Section: Voice of America (USA)
Russia Displays Air Defense Systems Amid Ukraine Tensions
Russia displayed its mobile air defense missile systems in central Moscow on Monday, underlining its military might amid tensions with the West over Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia would have enough resources and resolve to protect it from what he described as enemies seeking to dismember the country. Mounted on dark...
US Sanctions Aimed at Changing Power, Russian Envoy Says
A senior Russian diplomat accused the United States on Monday of trying to bring down President Vladimir Putin with the sanctions it has imposed on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told parliamentary deputies that ties between Moscow and Washington were in a very deep chill and were likely to remain so if...
Merkel: Russia Meddling With Countries’ EU Aspirations
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is bitterly accusing Russia of trying to meddle with the desires of eastern European countries to pursue a path of integration with the European Union. Merkel told Germany’s Die Welt newspaper that Russia has created difficulties for Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine after they made ‘sovereign decisions’ to...
Putin, Hollande Hope Ukraine Ceasefire Will Soon Take Hold
French President Francois Hollande said after an impromptu visit to Russia for crisis talks with Vladimir Putin on Saturday that a ceasefire could take hold in eastern Ukraine in the next few days. The Russian president, who met Hollande during his stopover at a Moscow airport after a trip to Kazakhstan, said he also hoped agreement would be...
Poroshenko: Kyiv Must Hold Donetsk Airport
Ukraine’s president said Friday that the country’s armed forces must not lose control of the airport in the eastern city of Donetsk. President Petro Poroshenko presented awards to a group of “cyborgs,” the name given to the soldiers and members of volunteer battalions who have fought at the Donetsk airport, the site of...
Ukraine Announces Dec. 9 Truce
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has ordered a new cease-fire next week, as part of a push to end months of fighting with pro-Russian rebels near the Russian border. Thursday’s announcement said Ukraine troops will observe a day of silence Tuesday to usher in the truce. Russian and Western media quote rebel leaders as saying they...
Bulgaria Claims Pain From EU Sanctions on Russia
Bulgaria’s economy is being badly hurt by European Union economic sanctions against Russia, its prime minister said on Thursday. EU member states such as Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia, which are heavily dependent on Russian energy, have only reluctantly gone along with the sanctions, imposed over Russia’s annexation of...
Kerry, Lavrov Trade Barbs on Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov exchanged sharp comments on Ukraine at an international meeting in Basel, Switzerland. Secretary Kerry put the blame for the Ukraine crisis squarely on Russia, with his Russian counterpart sitting nearby. Kerry on Thursday accused Russia of providing weapons and other...
Rolling Blackouts Expanded In Ukraine
Ukraine officials say rolling two-hour blackouts that began in some towns Monday are being expanded. Ukraine Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchishin said Wednesday a technical fault forced operations at the Zaporizka nuclear plant to shut down Friday. Concerns were raised earlier when Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk spoke of a nuclear power plant...
Russia’s Putin Defends Annexation of Crimea
Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended his country’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and accused the West of using the Ukraine crisis as a pretext to impose sanctions on Moscow. Delivering his annual state of the union speech Thursday, Putin referred to Crimea as Russia’s spiritual ground. On the subject of...
