Category: News

Dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed when a prison in eastern Ukraine was destroyed in a missile strike. Russia and Ukraine on Friday accused each other of carrying out the attack. Neither claim could be independently verified. Russia’s defense ministry said 40 prisoners were killed and 75 were wounded in the strike on …

Read more “Russia, Ukraine Accuse Each Other of Prison Attacks That Killed Ukrainian POWs   “

The European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, on Friday estimated inflation is expected to reach a record 8.9% in July, while the Eurozone and EU economy overall continued to grow during the first quarter of 2022. In its report, Eurostat indicated inflation in July was driven largely by the energy sector with 39.7% growth, down from …

Read more “Record EU Inflation Expected; Economy Continues to Grow”

Russian-backed separatists say Ukrainian shelling in eastern Ukraine has killed at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war captured during the fighting in Mariupol.  The separatists said at least 75 prisoners were wounded.    The Ukrainian POWs had been among those who had taken refuge in the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol where they were able to …

Read more “Russia Says Ukrainian Shelling Kills 40 Ukrainian Prisoners of War”

Exiled Belarusian sources say recent Russian military activities inside Belarus, a key Moscow ally, show Russia is trying to maintain a threat of attack from Belarus against northern Ukraine after failing in a land-based assault on the region housing Ukraine’s capital Kyiv earlier this year. While the Belarusian journalists, analysts and dissidents say another Russian …

Read more “Belarusian Sources See Lingering Russian Threat to Ukraine’s North, Disagree on Belarus’ Role”

Towed away gleefully as if it were parked illegally, the Soviet-era armored personnel carrier doesn’t look so intimidating as it is paraded before the delighted Ukrainians gathered to celebrate its seizure. Theoretically, the 1970s MT-LB belongs to the Russian forces, but they abandoned it in Ukraine’s northeast, around 30 kilometers from the warring neighbors’ shared …

Read more “Ukraine Celebrates Its Tank-Towing Farmers”

Human-caused climate change made last week’s deadly heat wave in England and Wales at least 10 times more likely and added a few degrees to how brutally hot it got, a study said. A team of international scientists found that the heat wave that set a new national record high at 40.3 degrees Celsius was …

Read more “Study: Climate Change Made UK Heat Wave Hotter, More Likely”

French President Emmanuel Macron hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday as part of increased Western efforts to court the major oil-producing state amid the war in Ukraine and faltering talks to revive a nuclear deal with Iran. French opposition figures and human rights groups have criticized Macron’s decision to invite to dinner …

Read more “Macron Hosts Saudi Crown Prince With Oil, Iran, Rights on Agenda”

For the first time in weeks, Russia launched missiles Thursday at Ukraine’s capital area, Kyiv, and the northern Chernihiv region, in what Ukraine alleged was retaliation for its continued resistance to Moscow’s invasion. Russia attacked the Kyiv region with six missiles launched from the Black Sea, wounding 15 people, five of them civilians, a Ukrainian …

Read more “Russian Missiles Hit Kyiv, Chernihiv Regions”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the United States has offered Russia a “substantial proposal” to free detained American basketball star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. Producer: Henry Hernandez …

The first rehabilitation center built according to U.S. standards opened in Irpin, Ukraine, three years ago. So far, it has survived the war intact and is once again accepting patients. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. Camera and video editing by Paviel Syhodolskiy. …

The United States said Wednesday it has made a “substantial proposal” to Russia, which people familiar with the matter described as a prisoner swap that would send convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout back to Moscow to secure the release of American professional basketball star Brittney Griner and accused spy Paul Whelan. The proposal was …

Read more “US Proposes Swapping Prisoners With Russia”

A Ukrainian official said Wednesday that Russian forces have taken over Ukraine’s second-biggest power plant and are carrying out a “massive redeployment” of troops to three regions in southern Ukraine.  Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed the capture of the Vuhlehirsk power plant in the eastern Donetsk region. But Arestovych said …

Read more “Russia Captures Power Plant in Southern Ukraine”

More than five months after Russia began its attack on Ukraine, there is concern the world’s attention on the war is fading. To help, Ukrainian tennis stars joined their Polish counterparts to raise awareness and funds for Ukraine. VOA’s Myroslava Gongadze reports from Krakow, Poland. …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is on a major tour of Africa, seeking allies amid global anger and isolation over food shortages following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. Tatiana Vorozhko contributed. …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he will speak to his Russian counterpart in the coming days about a “substantial” offer aimed at bringing home American basketball star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, both currently detained in Russia. Other issues expected to come up between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey …

Read more “US Offers Russia ‘Substantial’ Deal to Bring Home 2 Detained Americans”

More than 18,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported across 78 countries, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday. He released the information during opening remarks at his regular COVID-19 update, saying there have been five monkeypox deaths while 10% of cases are admitted to the hospital. Tedros said the outbreak can be …

Read more “WHO Chief: 18,000 Monkeypox Cases Worldwide”

In a small studio in Paris, Russian journalist Denis Kataev prepares his evening news show that he hopes will play its part in countering the Kremlin narrative about the invasion of Ukraine. Kataev works for Russian channel Dozhd (Rain), which for over a decade from its Moscow base was the country’s most prominent independent broadcast …

Read more “From Exile, Russia’s TV Rain Seeks to Counter Kremlin Storm”

U.S. professional basketball star Brittney Griner, who has admitted arriving in Russia in February with vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage, testified at a court hearing Wednesday that a language interpreter provided to her translated only a fraction of what was being said as authorities arrested her.  Griner, who faces up to 10 …

Read more “Griner Says She Was Denied Adequate Translation in Russian Drug Case”

The two remaining candidates vying to succeed Boris Johnson as British prime minister have pledged a tougher stance on China. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who quit the government earlier this month, and the current Foreign Secretary Liz Truss are competing to take over from Boris Johnson, who announced his resignation as prime minister earlier this …

Read more “Candidates for Next British Prime Minister Pledge Tough Stance on China “

Russian and North Korea, both beset by punishing economic sanctions, appear to be looking for ways to help one another while thumbing their noses at the rules-based order espoused by the wider international community, experts say. Five months after invading Ukraine, Russia is being hit by successive rounds of sanctions by the U.S. and its …

Read more “Experts Say Russia Turns to Sanctioned North Korea to Break Rules”

Ukrainian forces have struck a strategically important bridge in the southern part of the country, using what a Russia-appointed official said were rocket systems supplied by the United States.  The Antonivskyi Bridge crossing the Dnieper River was closed Wednesday following the Ukrainian strike.  Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russia-appointed administration for the Kherson region, …

Read more “Ukrainian Forces Strike Key Bridge in South”

The contest to succeed Boris Johnson as British prime minister is down to two candidates. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, policy towards China has become a key issue on the campaign trail. …

A European court on Wednesday dismissed a challenge by Russia’s state-owned broadcaster RT France against a ban imposed by the European Union. The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said the EU had the ability to suspend RT France’s operations and that the EU’s actions did not call into question the freedom of expression. Kremlin …

Read more “EU Court Upholds Ban on Russian Broadcaster”

Russia’s foreign minister is heading to Ethiopia Tuesday, his last stop on a four-nation tour of Africa aimed at countering Western criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  Western nations blame the invasion for worsening food shortages in record drought-stricken East Africa, including Ethiopia. But Ethiopia has also been under Western pressure over its war with …

Read more “Russian FM Lavrov Heads to Ethiopia, Seeking Closer Ties”