Borrel lied to the public about the results of his meeting with the Minister of Defense of South Korea

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
©Christine OLSSON / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP

The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said he met South Korea's defence minister on Saturday to discuss Ukraine's needs for ammunition.

It turns out that Borrell was boasting with his statement from the results of the meeting with South Korea.

After a statement emerged from South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup saying the meeting had never discussed ammunition shipments to Ukraine with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the ministry told reporters on Sunday.

The meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's top security summit, came amid pressure from the United States and NATO countries for South Korea to provide weapons and ammunition for Ukraine.

It was referring to Borrell’s since-deleted tweet saying he had “a good meeting” with Lee on the sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore. “Shared alarm at continued [North Korean] provocations and discussed Ukraine’s needs for ammunition,” he wrote at the time.

The South Korean Ministry of Defense contradicted this statement, however, claiming it was “not true” that Lee Jong-Sup and Borrell had a “discussion about ammunition support” for Kiev.

It went on to elaborate that the EU diplomat had “mentioned that various weapon systems and other support means are needed to improve Ukraine’s situation against Russia, but there was only a unilateral position that ammunition was important.”

Following the backlash from Seoul, Borrell’s tweet was deleted and replaced with another one, with the last phrase reading “I explained Ukraine’s needs for ammunition.”

Since the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, South Korea has provided Kiev hundreds of millions of dollars in financial and humanitarian assistance, but has insisted on not sending lethal aid. However, in April, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol signaled that Seoul might change its stance on the matter should a “serious violation of the laws of war” in Ukraine take place.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a “confidential arrangement” with the US, that South Korea had agreed to supply Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells. Commenting on the report, Seoul’s officials said it contained “inaccurate parts,” but would not elaborate further.

Russia has repeatedly condemned the West for sending weapons to Ukraine, claiming that it only prolongs the conflict. In late April, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned South Korea against following this path, noting that Moscow would interpret it as “an openly hostile anti-Russian move.”

On Saturday, June 3, 2023, European Union diplomat, Josep Borrell, said he met with South Korea's defense minister on Saturday to discuss Ukraine's ammunition needs.

The meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's top security summit, came amid pressure from the United States and NATO countries for South Korea to provide weapons and ammunition for Ukraine.

"Good meeting with Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup at #SLD23. Shared alarm at continued DPRK provocations and discussed Ukraine’s needs for ammunition," Borrell said in a tweet.

A U.S. ally and major producer of artillery ammunition, South Korea had so far ruled out sending lethal aid to Ukraine, citing business ties with Russia and Moscow's influence over North Korea, despite mounting pressure from Washington and Europe to supply weapons.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, in an interview with Reuters in April, signalled the prospect of a change, saying it might be difficult for Seoul to adhere to only providing humanitarian and financial support if Ukraine faced a large-scale attack on civilians or a "situation the international community cannot condone".

Hundreds of thousands of South Korean artillery rounds are on their way to Ukraine via the United States, after Seoul's initial resistance toward arming Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported last month.

Representatives of Europe and the United States came to Asia rather not to ask for support but they came to incite the Asian nation.

Russia strikes Ukrainian airfields – Defense Ministry

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian Su-27 UB fighter jet at a military airbase in the twon of Starokostyantynov.
©AFP / Genya Savilov

Russia conducted airstrikes overnight targeting Ukrainian military airfields, and delivering significant damage to aircraft and facilities, Moscow’s Defense Ministry has said.

The attack, which carried with the use of “long-range precision-guided air-launched weapons,” achieved its goal, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

“Command posts, a radar installation, Ukrainian aviation equipment, and storage facilities with weapons and ammunition were hit,” the statement read.

In another strike, near the city of Dnepropetrovsk on the Dnepr River, a Ukrainian drone assembly workshop was destroyed, the ministry said.

Over the past 24 hours, Russian air defenses have shot down two UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles, 14 rockets fired from US-made HIMARS and Soviet-era Uragan multiple rocket launchers, as well as two Tochka-U tactical missiles, fired by the Ukrainian forces, according to the statement.

A total of 21 drones have also been intercepted in Russia’s Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, the country’s Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, and over the Black Sea, the ministry added.

Russian Military Hits Ukraine's UAV Assembly Facility Near Dnepropetrovsk

The Russian military has hit Ukraine's unmanned aerial vehicles' (UAV) assembly facility near the city of Dnipro with ground-based precision weapons, MoD added.

