 25-year rule, staging massive parades in central Moscow on May 9 and invoking it to justify his invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;But military hardware will be absent from the parade for the first time in almost two decades and only a handful of foreign guests will attend.&nbsp;Talks on ending what has spiralled into Europe&#39;s worst conflict since World War II have shown little progress and have been sidelined by the Iran conflict.

Americas

US President Donald Trump announces that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to observe a three-day truce starting Saturday and a mutual swap of 1,000 prisoners each.

Trump announces three-day Ukraine-Russia ceasefire

MOSCOW: Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on Saturday he was heading to Miami, where another round of talks to settle the Ukraine war was set to take place. Ukrainian and European teams were also in the sunny American city for the negotiations mediated by Donald Trump&#39;s envoy Steve Witkoff and the US president&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner. &lsquo;On the way to Miami&rsquo;&ldquo;On the way to Miami,&rdquo; Dmitriev wrote in an X post, adding a pigeon emoji and attaching a short video of a morning sun shining through the clouds on a beach with palms. &ldquo;As warmongers keep working overtime to undermine the US peace plan for Ukraine, I remembered this video from my previous visit -- light breaking through the storm clouds,&rdquo; he added.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2002247452825440352&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=1de18ebc49bf61c3bd3b6890b602e575d3f1e94b&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 875px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>Russian and European involvement in the talks marks a step forward from an earlier stage, when the Americans held separate negotiations with each side in different locations. However, it is unlikely Dmitriev would hold direct talks with Ukrainian and European negotiators as relations between the two sides remain extremely strained. &lsquo;Pro-war&rsquo; leaders&nbsp;Moscow, which sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, argues that Europe&rsquo;s involvement in the talks would only hinder the process and tends to paint the continent&rsquo;s leaders as pro-war. The weekend talks come after President Vladimir Putin vowed to press ahead with his military offensive in Ukraine, hailing Moscow&rsquo;s battlefield gains nearly four years into his war in an annual news conference on Friday. Trump&rsquo;s envoys have pressed a plan in which the United States would offer security guarantees to Ukraine, but Kyiv will likely be expected to surrender some territory, a prospect resented by many Ukrainians.

Trump’s envoys have pressed a plan in which the United States would offer security guarantees to Ukraine, but Kyiv will likely be expected to surrender some territory, a prospect resented by many Ukrainians.

Russian envoy to join Ukraine talks in Miami

STRASBOURG:&nbsp;EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday the bloc must take a decision on financing Ukraine at a crunch summit this week, with leaders under pressure to agree a plan to use frozen Russian assets. &ldquo;There is no more important act of European defense than supporting Ukraine&#39;s defense. The next days will be a crucial step for securing this, it is up to us to choose how we fund Ukraine&#39;s fight,&rdquo; von der Leyen told EU lawmakers. &ldquo;We know the urgency. It is acute. We all feel it. We all see it.&rdquo; 90B Euro loanVon der Leyen is pushing a plan to use frozen Russian central bank assets to provide Kyiv a 90-billion-euro loan over the next two years -- but that move faces fierce opposition from Belgium, which hosts most of the funds. Belgium fears the scheme could open it up to Russian reprisals and is insisting on rock-solid guarantees from other EU countries that they will share any legal and financial liabilities. Attempts to reassure the Belgian government have so far failed to break the deadlock, setting up a potentially marathon round of wrangling at the summit starting Thursday. In theory other EU leaders could override Belgium and ram the initiative through with a weighted majority -- but that would be a nuclear option that few see as likely for now. Fallback plan&nbsp;Von der Leyen&#39;s executive has floated a potential fallback plan of the EU raising the money itself to lend Ukraine. Diplomats have said that scheme appears to be a non-starter as it requires unanimous approval from the EU&#39;s 27 leaders and Hungary has ruled it out. &ldquo;We will have to decide which way we want to take, which route we want to take -- but one thing is very, very clear, we have to take the decision to fund Ukraine,&rdquo; von der Leyen said. &ldquo;This is also about strengthening Ukraine&#39;s ability to secure a real peace, one that is just, one that is lasting, and one that protects Ukraine and Europe.&rdquo;

Ursula von der Leyen tells EU lawmakers, ‘There is no more important act of European defense than supporting Ukraine's defense. The next days will be a crucial step for securing this, it is up to us to choose how we fund Ukraine's fight.’ 

