Britain’s defense ministry said Tuesday it expects Russia to use the same tactics it employed to seize virtually all of eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk province as it pushes to control Donetsk province and reach its stated goal of holding the entire Donbas region. “The battle for the Donbas has been characterized by slow rates of advance …
Read more “Russia Turns Focus to Ukraine’s Donetsk Province”
A group of young off-duty Ukrainian soldiers gathered at a military distribution center to enjoy a rare respite from the fighting that has again engulfed their fractured home in eastern Ukraine. As they shared jokes and a pizza, artillery explosions could be heard a few kilometers away — a reminder of the looming battle that …
Read more “Splintered Ukrainian City Braces for New Battle With Russia”
Pope Francis has dismissed rumors he plans to resign anytime soon, and says that he hopes to visit Moscow and Kyiv after traveling to Canada later this month. Francis also told Reuters in an interview published Monday that the idea “never entered my mind” to announce a planned retirement at the end of the summer, …
Read more “Pope Denies Resignation Rumors, Hopes to Visit Kyiv, Moscow”
Since the start of the war, many well-known Ukrainians have joined their less well-known comrades to protect their land against Russian aggression. VOA’s Russian Service spoke to film director Alisa Kovalenko about her work, and fight for Ukraine. …
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory Monday in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk province as Ukrainian troops retreated from their last stronghold in the city of Lysychansk. Moscow’s forces immediately turned their attention to fighting in the adjoining Donetsk province. It is part of the industrialized Donbas region Putin has sought to take control of during …
Read more “Putin Declares Victory in Ukraine’s Luhansk Province”
All around the world students are celebrating their graduations, even in Ukraine. But as Lesia Bakalets reports, with the country in the middle of a war, the events look and feel different. Anna Rice narrates. VOA footage by Andrey Degtyarev. …
The man behind a shooting in a Copenhagen shopping mall which left three people dead and several wounded was jailed for 24 days on Monday after facing preliminary questioning in a city court, Danish police said. The 22-year-old Danish male, who on Sunday afternoon opened fire on shoppers in the Field’s mall a few kilometers …
Read more “Gunman Behind Copenhagen Shooting Jailed for 24 Days “
French President Emmanuel Macron replaced several ministers Monday, in a Cabinet reshuffle that was expected after his ruling alliance lost its majority in parliament. Macron appointed French Red Cross director Jean-Christophe Combe as the new minister for solidarity and for the disabled, replacing Damien Abad, who is under investigation in a sex scandal. Abad has …
Read more “French President Reshuffles Cabinet After Losing Majority “
Russia said Monday it will not be sending kind words to mark the Independence Day holiday in the United States. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that congratulations “can hardly be considered appropriate” and cited what he called the “unfriendly policies” of the United States. The U.S. has opposed Russia’s war in Ukraine, sending weapons …
Anthony Albanese made a surprise visit to Ukraine Sunday after attending the NATO summit in Madrid. The Australian prime minister lit a candle for civilians buried in a mass grave in the town of Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where Russian soldiers are accused of committing atrocities. He said Australia shared the community’s desire …
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to win back territory with the help of advanced weapons after his forces withdrew from Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian-held territory in the eastern Luhansk province. In his nightly address Sunday, Zelenskyy said Russia was focusing its firepower on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and that Ukrainian forces …
Read more “Zelenskyy Vows to Regain Territory After Russia Captures Lysychansk”
Ukraine’s Ambassador to Turkey said Turkish customs officials have detained a Russian cargo ship carrying grain shipped from a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine. Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar said Sunday the ship was at the entrance of Turkey’s Karasu port, and that Ukraine hoped Turkish officials would confiscate the grain. Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing grain …
Read more “Ukraine Says Turkey Detained Russian Ship Carrying Ukrainian Grain”
Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said on Sunday there were casualties among civilians and law enforcement officers after rare protests in the Central Asian country, and an exiled opposition politician said at least five people had been killed. Separately, a local government official told an Uzbek news website that thousands of people have been hospitalized. In …
