новини

Attack targeting Turkish defense company leaves 4 dead, 14 wounded

Ankara — Assailants set off explosives and opened fire in an attack Wednesday on the premises of the Turkish state-run aerospace and defense company TUSAS, killing four people and wounding several, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. At least two of the attackers died, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. “We have four martyrs. We have 14 wounded. I condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish mercy on our martyrs,” Erdogan said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in Kazan, Russia. Putin offered him condolences over the attack. Selim Cirpanoglu, mayor of the …

READ MORE

G7 allies move ahead with $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian funds

Washington — Ukraine will receive $50 billion in loans, backed by frozen Russian assets, from Group of Seven allies, the White House said Wednesday. Distribution of the money will begin by year’s end, according to American officials who said the United States is providing $20 billion of the total. Leaders of the wealthy democracies agreed earlier this year to engineer the mammoth loan to help Ukraine in its fight for survival after Russia’s invasion. Interest earned on profits from Russia’s frozen central bank assets would be used as collateral. “To be clear, nothing like this has ever been done before,” said …

READ MORE

Britain Prime Minister Starmer plays down Trump team claims of interference 

London — Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday played down allegations made by Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump’s team of “blatant foreign interference” by his Labour Party in the U.S. election, saying it was normal for its volunteers to campaign.    Starmer also insisted that he maintained “a good relationship” with Trump, having met him for talks last month.    The former president’s legal team filed a complaint to the U.S. Federal Election Commission alleging the “British Labour Party made, and the [Kamala] Harris campaign accepted, illegal foreign national contributions.”    The filing cited media reports that Labour officials, including the prime …

READ MORE

Incoming EU foreign policy chief Kallas warns against Russia and China

The European Union’s next foreign policy chief has told lawmakers that strengthening security must be a priority, warning that Europe must be prepared as Russia and “partly China” exploit the continent’s open societies. “European security is deeply personal to me as a native of a country that has long told others that Russia’s imperialistic dream never died,” Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, said in written replies to members of the European Parliament published late on Tuesday. “My short-term priority must be to address the pressing global concerns: Russia’s war against Ukraine and strengthening the EU’s security and defense,” …

READ MORE

Russia, Ukraine trade drone attacks

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it destroyed 14 Ukrainian aerial drones in areas along the Ukraine-Russia border as well as four uncrewed Ukrainian boats in the Black Sea. The ministry said Russian air defenses destroyed 10 drones over Russia-occupied Crimea, and another four over the Rostov region. Russian forces carried out a second consecutive night of heavy drone attacks targeting the Sumy region in southern Ukraine. The Sumy regional military administration said Wednesday that Ukrainian air defenses shot down 19 Russian drones, a night after Ukraine downed 25 drones in the same area. Officials in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions …

READ MORE

Ukraine’s prosecutor general resigns following draft-dodging scandal

Ukraine’s prosecutor general announced his resignation Tuesday amid charges that his office provided exemptions to the military draft for government officials.   “Many shameful facts of abuse have been established within the system of the prosecutor’s offices of Ukraine,” Andriy Kostin said in a statement.   Kostin’s resignation followed a meeting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held with senior officials concerning the issuance of disability certificates. The certificates allowed officials throughout the government to avoid military service at a time when the country is struggling to recruit soldiers for its fight against Russia.  “The prosecutor general must take political responsibility …

READ MORE

US warns ramped-up election influence efforts aim to stoke violence

WASHINGTON — Efforts by U.S. adversaries to divide Americans and sow growing distrust in the upcoming presidential election have already begun to intensify, according to senior U.S. intelligence officials, who warn some countries appear to be leaning toward additional measures to spark election-related violence. The latest declassified assessment, issued Tuesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, comes just two weeks before voters head to the polls November 5 to choose a new president and vote on a series of statewide and local races and initiatives. “Foreign actors — particularly Russia, Iran and China — remain intent on fanning …

READ MORE

VOA interview: US Army General Costanza discusses Russia’s threat to West

The war in Ukraine is reshaping the strategic landscape of Europe. While Western and Eastern European nations within the NATO alliance recognize the Russian threat, each day, NATO nations bordering Belarus and Russia feel the immediacy of the threat. In an exclusive interview with VOA’s Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze, Lieutenant General Charles Costanza, commander of the U.S. Army’s V Corps (also known as the Fifth Corps) in Poland, discusses how NATO adapts to Russia’s evolving tactics while defending its members’ borders. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: Can you explain the different threat assessments …

READ MORE