Coming days crucial for keeping Ukraine funded: EU chief

Maham Khan

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;At first glance, it feels almost anachronistic&mdash;two countries announcing a barter agreement in the third decade of the 21st century, in a world hurtling towards a cashless economy. Yet, this is precisely the economic route countries like Pakistan, Iran, and Russia seem to be charting in 2025. On Sunday, Pakistan and Iran formally signed an amended Business-to-Business (B2B) Barter Trade Mechanism, first introduced in 2023, aimed at boosting bilateral trade between the two sanction-hit economies. The news was confirmed by Pakistan&#39;s Ambassador in Tehran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu. According to Tipu, the revised statutory regulatory order (SRO) followed &ldquo;an exhaustive process of deliberations,&rdquo; and addressed longstanding concerns of the business communities in both countries. He expressed optimism that the framework would &quot;substantially elevate Pakistan-Iran trade and diversify its base.&quot; Business bodies and chambers of commerce were encouraged to circulate the SRO among their members to enable them to capitalize on what he termed &ldquo;mutually-beneficial trade dividends.&rdquo; This development follows another high-profile barter deals. In October 2024, Pakistan signed a barter deal with Russia in Moscow. According to Pakistan&rsquo;s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the agreement involved Russian firms and Pakistani companies exchanging agricultural commodities such as chickpeas, rice, mandarins, potatoes, and lentils. The deals were sealed during the first-ever Pakistan-Russia Trade and Investment Forum, with over 60 Pakistani firms showcasing goods and services with a combined export value exceeding $500 million. The forum also featured high-ranking Russian officials and banks, who expressed an interest in alternative payment mechanisms given the continuing SWIFT sanctions on Russia. Why barter? Why now? The resurrection of barter as a tool of statecraft and economic survival has not gone unnoticed. Once relegated to history books, barter has made a curious comeback. To be clear: this isn&rsquo;t romantic nostalgia for ancient trade routes or a step toward alternative economic utopias. Rather, it is a direct response to modern geopolitical and financial constraints, especially in economies heavily burdened by sanctions, currency volatility, and restricted access to global banking infrastructure. According to economist Dr Ikramul Haq, barter offers developing countries like Pakistan a strategic lifeline in a world where Western-dominated financial institutions and reserve currencies&mdash;primarily the US dollar&mdash;remain gatekeepers of international trade. For nations under sanctions such as Iran and Russia, barter becomes less of an option and more of a necessity. &ldquo;The bartering system helps to end dependence on keeping foreign exchange reserves and mitigate fluctuations,&rdquo; Dr Haq explained. &ldquo;In case of Iran and Russia, the additional reason is sanctions on banks imposed by the US and other states.&rdquo; This also explains why Dr Haq advocates for Pakistan to expand such mechanisms to all &quot;Golden Ring&quot; countries&mdash;a term sometimes used to refer to the emerging bloc of Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan. Iran: A crisis economy Iran&rsquo;s embrace of barter is less a strategic pivot than an act of economic survival. Its 2025 macroeconomic outlook is, by most accounts, grim. According to the World Bank, Iran is projected to experience a 1.7% contraction in GDP this year, with the Iranian Parliament&#39;s own research center forecasting -0.3% growth in the first half alone. This is compounded by inflation, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting a 43.3% inflation rate for 2025, up from 32.6% in 2024. Sanctions are at the heart of Iran&rsquo;s economic woes.&nbsp;Renewed UN sanctions, reinstated in September 2025, have severely impacted the country&rsquo;s oil revenue and foreign exchange reserves. The 12-day war with Israel only accelerated inflationary expectations and currency depreciation. Meanwhile, Iran&rsquo;s currency&nbsp;is in free fall. While officially pegged at 42,000 IRR per USD, the free-market rate is substantially worse. In the most pessimistic&mdash;but widely accepted&mdash;scenario outlined by the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, inflation could hit 90% and the exchange rate could reach 165,000 tomans (equivalent to 1.65 million rials) per dollar by the end of the year. Poverty is escalating just as quickly. The World Bank estimates that 32.7 million Iranians, out of a population of 86 million, now live on less than $8.30/day, the international poverty threshold. Despite a life expectancy of 77.7 years, Iran&rsquo;s per capita GDP stands at $5,528.9, with total GDP at $475.3 billion (in 2024). Against this backdrop, barter offers Tehran a path&mdash;however limited&mdash;to bypass the dollarized international system and maintain trade flows without exhausting its dwindling reserves and navigating sanctioned banking channels. Russia: Sanctioned but still trading The Russian economy, though more resilient than Iran&rsquo;s, is also being dragged toward alternative trade arrangements by necessity. Following years of Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, Russia&#39;s access to the global banking system remains severely constrained. The IMF&rsquo;s 2025 report revised Russia&rsquo;s GDP growth forecast to 0.6%, down sharply from 4.3% in 2024. While not collapsing, the Russian economy is clearly losing steam. Several factors are contributing to this slowdown: 1. &nbsp; &nbsp;High interest rates imposed by the Central Bank to curb inflation 2. &nbsp; &nbsp;Reduced oil revenues due to global price volatility and export limits 3. &nbsp; &nbsp;Dwindling fiscal reserves, which had previously cushioned the impact of sanctions Inflation remains persistent, projected at 9% in 2025&mdash;more than double the global average. Meanwhile, the ruble, which has seen periods of extreme volatility, is currently trading at around 81 per USD. Some analysts predict a gradual devaluation, with one Central Bank survey expecting it to average 102 per USD before year&rsquo;s end. Still, Russia has adapted in typical Kremlin fashion&mdash;by building elaborate sanctions evasion networks and deepening ties with countries willing to trade outside the dollar-based system. India, the UAE, and China continue to do business with Moscow, albeit with their own forms of risk mitigation. For Pakistan, therefore, entering a barter arrangement with Russia isn&#39;t just symbolic&mdash;it&rsquo;s practical. It offers access to agricultural exports, manufacturing goods, and even energy commodities, without dealing with SWIFT-related complications. Is barter a long-term economic model? Barter is not without its critics. Most mainstream economists and leading financial institutes&mdash;including Merwan Engineer, Shouyong Shi and even David Graeber&mdash;consider it inefficient or inherently limited. Without a standard medium of exchange, trade requires perfect bilateral balance&mdash;something rare in complex global supply chains. There are also logistical challenges: matching needs, coordinating delivery timelines, and ensuring equivalency in value. However, in sanction-heavy geo-economic environments, these inefficiencies are often deemed a worthwhile price to pay for strategic autonomy. As Dr Haq noted, barter arrangements allow developing economies to maintain trade relationships, conserve foreign reserves, and resist dependency on Western financial systems. That said, barter alone is not a remedy. For it to function as a sustainable supplement&mdash;not just a sanction workaround&mdash;countries must build legal frameworks, logistics networks, and valuation protocols. The involvement of chambers of commerce, as seen in the Pakistan-Iran SRO, is a step in that direction. But the elephant in the room remains: is this a temporary adaptation, or a signal of a deeper shift in the global economic order? Beyond barter Some experts see the return of barter not as nostalgia, but as a prelude to a new parallel financial system&mdash;a multipolar world where dollar hegemony is diluted by yuan, and local currencies backed by commodity exchange or digital tokens. Efforts like Russia&rsquo;s Mir payment system, China&rsquo;s digital yuan, and bilateral clearing mechanisms between BRICS nations indicate that barter may be a stepping stone toward broader de-dollarization efforts. If so, Pakistan, Iran, and Russia are early adopters of a model born not of economic idealism but of necessity&mdash;required due to sanctions, resource constraints, and diplomatic isolation. Final thoughts Barter, once dismissed as archaic, now occupies an unlikely position in the toolbox of 21st-century economic diplomacy. While unlikely to replace modern financial systems, it offers a stopgap&mdash;and in some cases, a strategy&mdash;for nations navigating a world of geopolitical fragmentation and asymmetric economic power.

