Author: Mirits

HELSINKI — Police in Finland said Thursday they had detained five suspects in connection with deadly violence in southeastern Nigeria and were seeking a court extension of the detentions. The police did not identify the suspects, only saying that a dual Finnish-Nigerian citizen, born in the 1980s, was under criminal investigation. However, Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian linked to the Biafran separatist movement, lives in Lahti, where the Paijat-Hame District Court will consider a request from the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation to keep the suspects in custody. Ekpa is one of the leaders of the Indigenous People of Biafra separatist group that is demanding the creation of an independent Biafra state from the troubled southeast region of Nigeria. “The police suspect that the man [under investigation] has furthered his efforts from Finland in such a way that has resulted in violence against civilians and public authorities and in other crimes in South-East Nigeria,” Detective Chief Inspector Otto Hiltunen said in a statement. The suspect “carried out this activity by campaigning, for example, on his social media channels,” Hiltunen said. The secessionist campaign in southeastern Nigeria dates to the 1960s when the short-lived Republic of Biafra fought and lost a civil war from 1967 to 1970 to become independent from the West African country. An estimated 1 million people died in the conflict, many from starvation. Nigerian authorities have accused Ekpa of using social media to instigate violence by his followers in Nigeria, many of them young people. Police in Finland said the investigation involves international cooperation. Nigerian authorities have been contacted for comment. For many years Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, with at least 210 million people, has been wracked by violence related to the activities of armed extremist groups. Most recently, social protests were held over a worsening cost-of-living crisis and alleged bad governance. …

Washington — A new survey of public opinion in Ukraine indicates that for the first time a slight majority of Ukrainians say they are ready to concede their lands for peace; however, other recent polls indicate opinions may be more complicated. The Gallup polls released Tuesday, conducted in August and October, found that 52 percent of Ukrainians want their country to negotiate a quick end to the war, while 38 percent want to keep fighting until victory. Although media reports about the survey said it reflects a shift in popular opinion from the outset of the war, when most Ukrainians wanted to fight until victory, other surveys have reported less support for a quick resolution. In September and October of this year, the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research (CISR) found that “strong majorities believe that Ukraine will defeat Russia in the current war and support recapturing all lost territory.” According to this survey, released November 12 and conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviews in the Kyiv-controlled territories in late September and early October, 88% of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine will win the war. This number is lower than 98% in June 2022 but has not changed since February 2024. Similar results came from surveys conducted by Ukrainian pollsters. A study from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted in September-October 2024 found that 81% of Ukrainians believe Ukraine can succeed if the West provides adequate support. Only 14% believe Russia is too strong (up from 7% in December 2023). Similarly, a national survey conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Foundation “Democratic Initiatives” with the sociological service of the Razumkov Center in August reported that Ukrainians are not ready to capitulate to Russia’s territorial demands. Only 9% of Ukrainians said they would agree to recognize the occupied territories as part of the Russian Federation in exchange for peace (up from 5% in August 2023), and 81% consider it unacceptable (down from 90% in August 2023). Pollsters attribute the differences in their results to different methodologies. Benedict Vigers, the author of the Gallup report, says while they asked questions by phone, the Razumkov survey asked questions in person. There are also some differences in sample coverage. For instance, the IRI survey did not get data from in Donetsk or Kherson. In a written response to VOA, Vigers explained that a desire to end the war as soon as possible … “Ukrainian opinion survey tracks fluctuating opinion on quick end to war” →

London — British Defense Secretary John Healey is expected to face lawmakers’ questions Thursday on media reports Ukraine used British-donated Storm Shadow missiles on targets deep inside Russia for the first time Wednesday. Healey is to appear before the parliamentary Defense Committee Thursday morning. The hearing was scheduled before Wednesday’s reported attack. Both the British and Ukrainian governments have refused to confirm or deny reports that Ukrainian forces fired up to 10 Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Maryino, a village in Russia’s Kursk border region. Social media images purport to show Storm Shadow missile fragments in the vicinity. The reports follow U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision this week to approve the use of American ATACMS missiles on targets far inside Russia. Ukraine fired the American missiles into Russia within hours of Biden’s decision. Moscow earlier warned Western nations that allowing Ukraine to attack its territory with long-range missiles would prompt a ’tangible’ response. Kyiv reported Thursday that Russia had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) carrying a conventional warhead at the central city of Dnipro. Authorities said two people were injured. Russia did not immediately respond to the Ukraine statement. ICBMs are also capable of carrying nuclear warheads thousands of kilometers. The attack follows Moscow’s lowering of its threshold for the use of nuclear weapons earlier this week. The British Storm Shadow missiles have already been used against Russian forces in occupied Ukraine, including in a September 2023 attack that destroyed Russia’s former Black Sea fleet headquarters in Crimea. France has also supplied Ukraine with its version of the Storm Shadow missiles, known as Scalp. The European missiles differ from the American-supplied ATACMS, said Patrick Bury, a defense analyst at Britain’s University of Bath. “They are air launch missiles. Generally, depending on the export variant, they’ve usually got a range of 250 kilometers, or 155 miles. The ATACMS has a longer range than that and isn’t air-launched – so therefore it’s harder to intercept – in theory, at least,” Bury told VOA. Both weapons systems will open a range of new targets, according to James Nixey, who leads the Russia-Eurasia program at London’s Chatham House. “The range of both missiles is enough to get behind Russian lines and into Russian infrastructure targets so that will cut their supplies to their front line. So, the actual range of each missile is not as significant as the fact that Ukraine needs them … “UK defense secretary to be quizzed on Ukraine’s firing of British missiles into Russia” →

