Category: Світ

China’s deepening ties with Russia will come with heavy geopolitical and economic consequences should the Ukraine crisis escalate, analysts say. While the two powers have recently intensified their so-called comprehensive strategic partnership, Beijing has not offered its full support for Moscow’s military encirclement of its neighbor. And there have been signs Beijing is worried that …

President Joe Biden says he is “convinced” that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine, but that diplomacy is still on the table until that happens.  VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. Producer: Bakhtiyar Zamanov …

Eight years after an uprising in Ukraine that led to the fall of the Russian-backed government, activists gather to mark that victory, saying they are now preparing for what may be their country’s next great struggle. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from Kyiv. Camera: Yan Boechat. …

Nine passengers were missing after a blaze engulfed a ferry sailing from Greece to Italy early Friday, and firefighters battled to rescue people trapped on the ship, authorities said.  A total of 240 passengers and 51 crew were on board the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia when the fire broke out, and rescue vessels took most to …

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday of Russian troops surrounding Ukraine, that it is “high time to seriously de-escalate.”  “I still think it will not happen,” he told Western leaders gathered in Germany for the Munich Security Conference about a possible Russian invasion of its southwestern neighbor. “But if it did, it would be catastrophic.”  …

The military government of Mali says France’s decision to withdraw troops is a violation of bilateral accords.  At the same time, the government says it wants French forces to leave Mali immediately. During an address from Elysee Palace Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said the withdrawal of French and European forces from Mali would take …

U.S. officials say the United States will sell Poland 250 M1 Abrams battle tanks to enhance the country’s security amid escalating tensions with Russia over Ukraine. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters in Warsaw Friday he and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have informed Congress of their intent to sell the vehicles.  “The timeframe …

Millions of Britons were urged to cancel travel plans and stay indoors Friday amid fears of high winds and flying debris as the second major storm this week prompted a rare “red” weather warning across southern England. Storm Eunice is likely to cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions, with gusts that may exceed 145 kph …

One of the many unsettling questions raised by the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is what an armed conflict in Eastern Europe would do to the energy supply of the countries of the European Union, which have become increasingly reliant on Russian natural gas for electricity generation, industrial applications, and commercial and residential …

The gold medalist said she felt empty. The silver medalist pledged never to skate again. The favorite left in tears without saying a word. After one of the most dramatic nights in their sport’s history, Russia’s trio of teenage figure skating stars each enter an uncertain future. Her Olympics and life turned upside down by …

U.S. President Joe Biden says there is a “very high” likelihood that Russia will invade Ukraine in the next several days. Three top U.S. officials are in Europe to meet with allies about the escalations in Eastern Europe. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports from Brussels. …

The Vatican’s big fraud and extortion trial resumes Friday after exposing some unseemly realities of how the Holy See operates, with a new spy story taking center stage that is more befitting of a 007 thriller than the inner workings of a papacy. According to written testimony obtained Thursday, one of Pope Francis’ top advisers …

The United States and its Western allies are bracing for the possibility that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have a ripple effect in cyberspace, even if Western entities are not initially the intended target. “I am absolutely concerned,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told the virtual Munich Cyber Security Conference on Thursday when …

U.S. military pilot Gail S. Halvorsen — known as the “Candy Bomber” for his candy airdrops during the Berlin airlift after World War II ended — has died at age 101. Halvorsen died Wednesday following a brief illness in his home state of Utah, surrounded by most of his children, James Stewart, the director of …

Tanzanian political figures are applauding after President Samia Suluhu Hassan met in Brussels Wednesday with opposition leader Tundu Lissu. Lissu has lived in Belgium since a 2017 assassination attempt. He returned to Tanzania in 2020 to run for president but fled the country again after protests against his election loss and what he said were …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the U.N. Security Council that Russia is planning to attack Ukraine within days that intelligence information said could be preceded by a fabricated excuse involving a bogus or real chemical weapons assault.  Blinken voiced the Biden administration’s concerns Thursday after making a last-minute change to his travel plans …

Dozens of African heads of state are in Brussels for a summit of European Union and African Union leaders, beginning Thursday. The coronavirus pandemic, investment and security are high on the agenda, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …

The Kremlin said Thursday it will take time to withdraw Russian forces that have completed drills near the Ukraine border, while the United States and other Ukrainian allies say there are no concrete signs of a pullback of the Russian military elements that have sparked fears of a new invasion of Ukraine.  A senior U.S. …

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris travels Thursday to Munich, where officials say she will focus on consulting with allies about the Russia-Ukraine crisis. While in Germany, where Harris will lead the U.S. delegation at the Munich Security Conference, she is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the leaders …

The top European Union court ruled on Wednesday that the EU can withhold funding from member states that fail to uphold its rule of law principles, giving the bloc a powerful tool to enforce its democratic values.  “The European Union must be able to defend those values, within the limits of its powers,” the European …

NATO’s chief said on Wednesday there was no evidence that Russia was withdrawing forces from the Ukraine border, but he added there was still a chance for a diplomatic solution. NATO leaders and defense ministers were meeting in Brussels for talks. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb has more. …

Russia reiterated claims Wednesday that it has begun withdrawing some troops from close to the Ukrainian border. Many Western nations, however, say there is little evidence of a pullback and fear an invasion of Ukraine is still imminent.  Russia’s Ministry of Defense released several videos purporting to show tanks and troops withdrawing from the border …

In the Central African Republic’s countryside, Russian mercenaries from the controversial Wagner Group are backing government forces in the fight against rebels. In the capital Bangui, they’re fronting a Russian film campaign produced in the CAR backing Wagner’s role in combating insurgents in Mozambique. VOA has more in this report from Bangui. Camera: Clément Di Roma …

Everything is normal — or appears so. Outside the grand nineteenth-century city hall in Lviv, the capital of western Ukraine where Western embassies hurriedly relocated consular staff from Kyiv earlier this week, the streets are bustling. Children squeal with delight as they try to master their roller-skates in an outdoor skating rink nearby. Their breath …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday he is “troubled by dubious new charges” against Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who went on trial Tuesday in a penal colony outside of Moscow. Navalny is accused of embezzlement and contempt of court. If convicted, he could face up to 15 more years in prison.  “Navalny …

Catholic groups Tuesday accused Italy’s Church of an “institutional failure” to confront clergy sexual abuse and demanded an independent national inquiry mirroring ones conducted in France and Germany.  A collective of nine groups — seven headed by women — issued the demand during the launch of a campaign called “Beyond the Great Silence” and a …