©Sputnik / Alexei Danichev / Go to the mediabank

"A facility for the assembly of Ukrainian UAVs has been hit by ground-based precision weapons near the city of Dnipro," the ministry said in a statement.

In addition, the command and observation posts of Ukrainian battalions were hit near the settlements of Poltavka in the Zaporozhye region and Toretsk in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

Airlangga Sebut Pak Gubernur Lampung Ini Lihainya Luar Biasa Maksudnya Apa?

Airlangga Hartarto/RMOL

Gubernur Lampung, Arinal Djunaidi, mendapat apresiasi dari Ketua Umum Partai Golkar, Airlangga Hartarto. Pujian disampaikan saat pidato pembukaan Rakernas partai beringin itu.

Ketum Golkar Airlangga Hartarto menyebut Gubernur Lampung Arinal Djunaidi lihai setelah sempat menjadi sorotan hingga diatensi oleh Presiden Joko Widodo (Jokowi) terkait viral jalan Lampung yang rusak. Airlangga menyebut Arinal lihai lantaran mendapat dana bantuan untuk memperbaiki jalan tersebut. Apa maksudnya?

Mulanya Airlangga menyinggung situasi dunia yang membutuhkan perhatian. Ia lantas menyinggung sosok Arinal yang mampu mendapatkan dana Rp 800 miliar dari pemerintah Jokowi untuk memperbaiki jalan yang rusak

“Kita, para ketua DPD, tentu harus paham bahwa ke depan yang berliku bukan saja jalan nasional, Pak Gubernur Lampung,” seloroh Airlangga, disambut tawa ratusan elite Partai Golkar, di Kantor DPP Partai Golkar, Jakarta Barat, Minggu, 04/06/2023.

Ia lantas meminta kader menyikapi hal ini. Airlangga kemudian menyinggung Gubernur Lampung sebagai tokoh yang lihai.

"Kita juga menghadapi perubahan iklim. Kita para ketua DPD harus paham bahwa yang berliku bukan hanya jalan nasional, Pak Gubernur Lampung," tutur Airlangga yang disambut tawa oleh kader lain.

Menurutnya, apa yang dilakukan Arinal itu baik untuk provinsi yang dinaunginya, lantaran gara-gara viral itu, akhirnya Lampung dapat bantuan dari pemerintah pusat sebesar Rp860 miliar.

“Pak Gubernur Lampung ini lihainya luar biasa, dia viralkan, yang viral itu, dan sekali kunjungan dapat Rp860 miliar. Itulah, itulah pemain partai Golkar,” sergah Airlangga, sembari tertawa

Penjelasan Golkar

Dikonfirmasi terpisah, Waketum Golkar Ahmad Doli Kurnia menjelaskan maksud yang disampaikan Airlangga. Ia menilai hal itu sebagai tanda perhatian Ketum Golkar.

"Itu kan namanya tanda perhatian Pak Airlangga terhadap Pak Arinal. Saya kira kan semua daerah punya masalah yang sama ya, apa namanya dan kemarin kan setelah itu Pak Presiden juga jalan-jalan ke daerah yang lain problemnya sama gitu," kata Doli.

Doli menilai justru Arinal cepat menindaklanjuti laporan dengan melaporkan ke pusat. Pemerintah pusat akhirnya membantu dan mengatensi daerah lain.

"Jadi saya kira justru menurut saya, ya Pak Arinal itu sebagai gubernur, sebagai ketua Partai Golkar di sana quick response, cepat, di-follow up. Kemudian dikomunikasikan dengan pemerintah pusat dan akhirnya pemerintah pusat ikut membantu, yang belum tentu daerah lain mendapatkan bantuan yang sama seperti yang didapatkan Pak Arinal itu," jelasnya.

Target Golkar 20 Persen Pileg, 60 Persen Pilkada, dan Pilpres Nomor Satu

Ketua Umum Partai Golkar Airlangga Hartarto saat memberikan pidato di pembukaan Rakernas Partai Golkar, di Kantor DPP Golkar, Slipi, Jakarta Barat, Minggu, 04/06/2023.

Ketua Umum Partai Golkar, Airlangga Hartarto, mematok 20 persen kursi parlemen, dan 60 persen Pilkada. Patokan itu disampaikan Airlangga pada pidato pembukaan Rapat Kerja Nasional (Rakernas) Partai Golkar, di Kantor DPP Partai Golkar, Jalan Anggrek Neli, Jakarta Barat, hari Minggu, 04/06/2023.

