Month: January 2023

Inspections of ships carrying Ukrainian grain and other food exports have slowed to half their peak rate under a wartime agreement brokered by the United Nations, creating backlogs in vessels meant to carry supplies to developing nations where people are going hungry, United Nations and Ukrainian officials say. Some officials from the United States and Ukraine accuse Russia of deliberately slowing inspections, which a Russian official denied. As the grain initiative got rolling in August, 4.1 inspections of ships — both heading to and leaving Ukraine — took place each day on average, according to data the Joint Coordination Center …

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A former U.S. Navy SEAL who went AWOL in 2019 was killed this week in Ukraine, American officials said Friday. They said he was not fighting in an official capacity. Daniel W. Swift, who was a 1st class petty officer, was injured in Dnipro and died of his wounds, said one of the officials, who all spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues. No other details were available, including whether Swift’s body has been taken out of Ukraine. The Navy said he deserted his post in San Diego, California, in March 2019. “We cannot speculate as to why …

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RT France, the French arm of the Russian state broadcaster, will shut down after its French bank accounts were frozen over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the channel’s director said Saturday.   “After five years of harassment, the authorities in power have achieved their goal: the closure of RT France,” Xenia Fedorova said in a Twitter statement.   She said 123 employees were at risk of not being paid for January and could lose their jobs because of the account freeze — part of the latest European Union sanctions against Russia.    Moscow had already warned of retaliation for the move …

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The European Union says it faced “unprecedented challenges” at its borders last year, with a sharp rise in asylum-seekers arriving on Europe’s southern shores and millions of Ukrainians fleeing to Europe to escape Russia’s invasion. As Henry Ridgwell reports, there are fears that Moscow is planning to create a new migrant crisis on the EU’s borders.    …

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Thousands of people packed into central Madrid Saturday to protest the Socialist government and accuse it of undermining the constitution, in a rally backed by rightist parties. Protesters massed in the Plaza de Cibeles in front of City Hall, waved Spanish flags, called on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to resign and shouted out “traitor.” More than 100 groups – including the conservative opposition Popular Party, center-right Ciudadanos and the far-right Vox – called the rally under the slogan “For Spain, for democracy and the constitution.” Speakers attacked the government for a string of policies and decisions, ranging from the release …

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Britain’s prime minister has been fined for not wearing a seat belt while taping a social media clip in the back of a car in northwest England. When Rishi Sunak uploaded the video to Instagram, his error was widely noticed. Viewers complained to Lancashire police. Lancashire police said Friday, “After looking into this matter, we have today issued a 42-year-old man from London with a conditional offer of fixed penalty.” A Sunak spokesperson said the prime minister has apologized for his “brief error of judgment” and he urges everyone to wear a seat belt. This is not the prime minister’s …

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Turkey has canceled the Swedish defense minister’s planned visit to Ankara because the Nordic country has given permission to protesters to hold an anti-Turkey demonstration outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.  Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said there was “no point” to Swedish Defense Minister’s Pål Jonson’s January 27 trip because Sweden has not taken any steps to block the “disgusting” anti-Turkey demonstrations in Sweden.  Sweden is seeking to become a NATO member.  Turkey, a NATO member, has held off ratifying Sweden’s bid to join the alliance because Sweden continues to allow the demonstrations. “Measures should have been taken,” Akar …

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Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov says Ukrainian forces will train to use Leopard 2 battle tanks, despite Western allies’ failure Friday to reach a decision on whether to supply Kyiv with the German-made tanks. Reznikov told VOA’s Ukrainian Service on Friday that Ukraine’s troops will train on the tanks in Poland and described the development as a breakthrough. “Countries that already have Leopard tanks can begin training missions for our tank crews. We will start with that, and we will go from there. I hope, Germany will follow their process, conduct their internal consultations, and will arrive at the decision …

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The White House on Friday announced it will designate the Wagner Group, the Russian private military company supporting Moscow’s war on Ukraine, as a Transnational Criminal Organization, hitting it with sanctions and limiting its ability to do business around the world. Declaring Wagner a TCO freezes its assets in the U.S. and prohibits Americans from providing funds, goods or services to the group. “It will give us more flexibility,” John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said in a Friday interview with VOA. “We were already sanctioning Russia writ large across the board, and some of those …

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