Section: Voice of America (USA)
UK Scrambles Jets to Intercept Russian Planes Near Baltics
Britain said on Wednesday it had scrambled Typhoon fighter jets to intercept seven Russian military aircraft flying near the Baltic states as tensions between the West and Russia over the Ukraine crisis remained high. NATO last month tripled the number of fighter jets patrolling the Baltics to beef up the alliance’s defenses in Eastern...
Ukrainian President Proposes Cease-Fire
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has proposed instituting a unilateral cease-fire in eastern Ukraine as part of a peace plan to address months of conflict in the region. Russian news agencies quoted Poroshenko on Wednesday as saying the cease-fire would give separatist fighters the opportunity to disarm and those who want to leave the country...
In Kyiv, Calls for New Parliament
Thousands of students and anti-Russian activists gathered outside Ukraine’s parliament Tuesday for its first full session since the new president was sworn in. While Ukraine’s revolution was supposed to have ended with February’s ouster of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych, some demonstrators say those violent...
Ukraine Mulls Security, Including Building Wall Along Russia Border
Ukraine’s leaders are puzzling over how to cut off Russian support for a separatist rebellion in the east of the country but one of its richest men thinks he has the answer. Billionaire businessman Ihor Kolomoisky has suggested building a wall along the almost 2,000 km (1,200-mile) land border with Russia to prevent fighters and weapons...
Ukraine Suspects Attack in Gas Pipeline Blast
An explosion in central Ukraine’s Poltava region Tuesday hit a section of the largest transit pipeline for Russian natural gas to western Europe, in what one Ukrainian official said may have been a terrorist act. Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said several theories for the cause of the explosion were being considered, the...
Ukraine, Iraq Conflicts Reinvigorate NATO Alliance
The role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] in the 21st century is in sharp focus now with the conflicts underway on the bloc’s eastern and southern borders. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, the alliance born at the outset of the Cold War is in resurgence as new threats emerge around the globe. …read more Source:...
Anti-Yanukovich Protesters Call for New Parliament
Thousands of students, anti-Russian activists and residents gather outside Ukraine’s parliament Tuesday for its first full session since the new president was sworn in. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the protest in Kyiv. …read more Source: Voice of...
Serbia, Russia say Ready to Go Ahead with South Stream Gas Line
Russia said on Tuesday it expected Serbia to begin building its leg of the Gazprom-led South Stream gas pipeline as planned in July, saying Belgrade and Moscow were ready to move forward with the project. Against a backdrop of conflict in Ukraine, the pipeline plan has become a focus of tension between Russia and the European Union, with Serbian...
German Minister: EU Summit May Discuss Tougher Russia Sanctions
European Union leaders may use their summit next week to discuss the issue of further sanctions against Russia in the context of a deteriorating situation in Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in the Baltic states on Tuesday. “That might be a debate to be continued at the next meeting of the European heads of...
Ukrainians Boycott Russian Goods as Tensions Escalate Over Gas – and Chocolate
Ukraine’s troubles with neighboring Russia extend beyond their scuffles in Ukraine’s restive, Russian-speaking east. Residents of cosmopolitan Kyiv, have decided to take their fight directly to Russia’s pocket by boycotting its products. From Kyiv, VOA’s Anita Powell looked at how many Ukrainians are fighting — with,...
