Section: Voice of America (USA)
Russia’s Destruction of Banned Western Food Sparks Outrage
The Russian government is moving ahead with the mass destruction of Western food imports banned under sanctions imposed by the Kremlin over the standoff in Ukraine. Over the past few days, state media have broadcast images of bulldozers running over rounds of cheese, workers incinerating boxes of frozen bacon, and assurances from officials that...
Fighting in Eastern Ukraine Intensifies
Fighting between government forces and separatists intensified in eastern Ukraine on Monday, with the country’s president ordering his foreign minister to hold urgent talks with his counterparts from Germany, France and Russia about the escalating violence. The Ukrainian presidential website reported that some 200 separatist fighters using...
OSCE Vehicles Torched in Eastern Ukraine
Four vehicles belonging to the OSCE monitoring mission to Ukraine were set on fire outside their hotel overnight in the rebel-controlled Donetsk, the observers said. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observers said in a tweet Sunday it was an apparent arson attack. An OSCE statement said monitors heard four loud bursts about...
Nuclear Fuel Bank Aims to Avoid Politics, Deter Proliferation
An International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear fuel bank set to open August 27 in eastern Kazakhstan will be aimed at guarding against energy supply disruptions and discouraging countries from developing their own nuclear weapons technology. The agency’s fuel bank, its second, will hold up to 90 tons of low-enriched uranium for energy...
Russian ‘Food Crematoria’ Provoke Outrage Amid Crisis
Russian government plans for mass destruction of banned Western food imports have provoked outrage in a country where poverty rates are soaring and memories remainof famine during Soviet times. Even some Kremlin allies are expressing shock at the idea of “food crematoria” while one Orthodox priest has denounced the campaign, which...
France, Russia Void Mistral Warship Deal
France’s defense minister announced Thursday that his government reached an agreement with Russia to cancel the contract for the sale of two Mistral-class warships. Jean-Yves Le Drian said France would fully reimburse what Russia had already paid for the contract, without mentioning the specific amount. As part of Western sanctions for...
US Army Going the Distance to Reassure Allies in Eastern Europe
Amid increased Russian aggression in Ukraine, the U.S. Army needed a fresh way to reassure its eastern European allies. The men and women of the Army’s 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment had the answer. They successfully moved two convoys of hundreds of soldiers and tons of weapons across thousands of kilometers of NATO countries near...
Russia Concerns Driving Neighbors to NATO
Concern about Russian aggression has led Russian neighbors in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to urge troop build-ups in their countries. As Poland’s President Andrzej Duda is sworn in to office Thursday, he and a growing chorus of voices in eastern Europe are calling for permanent NATO troops to warn off threats from Russia. Keir...
US Troop Convoys March Across Europe in Show of Deterrence
Since the invasion of the Crimean Peninsula, the U.S. has talked a lot about deterring Russian aggression toward eastern European NATO allies. But what does that deterrence look like? VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb spoke with the commander of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, who says deterrence is a very visible convoy....
IMF: Further Conflict, Debt Dispute High Risk to Ukraine Recovery
Further separatist conflict and the possibility of protracted debt restructuring talks still pose “exceptionally high” risks to Ukraine’s efforts to restore its financial stability, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. In a report by IMF staff released after the fund’s first review of a $17.5 billion loan...
