Moscow, Russia (AFP) President Vladimir Putin on Thursday was in Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between NATO member countries, with tensions soaring between Moscow and the EU over fighting in Ukraine. As part of his visit, Putin met with Kaliningrad school students to mark the start of the school year, answering questions on topics ranging from the economy, space exploration and Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine. “The mission of our soldiers… is to stop this […]
Tag: conflict
EU ministers agree to suspend Russian visa facilitation deal
Prague, Czech Republic (AFP) EU foreign ministers on Wednesday agreed to suspend a 2007 visa facilitation deal with Russia but stopped short of a wider visa ban as requested by some member states. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the ministers had agreed that relations with Moscow “cannot be business as usual” and the agreement should be “fully suspended”. Following the informal meeting in Prague, he said this would make it “more difficult” and […]
War in Ukraine: latest developments
KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine: – Zelensky meets UN nuclear inspectors – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ahead of its long-awaited visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, targeted repeatedly by shelling. “This is probably one of the top-priority questions regarding the safety of Ukraine and the world today,” Zelensky says, calling for the “immediate de-militarization […]
Kremlin vows response to restrictions on EU visas for Russians
Moscow, Russia (AFP) The Kremlin on Tuesday warned it would respond if the European Union makes it harder for Russians to travel to the bloc as part of measures in support of Ukraine. The idea to ban Russian tourists from Europe has divided EU nations, with some in full support and others fearing it would shut the door on dissident Russians fleeing abroad. EU foreign ministers will discuss the issue during a two-day meeting […]
Ukraine students brace for underground school year
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) by Anna KORIAGINA Five metres beneath a Kyiv classroom, headmaster Mykhaylo Aliokhin puts the finishing touches on the bunker where his students will spend much of their time once Ukraine’s school term starts later this week. The study hall above is still littered with school bags abandoned since February 23 — the last day before Russia invaded and school bells fell silent, replaced by the skirl of the air raid siren. Down […]
Fighting across southern front as Ukraine wages counter-offensive
Mykolaiv, Ukraine (AFP) by Thibault MARCHAND Intense fighting was raging on Tuesday across the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson occupied by Russia, Kyiv’s presidency said, as its troops pressed counter-offensives “in various directions”. Most of the region of Kherson bordering the Black Sea — and its provincial capital of the same name — were seized by Moscow’s military at the start of the invasion six months ago. With the war in the eastern Donbas […]
Russia’s Gazprom further cuts gas deliveries to France
PARIS, France (AFP) — French energy firm Engie said Tuesday that Russian energy giant Gazprom was slashing its natural gas deliveries “due to a disagreement between both sides over the execution of contracts”. Engie added in a statement that Russian gas supplies had already been reduced drastically after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. “Engie had already secured the necessary volumes to guarantee supplies for its clients and for its own needs,” it said. Russia […]
Ukraine launches offensive in south, IAEA team head to nuclear plant
by Joe STENSON Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian forces pressed their counter-offensive to retake the Russian-occupied southern region of Kherson, while a team of UN experts were en route to inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant which was targeted by fresh shelling over the weekend. The coastal region of Kherson and its capital city of the same name have been contested by Russian troops since the war broke out six months ago. “Ukrainian armed […]
Filipinos in Libya urged to stay home as deadly clashes kill 32
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Sunday night urged Filipinos in Libya to take shelter at home as deadly clashes in the capital killed 32. In a text message to reporters, DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said no Filipino has been reported among the casualties. “The DFA strongly urges our kababayans to take shelter at home or in other safe places while the fighting is ongoing and to contact our Embassy through its hotline […]
Kremlin urges ‘pressure’ on Ukraine over nuclear plant
Moscow, Russia (AFP) The Kremlin on Monday called for “pressure” on Kyiv to reduce tensions at the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine that Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of shelling. “All countries are obliged to put pressure on the Ukrainian side so that it stops endangering the European continent by shelling” the nuclear plant, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. His remarks came as International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi announced […]
Zaporizhzhia mission ‘hardest in history of IAEA’: Ukraine FM
Stockholm, Sweden (AFP) The UN atomic watchdog’s mission to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine will be the agency’s hardest to date, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned Monday. “This mission will be the hardest in the history of the IAEA, given the active combat activities undertaken by the Russian Federation on the ground and also the very blatant way that Russia is trying to legitimise its presence,” Kuleba said during a visit […]
IAEA chief leading team to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said Monday he was on his way to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which has been the target of strikes in recent weeks. “The day has come, IAEA’s Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya is now on its way,” Grossi tweeted, saying the team from the UN atomic watchdog would arrive at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant “later this week”. In a photograph accompanying his […]





