Category: Євросоюз

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said on Saturday it was working to secure the release of a number of Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) members who had been detained in eastern Ukraine. “The OSCE is extremely concerned that a number of SMM national mission members have been deprived of their liberty in Donetsk and Luhansk. The OSCE is using all available channels to facilitate the release of its staff,” its media office said in response to a query, giving no more details. In an address to the 157-member body on Friday, Britain’s deputy ambassador to the Vienna-based OSCE …

READ MORE

Turkey has closed its airspace to Russian civilian and military planes flying to Syria, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying Saturday by local media.  The announcement marks one of the strongest responses to date by Turkey, which has cultivated close ties with Moscow despite being a member of the NATO defense alliance, to Russia’s two-month military assault on Ukraine.  “We closed the airspace to Russia’s military planes — and even civilian ones — flying to Syria. They had until April, and we asked in March,” Turkish media quoted Cavusoglu as saying.  Cavusoglu said he conveyed the decision to …

READ MORE

The World Health Organization warns the health system in eastern Ukraine has all but collapsed, putting the lives of thousands of people trapped in Mariupol and other besieged areas at risk.    U.N. health officials say it is critical they be granted immediate access to Mariupol and other areas hardest hit by fighting in eastern Ukraine. They say they have received reports that nearly all health facilities and hospitals in areas like the Luhansk region either are damaged or destroyed.   The WHO is appealing for access to affected areas to assess health needs and to provide critical medical supplies to the …

READ MORE

France goes to the polls Sunday for the final round of voting in the presidential election, with Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally party just a few points behind incumbent Emmanuel Macron. A Le Pen victory would have big implications for European security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Putin links In a fiery televised debate Wednesday, incumbent President Emmanuel Macron sought to highlight links between Marine Le Pen’s far-right party and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Her National Rally party took several loans from Russia in 2014, including a $9.75 million loan from the Kremlin-linked First Czech Russian Bank.   …

READ MORE

Ukraine will attempt to evacuate people Saturday from the besieged port city of Mariupol. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram that authorities will try to get women, children and the elderly out of the city where Russian troops have thwarted previous evacuation efforts. It is unlikely that humanitarian corridors for the public will be open Saturday, authorities say. Officials estimate there are as many as 100,000 people remaining in Mariupol. Meanwhile, France and Germany have previously armed Russia with nearly $300 million worth of military equipment that is “likely being used in Ukraine,” according to an exclusive …

READ MORE

Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against a prominent opposition activist and remanded him in pre-trial detention Friday for allegedly spreading “false information” about the country’s armed forces. A court in Moscow ordered Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. held in detention until June 12. Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told reporters that the false information case against Kara-Murza cited a March 15 speech to the Arizona House of Representatives, in which he denounced the war in Ukraine, as the basis for the latest charges. The activist rejects the accusations. Russian media reported that similar charges were being drawn up against outspoken tech executive …

READ MORE

France and Germany have armed Russia with nearly $300 million worth of military equipment that is “likely being used in Ukraine,” according to an exclusive report, based on European Commission data, in The Telegraph, a British newspaper. The hardware was sent, the newspaper reports, despite a European Union-wide embargo on arms to Russia that was imposed following the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. Germany has defended the sales, saying the items were “dual-use” equipment and that Russia had said they were needed for civilian, not military use. The newspaper said the equipment sent to Russia included “bombs, rockets, missiles …

READ MORE

The long-running trial of Turkish activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala nears its end as he and seven other defendants delivered their final defense statements on Friday. In the trial, known as the Gezi Park trial, Kavala and 15 other defendants face many accusations, including attempting to overthrow the government and organizing the 2013 Gezi Park protests. Kavala denies the charges. The Gezi Park protests began as an environmental demonstration in an Istanbul park and then turned into nationwide anti-government unrest against then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Eight protesters were killed during the protests. Kavala, 64, has been in jail for …

READ MORE

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday seized on remarks by a Russian general as evidence that Moscow would invade other countries if it succeeded in Ukraine. The general had said Russia aimed to capture all of southern and eastern Ukraine and link it to a breakaway province in neighboring Moldova. “This only confirms what I have already said multiple times: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was intended only as a beginning,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address Friday. He said comments earlier Friday by Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia’s central military district, show that Russia will not stop with Ukraine. …

READ MORE

The French military has accused Russian mercenaries of creating a mass grave and falsely blaming it on the French. The French Army says it has drone video, seen by news agencies Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, of Russian mercenaries burying bodies near Gossi, Mali, where the French army withdrew from a military base this week. Video of what appears to be a similar location circulated Thursday on Twitter, showing a blurred image of what are alleged to be bodies buried in the sand. The accompanying Twitter message says the departing French army left that scene behind in Gossi. Speaking to …

