Europe

U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments this week claiming Ukraine was responsible for starting the three-year conflict with Russia and calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” drew criticism from congressional Democrats and pushback from some members of the Republican Party. “Clearly, Vladimir Putin is responsible for this war,” Republican Senator Thom Tillis told reporters. “His decision has resulted in the murder, rape, torture …

VOA Russian talked to experts after the U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia on how to end the Ukraine war. They warned that this is only the beginning of negotiations that may last for some time and take several turns.  Exiled independent Russian political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin compared the first meeting to “not even a warm-up of two boxers, but just a weigh-in ahead of the …

Many Ukrainians are dealing with the reality of starting over after losing their homes in the war with Russia. One project helps them find new homes and jobs while assisting in the development of small villages. Lesia Bakalets reports from the Kyiv region. Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets. …

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni visited Pope Francis in the hospital Wednesday and reported he was “alert and responsive” and full of good humor, despite his diagnosis of pneumonia and a complicated bronchial infection that has sidelined the 88-year-old pontiff for six days.   Meloni said she wanted to bring get-well wishes to the pope on behalf of the government and the entire nation. “We joked around …

VIENNA — Austria arrested a 14-year-old on Feb. 10 on suspicion of planning a militant attack on a Vienna train station, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday, calling the suspect an Islamic State supporter who became radicalized online. The announcement follows a knife attack in the southern town of Villach on Saturday in which a 23-year-old Syrian refugee is suspected of killing a teenager and wounding five …

STOCKHOLM — Sweden’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other young activists cannot sue the state in a Swedish court over what they say is insufficient action against climate change. Activists filed a class action lawsuit in 2022 with a district court claiming the state violates their rights as laid out in the European Convention on Human Rights by not doing …

Russia shot down 21 Ukrainian drones late Tuesday, but a drone attack on an oil pumping station in southern Russia reduced oil supplies for Kazakhstan and the global market, Russian officials said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces said one of their drones struck and knocked out a North Korean self-propelled howitzer on the eastern front. “In Luhansk region, fighters of the 412th separate regiment of Nemesis drones …

The Trump administration on Tuesday hailed talks in Saudi Arabia that included U.S. and Russian officials but no Ukrainians. The White House said this parallel-track diplomacy — speaking separately with the warring partners — is a key first step in ending the three-year conflict that has rocked Europe. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington. Kim Lewis contributed. …

U.S.-based supporters of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny marked one year since his sudden and unexplained death in an arctic prison with vigils and protests in many U.S. cities, including Washington, New York and Los Angeles. VOA Russian correspondents spoke to Navalny supporters who urged the U.S. authorities to demand a release of Russian political prisoners as part of a U.S.-Russia deal on the …

Germany is set to hold an election on Sunday, with voter frustrations over migration and the cost of living at the forefront of a bitter campaign. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the lead candidate to be Germany’s next chancellor has accused Washington of interfering in the election. …

Ukrainian soldier Andriy Chernytskyi came up with a project to build a kids’ playground in his hometown – but didn’t live to see it come to fruition. The playground is now open. Tetiana Kukurika has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by Sergiy Rybchynski. …

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the United States is working toward a “fair” and “sustainable” solution to end Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine, but that both Moscow and Kyiv would have to make concessions to achieve peace. Rubio offered his assessment after he and other key U.S. officials met for several hours in Saudi Arabia with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov …

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, who began his fifth day in hospital on Tuesday for what doctors have described as a “complex” respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend’s Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday.  The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday.  A planned public papal …

ISTANBUL — Turkish police detained 282 suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, militant group in raids over the last five days, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday. The raids came as Turkey continues to remove elected pro-Kurdish mayors from their posts over militant ties in a crackdown coinciding with hopes for an end to a 40-year conflict between the PKK and authorities. …

A Russian drone hit an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dolynska, officials said Tuesday, injuring at least three people. Andriy Raikovych, governor of the Kirovohrad region where the attack took place, said on Telegram that authorities evacuated dozens of people from the building and that those injured included a mother and two children. The attack was part of a widespread Russian aerial …

PARIS — European leaders called for beefing up their defense spending Monday after a Paris summit on Ukraine and the region’s security — amid concerns about an aggressive Russia and declining support from Washington. The emergency meeting comes ahead of U.S.-Russian talks on ending the war in Ukraine — which it appears could leave out the Europeans. The summit, called by French President Emmanuel Macron, came …

London — European leaders held a crisis security meeting Monday in Paris after a blizzard of diplomatic interventions by Washington in recent days that have raised doubts over the U.S. commitment to the transatlantic alliance, the bedrock of European security. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders were among …

NICOSIA, CYPRUS — A pair of agreements outlining how sizable natural gas deposits inside Cypriot waters will get to market via processing facilities in Egypt are a milestone for energy cooperation, Cyprus’ president said Monday.  President Nikos Christodoulides said the cooperation between Cyprus and Egypt is helping to define the regional energy map, calling the agreements “game-changers” that are “pivotal for our strategic partnership.”  The first …

ATHENS — The Greek government’s chief seismologist says the frequency of earthquakes affecting Santorini and nearby islands has eased in recent days, but that the outlook for continued tremors in the coming weeks remains uncertain. “Unfortunately, for now, we must wait. These seismic sequences do not end quickly. They follow their own timeline,” seismologist Costas Papazachos told state-run ERT radio Monday. “Hopefully, this particular sequence will …

Vatican City — Doctors have changed treatment for Pope Francis’ respiratory tract infection to tackle a “complex clinical situation” and he will remain in hospital for as long as necessary, the Vatican said on Monday. “The results of the tests carried out in recent days and today have demonstrated a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract, which has led to a further modification of the therapy,” …

Taipei, Taiwan        — China has launched a new round of diplomatic outreach to European countries amid rising tension between the United States and its European allies. While top U.S. officials and European leaders clashed over issues such as values, democracy and Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi held bilateral meetings with several top European officials, …

Baghdad — A Turkish opposition party delegation arrived in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region Sunday against the backdrop of peace efforts between Ankara and a banned Kurdish separatist movement in Turkey. The delegation led by Sirri Sureyya Onder and Pervin Buldan, two senior officials with the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, in Turkey, met with Masoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party …

London — Stars including Cynthia Erivo, Hugh Grant, Ariana Grande, Lupita Nyong’o, Timothee Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan walked the red carpet at London’s Royal Festival Hall for the awards, known as BAFTAs. The prizes are closely watched for clues about who will triumph at Hollywood’s Academy Awards on March 3, in an unusually hard-to-call awards season. They also have a distinctly British accent. The ceremony kicked …

London — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told a mother who has been on hunger strike for 140 days that he will press the Egyptian government to release her son.  In a statement Sunday, Starmer confirmed that he met Laila Soueif and said he will do “all that I can” to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British-Egyptian dual national who has spent …