Section: KXAN (USA)
The Latest: Putin: Stick with existing talks on Ukraine
MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s end-of-year press conference (all times local): ___ 2:35 p.m. Russian President Vladimir Putin says that peace talks sponsored by France and Germany should remain the basis for efforts to settle the conflict in eastern Ukraine. A peace deal brokered by Berlin and Paris in...
Putin: Russia’s military is stronger than anyone’s
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s military is now stronger than any potential foe, President Vladimir Putin told an annual end-of-year meeting with the defense ministry on Thursday. “We can say with certainty: we are stronger now than any potential aggressor,” he told the meeting. “Anyone!” His comments come at the end of a year when tensions between...
Santa summit cheer can’t hide Finland’s unease about Russia
LAPPEENRANTA, Finland (AP) — Santa and Father Frost, not tanks and troops, have met up at the busiest border crossing between Russia and Finland. But despite the jovial ho-ho-hos in the annual show of seasonal goodwill and neighborly friendship, there lies an increasing disquiet in the Nordic nation. Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile)...
Report: Russians regularly shelled eastern Ukraine in 2014
PARIS (AP) — Russian howitzers and rocket launchers regularly pounded Ukrainian positions across the border in the early stages of the war in eastern Ukraine, according to an analysis of hundreds of attack sites published Wednesday by the open source investigative group Bellingcat. The 43-page report adds to the pile of evidence suggesting the...
Stolen paintings recovered in Ukraine return to Verona
VERONA, Italy (AP) — Italy’s culture minister has traveled to Kiev to recover 17 paintings — including works by Tintoretto, Rubens and Mantegna — that were stolen from a Verona museum and recovered by Ukrainian law enforcement more than seven months ago. Culture ministry video shows the works displayed in plain wooden frames, after their...
Vandals put pig head, fake blood on Ukraine rabbi’s grave
MOSCOW (AP) — Ukrainian prosecutors have opened a probe into an attack on an important Jewish pilgrimage site in a central Ukrainian town. The grave of a revered Hasidic rabbi was desecrated with a pig’s head and daubed with fake blood before dawn Wednesday. Tens of thousands of pilgrims annually visit the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav...
US sanctions more Russian companies, people linked to Crimea
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government says it has extended the economic sanctions on Russia to include eight more entities and seven individuals linked to the annexation of Crimea. The Treasury Department said Tuesday that this is part of the government’s goal “to maintain pressure on Russia by sustaining the costs of its occupation” of the...
NATO, Russia remain at loggerheads over Ukraine
BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO and Russia remain at loggerheads over Ukraine, the alliance’s top official said Monday, after their ambassadors met in a fresh attempt to improve their acrimonious relations. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the 28-nation military alliance and Russia “have profound disagreements on the crisis” in...
Ukraine nationalizes largest bank after stability concerns
MOSCOW (AP) — Ukraine is nationalizing its largest bank following concerns over its stability in a move welcomed by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. The Cabinet agreed late Sunday to move PrivatBank into full state ownership, saying the move was carried out “in close coordination with international financial organizations”...
Dutch government prepares to ratify EU-Ukraine deal
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Netherlands’ government has prepared legislation clearing the way for Parliament to vote on ratifying an EU-Ukraine free trade pact, despite Dutch voters rejecting the deal in a referendum. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Friday his Cabinet is sending the legislation to the Council of State, a body that...
