Category: Євросоюз

Russia’s Federal Security Service announced Tuesday it was closing an investigation into the armed mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin and members of his Wagner mercenary group. In a statement carried by Russian news agencies, the FSB said those involved “ceased activities directed at committing the crime.” Not prosecuting the fighters was part of an agreement late Saturday that brought the mutiny to an end. Russia’s defense ministry also said Tuesday that the Wagner group was preparing to transfer heavy military equipment to the Russian military. Prigozhin’s whereabouts were not clear Tuesday. Flight tracking websites showed a jet linked to Prigozhin landed …

READ MORE

Latest developments:             President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States had “nothing to do” with Wagner’s revolt against the Russian military leadership. “This was part of a struggle within the Russian system,” Biden said, adding that he was briefed “hour by hour” on the developments by his national security team and allies.   A new U.S. military aid package for Ukraine, worth up to $500 million, will be announced as soon as Tuesday. The package will include ground vehicles for Ukraine’s counteroffensive, two U.S. officials said.      Ukrainian officials advocated Monday for gaining membership in the NATO alliance, as NATO …

READ MORE

Turkish police have ramped up a crackdown on LGBTQ activists as dozens of people were detained Sunday at Pride marches in Turkey’s metropolitan Istanbul and Izmir provinces.   Istanbul’s governor said police detained 113 people attending the 31st LGBTQ Pride March there on Sunday (June 25).   “Our national future depends on keeping the family institution alive with our national and moral values,” Davut Gul, the governor of Istanbul, said on Twitter Monday as he announced the number of detentions. “We will not allow any activity that would weaken the family institution,” Gul said.  Bans on Pride marches    Authorities have banned the …

READ MORE

An Amsterdam museum that severed ties with St. Petersburg’s Hermitage collection after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year has been renamed and on Monday announced partnerships with renowned galleries in London, Paris and Washington.  Starting in September, the Hermitage Amsterdam will be called H’ART Museum. It has established partnerships with the British Museum, Centre Pompidou and the Smithsonian American Art Museum to bring art to the historic building on the banks of the Dutch capital’s Amstel River.  “It’s an exciting new step for us, a contemporary and future-proof model,” museum director Annabelle Birnie said in a statement.  She said the …

READ MORE

The White House said Monday it was “too soon to tell” whether the dramatic events of this weekend in Russia will change the course of the conflict in Ukraine, or international relations in general. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House. …

READ MORE

The Netherlands and Belgium have joined an international investigation into atrocities committed against the Yazidi minority in Syria and Iraq, the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency said Monday. The Joint Investigation Team was established by France and Sweden in October 2021 and supported by The Hague-based Eurojust to identify and prosecute foreign extremists who targeted Yazidis during the armed conflict in Syria and Iraq. Eurojust said the teamwork already has borne fruit, including in France, where a Yazidi victim of a French jihadist couple was identified. That led to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity being added to an …

READ MORE

A green wood crate lay open on the side of a dirt road with its contents scattered. The ripped-open Russian military-issued meal packets were abandoned among plastic sandals and body armor. Ukrainian soldiers kick through small tins of apple sauce, crackers and cans of chopped beef. A few meters away, a Russian soldier lies dead in the grass, rotting, his feet splayed onto the road. We can hear bombs every few minutes, but the sound is dull, and the ground doesn’t shake. A loud crack nearby interrupts the pattern. “That is definitely outgoing,” I comment. It was more of a …

READ MORE

Analysts say it’s too early to assess how the Wagner Group’s operations in Africa will be affected after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin threatened to lead troops into Moscow over the weekend before backing off. The U.S. Treasury Department has designated Wagner Group, a private mercenary army, a “criminal organization” and accused it of mass executions, rape, and physical abuse in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali. After Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s brief rebellion in Russia over the weekend, analysts wonder what it might mean for some countries in Africa. Charles Bouessel, a senior consultant for the International Crisis Group, …

READ MORE

Russia experienced the most serious threat to its stability in decades when the mercenary Wagner group mutinied, and its leader threatened to storm Moscow in an unprecedented challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule. The episode was brief, lasting fewer than 24 hours, but leaves big questions about the direction of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and of Putin’s political future. Jonathan Spier narrates this report from the VOA Moscow Bureau. …

READ MORE

Australia’s highest court on Monday dismissed Russia’s application for an injunction that would have prevented Moscow’s embassy being evicted from a site in the national capital Canberra. In dismissing the application, High Court Justice Jayne Jagot described Russia’s challenge on constitutional grounds to a law terminating the lease as “weak” and “difficult to understand.” Parliament passed emergency legislation on June 15 that terminated Russia’s lease on the largely empty block on security grounds because the new embassy would have been too close to Parliament House. Russia’s lawyer Elliot Hyde had argued that the Ambassador Alexey Pavlovsky would not have confidence …

