Month: July 2022

As Ukrainians seek refuge in any way they can – inside and outside Ukraine – many take their pets with them wherever they go. Maxim Moskalkov has the story. …

The trial of professional women’s basketball player Brittney Griner is set to begin Friday in a Russian courtroom. The WNBA star has been detained in Russia for more than four months and is facing 10 years in prison on drug smuggling charges. At the time of her arrest in February, customs officials say the Olympic …

Elon Musk’s deployment of thousands of Starlink satellite internet terminals to Ukraine has been a major help for the country in its fight against Russia. VOA’s Russia Service has the story. …

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday lobbed insults at Russian President Vladimir Putin and slammed his invasion of Ukraine as “incompetent” and “foolish.” At a speech in Seoul, Mattis compared Putin to the kind of paranoid characters created by Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky. “Putin is a creature straight out of Dostoevsky. He goes …

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations, is visiting Ukraine and Russia for meetings with the leaders of the two warring nations after attending the Group of Seven summit in Germany. Widodo has sought to maintain a neutral position since the start …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday told Sweden and Finland that he could still block their drives to join NATO if they fail to implement a new accession deal with Ankara. Erdogan issued his blunt warning at the end of a NATO summit at which the U.S.-led alliance formally invited the Nordic countries to …

Turkey’s media regulator blocked access Thursday to the Turkish language services of Voice of America and Deutsche Welle after the international public broadcasters did not apply for licenses the regulator had requested. In February, the Radio and Television Supreme Council, known as RTUK, gave three international broadcasters, including Voice of America’s Turkish Service, short notice …

NATO leaders concluded their three-day meeting in Madrid Thursday with the Western security alliance strengthening its defense against Russian aggression, warning of global challenges posed by China and inviting neutral countries Finland and Sweden into the group. U.S. President Joe Biden described the summit as “historic.” “The last time NATO drafted a new mission statement …