People barter goods in San Miguel market, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina. (REUTERS)

Banking

Business

Developing nations like Pakistan, Iran, and Russia are reviving barter trade as a strategic workaround to bypass dollar dependence, financial sanctions, and restricted global banking access.


In the age of digital trade, why are developing countries turning to barter?

SEOUL: North Korea showed off its &quot;most powerful&quot; intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade attended by top officials from Russia and China, Pyongyang&#39;s state media reported Saturday. The event to mark 80 years under the ruling Workers&#39; Party came as leader Kim Jong Un has been emboldened by the war in Ukraine, securing critical support from Russia after sending thousands of North Korean troops to fight alongside Moscow&#39;s forces. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia&#39;s Security Council and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, attended the parade Friday alongside Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Vietnam&#39;s leader To Lam -- all seated near Kim, according to images released by the official Korean Central News Agency. Intercontinental ballistic missileThe spectacle featured some of the country&#39;s most advanced weapons, including its new Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which KCNA described as its &quot;most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system&quot;. Thousands of people in colorful traditional dress filled the streets of the North Korean capital for the late-night event, the images showed, waving national flags and cheering as weapons rumbled down the main streets. Among the featured weapons, long-range strategic cruise missiles, drone launch vehicles, and ground-to-air and ground-to-ground missiles paraded one after another, KCNA added. &lsquo;Invincible&rsquo; army&nbsp;The country&#39;s &quot;invincible&quot; army &quot;has always added doubled strength to our Party&#39;s efforts to overcome difficulties and bring earlier a bright future&quot;, Kim said in a speech. He made an apparent nod to North Korean troops fighting alongside Moscow&#39;s forces in Russia&#39;s war against Ukraine. &quot;The heroic fighting spirit displayed, and the victory achieved, by our revolutionary armed forces on the foreign battlefields for international justice ... demonstrated the ideological and spiritual perfection,&quot; he said, according to KCNA. Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul has said. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&lsquo;In love&rsquo; &nbsp;</h2>The parade displayed the isolated, nuclear-armed country&#39;s &quot;inexhaustible defense technology potential and its astonishing pace of development that the world can no longer ignore&quot;, KCNA said. The celebrations in Pyongyang come after Seoul said a meeting between North Korea and the United States &quot;cannot be ruled out&quot; on the sidelines of this year&#39;s APEC summit in South Korea. US President Donald Trump met Kim three times during his first term and once said the pair had fallen &quot;in love&quot;, but he ultimately failed to secure a lasting agreement on North Korea&#39;s nuclear programme. &lsquo;Irreversible&rsquo; nuclear state&nbsp;Since then Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an &quot;irreversible&quot; nuclear state. Last month, Kim appeared alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin at an elaborate military parade in Beijing. In a joint statement from Moscow and Pyongyang released by KCNA earlier this week, Russia&#39;s ruling party said it &quot;expressed firm support for the measures taken&quot; by North Korea &quot;to bolster up the country&#39;s defense capabilities&quot;. &lsquo;Structural shift&rsquo;&nbsp;Seong-Hyon Lee, a visiting scholar at the Harvard University Asia Center, told AFP: &quot;It is crucial to see this parade not as an isolated event, but as the culmination of a deliberate, structural shift in regional geopolitics.&quot;&quot;It serves as a stark warning that Seoul&#39;s strengthened alliance with Washington will be met with a consolidated and powerful trilateral bloc on its doorstep.&quot;&nbsp;

Asia

The intercontinental ballistic missile was put on display at a military parade attended by top officials from Russia and China; the event was held to mark 80 years under the ruling Workers' Party. 

Articles tagged with "Ukraine-Russia War"