Category Archives: Europe

Vitaly Gerasimov: second Russian general killed, Ukraine defence ministry claims

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Ukrainian intelligence says major general in Russia’s 41st army died outside Kharkiv along with other senior officers

A Russian general has been killed in fighting around Kharkiv, Ukrainian intelligence has claimed, which would make him the second general the Russian army has lost in Ukraine in a week.

The intelligence arm of the Ukrainian defence ministry said Maj Gen Vitaly Gerasimov, chief of staff of the 41st Army, had been killed outside the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, along with other senior officers.

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‘Beyond understanding’: Odesa braced to see if Putin attacks city of such resonance for Russians

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Russian warships have been moving ominously between the coast outside Odesa and annexed Crimea. Each morning, Odesa’s remaining residents wake up and check their progress

The tourist cafes are behind barricades. The grand opera house is surrounded by a wall of sandbags. Tank traps block the approaches to the legendary Potemkin steps.

Nobody in Odesa can quite believe that Vladimir Putin would launch an assault on this city, a place bound to Russia by family, literary and cultural ties, a place of almost mythical resonance for many Russians.

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Russia trying to recruit Syrians to fight in Ukraine, says Pentagon

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US defence official says it is ‘noteworthy that Putin believes he needs foreign fighters’

Russia has been trying to recruit Syrians to fight in Ukraine to bolster Moscow’s flagging invasion, according to the Pentagon.

A senior US defence official said it is unclear how many Syrians Vladimir Putin is seeking to recruit, but said “we find it noteworthy that he believes he needs to rely on foreign fighters”.

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‘Humanitarian corridors’ leading to Russia or Belarus rejected by Kyiv

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Ukraine president dismisses Moscow’s proposed routes for civilian evacuation as ‘completely immoral’

Kyiv has rejected an offer from Moscow to create “humanitarian corridors” allowing civilians to flee six heavily bombed Ukrainian cities after it emerged that most of the supposedly safe routes led directly to Russia or its ally, Belarus.

The Russian offer came before a third round of peace talks. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said in advance of the discussions that Moscow was ready to halt operations “in a moment” if Kyiv met a list of conditions. These included ceasing military action, changing its constitution to ensure neutrality, acknowledging Crimea as Russian territory and recognising the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.

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Hailed as heroes – Scottish gardeners who rescued trio from Ukraine

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Joe McCarthy and Gary Taylor were held at gunpoint by Russians before successfully evacuating Irish woman and Nigerian men

Two Scottish gardeners have rescued three students – one Irish and two Nigerian – who were trapped in the wartorn city of Sumy in the north-east of Ukraine.

Along the way, the men were held at gunpoint by Russian soldiers – but were then rescued themselves by locals.

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Rare Italian bear famous for bakery break-in captured

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Animal activists criticise removal of bear known as Juan Carrito, taken to an enclosure for ‘problem’ animals

A rare brown bear who became famous after breaking into a bakery and feasting on the biscuits has been captured in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, sparking criticism from animal activists.

The marsican bear, affectionately known as Juan Carrito by residents in the mountain town of Roccaraso, has been taken to an enclosure for “problem” animals.

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Violinist plays in bomb shelter for displaced Ukraine residents – video

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Violinist and teacher Vera Lytovchenko has traded a theatre for a basement and played her violin for fellow Kharkiv residents taking cover from Russian bombing.

Lytovchenko said she was inspired in seeing one of her students play in a makeshift bomb shelter at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

‘It was very difficult to play and think about something that wasn’t war. But I decided I must do something,’ Lytovchenko said. ‘We have become a family in this cellar and when I played they cried. They forget about the war for some moments and think about something else.’

Video of Lytovchenko playing Ніч яка місячна (The Night is So Moonlit) has gone viral on Twitter, but Lytovchenko said she is mainly interested about her friends’ and colleagues’ reactions on Facebook because that is how she knows they are still alive.

Lytovchenko said she would stay in Kharkiv to rebuild the city. ‘I won’t just play,’ she said. ‘This is my land. I want to help rebuild the city with my own hands. 

‘I don’t need pity. I don’t need to complain. I just need the bombing to stop then we will rebuild. I need the war to end’

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‘We need bread’: fears in Middle East as Ukraine war hits wheat imports

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Aid agencies warn of ‘ripple effect’ as soaring wheat prices hit countries already facing inflation, food insecurity and conflict

Concerns are growing across the Middle East and north Africa that the war in Ukraine will send prices of staple foods soaring as wheat supplies are hit, potentially fuelling unrest. Russia and Ukraine supply a quarter of the world’s wheat exports, while Egypt is the world’s biggest importer of wheat.

In Tunisia, like many people queueing for bread in Tunis’s sprawling medina, or old town, Khmaes Ammani, a day labourer, said the rising cost of living was leaving him squeezed. “There’s never any money at the end of the month,” he said. “I even have to borrow some. Everything is getting more expensive.”

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Georgia speeds up EU application in policy U-turn

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Move comes amid public alarm over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Moldova also applies to join bloc

In a surprise U-turn, the government of Georgia has applied for EU membership just days after declaring it would not accelerate its application, as fears grow among the Georgian public that the Russian invasion might not stop with Ukraine.

