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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96 at her Balmoral residence in Scotland. She was Britain’s longest-serving monarch and this year celebrated 70 years on the throne.

Elizabeth was the only monarch most living Britons have ever known: a symbol of her nation, its empire and its Commonwealth.

Early life

Her teenage years were overshadowed by World War II, which she and her sister largely spent in the relative safety of Windsor Castle, west of London.

She personified British strength and character long before she even knew she would be queen.

In 1947, on her 21st birthday — then seen as the beginning of adulthood — she gave a now-famous televised address on her first official overseas tour in South Africa. “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong,” she said.

That same year she married the Greek-born Prince Philip. He was a distant cousin, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and the great-great-grandson of Britain’s Queen Victoria.

Coronation

In February 1952, Princess Elizabeth and her husband were in Kenya when news broke of the death of her father, King George XI. She returned to London as Queen Elizabeth II. Her coronation, at the age of 27, took place in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.

She saw a thorough transformation of society and technology during her reign of more than seven decades, a time in which she warned about the dangers of throwing away ageless ideals while embracing the advantages of new inventions. She sent out her first tweet in 2014.

Record-breaking

There are few royal records she did not break: she was Britain’s most traveled, oldest, longest-reigning monarch.

“As head of the Commonwealth, the queen has links with the past. Sometimes it’s a past that’s difficult to come to terms with because you think of empire, you think of colonial exploitation for example,” royal author and broadcaster Richard Fitzwilliams told VOA. “But so far as the queen is concerned, you think of her dedication to the organization.”

As head of state, Queen Elizabeth II represented Britain in friendships with those who held in common the British values of freedom, equality and democracy — and with dignity she faced those who did not. She traveled to more than 100 countries and met countless prime ministers, presidents, kings and queens — hosting many of them in lavish state visits to London.

State visits

Among the dozens of world leaders to visit Buckingham Palace during her reign were Ethiopian Emperor Haile Salassie; French President Charles de Gaulle; Emperor Hirohito of Japan; President Nelson Mandela of South Africa; President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe; Russian President Vladimir Putin; U.S. Presidents George Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump; and Xi Jinping of China.

The queen was not immune to criticism in her own country. Some targeted her as a symbol of an institution out of step with a postmodern, neo-liberal and democratic world – and a burden on the British taxpayer.

Diana

The death of the popular Princess Diana in 1997 was an opportunity for critics who accused her of being coldly slow to react. When she did address the nation, it was heartfelt. “What I say to you now, as your queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart. First, I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being,” Elizabeth said.

The marriage of her grandson Prince William to Kate Middleton in 2011 brought youthful glamour to the ancient institution.

When Prince Harry married American actor Meghan Markle seven years later, Queen Elizabeth II was at the head of a family that appeared to be moving with the times: popular, diverse and global.

Family troubles

But there were painful times ahead. Her second son, Prince Andrew, was investigated for links to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Harry and Meghan fell out with the royal family amid accusations of racism.

The passing of Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, in 2021 left an enduring image: a queen mourning alone — as the coronavirus pandemic swept across her nation.

In June 2022, Britain celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70th year on the throne.

On Sept. 6, just two days before her death, she appointed Liz Truss the 15th prime minister of her reign. It would be her last major public duty.

Legacy

Queen Elizabeth remains a giant in the history of one of the planet’s most influential nations; a bridge between Britain’s colonial past and its future as a global player in a world vastly different from the one in which she was born.

Visiting Germany in 2015, addressing President Joachim Gauck, she spoke of the vast changes she had witnessed. “In our lives, Mr. President, we have seen the worst but also the best of our continent. We have witnessed how quickly things can change for the better, but we know that we must work hard to maintain the benefits of the post-war world,” she said.

Elizabeth will be remembered for her dedication, says royal biographer Matthew Dennison. “I think the importance of the length of her reign is simply that throughout that period she went on doggedly doing the job to the very best of her ability with total conviction — and I think with love,” Dennison told Reuters.

Britain’s royal tradition, of which Elizabeth was a steward, is now in the hands of her heirs, as her first son, King Charles III, ascends the throne. The Britain they inherit is a drastically different one in terms of demographics, culture and economics.

In a globalized, pluralistic world, their job of projecting an image of greatness is no less complicated.
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Britain’s King Charles III is returning to London on Friday from Balmoral Castle in Scotland where his mother, Queen Elizabeth, died Thursday.

