Ukrainian forces destroy 36 Russian drones
Ukraine’s military said Tuesday it shot down 36 of the 60 drones that Russian forces deployed in overnight attacks. The intercepts took place in theчитати
Going home? Syrians in Europe are not so sure
Over the past decade, European countries have opened their doors to more than one million asylum seekers fleeing Syria’s civil war. Now, with the fallчитати
Holy Year about to start in Rome
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Tuesday formally inaugurates the 2025 Holy Year, reviving an ancient church tradition encouraging the faithful to make pilgrimages to Rome,читати
Azerbaijani journalist says he was jailed over his work
WASHINGTON — A journalist jailed in Azerbaijan for nearly seven months has said he believes his arrest is linked to his reporting. Farid Mehralizada, an economistчитати
South Korea says North Korea preparing to send more troops, weapons to Russia
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday there are indications that North Korea is preparing to send more troops and weapons to support Russia’sчитати
Germany looking into possible security lapses after Christmas market attack
Berlin — Germany searched for answers on Monday on possible security lapses after a man drove his car into a Christmas market, killing at least fiveчитати
‘El Gordo’ lottery in Spain spreads Christmas riches worth $2.8 billion
Madrid — For weeks, Spaniards had anticipated the arrival of “El Gordo” or “The Fat One.” But unlike Santa Claus, El Gordo arrived three days beforeчитати
Russia captures two villages in Ukraine as Moscow’s forces advance on two cities
Russian forces captured two villages in Ukraine, one in Kharkiv region in the northeast and one in eastern Donetsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry saidчитати
Putin meets Slovak PM Fico at Kremlin
Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks at the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, one of the few European leaders heчитати
Italy’s Meloni says security threat posed by Russia is far-reaching
SAARISELKA, Finland — Russia poses a bigger threat to European Union security than just defense as Moscow can use illegal immigration and other issues to undermineчитати
France supports Ethiopia’s quest for sea access through discussion
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — French President Emmanuel Macron said his country supports Ethiopia’s quest for access to the sea through discussion and respecting international laws andчитати
Airports reopen following Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Kazan
MOSCOW — The airport in the Russian city of Kazan reopened on Saturday after temporarily closing earlier in the day following a Ukrainian drone attack, Russia’sчитати
France adds first nuclear reactor in 25 years to grid
PARIS — France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid on Saturday morning, state-run operator EDF said, in the first addition to the country’sчитати
Germans mourn attack on Christmas market with no answers about why
MAGDEBURG, GERMANY — Germans on Saturday mourned a violent attack and their shaken sense of security after a Saudi doctor intentionally drove a black BMW intoчитати
Ukraine strike kills 6 in Russia’s Kursk region
Ukraine attacked a town in Russia’s Kursk region Friday, killing six people, including a child, a senior local official said. Ten others were hospitalized inчитати
Erdogan says Turkey expects allies to pull support from Kurds in post-Assad Syria
ANKARA, TURKEY — Turkey expects foreign countries will withdraw support for Kurdish fighters in Syria following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said,читати
Finding home: Ukrainian teens adjust to life in New York
For Ukrainian teens displaced by war, adjusting to life in a new country is a complex journey. In New York City, there’s a school helpingчитати
New US missile defense base in Poland fortifies NATO’s eastern flank
The United States last month formally opened a permanent military base in Poland, part of NATO’s missile defense system amid rising tensions with Russia. Theчитати
Elon Musk gives nod to German far-right party as election looms
U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, set to join President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, waded into Germany’s election campaign on Friday, calling the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)читати
Russia hands 16-year prison term to east Ukraine resident for ‘treason’
Moscow — Russia on Friday sentenced a resident of east Ukraine’s Lugansk region to 16 years in prison for “high treason,” Moscow’s FSB security service said.читати
VOA Russian: Europe targets Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’
Leaders of 12 European countries agreed at a meeting in Tallinn to expand sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet” that is used by Moscow to sellчитати
Trump pushes for conflict-ending Ukraine-Russia ‘deal’
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says the leaders of Ukraine and Russia should be “prepared to make a deal” to end the brutal conflict that hasчитати
France’s Macron visits cyclone-devastated Mayotte as residents plead for aid
MAMOUDZOU, MAYOTTE — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Thursday in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte to survey Cyclone Chido’s destruction and was immediately confronted withчитати
Ukrainian military gets NATO-standard training in Poland, Lithuania
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian soldiers have been receiving training from NATO troops. VOA recently visited one of these training sites whereчитати
Dominique Pelicot jailed for 20 years in landmark French mass rape trial
AVIGNON, France — A French court found all 51 defendants guilty on Thursday in a drugging-and-rape case that horrified the world and transformed the victim, Giseleчитати
Russian officials report oil refinery fire after Ukraine targets border regions with dozens of drones
Officials in Russia’s Rostov region reported a fire Thursday at an oil refinery after a wave of attacks from several dozen Ukrainian aerial drones. Rostovчитати
Zelenskyy: Ukraine lacks military strength to recover its Russian-occupied land
Ukraine’s president told a French newspaper Wednesday that his country does not have the military might to take back its Russian-occupied territories. President Volodymyr Zelenskyyчитати
NATO chief aims to put Ukraine in position of strength for peace talks with Russia
BRUSSELS — NATO’s secretary-general said he wants to discuss ways to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia duringчитати
VOA Spanish: Venezuelan opposition leaders receive Sakharov Prize from European Parliament
The European Parliament awarded Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia the bloc’s highest human rights recognition. Click here to see theчитати
Zelenskyy to meet with NATO, European leaders in push to bolster defenses
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet Wednesday with NATO chief Mark Rutte and European leaders in Brussels as Ukraine seeks to bolster itsчитати
In 2024, voters’ discontent with incumbents meant opting for change
Ruling parties often have an advantage in elections. But in history’s biggest election year so far, incumbents of all political stripes found that presiding overчитати
VOA interview: US urges Europe to end energy dependency on Russia
The outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden plans in its final weeks to “continue tightening the noose” around Russia’s key energy exports with newчитати
Keith Kellogg as Trump’s Ukraine-Russia envoy: Right man for the mission?
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg to be his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, where Trump has promised to bringчитати
Turkey positions itself for bigger role as broker in 2025
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a strong push to project Turkey’s influence internationally in 2024. He scored foreign policy successes with the ouster ofчитати
Russia sells out of vast Kazakh uranium deposits to China
Moscow — Kazakhstan’s state-controlled nuclear resources company said on Tuesday that Russia’s state Rosatom corporation was selling its stakes in vast uranium deposits that it hadчитати
Western nations agree to ‘disrupt, deter’ Russian shadow fleet
TALLINN, estonia — Twelve Western countries have agreed to measures to “disrupt and deter” Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of vessels in order to prevent sanctions breachesчитати