LVIV (Reuters) – Ukraine has sent letters to companies that back the International Olympic Committee urging them to keep Russian athletes out of the Paris Olympic Games, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. Zelenskiy has been spearheading a drive to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the games under a neutral flag. Zelenskiy … Read more
(Reuters) – Fierce battles are raging in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region as Russia intensifies pressure before the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. “Things are very difficult in Donetsk region – fierce battles,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “But however difficult it is and however much … Read more
KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine will not use longer-range weapons pledged by the United States to hit Russian territory and will only target Russian units in occupied Ukrainian territory, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Sunday. The United States confirmed on Friday that a new rocket that would double Ukraine’s strike range was included in a … Read more
KYIV (Reuters) – Two Russian missiles hit the centre of Kharkiv, the administrative capital of the Kharkiv region in Ukraine’s northeast, with one of the missiles striking a residential building, local officials said on Sunday. “A residential building in the city center was hit. A fire broke out. So far, three victims are known: a … Read more
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new rocket that would double Ukraine’s strike range in its war with Russia was included in a $2.175 billion U.S. military aid package, the Pentagon said on Friday. The new weapon, the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), will allow Ukraine’s military to hit targets at twice the distance reachable by … Read more
VILNIUS (Reuters) – Traders are using Turkey, Kazakhstan and Armenia to evade European Union sanctions on Russia in a tactic that breaches these countries’ compliance with the bloc’s embargo, Latvia’s prime minister said on Friday. Krisjanis Karins made the assertion following talks with counterparts from fellow EU members Estonia and Lithuania, which along with Latvia … Read more
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO allies on Friday threw their weight behind U.S. complaints that Russia is violating the New START nuclear arms control treaty and called on Moscow to come back into compliance. “NATO Allies agree the New START Treaty contributes to international stability by constraining Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear forces,” the North Atlantic … Read more
OSLO (Reuters) – Norway will increase the spending from its sovereign wealth fund in the coming years to fund military and civilian aid to Ukraine, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told parliament on Thursday. The Nordic country’s $1.3 trillion wealth fund, one of the world’s largest investors, has seen a sharp rise in revenue … Read more
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austria is expelling four Russian diplomats for behaving in a manner inconsistent with international agreements, a reason often invoked in spying cases, the Austrian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday without giving specifics. Two of the four diplomats declared personae non gratae and ordered to leave the country by Feb. 8 at the … Read more
(Reuters) – More than a dozen top European Union officials arrive in Kyiv on Thursday, a top-level demonstration of support following new pledges of military aid as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears. While the EU backs Ukraine and supports democratic and economic reforms there, Kyiv’s hopes to quickly join the 27-nation … Read more