Charles, who is 73 and the oldest monarch to ascend the throne, is scheduled to deliver a televised address to a nation in mourning Friday, his first address as head of state.

The king is also set Friday to hold his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth appointed Truss to her new position as prime minister on Tuesday, just two days before Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died.

Parliament is holding a special midday session Friday to pay respect to the queen.  Truss and other ministers are also set to attend a remembrance service Friday for the queen at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Later, gun salutes are scheduled to be held at Hyde Park and other locations.

Elizabeth’s funeral will be held in the coming days at London’s Westminster Abbey and that day will be designated as a National Day of Mourning, a public holiday.

Growing mountains of flowers and tributes to the queen are gathering not only at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, but also at British embassies and cathedrals around the world.
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Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch who sat on the throne for 70 years, died Thursday at 96. Admired for her dedication to her job, Queen Elizabeth was seen by many Britons as a pillar of strength for the country at a time when the nation was navigating its diminishing world power. Britons flocked to British landmarks to remember their queen, the only monarch that most in Britain have ever known.
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With Ukraine dependent on Western military aid following Russia’s invasion and Moscow burning through stocks and under sanctions, both sides fear exhausting their shells, bombs and missiles, experts say. 

Moscow’s economic exclusion means it is “having to buy artillery rounds from North Korea,” U.S. National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters recently, pointing to deals for “millions of rounds, rockets and artillery shells.” 

Meanwhile, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said this week it “is likely that Russia is struggling to maintain stocks” of drones. Sanctions make it difficult for Moscow to obtain the vital components needed to replace drones destroyed in combat. 

The Kremlin is reportedly buying drones from Iran. 

Both Western governments and Kyiv say Russia is suffering from serious logistical difficulties. 

Outdated arms

Precision strikes with high-tech Western weapons are undermining Russia’s ability to fight, and Moscow is turning to outdated arms as its stocks of more modern gear run down. 

“It’s a mystery what the Russians have left,” said Pierre Grasser, a researcher associated with Paris’ Sorbonne University. 

“They had enough supplies for their original plan,” he said. “But the fact is that the war is lasting longer than expected and the destruction of their reserves by U.S.-made HIMARS rockets is reshuffling the deck.”  

“Moscow doesn’t have many allies that can supply it or come to the aid of its manufacturers,” he added. And “China still refuses to get involved beyond the diplomatic field.”  

As for the isolated communist regime of North Korea, “there’s likely to be a limit to what Pyongyang can give — just enough to refill the stocks for a few weeks,” he said. 

Last week, French researcher Bruno Tertrais of the Foundation for Strategic Research said, “The chances of Russian military fatigue are much higher than Ukrainian military fatigue.” 

But Kyiv continues to request weapons and ammunition from the West, which itself may be reaching the limits of its capacity. 

On Thursday, the United States said it would supply another $675 million in military equipment.  

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the announcement in Germany, where Ukraine’s allies were meeting to discuss coordinating their deliveries. 

Washington has also said it will provide $2 billion more in loans and grants for Ukraine and its neighbors to buy U.S. military gear.  

This is on top of the $4 billion it authorized in the fiscal year that ended in June. 

Social media accounts that specialize in identifying weapons have spotted Pakistani and Iranian shells being fired by Ukrainian artillery, suggesting that Kyiv has built multiple supply chains for its troops. 

But the Germany-based Institute for the World Economy (IFW) said last month that “the flow of new international support for Ukraine … dried up in July,” with no new pledges from major European Union countries like Germany, France or Italy. 

On the other hand, the IFW noted that more countries were finally coming through with their promises of aid for Kyiv. 

NATO supplies

NATO countries have supplied almost half a million shells for the roughly 240 155-millimeter guns they have sent Ukraine to replace Soviet weapons whose ammunition has been used up, Grasser said. 

“Since July, they’re being used up at a rate of 3,000 shells per day. Technically, Ukraine can keep going until the start of winter,” he added. “However, beyond that there are some questions about how much NATO can supply.” 

Given the relative strengths and losses of the two sides, Western aid to Ukraine is well short of what is needed to win the war and replace destroyed equipment, said Andrei Illarionov, a former economic adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Illarionov, who now works for the U.S.-based Center for Security Policy, said that during World War II, the Allies only really began turning back the Axis in 1943, once their spending outweighed that of their opponents. 