GRINDAVIK, Iceland — A volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland has erupted for the seventh time since December. The eruption started with little warning at 11:14 p.m. Wednesday and created a fissure around 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long. The activity is estimated to be considerably smaller than the previous eruption in August, Iceland’s meteorological office that monitors seismic activity said. “In the big picture, this is a bit smaller than the last eruption, and the eruption that occurred in May,” Magnus Tumi Guomundsson, a professor of geophysics who flew over the scene with the Civil Protection agency to monitor the event, told the national RUV broadcaster. While the eruption poses no threat to air travel, authorities warned of gas emissions across parts of the peninsula, including the nearby town of Grindavik. Around 50 houses were evacuated after the Civil Protection agency issued the alert, along with guests at the famous Blue Lagoon resort, according to RUV. The repeated volcanic eruptions close to Grindavik, which is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, and has a population of 3,800 people, have damaged infrastructure and property and forced many residents to relocate to guarantee their safety. “Grindavik is not in danger as it looks and it is unlikely that this crack will get any longer, although nothing can be ruled out,” Magnus Tumi said. Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages one eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for months. …

Ukrainian officials reported damage Thursday to an industrial site in the Dnipropetrovsk region after a series of Russian attacks. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said the attacks hit the city of Dnipro and also caused several fires. Volodymyr Artiukh, governor of Ukraine’s Sumy region, said on Telegram that Russian forces shelled areas along the border between the two countries and attacked with an aerial drone. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses destroyed two Ukrainian drones over the Rostov region and two drones over Volgograd. Yuri Slyusar, the acting governor of Rostov, said on Telegram there were no casualties and no damage as a result of the Ukrainian attack. US mines The U.S. is planning to send Ukraine antipersonnel land mines to help Kyiv’s forces fend off the advance of Russian ground troops, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday. The decision is the second U.S. policy reversal in recent days after President Joe Biden, in the last two months of his White House tenure, switched his stance and said Ukraine is now free to launch Washington-supplied, long-range missiles deeper into Russia. Ukraine quickly targeted munitions warehouses with its first attack on Tuesday. Austin, speaking to reporters traveling with him on a trip to Laos, said allowing the shipment of the U.S. land mines to Ukraine became necessary because of changing battlefield tactics by Moscow’s forces. He said Russian ground troops are leading the movement on the battlefield, rather than forces protected by armored carriers, so Ukraine has “a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians.” Russia has captured more territory in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks. Austin said the land mines that the U.S. will provide can be controlled for self-activation and self-detonation. Russia, like the United States, did not sign the United Nations convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines, but Ukraine had, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted on Wednesday. Russia has deployed at least 13 types of land mines in Ukraine, according to Human Rights Watch, and uses them extensively in territory it has captured from Ukraine, according to The Washington Post. The U.S. on Wednesday also said it is sending another $275 million package of munitions to Kyiv, including arms for rocket systems, artillery and antitank weapons. It is the 70th such shipment since August 2021. The changing policies and additional arms supply appear to be an effort … “Russian attack causes damage in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region” →

HELSINKI, Finland — Finnish authorities said Wednesday they have opened an investigation into the rupture of a data cable under the Baltic Sea, adding to a Swedish probe into the possible sabotage of that link and another cable. The C-Lion1 cable, which runs between Finland and Germany was damaged on Monday, the day after similar damage to a cable that crosses the Baltic between Lithuania and Sweden, with the incidents occurring off the Swedish islands of Oland and Gotland respectively. Germany’s defense minister said Tuesday that the damage appeared to have been caused by sabotage, though there is no proof at present. Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation said it opened a criminal investigation into the rupture of the C-Lion1 cable on suspicion of “aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications.” Swedish police already opened a preliminary investigation Tuesday into suspected sabotage regarding the two cable breaches, and said Wednesday that “Swedish police and prosecutors are also interested in a ship that has been seen at the locations in question.” They didn’t give any details or identify the vessel but said that “it is not currently in Swedish waters.” The official investigations came as news reports said a Chinese-flagged vessel, the Yi Peng 3, had been in the area at the time of the ruptures. Vessel tracking information from the Marine Traffic website showed the 225-meter (738-foot) long bulk carrier not moving Wednesday afternoon off the coast of Denmark in the Baltic. The Royal Danish Navy did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from The Associated Press. …

