Category: Євросоюз

After making gains in recent days, Ukrainian fighters fighting in the city of Sievierodonetsk have lost some ground back to Russian forces, the region’s governor said. “Our defenders managed to undertake a counterattack for a certain time; they liberated almost half of the city. But now the situation has worsened a little for us again,” Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region that includes Sievierodonetsk, said Monday. Britain’s defense ministry said Monday that heavy fighting continued in Sievierodonetsk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a rare trip Sunday away from Kyiv, traveling to eastern Ukraine where he met with troops and …

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For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT. 3:10 a.m.: As fighting continues between Russian forces and Ukraine, explosions were heard Monday in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, Reuters reported, citing Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych’s post on the Telegram messaging service.  3:05 a.m.: Russia’s gas producer Gazprom said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 40.1 million cubic meters (mcm) on Monday, unchanged from 40.1 mcm on Sunday, Reuters reported.  An application to supply gas …

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When D-Day veterans set foot on the Normandy beaches and other World War II sites, they express a mix of joy and sadness. Joy at seeing the gratitude and friendliness of the French toward those who landed on June 6, 1944. Sadness as they think of their fallen comrades and of another battle now being waged in Europe: the war in Ukraine. For the past two years, D-Day ceremonies were reduced to a minimum amid COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. This year, crowds of French and international visitors — including veterans in their 90s — were back in Normandy for the 78th …

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NATO kicked off nearly a two-week U.S.-led naval exercise on the Baltic Sea on Sunday with more than 7,000 sailors, airmen and marines from 16 nations, including two aspiring to join the military alliance, Finland and Sweden. The annual BALTOPS naval exercise, initiated in 1972, is not held in response to any specific threat. But the military alliance said that “with both Sweden and Finland participating, NATO is seizing the chance in an unpredictable world to enhance its joint force resilience and strength” together with two Nordic aspirant nations. Finland and Sweden both have a long history of military non-alignment …

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The United Nations estimates Ukraine is now one of the most mined countries in the world. In territories no longer occupied by Russian troops, experts from the country’s emergency services are now defusing hundreds of mines a day. VOA’s Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …

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Ukraine missed out on qualifying for the World Cup Sunday after the war-disrupted team was beaten 1-0 by Wales in the European playoff final for the FIFA soccer showpiece. Andriy Yarmolenko inadvertently headed the ball into his own net while trying to clear Wales captain Gareth Bale’s first-half free kick. While Wales heads to a first World Cup in 64 years — opening against the United States in November — this was an agonizing end to Ukraine’s emotionally charged mission to qualify for Qatar while remaining under invasion by Russia. The right leg of Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey kept out …

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to Serbia has been canceled after countries around Serbia closed their airspace to his aircraft, a senior foreign ministry source told the Interfax news agency on Sunday. The source confirmed a Serbian media report that said Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro had closed their airspace to the plane that would have carried Moscow’s top diplomat to Belgrade on Monday. “Our diplomacy has yet to master teleportation,” the source said. There was no immediate comment from the Russian foreign ministry. Serbia, which has close cultural ties with Russia, has fended off pressure to take sides …

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In a crowning moment for her Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II appeared at the balcony of Buckingham Palace Sunday, delighting fans who had hoped to catch a glimpse of her during the final day of festivities marking the monarch’s 70 years on the throne. The 96-year-old monarch has curtailed her schedule in recent months due to problems moving around. Prior to Sunday, the queen had only appeared in public twice during the four-day holiday weekend celebrations. Officials said she experienced “discomfort” during those events on Thursday. Thousands massed outside Buckingham Palace for the climax of a boisterous, colorful pageant cheered …

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Rafael Nadal pulled away to beat Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the French Open final on Sunday for his 14th championship at Roland Garros and 22nd Grand Slam title overall, adding to two records he already owned.  Nadal’s victory came two days after his 36th birthday and made him the oldest title winner in the history of the clay-court tournament.  Ruud led 3-1 in the second set, a deficit that spurred Nadal to raise his level — he took the last 11 games.  The Spaniard’s first triumph in Paris came in 2005 at age 19. No man or woman …

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Pope Francis added fuel to rumors about the future of his pontificate by announcing he would visit the central Italian city of L’Aquila in August for a feast initiated by Pope Celestine V, one of the few pontiffs who resigned before Pope Benedict XVI stepped down in 2013. Italian and Catholic media have been rife with unsourced speculation that the 85-year-old Francis might be planning to follow in Benedict’s footsteps, given his increased mobility problems that have forced him to use a wheelchair for the last month. Those rumors gained steam last week when Francis announced a consistory to create …

