Greta Thunberg called on the global energy industry and its financiers to end all fossil fuel investments on Thursday at a high-profile meeting in Davos with the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

During a round-table discussion with Fatih Birol on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, activists said they had presented a “cease and desist” letter to CEOs calling for a stop to new oil, gas and coal extraction.

“As long as they can get away with it, they will continue to invest in fossil fuels, they will continue to throw people under the bus,” Thunberg warned.

‘Slight legitimate optimism’

The oil and gas industry, which has been accused by activists of hijacking the climate change debate in the Swiss ski resort, has said that it needs to be part of the energy transition as fossil fuels will continue to play a major role in the energy mix as the world shift to a low-carbon economy.

Thunberg, who was detained by police in Germany this week during a demonstration at a coal mine, joined with fellow activists Helena Gualinga from Ecuador, Vanessa Nakate from Uganda, and Luisa Neubauer from Germany to discuss the tackle the big issues with Birol.

Birol, whose agency makes policy recommendations on energy, thanked the activists for meeting him, but insisted that the transition had to include a mix of stakeholders, especially in the face of the global energy security crisis.

The IEA chief, who earlier on Thursday met with some of the biggest names in the oil and gas industry in Davos, said there was no reason to justify investments in new oil fields because of the energy crunch, saying by the time these became operational the climate crisis would be worse.

He also said he was less pessimistic than the climate activists about the shift to clean energy.

“We can have slight legitimate optimism,” he said, adding: “Last year the amount of renewables coming to the market was record high.”

But he admitted that the transition was not happening fast enough and warned that emerging and developing countries risked being left behind if advanced economies did not support the transition.

‘A need for real money’

The United Nations’ climate conference, held in Egypt last year, established a loss and damage fund to compensate countries most impacted by climate change events.

Nakate, who held a solitary protest outside the Ugandan parliament for several months in 2019, said the fund “is still an empty bucket with no money at all.”

“There is a need for real money for loss and damage.”

In 2019, the then 16-year-old Thunberg took part in the main WEF meeting, famously telling leaders that “our house is on fire.” She returned to Davos the following year.

But she refused to participate as an official delegate this year as the event returned to its usual January slot.

Asked why she did not want to advocate for change from the inside, Thunberg said there were already activists doing that.

“I think it should be people on the frontlines and not privileged people like me,” she said. “I don’t think the changes we need are very likely to come from the inside. They are more likely to come from the bottom up.”

The activists later walked together through the snowy streets of Davos, where many of the shops have temporarily been turned into “pavilions” sponsored by companies or countries.
…

Workers striking in protest of France’s proposed pension overhauls disrupted transportation, schools and electricity supplies Thursday.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government has proposed raising the retirement age for a full pension from 62 to 64, saying the move is necessary to keep the system solvent.

Unions oppose the change and have suggested a tax on the super wealthy as an alternative course.

Train service and some flights were canceled Thursday. Seventy percent of preschool and primary school teachers said they planned to not work, while electricity workers said they would reduce supplies in protest of the proposed changes.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…

Turkey has placed basketball player Enes Freedom on its terrorist wanted list. 

Freedom appears on what the Turkish Interior Ministry calls the “Grey List,” the lowest of its five-tier color-coded system, which offers a reward of up to about $26,600 (500,000 Turkish lira). 

It is not clear when Turkey added Freedom to the list, but he told Fox News on Tuesday that he learned about it while he was at the Vatican for a basketball camp, and that after contacting the FBI, he was told he should return to the United States. 

“This is the first time actually the Turkish government put a bounty on my head and put me on the most wanted terrorist list, just because I talk about some of the human rights violations and political prisoners happening in Turkey,” Freedom told Fox News. “And you know, I’m not the only one. There are so many journalists, academics, professors and celebrities are on that list.” 

Freedom has been a critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the country’s human rights record, and he has called on the Biden administration and other Western and NATO leaders to take action. 

