Category: Євросоюз

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 4:05 a.m.: Kyiv is shortening its curfew, The Washington Post reports. It’ll start an hour later and will now run from 11 p.m.-5 a.m. Additionally, public transit will extend its hours and run from 6 a.m.-10 p.m. 3:04 a.m.: The New York Times reports that a missile hit military infrastructure in the Lviv region early Sunday. 2:04 a.m.: In its latest intelligence update, the U.K.’s defense ministry says Russia’s assault on Donbas has “lost momentum.” “Despite small-scale …

READ MORE

Yelena Osipova barely slept ahead of Russia’s pomp-filled Victory Day celebrations on May 9. The 76-year-old artist was up late, making placards to protest about the conflict in Ukraine. But the moment she stepped out of her home in St. Petersburg on her way to demonstrate, two unknown men snatched the work from her and ran off.  “It was upsetting. I’d worked half the night and really liked those placards,” the white-haired painter told AFP.  “It’s obvious that it was an organized attack.” Indefatigable as ever, within an hour, the tiny, stooped woman, who moves with difficulty, already had a …

READ MORE

Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest in the early hours of Sunday in a clear show of support for the war-ravaged nation. The six-man band that mixes traditional folk melodies and contemporary hip hop in a purposeful defense of Ukrainian culture was the sentimental and bookmakers’ favorite among the 25 bands and performers competing in the grand finale. The public vote from home was decisive in securing their victory. The band’s front man, Oleg Psiuk, took advantage of the enormous global audience to make impassioned plea to free fighters still trapped beneath a sprawling steel plant in …

READ MORE

“No one today can predict how long this war will last,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Friday about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “But we are doing everything we can to liberate our land quickly. This is our priority – to work every day to make the war shorter,” he said. Zelenskyy said the length of the war “depends, unfortunately, not only on our people, who are already doing the maximum.” He said, “It also depends on our partners – on European countries, on the countries of the whole free world.” The possible expansion of NATO, …

READ MORE

Group of Seven foreign ministers vowed on Saturday to reinforce Russia’s economic and political isolation, continue supplying weapons to Ukraine and tackle what Germany’s foreign minister described as a “wheat war” being waged by Moscow. After meeting at a 400-year-old castle estate in the Baltic Sea resort of Weissenhaus, senior diplomats from Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union also pledged to continue their military and defense assistance for “as long as necessary.” They would also tackle what they called Russian misinformation aimed at blaming the West for food supply issues around the world …

READ MORE

The leader of the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia announced Friday that a referendum on joining Russia would be held in July. Russia has exercised effective control over the region since fighting a brief war with Georgia in 2008. Russia and a handful of other countries recognize South Ossetia as an independent state, but most of the world still considers it to be part of Georgia. “We did it!” South Ossetian leader Anatoly Bibilov wrote on Telegram Friday, announcing that he had signed a decree setting the referendum for July 17. “In legalese, we fulfilled yet another important legal …

READ MORE

Russian state-owned utility Inter RAO will stop exporting electricity to Finland from Saturday because it has not been paid, the company’s Finnish subsidiary said Friday. Inter RAO has not received payments for electricity sold via pan-European power exchange Nord Pool since May 6, the subsidiary said, without giving any reason. “This situation is exceptional and happened for the first time in over 20 years of our trading history,” RAO Nordic said in a statement. Power imports to Finland will be halted from 1 a.m. local time on Saturday (2200 GMT on Friday) “for the time being,” Finnish grid operator Fingrid …

READ MORE

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Germany and France on Saturday for NATO and trade meetings, as Finland says it wants to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia has warned it will respond to what it calls a hostile move. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department. …

READ MORE

The possible expansion of NATO will be a focus of talks Saturday, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Berlin for an informal NATO foreign ministerial meeting. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin have expressed their approval for joining the alliance, a move that would complete a major policy shift for the Scandinavian countries in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday his country does not support Finland and Sweden joining NATO, citing their support of what Turkey considers terrorist organizations, such as Kurdish militant groups. “We are following …

READ MORE

Russian forces suffered heavy losses in a Ukrainian attack that destroyed a pontoon bridge they were using to try to cross a river in the east, Ukrainian and British officials said in another sign of Moscow’s struggle to salvage a war gone awry.  Ukraine’s airborne command released photos and video of what it said was a damaged Russian pontoon bridge over the Siversky Donets River and several destroyed or damaged Russian military vehicles nearby. The command said its troops “drowned the Russian occupiers.”  Britain’s Defense Ministry said Russia lost “significant armored maneuver elements” of at least one battalion tactical group …