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Officials in British prime minister Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party expect a challenge to his leadership this week and have penciled in a vote for Wednesday, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. A growing number of Conservative lawmakers have said they have lost faith in Johnson’s government over a “partygate” scandal, with some saying they have submitted letters to officially call for a vote of confidence in their leader. At least 54 Conservative members of parliament are required to formally request a confidence vote to the chairman of the party’s 1922 Committee for one to be triggered. The letters are confidential …

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Albania’s parliament on Saturday elected a top military official as the country’s new president after no candidates were nominated in three rounds of voting. General-Major Bajram Begaj won the post after the 140-seat Parliament voted 78 in favor, four against and one abstained.The governing left-wing Socialist Party nominated and voted for Begaj, 55, after failing to reach a compromise with the opposition on a candidate to replace President Ilir Meta, and no independent candidate was nominated. Most of the opposition boycotted the voting. Begaj is post-communist Albania’s eighth president and the third from the military ranks. The five-year presidency has …

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British pop superstar Ed Sheeran was on Sunday set to bring the curtain down on four days of momentous nationwide celebrations to honor Queen Elizabeth II’s historic Platinum Jubilee. The multi-award-winning singer-songwriter will perform at the finale of a daylong pageant lauding the 96-year-old monarch’s record seven decades on the throne, as a long weekend of festivities across the U.K. concludes. Sheeran is one of numerous “national treasures” poised to perform a “special tribute” to the queen against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace to mark the milestone never previously reached by a British sovereign. Meanwhile, millions of people are expected …

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In return for Turkey agreeing on the NATO membership of Sweden, officials in Ankara have requested that Stockholm hand over or censor journalists, politicians and activists who, they say, are supporting Kurdish “terrorists.” One of these people, Amineh Kakabaveh, a Swedish parliament member, spoke to VOA’s Dakhil Shammo in Stockholm. Camera: Bapeer Sherwani …

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As soon as they had finished burying a veteran colonel killed by Russian shelling, the cemetery workers readied the next grave. Inevitably, given how quickly death is felling Ukrainian troops on the front lines, it won’t be empty for long. Col. Oleksandr Makhachek left behind a widow, Elena, and their daughters Olena and Myroslava-Oleksandra. In the first 100 days of war, his grave was the 40th dug in the military cemetery in Zhytomyr, 140 kilometers west of the capital, Kyiv. He was killed May 30 in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine where the fighting is raging. Nearby, the burial …

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Queen Elizabeth’s son and heir Prince Charles and her grandson Prince William will pay tribute to the record-breaking monarch at a pop concert at Buckingham Palace on the third day of nationwide celebrations for her 70 years on the throne. The “Party at the Palace,” which will feature singers Alicia Keys and Diana Ross, is the main Platinum Jubilee event Saturday. By early evening, tens of thousands of people had gathered on the Mall, the grand boulevard that runs up to the palace, and in a nearby park to watch the concert on big screens, while those with tickets surrounded …

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The death toll from a German train derailment near a Bavarian Alpine resort climbed to five on Saturday as another body was recovered from the wreckage, police said.   Investigators were combing the overturned carriages for victims and clues as to the cause of Friday’s accident near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a region gearing up to host the G-7 summit in late June.   “At the moment we do not believe there were further victims, but I cannot yet say for sure,” regional deputy police chief Frank Hellwig told reporters.   He said four of the dead were women, with another 44 people …

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For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT. 4:20 a.m.: The Washington Post reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an appearance on Russian TV, blamed Western sanctions for world food problems. Ukraine is a major producer of wheat and corn. The Associated Press reports that African countries imported 44% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine between 2018 and 2020. The AP reports that Ukraine and its allies have blamed Russia for blocking Ukraine’s grain exports. 3:14 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that Japan’s prime …

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent a message of congratulations to Queen Elizabeth, the reclusive state’s foreign ministry said, as Britain celebrates her Platinum Jubilee. Friday marked the second of four days of pomp, parties and parades to celebrate the 96-year-old monarch’s record-breaking 70 years on the throne. “I extend my congratulations to you and your people on the occasion of the National Day of your country, the official birthday of Your Majesty,” Kim said in a message dated June 2. Britain and North Korea established diplomatic relations in 2000. North Korea is one of the few countries …

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Two Reuters journalists were injured and a driver was killed on Friday after the vehicle they were in came under fire while heading to the eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, the latest battle line in Russia’s assault on its neighbor. Photographer Alexander Ermochenko and cameraman Pavel Klimov were traveling in a car provided by Russia-backed forces on the Russian-held part of the road between Sievierodonetsk and the town of Rubizhne, 10 kilometers (6 miles) to the north. Reuters could not immediately establish the identity of the driver, who had been assigned to Reuters by the separatists for the reporting trip. …

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