Tag: Russia

Ukraine’s Zelensky to meet Pres. Biden, address Congress in Washington

Washington, United States  (AFP) by Paul HANDLEY Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet US leader Joe Biden and address Congress in Washington on Wednesday, a visit the White House said will send Russia a strong message of Western unity. The secretly arranged trip comes on the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet his top military officials to assess the conflict in Ukraine and set goals for next year in what the Kremlin […]

Russian space chief praises US after ISS coolant leak

  Moscow, Russia (AFP) The head of Russian space agency Roscosmos on Tuesday praised Russia-US cooperation at the International Space Station following a major coolant leak from a Soyuz crew capsule. “Say hello to the entire American team. They proved themselves to be very worthy in this situation and lent us a helping hand,” Borisov said, speaking to the Russian crew on board the ISS. “But I hope we will manage on our own” in […]

Fire at key Russian gas pipeline kills three: governor

Moscow, Russia (AFP) Three people died Tuesday in a fire at a key gas pipeline in western Russia that sends supplies through Ukraine and on to Europe, the regional governor told state-run television. Images circulating on social media showed a large ball of fire billowing over one and two-storey buildings in a snow-blanketed village, with residents moving closer to inspect the blaze. “According to preliminary data, four people were working (at the site). Unfortunately, three […]

Russian President Putin says situation in annexed regions ‘extremely difficult’

Moscow, Russia (AFP) President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said the situation in four territories of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed was “extremely difficult”. “The situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is extremely difficult,” Putin told the Russian security services on their professional holiday. Putin singled out those working in the “new regions of Russia”. “The people living there, the citizens of Russia, rely on you, […]

Russian president insists no plan to absorb Belarus on visit in Ukraine shadow

  Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) by Dmytro GORSHKOV President Vladimir Putin denied plans to absorb Belarus as he paid a rare visit Monday to the country whose strongman assisted his invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. Putin flew into Minsk with his defence and foreign ministers in tow, hours after Russian forces launched a swarm of attack drones at critical infrastructure in Kyiv, which provoked emergency blackouts in a dozen regions. Putin said that Russia and Belarus — […]

Greenland suspends fishing agreement with Russia

Copenhagen, Denmark (AFP) Greenland has suspended its fishing agreement with Russia for next year, according to the ministry of fisheries. The ministry of the autonomous Danish territory told AFP that it had informed Russian authorities that “due to the decline of stock for several species, there is no possibility of exchanging quotas for 2023”. Since 1992 the agreement has mainly allowed Greenland to fish for Russian cod in the Barents Sea, while Russian fishermen have […]

Olympics chief Bach ‘faces dilemma over Russian athletes’

by Pirate IRWIN Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Olympics chief Thomas Bach faces “the toughest decision of his presidency” as he weighs whether Russian and Belarus athletes should be allowed to compete in the 2024 Games, a senior former IOC executive has told AFP. The signs coming from bodies such as the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) in the past fortnight suggest athletes from Russia and […]

EU reaches gas price cap agreement, angering Russia

by Marc BURLEIGH Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — EU energy ministers on Monday overcame months of wrangling to agree a price cap for natural gas in the bloc, drawing an immediate warning from Russia that the move was “unacceptable”. The price ceiling was fixed at 180 euros per megawatt hour, but with conditions attached and a word of caution from the European Commission that it may suspend the measure if “the risks outweigh the […]

Temperature rising on Soyuz, crew not in danger

  Moscow, Russia (AFP) The temperature on the Soyuz capsule docked at the International Space Station has risen but the crew are not in danger, the Russian space agency said Friday as it assesses a leak. Roscosmos said a number of tests had been conducted following the discovery of a coolant leak on the Soyuz MS-22, and the temperature in the capsule had increased to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). On Wednesday, the leak […]

Russia fires ‘massive’ missile barrage at Ukraine grid

  Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) by Dmytro GORSHKOV A fresh barrage of fatal Russian strikes hit cities across Ukraine early Friday, cutting water and electricity in major urban hubs and piling pressure on the grid in sub-zero temperatures. AFP journalists in Kyiv reported several loud explosions and the mayor said the metro had stopped running to allow residents to take shelter in underground stations. The strikes killed two people and injured several others — including children […]

Macron to call on Putin over Ukraine strikes, nuclear plant safety

Brussels, Belgium (AFP) French President Emmanuel Macron said he will call on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to stop bombing civilians in Ukraine and to finalise a safety plan for Europe’s largest nuclear reactor. “The most urgent issue today is to continue to call for a truce on the bombings and drone attacks,” Macron said at a press conference after a summit in Brussels on Thursday. “I intend to discuss this issue with Putin, because […]

Biden tells leaders US is ‘all in’ for Africa

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US President Joe Biden threw his support Thursday behind a larger African role in the world as he also vowed to champion democracy in a continent where China and Russia have enjoyed rising clout. “The United States is all in on Africa and all in with Africa,” Biden told nearly 50 African leaders who have spent three days in a wintry Washington summit that featured a gala White House dinner. “Africa […]