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by Patrick Fort © Agence France-Presse Kharkiv, UKRAINE (AFP) — Three women plant flowers on a roundabout in central Kharkiv, while not far away men fill sandbags for a defensive barrier on the north of the city, the side closest to Russia. It is a stark illustration of how people in the war-battered city in the north east are attempting to recapture some essence of normal life, even though Russian aggression lurks not far away. […]
by Elias Huuhtanen © Agence France-Presse Santahamina, FINLAND (AFP) — On a windy military island off Helsinki, people from all walks of life are spending their weekend doing military training, as volunteer numbers soar and Finland readies to join NATO to protect itself from Russia. Finland’s defence forces only have around 13,000 employed personnel but the country of 5.5 million boasts an impressive 900,000 reservists with a wartime strength of 280,000 troops. Finland shares […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin said Monday that while Russia does not see Finland and Sweden’s decision to join NATO as a threat, deployment of military infrastructure there may trigger a response from Moscow. The expansion of NATO to Sweden and Finland poses “no direct threat for us… but the expansion of military infrastructure to these territories will certainly provoke our response,” Putin said during a televised summit meeting of the Collective […]
by Bhuvan BAGGA Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India has banned wheat exports, sending bushel prices to record highs and drawing criticism from the Group of Seven worried about protectionism as inflation soars in the wake of the Ukraine war. – What did India announce? – The world’s second-largest producer of wheat said that traders could only enter into new export deals with express government approval. Still permitted are requests approved […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia warned Monday that decisions by Finland and Sweden to join the NATO military alliance were serious mistakes and Moscow would take measures. “This is another grave mistake with far-reaching consequences,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters. “The general level of military tensions will increase,” he was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. “It is a pity that common sense is being sacrificed for some phantom ideas about […]
Putin says Finland joining NATO would be a “mistake” as there is no threat to Finland’s security HELSINKI, Finland (NATO) — Finnish President Sauli Niinisto spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday about the Nordic country’s application for NATO membership, expected to be announced this weekend, his office said. The phone call, which was “initiated by Finland… was direct and straightforward and it was conducted without aggravations. Avoiding tensions was considered important,” Niinisto […]
by Isabelle LE PAGE and David STOUT in Kyiv Europe pledged another half billion dollars in military support for Kyiv on Friday and Sweden edged closer to joining NATO as the war in Ukraine entered its 12th week. At a meeting of the world’s most powerful democracies, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell promised Ukraine an extra 500 million euros ($520 million), bringing the bloc’s total military aid to two billion euros. “The recipe […]
Moscow on Friday advised its citizens against travel to the United Kingdom, citing London’s “unfriendly” stance as well as huge delays in visas for Russians. “In order to avoid financial losses and other possible problems, we recommend that Russian citizens refrain, if possible, from travelling to the UK and trying to obtain British visas,” the Russian foreign ministry said. It added that it will “act in the same way” with British citizens until the situation […]
Britain on Friday sanctioned 12 members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “inner circle” including his reputed girlfriend, accusing them of hiding tens of billions of dollars on his behalf. The list included Putin’s ex-wife Lyudmila Ocheretnaya and Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast whom UK officials described as his “current partner”, as well as Kabaeva’s grandmother Anna Zatseplina. The European Union has proposed sanctioning Kabaeva, according to a document seen last week by AFP. She is said […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday said he doubted the motives of Ukraine’s intention of joining the European Union, while accusing Brussels of ambitions beyond the European continent. Ukraine, where Russia launched a military campaign on February 24, “is ready to declare a neutral, non-aligned status,” Lavrov told reporters following a meeting of CIS foreign ministers in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe. “At the same time, they are trying in every […]
After decades of staying out of military alliances, Finland and Sweden are about to decide whether to apply to join NATO, as a deterrent against aggression from Eastern neighbour Russia. The Nordic neighbours are expected to act in unison, with both expressing a desire for their applications to be submitted simultaneously if they decide to go that route. – Historic U-turns – For decades, a majority of Swedes and Finns were in favour […]
Russia warned Thursday it would have to take “military-technical” steps in response to neighbouring Finland joining NATO, after leaders in Helsinki backed entering the US-led alliance. “The expansion of NATO and the approach of the alliance to our borders does not make the world and our continent more stable and secure,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. When asked whether Finland’s membership would be a threat, Peskov answered: “definitely”. “Everything will depend on how this […]