Turkey issued an arrest warrant for him in 2019, accusing him of being a member of a terrorist group for his ties to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Turkey blamed Gulen for a failed 2016 coup, which Gulen denies. 

Freedom grew up in Turkey and changed his named from Enes Kanter after becoming a U.S. citizen in 2021. Turkey canceled his passport in 2017. 

He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association, most recently in 2022 with the Boston Celtics. 

In addition to speaking out against the Turkish government, Freedom has also criticized China’s human rights record, including its treatment of Tibet and the Uyghur people.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. 
…

The United States aims to break the dynamic of grinding warfare and near-frozen front lines in Ukraine with newly announced military capabilities it hopes will create momentum for Kyiv’s battle against Russian forces, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday.

But Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s top policy adviser, said the Pentagon still wasn’t prepared to meet Kyiv’s calls for gas-guzzling M1 Abrams main battle tanks.

“I just don’t think we’re there yet,” said Kahl, who had just returned from a trip to Ukraine. “The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment. It’s expensive. It’s hard to train on. It has a jet engine.”

Kahl’s remarks came ahead of this week’s gathering of top defense officials from dozens of countries at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany to coordinate military aid for Kyiv.

The U.S. has committed roughly $24 billion to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian forces, including a $3.5 billion package announced this month that includes Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, self-propelled howitzers, armored personnel carriers, surface-to-air missiles and ammunition.

U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said President Joe Biden’s administration is next expected to approve Stryker armored vehicles for Ukraine.

Pressure has been mounting on Germany to send its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, or at least approve their transfer from third countries.

But Germany appears to want to tie any such contribution to a U.S. decision on Abrams.

A German government source told Reuters that Germany would allow German-made tanks to be sent to Ukraine to help its defense against Russia if the United States agrees to send its own tanks.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is due to meet with Germany’s new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in Berlin on Thursday.

Kahl noted Britain’s commitment to send 14 of its Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, and, without confirming any German conditions on providing the Leopard, said: “I think if there is a concern about being alone in providing this capability, that shouldn’t be a concern.”

“But at the end of the day, you know, the German government is going to make a sovereign decision,” the U.S. defense official said.

Kahl also praised Germany’s contributions so far.

“I think we should give Germany an enormous amount of credit for their generosity toward Ukraine to date,” he told reporters at the Pentagon.

Front lines have hardened in Ukraine since Kyiv wrested back significant territory in the east and south in the second half of 2022. Kahl described brutal, World War I-style engagements, with advances measured in blocks.

“Really what we’re focused on is surging those capabilities to Ukraine for the next phase of the conflict to really try to change that dynamic and continue the momentum that the Ukrainians had in the late summer and early fall,” Kahl said, echoing comments in Washington on Tuesday by British foreign minister James Cleverly.

The U.S. provision of Bradley fighting vehicles, combined arms training, and other new weaponry for the Ukrainians is meant to enable Kyiv to change the dynamic of static defenses “by being able to fire and maneuver through the use of more mechanized forces,” Kahl said.
…

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg is set to meet International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol in Davos on Thursday, organizers of a fringe round-table event at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting told Reuters.

Thunberg is to meet Birol along with fellow campaigners Helena Gualinga, Vanessa Nakate and Luisa Neubauer, the organizers said in a statement.

The IEA, which makes policy recommendations on global energy, had no immediate comment.

Thunberg was released by police on Tuesday after being detained alongside other climate activists during protests in Germany.

“Yesterday I was part of a group that peacefully protested the expansion of a coal mine in Germany. We were kettled by police and then detained but were let go later that evening,” she tweeted, adding: “Climate protection is not a crime.”

‘We are not winning’

Former United States Vice President Al Gore said in Davos that he agreed with Thunberg’s efforts in Germany and that the climate crisis was getting worse faster than the world was tackling it.

“We are not winning. The crisis is still getting worse faster than we are deploying these solutions,” Gore told a WEF panel, highlighting a growing gap between those “old enough to be in positions in power and the young people of this world.”

