Europe

As EU squeezes Russia, Serbia embraces old ally

by Miodrag Sovilj Agence France-Presse BELGRADE, Serbia (AFP) —  While the European Union scrambles to isolate Russia and reduce energy imports from the country, EU candidate Serbia is tightening its bond with Moscow through a new gas supply deal. Belgrade has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations, but it has refused to take part in sanctions against its old ally, even though Serbia aims to join the EU. A day before […]

War enters 100th day with Russia controlling ‘fifth of Ukraine’

by Quentin Tyberghien Agence France-Presse SOLEDAR, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine marked 100 days since Moscow’s invasion on Friday with Russian forces hammering the Donbas in their push to capture the country’s east. The somber milestone came less than 24 hours after Kyiv announced Moscow was now in control of 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and parts of the Donbas seized in 2014. After being repelled from around the capital, President Vladimir Putin’s troops […]

‘Russia controls fifth of Ukraine’ as war’s 100th day looms

  by Quentin Tyberghien Russian forces hammered Ukrainian positions in the Donbas region on Thursday, as Kyiv said Moscow was in control of 20 percent of Ukrainian territory on the eve of the war’s 100th day. Vladimir Putin’s troops have set their sights on capturing eastern Ukraine since being repelled from around the capital Kyiv after their invasion began on February 24. While their advance has been much slower than Moscow expected, Russian troops have […]

US to send Ukraine advanced weapons, as battle for east rages

  by David Stout Agence France Presse President Joe Biden has said the United States will send more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, as Russian troops press their ferocious bid to complete the capture of a key eastern city. The battle for Severodonetsk has grown in intensity in recent days, with heavy casualties on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides. “The Russians are storming, consolidating in the centre of Severodonetsk, while continuing to destroy infrastructure […]

Denmark votes on joining EU’s common defense policy

by Viken Kantarci Agence France-Presse COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — Traditionally eurosceptic Denmark votes Wednesday in a referendum on whether to overturn its opt-out on the EU’s common defense policy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The vote comes on the heels of neighboring Finland’s and Sweden’s historic applications for NATO membership, as the Ukraine war forces countries in Europe to rethink their security policies. More than 65 percent of Denmark’s 4.3 million eligible voters are expected […]

Ukraine identifies ‘few thousand’ war crimes in Donbas

by Danny KEMP Ukraine has identified several thousand suspected war crimes in the eastern Donbas region where Russian forces are pressing their offensive, Kyiv’s chief prosecutor said Tuesday. The cases in the industrial region are among some 15,000 across Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on February 24, prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova said. “Of course we started a few thousand cases about what we see in Donbas,” Venediktova told a news conference in The Hague as she […]

Ukraine convicts two Russians for shelling villages

  KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Two Russian soldiers were both sentenced to more than 11 years in jail on Tuesday after a Ukrainian court found them guilty of firing artillery at civilian areas. The verdict comes one week after a court in the capital Kyiv handed a 21-year-old Russian solider a life sentence for killing a civilian — the country’s first judicial reckoning on Russia’s invasion. Alexander Bobykin and Alexander Ivanov, the servicemen convicted on […]

Russia’s Gazprom suspends gas supplies to Netherlands

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s Gazprom said Tuesday it had halted gas supplies to the Netherlands after Dutch energy firm GasTerra refused to pay in rubles following the Russian military offensive in Ukraine. “Gazprom has completely stopped gas supplies to GasTerra due to non-payment in rubles,” the Russian gas giant said in a statement. Moscow has demanded that clients from “unfriendly countries” — including EU member states — pay for its gas in rubles, a […]

EU leaders agree ban on most Russian oil imports

  by Max DELANY Agence France Presse EU leaders on Monday backed a ban on most Russian oil imports, after a compromise deal with Hungary to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc has spent weeks haggling over a proposed total embargo on Russian oil but came up against stubborn resistance from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. EU leaders meeting in Brussels hatched a compromise deal to exempt deliveries arriving in Europe […]

Biden rules out sending rocket systems ‘that can strike into Russia’ to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden said Monday he would not send rocket systems to Ukraine that could hit targets well inside Russian territory, despite urgent requests from Kyiv for long-range weapons. “We are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia,” Biden told reporters in Washington. Pro-Western Ukraine has received extensive US military aid since Russia invaded its neighbor in late February, but says it needs long-range rockets equivalent to what […]

Surrendered Azovstal defenders may face death penalty: separatists

  Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered to Russian forces at the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol may face the death penalty, a pro-Moscow separatist official said Monday. “The court will make a decision about them,” Yuri Sirovatko, the justice minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine, was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency. “For such crimes we have the highest form of punishment in the DNR — […]

EU struggles to clear Hungary’s block on Russian oil ban

by Alex PIGMAN EU ambassadors made a final push to persuade Hungary to accept a watered-down oil embargo against Russia before a summit on Monday, as European unity over the war in Ukraine showed cracks. Envoys from the 27 member states were meeting in an attempt to finalise a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow, but remain deadlocked over a proposed embargo on Russian oil. The meeting was held just hours before the start of […]