Month: March 2022

Євросоюз

Russia Gives Ukraine Ultimatum to Surrender Mariupol

Russia has given Ukraine until the early hours of Monday to surrender the besieged city of Mariupol, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is ready for peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  However, a short time later, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk rejected the ultimatum. “There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this,” she told the news outlet Ukrainian Pravda. According to a Russian state news agency RIA, Russia’s defense ministry wanted a response from Ukraine’s military by 5 a.m. Moscow time/4 a.m. in …

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Євросоюз

Across Europe, Ukrainian Exiles Pray for Peace Back Home

Alona Fartukhova has been coming to Berlin’s Ukrainian Orthodox Christian community every day since she arrived in Germany five days ago from war-torn Kyiv. The 20-year-old refugee has been attending daily prayers for peace and helped organize donations for her compatriots back home. On Sunday, Fartukhova joined dozens of other Ukrainian worshippers at a red brick stone church in the German capital who sang together, lit candles, and received blessings from the head of the community, Father Oleh Polianko. Later they put medical crutches, sleeping bags, diapers, big boxes of gummi bears and countless jars of pickles — which were …

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Євросоюз

Moscow TV War Protester Urges Other Russians to Speak Up

The Russian editor who protested Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine during a state TV news broadcast called Sunday for other Russians to speak out against the “gruesome war.” While working for Channel One television in Moscow, Marina Ovsyannikova barged onto the set of an evening newscast Monday, holding a poster reading “No War.” She was subsequently detained, fined 30,000 rubles ($280), and then freed pending possible further prosecution, but has turned down a French offer of asylum. On Sunday she described to US media her decision to protest as “spontaneous,” but said a sense of deep dissatisfaction with her government had …

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Євросоюз

Amid Western Sanctions, India Explores Rupee-Ruble Mechanism for Trade with Russia  

India is considering establishing a payment mechanism in local currencies to allow it to continue trade with Russia, which has been hit with Western sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine. New Delhi is proceeding with purchases of Russian crude at discounted prices despite pressure from the United States. The state-run Indian Oil Corp. has concluded a deal to buy 3 million barrels of Russian crude, according to local media reports. Although it has not officially confirmed the deal, India has defended the country’s decision to look at purchasing Russian oil. “A number of countries are importing energy from …

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Євросоюз

Car Runs into Carnival Revelers in Belgium, Killing 6

A car slammed at high speed into carnival revelers in a small town in southern Belgium early Sunday, killing six people and leaving 10 more with life-threatening injuries. Several dozen were more lightly injured. “What should have been a great party turned into a tragedy,” said Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden. The prosecutor’s office said that in the early stages of the investigation there were no elements to suspect a terror motive, and two locals in their thirties were arrested at the scene in Strépy-Bracquegnies, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Brussels. In an age-old tradition, carnival revelers had …

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