It’s reported that Ukraine has fired British-supplied Storm Shadow long-range missiles into Russia for the first time. It follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s reported decision earlier this week to approve the use of American longer-range missiles on targets deep inside Russia. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …

Some U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine may take place after President Joe Biden’s term ends in January, Pentagon officials tell VOA, noting it will take time for certain capabilities to arrive in Ukraine. “As you know, some equipment and some systems can get to Ukraine very quickly, and you’ve seen that happen within days or weeks. Sometimes, it does take longer … and that could be longer than weeks; that could be months,” Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said November 14 in response to a question from VOA. Singh noted that under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or USAI, weapon deliveries could take years. “The long and short of it is, is that some equipment does get to Ukraine exceptionally quickly. But then there are some that take longer,” she said. The United States has remaining funds for two main programs supporting Ukraine’s defense — PDA, or Presidential Drawdown Authority, and USAI. The first program allows weapons to be provided from existing U.S. stockpiles, ensuring faster delivery. The second program involves purchasing weapons from industry, a process that can take longer. As of November, the U.S. has around $9 billion left for military assistance for Ukraine, the Pentagon has reported. Of this, approximately $7 billion is available under the PDA program, including around $4 billion approved by Congress in April and an additional $2.8 billion made available after accounting adjustments by the Department of Defense. Some $2.2 billion is available through the USAI program. On November 20, the U.S. announced an additional security assistance package for Ukraine valued at $275 million. It included munitions for rocket systems, artillery rounds and anti-tank weapons. Pentagon officials have confirmed to VOA that the Department of Defense is committed to allocating all remaining PDA funds authorized by Congress before January 20 and additional funds made available due to recalculations. The exact total will depend on ongoing assessments of Ukraine’s defense needs and the logistics of assistance delivery. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said that some weapons deliveries to Ukraine could take time. “Everything won’t be delivered immediately,” he told reporters during a visit to Italy in October. “Things that we’re purchasing now, for example, may wind up showing up a couple of months later.” The secretary added that some materiel from U.S. stocks is refurbished before being delivered to Ukraine. “And again, it’s not instantaneous, it may take weeks or in … “Some US weapons may be delivered to Ukraine after Biden’s term ends, Pentagon says” →

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named Matt Whitaker, a former acting attorney general from his first presidency, as the U.S. ambassador to NATO, the cornerstone Western military alliance whose member countries Trump has criticized for not spending enough money on defense. In a statement, Trump described Whitaker, 55, as “a strong warrior and loyal patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO allies and stand firm in the face of threats to peace and stability.” As with several of Trump’s choices for positions in his new administration, the nomination of Whitaker to the 32-country North Atlantic Treaty Organization based in Brussels is unusual in that his professional background does not match the job to which he is being named. Whitaker has a long career as a lawyer but is not steeped in foreign or military policy. Whitaker, like numerous other Trump appointees, has been an ardent Trump loyalist. Whitaker has been a vocal critic of the two federal criminal cases brought against Trump that are now likely to be erased as he assumes power again on January 20. During his first administration, Trump goaded other NATO countries that did not meet the alliance’s military spending goal: 2% of their national economic output. As he left office in 2021, six of the NATO countries were spending that much on defense. But 23 of the 32 do now as the threat of Russian aggression against nearby NATO countries mounted after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which is not a NATO country but wants to join. During his presidency, Trump assailed the countries who were not spending enough on defense, saying they were in arrears in their “dues” to NATO. “NATO was busted until I came along,” Trump said at a political rally earlier this year. “I said, ‘Everybody’s going to pay.’” Trump said that “one of the presidents of a big country” at one point asked him whether the U.S. would still defend the country if they were invaded by Russia even if they “don’t pay.” “I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ They couldn’t believe the answer.” “No, I would not protect you,” Trump recalled saying to that president. “In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.” Under the NATO treaty, member nations are obligated to protect each … “Trump picks former acting attorney general as US envoy to NATO” →

Many Ukrainians welcome the U.S. decision to let Ukraine use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deep into Russian territory. But on the streets of Ukraine’s capital, many also say they feel the decision, coming 1,000 days into the war, is too little too late. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. VOA footage by Vladyslav Smilianets. …

