Travels News
Praise for the way U.S. agencies secured and shared intelligence on Russia’s plans to invade Ukraine are being tempered by growing concern that one of the Kremlin’s disinformation campaigns is starting to take hold in the United States and the West. For days, officials at the White House, State Department and Pentagon have been pushing …
Read more “US Fears Russian Disinformation About Ukraine Bioweapons Gaining Traction”
Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers met at a Turkish Mediterranean Sea resort Thursday but failed to end the fighting in Ukraine, with mutual recriminations. Both ministers indicated the diplomatic door remained open. Speaking at a news conference after the meeting in Antalya, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba criticized what he called Russia’s lack of sincerity. …
Read more “Ukraine-Russia Meeting in Turkey Ends in Deadlock “
Twitter says it has created a version of its microblogging service that can be used by Russians despite the regular version of the service being restricted in the country. The service will be available via a special “onion” URL on the darkweb that is accessible only when using a Tor browser. Onion URLs and Tor …
Read more “Twitter Offers Darkweb Site to Restore Access for Russian Users”
The United Nations estimates that with Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, more than 12 million Ukrainians inside their country and about 4 million refugees will need assistance in the coming months. Some New Yorkers are stepping in to help. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by Natalia Latukhina. …
Acts of vandalism. Cancel culture. Financial hits. Putin’s war on Ukraine is causing problems for some Russians living in the United States. As VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, many oppose Moscow’s aggression and are speaking out for peace. Ihar Tsikhanenka, Mike O’Sullivan, Michelle Quinn, and Mike Eckels contributed to this report. …
Ukraine is dominating a two-day European Union summit outside Paris, where leaders are discussing ways to cut their energy ties with Russia, shore up their defense, and consider Kyiv’s membership application. The European Union is not following the United States in immediately banning imports of Russian oil and gas. But EU leaders, meeting at Versailles …
Read more “Ukraine Dominates Two-day EU Summit Outside Paris”
Citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Thursday the country’s military spending needs to be increased substantially and seeks to raise it to 2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) as soon as possible. Speaking to reporters about the plan in Stockholm, Andersson said her government is presenting a …
Read more “Swedish PM Seeks Increased Military Spending to 2% of GDP”
Israel has emerged as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is the only world leader who has traveled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin since the assault began, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week thanked Bennett for his mediation efforts. Linda Gradstein and Ricki Rosen report for …
Read more “Israel Launches Effort to Mediate between Russia, Ukraine”
The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia held talks in Turkey Thursday marking the first high-level discussions between the two countries since Russia launched an all-out invasion of its neighbor. But after a 90-minute dialogue, both sides said there had been no breakthrough. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said he had discussed a 24-hour cease-fire …
Read more “Ukrainian, Russian Foreign Ministers End Talks With No Breakthrough”
Britain says it has added several high-profile Russian billionaires to its sanctions list, including including Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Premier League soccer club Chelsea, and industrialist Oleg Deripaska, who has called for an end to the war Moscow launched with Ukraine last month. The British government said in a statement on March 10 …
For the first time in four long days, three-year-old Ulya Nochovna is sleeping soundly in a bed. She has fled hundreds of kilometers through a war zone, from her home in Kyiv to Poland. Her family has been given beds in a refugee shelter in the town of Przemysł, a few kilometers from the frontier. …
Read more “Refugees, Twice Over: A Ukrainian Family’s Flight from Russian Missiles”
Each Ukrainian who has fled the Russian invasion has a heartbreaking story of separation and loss. VOA followed the Nochovna family — four women, age 3 to 73 — as they fled Kyiv for Poland. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Krakow, it is the second time the Nochovnas have been forced from their home. …
As Turkey and Israel take their biggest step in years toward reviving strained relations, some analysts say the two regional powers prefer going it alone in another diplomatic effort — trying to mediate a peaceful resolution of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog in Ankara on …
Read more “Turkey, Israel Reset Ties But Pursue Rival Mediations in Russia-Ukraine War”
Rich Russians are trying to shift some of their wealth from Europe to Dubai to shield assets from a tightening wave of Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, financial and legal sources said. Dubai, the Gulf’s freewheeling financial and business hub, has long been a magnet for the globe’s ultra-rich and the …
Read more “Fearing West’s Wrath, Russia’s Rich Look to Stash Wealth in Dubai”
Full developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine …
While soaring oil prices hit consumers worldwide, their misfortune means a fortune for others. There will certainly be a “significant boost in government revenue” for some oil-producing African countries as oil prices hit their highest levels since 2008 after the U.S bans imports of Russian oil, the African Energy Chamber tells VOA. “Nigeria, Angola, Libya, …
Read more “Experts Forecast Big Boost in Oil Revenue for Some African Economies”
Ukrainians plead for more weapons to defend their country from attacks two weeks after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has the latest. …
The Biden administration publicly warned Wednesday that Russia might seek to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine as the White House rejected Russian claims of illegal chemical weapons development in the country it has invaded. This week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova — without evidence — accused Ukraine of running chemical and biological …
Read more “Russia May Use Chemical Weapons in Ukraine, White House Warns”
Millions of elderly and disabled Ukrainians are “at high risk” because they are unable to flee the fighting, the United Kingdom Disasters Emergency Committee alliance of leading aid charities warned Thursday. More than 2 million people have fled Russia’s military assault and “older people and those with disabilities in Ukraine risk being left behind and …
Read more “Elderly, Disabled Unable to Flee Ukraine War, Charities Say”
Against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a European Union summit later this week aims to assert the bloc’s energy independence from Russia — and strengthen its collective defense. For VOA, Lisa Bryant reports from Paris. Camera: Lisa Bryant Produced by: Rob Raffaele …
A French court on Wednesday sentenced to jail terms of up to 13 years three men charged with connections to the brutal 2016 jihadi killing of an 85-year-old priest. Father Jacques Hamel was found with his throat slit at the foot of the altar on July 26, 2016, at his small church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, a …
Read more “France Jails 3 Linked to 2016 Jihadi Killing of Priest”
Tall, stately and clad in brightly colored fabrics that stand out against the arid landscape, the women at a U.N. food distribution site in Jonglei state, South Sudan, wait patiently in line in the stifling heat to receive their monthly rations. “My life changed since [South Sudan’s 2011] independence. Now I’m getting aid …
Read more “Can China Shield Africa From Fallout of Sanctions Against Russia?”
Pablo González is a Spanish journalist also known by his Russian name, Pavel Rubtsov. His Spanish-Russian citizenship might explain the reason for his current whereabouts: a Polish prison cell on accusations of spying for Russian intelligence. If convicted, he could serve up to 10 years in jail. Poland’s secret services claim he used his role …
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that a Russian airstrike had destroyed a maternity hospital in the southeastern port city of Mariupol and that children were among those “under the wreckage.” Russia has not commented on the allegation. It has denied targeting civilians in its invasion of Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian official, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said …
Read more “Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Accuses Russia of Destroying Mariupol Maternity Hospital”