Section: Voice of America (USA)
Moscow Courts Extends Arrest for Ukrainian Seamen
A Moscow court has extended the detention of eight Ukrainian seamen who were among 24 captured by Russian coast guards in the Black Sea. Three Ukrainian vessels and their crews were fired at and seized by the Russians in November. Russia insists the men should be put on trial for violating its border. Ukraine calls them prisoners of war who were...
US Warns German Firms of Possible Sanctions over Russia Pipeline
The U.S. ambassador to Germany has warned companies involved in the construction of the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that they could face sanctions if they stick to the project, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Germany of being a “captive” of Moscow due to its reliance on Russian...
Senator to Call for Vote Against Easing Sanctions on Russian Companies
U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday he will force a vote soon on a resolution to disapprove the Trump administration’s decision to relax sanctions on three Russian companies connected to oligarch Oleg Deripaska. “I have concluded that the Treasury Department’s proposal is flawed and fails to sufficiently limit...
Report: Ex-Nazi Camp Guard Deported by US Dies in Germany
Jakiw Palij, a former Nazi concentration camp guard who lived an unassuming life in New York City for decades until his past was revealed and he was deported to Germany last year, has died, German media reported Thursday. He was 95. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Westfaelische Nachrichten newspapers independently quoted German officials...
Campaigning Starts in Ukraine’s Hard-to-Predict Presidential Race
A 90-day political campaign period has opened in Ukraine, where the incumbent president’s future is uncertain. President Petro Poroshenko hasn’t yet announced whether he plans to run in a March 31 election, although he is expected to seek re-election. Monday marked the official start of campaigning. A poll of 2,017 eligible voters...
Putin Tells Trump That Moscow Is Open for Dialogue
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in a New Year letter on Sunday that Moscow was ready for dialogue on a “wide-ranging agenda,” the Kremlin said following a series of failed attempts to hold a new summit. At the end of November, Trump abruptly canceled a planned meeting with Putin on the sidelines...
Is Russia Prosperous? Depends Whom You Ask
During the past four years, Russia’s $1.7 trillion economy has been plagued by under-investment, broadening state ownership of enterprise and Western sanctions over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. Kremlin economic ministers have even warned of unexpectedly high inflation, but you wouldn’t know that talking to people passing...
Russia’s Prosperity: Depends on Whom You Ask
In the past four years, Russia’s $1.7 trillion economy has been in the world’s top 20. But in 2018, it has been plagued with problems stemming from under-investment, broadening state ownership of enterprise and Western sanctions over the 2014 annexation of Crimea. Now, rising value added tax and interest rates are triggering inflation...
Germany, France Press Russia to Free Ukrainian Sailors
The leaders of Germany and France are pressing Russia to release Ukrainian sailors captured over a month ago in time for the new year and Orthodox Christmas. In a joint statement Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron also vowed to keep up pressure to implement a 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine. The...
UNICEF: Children in Conflict Face Grave Rights Violations
Violence and insecurity have forced more than 28 million children from their homes in 2018, UNICEF said in a news release Thursday. The U.N. children’s fund said it had responded to more than 300 emergencies to help children caught in many of the 40 armed conflicts raging around the world. UNICEF said children had been tortured, raped, used...