belgrade, serbia — Scuffles erupted for a second day Wednesday in a northern Serbian city between police and opposition protesters demanding arrests over a deadly roof collapse at the city’s railway station earlier this month. Anti-government protesters sought to block a courthouse in Novi Sad, where the roof collapse at the station on Nov. 1 killed 15 people and injured two others. Riot police pushed the protesters away from the building. A similar opposition action on Tuesday resulted in an hours-long standoff. The collapse in Novi Sad has triggered a wave of protests against the populist authorities and arrests of several activists who have taken part. Many in Serbia believe rampant corruption led to sloppy renovation work at the station and consequently to the roof collapse. Serbia’s Interior Minister Ivica Dacic on Wednesday warned protesters in a statement that police “won’t tolerate disruption of public law and order, threats to the security of the country and state institutions, as well as attacks on police.” Separately, police detained two activists in Belgrade who were protesting against plans to demolish a World War II-era bridge that carries trams as well as vehicle traffic over the Sava river between the new and old parts of the city. Authorities plan to build a new bridge in its place, a process that will take at least three years. Opposition activists say the existing bridge should be preserved and that the process of awarding contracts for the building work lacks transparency. In Novi Sad, a group of opposition lawmakers managed to enter the court building on Wednesday while police pushed away others who were standing outside. Protesters are also demanding the release from detention of activists jailed during the recent protests over the collapse. The huge concrete outer roof of the railway station building suddenly crashed on Nov. 1, falling on people sitting on benches or standing below. Initially 14 people died and three were severely injured but one of the injured people died on Sunday. The authorities have promised a thorough investigation and Serbia’s construction minister, Goran Vesic, resigned shortly after the tragedy. Populist President Aleksandar Vucic has said more resignations will follow, and on Wednesday a former construction minister now in charge of trade, Tomislav Momirovic, also said he was stepping down. No one has been arrested, however, and no charges have been brought, though prosecutors said dozens of people have been questioned as part … “Protesters scuffle with police in Serbia as they demand arrests over a deadly roof collapse” →

STOCKHOLM — The Danish military said on Wednesday that it was staying close to a Chinese ship currently sitting idle in Danish waters, days after two fiber-optic data telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea were severed. Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 was anchored in the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden on Wednesday, with a Danish navy patrol ship at anchor nearby, MarineTraffic vessel tracking data showed. “The Danish Defence can confirm that we are present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3,” the military said in a post on social media platform X, adding it had no further comments. It is rare for Denmark’s military to comment publicly on individual vessels traveling in Danish waters. It did not mention the cable breaches or say why it was staying with the ship. The Chinese ship left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on November 15 and was in the areas where the cable damages occurred, according to traffic data, which showed other ships to also have been in the areas. One cable running between Sweden and Lithuania was cut on Sunday, and another one between Finland and Germany was severed less than 24 hours later. The breaches happened in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone, and Swedish prosecutors started a preliminary investigation Tuesday on suspicion of possible sabotage. Swedish Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin told Reuters on Tuesday that the country’s armed forces and coast guard had picked up ship movements that corresponded with the interruption of two telecoms cables in the Baltic Sea. A Chinese government spokesperson told a daily news briefing on Wednesday that it always required its vessels to abide by relevant laws and regulations. “We also attach great importance to the protection of seabed infrastructure and, together with the international community, we are actively promoting the construction and protection of submarine cables and other global information infrastructures,” the spokesperson said. Russia dismissed on Wednesday any suggestion that it had been involved in damaging the two cables. European governments accused Russia on Tuesday of escalating hybrid attacks on Ukraine’s Western allies, but they stopped short of directly accusing Russia of destroying the cables. Asked about the matter on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a regular news briefing: “It is quite absurd to continue to blame Russia for everything without any reason.” …

MADRID — Spain will legalize about 300,000 undocumented migrants a year, starting next May and through 2027, the country’s migration minister said Wednesday. The policy aims to expand the aging country’s workforce and allow foreigners living in Spain without proper documentation to obtain work permits and residency. Spain has largely remained open to receiving migrants even as other European nations seek to tighten their borders to illegal crossings and asylum seekers. Spain needs around 250,000 registered foreign workers a year to maintain its welfare state, Migration Minister Elma Saiz said in an interview on Wednesday. She contended that the legalization policy is not aimed solely at “cultural wealth and respect for human rights; it’s also prosperity.” “Today, we can say Spain is a better country,” Saiz told national broadcaster Radiotelevision Espanola. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has often described his government’s migration policies as a means to combat the country’s low birthrate. In August, Sanchez visited three West African nations in an effort to tackle irregular migration to Spain’s Canary Islands. The archipelago off the coast of Africa is seen by many as a step toward continental Europe with young men from Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and elsewhere embarking on dangerous sea voyages there seeking better job opportunities abroad or fleeing violence and political instability at home. The new policy, approved Tuesday by Spain’s leftist minority coalition government, simplifies administrative procedures for short and long-term visas and provides migrants with additional labor protections. It extends a visa offered previously to job-seekers for three months to one year. By mid-November, some 54,000 undocumented migrants had reached Spain this year by sea or land, according to the country’s Interior Ministry. The exact number of foreigners living in Spain without documentation is unclear. Many irregular migrants make a living in Spain’s underground economy as fruit pickers, caretakers, delivery drivers or other low-paid but essential jobs often passed over by Spaniards. Without legal protections, they can be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Saiz said the new policy would help prevent such abuse and “serve to combat mafias, fraud and the violation of rights.” Spain’s economy is among the fastest-growing in the European Union this year, boosted in part by immigration and a strong rebound in tourism after the pandemic. In 2023, Spain issued 1.3 million visas to foreigners, according to the government. …