Thunberg, whose current whereabouts are not clear, attended the WEF meeting in Davos in January 2020, when she challenged world leaders, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, to act on climate change, saying that “our house is still on fire.”

She has also participated in previous protests on the fringes of the gathering, which brings business and political leaders together in the Swiss ski resort for a dialogue on topical issues.

Activists protest oil firms’ role

Climate change is one of the main items on the agenda for this year’s meeting, which has already seen protests against the role of big oil firms, with activists saying they are hijacking the debate over how to address global warming.

Representatives of major energy firms including BP, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum Corp., and Saudi Aramco are among 1,500 business leaders gathered there.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called on the WEF attendees to make “credible,” accountable net-zero pledges.

A social media campaign this week added to pressure on oil and gas companies, promoting a “cease and desist” notice sponsored by Thunberg, Nakate, Neubauer and Gualinga through the non-profit website Avaaz.

The call, which has garnered more than 850,000 signatures, demands that energy company CEOs “immediately stop opening any new oil, gas, or coal extraction sites, and stop blocking the clean energy transition we all so urgently need.”

It threatens legal action and more protests if they fail to comply.

The oil and gas industry has said that it needs to be part of the energy transition as fossil fuels will continue to play a major role in the world’s energy mix as countries shift to low- economies.
…

United States law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that they’ve arrested the Russian founder of a China-based cryptocurrency exchange, disrupting an online platform used by criminals on the darknet.  

Anatoly Legkodymov, 40, the majority owner of Hong Kong-registered Bitzlato, was taken into custody in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday evening and charged with conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business, officials said at a press conference at the Justice Department.   

Meanwhile, French authorities working with Europol and other European law enforcement agencies took down Bitzlato’s digital infrastructure and seized its cryptocurrency, officials said.   

Legkodymov was expected to make his first court appearance in Florida on Wednesday. His attorneys did not respond to queries seeking to confirm his arraignment in time for publication. If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison. 

‘A high-tech axis of cryptocrime’

Cybercriminals often operate in the shadows and are rarely caught. Asked why Legkodymov was in Miami at the time of his arrest, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco declined to answer.    

“The charges allege that Legkodymov operated Bitzlato as a high-tech financial hub that, in his own words, catered to ‘known crooks,’” Monaco said. 

Bitzlato openly boasted about its lax identification requirements, telling its users that “neither selfies nor passports [are] required,” the Justice Department said. 

The company’s biggest counterpart in crypto transactions was Hydra Market, a notorious darknet marketplace that sold drugs and stolen financial information before it was shut down by U.S. and German authorities last year.  

Prosecutors say Bitzlato exchanged more than $700 million in cryptocurrency for users of Hydra Market between 2018 and 2022. Bitzlato is also accused of receiving more than $15 million in ransomware proceeds.  

“Hydra and Bitzlato formed a high-tech axis of cryptocrime,” Monaco said. “Hydra buyers funded illicit purchases — of illegal drugs, stolen financial information, and hacking services — from crypto accounts hosted at Bitzlato, and sellers of these illegal goods and services at Hydra sent criminal proceeds to accounts at Bitzlato.” 

A lawyer for Legkodymov did not immediately respond to a VOA request for comment. 

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said nearly half of all known Bitzlato transactions between 2019 and 2021 involved Russian illicit finance or otherwise risky sources. 

Darknet marketplaces almost always demand virtual currency, according to the Treasury Department. 

“Bitzlato is particularly active in facilitating illicit activity, but it is ultimately part of a larger ecosystem of cybercriminals that are allowed to operate with impunity in Russia,” Adeyemo said. 

In a rare move, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Bitzlato as a “primary money laundering concern” in connection with Russian illicit funds.  

Crackdown on crypto

The charges come as U.S. authorities have stepped up a crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges used by cybercriminals.  

Illicit cryptocurrency transactions hit a new high of $20 billion in 2022, up from $18 billion in 2021 and $5 billion in 2017, according to Chainalysis. 