Read more “Uzbekistan reports casualties in unrest, opposition says at least 5 killed”
Two Russian airplanes departed Bulgaria on Sunday with scores of Russian diplomatic staff and their families amid a mass expulsion that has sent tensions soaring between the historically close nations, a Russian diplomat said. Filip Voskresenski, a high-ranking Russian diplomat, told journalists at the airport in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia before the flights left that he …
Read more “Expelled Russian Diplomats Depart Bulgaria Amid Soaring Tensions”
The number of pubs in England and Wales has plunged to its lowest ever level, according to analysis published on Monday which blames the coronavirus pandemic and soaring costs. In the first half of this year, pub numbers dropped below 40,000 — a fall of more than 7,000 since 10 years ago. A total of …
Read more “Pub Numbers in England, Wales Hit Record Lows, Study Shows”
Germany and Ireland on Sunday told Britain there was no legal or political justification for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to override parts of the Brexit deal governing trade with Northern Ireland. The British parliament is considering a new law which would unilaterally change customs arrangements between Britain and Northern Ireland that were initially agreed …
Read more “Germany, Ireland Tell UK: No Justification for Breaking Brexit Deal”
Viktoria Miroshnichenko has just reopened her toy store in Kramatorsk, a city near the front line in eastern Ukraine, despite the daily sound of bombing roaring in the distance. “It’s a bit scary but we’re getting used to it,” she said from behind the counter of a shop selling soft toys, bicycles and scooters for …
Read more “Life Resumes Near Ukraine Front Line Despite War Threat”
A large chunk of an Alpine glacier broke loose Sunday afternoon and roared down a mountainside in Italy, sending ice, snow and rock slamming into hikers on a popular trail on the peak and killing at least six and injuring eight, authorities said. There could be about 10 people missing, Civil Protection official Gianpaolo Bottacin …
Read more “Glacier Chunk in Italian Alps Detaches, Killing at Least 6 Hikers”
Peter Brook, one of the world’s most innovative theater directors who perfected the art of staging powerful drama in bizarre venues, has died aged 97, his publisher said Sunday. The British director used the world as his stage mounting productions ranging from challenging versions of Shakespeare through international opera to Hindu epic poems. Brook put …
Read more “Visionary British Theater Director Peter Brook Dies Aged 97”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday pledged further military support to Ukraine, including armored vehicles and drones, while meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Making the first ever visit to Ukraine by an Australian premier, Albanese said at a news conference in Kyiv that his country would give Ukraine “a hundred million dollars …
Read more “Australian PM Pledges Military Aid on Kyiv Visit”
Georgians staged a new mass rally Sunday demanding that the government resign over its failure to formally secure candidacy for membership of the European Union. The Black Sea nation has been in the grip of mass protests since EU leaders decided in late June to defer Tbilisi’s application for membership, pending sweeping political reforms. The …
Read more “Georgians Hold Mass Rally for EU, Urge Government to Quit”
Blasts Sunday in a Russian city bordering Ukraine have killed at least three people, Russian officials said. Dozens of residential buildings were damaged in the explosions in Belgorod. Russian lawmaker Andrei Klishas has called for a military response to the blasts. “The death of civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Belgorod,” Klishas posted …
Read more “Russia Says Blasts in Russian Border City Kill 3 ”
Voters in Scotland remain evenly split over supporting independence from the rest of Britain, a poll published by the Sunday Times showed, days after the Scottish government set out plans for a referendum on the subject next year. Last week, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans for a second independence referendum to be held …
Read more “Scottish Voters Remain Split Over Independence After Fresh Referendum Bid “
As Russia’s military continues to pound Ukraine with missiles and other lethal weapons, Western nations have responded in part by targeting Russia’s defense industry with sanctions. The latest round came on Tuesday, when the United States issued new sanctions on some arms makers and executives at the heart of what it dubbed Russian President Vladimir …
Read more “Report: Dozens of Russian Weapons Tycoons Have Faced No Western Sanctions”