BERLIN — China has overtaken Germany in the use of robots in industry, an annual report published by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) showed on Wednesday, underscoring the challenges facing Europe’s biggest economy from Beijing. In terms of robot density, an important indicator for international comparisons of the automation of the manufacturing industry, South Korea is the world leader with 1,012 robots per 10,000 employees, up 5% since 2018, said the IFR, which is based in Germany. Singapore comes next, followed by China with 470 robots per 10,000 workers – more than double the density it had in 2019. That compares with 429 per 10,000 employees in Germany, which has had an annual growth rate of 5% since 2018, said IFR. “China has invested heavily in automation technology and ranks third in robot density in 2023 after South Korea and Singapore, ahead of Germany and Japan,” said IFR president Takayuki Ito. Germany has in the past relied heavily on its industrial base and exports for growth but is facing ever tougher competition from countries like China. It expects economic contraction for the second year running in 2024, making it the worst performer among the Group of Seven rich democracies. …

MOSCOW/IRTYSH VILLAGE, RUSSIA — Russian farmers say they will sow less wheat after heavy losses this year, switching to more profitable crops such as peas, lentils, or sunflowers. Such decisions will have direct implications for global wheat prices and inflation in major buyers like Egypt, as Russia is the world’s top exporter of the grain. The trend represents a challenge for President Vladimir Putin’s plan to expand exports and cement Russia’s position as an agriculture superpower, while trying to gain more international clout amid confrontation with the West over its actions in Ukraine. The country’s wheat harvest will decline to 83 million tons this year due to frosts and drought, down from 92.8 million tons in 2023 and a record 104.2 million tons in 2022. New forecasts point to a clouded outlook for next year as well. Although Russia has been exporting wheat at a near record pace in the recent months, exports are expected to slow due to a bad harvest and export curbs aimed at containing domestic price growth, including an expected cut in export quota by two-thirds from January 2025. At a farm in Siberia’s Omsk region, which was hit by heavy rain during the peak of the harvesting season, farmer Maxim Levshunov takes advantage of a rare sunny day to collect what remains in the fields. He chuckles as he picks up ears of wheat that sprouted early due to the moisture. Now, most of his crops are only suitable for animal feed, meaning the farm will receive a fraction of the price, and income, it had hoped for. “We’ll probably start moving away from wheat, cutting back as much as possible. So, we’ll be thinking about what more profitable crops we can replace it with right now,” Levshunov told Reuters. As this year’s harvesting campaign comes to an end, Russian farmers are assessing their losses from the exceptionally bad weather and considering their next steps amid falling profit margins for wheat, Russia’s main agricultural export. Winter wheat became the first victim as areas sown with it are set to shrink by 10% this year, the lowest since 2019, according to data from Rusagrotrans, Russia’s flagship grain rail carrier. “There are losses on each ton. The selling price does not cover the cost,” said Arkady Zlochevsky, head of the Russian Grain Union industry lobby, predicting that Russia’s 26% share of the global wheat trade will shrink. Agriculture … “Russian farmers ditch wheat for other crops after heavy losses” →

Rovaniemi, Finland — Thousands of NATO soldiers are taking part in large-scale artillery exercises in Finland’s Arctic this month, seen by some as a signal to neighboring Russia over its war on Ukraine. Sounds of cannon fire and rocket artillery echo across the snowy, hilly Lapland landscape as some 3,600 soldiers from the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, France and other NATO members conduct live fire drills throughout November. They are part of NATO’s largest artillery exercise ever held in Europe, dubbed Dynamic Front 25, which also includes drills in Estonia, Germany, Romania and Poland involving a total of around 5,000 soldiers. Joel Linnainmaki, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, said the massive exercises should be interpreted as a message to Russia, with which Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre border.  “These NATO exercises are increasingly intended to show other countries, in this case especially Russia of course, that the alliance is united and is capable of defending its members,” he said. The exercises are the first large-scale maneuvers held in Finland since the Nordic country joined NATO last year, when it dropped decades of military non-alignment following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The move angered Moscow, which has long opposed any expansion of NATO. Colonel Janne Makitalo, director of the Dynamic Front 25 exercise in Finland, said the main goal was to train and develop inter-operability within the alliance’s artillery units, and prepare troops for harsh Arctic conditions, now that Norway, Sweden and Finland are all NATO members. “Of course this sends a message that we are able to train together and we are developing our assets,” he told reporters. “Artillery is basically the king and queen of the battlefield, as we have seen from experience of combat in Ukraine,” Makitalo said. He dismissed the notion that NATO could provoke Moscow by flexing its military might in Russia’s backyard. “It is not any sort of show of force,” he insisted. That said, Finland joining NATO brought “280,000 soldiers to NATO’s northern flank,” he said. In the hilly Rovajarvi area, troops are camped and stationed at gun positions covered in thin layers of snow and ice. The sun rises at around 9:30 am this time of year above the Arctic Circle and sets less than six hours later, before 3:00 pm. Measuring more than 1,000 square kilometers, it is Europe’s largest firing range and training area, and allies … “NATO holds large Arctic exercises in Russia’s backyard” →