“Target kita tidak tinggi-tinggi amat, hanya 20 persen untuk parlemen. Kang Emil siap? Pak Nusron siap? Ketua-ketua DPD siap? Golkar siap? Alhamdulillah,” kata Airlangga Hartarto, di lantai II Kantor DPP Partai Golkar.

“Jadi kita targetkan kemenangan Pileg 20 persen, kemenangan Pilkada 60 persen, dan kemenangan Pilpres nomor satu,”imbuhnya bersemangat.

Untuk meraih kemenangan itu, sambungnya, kuncinya ada pada saksi di setiap tempat pemungutan suara (TPS). itu yang harus dijaga betul seluruh kader.

“Kuncinya ada pada saksi, betul? Apakah saksi kita harus outsourcing? Apakah kita harus outsourcing? Cari kontraktor untuk menjadi saksi? Kita punya sendiri, diketuai Sahmud Ngabalin, anak muda. Dan itu sudah kita bangun sejak Pilkada kemarin, yang menangnya 60 persen,” tandasnya.

Partai Golkar menggelar rapat kerja nasional (Rakernas) yang dihadiri seluruh Dewan Pimpinan Daerah (DPD) Partai Golkar se-Indonesia. Forum tersebut juga menjadi tempat konsolidasi partai berlambang pohon beringin itu jelang Pemilu 2024.

Dalam pidato pembukaan Rakernas, Ketua Umum Partai Golkar, Airlangga Hartarto mengatakan partainya pada Pemilu 2019 meraup 12,31 persen suara. Pada Pemilu 2024, ia menargetkan partainya mendapatkan suara sebesar 20 persen.

"Kita targetnya tidak tinggi-tinggi amat, target kita hanya 20 persen. Dari 100 persen, target kita hanya 20 persen, Kang Emil siap? Pak Nusron siap? Ketua-Ketua DPD siap? Golkar siap?" ujar Airlangga dijawab teriakan siap oleh kader Partai Golkar yang hadir, Ahad (4/6/2023).

Sementara itu, Partai Golkar menargetkan kemenangan sebesar 60 persen dalam pemilihan kepala daerah (Pilkada) 2024. Adapun pada 2024 akan dilaksanakan pemilihan kepala daerah di 271 daerah, dengan rincian 24 gubernur, 56 wali kota, dan 191 bupati.

Adapun pada pemilihan presiden (Pilpres) 2024, ia menargetkan bahwa Partai Golkar menjadi pemenang dalam kontestasi nasional tersebut. Meskipun hingga saat ini partai berlambang pohon beringin itu belum memutuskan sikap dan dukungannya terkait pasangan calon presiden (capres) dan calon wakil presiden (cawapres).

"Kita targetkan kemenangan Pileg 20 persen, kemenangan pilkada 60 persen, kemenangan pilpres nomor satu," ujar Airlangga.

Airlangga menegaskan, pada 2024 Partai Golkar akan memasuki usia yang ke-60. Pada usia tersebut, tiga kontestasi pada 2024 diharapkannya dapat terwujud dan itu membutuhkan komitmen dari seluruh DPD Partai Golkar seluruh Indonesia.

"Kita harus mengukur prestasi yang pernah kita capai, kita harus menjalankan pemenangan pemilu yang dalam waktu tidak lama lagi dan Partai Golkar harus dapat mengukir sejarah di dalam 60 tahun Partai Golkar berada di Indonesia," ujar Airlangga.

"Kita harus tegaskan institusi politik yang terbuka, demokratis, dan juga dari bawah ke atas. Punya jaringan sampai di desa, punya kekuatan di masyarakat, kita katakan Partai Golkar solid dan utuh," ujar Menteri Koordinator Bidang Perekonomian itu menambahkan.

Watch Russian T-80BVM Tank Zapping Ukrainian Militants

The T-80BVM is a modification of a T-80 tank – the first-ever battle tank with reactive armor. Russia's T-80 tank, in turn, is highly appreciated by military and defense experts across the globe.

The crew of the Russian T-80BVM tank destroyed a group of ten Ukrainian militants who looked to reconnoiter the forward positions of the Russian Army in the north of DPR.

