Category: Євросоюз

Viewed from Paris, London and Washington, the events unfolding in Ukraine may seem like a new Cold War taking shape in Europe. From the Baltic countries, it looks much worse. To Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians — particularly those old enough to have lived under Soviet control — Russia’s belligerence toward Ukraine has some worried that they could be the next target. The tensions have brought back memories of mass deportations and oppression. “My grandparents were sent away to Siberia. My father was persecuted by the KGB. Now I live in a free democratic country, but it seems that nothing can …

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Russia fired missiles at more than half a dozen Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, targeting air defense facilities and military infrastructure just before dawn Thursday and landed soldiers on the country’s south coast. The action unfolded shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on television what he described as a “special military operation,” but what Ukrainian leaders say is a full-scale invasion of their country, the second biggest in Europe. In an angry address broadcast just before 6 a.m. Moscow time, Russia’s president said he could no longer tolerate what he called the threats from Ukraine. He ended his …

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Ukraine said on Thursday it had closed its airspace to civilian flights because of a “high risk” to safety, and Europe’s aviation regulator also warned about the hazards of flying in bordering areas of Russia and Belarus because of military activities. Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine on Thursday in what appeared to be the start of war in Europe. Ukraine State Air Traffic Services Enterprise said on its website that the country’s airspace was closed to civilian flights starting at 0045 GMT on Thursday and that air traffic services had been suspended. The European …

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Top U.S. officials painted a grim picture of what a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine would look like, as Ukraine declared a state of emergency starting at midnight Thursday. Pentagon officials said Russia was set to invade. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. …

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Explosions were heard in Kyiv early Thursday, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced “military operations” in Ukraine’s Donbas region. Putin said in a national address around 6 a.m. local time that he had “made the decision of a military operation” in Ukraine to defend separatists in the east of the country, according to media reports. At the same time, the U.N. Security Council was holding a nighttime emergency session Wednesday to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. Earlier, another sweeping cyberattack struck Ukrainian government websites Wednesday as the Pentagon said Russian forces were closing in on Ukraine’s borders, readying “to …

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Europe is facing calls to impose immediate tougher sanctions on Russia following President Vladimir Putin’s recognition of the separatist-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine and his pledge to send in what the Kremlin called “peacekeeping” troops. “We are anticipating further steps on strengthening sanction pressure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters Wednesday. “It’s important that Germany decided to halt the certification of the Nord Stream 2. It should be irreversible.” Nord Stream 2 Berlin announced Tuesday it had officially halted the certification process for Nord Stream 2, the newly built gas pipeline that was designed to take …

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Ukraine’s foreign minister appealed to the international community on Wednesday to “take swift, concrete and resolute actions” to help preserve his country from Russian military aggression. “Russia will not stop at Ukraine,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. He added that a full-scale war against Ukraine would be the end of the world order as we know it. “Russia shows signs of readiness to further escalate its aggression against Ukraine, and we have limited time to stop, deter and contain it,” he warned. “Every hour of inaction now is a threat to the …

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The recognition by Russian President Vladimir Putin of two self-proclaimed republics within Ukrainian territory has created an uncertain scenario for Russians, as war and economic sanctions point to a troubled future. Along Russia’s border with eastern Ukraine, interviews with some members of the local population suggest some are eager to fight while others say there is less patriotic fervor this time than in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea. Jon Spier narrates this report from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Producer: Henry Hernandez …

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Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, arrived in Russia Wednesday for a crucial meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Officials said the two sides will review bilateral ties, including energy cooperation. Pakistan’s state-run PTV broadcast live Khan’s arrival at the airport in Moscow, where he was received by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov. Khan is the first foreign leader visiting Moscow since Putin recognized the independence of Ukraine’s breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk earlier this week and deployed troops there. Russia’s action escalated tensions with the West and drew new international sanctions against the country. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told …

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With Russia announcing it will continue its military drills with Belarus, many observers believe it is just another step by Moscow to prepare for a wider invasion of Ukraine. Russia had originally said the drills would end on February 20 – as Maxim Moskalkov reports. …

