Section: Voice of America (USA)
Russian Euphoria Over Annexation of Crimea Fading
When she was asked to give up a day’s pay to help Crimea, Russian hospital therapist Tatyana could not hide her anger – why should she subsidize others when struggling to make ends meet herself? Living in southern Russia close to the border with Ukraine, Tatyana was caught up in the euphoria that gripped the nation when Russia annexed...
Ukraine Hails Capture of Rebel Stronghold as Turning Point
Ukrainian security officials said on Sunday they were in full control of the former rebel stronghold of Slovyansk after re-taking it in a victory which President Petro Poroshenko said could mark a turning point in the fight against the separatists. Government forces routed pro-Russian rebels in the flashpoint city in eastern Ukraine on Saturday...
Head of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church Dies
The head of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church under the Moscow patriarchate died on Saturday, the patriarchate said on its website on Saturday. The Moscow patriarchate has echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric on the Ukraine crisis, a move that may alienate the church in Ukraine, analysts have said. “On July 5, 2014, the...
Poroshenko Orders Ukraine Flag Raised Over Slovyansk
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ordered troops to raise the country’s national flag over the city of Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine, after reports the army retook the area Friday. The president’s website said Saturday the pro-Russian separatist stronghold seized in April is now in the hands of government troops after rebels...
Ukraine Ready to Hold Fresh Talks with Separatists
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko says Ukraine is ready to hold a new round of talks with pro-Russian separatist leaders and Russian officials on Saturday. Poroshenko’s office said Friday that he told European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a telephone call that he had suggested a time and place for the talks and is...
Ukraine OKs Preliminary Emergency Energy Plans
Ukraine’s parliament gave preliminary approval on Friday to a draft law that would allow the Kyiv government to exert tighter control over the energy sector in the face of dwindling natural gas supplies after Russia cut off exports last month. The parliament also approved, in a first reading, a bill that would allow consortiums with...
Putin Calls for Better US-Russia Relations
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for better relations between Russia and the United States in a congratulatory message to President Barack Obama on the U.S. Independence Day holiday. Putin expressed hope in his message Friday that the currently strained relations between the two nations will develop on a “pragmatic and equal...
Kyiv, Separatists Fret at Gun Law in Ukraine’s Rebel Regions
Firearms stores in the separatist-held city of Donetsk in east Ukraine stand empty, the guns that once lined the shelves now sold out or stolen at gunpoint. “In a time of war, everyone wants a weapon. There are just none left to sell or even give away,” said manager Alexander Lutsevich in the wood-paneled office of his downtown store....
Ukraine Fills Top Defense Posts
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has appointed new officials to defense posts, as European officials press for talks aimed at resuming a cease-fire between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists. The Ukrainian government announced Thursday that Valery Heletey has been named Ukraine’s new defense minister, while Viktor...
Latvia Wary of Russian Moves
Latvia is 1,000 kilometers north of the separatist war in southern Ukraine. But what Latvia and Ukraine shares is a neighbor – Russia. And that neighbor has been cause for worries in the Baltic nation. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics says his government is concerned about Russia’s military rearmament around the Baltics....
