УКРОПИ

Spain struggles to meet NATO defense target, as Trump demands huge additional spending

Visiting Spain this week, NATO’s secretary-general called for members to boost military spending in the face of the threat from Russia. Spain spends the least on defense relative to the size of its economy. And as Henry Ridgwell reports, US President Donald Trump has singled out Madrid for failing to meet the NATO target.
Camera: Alfonso Beato
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Zelenskyy condemns Russian strike that killed 9 as ‘terrible tragedy’ 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned an early Thursday morning Russian drone strike that killed at least nine people as a “terrible tragedy.”

The drone, which struck an apartment building in the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, also injured 13 people, according to regional authorities.

“This is a terrible tragedy, a terrible Russian crime. It is very important that the world does not stop putting pressure on Russia for this terror,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Police said the search-and-rescue operation had concluded after 19 hours.

Three elderly couples were among those killed, and an 8-year-old child was among those wounded. The child’s mother was killed in the attack.

“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin claims to be ready for negotiations, but this is what he actually does,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on social media.

Russia launched 81 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian military said Thursday. The attacks damaged businesses and homes around the country, according to the military.

In the southern region of Odesa, the attack damaged a grain warehouse and a hospital, according to the governor.

Meanwhile, James Anderson, a British man who was captured while fighting on the Ukrainian side in Russia’s Kursk region, will face terrorism and mercenary charges, Russian state investigators said Thursday.

Russia announced in November that it had captured Anderson.

Also, the review and 90-day freeze on U.S. foreign aid means Ukrainian aid groups that rely on U.S. funding are being forced to cut services.

Zelenskyy said U.S. military assistance to Ukraine was not affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign aid, but the Ukrainian president still expressed concern about the funding pause.

Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Turkey, Azerbaijan step up efforts to create land corridor through Armenia

Azerbaijan and Turkey are stepping up efforts to secure a land corridor between their countries through Armenia. Until now, Iran, a key ally of Armenia, has backed Yerevan’s opposition to what is known as the Zangezur corridor. With Iran weakened in the region, Ankara and Baku see an opportunity to secure a key strategic goal. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Russia weds biolab, organ harvesting conspiracies to discredit US, Ukraine

Russian disinformation narratives about illicit organ harvesting and biological experiments in Ukraine have no basis in fact. Russia intentionally distorts Ukrainian law intended to support vital medical procedures.
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UN rights chief seeks $500 million in 2025, warning that lives are at risk

GENEVA — The U.N. human rights chief appealed on Thursday for $500 million in funding for 2025 to support its work, such as investigating human rights abuses around the world from Syria to Sudan, warning that lives hang in the balance.

The U.N. human rights office has been grappling with chronic funding shortages that some worry could be exacerbated by cuts to U.S. foreign aid by President Donald Trump. The annual appeal is for funds beyond the allocated U.N. funds from member states’ fees, which make up just a fraction of the office’s needs.

“In 2025, we expect no let-up in major challenges to human rights,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told member states in a speech at the U.N. in Geneva.

“I am very concerned that if we do not reach our funding targets in 2025, we will leave people … to struggle and possibly fail, without adequate support,” he said.

He said any shortfall would mean more people remain in illegal detention; that governments are allowed to continue with discriminatory policies; violations may go undocumented; and human rights defenders could lose protection.

“In short, lives are at stake,” Turk said.

The human rights office gets about 5% of the regular U.N. budget, but the majority of its funding comes voluntarily in response to its annual appeal announced on Thursday.

