Tag: Ukraine

Foreign fighters in Ukraine sentenced to death by pro-Russians

by Quentin Tyberghien  Agence France-Presse LYSYCHANSK, Ukraine (AFP) — Pro-Russian rebels sentenced to death two British fighters and a Moroccan who were captured while fighting for Ukraine, as a Ukrainian governor called for Western arms on Thursday to win the battle for a crucial eastern city. The death sentences come as Moscow concentrates its firepower on the strategic industrial hub of Severodonetsk, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said forces are “holding on” amid fierce fighting […]

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UN chief warns impact of Ukraine war on world is worsening

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — UN chief Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that the consequences for the world of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are worsening, with 1.6 billion people likely to be affect. “The war’s impact on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe, and speeding up,” the Secretary-General said, presenting the UN’s second report into the repercussions of the conflict. He added that “for people around the world, the war is threatening to unleash […]

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OECD, World Bank see lower world growth due to Ukraine war’s ‘hefty price’

  by Jonathan JACOBSEN The OECD warned Wednesday that the world economy will pay a “hefty price” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as it slashed its 2022 growth forecast and projected higher inflation. The Paris-based organisation, which represents 38 mostly developed countries, is the latest institution to predict lower GDP growth due to the conflict, which has sent food and energy prices soaring. In its latest economic outlook, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development […]

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Russia says it is ‘ready to ensure safety’ of ships leaving Ukraine ports

  ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow was ready to ensure the safe passage of vessels from Ukraine as concerns mount over grain stuck in Ukrainian ports. “We are ready to ensure the safety of ships that leave Ukrainian ports,” Lavrov told a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. “We are ready to do this in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues.” Lavrov arrived in Ankara […]

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Russia downplays role of Ukraine conflict in food crisis

Russia on Wednesday rejected suggestions that grain stuck in Ukrainian ports was fuelling a global food crisis as Moscow pressed ahead with its military offensive. Moscow’s campaign in the pro-Western country has not only devastated crops and farming, but also disrupted crucial deliveries from Ukraine — one of the world’s main grain producers — fuelling concern about hunger and food prices worldwide. “As far as we know, there is much less grain than the Ukrainians […]

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Italy warns Ukraine port blockade could kill ‘millions’

  ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio warned Wednesday that millions of people could die of hunger unless Russia unblocked Ukraine’s ports, as he hosted Mediterranean ministers on the global food crisis. “The next few weeks will be crucial to resolving the situation,” he said after a virtual meeting involving Turkey and Lebanon among other countries, alongside G7 president Germany and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. “I want to say […]

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Ukrainian troops may have to retreat from Severodonetsk: governor

Ukrainian troops may have to retreat from the eastern city of Severodonetsk which is being shelled by Russian troops “24 hours a day”, the regional governor said on Wednesday. “It is possible that we will have to retreat” to better fortified positions, Lugansk governor Sergiy Gaiday said in an interview on the TV channel 1+1. “No one is going to surrender Severodonetsk even if our forces have to fall back to better fortified positions,” Gaiday […]

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Russia claims progress in fight for Ukraine flashpoint city

by Blaise Gauquelin, with Quentin Tyberghien in Donbas Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Russia claimed Tuesday that its forces had taken full control of residential neighborhoods in eastern Ukraine’s Severodonetsk, after Kyiv said its outnumbered troops were fighting on in the key eastern hub. The brutal weeks-long contest for the key city in the Lugansk region continued to grind on, with civilians fleeing and some 800 taking refuge in a chemical factory. “The residential […]

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Merkel defends Russia legacy, says ‘nothing to apologize for’

by Michelle Fitzpatrick  Agence France-Presse FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — Former German chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday defended her years-long policy of detente towards Moscow, saying she had “nothing to apologize for” even as the Ukraine war casts a pall on her legacy. In her first major interview since stepping down six months ago, Merkel insisted she had not been naive in her dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Diplomacy isn’t wrong just because it hasn’t […]

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Fierce battle for key Ukraine city changing ‘every hour’

by Blaise Gauquelin, with Quentin Tyberghien in Donbas Street fighting raged Tuesday for control of Ukraine‘s flashpoint city of Severodonetsk, with the situation changing “every hour”, an official said, as Kyiv warned its troops were outnumbered by Russian forces. Just days ago, Moscow seemed close to taking the strategic industrial hub in the east but Ukrainian forces have managed to hold out. “Our heroes are holding their positions in Severodonetsk. Fierce street fights continue in […]

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Ukraine president says ‘outnumbered’ in strategic city Severodonetsk

by Blaise Gauquelin, with Quentin Tyberghien in Donbas Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Monday that his troops were outnumbered by a “stronger” Russian side, as the two countries’ forces battled for control of the eastern city of Severodonetsk. “We’re holding out” in the key city, but “there are more of them and they are stronger,” Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv, one day after a daring visit to frontline positions […]

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Argentina president seeks special tax on Ukraine war windfalls

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Argentina’s president vowed Monday to pursue a special tax on company profits boosted by the war in Ukraine, a phenomenon he described as an “immorality” given the inflationary pressure on poor households. While millions were feeling the pain of rising food prices, the war also “benefits the few… who are gaining a lot,” Alberto Fernandez said in an address. “This is an immorality, an indecency, which as the State we cannot […]

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