“The military aid delivered to Ukraine is not more than $3 billion per month. Overall expenditure [by] Ukraine plus the coalition looks like $7 billion a month,” he said last week at a Bucharest event organized by the New Strategy Center think tank. 

As for Russia, “different estimates have been given recently — between $500 million and $900 million a day — which means $15 billion to $27 billion a month,” he added. 

“In the war of attrition, the crucial underlying factor [for] who might win the long war is the ratio in military expenditure,” Illarionov said. 

“In military terms,” Grasser said, “the two sides are evenly matched. The Ukrainians have fewer weapons than the Russians but they’re now much more accurate.” 

But, he noted, “in its favor, Moscow has access to vital raw materials for the war effort.”  

“We’re entering a period of unstable equilibrium. Whoever launches one counteroffensive too many is likely to lose the battle of attrition,” Grasser concluded. 
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Prince Charles has been preparing for the crown his entire life. Now, at age 73, that moment has finally arrived.

Charles, the oldest person to ever assume the British throne, became King Charles III on Thursday following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. No date has been set for his coronation.

After an apprenticeship that began as a child, Charles embodies the modernization of the British monarchy. He was the first heir not educated at home, the first to earn a university degree and the first to grow up in the ever-intensifying glare of the media as deference to royalty faded.

He also alienated many with his messy divorce from the much-loved Princess Diana, and by straining the rules that prohibit royals from intervening in public affairs, wading into debates on issues such as environmental protection and architectural preservation,

“He now finds himself in, if you like, the autumn of his life, having to think carefully about how he projects his image as a public figure,” said historian Ed Owens. “He’s nowhere near as popular as his mother.”

Charles must figure out how to generate the “public support, a sense of endearment” that characterized the relationship Elizabeth had with the British public, Owens said.

In other words, will Charles be as loved by his subjects? It’s a question that has overshadowed his entire life.

A shy boy with a domineering father, Charles grew into a sometimes-awkward, understated man who is nevertheless confident in his own opinions. Unlike his mother, who refused to publicly discuss her views, Charles has delivered speeches and written articles on issues close to his heart, such as climate change, green energy and alternative medicine.

His accession to the throne is likely to fuel debate about the future of Britain’s largely ceremonial monarchy, seen by some as a symbol of national unity and others as an obsolete vestige of feudal history.

“We know the monarch and certainly the monarch’s family – they’re not meant to have political voices. They’re not meant to have political opinions. And the fact that he’s been flexing, if you like, his political muscle is something that he will have to be really careful with … lest he be seen as unconstitutional,” said Owens, who wrote The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public, 1932-53.

Charles, who will be the head of state for the U.K. and 14 other countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, has defended his actions.

“I always wonder what meddling is, I always thought it was motivating,” he said in Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70, a 2018 documentary. “I’ve always been intrigued if it’s meddling to worry about the inner cities, as I did 40 years ago and what was happening or not happening there, the conditions in which people were living. If that’s meddling, I’m very proud of it.”

In the same interview, however, Charles acknowledged that as king, he wouldn’t be able to speak out or interfere in politics because the role of sovereign is different from being the Prince of Wales.

Charles has said he intends to reduce the number of working royals, cut expenses and better represent modern Britain.

But tradition matters, too, for a man whose office previously described the monarchy as “the focal point for national pride, unity and allegiance.”

It was the disintegration of his marriage to Diana, though, that made many question his fitness for the throne. Then, as he aged, his handsome young sons stole the limelight from a man who had a reputation for being as gray as his Saville Row suits.

It took years for many in Britain to forgive Charles for his admitted infidelity to Diana before “the people’s princess” died in a Paris car crash in 1997. But the public mood softened after he married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005 and she became the Duchess of Cornwall.

Although Camilla played a significant role in the breakup of Charles and Diana, her self-deprecating style and salt-of-the-earth sense of humor eventually won over many Britons.

Her service was rewarded in February 2022, when Queen Elizabeth II said publicly that it was her “sincere wish” that Camilla should be known as “Queen Consort” after her son succeeded her, answering questions once and for all about her status in the Royal Family.

Prince Charles Philip Arthur George was born November 14, 1948, in Buckingham Palace. When his mother acceded to the throne in 1952, the 3-year-old prince became the Duke of Cornwall. He became Prince of Wales at 20.

His school years were unhappy, with the future king being bullied by classmates at Gordonstoun, a Scottish boarding school that’s also where Charles’ father, Philip, was educated.