U.S. officials say Russia in recent years has emerged as a haven for ransomware actors and other cybercriminals, with Moscow sometimes hiring private hacking groups to carry out international cyberattacks.   

Adeyemo said most ransomware incidents reported to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in the second half of 2021 were conducted by Russia-related ransomware variants. 

“At a time when Russia is waging a brutal and unjust war in Ukraine, and as it seeks to circumvent sanctions and governance controls to fill its coffers and sustain its violence, we have no tolerance for criminal enterprises enriching Russia’s malicious interests,” Adeyemo said. 
…

A French Irish citizen held in Iran since October 2022 and now on a dry hunger strike to protest his detention will survive no more than a few days unless he is freed, his sister said on Wednesday. 

Bernard Phelan, a Paris-based travel consultant and one of seven French nationals held by Iran, was arrested in October while traveling and is being held in Mashhad in northeastern Iran. 

The 64-year-old’s family has said he started a dry hunger strike on Monday, refusing water. He has been refusing food since the start of the year. 

His sister Caroline Masse-Phelan told AFP on Wednesday that her brother was an innocent man detained for reasons “beyond our comprehension.” 

She said his health condition meant he had to be released urgently. 

“It’s a matter of days. He’s an innocent man caught in the middle of I don’t know what. He loves Iran, he is 64, sick, and wants to go home,” she said. 

“He is showing serious signs of physical and psychological exhaustion,” said a French diplomatic source, adding he was in a “critical state.”  

The Iranian authorities have refused to release Phelan on medical grounds despite repeated requests from the French and Irish authorities, the source said. 

“I think he is part of a group of Europeans imprisoned for political reasons … of which I know nothing,” his sister added. “We have nothing to do with this story.” 

Phelan is one of two dozen foreigners held in Iran, according to activists, who describe the detainees as hostages seized to extract concessions from the West. 

Phelan was traveling through Mashhad during the ongoing protests against Iran’s clerical regime when he was arrested. 

He is being held in Vakilabad prison in Mashhad. His sister said he suffers from a heart condition that requires medical treatment. 

The hunger and thirst strikes are putting his life in danger but “he is doing this because he can’t take it anymore,” she said. 

“These are the only weapons,” she added, saying that it was on his urging that she had moved to make the case public. 

Phelan is in contact with the crisis unit of the French foreign ministry, which passes on the messages from his family, but requests for direct communication with the family have been turned down by the Iranian authorities.  

Phelan received his first French consular visit on January 9, after repeated requests, the diplomatic source added. 

Activists fear that the current downgrading of contact between Western governments and Iran over the protest crackdown has lessened the prospect of the foreign detainees being released soon. 

Siamak Namazi, a U.S. citizen of Iranian descent who was arrested in October 2015, this week started a seven-day hunger strike as he implored President Joe Biden to put greater priority on his case. 

“Today the whole world is witnessing how atrociously this regime can respond to those who dare demand their basic rights,” Namazi said. 

 
…

Campaigners have welcomed a decision to remove the skeleton of an 18th century man with gigantism from public display at a London museum.

The remains of Charles Byrne, who was 2.31 meters (7ft 7in), had been on show at the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in central London.

But the museum has said the self-styled “Irish Giant” will not be part of the collection when it reopens in March after a five-year, £4.6-million ($5.7-million) refurbishment.

Thomas Muinzer, a senior law lecturer at Aberdeen University in Scotland, called the decision “wonderful news”.

But he said the development was only a “partial success”, as Byrne himself wanted to be buried at sea, to prevent anatomists using him for study.

In 2011, Muinzer and Len Doyal, a medical ethicist, published a paper in the British Medical Journal, calling for Byrne’s final wishes to be respected.

“Byrne’s remains ought to be buried at sea or at least be withdrawn from public display,” they wrote.

The British writer Hilary Mantel, who died last year and wrote a 1998 fictionalized portrait of Byrne called “The Giant”, had also backed the campaign.

