Section: Voice of America (USA)
Crimea Marks 5 Years of Russian Annexation as Western Sanctions Bite
Residents and officials in Crimea have been staging events this week to mark the fifth anniversary of Russia’s forceful annexation of the region from Ukraine. The United States and its allies imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow following the invasion. Analysts say the economic impact is denting approval ratings for Russian President...
Crimea Marks Anniversary Of Russian Annexation, As Western Sanctions Tighten Grip
This week marks the fifth anniversary of Russia’s forceful annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea. The United States and its allies imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow following the invasion – and analysts say the economic impact is denting approval ratings for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Henry Ridgwell reports....
Ukraine Introduces New Sanctions Against Russia
Ukraine’s president has ordered new sanctions against Russian companies and individuals involved in construction and other activities in Crimea. Top Russian lawmakers are among the people potentially affected by the decree President Petro Poroshenko’s signed Wednesday. It targeted those involved in building a bridge from Russia to...
Ukraine’s Night Train to the Front Lines
Ukraine is gearing up for presidential elections at the end of this month, a vote that holds huge implications for a country still at war with Russian-backed separatists. There are other issues on the agenda too – not least getting around this vast country. The dilapidated infrastructure means long night trains are the only practical transport....
Russian Opposition Leader: Putin Paying Steep Political Price for Crimea
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says President Vladimir Putin’s decision to annex Crimea, which occurred five years ago this week, has come at a significant financial cost to Russian citizens and a large political cost to the president himself. “Putin, in order to strengthen his personal power, sacrificed the interests of a...
US Criticizes Russia as Serial Violator of Arms Control Treaties
A senior U.S. official accuses Russia of breaching several arms control treaties considered critical for maintaining world peace. Assistant Secretary of State Yleem Poblete spoke at the U.N. Conference on Disarmament as the United States assumed the rotating presidency of the body. Poblete made a blistering attack against what she called...
NATO to Receive First Northrop Surveillance Drone, Years Late
NATO is to receive the first of five Northrop Grumman high-altitude drones in the third quarter after years of delays, giving the alliance its own spy drones for the first time, the German government told lawmakers. Thomas Silberhorn, state secretary in the German Defense Ministry, said the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) drone would be...
Canada to Extend Military Training Missions in Ukraine, Iraq
Canada will keep a 200-strong military training mission in Ukraine for another three years to help domestic security forces handle continuing tensions with Russia, Ottawa said on Monday. The Canadian troops, who first went to Ukraine in September 2015, had been due out at the end of March but will now stay until March 2022. News of the extension...
NATO, EU Condemn Russia’s 2014 Seizure of Crimea
NATO and the European Union are condemning Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula five years after Moscow declared the region Russian territory. NATO allies said in a statement Monday that “we strongly condemn this act, which we do not and will not recognize.” They also criticized Russia’s military...
Putin in Crimea as Russia Marks Five Years Since Annexation
Russia on Monday marked the fifth anniversary of its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, a move condemned by Kiev and its Western allies but celebrated by most Russians. President Vladimir Putin was to take part in celebrations in the Black Sea peninsula, launching a power station and meeting members of the public, the Kremlin said. Moscow took...
