Section: Voice of America (USA)
Germany to Back Russian Gas Link Despite Ukraine Tensions
Germany will not withdraw its political support for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with Russia, its foreign minister said on Monday, as some lawmakers suggested curtailing the project to punish Moscow for its seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crew. Russia is resisting international calls to release three Ukrainian ships seized last month in...
NATO Set to Meet as Ukraine Demands Support Against Russian Attacks
Russia’s recent attack on Ukrainian naval vessels will likely top the agenda at a NATO meeting this week as the alliance searches for a robust response in the wake of the Kremlin’s latest act of aggression on Europe’s borders. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to join other foreign ministers for the two-day...
Ukraine: Leader Pledges Church Choice for Orthodox Faithful
Ukraine’s president has promised the country’s Orthodox Christian faithful they will be free to remain part of the Russian Orthodox Church after the creation of an independent Ukrainian church. Amid deteriorating ties with Moscow, Kiev has been pushing for the creation of an autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church that would be free...
Ukraine Urges German Naval Presence in the Black Sea
Ukraine’s leader has called on Germany and its allies to boost their naval presence in the Black Sea to deter Russia from further aggression in the region. President Petro Poroshenko says Russia has deployed a large number of troops along its border with Ukraine. He warns that Russia intends to push further inland into Ukraine following...
Mattis Slams ‘Slow Learner’ Putin Over Election Meddling
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday of being a “slow learner” who again tried to meddle in U.S. elections in November, adding that he had no trust in the Russian leader. The remarks by Mattis at a security forum in California came a day after President Donald Trump held informal talks with Putin...
G-20: Snubs and Slights Choreographed With Intricate Care
Traditionally, G-20 summits are staid affairs and despite the fact consensus on trade, development and climate issues regularly eludes the gatherings, at least efforts are made to conjure up formal bonhomie. But awkwardness rather than affability was more to the fore at this year’s meeting held in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. Heads...
New Projects Light Up Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone
After 32 years and the worst nuclear disaster of all time, the area around Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant is showing signs of life and industry. Faith Lapidus has details about the projects that are lighting up Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone. …read more Source: Voice of...
Ukraine’s Martial Law Declaration Explained
Ukraine’s parliament approved an executive order signed by President Petro Poroshenko that imposed martial law in parts of the country, in response to Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crew members off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea Nov. 25. Here is an explanation of what that means. …read more...
Russian TV: Detained Ukrainian Sailors Taken to Moscow Prisons
Russia has transported 24 Ukrainian sailors captured off the coast of Crimea at the weekend to prison facilities in Moscow, Russian channel TV Rain reported on Friday. Twenty-one of the men are being held in the Lefortovo remand prison in Moscow and three who were wounded during their capture are in a hospital wing of a jail, the channel...
Kremlin Says Putin, Trump Will Meet on Sidelines of G-20
Russian authorities said Friday that Vladimir Putin will have a brief meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “There is no scheduled pull-aside,” was the only response from a White House official when queried about a Kremlin spokesman saying there would be an “impromptu” meeting on the G-20...
