Russian forces in northeastern Ukraine, already pushed back to near the Russian border, appeared Thursday to be launching a new counteroffensive as the three-month-old war morphed into what some Western officials described as a “scrap” with no end in sight. Authorities in Ukraine’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, said Russian shelling had killed at least seven civilians …
Read more “Russian Forces Make New Push in Eastern Ukraine “
Turkey‘s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pledging to return as many as one million Syrians amid growing public animosity against the refugees. Their presence is a potential political liability for Erdogan but as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, his plan for the refugees’ repatriation is already drawing criticism Producer: Rob Raffaele …
China and Russia vetoed on Thursday a U.S.-led push to impose more U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its renewed ballistic missile launches, publicly splitting the Security Council for the first time since it started punishing Pyongyang in 2006. The remaining 13 council members all voted in favor of the U.S.-drafted resolution that proposed banning …
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The resignation earlier this week of veteran Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev over the invasion of Ukraine is an embarrassment for the Kremlin but analysts say fear prevents most Russian officials from voicing dissent. Henry Ridgwell reports. …
The resignation this week of veteran Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev over the invasion of Ukraine is an embarrassment for the Kremlin, but fear prevents most Russian officials from voicing dissent, according to analysts. The 41-year-old Bondarev forged a 20-year career in the Russian diplomatic service, including postings in Cambodia and Mongolia. Until this week, he …
When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, it expected the country to fall within days. Now with the war in its fourth month, Russian troops are largely mired in battles with Ukrainian soldiers, with no end strategy in sight. For VOA, Oleksii Kovalenko has the story. …
Calling Ukraine the “key for freedom in the world,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged support Thursday for his country in the face of what he called “this senseless war” with Russia. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Klitschko said Ukraine is a peaceful country that was not aggressive to anyone, and that …
Read more “Kyiv Mayor: Ukraine is ‘Key for Freedom in the World’ “
Greece will send Iranian oil from a seized Russian-flagged tanker to the United States at the request of the U.S. judiciary, Greek port police said Wednesday, a decision that angered Tehran. Last month the Greek authorities seized the Pegas, which was said to have been heading to the Marmara terminal in Turkey. The ship was …
Read more “Greece Will Send Iranian Oil From Seized Ship to US, Police Say “
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday fast-tracked citizenship for residents of two regions of Ukraine, prompting protests from Kyiv that the move violated its sovereignty. Putin signed a decree affecting residents of the southern region of Kherson, which is under the full control of Russian troops, and the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, which is partially controlled …
Read more “Putin Fast-Tracks Russian Citizenship in Southern Ukraine”
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 12:02 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that Russia has promised to allow foreign ships to leave ports in the Black Sea. A defense ministry official says 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries …
Piano music wafted from an apartment block on a recent spring evening in Kramatorsk, blending with distant artillery fire for a surreal soundtrack to a bomb-scarred neighborhood in the eastern Ukrainian city. Everywhere in Ukraine, the 3-month-old war never seems to be far away. Those in towns and villages near the front lines hide in …
Read more “Scars of War Seem to be Everywhere in Ukraine After 3 Months”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, Western nations have sidelined a raft of Russian artists, dancers and musicians with links to President Vladimir Putin. That includes star opera singer Anna Netrebko, who was dropped by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Netrebko, however, is making a comeback of sorts with an appearance Wednesday …
Read more “Controversial Russian Opera Star Takes Stage in Paris”
The European Union’s executive arm entered sensitive legal territory on Wednesday with a proposal to confiscate the frozen assets of oligarchs who try to violate the bloc’s sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine. The European Commission proposed two EU laws that would require the 27 member states to cede a degree of jealously guarded national …
Read more “EU Seeks More Clout Against Sanctioned Russian Oligarchs “
Azerbaijan’s journalists are used to working in tense conditions, but a media bill passed into law earlier this year has many of them on edge. Lawmakers have not yet established penalties to accompany the law, but critics say provisions, including a media registry, will make working more difficult, especially for freelance or independent reporters. Journalists …
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appears to be having an unanticipated impact in cyberspace — a decrease in the number of ransomware attacks. “We have seen a recent decline since the Ukrainian invasion,” Rob Joyce, the U.S. National Security Agency’s director of cybersecurity, told a virtual forum Wednesday. Joyce said one reason for the decrease in …
Senior officials from Sweden and Finland held some five hours of talks with Turkish counterparts in Ankara on Wednesday in an effort to overcome Turkey’s strong objections to the Nordic nations’ bids to join NATO. Sweden and Finland submitted their written applications to join NATO last week. The move represents one of the biggest geopolitical …
Read more “Delegations from Sweden, Finland Hold NATO Talks in Turkey”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other senior officials bear responsibility for a culture of rule-breaking that resulted in several parties that breached the U.K.’s COVID-19 lockdown rules, a report into the events said Wednesday. Revelations that Johnson and his staff repeatedly flouted the rules they imposed on others have elicited outrage in Britain and …
Read more “UK’s Johnson ‘Humbled’ But Wants to Move on From ‘Partygate’”
Pope Francis on Wednesday said he was “heartbroken” by the shooting at a school in Texas that killed at least 19 children and two teachers, calling for greater controls on weapons. The crowed in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly general audience applauded his appeal, made a day after worst school shooting in the United …
Read more “Pope ‘Heartbroken’ by Texas School Shooting, Calls for Gun Control “
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday he would be open to negotiations with Russia, but only direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Speaking by video link to the World Economic Forum, Zelenskyy said there is a potential for finding a diplomatic way out of the conflict if Putin “understands reality.” Zelenskyy added that a …
Read more “Zelenskyy Says Only Path for Talks is Directly With Putin”
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 12:15 a.m.: Reuters reports that Russian-born tennis star Daria Saville, who plays for Australia, says she cannot go back to Russia because she spoke publicly against its invasion of Ukraine. In a social …
Two blocks from a casino and Burger King is a medium-sized room covered with a blue carpet that until four months ago was occasionally used to welcome personnel starting their jobs at the U.S. European Command headquarters. The fourth-floor room in the General Bernard Rogers Conference Center on a U.S. Army base in Germany has …
Read more “Conference Room in Germany Becomes Nerve Center for Weapons Shipments to Ukraine”
The world’s billionaires have increased their wealth by trillions of dollars since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic – while the poorest countries are struggling with soaring commodity prices and rising debts. These are the findings of a newly released analysis by the charity Oxfam, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …
Prominent Ukrainian anti-corruption campaigners say they have seen no signs that their armed forces are misusing Western military supplies in the three months since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a country long perceived as among the world’s most corrupt. The head of the Ukrainian government’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), Oleksandr Novikov, …
Read more “Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Campaigners See No Misuse of Western Military Aid”
The U.S. will close the last avenue for Russia to pay its billions in debt back to international investors on Wednesday, making a Russian default on its debts for the first time since the Bolshevik Revolution all but inevitable. The Treasury Department said in a notification that it does not plan to renew the license …
Read more “US to End Russia’s Ability to Pay International Investors”