Charles studied history at Cambridge University’s Trinity College, where in 1970 he became the first British royal to earn a university degree.

He then spent seven years in uniform, training as a Royal Air Force pilot before joining the Royal Navy, where he learned to fly helicopters. He ended his military career as commander of the HMS Bronington, a minesweeper, in 1976.

Charles’ relationship with Camilla began before he went to sea, but the romance foundered, and she married a cavalry officer.

He met Lady Diana Spencer in 1977 when she was 16, and he was dating her older sister. Diana apparently didn’t see him again until 1980, and rumors of their engagement swirled after she was invited to spend time with Charles and the royal family.

They announced their engagement in February 1981. The couple married on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in a globally televised ceremony. Prince William, now heir to the throne, was born less than a year later, followed by his brother, Prince Harry, in 1984.

The public fairy tale soon crumbled. Charles admitted to adultery to a TV interviewer in 1994. In an interview of her own, Diana drew attention to her husband’s relationship with Camilla, saying: “There were three of us in this marriage.”

The revelations tarnished Charles’ reputation among many who celebrated Diana for her style, as well as her charity work with AIDS patients and landmine victims.

Charles soldiered on, increasingly standing in for the queen in her twilight years. In 2018, he was named the queen’s designated successor as head of the Commonwealth, an association of 54 nations with links to the British Empire. The process accelerated after the death of her husband, Prince Philip, on April 9, 2021.

As Elizabeth declined, he sometimes stepped in at the last moment.

On the eve of the state opening of Parliament on May 10, 2022, the queen asked Charles to preside, delegating one of her most important constitutional duties to him — evidence that a transition was underway.
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Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died Thursday at age 96.

She ascended the throne in 1952 and reigned for more than seven decades. Elizabeth ruled the United Kingdom as it rebuilt from the devastation of World War II, lost an empire, transformed its economy and both entered and left the European Union.

World leaders were quick to relay messages after the death of the monarch.

New British Prime Minister Liz Truss released a statement that said, “We are all devastated by the news we have just heard from Balmoral. The death of Her Majesty the Queen is a huge shock to the nation and to the world. Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built. Our country has grown and flourished under her reign.

“It is an extraordinary achievement to have presided with such dignity and grace for 70 years. Her life of service stretched beyond most of our living memories. In return, she was loved and admired by the people in the United Kingdom and all around the world,” she said. “Today the Crown passes — as it has done for more than a thousand years — to our new monarch, our new head of state: His Majesty King Charles III.”

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, tweeted: “She witnessed war and reconciliation in Europe and beyond, and deep transformations of our planet and societies. She was a beacon of continuity throughout these changes, never ceasing to display a calmness and dedication that gave strength to many. May she rest in peace.”

U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement, “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was more than a monarch. She defined an era.

“In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her. … Her legacy will loom large in the pages of British history, and in the story of our world.”

Biden also ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff, in the U.S. and abroad, in memory of the queen until her interment.

Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin called the queen “a remarkable friend” who had “great impact on the bonds of mutual understanding between our two peoples.”

He said, “Her State Visit to Ireland in 2011 marked a crucial step in the normalization of relations with our nearest neighbor. That visit was a great success, largely because of the many gracious gestures and warm remarks made by the Queen.”

Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon, who supports independence for Scotland from the rest of Britain, called her death “a profoundly sad moment for the U.K., the Commonwealth and the world.”

“On behalf of the people of Scotland, I convey my deepest condolences to The King and the Royal Family,” Sturgeon said in a statement.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid a tearful tribute to the queen, whom he first met as a child and admired personally, saying, “She was our queen for almost half of Canada’s existence. And she had an obvious, deep and abiding love and affection for Canadians.”

Trudeau first met the queen when his father, Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister in the 1970s.

“She was one of my favorite people in the world,” he said. “And I will miss her so. … She was thoughtful, wise, curious, helpful, funny and so much more.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the passing of Queen Elizabeth marked the “end of an era.”

Queen Elizabeth was the only reigning U.K. monarch to have visited Australia as head of state.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern paid tribute Friday to the “extraordinary” life of the late monarch, also declaring the new King Charles III as head of state.

“She was extraordinary,” Ardern said, while ordering flags to fly at half-staff and a state memorial service. “People throughout the world will be feeling an acute sense of loss at this time and New Zealanders most certainly share that grief.”

