Month: November 2023

European Commission President Visits Ukraine

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in Kyiv. Her Saturday visit takes place days before the European Union is set to announce Ukraine’s progress in fulfilling necessary steps to begin membership negotiations with the bloc. Ukraine applied to become a member of the EU days after Russia’s invasion in February 2022. The membership process usually takes years, but Ukraine considers membership vital as it battles Russia’s invasion and wants to join as soon as possible. The EU is set to announce Wednesday whether Ukraine can begin accession talks with the group, which would begin in December. Grateful for …

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У Зарічному на Запоріжжі 9 людей постраждали через удар РФ – влада

«Окупанти вгатили ракетою по Зарічному. Внаслідок ворожої атаки поранено дев’ятьох місцевих жителів – чотирьох чоловіків і п’ятьох жінок. Всім оперативно надано необхідну медичну допомогу» …

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New US WWII Museum Pavilion Addresses Conflict’s World-Shaping Legacy

A new, permanent addition to the sprawling National WWII Museum in New Orleans is a three-story complex with displays as daunting as a simulated Nazi concentration camp bunk room, and as inspiring as a violin pieced together from scrap wood by an American prisoner of war. The Liberation Pavilion, which opened Friday, is ambitious in scope. Its exhibits filling 3,065.80 square meters commemorate the end of the war’s death and destruction, emphasize its human costs and capture the horror of those who discovered the aftermath of Nazi atrocities. Films, photos and recorded oral histories recount the joys and challenges awaiting …

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Russian Money Launderer Sanctioned for Helping Oligarchs

The U.S. Department of Treasury on Friday sanctioned Ekaterina Zhdanova, an accused Russian money launderer who allegedly helped her country’s oligarchs move funds out of Moscow using cryptocurrency to evade Western sanctions.   According to an official Treasury announcement, Zhdanova allegedly also helped ransomware groups and other “illicit actors” launder their gains.   “We remain focused on safeguarding the U.S. and international financial system against those who seek to exploit this technology [cryptocurrency], among other illicit finance risks in the virtual assets ecosystem,” said Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.  Zhdanova has reportedly used cryptocurrency …

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Storm in Western Europe Leaves 14 Dead

Officials in Western Europe said Storm Ciaran killed at least 14 people over three days as it swept from the North Atlantic across Britain and northwestern France and into the North Sea, bringing with it record-breaking wind, heavy rain, high seas, hail and possibly a tornado. The storm, named Ciaran by Britain’s meteorological agency, known as the Met Office, brought record-breaking wind to France, with 193-kph (120-mph) wind gusts reported in Brittany. The nation’s energy minister reported 1.2 million households lost power. Officials in Italy’s Tuscany region declared a state of emergency with trees down and streets flooded. Nearly 200 …

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Білий дім: США надсилають менші військові пакети Україні через Конгрес

Сполучені Штати почали надсилати менші пакети військової допомоги Україні, щоб збільшити підтримку через глухий кут у Конгресі щодо надання фінансування Україні, повідомляє Reuters з посиланням на речницю Білого дому Карін Жан-П’єр. За її словами, США мають намір продовжити можливість підтримувати Україну якомога довше, поки Конгрес обговорює нову допомогу. Раніше сьогодні державний секретар США Ентоні Блінкен оголосив про надання Україні озброєння та обладнання на суму до 125 мільйонів доларів США. У Пентагоні уточнили, що також передбачається надання  300 мільйонів доларів США в рамках Ініціативи сприяння безпеці в Україні (USAI) для зміцнення протиповітряної оборони України в довгостроковій перспективі. На ці кошти Міноборони США планує надати Україні додаткові …

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Belarus Opposition Leader Seeks Alternative Passports for Exiles

Exiled Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is seeking support from the European Union and individual European countries for a “New Belarus” passport for exiled citizens of her country whose official documents have expired. The move is in response to a decree issued in September by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko ordering the nation’s consulates to stop renewing or extending passports, requiring citizens to return to Belarus if they want their documents renewed. Hundreds of thousands of Belarus opposition supporters fled the country following the contested 2020 presidential election, in which Tsikhanouskaya challenged after her husband, opposition candidate Sergei Tikhanovsky, was jailed …

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Jewish Community in Western Ukraine Supports Israel, Ukraine  

One of the largest synagogues in Ukraine opened in 1865 in the western Ukranian town of Drohobych. During World War II, nearly all of the town’s approximately  17,000 Jews were wiped out by the Nazis and their collaborators. Today, members of the town’s Jewish community continue to support the Choral Synagogue and hope the people of Israel and Ukraine will stand victorious. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story. Produced by: Yuriy Dankevych …

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 Zelenskyy ‘Grateful’ for US Sanctions on Russian ‘Entities’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Thursday that he is grateful to the United States for “the new and very powerful sanctions” on more than 220 Russian “entities that work on aggression.” The U.S. imposed sanctions Thursday on more than 100 people and firms from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates who aid Russia in obtaining tools and equipment that are vital for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader said every sanction “must work in full, so that there is no chance for Russia to circumvent sanctions.”  Zelenskyy said, “The power of sanctions is the …

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