The United States will soon provide antipersonnel mines to Ukraine, a U.S. official confirmed late Tuesday, in a move that followed Ukraine’s first deployment of long-range U.S.-supplied ballistic missiles in an attack on Russia. The official said the United States sought commitments from Ukraine on how it will use the mines, with the expectation they will be deployed only on Ukrainian territory in areas where Ukrainian civilians are not living. The official also pointed to the function of the mines, which they said require a battery for operation and will not detonate once the battery runs out after a period of a few hours to a few weeks. Ukrainian forces hit ammunition warehouses in Russia’s Bryansk region before dawn Tuesday using the long-range missiles that Ukrainian officials long sought to hit areas Russia has used to deploy daily waves of rocket and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities. The two sides disputed the effectiveness of the attack, which came two days after it was reported that President Joe Biden had reversed U.S. policy and approved use of the longer-range missiles as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reached the 1,000-day mark. Two U.S. officials confirmed to VOA on Tuesday that the policy prohibiting Ukrainians’ use of U.S.-provided, long-range weapons to hit military targets deep inside Russia “has changed.” The Russian defense ministry said in a statement, “Ukraine’s armed forces last night struck a facility in the Bryansk region” with six U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile System rockets, or ATACMS, but that its forces shot down five of them and damaged the sixth. It said falling fragments from the exploding rockets caused a fire at the military facility, but there were no casualties. Ukraine’s military general staff said in a post on Facebook that its forces had “caused fire damage” to “warehouses with ammunition for the army of the Russian occupiers” in Bryansk, about 100 kilometers from Ukraine’s border. The attack caused “12 secondary explosions and detonations in the area of the target,” the statement said, while not specifying that ATACMS had been used. But a Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations, confirmed the use of the American weapons system. The initial target using the long-range missile system was far short of the 300-kilometer range of the missile system. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had long sought U.S. approval of its use to launch attacks on military sites deep inside Russia. … “US to send antipersonnel mines to Ukraine” →

Several international human rights organizations have raised alarm about Azerbaijan’s crackdown on rights defenders, government critics and journalists before the start of the COP29 climate change conference currently being held in its capital, Baku.  “We urge every delegation attending COP29 to press the Azerbaijani government to end its clampdown on civil society, guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly throughout and beyond the conference, and take meaningful action to reverse the deterioration of human rights in the country,” Amnesty International said in a statement before the start of the event on Nov. 11. The United Nations’ annual conference on combating global warming, COP29, began last week as the Azerbaijani government escalated its crackdown on government critics. Azerbaijani authorities have jailed at least 14 journalists since November 2023. Many of them are facing charges of currency smuggling. All of them deny the allegations, calling them bogus. On November 12, a group of Azerbaijani civil society representatives issued an open appeal to COP29 participants, claiming that after Azerbaijan was announced as the conference host in December 2023, the country’s government began to silence dissidents and alternative voices. “In a short period of time, opposition leaders, human rights defenders, socio-political activists, independent media organizations, including the leaders and employees of ‘Abzas Media,’ ‘Toplum TV,’ ‘Kanal 13,’ and the civil society organization Institute for Democratic Initiatives, were detained on politically motivated charges. The trial of those arrested was postponed until December, as they coincided with COP29,” they said. The Azerbaijani government, which has rejected accusations that the arrests were politically motivated, insists that journalists and activists are being detained “on the basis of credible suspicions of violations of individual articles of the Criminal Code [of the Republic of Azerbaijan].”  Climate change and human rights On Tuesday, COP29 hosted a debate titled “No Climate Justice Without Civic Space and Meaningful Participation,” organized by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and several other human rights organizations. After the event, Fuad Hasanov, head of the nongovernmental organization Democratic Monitor, told VOA that the main theme of the debate was that it is impossible to hold discussions on climate change in an environment where the space for civil society is limited. Panel members also called on Azerbaijani authorities to release all political prisoners, including journalists, and to create conditions for the free operation of independent civil society institutions and the media. In a letter to … “Azerbaijan accused of cracking down on critics ahead of COP29” →

