Posted on March 29, 2024
Україна підписала угоду з США щодо відтермінування виплат за держборгом
Укладання угоди було передбачено Меморандумом про взаєморозуміння щодо призупинення виплат за державним боргом
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Posted on March 29, 2024
Blinken Heading to Paris, Brussels to Seek Unity on Ukraine, Gaza Wars
Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to go to France and Belgium next week to try to build unity among allies in support of Ukraine in its war against Russia and of Israel in its war against Hamas. Analysts say he faces a tough task. VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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Posted on March 29, 2024
Stakes Are High for Turkish President, Opposition in Local Elections
washington — Millions of Turkish citizens will head to the polls Sunday to elect mayors and local administrators for their cities and districts.
The elections come less than a year after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured his term for another five years last May.
“Now we have 2024 ahead of us,” Erdogan said in his victory speech, adding, “Are you ready to win both Uskudar [a district in Istanbul where Erdogan’s personal residence is] and Istanbul in the local elections in 2024?”
Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) aims to win back key cities, including Turkey’s largest, Istanbul, and its capital, Ankara, which it lost to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in 2019 through its alliance with the nationalist IYI Party.
Istanbul race
Winning Istanbul and Ankara, two cities that account for a quarter of Turkey’s population, gave the CHP a key position in power for the past five years.
Some analysts observe that the Istanbul race will be one of the main contested races.
“This election largely revolves around Istanbul. In the presidential elections, [opposition alliance candidate] Kemal Kilicdaroglu received more votes than Erdogan in both rounds in Istanbul,” political scientist Ismet Akca told VOA.
Istanbul, with its 15 million population, is symbolically important for political parties. An old saying in Turkish politics – “Whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey” – was used by Erdogan a couple of times. Early in his career Erdogan was the city’s mayor, from 1994 to 1998.
The current Istanbul mayor and CHP candidate Ekrem Imamoglu was considered one of the possible vice presidents if the opposition alliance had won the May 2023 parliamentary and presidential elections.
However, after Erdogan’s victory in May 2023, the opposition alliance, headed by CHP and IYI, collapsed. The two parties are running their own candidates in the local elections.
Also, new political parties, including the center-right DEVA, the far-right Victory Party and the Islamist New Welfare Party, have emerged over the past five years, and they will compete in the Istanbul race with their own candidates.
In the 2019 election, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP, which is using a new name, DEM Party) did not announce a candidate and supported the opposition alliance’s Imamoglu. However, this year, the DEM Party has campaigned for prominent Kurdish politician Meral Danis Bestas, its candidate for Istanbul.
Erdogan’s AKP selected Murat Kurum, 47, former minister of environment and urbanization, who was one of the leading figures in the government’s response to the February 2023 earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in southeastern Turkey.
Main opposition CHP has Imamoglu, 52, seeking a second term. Already one of the most prominent figures in Turkey’s opposition, he is expected to run for president in 2028 if he wins.
With the lack of a broader alliance and Kurdish votes, Imamoglu is facing a tough race against Kurum, as Erdogan and his Cabinet officials are quite active in his campaign.
Erdogan’s ‘last election’
During a meeting of the Turkish Youth Foundation on March 8, Erdogan, 70, asked for support in the local elections, saying, “This is a final for me; under the mandate given by the law, this is my last election.”
“The eyes of the entire Islamic world are on Turkey. What will happen in Turkey? What result will the AKP get in these elections?” the president continued.
Erdogan came to power in 2002 and served as prime minister until 2014, when he became the first president elected by the public. He was re-elected in June 2018 and May 2023.
The Turkish constitution, which was last amended in 2017, enables the president to serve only two terms of five years. However, according to Article 116, if the parliament decides to repeat the elections during the president’s second term, the president may run for election again.
Erdogan hinted in November 2023 that his party aimed to work on a new constitution. Political scientist Akca thinks Erdogan’s statement was meant to consolidate his party’s voters.
“Erdogan does not want to lose this election to Imamoglu for the second time. The latest elections reveal that the lower classes and young people dissatisfied with the AKP are looking for other options,” Akca told VOA. Many of those voters have shifted allegiance from AKP to the Islamist New Welfare Party.
“The president is trying to overcome this problem with his emphasis on the Islamist cause and his speech with a high emotional tone.”
Gonul Tol, director of the Middle East Institute’s Turkey program, said Erdogan is involved “as if he were the one on the ballot box.”