A day after Ukraine made its formal application for EU membership on Wednesday, Georgia responded to the pressure of overwhelming public protests and made its own request, along with Moldova.

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‘They are frozen’: Poland praised for generous welcome to 1m Ukrainians

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Volunteers leading response to growing number of people fleeing Russian invasion, as country announces £1.3bn fund for refugees

More than 1 million people have crossed from Ukraine into Poland since the Russian invasion began on 24 February, the Polish border guard has said.

Poland, which shares a 310-mile border with Ukraine, has taken in the majority of the 1.7 million people who have left their homes since the war began, with aid efforts largely operated by volunteers, as well as NGOs and municipalities.

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US accused of hypocrisy for supporting sanctions against Russia but not Israel

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Critics compare Israeli military actions of Palestinian territories with Russian invasion of Ukraine but pro-Israel groups dismiss allegations as false parallels

The US and some of its European allies are facing accusations of double standards for supporting sanctions and international war crimes investigations against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine while blocking them over Israeli military actions in the occupied Palestinian territories.

But pro-Israel groups in the US have dismissed the allegations by accusing critics of exploiting Ukrainian suffering to draw false parallels.

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Russia-Ukraine war: shelling preventing evacuation of civilians from besieged cities, Ukraine says – live

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Russian shelling preventing evacuation of civilians from Kyiv, Mariupol, Sumy, Kharkiv, Volnovakha and Mykolayiv, Ukraine foreign ministry says

Reports are filtering in of a Russian attack on the city of Mykolaiv near the Black Sea in southern Ukraine.

Russian forces reportedly bombarded the city with artillery fire on Monday morning, just one day after Ukrainian troops pushed them from the city limits.

The Russian armed forces, following a request from French President Emmanuel Macron to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, declare a ceasefire regime from 10:00 and open humanitarian corridors, the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine said in a statement. Thus, civilians will be able to leave Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkov and Sumy.

At the same time, during the opening of humanitarian corridors, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will carry out continuous objective monitoring of the evacuation, including with the use of UAVs. Therefore, we warn that all attempts by the Ukrainian side to once again deceive Russia and the entire civilised world in disrupting the humanitarian operation, allegedly through the fault of the Russian Federations this time around are useless and pointless.”

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New Zealand to ramp up Russia sanctions with ‘first of its kind’ law

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Bill would allow government to freeze assets and also prevent Russian yachts and aircraft from entering New Zealand

New Zealand will rush a bill through parliament this week that will significantly ramp up its sanctions against Russia and its oligarchs, in line with its western allies.

The Russia Sanctions Bill is the “first of its kind” in New Zealand, which has no legal framework for passing broader, unilateral sanctions and usually only does so when called on by the UN security council. As a permanent member of the body, Moscow has vetoed any action against it.

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Ukraine’s pro-Russian monasteries draw local suspicion

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War has sharpened the split between Ukraine and Russia’s Orthodox churches, with some historic sites in Ukraine still loyal to Moscow

As war kicked off in Ukraine, soldiers at a military airstrip in the west of the country went hunting for the origin of a laser pointer they feared was marking out targets on their base.

They found it in a nearby church. Behind the thick walls of the building in Kolomyia, run by monks loyal to Moscow, they also discovered a large stockpile of food and alcohol, and three guns.

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Kicking the habit: footballing nuns’ goal is to pass on word of God

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The nuns, based in Italy, have heeded the advice of Pope Francis to get out more and avoid becoming ‘old maids’

The women huddled in the centre of the pitch, to briefly strategise, to pray for Ukraine. Then the whistle blew, and to cries of “Forza, sisters!” from their fans, they prepared for kick-off.

The youngest player is 27, the eldest 52, and they are among the 18 brought together from congregations across Italy to form the first national football team for nuns in the world.

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy vows revenge on Russian forces after fleeing family killed in shelling of Irpin

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Attack on civilians in town on the outskirts of Kyiv comes as vast numbers of Ukrainian civilians attempt to flee cities under bombardment

Volodymr Zelenskiy has vowed to punish “every bastard’” who committed atrocities during the invasion of Ukraine amid outrage at Russia’s shelling of civilians as they tried to flee a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, killing a young family.

The president of Ukraine said in a video address on Sunday night: “They were just trying to get out of town. To escape. The whole family. How many such families have died in Ukraine. We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war.”

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‘Impossible’: Bolshoi music director quits over calls to denounce Ukraine invasion

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Tugan Sokhiev resigns without stating his position, saying he could not choose between ‘my beloved Russian and beloved French musicians’

The Bolshoi Theatre’s music director and principal conductor Tugan Sokhiev announced his resignation Sunday, saying he felt under pressure due to calls to take a position on the Ukraine conflict.

The Russian said in a statement he was resigning “with immediate effect” from his post at the Moscow theatre, as well as his equivalent position at France’s Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.

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Denmark to hold referendum on scrapping EU defence opt-out

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PM urges voters to overturn existing policy in June and pledges boost to defence spending following Russian invasion of Ukraine

Denmark’s prime minister has called for the country’s citizens to overturn the country’s opt-out from EU defence policy in a referendum to be held on 1 June, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Historic times call for historic decisions,” Mette Frederiksen told a news conference on Sunday, adding that the government “very clearly calls on Danes to lift the opt-out on defence”.

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