The British government closed its airspace to all Russian aircraft late Friday. The closure to all Russian jets follows a similar ban by Moscow against UK aircraft and is intended to increase pressure on the Russian government following its invasion of Ukraine. “Putin’s actions are unlawful and anyone benefitting from Russia’s aggression in Uk...
Ukraine shot down two Russian fighter jets, an IL-76 aircraft and a helicopter, Ukrainian officials said Saturday. The head of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration, Serhiy Borzov, said on social media that Ukraine shot down a Russian SU-25 fighter jet near Kalynivka in the Vinnytsia region. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Force...
The US placed sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior officials on Friday for Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine. The White House said earlier that Washington would join the EU to sanction the Russian leader and its top diplomat as well as members of the Russian national securit...
Russian attacks in Ukraine “could constitute war crimes,” Amnesty International said Friday. The London-based right watchdog said in a statement that it documented “three incidents that it believes to have killed at least six civilians and injured at least 12 more.” The group’s Crisis Evidence Lab analyzed digital evidence, including photos, v...
BERLIN (AA) – The EU is not ruling out removing Russia from the SWIFT international banking system, Luxembourg’s foreign minister said on Friday. “I believe that the SWIFT option remains on the table,” Jean Asselborn told German public broadca ster ZDF, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers. “If the bombardment of Kyiv continues, [&...
ISTANBUL (AA) – The Taliban-led interim government in Afghanistan on Friday called for restraint amid Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, stressing that Kabul’s foreign policy is that of “neutrality.” “All sides need to desist from taking positions that could intensify violence,” said Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the Afghan Foreign Minis...
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – Spain is in the process of evacuating its ambassador to Ukraine and the remaining Spanish citizens in the country, the Spanish foreign minister said on Friday. As Russian forces advanced to Kyiv, around 100 Spanish citizens, including embassy staff, are being escorted out by authorities, Jose Manuel Albares said, adding an...
ANKARA (AA) – Ukraine’s nuclear agency on Friday reported a rise in radiation levels from the site of the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said in a statement that increasing radiation levels were recorded at “a significant number of observation points”. The authority also said it is “curren...
MOSCOW (AA) – Russia will return to negotiations with Ukraine as soon as the Ukrainian armed forces surrender and lay down their weapons, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday, day two of Russia’s military intervention in its smaller western neighbor. Russia’s goal is to free Ukraine of “external management̶...
On the second day of the Russian intervention in Ukraine, gunfire was heard in the government quarter of the capital Kyiv, the Ukrainian army reported. Russian ‘sabotage teams’ were seen some 7.5 kilometers from the center of Kyiv, the army added, but were ‘eliminated’ in Obolon, a northern residential district of the c...