Western states give the most, with the United States donating $35 million last year or about 15% of the total received in 2024, followed by the European Commission, U.N. data showed. Still, the office received only about half of the $500 million it sought last year.  
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Trump’s ‘make peace or die’ message to Putin is deepfake. Yet it fooled Russians

The Russian lawmaker attributed to Trump a quote from a deepfake video created by Ukrainian bloggers and shared on the Telegram messaging platform.
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Russia weds biolab, organ conspiracies to discredit US, Ukraine

Russian disinformation narratives about illicit organ harvesting and biological experiments in Ukraine have no basis in fact. Russia intentionally distorts Ukrainian law intended to support vital medical procedures.
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Trump’s push for Greenland shakes up Arctic island’s politics

Nuuk, Greenland — The road south from Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, runs out at the tip of a blizzard-scoured peninsula stretching into the Labrador Sea. Icebergs drift beyond the sea ice toward the open ocean, carved off the glacier some 100 kilometers away at the head of the Nuup Kangerlua fjord.

Locals call this spot “the edge of the world.”

For local Inuit artist and researcher Vivi Vold, it is a place of spiritual power, somewhere she comes to connect with nature – intrinsic to her Greenlandic identity. 

“It reminds me that I am Inuk, that I am Greenlandic… when I am in doubt and want to reconnect with myself and my Greenlandic identity, I find solace in nature,” Vold told VOA.

In her work, Vold researches Inuit “ways of knowing” and how they differ from Western concepts.

“I sense that there is more pride now than earlier. The pride has always been there, but it seems like now there is more acceptance of it. Everything I do as a researcher is about the land and the nature; hunting, the climate, and the way we think,” she said.

Greenlandic pride

A resurgence in indigenous pride can be felt across Greenlandic society. The eyes of the world are on this Arctic island, thanks largely to U.S. President Donald Trump.  

In Greenlandic politics and media, in the pubs and coffee bars, and on social media, the conversation is about the island’s future. There is excitement – but also trepidation.

President Trump has repeatedly said that America needs to take control of Greenland from Denmark for, in his words, “international security.”

“I do believe Greenland, we’ll get, because it really has to do with freedom of the world… And you know what, the people don’t like the way they’ve been treated by Denmark. They don’t like the way they’ve been treated by Denmark and they do like us,” Trump told reporters Saturday on Air Force One.

Meanwhile, Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, attempted to build European solidarity in the face of the challenge posed by Trump’s comments Tuesday, visiting Berlin, Paris and NATO headquarters in Brussels in the space of a single day. Local media reported that France offered to send troops to Greenland in a show of unity with Copenhagen, but the offer was turned down.

A poll released on Wednesday, commissioned by the Danish Berlingske newspaper and the Sermitsiaq newspaper in Greenland, suggested that 85% of Greenlanders do not want to be part of the United States, with 6% in favor and 9% undecided.

However, almost half of respondents said they saw an opportunity with Trump’s interest in Greenland, with the other half seeing it as a threat.

The poll did not ask respondents whether they wanted to break ties with Denmark and become independent. A 2019 survey suggested that more than two-thirds of the Greenlanders want independence at some point in the future.

Danish colonization

A statue of the Norwegian-Danish missionary Hans Egede stands over the capital Nuuk. Greenlanders have lived under varying degrees of Danish rule ever since he landed here in 1721.

In recent years, the statue has been daubed with graffiti calling for its removal and for Greenland’s independence from Denmark. Nevertheless, in a 2020 poll, 62% of Greenlanders voted to keep the statue in place.

Greenland’s government is now largely autonomous and pushing for full independence. Under the terms of an agreement with Denmark, the territory has a right to hold a referendum on the issue.

“Things are changing in the world. We don’t know yet. But we need to have that discussion in Greenland without the outside world requiring us to give an answer to the end goal,” said Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for resources, business, justice and gender equality.

“We need to be able to discuss amongst ourselves how will independence look like, what kind of welfare do we want, what kind of democracy, what kind of institutions should guard it, what kind of constitution. We want those debates for ourselves,” she told VOA.

Independence challenges

Could Greenland stand on its own? Just 57,000 people inhabit the island’s 2.1 million square kilometers. Denmark pays an annual grant of around $800 million dollars, which makes up half the Greenland government’s revenue.

Trump may balk at the cost, said Marc Jacobsen, a researcher at the Royal Danish Defense College in Copenhagen.