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of a former British colony, “offered her deep condolences and expressed her sorrow at the death of Queen Elizabeth II,” Hasan Jahid Tusher, Hasina’s spokesman, told AFP.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “pained” by the death of the queen, hailing her as a paragon of “dignity and decency.”

Elizabeth II, who acceded to the throne in 1952, was the first British monarch in more than a century not to have also reigned as either emperor or empress of India.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “Queen Elizabeth II was a good friend of the United Nations, and visited our New York headquarters twice, more than 50 years apart. She was deeply committed to many charitable and environmental causes and spoke movingly to delegates at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow.

“I would like to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II for her unwavering, lifelong dedication to serving her people. The world will long remember her devotion and leadership.”

Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened” at the death of Elizabeth, offering prayers for her “eternal rest” and for her son Charles as he becomes king.

In a personal telegram to the new monarch, the head of the Catholic Church paid tribute to the queen’s “life of unstinting service … her example of devotion to duty, her steadfast witness of faith in Jesus Christ,” and, addressing the new King Charles III, “I invoke an abundance of divine blessings as a pledge of comfort and strength in the Lord.”

This article includes information from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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At the news of Queen Elizbeth’s failing health Thursday, the royal family quickly went to Balmoral Castle in Scotland to be with her in her final hours.

Soon after Buckingham Palace released a statement expressing concern from the Queen’s doctors about her health, media reports say Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and several of their children arrived at Balmoral – the Queen’s summer residence, with their children soon to follow.  

Royal watchers indicated they knew the situation was dire, as such a gathering of close family members, outside of a holiday or special event, is extremely rare.

News of the Queen’s condition spread quickly. Well-wishers began gathering Thursday outside Balmoral as well as Buckingham Palace.   

Later in the day, the Queen died at the age of 96.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest reigning monarch, has died at the age of 96.
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Ukrainians of different ages, walks of life and income levels have come together to donate money to provide the Ukrainian army with weapons and equipment that even included a satellite. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv.
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Buckingham Palace has issued a statement expressing concern for the health of 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth after a medical evaluation Thursday.

The statement said doctors for the British monarch have recommended she remain under medical supervision. It said she “remains comfortable” at her Balmoral castle in Scotland, her summer home.

The queen cancelled a meeting Wednesday with the Privy Council, a group of her closest, most trusted advisers. The BBC reported Thursday that Prince Charles and other members of the royal family are traveling to Balmoral to be with the Queen.

From her Twitter account, Prime Minister Liz Truss said the “whole country” is “deeply concerned” by the news. She added, “My thoughts – and the thoughts of people across our United Kingdom – are with Her Majesty the Queen and her family at this time.”

The Queen formally appointed Truss as prime minister at Balmoral on Tuesday, instead of traveling to London for the event. During her 70-year reign the Queen has typically met with her new prime minister at Buckingham Palace.

Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised what he called “good news” from the Kharkiv region, saying Ukrainian forces had recaptured some towns from Russian troops.

Zelenskyy singled out several Ukrainian units in his latest video address, praising “their bravery and heroism displayed during the execution of combat mission.”

He also said Ukrainian artillery had carried out successful strikes against Russian forces in southern Ukraine.

U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told an event hosted by Defense News on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces are “making slow but meaningful progress.”

“I certainly think things are going better on the Ukrainian side right now in the south than is true on the Russian side,” Kahl said.

Britain’s defense ministry said Thursday that in Kherson Oblast, in southern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces probably destroyed a military pontoon bridge in the town of Darivka that Russian forces had used after a nearby bridge was damaged.

The ministry said by targeting crossing points, Ukraine’s military is slowing Russia’s ability to deploy troops and carry out resupply efforts from the east.

“The Darivka crossing is one of the main routes between the northern and southern sectors of Russia’s military presence along the Dnipro River. Ukraine’s systematic precision targeting of vulnerable crossing points likely continues to impose pressure on Russian forces as they attempt to contain Ukrainian attacks,” the ministry said.

Ukraine on Wednesday urged residents living in Russian-occupied areas near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to flee for their own safety.

“I appeal to the residents of the districts adjacent to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant … evacuate! Find a way to get to [Ukrainian] controlled territory,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on the Telegram messaging service.