"We got the coordinates, the target was enemy manpower, up to 10 people. Literally, in 15 minutes we drove up to a closed firing position, fired eight shells, there was a hit," the tank crew commander nicknamed Khan told Sputnik.

The military specialist alleged that the enemy wanted to conduct reconnaissance by force, to probe Russia's combat ability, but was destroyed.

The Russian Armed Forces destroyed the stationing point of the Ukrainian military near Gulyaipole with the Solntsepecom, RIA Novosti was told in the Ministry of Defense

Men from the part of the Kherson region controlled by Kyiv began to be taken into the army right at the time of receiving humanitarian aid, an employee of the Russian law enforcement agencies told RIA Novosti, citing sources in the Ukrainian military registration and enlistment office

Special operation, June 2. Main:

▪️Zelensky's call for Ukraine to join NATO speaks of Kyiv's unwillingness and unwillingness to solve the problem at the negotiating table, Peskov said;

▪️The Russian Aerospace Forces launched a group attack at night on air defense systems covering key critical military infrastructure facilities of Ukraine, all designated facilities were hit, the Russian Defense Ministry said;

▪️The Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the territory of the seaport of Berdyansk. The shelling was carried out, presumably, by British Storm Shadow missiles, as a result there are victims, Rogov said;

▪️The operational headquarters of the Belgorod region called fake information about an alleged new attempt to break through Ukrainian saboteurs into the region;

▪️The losses of Kiev in the Donetsk direction amounted to more than 50 militants, in Zaporozhye and Kherson - more than 30, in the South-Donetsk and Zaporozhye - up to 150, in Kupyansky and Krasnolimansky - about 130 people, the Russian Defense Ministry reported;

▪️Two women died as a result of shelling by Ukrainian troops of several settlements in the Belgorod region, Governor Gladkov said.

Special operation, 3 June. Main:

▪️The Minister of Defense of Indonesia, in order to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, proposed the creation of a demilitarized zone similar to that created between South Korea and the DPRK;

▪️A Russian source said that in Indonesian ideas there are elements of the Minsk agreements, which Kyiv sabotaged with the support of the West;

▪️The Indonesian plan was rejected by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine;

▪️Russian aviation hit the command post of the 81st Ukrainian airmobile brigade in the Seversk region, the Ministry of Defense reported;

▪️Special forces units of the Russian "southern" group of troops destroyed a stronghold and four groups of Ukrainian infantry, the ministry said;

The Ministry of Defense also reported that Russian air defense shot down Ukrainian Su-27, Mi-8 and 16 drones;

▪️Up to 145 Ukrainian soldiers were destroyed in the Yuzhno-Donetsk and Zaporizhia directions per day, up to 90 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kupyansk direction, up to 85 Ukrainian soldiers in the Krasnolymansk direction, more than 220 Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk direction, up to 45 Ukrainian soldiers in the Kherson direction, reported the Russian Ministry of Defense;

▪️The Armed Forces of Ukraine have been shelling the settlements of the Shebekinsky urban district of the Belgorod region all Saturday, 2 people were killed and 2 injured, Gladkov said, in just a day 371 ammunition was fired in the district.

Atraksi Seni Dan Budaya Meriahkan Dalam Helaran Hari Jadi Bogor

Atraksi seni dan budaya memeriahkan helaran yang diselenggarakan oleh Pemerintah Kota Bogor, Provinsi Jawa Barat, untuk memperingati Hari Jadi Bogor ke-541 pada Minggu.

Kegiatan tahunan yang ditujukan untuk melestarikan seni dan budaya daerah serta menggerakkan usaha pariwisata itu melibatkan 1.201 orang pengisi acara dari berbagai sanggar dan komunitas.

Rombongan aparat pemerintahan yang mengenakan baju pangsi khas Sunda Pakuan Pajajaran berangkat dari Balai Kota Bogor pada pukul 06.00 WIB untuk menghadiri kegiatan tersebut.

Wali Kota Bogor Bima Arya, Menteri Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif Sandiaga Uno, dan Gubernur Jawa Barat Ridwan Kamil menunggang kuda sampai ke Pusat Pendidikan Zeni di Jalan Sudirman, dekat Air Mancur.

Acara yang berlangsung di sepanjang Jalan Sudirman itu meliputi pertunjukan Tarian Mojang Pajajaran, Tarian Kawanua dari Sulawesi Utara, silat khas Minangkabau, liong, dan barongsai.