BARCELONA, Spain — Spain’s royal couple returned Tuesday to the area devastated by last month’s catastrophic flooding for the first time since enraged survivors pelted them and top elected officials with mud on their first visit to the disaster zone. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the town of Chiva along with a central government minister and the regional leader of eastern Valencia, whom many citizens have slammed for bungling the flood response. No mud flew this time as Felipe and Letizia shook hands with people at the beginning of their tour of the village. Other spectators took photos. Chiva, a hilltop town some 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the west of Valencia city, was ripped apart by a crushing wall of water that overflowed a normally dry gorge on the night of Oct. 29. Two of the four bridges spanning the gorge were demolished and several houses were washed away. The royals, Spain’s prime minister and Valencia’s leader had attempted to visit a hard-hit neighborhood of Valencia’s southern outskirts on Nov. 3 just a few days after the floods. But they had to cut it short when angry locals tossed mud and other objects on their arrival in Paiporta. The royals withstood the vitriol for half an hour and spoke to several furious residents, but they eventually had to cancel the visit and postpone a subsequent stop planned for later that day in Chiva. The floods claimed a confirmed 227 lives and destroyed thousands of homes and vehicles. The cleanup effort continues three weeks on. …

rio de janeiro — Leaders of the world’s largest economies ended their two-day G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro with a statement supporting the priorities of the Global South: climate change, poverty reduction and taxing billionaires. The Global South is generally considered to be developing countries, as well as Russia and China. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, host of the G20 summit, focused the talks around three key pillars: social inclusion and tackling hunger and poverty; energy, transitions and climate action, and reforming global governance. Globalization has failed, Lula said. “In the midst of growing turbulence, the international community seems resigned to sailing aimlessly through hegemonic disputes,” he said. “We remain adrift as if swept along by a torrent pushing us towards tragedy.” In their joint statement, the group underscored the need to slow global warming and reduce poverty. They agreed to work together to “ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed.” The communique states that progressive taxation “is one of the key tools to reduce domestic inequalities … promote strong, sustainable balanced and inclusive growth and facilitate the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs].” Call for expansion The G20 again called to expand the United Nations Security Council beyond its five current permanent members. The outcomes are a reasonable reflection of Biden administration priorities, said Matthew Goodman, director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. “But it isn’t clear how much of this will carry forward into a second Trump administration,” he said. President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated in January. A senior Biden administration official said they’re working to ensure the durability of U.S. commitments with a “multiprong, multitier approach,” including through civil society, so “there is some real staying power.” At the summit, President Joe Biden continued his “legacy of leadership,” the White House said, including rallying leaders “to invest in their futures, accelerate the global clean energy transition, tackle global health threats, and champion an inclusive digital transformation” while building on the U.S.’s “longstanding leadership on food security.” Global conflicts The group called for a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon but did not mention Israel’s right to defend itself, a line that Biden pushes for in various global forums. “I ask everyone here to increase the pressure on Hamas, which is currently refusing this deal,” Biden said. As in last year’s summit, G20 leaders highlighted the human … “G20 wraps with talk of climate change, poverty reduction, tax on billionaires” →

In Ukraine, wounded veterans who need long rehabilitation are mostly cared for by relatives. They face the difficult job with little help from the state. Lesia Bakalets has more from Kyiv. Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets …

China has asked Germany to support efforts to resolve a dispute between the European Union and Beijing over electric vehicle tariffs. Last month, the EU decided to raise tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China to as much as 45.3%. Beijing has been negotiating with the EU to repeal the tariffs and sees Germany – the bloc’s biggest economy and Beijing’s largest trading partner in Europe – potentially playing a key role. In a meeting Tuesday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, China’s President Xi Jinping told Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz that, in return Beijing would “continue to provide broad market opportunities for German companies,” according to readout of the meeting from state news agency Xinhua. “China regards Germany as an important partner in advancing Chinese modernization,” Xi said. “It is hoped that Europe and China will resolve the issue of electric vehicles through dialogue and negotiation as soon as possible, and the German side is willing to make active efforts in this regard.” Xi also urged Beijing and Berlin to strengthen their “long-term” strategic partnership. “China and Germany are both major countries with significant influence,” Xi told Scholz, according to Xinhua. He also said: “The two countries need to view and develop bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective.” A German government spokesman said the meeting between Scholz and Xi lasted 30 minutes and that the chancellor also discussed the war in Ukraine and the Middle East. “In particular, he warned of (the dangers of) escalation due to the deployment of North Korean troops, the statement said, a reference to the deployment of what the U.S. estimates is at least 11,000 North Korean troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine. The meeting between Germany’s chancellor and China’s president was their first since April in Beijing, where Scholz urged Xi to leverage his influence over Russia to help end the war in Ukraine. Some material in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse. …