In a separate post on Telegram, the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Enerhodar, the main town serving the plant, said it was under fire from Russian forces and the town had no electrical supply.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have for weeks accused each other of shelling the nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, risking a nuclear disaster akin to that at Ukraine’s Chernobyl plant in 1986.

On Tuesday, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the continued attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are “unacceptable,” and he urged that a demilitarized area be created in and around the facility. Grossi and a team of IAEA inspectors visited the site last week.

“We are playing with fire, and something very, very catastrophic could take place,” Grossi warned during a video briefing to the U.N. Security Council. “This is why in our report we are proposing the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone limited to the perimeter and the plant itself.”

But neither Moscow nor Kyiv immediately committed to the Grossi proposal, saying they needed to know more details.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
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Iranian embassy staff in the Albanian capital worked through the night after they were given 24 hours to leave the country over a major cyberattack that the Albanian government blames on Iran.

It is the first known case of a country cutting diplomatic relations over a cyberattack.

Movement inside the Iranian embassy in Tirana continued nonstop from Wednesday into Thursday. An empty barrel was seen taken into the compound and later a fire was started in it, apparently burning documents. A diplomatic car went in and out, while an Albanian police officer communicated with the embassy before two officers entered and left after a few minutes.

The staff have until noon (1000 GMT) Thursday to leave Albania.

On July 15, a cyberattack temporarily shut down numerous Albanian government digital services and websites. Prime Minister Edi Rama said Wednesday that there was “undeniable evidence” that the Iranian government was behind the attack.

The United States supported the move by Albania, a NATO member, and vowed unspecified retaliation against Iran for what it called “a troubling precedent for cyberspace.”

Iran condemned the diplomats’ expulsion, calling the action ill-considered and short-sighted, according to Iranian state TV.

In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied Tehran was behind any cyberattack on Albanian government websites, adding that it’s Iran which is a target of such attacks on its critical infrastructure.

Ties between Iran and Albania have been tense since 2014 when Albania sheltered some 3,000 members of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, who had left Iraq.

In July, MEK had planned to hold the Free Iran World Summit in Manez, west of Tirana, with U.S. lawmakers among the invitees. The meeting was canceled “for security reasons and due to terrorist threats and conspiracies.”

In two separate instances in 2020 and 2018, Tirana expelled four Iranian diplomats for “threatening national security.”
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A senior U.N. human rights official said Wednesday that her office has verified that Russian soldiers and affiliated groups subject Ukrainian civilians to an invasive process called “filtration,” and called for access to those being detained by Russia.

“In cases that our office has documented, during ‘filtration,’ Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups have subjected persons to body searches, sometimes involving forced nudity, and detailed interrogations about the personal background, family ties, political views and allegiances of the individual concerned,” Ilze Brands Kehris, assistant secretary-general for human rights, told the U.N. Security Council.

“They examined personal belongings, including mobile devices, and gathered personal identity data, pictures and fingerprints,” she added.

Brands Kehris also said the U.N. human rights office has documented cases where Ukrainian civilians perceived as having ties with their country’s armed forces or state institutions, or having pro-Ukrainian or anti-Russian views, were arbitrarily detained, tortured or disappeared. Some were transferred to penal colonies, she said.

Ukraine and several Western states have also raised concerns about children being forcibly transferred to either Russia or territory it occupies.

“We are concerned that the Russian authorities have adopted a simplified procedure to grant Russian citizenship to children without parental care, and that these children would be eligible for adoption by Russian families,” the U.N. assistant secretary-general said.

‘Outrageous’

Ukraine’s envoy said Russia has forcibly taken nearly 2.5 million Ukrainians, including thousands of children, to Russia from the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine.

“Our people are being transferred to isolated and depressed regions of Siberia and the Far East,” Deputy Ambassador Khrystyna Hayovyshyn told council members. “The scale of this crime is outrageous.”

She said only about 16,000 deported citizens have returned to Ukraine. Most lack the money, transportation and travel documents to get home.

Russia’s envoy dismissed the accusations as part of a Ukrainian and Western disinformation campaign.

“They are living freely and voluntarily in Russia. Nobody is preventing them moving or preventing them leaving the country,” Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said. “Do you seriously think that such a large number of people could be forced to move and forced to keep silent?”

The United States and Albania requested Wednesday’s meeting. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield asked why Russia is carrying out these filtration activities.

“The reason is simple: to prepare for an attempted annexation,” the American envoy said. “The goal is to change sentiments by force. To provide a fraudulent veneer of legitimacy for the Russian occupation and eventual, purported annexation of even more Ukrainian territory.”