“So he is intervening in the electoral process so often and attacking the incumbent, CHP Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, almost on a daily basis. It sounds like this is turning into a referendum on Erdogan, which I personally believe is a bad strategy,” Tol said Thursday in a webinar.
Kurdish votes
Several prominent Kurdish politicians, including Ahmet Turk, Leyla Zana and the imprisoned former HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas, have recently named Erdogan as one of the vital actors in the solution to the conflict with the Kurds.
“Our door is closed to terrorists and those who play a political game under the guidance of a terrorist organization,” Erdogan said Wednesday while campaigning in Diyarbakir.
Some analysts think that Erdogan ended the possibility of a peace process.
“Considering Erdogan’s speech, I do not expect anything like a new compromise, negotiation or a meeting between DEM Party and Erdogan,” Reha Ruhavioglu, director of the Diyarbakir-based Kurdish Studies Center, told VOA.
The Turkish government says the DEM Party has links with the PKK, which the United States, European Union and Ankara have designated as a terrorist group. The party denies this allegation.
In 2019, the then-HDP won 65 municipalities, but later, the mayors of at least 48 municipalities were sacked over terror accusations and placed under the control of government-appointed trustees.
This story originated in VOA’s Turkish Service. VOA Turkish’s Hilmi Hacaloglu and Mahmut Bozarslan contributed from Istanbul and Diyarbakir.
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Posted on March 29, 2024
Нічна атака РФ: голова ОВА повідомив про пораненого в Дніпропетровській області
«Основна ціль ворога – наші люди та обʼєкти забезпечення життєдіяльності населення», заявив Сергій Лисак
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Posted on March 29, 2024
Експерти МАГАТЕ чули артилерійський вогонь, ймовірно, з території ЗАЕС – звіт
«В ніч проти 22 березня та вчора було чути вогонь стрілецької зброї неподалік», повідомляє агентство
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Posted on March 28, 2024
Зеленський: уряд має знайти «фінансову основу» для роботи Служби зовнішньої розвідки
«Надійна робота такої організації не може бути дешевою», заявив президент
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Posted on March 28, 2024
Aborted Space Launch Sees Success on Second Try
A space launch aborted only to find success days later. Plus, Japan makes a push into private spaceflight, and NASA really wants you to see the solar eclipse — but safety first. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.
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Posted on March 28, 2024
Німеччина: співробітників Siemens звинуватили в постачанні газових турбін до Криму
Обвинувальний висновок стосується дій п’яти співробітників Siemens з 2015 по 2017 рік
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Posted on March 28, 2024
White House Reveals Urgency of Warning Russians of Potential Terror Attack
white house — Duty to warn. It is the obligation that the United States says it takes upon itself if the intelligence community is able to identify an impending threat to a particular country.
The U.S. acted on this duty just two weeks before the deadly attack near Moscow claimed by Islamic State. U.S. officials had warned Russia that extremists had imminent plans for such an attack, but the Kremlin brushed off the warning as mere blackmail and efforts to destabilize Russian society. John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, spoke to VOA about the terrorist attack.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
VOA: First of all, let’s jump into fresh accusations coming from Russia today. Russia’s FSB [intelligence] chief accused the U.K., the U.S. and Ukraine of being behind the Moscow attack on the concert hall. What’s your response to that?
Kirby: Nonsense.
VOA: The United States has exercised its duty to warn the Russian counterparts of an incoming threat. Why was it important for the American side to warn Russians given that they are waging the war against Ukraine and they turned into the world pariah?
Kirby: Because it was going to be innocent Russian people that were going to fall victim and in fact, did fall victim and we take our duty to warn very, very seriously. We have all kinds of problems with the way Mr. [Vladimir] Putin is leading and governing, if you want to call it that, and we certainly have significant concerns about the continued reckless and violent attacks on Ukrainian people and Ukrainian infrastructure.
But we don’t have a beef with the Russian people. And we had information that they were going to put Russian people, innocent Russians at risk from a terrorist threat. So you bet we informed Russian authorities as appropriate as we would do for any country.
VOA: I’m wondering what their response looked like. Was it a thank you note? Or did they say, “It’s nonsense, leave it to yourself?”
Kirby: I won’t characterize what the other side did with the information that we provided. We provided useful, we believe, valuable information about what we thought was an imminent terrorist attack. We also warned Americans about staying away from public places like concert halls. So we were very direct with our Russian counterparts appropriately to make sure that they had as much useful information as possible. What they did with it, or didn’t do with it, they’d have to speak to.
VOA: But can you confirm they received it?