“I’m not really sure if they are aware of what the cost is to keep a high living standard in Greenland with the welfare system as we know from the Nordic states. So, in comparison with the Inuit in Alaska or for instance [the indigenous people] in Puerto Rico, it’s a different living standard in Greenland. And that comes with a cost,” he told VOA.

There are hopes that the global attention now focused on Greenland will unlock investment to exploit its vast mineral wealth, which includes graphite, uranium and valuable rare earth metals.

“The problem is pretty much that they are staying there at the moment because nobody’s investing in getting them out,” said Ulrik Pram Gad, an expert on Greenland’s mineral wealth at the Danish Institute for International Studies.

“And that’s not a question of Greenlanders not wanting it or Denmark not allowing it. It’s a question of the only supply chains that exist concerning many of these resources are in China. And the Western world, you might say, cannot present a credible business model to the private companies that would in principle be able to use these materials.”

Tourism

A new international airport opened in November, making access to Nuuk much easier. International flights currently depart for Denmark, Canada and Iceland – but United Airlines is due to begin direct flights from New York later this year.

Greenland’s stark beauty is attracting more tourists.

“The international airport in Nuuk has opened up; there will be another one in Ilulissat where the fantastic ice-shelf glacier is. So there are opportunities for growth in tourism. There’s really a lot of desire for relations not just to the U.S., but to Canada, to Iceland, to Europe, to everybody. And if this turns into that, I think many Greenlanders will be happy,” Pram Gad told VOA.

For now, fishing is Greenland’s biggest industry by far, making up around 85% of total exports. It is deeply entwined with the Greenlandic way of life.

Jesper Jacobsen runs a fishing cooperative in Nuuk. In the depths of the January winter, customers drop in to buy cod and halibut, along with duck and reindeer meat brought in by local hunters. Whale, bear and walrus are sometimes available.

“We have fish and we have natural resources,” Jacobsen said. “And the Americans could pay a lot of money to rent the northern part of Greenland. They could use it for their military. Then we will have our independence because the Americans will pay a lot to rent the northern part of Greenland,” he told VOA.

“Make Greenland Great Again”

A ‘Make America Great Again’ or MAGA hat hangs in Jacobsen’s office, given by Donald Trump Jr.’s entourage when the U.S. president’s son visited Greenland in early January.

The visit continues to cause a stir. YouTubers arrived in the wake of the younger Trump’s visit, handing out U.S. dollars and hats bearing the slogan ‘Make Greenland Great Again.’ Some locals criticized the social media stunt. Others welcomed the attention.

“I don’t want to be a part of Denmark. I don’t like [the] Danish. They took children and they colonized us,” said 20-year-old student Hans Louis Petersen, proudly showing off his “Make Greenland Great Again” baseball cap.

Scandals

Petersen referenced a 1950s social experiment run by the Danish state, where Greenlandic children were taken to Denmark, sometimes without the full understanding of their parents. Many struggled to re-integrate when they returned.

Separately, in recent years it emerged that Danish doctors in the 1960s and 70s had implanted IUD contraceptive devices in Inuit women and girls without their permission, allegedly to limit population growth. A group of 67 Greenlanders is currently seeking $6.3 million in compensation from the Danish state. An investigation into the program is expected to be published later this year.

The scandals have further fueled the campaign for independence.

“I think there is a lack of understanding of the impact of these cases in Greenland,” said Greenlandic Minister Naaja Nathanielsen. “It’s not ancient history, it’s current history. We right now have women, men, families that are directly affected by the actions of the Danish state in the past. It’s traumatizing and some of them have not been able to become mothers.”

“This is not some cases that should be solved in a courtroom. They should be solved politically and with the proper amount of respect and understanding and assuming responsibility for the hurt inflicted on the Greenlandic people. And it’s absolutely necessary for us to move forward,” Nathanielsen told VOA.

Outside forces are building pressure on the government. The island’s prime minister, Mute B. Egede, has repeated the same message when questioned on Trump’s aim to take control of the territory.