TEHRAN, IRAN — Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday slammed as unjustified the new sanctions by the European Union and United Kingdom against Tehran over its support for Russia’s war on Ukraine. “While the president of Ukraine has admitted that no Iranian ballistic missiles have been exported to Russia, the measures of the European Union and United Kingdom in applying sanctions against Iran cannot be justified,” ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement. Later Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassador of Hungary, which holds the rotating EU presidency, to protest the new sanctions. The European Union on Monday widened sanctions against Iran over its alleged support for Russia’s war on Ukraine, including targeting the national seafaring company, vessels and ports used to transfer drones and missiles. Acting in parallel, the U.K. also announced fresh sanctions against Iran on Monday, freezing the assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line. The sanctions also included the national airline, Iran Air, for transporting ballistic missiles and military supplies to Russia for use in Ukraine. Iran has repeatedly rejected Western accusations that it has transferred missiles or drones to Moscow for use against Kiev. Ahead of the sanctions announcement, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday the EU was using the “nonexistent missile pretext” to target its shipping lines. “There is no legal, logical or moral basis for such behavior. If anything, it will only compel what it ostensibly seeks to prevent,” Araghchi wrote on X. “Freedom of navigation is a basic principle of the law of the sea. When selectively applied by some, such shortsightedness usually tends to boomerang,” Araghchi wrote. Iran’s economy is reeling from biting U.S. sanctions following the unilateral withdrawal of Washington in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Baghaei said the new sanctions against Iran, which “affect the interests and fundamental rights of Iranians, are clear examples of systematic violations of human rights.” “The Islamic Republic of Iran will use all of the capacities of cooperation with its partners to ensure its interests and national security,” he said. …

RIO DE JANEIRO — With just two months remaining in President Joe Biden’s administration, the United States is ramping up financial, military and diplomatic support for Kyiv’s effort to defend itself against Russian aggression. At the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Biden and leaders of 20 of the world’s largest economies are meeting, U.S. officials are pushing for the “strongest possible” language on Ukraine, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told VOA during a briefing Monday. Western diplomats have renewed their push for stronger criticism on Moscow following Russia’s weekend airstrike, its largest on Ukrainian territory in months. They’ve also warned that increased Russian war efforts could have a destabilizing effect beyond Europe. Earlier this month, the U.S. and Ukraine announced that North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to help Moscow reclaim territory seized by Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region. However, the final leaders’ statement did not include the language the U.S. pushed for. It highlights human suffering and the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine to the global economy without any condemnation to Russia. On Gaza, it called for cease-fire in Gaza and in Lebanon and commitment to the two-state solution, without mentioning Israel’s right to defend itself. Finer acknowledges that finding a consensus on global conflicts is elusive given the diversity of the G20. In addition to mostly like-minded countries of the G7, the G20 also includes Russia, China and nations of the Global South. Ever since the G20 summit in Bali in 2022 — held months after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine — the global grouping has faced challenges hammering out a response to the conflict. Long-range missiles authorized The U.S. has been surging its military assistance to Kyiv. It is also authorizing Ukraine to use American-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia, according to media reports quoting officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Finer declined to confirm but said it is “consistent” with the U.S. approach of tailoring its response to meet developments on the ground to “allow the Ukrainians to continue to defend their territory and their sovereignty.” On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that if true, authorization for Kyiv to strike inside Russia with U.S. long-range missiles, “will mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and level of Washington’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.” Last week in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought to reassure European … “Cracks emerge in G20 consensus over Ukraine as US ramps up aid” →

London — As the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan enters its final days, there are growing frustrations over the apparent lack of progress toward securing a deal on climate finance, which is seen as a crucial step in reducing emissions and limiting global warming. Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s COP29 president, called on delegates to show more urgency. “People have told me that they are concerned about the state of the negotiations,” Babayev told delegates Monday. “It’s time for them to move faster. This week we will welcome ministers from around the world as the negotiations reach their final stage. “Politicians have the power to reach a fair and ambitious deal. They must deliver on this responsibility. They must engage immediately and constructively,” he said. Climate finance Money is at the center of the COP29 negotiations — or, in COP terms, climate finance. Who will pay for poorer countries to adapt to climate change and transition away from fossil fuels — and how much will it cost? It’s hoped that the COP29 meeting will set an ambitious new funding target. Most estimates put the cost of climate finance in excess of $1 trillion every year. It’s reported that many richer nations are reluctant to agree to such an amount. The current target of $100 billion annually, agreed in 2009, was met only in 2022. ‘Failed promises’ Bolivia’s representative at COP29, Diego Balanza — who chairs a negotiating bloc of developing nations — accused richer nations of a decade of failed promises. “Our countries are suffering the impacts of climate change due largely to the historical emissions of developed countries. For us as developing countries, our people’s lives, their very survival and their livelihoods, are at stake,” Balanza told delegates in Baku. He added that most of the climate finance so far has been provided through loans, not grants, which “has adverse implications for the macroeconomic stability of developing countries.” Slow pace Many observers have criticized the slow pace of negotiations in Baku. Mohamed Adow, director of the campaign group Power Shift Africa, accused the Azerbaijani hosts of a lack of direction. “This has been one of the worst COPs — at least, one of the worst first weeks of COPs — that I have attended in the last 15 years,” Adow told VOA. “There has been very limited progress on climate finance and even on the rules around carbon markets and how … “Slow progress on climate finance fuels anger as COP29 winds down” →

As the COP29 climate summit enters the final stretch in Azerbaijan, there are growing frustrations over the apparent lack of progress toward securing a deal on climate finance – seen as a crucial step in reducing emissions and limiting global warming. Henry Ridgwell reports. …