BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s populist president warned during a chaotic parliamentary session on Thursday that the Balkan nation could become a European “pariah” state if it rejects a Western plan for normalizing relations with Kosovo. President Aleksandar Vucic faced a hostile reception from the right-wing opposition, which urged parliament to reject the plan and … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles hit residential areas in an eastern Ukrainian city Thursday for the second time in 24 hours, while top European Union officials held talks with the government in Kyiv as the war with Russia approaches its one-year milestone. The latest strikes in Kramatorsk came as rescue crews searched for survivors … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — It used to be that visitors would browse through Bakhmut’s late 19th century buildings, enjoy their walks in its rose-lined lakeside park and revel in the sparkling wines produced in historic underground caves. This city of salt and gypsum mines located around 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Russia’s border was once … Read more
TOKYO (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg sharply criticized China on Tuesday for “bullying its neighbors and threatening Taiwan” and stressed the need for Japan and other democracies to work together with the alliance to defend the international order. Calling it a “critical moment for NATO and for Japan,” Stoltenberg, who is visiting Tokyo, said … Read more
Russia says it has captured a village on the northern outskirts of Bakhmut as it intensifies efforts to surround the front-line city in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The village of Blahodatne, which is about five kilometers (three miles) north of Bakhmut, was captured with the help of aerial support, the Russian defense ministry said in … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s push for fighter jets to help beat back Russia’s invasion force risks straining the unity of Ukraine’s Western allies, amid fears that the move could escalate the nearly year-long conflict and draw them deeper into the war. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was due in Paris Tuesday where discussions about … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Fighting remained largely deadlocked Monday in eastern Ukraine where Russian shelling killed five civilians over the past day, according to Ukrainian officials, as the warring sides sized up their needs for renewed military pushes expected in coming weeks. The casualties included a woman who was killed and three others who were … Read more
Russia has begun its “big revenge” for Ukraine’s resistance to its invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, as Russian forces claimed a series of incremental gains in his country’s east. Zelenskyy has been warning for weeks that Moscow aims to step up its assault on Ukraine after about two months of virtual stalemate along … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Friends and volunteers gathered Sunday at Kyiv’s St Sophia’s Cathedral to say goodbye to Andrew Bagshawa New Zealand scientist who was killed in Ukraine with another volunteer while they were trying to evacuate people from a front-line town. Bagshaw, 48, a dual New Zealand-British citizen, and British volunteer Christopher Parry28, went … Read more
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s president has suggested his country might approve Finland’s application for NATO membership before taking any action on Sweden’s, while the Turkish government issued a travel warning for European countries due to anti-Turkish demonstrations and what it described as Islamophobia. The travel warning published late Saturday followed demonstrations last weekend outside the … Read more