Category: Світ

The United Nations Security Council is due to vote Sunday to call for a rare emergency special session of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which would be held on Monday, diplomats said. The vote by the 15-member council is procedural so none of the five permanent council members – Russia, …

In a sea of blue and yellow flags and banners, protesters around the world showed their support for the people of Ukraine on Saturday and called on governments to do more to help Kyiv, punish Russia and avoid a broader conflict. Several hundred people marched through heavy rain in Sydney chanting “Ukraine will prevail,” while …

The U.S. is revisiting cutting Russia from the global bank-to-bank payment system known as SWIFT, as the next step in a series of escalating sanctions punishing Moscow for the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden initially held back on this crucial step that would isolate Russia on the world stage and have a …

Russia’s communications regulator accused 10 local media outlets on Saturday of falsely depicting what Russia calls a special military operation in Ukraine and distributing false information about events there. Among those sent warning letters were Echo Moskvy, a popular radio station, and Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper critical of the government whose editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov was …

The Russian invasion of Ukraine could force as many as 4 million Ukrainians to flee their country, the United Nations said this week, spawning one of the worst refugee crises in Europe in more than 70 years. According to U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, as of Saturday morning, more than 150,000 Ukrainians have …

French sea police seized a ship on Saturday that authorities suspect belongs to a Russian company targeted by European Union sanctions over the war in Ukraine, a government official told Reuters. The cargo vessel transporting cars, which was headed for St. Petersburg, is “strongly suspected of being linked to Russian interests targeted by the sanctions,” …

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all times EST:     4 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to his people from Kyiv. CNN has the video translated into English. 3:32 a.m.: Ukraine’s president tweets about joining the EU.   …

Explosions and gunfire could be heard Saturday in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as Russian and Ukrainian forces battled for control of the city. Ukrainian officials are urging the country’s citizens to help defend Kyiv against the Russian forces.  An army base in the capital was attacked, but Ukraine’s military said that attack was repelled. Ukrainian President …

Russia blocked a move Friday in the U.N. Security Council to condemn and halt its invasion of Ukraine, but several nations said they would seek accountability from the full U.N. membership in the General Assembly. “Let me put it plainly: Vote yes if you believe in upholding the U.N. Charter. Vote yes if you support …

The United States is joining the European Union in sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top officials. The move came after NATO agreed to activate its Response Force, deploying additional forces to its eastern flank. VOA’s White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. …

Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war in a pre-dawn Thursday televised address, social media users living in countries near Ukraine began setting up online networks to support refugees. By Friday evening, at least 100,000 people had signed up to various groups on Facebook and other platforms, offering their homes, money and carpools to …

U.N. aid agencies are increasing humanitarian operations to help Ukrainians whose lives have been upended since Russia invaded the country. The Russian offensive has thrown the country into turmoil. Aid agencies are scrambling to assess the dangers and priority needs and to help millions of people in an environment of extreme insecurity. Preliminary figures of …

South Korean officials reiterated Friday that they willl implement U.S. and European sanctions on Russian exports but that Seoul will not impose its own. The sanctions were imposed this week in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “As a responsible member of the international community, the Korean government will support and join [its] efforts, including …

Hundreds of Australians of Ukrainian descent joined those with Russian heritage to demonstrate against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in downtown Sydney on Friday. It was an act of solidarity many thousands of kilometers away from the conflict in Ukraine. Protesters held signs urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the killing. The Australian government …

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan on Friday expressed his concern over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said his court may investigate possible war crimes in the country. “I have been closely following recent developments in and around Ukraine with increasing concern,” Khan said in a statement. “I remind all sides conducting hostilities …

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed again Thursday to Russian President Vladimir Putin to cease his invasion of Ukraine and withdraw his troops. “The decisions of the coming days will shape our world and directly affect the lives of millions upon millions of people,” Guterres told reporters at U.N. headquarters. The use of force by …

Security forces in Russia have broken up anti-war protests in several cities across the country. In Moscow, protesters chanted “no to war” after Russian troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine early Thursday. …

Russian police detained more than 1,300 anti-war protestors in 50 Russian cities Thursday, according to OVD-Info, an independent Russian human rights group. Anti-war rallies broke out after a military operation targeting Ukraine was announced. The human rights organization said most of the detentions, 660, were in Moscow. The group said arrests were also made in …

In the week after the Nazis began attacking Poland, the U.S. weekly newsmagazine Time declared in its September 11, 1939, edition, “World War II began last week at 5:20 a.m. (Polish time) Friday, September 1, when a German bombing plane dropped a projectile on Puck, a fishing village and air base in the armpit of …

Human Rights Watch warns Russian President Vladimir Putin’s battle plan for Ukraine will likely entail the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure to weaken Ukraine’s resolve to fight on.  Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, says he fears Russia’s military will replicate in Ukraine the war strategy it employed to help the …

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has so far been met with diplomatic silence in Africa, except for a comment made by Kenya’s ambassador to the UN earlier this week. Analysts say that while many Africans disagree with Russia’s use of force, the continent’s governments are aware of Russia’s power on the world stage. Ukraine’s ambassador to …

The shockwave from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reverberated in the world’s financial markets Thursday.   London’s benchmark FTSE index was down 3.3% in midday trading, while both the CAC-40 index in Paris and Frankfurt’s DAX index were 5.5% lower.  Markets in Asia and Australia all closed in negative territory in the aftermath of Russia’s attacks on …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …