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☆ Belarus President Lukashenko heading to China second time this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko delivers a national statement at the World Climate Action Summit during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDec 3 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was heading to Beijing on Sunday for talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Belarusian state media reported, the second trip of the close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China this year. "Negotiations between the head of the Belarusian state and president of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping will take place in Beijing," BelTA said, citing Lukashenko's press service. Lukashenko, the president of Belarus since 1994 who has been shunned by the West, backed Russia's invasion in Ukraine in February 2022 by allowing Moscow to use its territory to launch the war. After their March 1 meeting, both Lukashenko and Xi called for the "soonest possible" peace deal for Ukraine.

Persons: Alexander Lukashenko, Amr Alfiky, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko, People's Republic of China Xi, BelTA, Xi, Lidia Kelly, William Mallard, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: United Nations, Change, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Dubai, United Arab, Beijing, Belarusian, China, People's Republic of China, Belarus, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Melbourne

CNN —The eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka is increasingly becoming a flashpoint in the conflict, where fighting remains intense even when the front lines have barely moved for months. Russia appears to have made tactical advances in the outskirts of the embattled town as Ukraine claims it is inflicting heavy losses on assaulting troops. Here is what you need to know about the past week in Ukraine. Defensive fortifications will be bolstered along all of Ukraine’s northern territory which borders Belarus and Russia. Ukraine claims defensive actions in and around the town are inflicting heavy losses on Russian troops and equipment.

Persons: Zelensky, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, “, Vitalii, Jens Stoltenberg, ” Stoltenberg, chief’s, Marianna Budanova, GUR, Kyrylo Budanov, Andriy Yusov, Russia —, — Organizations: CNN, Analysts, Ukrainian, Russian, Ukrainian Security Service, Russian Railway, NATO Locations: Ukrainian, Avdiivka, Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Belarus, Kherson, Russian, Dnipro, Ukraine’s, CNN Ukraine, Buryatia, Siberia, Mongolia, North Korea, China, Finland, Helsinki, Brussels, Turkey, Soviet Union

[1/3] Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov disembarks from a plane upon his arrival at an airport ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Skopje, North Macedonia, November 30, 2023. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters on Wednesday in Brussels where he attended a NATO meeting. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said he understood unease about Lavrov attending the meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia. But he said it was a chance for Lavrov to hear broad condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine. I think that is simply wrong," said Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov disembarks, Russia's Sergei Lavrov, Margus Tsahkna, Lavrov, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Dimitar Kovacevski, OSCE Michael Carpenter, Antony Blinken, Helga Schmid, Krisjanis Karins, Humeyra Pamuk, Aleksandar Vasovic, Ronald Popeski, Francois Murphy, William Maclean, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Organisation for Security, Cooperation, Russian Foreign Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Organization for Security, Baltic, OSCE, Soviet, NATO, Tass, Russian, North Macedonia's, Kremlin, AS, Ukraine, United, U.S, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson Locations: Europe, Skopje, North Macedonia, BRUSSELS, VIENNA, Ukraine, U.S, Russia, Estonian, Brussels, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Belarus, United States, Moscow, West, New York, Latvian

☆ OSCE Meeting Causes Rift Over Whether to Share Stage With Russia's Lavrov
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

The United States and its allies are seeking to simultaneously keep the OSCE alive and hold Russia to account over its invasion of Ukraine. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters at a meeting with his counterparts from other NATO member states. Estonia had been due to take over the annually rotating OSCE chairmanship but Russia spent months blocking it. A last-minute deal for neutral Malta to take over the chairmanship must also be formally approved at Thursday and Friday's OSCE meeting in Skopje, hosted by the current chair North Macedonia. I think that is simply wrong," Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins told reporters at the NATO meeting.

Persons: Andrew Gray, Francois Murphy, Ingrid Melander, Russia's Sergei Lavrov, Margus Tsahkna, Lavrov, Tsahkna, OSCE Michael Carpenter, Antony Blinken, Vladimir Putin, Helga Schmid, Krisjanis Karins, Humeyra Pamuk, William Maclean Organizations: Organization, Security, Cooperation, OSCE, Central Asia, Ukrainian Foreign, AS, United, U.S, Macedonian, United Nations General Assembly, NATO Locations: Ingrid Melander BRUSSELS, VIENNA, Baltic, Ukraine, Russia, Balkans, Central, United States, Estonian, Estonia, Malta, Skopje, Macedonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moscow, West, New York, Latvian

☆ A teenager who fled Russia-occupied Ukraine sent a police officer who was trying to find him a mocking selfie to show he made it to Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Post reported that the boy then sent a police officer a selfie from Kyiv, to prove he'd escaped. AdvertisementA teenager who escaped from Russia-occupied Ukraine sent a jeering selfie to a police officer who was looking for him to show that he'd made it to Kyiv, The Washington Post reported. He is one of the many children that Ukraine and its allies, including the US, have accused Russia of forcibly deporting. AdvertisementUkraine said it has identified almost 20,000 Ukrainian children that Russia has deported. Lavrov's testimony could be helpful in Ukraine's efforts to seek justice for children taken by Russia, the Post reported.

Persons: he'd, —, Rostyslav Lavrov, Lavrov, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Washington Post, Service, The Washington Post, Russian, Police, EU, Russia, US State Department Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Crimea, Kyiv, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine's Kherson, Kherson city, Maidan Square, Belarus

☆ Sabalenka, Rybakina to open new season in Brisbane
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Tennis - WTA Finals - Cancun, Mexico - November 5, 2023 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in action during her semi final match against Poland's Iga Swiatek REUTERS/Henry Romero Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 28 (Reuters) - World number two Aryna Sabalenka and number four Elena Rybakina will open their 2024 seasons at the Brisbane International warm-up for the Australian Open, organisers said on Tuesday. The 25-year-old will join her fellow Belarusian and twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the 48-player Brisbane field as she prepares for her first Grand Slam title defence at Melbourne Park. "Australia holds a special place in my heart after winning my first Grand Slam there," Sabalenka said in a news release. "I can't wait to make my debut at the Brisbane International and play in front of the Queensland tennis fans." Russian-born Kazakh Rybakina, the Wimbledon champion in 2022, lost to Sabalenka in this year's Melbourne final.

Persons: Poland's Iga Swiatek, Henry Romero, Elena Rybakina, Naomi Osaka, Sabalenka, Nick Mulvenney, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Poland's Iga Swiatek REUTERS, Rights, Brisbane International, WTA, United, Victoria Azarenka, Brisbane, Melbourne, Queensland tennis, Wimbledon, Thomson Locations: Cancun, Mexico, Belarus, Perth, Sydney, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, Kazakh

☆ NATO's newest member says its shutting down its border with Russia, accusing Moscow of cruelly working to create a migrant crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Finnish officials accused Russia of purposefully sending hundreds of asylum seekers to the Finland. AdvertisementAs waves of asylum seekers surge toward Finland amid freezing temperatures, the country has decided to shut down its border with Russia. The crisis that has been emerging, Finnish officials say, is one that was artificially created by Russia intentionally sending migrants to the Finnish border. "Russia is enabling the instrumentalisation of people and guiding them to the Finnish border in harsh winter conditions. NATO's newest member has highlighted Moscow's involvement, accusing Russian border guards of escorting migrants to the border themselves.

Persons: —, Dmitri Peskov, Petteri Orpo, Mari Rantanen, JUSSI NUKARI, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: Belarus, Service, NATO, Helsinki, Institute for, European Union, Rights Watch Locations: Finland, Russia, Poland, Moscow, Belarus, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Salla, Finnish Lapland, Washington, DC, Russia's

☆ Finland plans more measures to stop asylum surge from Russia border
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Finnish Border Guards escort migrants arriving at the Raja-Jooseppi international border crossing station in Inari, Finland, November 25, 2023. Some 900 asylum seekers from nations including Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have entered Finland from Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard. Finland blames a change in Russian border protocol for the increase and calls this a hybrid attack. Finland infuriated Russia when it joined NATO in April, ending decades of military non-alignment, due to the war in Ukraine. If this continues, more measures will be announced in the near future," Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told a press conference.

Persons: Korhonen, Petteri Orpo, Ulf Kristersson, Orpo, Jens Stoltenberg, " Stoltenberg, Anne Kauranen, Anna Ringstrom, Andrew Gray, Louise Rasmussen, Terje Solsvik, Alison Williams Organizations: Finnish Border Guards, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Finnish Border Guard, Kremlin, NATO, Border Guard, Swedish, Frontex, Monday, European Union, Thomson Locations: Inari, Finland, Russia, Moscow, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, United States, Ukraine, Sweden, EU, Brussels, Finland's, NATO, East, Africa, Belarus, Poland, Minsk, Helsinki, Stockholm

☆ Neutral Malta to Chair OSCE After Moscow Blocks NATO Member Estonia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

OSCE countries' foreign ministers meet on Thursday and Friday in the North Macedonian capital of Skopje to discuss the chair role and renewing four senior OSCE officials in their posts at the Vienna-based organisation. Small, neutral European Union member state Malta was acceptable to all sides. The deal "brings with it the guarantee of another year of functionality and a legitimate chair," one senior Western diplomat said. Russia and staunch ally Belarus have still not backed the renewal of four senior OSCE officials in their posts, including veteran German diplomat Helga Schmid as OSCE secretary-general, diplomats said. "We do care about the top four but the chair is existential - the organization cannot operate without it," the Western diplomat said.

Persons: Francois Murphy VIENNA, Bujar Osmani, Helga Schmid, Francois Murphy, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Organization for Security, Cooperation, OSCE, Macedonian, Twitter, European, NATO, Union Locations: Europe, Malta, Russia, Estonia, Macedonian, Skopje, Vienna, United States, Canada, Central Asian, European Union, Britain, Ukraine, Belarus, Western, Moscow, Washington

☆ Russia offered to end its invasion of Ukraine if it dumped plans to join NATO, but Kyiv feared a double-cross, says negotiator
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia proposed ending the war if Ukraine abandoned its NATO ambitions, a Ukrainian politician said. AdvertisementRussia offered to stop its invasion of Ukraine on the condition that Zelenskyy's government abandoned its ambition to join NATO, The Kyiv Post reports. The Russian delegation reportedly proposed ending the war if Ukraine dropped its NATO aspirations and took a neutral position. Three days after Johnson's departure from Kyiv, Putin publicly declared that talks with Ukraine had "turned into a dead end." The US opposes extending NATO membership to Ukraine in the immediate future to avoid escalating the West's tensions with Russia.

Persons: —, David Arakhamiya, Arakhamiya, Natalia Moseychuk, SERGEI SUPINSKY, Boris Johnson's, Johnson, let's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Putin Organizations: NATO, Service, Kyiv, People, Ukrainian, Russian, Getty Images Former British, Ukraine Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Belarus, Turkey, Bucha, Kyiv, AFP, Finland

Now, hundreds of migrants from the Middle East and Africa have appeared at Finland's border from Russia, seeking entry into the Nordic country. They accuse Russia of driving the migrants to the border to sow discord as payback for Finland's membership in NATO. Finnish authorities quickly closed four checkpoints and then three more, leaving just one Arctic crossing point open for asylum-seekers. Finland also asked for help from EU border agency Frontex, which said it would send dozens of officers and equipment as reinforcements to the Finnish border. The Kremlin denies encouraging the migrants, and says it regrets the Finnish border closures.

Persons: Elina Valtonen, Petteri Orpo, Maria Zakharova, Valtonen, Russia’s, ”, Klaus Dodds, ” Dodds, Ylva Johansson, Sauli Niinistö, Alexander Lukashenko, Evika Siliņa, Siliņa, Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, “, Geert Wilders, Orpo’s, Vanessa Gera Organizations: HELSINKI, —, NATO, Nordic, Associated Press, HOW, EU, Frontex, Russian Foreign Ministry, Royal Holloway, University of London, VU EU Home Affairs, Belarus —, Latvian, AP, Poland’s, Guard Locations: Finland, Russia, East, Africa, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Finnish, FINLAND, Helsinki, Belarus, Europe, Moscow, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Baltic, Netherlands, Finns, Lapland, Murmansk, Warsaw

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa, Colombia and other countries that lost out in the global race for coronavirus vaccines are taking a more combative approach towards drugmakers and pushing back on policies that deny cheap treatment to millions of people with tuberculosis and HIV. The pills are especially important for South Africa, where TB killed more than 50,000 people in 2021, making it the country’s leading cause of death. In July, J&J’s patent on the drug expired in South Africa, but the company had it extended until 2027, enraging activists who accused it of profiteering. Back then, President Nelson Mandela’s government in South Africa eventually suspended patents to allow wider access to AIDS drugs. Bedaquiline was not rolled out as a standard treatment in South Africa until 2018.

Persons: they’ve, ”, Brook Baker, Johnson, Christophe Perrin, Peter Maybarduk, Petro Terblanche, Afrigen, Nelson Mandela’s, “ Mandela, Terblanche, Lynette Keneilwe Mabote, Andy Gray, Gray, Zolelwa, Bedaquiline, “, Sifumba, ___ Cheng Organizations: Health Organization, Northeastern University, One, Johnson, J, Viiv Healthcare, WHO, Public Citizen, Pfizer, Moderna, Terblanche, Big Pharma, South, University of KwaZulu, World Health Organization, AP Locations: CAPE, South Africa, Colombia, Belarus, Ukraine, Colombian, Washington, Africa, Natal, South African, London

☆ CNN Exclusive: Inside Ukraine’s fight for the Dnipro River
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Anna Coren | Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A Ukrainian serviceman stands guard next to the Dnipro River, in an undisclosed location in the Kherson region, on November 6, 2023. Drone footage of the Dnipro River obtained by CNN. We have to survive.”Destroyed buildings are seen on an island in the middle of the Dnipro River in Kherson, Ukraine, on November 5, 2023. Russian troops are “hitting residential areas more often because our defenders are advancing, and they are trying to intimidate ordinary citizens in places close to the Dnipro River,” said Prokudin. “This is revenge, and now it is felt more, because our soldiers are already on the left bank of the Kherson region.

Persons: Serhiy Ostapenko hunkered, ”, “, Roman Pilipey, they’ve, Ostapenko, Inna Balyoha, “ You’re, you’re, Viacheslav, Oleksandr Prokudin Organizations: Ukraine CNN, CNN, Dnipro, Kyiv, Grad, Getty Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Dnipro, Ukrainian, Kherson, AFP, Russia, Belarus, Russian, –, The Dnipro, Crimea, Kherson city, Kherson –, Anadolu

☆ Finland to close all but northernmost border crossing with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Essi Lehto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The government has today decided to close more border stations," Orpo told a press conference. Finland said Russia was letting migrants through those two crossing points by foot despite an agreement that they could only be crossed by car. "There are growing signs that the situation is worsening on the eastern border," Orpo said. Finland will shut three of the four remaining border crossing points from midnight on Friday, leaving only the Raja-Jooseppi crossing in the Arctic open. "Raja-Jooseppi is the northernmost (border crossing) and it requires a real effort to get there," Orpo said.

Persons: Petteri Orpo, Orpo, Ylva Johansson, Sauli Niinisto, Moscow's, Essi Lehto, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Alexandra Hudson, Christina Fincher, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Nordic, European Union, Kremlin, Finland, Russia, Thomson Locations: HELSINKI, Finland, Russia, Helsinki, Moscow, Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, EU, Estonia, Baltic, Finnish, Vartius, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, East, Africa

☆ Russia is pushing migrants to create a crisis at a NATO neighbor's border, and it's not the first time they've done it
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia is sending asylum seekers to Finland, creating a migrant crisis on the border, Finnish authorities say. Finland has already closed several border checkpoints and is considering shutting down its entire Russian border. AdvertisementRussia is creating a migrant crisis at Finland's borders, apparently sending hundreds of asylum seekers to the country. Finland has blamed Russia for artificially creating the migrant crisis, with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo saying last week that Russian border guards were escorting migrants to the border themselves. Finnish border guards escort migrants with bicycles at the international border crossing with Russia at Salla, Finnish Lapland on November 21, 2023.

Persons: —, Dmitri Peskov, Petteri Orpo, JUSSI NUKARI, it's, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: Service, NATO, Twitter, Business, Finnish, Russian, Getty, Kremlin, The Institute, Washington DC, European Union, Watch Locations: Russia, Finland, Belarus, Poland, Finland's, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Russian, Salla, Finnish Lapland, AFP, Washington, Russia's, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland's

☆ A vengeful Russia is sending streams of migrants to Finland's borders to punish it for working with the US, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Finland has accused Russia of sending undocumented migrants across the border. It says 300 migrants have arrived at the border with the help of Russian officials. AdvertisementA vengeful Russia is attempting to stoke a migrant crisis in Finland by sending hundreds of asylum across the border on bicycles and scooters, authorities in Helsinki say. Finnish officials also said that Russia has been giving out bicycles and scooters to migrants because people are banned from walking between the Russian and Finnish border checkpoints, according to The Telegraph. Finland has an 830-mile-long border with Russia, forming the easternmost boundary of the European Union.

Persons: —, Petteri Orpo, Orpo, Sauli Niinistö, Dmitry Peskov, It's, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: Experts, Russia, NATO, Service, Reuters, The Telegraph, Kremlin, European Union Locations: Finland, Russia, stoke, Helsinki, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, United States, Europe, Belarus, Russian, Poland

☆ Finland mulls more border restrictions as asylum seekers 'impossible' to return
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Essi Lehto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Finland's President Sauli Niinisto addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHELSINKI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Finland said on Monday it had become impossible to return asylum seekers who did not meet the criteria for protection and said that it might further restrict migrant entries from Russia following a jump in the number of applicants. Over 500 asylum seekers, mostly from Yemen, Somalia, Syria and Iraq, arrived in Finland - an eastern outpost of the European Union - via Russia in the past two weeks, prompting Helsinki to shut half its border crossings and accuse Moscow of funnelling migrants to its border. Migrants entering Finland from Russia can now only request asylum at two of the remaining four crossing points on their shared 1,340-km (830-mile) border. The Kremlin said on Monday it had lodged a formal protest over the partial border closure, saying the decision reflected an anti-Russian stance.

Persons: Sauli Niinisto, Caitlin Ochs, Niinisto, Petteri Orpo, Orpo, Tomi Kivenjuuri, Kivenjuuri, Moscow's, Essi Lehto, Terje Solsvik, Anna Ringstrom, Jonathan Oatis, Gareth Jones Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, European, Migrants, Finnish Border Guard, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.N, New York, U.S, Finland, Russia, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Helsinki, Moscow, Poland, EU, Finnish, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, East, Africa, Oslo, Stockholm

An orphaned Ukrainian teenager who was taken to Russia last year during the war in his country returned home after being reunited with relatives in Belarus on his 18th birthday Sunday. Bohdan Yermokhin was pictured embracing family members in Minsk in photographs shared on social media by Russia’s children’s rights ombudswoman, Maria Lvova-Belova. The practice prompted the International Criminal Court in March to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin and children's rights ombudswoman Lvova-Belova of committing war crimes. Lvova-Belova has argued that the children were taken to Russia for their safety, not abducted — a claim widely rejected by the international community. Nevertheless, the children’s rights ombudswoman announced in a Nov. 10 online statement that Yermokhin would be allowed to return to Ukraine via a third country.

Persons: Bohdan Yermokhin, Russia’s, Maria Lvova, Andrii Yermak, Yermokhin, Yermak, Yermokhin's, Kateryna Bobrovska, Bobrovska, Valeria Yermokhina, ”, Vladimir Putin, ombudswoman, Putin, Belova, —, Yerkmohin, Dmytro Lubinets, ” Lubinets Organizations: UNICEF, Qatari, Associated Press, Criminal Court Locations: Russia, Belarus, Minsk, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Mariupol, Moscow, The Hague, Netherlands, Russia’s, “ Ukraine

[1/5] Bohdan Yermokhin, a Ukrainian teenager who was taken to Russia from the occupied city of Mariupol, shakes hands after arriving in Ukraine from Belarus at the border crossing in Kortelisy, amid Russia’s ongoing attack on Ukraine, November 19, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Acquire Licensing RightsKORTELISY, Ukraine, Nov 19 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian teenager who was taken to Russia from the occupied city of Mariupol during the war and prevented from leaving the country earlier this year returned to Ukraine on Sunday. In March, he tried to leave Russia for Ukraine via Belarus, but was stopped and sent back. "I believed I would be in Ukraine, but not on this day," Yermokhin told Reuters while eating at a petrol station after crossing into Ukraine. Asked if he was glad to be back in Ukraine, Yermokhin said "yes."

Persons: Bohdan Yermokhin, Thomas Peter Acquire, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Yermokhin, Zelenskiy, Yermokhin's, Bohdan, he's, Andriy Yermak, Mariam Lambert, Kateryna Bobrovska, Russia's, Maria Lvova, Belova, Vladimir Putin, Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth, Jane Merriman, Ron Popeski, Bill Berkrot, Chris Reese Organizations: REUTERS, Sunday, Children's Fund, UNICEF, Russia, FOSTER CARE, Foundation, Reuters, Criminal Court, ICC, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Russia, Mariupol, Ukraine, Belarus, Kortelisy, Qatar, MOSCOW, Moscow, Dutch, Minsk, Belarusian, The Hague

LVIV, Ukraine, Nov 19 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has sanctioned 37 Russian groups and 108 people including a former prime minister and a former education minister and said he aimed to fight wartime abductions of children from Ukraine and other "Russian terror". Zelenskiy did not associate specific individuals or groups with particular wrongdoings. The decrees showed a range of 10-year penalties against individuals and five-year penalties against non-profit groups including one named in English as the "Russian Children's Foundation." Some of the newly-sanctioned people, which included many with Russian citizenship, had previously been punished with separate or similar penalties. The sanctioned Russian groups included several whose names or websites indicate they work with children.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Dmytro Tabachnyk, Mykola Azarov, Viktor Yanukovich, Azarov, Sergei Aksyonov, Leonid Pasechnik, Putin, Kvartal Lui, Maria Lvova, Vladimir Putin, Sofia Lvova, Alexander Lukashenko, Zelenskiy's, Elaine Monaghan, Franklin Paul Organizations: Russian Children's Foundation, Russian, Kyiv, Criminal, Lvova, Yale University, State Department, National Security, Defence Council, Franklin Paul Our, Thomson Locations: LVIV, Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, Russian, Crimea, Luhansk, Ukrainian, The Hague, Belarus, Putin, Washington

☆ Russia launches major drone attack on Ukraine, infrastructure hit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Russia launched a major drone attack on Ukraine overnight, hitting infrastructure facilities in the south and north of the country, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday. Ukraine air defence shot down 29 out of 38 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched from Russian territory, the air force said. The air force said in a statement the attack on many Ukrainian regions lasted from 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Friday to 4 a.m. on Saturday. The South military command said an energy infrastructure facility was hit in the southern Odesa region. In Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region on the border with Russia and Belarus, two infrastructure buildings were damaged during the overnight strike, the military said.

Persons: Olena Harmash, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine's, Chernihiv, Belarus

☆ Russian drone attack hits Ukraine infrastructure, causes power outage
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The energy ministry said there was enough electricity in the system to meet the country's needs but that the drone strikes deprived 1,550 consumers of power because of damage to the grid. "We do not have a right to relax," Volodymyr Kudrytskiy, head of the power grid operator Ukrenergo, told Ukrainian TV. "Certainly, all of us, energy workers and defence forces, are preparing to repel possible Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure this winter." The energy ministry said an oil refinery was hit in the Odesa region. The energy ministry said six settlements were without power in the Chernihiv region.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Volodymyr Kudrytskiy, Maria Starkova, Elaine Monaghan, Ros Russell, Alex Richardson Organizations: Ukrainian, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Belarus, Lviv, Washington

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy Slaps Sanctions on 108 People, 37 Russian Groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Maria Starkova and Elaine MonaghanLVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has sanctioned 37 Russian groups and 108 people including a former prime minister and a former education minister and said he aimed to fight wartime abductions of children from Ukraine and other "Russian terror". Zelenskiy did not associate specific individuals or groups with particular wrongdoings. The decrees showed a range of 10-year penalties against individuals and five-year penalties against non-profit groups including one named in English as the "Russian Children's Foundation." Some of the newly-sanctioned people, which included many with Russian citizenship, had previously been punished with separate or similar penalties. The sanctioned Russian groups included several whose names or websites indicate they work with children.

Persons: Maria Starkova, Elaine Monaghan, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Dmytro Tabachnyk, Mykola Azarov, Viktor Yanukovich, Azarov, Sergei Aksyonov, Leonid Pasechnik, Putin, Kvartal Lui, Maria Lvova, Vladimir Putin, Sofia Lvova, Alexander Lukashenko, Zelenskiy's, Franklin Paul Organizations: Reuters, Russian Children's Foundation, Russian, Kyiv, Criminal, Lvova, Yale University, State Department, National Security, Defence Council Locations: Elaine Monaghan LVIV, Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, Russian, Crimea, Luhansk, Ukrainian, The Hague, Belarus, Putin, Washington

☆ Russia lifts gasoline export ban - energy ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It said it could reimpose export bans if necessary, adding that stocks of gasoline had risen to around 2 million metric tons. "A decision was made to terminate the temporary ban on the export of motor gasoline." Russia, the world's top seaborne exporter of diesel, introduced a ban on fuel exports on Sept. 21 in order to tackle high domestic prices and shortages. The government eased restrictions on Oct. 6, allowing the export of diesel by pipeline, but kept measures on gasoline exports in place. Diesel is Russia's biggest oil product export, at about 35 million metric tons last year.

Persons: Tatiana Meel, Vladimir Soldatkin, Andrew Heavens, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Diesel, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Nakhodka Bay, Nakhodka, Russia, Soviet, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, OPEC

☆ Dozens of migrants wait at Finland-Russia border after Helsinki blocks crossings
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HELSINKI, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Dozens of migrants stood behind barriers at two crossings on Finland's border with Russia on Saturday, the Finnish Border Guard said, after Helsinki erected barricades to halt a flow of asylum seekers it says was instigated by Moscow. Despite the closure, dozens of migrants arrived on Saturday afternoon at the Nuijamaa and Vaalimaa crossings, and lit a campfire in sub-zero temperatures behind razor-wire barriers mounted by border guards, Finnish Border Guard told reporters. Four regular border crossings remain open for the time being, but asylum can now only be sought at two of those, in Salla and Vartius, further north, the Border Guard said. On Saturday, 67 people arrived to seek asylum at the Vartius post, the local border guard unit said on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Kremlin on Friday said Finland was making a "big mistake" by closing down border crossings and that Helsinki's move was destroying bilateral relations.

Persons: Mika Rytkonen, Jouko Kinnunen, Moscow's, Riikka Purra, Anne Kauranen, Attila Cser, Kevin Liffey, Terje Solsvik, Ros Russell Organizations: Finnish Border Guard, Kremlin, YLE, Finland, Border Guard, Twitter, MTV, Union, Frontex, Friday, Reuters, Finance, Finns Party, Thomson Locations: HELSINKI, Russia, Helsinki, Moscow, United States, Finland, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Salla, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, East, Africa, Nuijamaa, London

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