Month: July 2022

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 the development was a “tiny tactical advantage” for the Russians.  He said Russia’s troop redeployment involved sending forces to the Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson areas as part of an apparent shift to strategic defense efforts.  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he will …

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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. …

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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. …

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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 Lavrov include the implementation of a deal to resume grain exports through Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, and Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. The two top diplomats last spoke in person on February 15, days before Russia launched its military invasion in Ukraine.  At …

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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 contained as long as countries, communities and individuals take the risks of the virus seriously. Currently, 98% of cases are among men who have sex with other men. The director-general recommends they reduce the number of sexual partners. He also stressed the importance of not …

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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 media in a scene dominated by voices loyal to President Vladimir Putin. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to the channel being blocked in Russia and forced to suspend operations for over four months. Defiantly, it has now resumed broadcasting from a headquarters in Latvia …

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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. …

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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 spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia “will take similar measures of pressure on Western media that operate in our country.” The EU imposed its ban in March, suspending the operations of RT English, RT UK, RT Germany, RT France and RT Spanish. The EU …

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