She said all persons subjected to Russian filtration need access to U.N. and humanitarian agencies so their well-being can be verified.
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Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, voiced frustration that Russia remains in control of his nation’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in an interview with VOA’s Ukrainian Service. He also warned of the risk of a nuclear catastrophe similar to the Chernobyl nuclear accident in April 1986 that killed dozens of people and forced more than 100,000 to evacuate their homes.

An inspection team from the International Atomic Energy Agency visited the Zaporizhzhia plant last week amid rising fears prompted by the placement of Russian military assets around the plant and weeks of shelling in the vicinity, blamed by each country on the other.

Russia captured the plant in the early days of its invasion of Ukraine, which it says is justified by the military threat posed by Kyiv’s increasing closeness to NATO and Western powers. Ukraine says the invasion constituted unprovoked aggression and accuses Russian forces of war crimes and “terrorism.”

Ukrainian engineers continue to operate the plant under Russian supervision, and two IAEA inspectors have remained at the site to monitor for threats to its safety. At a U.N. Security Council meeting called at Russia’s request, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres underlined Tuesday the need to deescalate the situation around the plant.

Here is a transcript of the interview with Danilov, which was conducted before the Security Council meeting. It has been edited for clarity.

VOA: What is your assessment of the IAEA’s mission and how did its outcomes affect the solution to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power situation? How can this issue be resolved?

Oleksiy Danilov: Look, I want us all to place the accents that need to be placed. First of all, terrorists seized a nuclear facility in the 21st century, which is extremely dangerous. [These are] people who do not know how this system is managed or how it works.

Terrorists are offering a meeting of the U.N. Security Council. Do you even understand what is happening? This is complete nonsense. These are the things that cannot happen in the modern world. The IAEA inspection arrived, which, in my opinion, should have been there the same day [the plant] was seized by terrorists. They did not let the press in, and [they] left. Their representatives stayed there; we do not understand what is happening there. This is the object of increased danger, which is being kept in terrorists’ hands today. I don’t even know how to say it.

Unfortunately, our country had a very tragic experience in April 1986. Does the Russian Federation at the heart of these terrorist groups that invaded our territory want to repeat it today?

This is a very dangerous thing. I will explain it: It is a high-risk facility, a nuclear facility, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, and if something happens there and a chain reaction follows, we cannot even imagine today the number of victims that these terrorists can cause, and that would be not only on the territory of our Ukraine.

The point is that if, God forbid, this cloud is moving in one or other direction, which only depends on the wind, then neither Europe, nor Turkey, nor other countries will want this to happen. And unfortunately, the world believes that nothing bad is happening and in my opinion are quite sluggish in responding to all these things.

The IAEA mission came [to inspect the plant], but no one is saying directly that it is terrorists who have captured the nuclear facility. And this is what the world should be talking about. [The international community] begins, let’s say, to discuss [variables] that are not related to this issue, [but the categorical criminality of this situation] is a fundamental thing [that needs to be discussed].

Do you remember when pirates captured ships? They were immediately repulsed, and here the whole world is simply watching how it will all end. Colleagues, friends, this is a very dangerous situation, I emphasize once again. This is the object of increased danger. And just close your eyes like that — arrive there, look around for 2-3 hours, turn around and leave, and then what?

We insist that there should be no terrorists there; [the plant] must be under the control of specialists of the country on [whose] territory it is located, and it is called Ukraine. Other specialists cannot be there, because it is our responsibility for this process. Therefore, remove the terrorist group from there.

VOA: The occupation of the Zaporizhzhia plant has been going on for the past several weeks. What is needed to make a decision to demilitarize it? What is Ukraine doing to achieve it and what are the prospects?

Danilov: The president of our country, the minister of foreign affairs of our country, everybody who is involved in this, is doing everything possible and impossible in order for this situation to stop. But I emphasize once again, the world must stop being sluggish in this matter, that is what we are talking about.

The U.N. should make this decision at its meeting. But what is actually happening is that if we look into the decision-making procedure, the Russian Federation has the right to veto. That is, the terrorist has the right to veto any decision. What else needs to be said about this? We do not know whether they will accept it or not. The thing is that for them, people are like, I apologize [for my language], some kind of junk. They don’t value human life.

This interview originated in VOA’s Ukrainian Service.
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