READ MORE

As tensions soared inside Russia between the government and private military group Wagner, front-line Ukrainian fighters say their fight with Russia has not subsided. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports with videographer Yevhenii Shynkar in Storozheve, Ukraine. …

READ MORE

Elton John gave the final concert at Britain’s legendary Glastonbury Festival on Sunday, bringing down the curtain on the annual spectacular with what could be his final U.K. performance. “I never thought I’d ever play Glastonbury,” he told the crowd. “It’s a very special and emotional night for me — it might be my very last show in England, in Great Britain, so I’d better play well and entertain you.” The 76-year-old pop superstar is winding down a glittering live career with a global farewell tour, having played his last concerts in the United States in May ahead of a …

READ MORE

Latest Developments: Australia is sending $74 million in new military assistance to Ukraine. The package includes armored vehicles, special operations vehicles and trucks. Britain’s defense ministry says allies have trained more than 17,000 Ukrainian troops, and that the number could reach 30,000 by 2024. Ukraine’s military said Monday its forces downed two of three cruise missiles that Russia fired from the Black Sea as well as seven of eight Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia. Such aerial attacks have been a common part of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials hailing the work of air defenses in countering the …

READ MORE

The far-right Alternative for Germany party saw its first head of a county administration elected Sunday in a rural eastern region, a win that comes as national polls show its support at record levels.  A runoff election in Sonneberg county pitted Alternative for Germany’s candidate, Robert Sesselmann, against center-right rival Jürgen Köpper. Official figures showed Sesselmann, who had been well ahead in the first round two weeks ago, winning by 52.8% to 47.2%.  Sonneberg has a relatively small population of 56,800, but the win is a symbolic milestone for Alternative for Germany, or AfD. The 10-year-old party has been polling …

READ MORE

Lithuania’s president warned Sunday that if Belarus is to host Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin then NATO will need to strengthen its eastern flank. The head of state, whose Baltic country neighbors both Belarus and Russia and will host next month’s NATO summit, spoke after a state security council meeting to discuss Wagner’s aborted revolt against the Kremlin.   After Prigozhin called off his troops’ advance on Saturday, Moscow said the Wagner chief would leave Russia for Belarus and would not face charges. “If Prigozhin or part of the Wagner group ends up in Belarus with unclear plans and unclear …

READ MORE

Knackered after covering a stunning march on Moscow by a small army of mercenaries? Take a day off after a “tense” weekend, Russian authorities told journalists Sunday. An armed rebellion by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who had vowed Friday to topple the Russian military leadership and began a march on Moscow, sparked the country’s largest political crisis in decades and prompted many newsrooms to work around the clock. Moscow authorities introduced “anti-terror” measures and said residents will have a day off Monday, even though Wagner chief Prigozhin suddenly aborted his revolt Saturday evening. On Sunday, the Russian ministry of digital …

READ MORE

One person was killed, and several others injured when a roller coaster derailed in Stockholm Sunday, Swedish TV reported. Park officials told public broadcaster SVT that that one of the carriages on the Jetline rollercoaster derailed and people fell to the ground at the Grona Lund amusement park. “It is incredibly tragic and shocking,” park spokeswoman Annika Troselius told SVT. “Unfortunately, we have been informed that one person is killed, and many are injured.” Police said seven people, both children and adults, were hospitalized. The amusement park was evacuated to facilitate the work of rescue crews. SVT reporter Jenny Lagerstedt, …

READ MORE

The United States said Sunday that the brief rebellion of mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin against Russia’s military leadership shows “very serious cracks” in the two-decade rule of President Vladimir Putin and “questions the very premise” of his 16-month war against Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC’s “This Week” show, that the war “has been a devastating strategic failure for Putin across virtually every front – economic, military, geopolitical standing.” “We see cracks emerging,” Blinken said of Prigozhin’s protest targeting Putin. “Where they go – if anywhere – when they get there, very hard to say. I don’t …

READ MORE

Pope Francis offered prayers Sunday for the family of a teenager who went missing 40 years ago this week, an intervention her brother hailed as a sign the Vatican was finally engaging seriously with its most famous cold case. Emanuela Orlandi, the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee, was last seen leaving a music class in Rome on June 22, 1983. Decades of speculation followed over what happened to her, with suggestions that mobsters, the secret services or a Vatican conspiracy were to blame — theories which sparked a hit Netflix series. After his weekly Angelus prayer at the Vatican, …

READ MORE

Voters in Greece are going to the polls Sunday. It is the second time in less than two months voters are casting their ballots for a new Parliament. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ conservative New Democracy party is expected to remain in power. Sunday’s vote is being held under a new electoral law that will make it easier for the winning party to form a parliamentary majority. New Democracy won in May but did not garner enough seats to form a government. New Democracy’s main rival is the left-wing Syriza party led by former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Sunday’s election is …

READ MORE