Kirby: We know that they received the information and that they understood the information. Now what they did with it, again, is for them to speak to.
VOA: Who is responsible for this attack according to American intelligence? Is it ISIS? What was the motive behind the attack?
Kirby: ISIS is responsible for this attack.
VOA: ISIS-K?
Kirby: ISIS is responsible for this attack.
VOA: Do you know the motive here?
Kirby: ISIS claimed responsibility themselves. They all have the goals. Again, I’m not going to get into too much into intelligence matters. ISIS is responsible for this attack.
VOA: Moving on to Ukraine. What are the chances of Congress voting for the supplemental [budget to assist Ukraine] once legislators return from their break?
Kirby: Well, we hope that they will. I can’t predict what the House will do. It is going to be up to Speaker [Mike] Johnson and this is a moment for him to show some leadership. We know that if you were to put that on the floor it would get voted on resoundingly.
Ukraine and Ukrainian battlefield commanders would have the weapons and the capabilities that they need to better defend themselves, particularly in the East there in the Donbas where Russian forces continue to try to make progress pushing west out of Avdiivka. So it’s past time for us to be able to provide additional security assistance to Ukraine, it’s past time for that supplemental to get passed. And so we strongly urge Speaker Johnson to put it before a vote and let’s get moving.
VOA: Speaker Johnson, as reported by The Hill, may contemplate the possibility of providing Ukraine with a loan or another form of lend-lease arrangement to supply them with weapons, with the expectation of repayment. Would this administration be open to this option as an alternative to the supplemental?
Kirby: Our focus is on getting that supplemental passed. And as I’ve said before, and the speaker knows this, if he puts it on the floor, it’ll get approved. It has the votes. That’s the best way to support Ukraine.
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Posted on March 28, 2024
Голова комітету Верховної ради розповів, чи закриють Telegram в Україні
«Є багато підозр щодо співпраці Telegram з владою так званої Росії, зокрема, з її спецслужбами»
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Posted on March 28, 2024
Україна не просить надіслати контингент НАТО, щоб протистояти РФ – ОП
За словами радника голови Офісу президента Михайла Подоляка, Україна позитивно сприйняла ініціативу президента Франції Емманюеля Макрона, який заявив про можливість надсилання французьких військових до України
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Posted on March 28, 2024
Russia Vetoes Monitoring of UN Sanctions Against North Korea
UNITED NATIONS — Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution on Thursday, effectively abolishing the monitoring of United Nations sanctions against North Korea by a panel of U.N. experts.
The Security Council resolution sponsored by the United States would have extended the mandate of the panel for a year, but Russia’s veto will halt its operations.
The vote in the 15-member council was 13 in favor, Russia against and China abstaining.
Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told the council before the vote that Western nations are trying to “strangle” North Korea and that sanctions have proven “irrelevant” and “detached from reality” in reining in its nuclear program.
The resolution does not alter the sanctions, which remain in force.
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Posted on March 28, 2024
«Конструктивний діалог»: у Варшаві відбулися переговори урядів України та Польщі
Премʼєр-міністр Польщі Дональд Туск за підсумками зустрічі розповів про пошук «хороших рішень для обох сторін»
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Posted on March 28, 2024
У Львові поховали академіка Ігоря Юхновського
Панахида відбулася в Покровському катедральному соборі ПЦУ у Львові. Громада прощалася з Ігорем Юхновським на площі Ринок
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Posted on March 28, 2024
Мінагро: у Польщі завершилися переговори щодо розблокування кордону – вони тривали 6 годин
«Попередньо вже обговорили варіанти вирішення, які незабаром будуть озвучені» – Сольський
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Posted on March 28, 2024
«Укренерго»: після атак РФ на Харківщині продовжують діяти графіки відключень електроенергії
«Працюємо над тим, щоб зменшити час без світла до 4 годин на добу» – ОВА
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Posted on March 28, 2024
Атака РФ на Миколаїв 27 березня: кількість постраждалих зросла до 12 – Кім
Крім того, пошкоджено шість багатоквартирних будинків, повідомив голова ОВА
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Posted on March 28, 2024
French, Brazilian Presidents Celebrate Launch of Defense Submarine
Posted on March 28, 2024
Zelenskyy Calls for Bolstering Ukraine’s Air Defenses After Kharkiv Attack
Posted on March 28, 2024
Death Toll in Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises to 143; 80 Others Still Hospitalized
moscow — The death toll from last week’s Moscow concert hall attack rose to 143, Russian authorities said Wednesday. About 80 other people wounded in the siege by gunmen remain hospitalized.
