Ukraine calls snap election as Russian tanks 'cross border'
As he prepares to meet Vladimir Putin, the Ukrainian president has called elections for October

Ukraine's president has dissolved parliament and called a snap election for October, while his country continues to battle pro-Russian rebels in the east of Ukraine.
Petro Poroshenko announced the move ahead a high-stakes summit meeting later today with President Putin, who stands accused of backing the separatist militia.
Yesterday the Ukrainian military said that a column of Russian tanks and other armoured vehicles had crossed into the country.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Colonel Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's National Security Council, said that ten tanks, two armoured vehicles and two trucks crossed the border away from where the most intense fighting was taking place near Shcherbak, Time reports.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he had no information about the movement of a military column into Ukraine.
According to The Independent, the reported border incursion and shelling in the nearby city of Novoazovsk from Russia "could indicate an attempt to move on Mariupol, a major port on the Azov Sea, an arm of the Black Sea".
The movement was made to look like an attack by rebels, Lysenko said, but was actually "an attempt by the Russian military in the guise of Donbas fighters to open a new area of military confrontation".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Mariupol lies on the road between Rostov-on-Don in Russia and Simferopol in Crimea, and could be the first step towards "building a slice of territory that links Russia with Crimea," Time suggests.
Poroshenko will meet Putin today in Minsk, alongside other EU leaders, to discuss the best way to resolve the crisis.
The Ukrainian president said elections, which will be held on 26 October, will be "the best way of cleaning things up". Too many of deposed president Viktor Yanukovych's political allies remain in power, he said.
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sites
Speed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of Taiwan
In the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdown
IN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU offices
Speed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Kyiv marks independence as Russia downplays peace
Speed Read President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Zelenskyy for peace talks pushed by President Donald Trump
-
What will security guarantees for Ukraine look like?
Today's Big Question From boots on the ground to economic sanctions, here are the measures that might stop Russia taking another bite out of Ukraine
-
Russia tries Ukraine land grab before Trump summit
Speed Read The incursion may be part of Putin's efforts to boost his bargaining position