India in Talks with Russia to Buy Discounted Crude Oil

India is exploring the possibility of buying oil from Russia amid sanctions imposed by Western countries in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. India’s petroleum and natural gas minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said in parliament Tuesday that the government was having discussions with Russia on crude oil purchases. “I myself have had a conversation …

At Paris Train Station, Ukrainian Refugees Get a Warm Welcome  

For Anastasia and Maria Starozhitska, the flight from war-torn Ukraine ends here — at a bustling train station in northeastern Paris, where pigeons bask in the afternoon sun. “We are in winter clothes, and we come Paris and it’s all summer clothes,” Anastasia Starozhitska jokes of the unseasonably warm weather, minutes after stepping off a …

Russia Says It Has Written Guarantees on Iran Nuclear Deal

Russia said on Tuesday it has written guarantees it can carry out its work as a party to the Iran nuclear deal, suggesting Moscow could allow a revival of the tattered 2015 pact to go forward.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s comments appeared to signal Moscow may have backed off its previous view that Western …

3 EU Prime Ministers Visit Kyiv as Russian Attacks Intensify

The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia traveled to the embattled Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday in a show of support for Ukraine even as bombardment by the Russian military edged closer to the center of the city.  The three leaders went ahead with the …

Biden to Attend ‘Extraordinary’ NATO Summit in Brussels

U.S. President Joe Biden will travel next week to Brussels, where he will join an “extraordinary” NATO summit set to take place on March 24 — one month after Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine. White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Biden’s travel plans hours after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for the meeting, tweeting …

UK Lawmaker: British Iranian Zaghari-Ratcliffe Gets Her British Passport Back

British Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has had her British passport returned, British lawmaker Tulip Siddiq said on Tuesday, as Tehran and London pressed on with talks about a long-standing 400-million-pound ($520 million) debt. “I am very pleased to say that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been given her British passport back,” Siddiq, who is the member …

FOX News Cameraman Killed in Ukraine

The U.S. broadcaster FOX News on Tuesday announced that cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski has died in Ukraine. Zakrzewski, 55, was injured while on assignment with FOX News correspondent Benjamin Hall. Their vehicle was struck by incoming fire in Horenka, near Kyiv, according to a memo shared with the broadcaster’s staff. Oleksandra Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian journalist who …

US Announces More Sanctions on Belarus Leader, Russian Officials

The United States on Tuesday announced more sanctions on Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for his role as an ally of Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions will block Lukashenko and his wife from accessing U.S. property and limit the ability of Americans to conduct business with them. The U.S. has already sanctioned Lukashenko …

Russian Prosecutors Seek 13 Year Additional Sentence for Dissident Navalny 

Russian prosecutors are seeking an additional 13-year sentence for high profile Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, a spokeswoman for Navalny said Tuesday. “We’ve been saying that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wants to keep Navalny in prison forever. The upcoming sentence has nothing to do with the law,” the spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, wrote on Twitter. Navalny, 45, …

China Says It Is ‘Not a Party’ to Ukraine Crisis

China says it does not want to get caught up in the diplomatic and economic blowback Russia is facing from Western nations over its invasion of Ukraine. State media said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed his government’s wishes during a lengthy phone conversation Monday with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares. According to a …

European Union Grants Temporary Protection to Ukrainians

More than 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion, according to the United Nations — the swiftest mass exodus of refugees since World War II, some experts say. The overwhelming majority of refugees from Ukraine are fleeing to European Union countries. More than half of those have fled to Poland, while hundreds of …

Ukraine Conflict Sees Multiple Diplomatic Fronts 

The battle over Ukraine’s fate is happening on multiple fronts, with U.S. officials flying around the globe to meet with civilians who have been affected by the carnage, but also speaking virtually and in person with officials from other countries who have a role to play in ending this conflict. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from …

Ukraine Economy to Contract Sharply in 2022 Due to War, IMF Report Says

WASHINGTON — Ukraine’s economy is expected to contract by 10% in 2022 as a result of Russia’s invasion, but the outlook could worsen sharply if the conflict lasts longer, the International Monetary Fund said in a staff report released on Monday. The report, prepared ahead of the IMF’s approval of $1.4 billion in emergency financing, …

Once a Powerful Symbol in Russia, McDonald’s Withdraws

Two months after the Berlin Wall fell, another powerful symbol opened its doors in the middle of Moscow: a gleaming new McDonald’s.  It was the first American fast-food restaurant to enter the Soviet Union, reflecting the new political openness of the era. For Vlad Vexler, who as a 9-year-old waited in a two-hour line to …

Putin Threatens to Privatize Western Companies that Exit Russia

Russian officials have said that they will move to nationalize the assets of Western companies that pull out of their country over its invasion of Ukraine, a decision that will cause significant economic harm to hundreds of businesses while, at least temporarily, preserving the jobs of the tens of thousands of Russians employed by them.  …

Anti-war Protester in Studio Disrupts Live Russian State TV News

An anti-war protester interrupted the main news program on Russian state TV Channel One on Monday, holding up a sign behind the studio presenter with slogans denouncing the war in Ukraine. The sign, in English and Russian, read: “NO WAR. Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They are lying to you here.” Another phrase, which …

Germany Charges Wirecard’s ex-CEO Braun over Fraud

German prosecutors said Monday they have charged Wirecard’s former chief executive Markus Braun and two other high-ranking managers for the colossal commercial fraud that led to the collapse of the payment company. The trio are accused of market manipulation, embezzlement and gang fraud on a commercial scale, said prosecutors, noting that the indictment itself runs …