Section: Voice of America (USA)
Ukraine Calls Men to War Amid Mixed Emotions
Marina’s brother and a close family friend have both been killed on the frontline in Ukraine’s east. Now she has had to say goodbye to her husband, Ruslan, called up to fight pro-Russian separatists in Kyiv’s latest conscription drive. “Our family have suffered losses already. My brother died in July. [My daughter’s]...
Russia to Keep Oil Output Near Record Levels in 2015
The twin traumas of an economy-crippling oil price collapse and Western sanctions hobbling energy firms will not deflect Russia from keeping oil output near a record high this year, companies, officials and analysts say. Russia will likely continue to fend off Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer until a predicted longer-term output...
Poll: Third of Russians Say Sanctions Causing Problems
A survey by an independent Russian polling agency has found just a third of Russians say the Western sanctions imposed on their country for its actions in Ukraine have created problems for them. In the poll conducted by the Levada Center, 27 percent of the respondents said the sanctions have created “pretty serious” problems for them and their...
Fresh Fighting in Eastern Ukraine Kills 5
Fresh fighting between Ukraine’s military and Russia-backed separatists killed at least five people in the region of Donetsk, officials said Tuesday. Officials at the rebel-run Donetsk city hall also said at least 13 people were wounded in the fierce outbreak of shelling over the previous 24 hours. Fighting has raged in the self-declared...
Fearful Ukrainian Refugees Try to Get on With Life
The Russian-backed revolt in eastern Ukraine has forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, taking an emotional toll. Most of them are in government-controlled parts of the two eastern districts that the rebels claim. One small group huddles in a church hall in the Donetsk Region city of Artemivsk, just 40 kilometers from the front...
Germany’s Merkel Presses Hungary to Safeguard Democracy
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday he should give space to opponents of his rule, a nod to critics who say Orban has eroded democratic freedoms. Merkel was on a one-day visit to Hungary, which is a major manufacturing base for German industries, but also irks some in Europe with its close ties to...
NATO: West Must be Ready for Long Russia Standoff
The West must be ready for a long standoff with Russia over Ukraine and not quickly resume normal ties as it did after the 2008 Georgian war, a top NATO official said on Monday. “Our strategy has to be one of patience and consistency. Russia expects us to give up the sanctions and go back to business as usual, without changing its own...
Obama to Hold White House Meeting with Merkel
The White House says President Barack Obama will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel next Monday at the White House. It says the two leaders plan to meet in the Oval Office followed by a working lunch to discuss a wide range of topics, including Ukraine, the fight against terrorism and Islamic State, and Afghanistan and Iran. They will also talk...
Report: US Taking ‘Fresh Look’ at Providing Lethal Aid to Ukraine
A leading U.S. newspaper says Washington is reconsidering its stance on providing defensive weapons and equipment to Kyiv. The New York Times reported Sunday that while President Barack Obama has not made a decision about supplying lethal aid to Ukraine’s security forces, his administration is taking a “fresh look” at the...
Ukraine War Wounded Flood Civilian Hospitals
Dozens of injured Ukrainian troops arrive daily at the Central Hospital in the Donetsk Region city of Artemivsk, 40 kilometers from the government-controlled town of Debaltseve, which has been under siege from Russian-backed rebels for the past week. VOA’s Al Pessin reports on the sometimes chaotic, always stressful and too often somber...
