Section: KXAN (USA)
NATO, Russia exchange barbs reminiscent of Cold War days
RIGA, Latvia (AP) — NATO and Russia exchanged heated language reminiscent of Cold War days on Thursday with accusations of sinister geopolitical plotting and human rights abuses flying across an increasingly deep divide. NATO’s top U.S. civilian official, Alexander Vershbow, said Thursday that “an angry, revisionist Russia” was stopping at...
Ukraine blockade of rebel territory fosters resentment
KURAKHOVE, Ukraine (AP) — Tears welled up Vera Pavliy’s eyes as she stood outside the bank, looking as if she had just gotten lost. The 76-year-old was stuck behind the battle lines in the east Ukraine town of Kurakhove with no money and no way to get home. The war that brought death and destruction to the region has largely abated, but the...
Poland: Stronger Ukraine army can decrease conflict
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Strengthening Ukraine’s army and supplying it with weapons could prevent an escalation of the conflict and would serve Europe’s interests, a top Polish security official said Thursday. Stanislaw Koziej, the head of Poland’s National Security Office, met with Oleksandr Turchynov, the chairman of the...
Italian PM in Moscow to discuss Russia-EU ties
MOSCOW (AP) — Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is visiting Moscow for talks focusing on Russia-EU ties, which have been badly strained by the Ukrainian crisis. Renzi told Russian President Vladimir Putin at the start of their talks Thursday that he would like to discuss Russia’s relations with the European Union along with other issues,...
Russian NGO ousted from Gulag prison camp museum
MOSCOW (AP) — An independent Russian organization says it has been ousted from the Gulag prison camp museum that it has run from 1992. Viktor Shmyrov, director for the Perm-36 museum in central Russia, told The Associated Press Thursday that his organization had lost the property after losing a lawsuit against the regional Ministry of Culture,...
Ukraine bans Russian media outlets from official events
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian news agency Tass says that Russian media outlets are no longer granted access to official events in Ukraine. Tass quoted an unidentified Ukrainian foreign ministry official as saying, “from this week we no longer accredit Russian media.” On Feb. 12, Ukraine’s parliament voted to ban accreditation for Russian media...
Ex-Ukraine minister arrested in Spain for embezzlement
MADRID (AP) — Spanish police have arrested former Ukraine finance minister Yuri Kolobov, who is accused of embezzling millions of euros in state funds. A Civil Guard statement Thursday said Kolobov was detained in the eastern coastal town of Altea where he is believed to have been living since August. He was arrested on an order issued through...
Death toll in east Ukraine mine blast reaches 32
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Officials in a separatist rebel-held city in east Ukraine say the death toll from an accidental explosion at a coal mine has risen to 32. The self-appointed government in Donetsk said in a statement Thursday that one person still remains unaccounted for. The blast occurred before dawn Wednesday more than 1,000 meters...
At least 24 dead in mine blast
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — The number of confirmed dead in a coal mine explosion in eastern Ukraine now stands at 24 or more. Nine others are still missing. The mine is in a separatist-controlled region of eastern Ukraine — and Ukraine’s government is accusing separatist authorities of not doing enough to save the lives of the miners. He says...
Russian court keeps Ukrainian pilot behind bars
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court has rejected an appeal to release a Ukrainian pilot who has been on hunger strike since mid-December. The case of Nadezhda Savchenko has attracted high attention in recent weeks as concerns rise about her health. Savchenko has been in Russian custody since June on charges that she provided information for a mortar...
