Ukraine sees the soon-to-be-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe as “a dangerous geopolitical weapon”, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday. “We view this project exclusively through the prism of security and consider it a dangerous geopolitical weapon of the Kremlin,” Zelensky said during a joint press conference …
Read More »Police clash with protesters near Ukrainian president’s office
Police clashed with protesters from a nationalist party near the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday when they tried to break through a police cordon. TV footage from the scene showed members of Ukrainian police and protesters spraying tear gas at each other. The protesters attacked with long …
Read More »Cease-fire in war-torn eastern Ukraine to begin at midnight
Ukrainian and rebel forces in war-torn eastern Ukraine have started preparing for a “full and comprehensive” cease-fire scheduled to begin at midnight, a move that officials hope can lead to more steps to resolve the 6-year-old conflict. Rebel officials said Sunday they have instructed their troops about the cease-fire and …
Read More »Ukraine’s First Lady Tests Positive For Coronavirus
Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska said on Friday she had tested positive for the novel coronavirus amid a rise in infections. Zelenska, 42, added that her husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky, and their two children tested negative. “Today I’ve received a positive COVID-19 test result,” she said on Facebook. On Thursday, …
Read More »Chernobyl fire under control, Ukraine officials say
A fire that threatened the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear plant has been contained, Ukrainian authorities said. Emergency services said on Tuesday there were still some “smoldering” parts of the forest floor, but there was “no open fire” left. There had been fears the blaze could threaten the site of the 1986 …
Read More »Ukrainian PM resigns after controversial recordings
Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk on Friday issued his resignation following a leaked audio recording of him reportedly criticizing President Volodymyr Zelensky’s understanding of the economy. “I took office to implement the president’s program. I see him as a model of transparency and decency. However, to remove any doubts in …
Read More »Trump tweets quote warning that impeachment will cause ‘Civil War-like fracture’ in US.
US President Donald Trump responded to the Democrats-led impeachment inquiry by posting an ominous quote from a church leader who warned that removing him from office would inflict “Civil War-like” wounds on the nation. Known for regularly watching shows on Fox News, Trump apparently liked how the Southern Baptist minister …
Read More »Pelosi: Trump impeachment worth losing House in 2020
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that a successful impeachment of President Donald Trump would be worth losing the Democrats’ House majority in 2020. Pelosi’s latest remarks come days after she announced the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry into the president. Nearly all House Democrats have publicly backed the …
Read More »Trump’s envoy for Ukraine resigns amid growing scandal
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, has resigned following disclosures that he had connected Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani with Ukrainian officials to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his family over allegedly corrupt business dealings. Volker resigned on Friday; sources familiar with the situation …
Read More »Whistleblower alleges Trump sought foreign meddling in the 2020 election
A whistleblower report released by a congressional panel on Thursday said President Donald Trump used his office to solicit Ukraine’s interference in the 2020 election to advance his personal political interests, risking U.S. national security. The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee released a declassified version of the report …
Read More »White House releases incomplete ‘transcript’ of Trump’s Ukraine phone call about Joe Biden
Democrats call memo of controversial phone call ‘a smoking gun’ as the president’s impeachment looms. The White House has released a memorandum of Donald Trump’s phone call with the president of Ukraine that has sparked an official impeachment inquiry after he vowed just yesterday to release a “fully declassified and …
Read More »Trump says Republicans would get ‘ELECTRIC CHAIR’ if they ‘did what Joe Biden did’ in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump called for an investigation into Democratic 2020 hopeful Joe Biden over alleged corrupt conduct during his time as VP, arguing a Republican in the same position would “get the electric chair.” Speaking to reporters on Monday after a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Trump lashed …
Read More »Ukraine’s comedian-turned-politician walks a fine line with America’s reality-TV President.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does not have an easy job. Ukraine is one of the poorest places in Europe, his country faces a steady outflow of capital and a proxy war with Russian-backed insurgents has settled into a bloody stalemate. Now the comedian-turned-politician faces his first big challenge: Managing his …
Read More »Russia, Ukraine exchange prisoners in a bid to ease tension.
Planes with former detainees landed in Moscow and Kiev, concluding the long-awaited prisoner swap. The action was hailed as the first step in mending the ‘dead-end’ relations between the neighbors and was praised internationally. Despite many delays and setbacks, the swap finally happened on Saturday. The government plane carrying the …
Read More »Ukraine fury as Russia gets human rights vote.
Five years after Russia had it’s voting rights removed because of the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly has voted to restore them. The assembly backed the proposal in the face of angry opposition from Ukraine, whose delegation later walked out. Russia had threatened to …
Read More »Germany’s Angela Merkel ‘fine’ after seen shaking in a heatwave.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is fine after she was seen trembling as she greeted Ukraine’s president on a boiling day in Berlin. Mrs. Merkel, 64, was visibly struggling as she stood next to Volodymyr Zelensky while a military band played the two countries’ anthems in the midday …
Read More »