‘Some Kind of Terrible Dream’ for Ukrainian Women Refugees

It’s a global day to celebrate women, but many fleeing Ukraine feel only the stress of finding a new life for their children as husbands, brothers and fathers stay behind to defend their country from Russia’s invasion. The number of refugees fleeing Ukraine reached 2 million on Tuesday, according to the United Nations, the fastest …

Is This the Beginning of the End of Vladimir Putin?

Thirteen days into a brutal war in Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed to subjugate Ukraine. He appears no nearer to replacing its defiant government with a puppet regime. An out-gunned Ukraine has defied widespread pre-war predictions that it wouldn’t be able to hold out for long against superior Russian forces, and the …

Invasion of Ukraine Prompts Exodus of Western Companies from Russia

A growing number of Western businesses are either halting operations in Russia or exiting altogether over that country’s military incursion of neighboring Ukraine. The major hit to Russia’s economy will likely come from the crucial oil and gas industry. British-based BP announced Sunday that it is divesting its $14 billion stake in Russian state-owned oil …

Navalny Urges More Protests Against Russia’s Invasion 

Jailed opposition politician Alexey Navalny has again called for protests against Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, saying the response of Russians to the war “will largely define Russia’s place in the history of the 21st century.” Navalny, the Kremlin critic who is currently serving a 2 1/2-year sentence on what his supporters and Western legal …

Russia a No-show at Court Hearing on Ukraine Conflict 

Russia did not show up to a key international court hearing aimed at putting a legal stop to fighting in Ukraine that is creating Europe’s biggest refugee crisis in years. At issue is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim of “genocide” to justify his invasion of Ukraine. The empty seats allocated to Russia’s legal team at …

Russia’s Vaunted Influence Operations Bogged Down with Ukraine

Russia’s efforts to sway the opinions of people across the world about the righteousness of its invasion of Ukraine appears to be mirroring the effort of some of its forces on the ground – despite bringing lots of firepower, the Kremlin’s influence operations seem to be stalling, unable to penetrate key audiences. Much of Moscow’s …

Half a Million Ukrainian Children Flee Russian Invasion

Vulnerable children constitute a large proportion of the more than 1 million Ukrainians who have fled Russia’s invasion of their country and heavy bombardment of residential areas, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.   Half a million children, some unaccompanied, have crossed into Poland and other neighboring countries, according to UNICEF, which says refugee …

UN: Growing Repression in Nicaragua Spurring Political, Social and Human Rights Crisis

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet warns growing repression in Nicaragua is shutting down fundamental freedoms in the country and is creating a political, social and human rights crisis. Bachelet submitted her latest report on the situation in Nicaragua to the U.N. Human Rights Council Monday. Bachelet gave a blistering account of a …

Ghanaian Students Say Flight from Ukraine Hampered by Discrimination

It took two days for Janet and some other Ghanaian students to reach Lviv from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Then they spent another 13 hours waiting to cross the border, the third-year engineering student explains. Even her mask couldn’t hide the agitation and fear she felt traveling across war-wracked Ukraine last week. Nor did it …

Poland Embraces Fleeing Ukrainians, as Europe Faces Biggest Refugee Crisis Since 1945 

A surreal soundtrack greets the sea of humanity fleeing Ukraine: a highly accomplished pianist has arrived at the Medyka border crossing into Poland. His music drifts across the organized chaos of this small village, now the frontline of Europe’s rapidly growing refugee crisis. German pianist Davide Martello has visited numerous conflict zones in recent years, …

France Warns Russia Against Blackmail Over Iran Nuclear Talks 

France on Monday warned Russia not to resort to blackmail over efforts to revive a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, after Moscow demanded a U.S. guarantee that sanctions it faces over Ukraine would not hurt its trade with Tehran. Iran in turn said it would not allow others to impede its interests as, …

Russia Arrests Over 5,000 in Single Day for Protesting Ukraine War  

MOSCOW, RUSSIA — Russia detained more than 5,000 people protesting President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine in dozens of cities Sunday — an unprecedented number as Moscow clamps down on anyone opposing the Kremlin’s military assault on the country.   OVD-info, which monitors arrests during protests, said police had detained at least 5,016 people in 60 cities …

At Romania Hotel, Ballroom Welcomes Refugees Fleeing Ukraine 

SUCEAVA, ROMANIA — As Olga Okhrimenko walked into a bustling ballroom-turned-refugee shelter at a four-star Romanian hotel, her corgi, Knolly, strained at the leash anxiously seeking the warmth inside. It had taken them three days to flee Ukraine by car, bus and taxi in the bitter cold.  The 34-year-old Ukrainian marketing manager could hardly contain …

Crisis in Ukraine Drives Food Prices Higher Around World

The impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — a country long known as the “breadbasket of Europe” because of the prodigious amounts of wheat, corn and other cereal grains that it produces — will extend far beyond Europe, wreaking havoc on global food supplies, experts from aid agencies say. Ukraine produces 16% of the world’s …

Sanctioning Russia Curtails North Korea’s Hard Currency Intake

As international sanctions on Moscow have triggered a decrease in the ruble’s value, North Korean workers in Russia are struggling to meet the remittance quotas set by Pyongyang, according to multiple sources in Russia and official North Korean documents obtained by VOA’s Korean Service. North Korea is believed to use the hard currency to fund …

Blinken Pledges US Support to Moldova Amid Refugee Influx from Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged Washington’s support to Moldova, a small, Western-leaning former Soviet republic that is contending with an influx of refugees from neighboring Ukraine. Moldova says that more than 230,000 refugees have crossed its border with Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24. At least 120,000 of them …