READ MORE

Rights activists in Azerbaijan are accusing the government of manufacturing false charges to arrest critics who have been returned to the country after failing to gain asylum in Germany. Samir Ashurov was detained on April 19 on charges of assault with a knife, just weeks after he was deported from Germany back to his native country. Ashurov had fled to Germany in 2018 when he was a member of the opposition REAL Movement. After leaving Azerbaijan, Ashurov continued criticizing the Azerbaijani government. He was readmitted to Azerbaijan on March 29, after the German government refused to grant him asylum. His …

READ MORE

French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen made final appeals Friday to undecided voters weighing fears of what a Le Pen presidency could bring against their anger at Macron’s record.  According to the latest surveys for Sunday’s run-off, fear may win the day over loathing: Macron the centrist, pro-European incumbent leads his anti-immigration, eurosceptic challenger by 10-14 points, well outside margins of error.  But the fact that nearly three in 10 voters say they will not vote or have not made up their minds means a surprise Le Pen win similar to events such as Brexit and …

READ MORE

Pope Francis cleared his schedule Friday after knee pain flared up again and required medical checks, the Vatican said. “The pope has slowed down his activities today due to medical checks that were necessary today. That’s why the agenda is empty today,” spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters. One event canceled was a scheduled meeting with Argentina’s foreign minister, Santiago Cafiero. The pain in his right knee kept Francis, 85, from presiding over Ash Wednesday events and also kept him from presiding over some Easter weekend events at Saint Peter’s Basilica. Francis delivered his Easter Sunday speech while sitting. Overall, the …

READ MORE

The United Nations human rights office said Friday there was growing evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including signs of indiscriminate shelling and summary executions, while it said Ukraine also appeared to have used weapons with indiscriminate effects. “Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, actions that may amount to war crimes,” the office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Michelle Bachelet said. U.N. human rights monitors in Ukraine have also documented what appeared to be the use of weapons with indiscriminate effects, causing …

READ MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol “liberated,” after nearly two months of fighting, even though Russian forces have not been able to penetrate the city’s massive Azovstal steel plant that remains in the hands of Ukrainian fighters and civilians. Rather than storming the plant, Putin has instead ordered a blockade of the facility, sealing it off “so that not even a fly comes through,” a tactic observers believe will save Russian soldiers’ lives and possibly starve out those inside the plant. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say evidence of mass graves outside Mariupol has emerged. …

READ MORE

A Russian tanker impounded by Greece this week and reportedly carrying Iranian oil will be released amid confusion about sanctions on its owners. “The coast guard has been ordered by the anti-money laundering authority to release the vessel,” a Greek government official said, without providing further details. On Tuesday, Greek authorities impounded the 115,500-deadweight tonnage Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, on the southern coast of the island of Evia. They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month, the EU banned Russian-flagged vessels from …

READ MORE

Onstage, they dance through hoops and perform acrobatics with smiles on their faces. Off it, they hold anguished phone calls with family back in Ukraine. Dancers Anna and Olga have found a sense of calm performing in a circus near New York, but they are still living the war they fled thousands of miles away. “I spent a month without a full night’s sleep. We couldn’t go out to buy food — we were stressed and shaken all the time. It was scary,” recalls Anna Starykh, who left Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February. Now the 21-year-old is performing with …

READ MORE

Tensions between Jerusalem and Moscow are rising over the contested Alexander Nevsky Russian church property in Jerusalem’s Old City. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently sent a personal letter to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett demanding Israel immediately hand over control of the church. The issue is one of the latest flashpoints in the increasingly contentious relations between the two countries during the Russian war against Ukraine. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. Camera – Ricki Rosen. …

READ MORE

Turkey has one of the worst records in Europe when it comes to the number of women murdered, or femicides. One of the most prominent groups challenging this phenomenon is called the “We Will Stop Femicide Platform.” But a court case could soon shut the group down, prompting outrage and protests across Turkey. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

READ MORE

British lawmakers on Thursday ordered a parliamentary investigation into Prime Minister Boris Johnson for allegedly lying about whether he broke coronavirus restrictions by attending illegal gatherings during the pandemic. The move, approved by cries of “aye” and without a formal vote in the House of Commons, means Parliament’s Committee of Privileges will investigate whether Johnson knowingly misled Parliament — historically a resigning offense if proven. The probe piles more pressure on a Conservative prime minister whose grip on power has been shaken by claims he flouted the pandemic rules he imposed on the country, then repeatedly failed to own up …

READ MORE