The Friday night massacre in Crocus City Hall, a sprawling shopping and entertainment venue on the northwestern outskirts of Moscow, was the deadliest extremist attack on Russian soil in nearly two decades. At least four gunmen toting automatic rifles shot at thousands of concertgoers and set the venue on fire.
An affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the violence, while U.S. intelligence said it had information confirming the group was responsible. French President Emmanuel Macron said France also has intelligence pointing to “an IS entity” as responsible for the attack.
The updated fatalities from Russia’s Emergencies Ministry didn’t state the number of wounded, but Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said earlier Wednesday that 80 people were in hospitals and another 205 had sought medical treatment from the attack.
Russia’s Federal Security Service, or the FSB, said it had arrested 11 people the day after the attack, including four suspected gunmen. The four men, identified as Tajik nationals, appeared in a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.
Russian officials, however, have insisted that Ukraine and the West had a role, which Kyiv vehemently denies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of trying to drum up fervor as his forces fight in Ukraine.
FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov also has alleged, without providing evidence, that Western spy agencies could have been involved. He repeated Putin’s claim that the four gunmen were trying to escape to Ukraine when they were arrested, casting it as proof of Kyiv’s alleged involvement.
But that assertion was undercut by Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, who said Tuesday that the suspects were headed for Ukraine because they feared tight controls on the Belarus border.
The Islamic State group, which lost much of its territory following Russia’s military action in Syria after 2015, has long targeted Russia. In October 2015, a bomb planted by IS downed a Russian jetliner over the Sinai desert, killing all 224 people aboard, most of them Russian vacationers returning from Egypt.
The group, which operates mainly in Syria and Iraq but also in Afghanistan and Africa, also has claimed several attacks in Russia’s volatile Caucasus and other regions in past years. It has recruited fighters from Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.
The United States warned Moscow two weeks before the massacre about a possible imminent attack. Three days before the tragedy, Putin denounced the U.S. Embassy’s notice on March 7 urging Americans to avoid crowds in Moscow, including concerts, calling it an attempt to frighten Russians and “blackmail” the Kremlin before the Russian presidential election.
Bortnikov said Russia was thankful for the warning but described it as very general.
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Posted on March 28, 2024
Двоє людей підірвалися на російській міні на Херсонщині, один із них загинув – ОВА
Другий чоловік «отримав важкі поранення: мінно-вибухову травму, травматичну ампутацію ніг»
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Posted on March 27, 2024
Буданов стверджує, що Росія знала про підготовку нападу в Підмосков’ї «мінімум з 15 лютого»
Голова ГУР також назвав «нісенітницею» заяви російських посадовців про його причетність до атаки
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Posted on March 27, 2024
Slovakians Form Human Chain Around Threatened Public Broadcaster
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Protesters in Slovakia formed a human chain around the country’s public television and radio building Wednesday in anger over a takeover plan by the government whose populist, pro-Russia prime minister recently labeled several private media outlets his enemies.
The takeover plan was drafted by Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova, who represents an ultra-nationalist member party of the coalition government and has worked for an internet television outlet known for spreading disinformation.
The plan has been condemned by President Zuzana Caputova, opposition parties, local journalists, international media organizations, the European Commission and others who warn that the government would be taking full control of public broadcasting. Slovak journalists have called the plan an attack on all free media.
Wednesday’s was the latest protest against the policies of Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for his tirades against journalists. His critics worry Slovakia under him will abandon its pro-Western course and follow the direction of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Simkovicova has said taking over public media is needed because she believes the current broadcaster is biased, giving space only to mainstream views and censoring the rest. The broadcaster has denied that.
According to her plan, the current public radio and television known as RTVS would be replaced by a new organization. A new seven-member council with members nominated by the government and parliament would select the broadcaster’s director and have the right to fire the director without giving cause.
The current broadcaster’s director was elected by parliament, and his term in office will end in 2027.
The hundreds of protesters unveiled a banner reading “HANDS OFF RTVS!” and chanted to local journalists, “We’re by your side.” Thousands of people rallied in a similar protest earlier this month.
Fico returned to power for the fourth time last year after his leftist party Smer, or Direction, won the parliamentary election on a pro-Russian, anti-American platform.
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Posted on March 27, 2024
СБУ заочно повідомила про підозру урядовцю РФ у сприянні перекиданню російських військ через Бердянськ
«Фігуранти задіяли цивільні судна морпорту для перекидання російських військ до тимчасово окупованих регіонів півдня України»
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