“We have said very precisely that Greenland, and us in this country, do not want to be Americans. We don’t want to be Danes either,” Egede said in a televised debate on January 20. 

“We are Greenlanders. We will stand firmly as Greenlanders and cooperate with the West. We will also cooperate with other countries in the world,” he added.
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Year of the Snake underway with Lunar New Year festivities

BEIJING — Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday — including in Moscow.

Hundreds of people lined up in the hours before midnight at the Wong Tai Sin Taoist temple in Hong Kong in a bid to be among the first to put incense sticks in the stands in front of the temple’s main hall.

“I wish my family will be blessed. I hope my business will run well. I pray for my country and wish people peace. I hope this coming year is a better year,” said Ming So, who visits the temple annually on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

The holiday — known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea — is a major festival celebrated by diaspora communities around the world. The snake, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, follows the just-ended Year of the Dragon.

The pop-pop-pop of firecrackers greeted the new year outside Guan Di temple in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, followed by lion dances to the rhythmic beat of drums and small cymbals.

Ethnic Chinese holding incense sticks in front of them bowed several times inside the temple before sticking the incense into elaborate gold-colored pots, the smoke rising from the burning tips.

Many Chinese who work in bigger cities return home during the eight-day national holiday in what is described as the world’s biggest annual movement of humanity. Beijing, China’s capital, has turned into a bit of a ghost town, with many shops closed and normally crowded roads and subways emptied out.

Traditionally, Chinese have a family dinner at home on New Year’s Eve and visit “temple fairs” on the Lunar New Year to watch performances and buy snacks, toys and other trinkets from booths.

Many Chinese take advantage of the extended holiday to travel both in the country and abroad. Ctrip, an online booking agency that operates Trip.com, said the most popular overseas destinations this year are Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the United States, South Korea, Macao and Vietnam.

Russians cheered, waved and took smartphone photos of a colorful procession with drummers, costumed dancers and large dragon and snake figures held aloft that kicked off a 10-day Lunar New Year festival in Moscow on Tuesday night.

The Chinese and Russian governments have deepened ties since 2022, in part to push back against what they see as U.S. dominance of the world order.

Visitors shouted “Happy New Year” in Russian and expressed delight at being able to experience Chinese food and culture in Moscow, including folk performances and booths selling snacks and artwork.
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Zelenskyy orders report on US support programs

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered government officials to report on the U.S. support programs whose funds are “currently suspended” under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

“These are humanitarian programs,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address Tuesday.  Nearly all of them were not channeled through Ukrainian government, he said. Instead, went “directly through our communities, through various organizations.” 

“There are many projects. We will determine which ones are critical and need immediate solutions,” he said. “We can provide part of this funding through our state finances.” 

Zelenskyy said the priorities will be “those that primarily concern Ukrainian children, our veterans and programs to protect our infrastructure.”

On his first day back in office, Trump placed a 90-day freeze on foreign aid while the U.S. reviews whether the aid is aligned with Trump’s America First agenda.

Also on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview on state television that Moscow would hold peace talks with Kyiv, but he said he would not speak to Zelenskyy, calling him and illegitimate leader.

“Negotiations can be held with anyone,” the Russian president said. “But due to [Zelenskyy’s] illegitimacy, he has no right to sign anything.”

In return, the Ukrainian president said, “Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war,” he wrote on X.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, national and local elections were banned under a martial law act passed by Ukraine.

A presidential election would have occurred in March 2024, and Zelenskyy’s term would have ended in May 2024.   

Critics are at odds about whether the Ukrainian constitution provides for an extension of the president’s term in office under martial law. Some say it provides for the option, while others believe it does not. 

Some information for this report is provided by The Associated Press.
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Trump wants Greenland, but Greenlanders want independence

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that America needs to take control of Greenland from Denmark for, in his words, “international security.” But as Henry Ridgwell reports from the Arctic island, the global attention is driving a desire among many native Greenlanders to determine their own political future.
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