Section: US & Canada
Russia and Ukraine celebrated Victory Day’s 70th anniversary very differently
In both countries, it was a sight to be seen. Russia celebrated the 70th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany during World War II in epic style on Saturday, with a massive military parade in Moscow’s Red Square. The national parade during the largest secular holiday in Russia is a chance for the country to display its military...
Massive Russian Military Parade Marks 70th Anniversary of Victory Over Nazis
(MOSCOW)—Russia showed off new machines of war, including a highly sophisticated tank, on Saturday in the annual Victory Day military parade through Red Square that marks the surrender of Nazi Germany and the Red Army’s key role in the defeat. The Armata tank drew a round of strong applause as it rumbled through the square, part of a long...
How Shirtless Putin Became A Rock Star President In Russia
Vladimir Putin is sort of the Old Spice of world leaders. And not just because the Russian president turns up topless on a horse more often than Isaiah Mustafa, the actor whose sleek wit and abs reinvigorated the 81-year-old deodorant maker’s brand with a 2010 viral ad campaign titled “Smell Like a Man, Man.” Indeed, long before Mustafa...
Russian Veterans Recall Horrors of WWII Eastern Front
Russia staged a huge military parade in Moscow Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of victory in the World War II over Nazi Germany. VOA spoke to veterans of the conflict about their memories of the fighting, and their thoughts on current tensions between Russia and the West. The scale of sacrifice still has the power to shock: An estimated 25...
Ukrainian War-Film Hero: Soviet Victory ‘Was By All’
Ukrainian actor Vladimir Talashko starred in one of the Soviet Union’s best-loved films about World War II. Now he’s angry about how the Kremlin is downplaying the role Ukrainians and other nationalities played in the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
American Aid Workers In Ukraine Released By Russian-Backed Rebels
Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine have released two American aid workers they detained along with more than 30 others during an armed raid on the Donetsk offices of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), officials with the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said on Saturday. A rebel leader accused the two of spying for the...
Here Comes the Turkish Stream
When Putin told reporters that Moscow would no longer be pursuing the so-called South Stream gas pipeline into Europe last December, analysts called it a blow against the Russian president’s strategic goals in the continent. South Stream, after all, was intended to allow Gazprom gas to find its way to European customers without transiting...
Poroshenko Presides Over Low-Key Victory Day Events
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the capital, Kyiv, in ceremonies marking the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. …read more Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio...
US and Russian Servicemen March Together in Belarus on V-day
MINSK, Belarus— U.S. servicemen have marched together with Russian soldiers in the Victory Day parade in Belarus. The show of Allied unity in Minsk was in sharp contrast to the military parade in Moscow, which was shunned by the United States and most European countries because of Russia’s role in the Ukraine conflict. Opening...
Europe’s Island of Stability
Once a bastion of staid, steady bureaucracy, Europe has lately become a house of high drama. In the Mediterranean, thousands of migrants have drowned as they attempt to flee to Europe. To the east, Russian aggression in Ukraine and the wider neighborhood is rattling even the most peaceable of Nordic nations. The Greek government seems ready to...