READ MORE

The EU’s foreign policy chief said on Friday that he believed there had been enough progress during consultations between his envoy and Iranian officials in Tehran this week to relaunch nuclear negotiations after two months of deadlock.  Talks to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have been on hold since March, chiefly over Tehran’s insistence that Washington remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the U.S. list of designated terrorist organizations.  Speaking as talks coordinator Enrique Mora arrived back in Europe, Josep Borrell said Iran’s response had been “positive enough” after Mora had delivered a message that things …

READ MORE

The lawyer for WNBA star Brittney Griner said Friday her pre-trial detention in Russia has been extended by one month. Griner’s lawyer Alexander Boikov told The Associated Press he believed the relatively short extension of the detention indicated the case would come to trial soon. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was detained at the Moscow airport after vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis were allegedly found in her luggage, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The Biden administration says Griner, 31, is being wrongfully detained. The WNBA and U.S. officials have worked toward …

READ MORE

A worker hurt in an explosion at a chemical factory in Slovenia has died from his injuries, bringing the total number of people killed in the accident to six, local media reported on Friday. The blast occurred Thursday when a cistern exploded at a resin factory belonging to chemicals company Melamin in the municipality of Kocevje, some 60 kilometers south of Ljubljana. “Unfortunately our fears have been confirmed,” Melamin general manager Srecko Stefanic told reporters. The strength of the explosion “did not leave them any chance of survival,” he said. Initially, five people were reported to have been killed and …

READ MORE

U.S. Senator Rand Paul Thursday blocked a vote on a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, slowing U.S. efforts to quickly deliver more help to Ukraine as it battles a Russian invasion. “We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy,” Paul said. A unanimous Senate vote would have expedited the delivery of aid to Ukraine. Paul’s move, however, has delayed the vote for another week, when the Senate is expected to pass the bill. Ukraine says negotiations are underway for the release of 38 incapacitated soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol in exchange for Russian prisoners. In …

READ MORE

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 4:08 a.m.: The BBC reports that European Council President Charles Michel says that global security is “under threat.” “Russia, a nuclear armed state… is attacking the sovereign nation of Ukraine, while making shameful and unacceptable references to the use of nuclear weapons,” he said. Michel is currently in Japan, visiting Hiroshima, the city that was the target of the first atomic bombing. 3:04 a.m.: Al Jazeera, citing the U.S. think tank the Institute for the Study …

READ MORE

A Frenchman murdered in the desert, a Dutch priest killed in a Nazi concentration camp and an Indian lay convert are among 10 new saints being created by Pope Francis on Sunday. Tens of thousands of people from around the world are expected in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican for the canonization mass, presided over by the 85-year-old pontiff. Under the rules of the Catholic Church, all 10 have already been beatified, or named “blessed,” but had to then be attributed a miracle to take the final step to sainthood. Most founded religious orders, but the new saints include Charles …

READ MORE

Colored marker stones placed on either side of a small river – blue and white for Finland, red and green for Russia – are all that separate the two countries in the windswept fields of the South Karelia region. The border stretches 1,340 kilometers from the Baltic Sea to the Arctic, much of it sparsely populated, frozen wilderness. For decades, the two countries have enjoyed peaceful relations, founded on Finland’s post-World War II policy of neutrality and nonalignment. But this simple border could soon become be a frontier between East and West: a geopolitical fault line. Finland’s government said Thursday …

READ MORE

An obscure mountain in the remote far west of Spain could prove to be a game changer in the race to end the West’s dependence on China for a mineral that is key to the world’s future mobility. Valdeflores, just outside Caceres, a city of about 100,000 inhabitants in Extremadura, a region well off the tourist track, has been designated as the possible site for a lithium mine. If the plan is approved, it is estimated the site will provide enough of the mineral used in rechargeable batteries to power 400,000 Tesla Model 3 cars every year. Most important, there …

READ MORE

Finland’s government says the country should immediately apply to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the Russia-Finland border, such a move would have big implications for the region. Camera: Henry Ridgwell. Contributor: Mari-Leena Kuosa. …

READ MORE

Since the invasion of Ukraine began, the letter Z was used by Russia as a way to identify its military vehicles inside Ukraine. But the letter has now become a propaganda symbol inside Russia and Ukraine. VOA’s Russian service produced this report. …

READ MORE