Tag: conflict

Russian tourists’ luxury cars fill up Helsinki airport

by Elias HUUHTANEN Agence France-Presse HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) — Porsches, Bentleys and other luxury cars with Russian license plates are filling up the parking garage at Helsinki’s airport as Finland becomes an important transit country for Russian tourists flying to Europe. The European Union shut its airspace to Russian planes after Moscow invaded Ukraine, forcing anyone who wants to travel to Europe to drive across the border or take a circuitous route using non-Western airlines. […]

Russia accuses Ukraine over car bomb assassination

by Thibault MARCHAND Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Russia on Monday accused Ukraine over the assassination of the daughter of a leading hardliner, as Kyiv said nearly 9,000 of its soldiers had been killed since Moscow launched its invasion. The FSB security services pointed the finger at Ukraine for Saturday’s shock car bombing in Moscow’s outskirts that killed Daria Dugina, the 29-year-old daughter of Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin, an outspoken advocate for the invasion […]

Ukraine war pulls rug out from under world economy rebound

  by Ali BEKHTAOUI Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — This year was supposed to confirm the world economy’s comeback from the Covid pandemic crisis. Instead, the six-month-old war in Ukraine has sparked fears of recession. – Two ‘small’ economies rattle world – “Six short months ago the macro landscape was markedly different from today,” the financial data firm S&P Global said in a recent report. Both the United States and eurozone economies were expected […]

UN chief to meet Ukraine, Turkey leaders in Lviv

by Thibault MARCHAND Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — UN chief Antonio Guterres will meet with the leaders of Ukraine and Turkey this week, officials announced Tuesday, as Kyiv reported an “unprecedented” cyberattack on its nuclear energy agency’s website. A deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last month has allowed a tentative restart of grain exports from Ukraine after Russia’s invasion blocked essential global supplies. Guterres will hold talks in the western Ukrainian […]

Putin lashes out at US over Ukraine, Taiwan

Russian president accuses US of trying to prolong conflict in Ukraine, fueling potential for conflict in Asia   MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused Washington of seeking to prolong the conflict in Ukraine and of fuelling conflicts elsewhere in the world, including with the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. “The situation in Ukraine shows that the US is trying to prolong this conflict. And they act […]

Zelensky warns Zaporizhzhia ‘catastrophe’ would threaten whole of Europe

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — A “catastrophe” at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine would threaten the whole of Europe, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Monday. “Under the cover of the plant, the occupiers are shelling nearby cities and communities,” Zelensky said in his evening address. “Any radiation incident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP can affect the countries of the European Union, Turkey, Georgia and countries from more distant regions. Everything depends solely on […]

Russia defense minister discussed Ukraine nuclear plant with UN chief: Moscow

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and UN chief Antonio Guterres discussed the security situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, which is currently under Moscow’s control and has been the target of fighting, Moscow said on Monday. “Sergei Shoigu conducted telephone negotiations with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres regarding the conditions for safe operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement. The plant, Europe’s […]

Russian tourists to Finland greeted with Ukrainian anthem

  LAPPEENRANTA, Finland (AFP) — A crowd of people gathers in the Eastern Finnish city of Imatra on a bridge overlooking Imatrankoski rapids, one of the Nordic country’s most well-known natural attractions. At the same time every day, the river’s almost century-old dam is opened and water rushes under the bridge, to the sound of music by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is a popular attraction especially for Russian tourists. Even Catherine the Great, Empress […]

Germany to turn thermostat down as gas shortage looms

  Frankfurt, Germany | AFP | Germany will limit heating in public buildings over the winter to save on gas as Russia throttles supplies to Europe, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Friday. “Public properties — with the exception of hospitals and other parts of the social system, of course — will only be heated to 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit)”, Habeck told the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview. Public buildings and monuments […]

UN watchdog warns of ‘grave’ crisis amid violence near Ukraine nuclear plant

  United Nations, United States | AFP by Thibault MARCHAND with Joe STENSON in Soledar The head of the UN nuclear watchdog warned an emergency Security Council meeting on Thursday of the “grave” crisis unfolding at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, as Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of new shelling near the facility. “This is a serious hour, a grave hour,” Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the Security […]

War in Ukraine: latest developments

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine: – ‘Grave hour’ at Ukraine nuclear plant – The head of the UN nuclear watchdog tells the Security Council that fighting near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has sparked a “grave crisis”, after Kyiv and Moscow again accuse each other of shelling near the site. “This is a serious hour, a grave hour and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) must be […]

Ukraine assault sparks talk of Russian ‘cultural revolution’

by Marina LAPENKOVA Agence France-Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Actor Sergei Bezrukov says the world has had enough of “liberal values” and hopes Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine and foreign sanctions can help Russian culture chart its own path. Bezrukov is among artistic figures who say Moscow should leverage the country’s growing isolation to purify Russian culture of Western influence and promote conservative values including patriotism and the Orthodox faith. “We must take advantage of the […]