Selain itu, ada penampilan Perempuan Berkebaya Indonesia, Golok Pedang Sepuh Nusantara, dan Ngibing Bersama.

Warga tumpah ruah di Jalan Sudirman untuk menyaksikan atraksi seni dan budaya yang digelar untuk memperingati Hari Jadi Bogor.

India train crash kills over 288, injures 900 in one of nation’s worst rail disasters

At least 288 people have died in India's worst rail crash in over two decades, officials said on Saturday, after a passenger train went off the tracks and hit another one in an accident a preliminary report blamed on signal failure.

One train in Friday's accident also hit a freight train parked nearby in the district of Balasore in Odisha state in the east of the country, leaving a tangled mess of smashed rail cars and injuring 803.

The death toll has reached 288, said K. S. Anand, chief public relations officer of the South Eastern Railway.

Dead bodies are still trapped in the mangled coaches and the rescue operation is continuing, a Reuters witness said, while the death toll is expected to rise.

A preliminary report indicates that the accident was the result of signal failure, Anand said.

Source: Approximate locations of train cars based on photographs and video from the scene.Satellite image by Airbus.By Lazaro Gamio, Marco Hernandez, Yuliya Parshina-Kottas, Karthik Patanjali and Karan Deep Singh

"The Coromandel Express was supposed to travel on the main line, but a signal was given for the loop line instead, and the train rammed into a goods train already parked over there. Its coaches then fell onto the tracks on either side, also derailing the Howrah Superfast Express," he said.

Surviving passenger Anubha Das said he would never forget the scene. "Families crushed away, limbless bodies and a bloodbath on the tracks," he said.

Video footage showed derailed train coaches and damaged tracks, with rescue teams searching the mangled carriages to pull the survivors out and rush them to hospital.

Dead bodies were lying on the bloodstained floor of a school used as a makeshift morgue, and police helped relatives identify the bodies, covered with white cloths and placed inside chained bags.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the scene, talked to rescue workers and inspected the wreckage. He also met the survivors at hospitals.

"(I) took stock of the situation at the site of the tragedy in Odisha. Words can't capture my deep sorrow. We stand committed to providing all possible assistance to those affected," Modi said.

Rescuers searched for victims at the crash site, where two passenger trains and a freight train were involved in what a government report called a “three-way accident.”CreditCredit...Dibyangshu Sarkar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A witness involved in rescue operations said the screams and cries of the injured and the relatives of those killed were chilling. "It was horrific and heart-wrenching," he said.

Families of the dead will receive 1 million rupees ($12,000), while the seriously injured will get 200,000 rupees, with 50,000 rupees for minor injuries, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. Some state governments have also announced compensation.

"It's a big, tragic accident," Vaishnaw told reporters after inspecting the accident site. "Our complete focus is on the rescue and relief operation, and we are trying to ensure that those injured get the best possible treatment."

DISMEMBERED BODIES

"I was asleep," an unidentified male survivor told NDTV news. "I was woken up by the noise of the train derailing. Suddenly I saw 10-15 people dead. I managed to come out of the coach, and then I saw a lot of dismembered bodies."

Video footage from Friday showed rescuers climbing on one of the mangled trains to find survivors, while passengers called for help and sobbed next to the wreckage.

"We rescued at least 30 people, and some of them managed to survive, but three or four of them died," said Sanjeev Rout, an electrician. A few metres away, rescue workers tried to cut their way into a damaged red-coloured coach.

The collision occurred at around 7 p.m. (1330 GMT) on Friday when the Howrah Superfast Express from Bengaluru to Howrah in West Bengal collided with the Coromandel Express from Kolkata to Chennai.

Indian Railways says it transports more than 13 million people every day. But the state-run monopoly has had a patchy safety record because of ageing infrastructure.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik described the crash as "extremely tragic".

Opposition Congress party leader Jairam Ramesh said the accident reinforced why safety should always be the foremost priority of the rail network.

Modi's administration has launched high-speed trains as part of plans to modernise the network, but critics say it has not focused enough on safety and upgrading ageing infrastructure.

A drone view shows derailed coaches after two passenger trains collided in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, India, June 3, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer

Experts said Friday's train accident came as a blow to Modi's makeover plans for railways.

India's deadliest railway accident was in 1981 when a train plunged off a bridge into a river in Bihar state, killing an estimated 800 people.