Section: Voice of America (USA)
US General Calls for Firepower, Focus to Counter Russia
The United States needs more firepower and focus to push back against ever-increasing Russian aggression across Europe and beyond, according to the top U.S. commander in Europe. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday, European Command’s Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti called Russia the primary threat to stability in Europe...
Belarus Seeks Better Ties With West Despite Russian ‘Hysterics’
Belarus will seek better ties with the West even though this provokes “hysterics” from its traditional ally Russia, long-serving President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday, a day after lifting a cap of five U.S. diplomats in his country. Belarus is trying to improve ties with the West after a number of disputes with Moscow, which...
Ukraine Elections Mark Another Stage in Break From Russia
The Kremlin had hoped that by fomenting a separatist insurgency in east Ukraine’s Donbas region, Ukraine could be snapped back into the Russian orbit, but the strategy appears to have backfired, say analysts. The debate over whether Ukraine should look west and align with the European Union or east towards Moscow appears to be over — at...
New Poll Examines How Russians, Americans Perceive Each Other
Americans’ views of Russia have plummeted to levels not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to a newly released survey by the U.S.-based Gallup polling center. The data say 52 percent of Americans see Russian military power as a direct threat to U.S. vital interests, and that a third identify Russia as the United...
Finding Fortune in Moscow a Challenge for Migrants
Russia’s economy has stagnated for some years and suffers under sanctions imposed by the West after it annexed Crimea in 2014. Still, Moscow remains a vibrant city that attracts immigrants from around the world, most of them from the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. For many of those migrants, the search for prosperity is often not...
Ukraine’s Law Enforcement System Broken, Lawmaker Warns
Ukrainian lawmaker and presidential hopeful Vitaliy Kupriy survived two violent attacks in the past — and he is taking no chances now. One attack involved an assailant coming at him with a hammer. As campaigning heats up in the country’s presidential race, he is shadowed by two mountainous bodyguards. It is hardly surprising that he is...
Ukrainian Court Strikes Down Anti-Corruption Law
Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has struck down a law against officials enriching themselves, a move that raises concern about the country’s fight against endemic corruption and about whether it can get further aid from the International Monetary Fund. The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International said Wednesday that the decision...
Ukraine Leader’s Associate Quits in Corruption Probe ahead of Vote
A close associate of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stepped aside from a senior government role on Tuesday pending a corruption investigation involving his son a month before the incumbent faces a tough battle for re-election. A confectionary magnate who came to power following the 2014 Maidan protests, Poroshenko trails in the election...
Ukrainian President Visits US Destroyer on Port Call
Ukraine’s president has gone aboard a U.S. warship making a call at a Ukrainian port, hailing its visit as a warning to Russia. President Petro Poroshenko visited the destroyer USS Donald Cook in the port of Odessa on Tuesday. He said in a statement that the ship’s visit was “an important signal to the Kremlin,”...
Comedian Leads Ukraine Election Polls as Dirty-Trick Accusations Mount
Ukrainian voters have 44 candidates to pick from in next month’s presidential elections, but they do not feel spoiled for choice. Among what is on offer — a popular television comic, far-right war veterans, a chest-beating male chauvinist who says feminism has gone too far, a gas princess, lawmakers and spies as well as Ukraine’s...