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As Russia moves troops into the Donbas region of Ukraine, experts warn that the prospect of a shooting war erupting in Europe, combined with heavy sanctions on Russia, is likely to cause instability in the energy market, possibly translating into significantly higher costs for both gasoline and natural gas.    Because Russia is one of the world’s largest producers of oil and natural gas, disruptions in its output, whether as an unintended consequence of military action or as a response to international sanctions, can have a profound effect on energy prices.    Global oil prices are extremely sensitive to supply …

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Greek authorities have suspended the search for 10 people missing in a ferry fire near Greece. The vessel is being towed to a mainland port five days after the blaze started.   The Euroferry Olympia caught fire last Friday three hours after leaving Igoumenitsa, Greece, for Brindisi, Italy. The ferry was carrying 292 people. Only 278 were evacuated safely to shore.  Ten people remain unaccounted for. Greek officials said they were thought to be truck drivers from Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, BBC News reported.  Greek authorities requested Tuesday that the ferry be towed from a spot off the Island of …

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An hourslong hostage standoff at the Apple Store in Amsterdam ended late Tuesday with police in a car driving into the hostage taker as he ran from the store. His hostage was safe, police said.  “We can confirm that the hostage taker is out of the Apple Store,” police said in a tweet. “He is lying on the street and a robot is checking him for explosives. Armed police officers have him under control from a distance. The hostage is safe.”  Police then said that the man did not have explosives and that medical staff were attending to him. There …

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Germany on Tuesday halted the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea natural gas pipeline project designed to double the flow of Russian gas to Germany, a day after Moscow formally recognized the Russian-occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine as independent states.  What is Nord Stream 2?  The more than $11 billion project that has bothered Germany’s allies was completed in September but has been idle pending certification by Germany and the European Union.   Nord Stream 2 was halted as it was set to ease pressure on European consumers facing soaring energy prices and governments that have spent …

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said he is conscripting reservists for a special period but ruled out a general mobilization after Russia announced it was moving troops into eastern Ukraine.  One of Europe’s worst security crises in decades is unfolding after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two areas of eastern Ukraine as independent. Both adjoin Russia and have been controlled by Russian-backed fighters since 2014.  Ukraine accused Russia of wrecking peace talks on ending an 8-year-old conflict in eastern Ukraine and resisted Moscow’s demands it scrap its ambition to join the NATO alliance.  In a televised address Zelenskyy said he …

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Police in the Central African Republic have detained four French soldiers who are with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country (MINUSCA). The arrests sparked false rumors that France had attempted to assassinate the C.A.R.’s president. The French military personnel were arrested Monday at the airport in Bangui. The four men were in the security escort of French general Stephane Marchenior, the U.N. peacekeeping mission chief of staff. Marchenior was at the airport for a time Monday before C.A.R. President Faustin Archange Touadera was due to return from a trip to Belgium. After Marchenior departed, the four soldiers were …

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Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is set to travel to Russia on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin, as the West condemns the Russian leader over the deepening Ukraine crisis. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Putin and Khan “will review the entire array” of relations between the two countries, including energy cooperation.  “They will also have wide-ranging exchange of views on major regional and international issues, including Islamophobia and situation in Afghanistan,” the statement added.  Russia’s official news agency TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as telling reporters Tuesday that Putin’s meeting with Khan “is scheduled for Thursday.” Officials …

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Russia’s decision to send troops into two separatist enclaves in eastern Ukraine is forcing a difficult choice for China, which has aligned itself closer with Moscow but could face blowback if it is seen as supporting the unilateral redrawing of international borders, analysts say. The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday formally recognized the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and ordered what it called “peacekeepers” into the contested regions. The moves followed a fiery speech in which Putin questioned Ukraine’s very statehood, further raising concern he is planning a large-scale invasion. The situation is tricky for Chinese …

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Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s recognition of breakaway areas in eastern Ukraine as independent states, with many condemning the move and urging a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. “We must make it clear that an attack on Ukraine is an attack on the sovereignty of every U.N. member state and the U.N. charter – and that it will be met with swift and severe consequences,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said late Monday. “We continue to believe that the diplomatic table is the only place where responsible nations resolve their differences.” A spokesman for U.N. …

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Ukrainian positions in eastern Ukraine continue to experience shelling from the occupied territories. Many of the victims are local civilians. The town of Novotoschkivske, near the contact line in the Luhansk region, came under mortar fire Sunday night. For VOA, Victor Lymar reports from Luhansk region. …

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