RCS England said last week that trustees of the collection had discussed the “sensitivities” of keeping and displaying Byrne’s skeleton during the closure.

The skeleton was acquired after Byrne’s death aged 22 in 1783 by the eminent surgeon and anatomist John Hunter.

Before he could be buried, Hunter paid Byrne’s friends £500 — the equivalent of £60,000 today — for his body.

The decision comes as museums in the UK and around the world are reassessing the provenance of their collections.

The Hunterian is due to begin a new program later this year “to promote new research and explore issues around the display of human remains and the acquisition of specimens” during the British colonial period.

Hunter and others in the 18th and 19th century “acquired many specimens in ways we would not consider ethical today”, it added.

A decision has been made to only make the skeleton only available for “bona fide medical research” into gigantism.

Muinzer said it had already been extensively studied and its complete DNA extracted, but scientific understanding of the condition remains limited and people still suffer from it today.

As a result, Byrne’s last wishes — which RCS England said are well-documented but anecdotal — should be respected, he added.

“We don’t have to worry about the resurrectionists and grave robbers now thank goodness,” he added.
…

Ukraine says the West must speed up the delivery of weapons as its troops come under increasing pressure from invading Russian forces, ahead of a key meeting of the Ukraine Défense Contact Group of NATO allies in Ramstein, Germany on Friday.

Dozens of civilians have been killed in recent days by Russian missiles. An attack on an apartment block in the city of Dnipro Saturday killed at least 44 people, including several children.

“What happened in Dnipro, the fact that Russia is preparing a new attempt to seize the initiative in the war, the fact that the nature of hostilities at the front requires new decisions in the defense supply, all this only emphasizes how important it is to coordinate our efforts, the efforts of all members of the coalition to defend Ukraine and freedom, and to speed up decision-making,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.

“A regular meeting in the Ramstein format will be held at the end of the week. We expect fundamental decisions from the coalition of our partners,” he added.

British tanks

The Ukrainian president, meanwhile, praised Britain’s announcement that it will supply 14 “Challenger 2” tanks to Kyiv. “This is exactly what we need,” Zelenskyy said.

The Challenger 2 is Britain’s main battle tank. The squadron of 14 tanks is part of a large package of military aid, which includes AS90 self-propelled artillery, Bulldog armored vehicles, ammunition, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, Starstreak air defense systems and medium-range air defense missiles.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov Tuesday dismissed Britain’s supply of tanks to Ukraine. “The special military operation will continue, these tanks… will burn, just like the rest. The goals of the special military operation will be achieved,” Peskov told the Reuters news agency.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told lawmakers Monday this was Britain’s most significant package of combat power provided to Ukraine to date.

“”We believe that in 2023, increased supplies improve training and strengthening diplomatic resolve will enable Ukraine to be successful against Russia’s poorly led and now badly equipped armed forces,” Wallace said.

“Today’s package will help accelerate the conclusion of Putin’s occupation and all its brutality and ensure that in 2023 and beyond, if necessary, Ukraine retains its momentum,” he added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pressure on Germany

That momentum depends on other allies also stepping up. Germany is under growing pressure to send Ukraine “Leopard 2” tanks and approve requests from other nations to re-export their German-made tanks.

The Leopard 2 tank is seen as the workhorse of many European armies, and analysts say hundreds could be sent to the Ukrainian frontlines with Berlin’s approval.

“Ukraine needs hundreds of light and battle tanks to conduct a successful offensive in the spring. So, it seems that the British offer is more of a political signal – that the red line on tanks is actually gone,” Liana Fix, a defense analyst with the Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA.

“The British political signal might not be enough for Germany to move onto main battle tanks. And Germany is so crucial because the Leopards are really the best and the most numerous tanks available for Ukraine at this point,” Fix said.

‘World War III’

Poland and Finland want to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki offered a warning to Germany.

“Ukraine’s defeat may become a prelude to a World War III. Therefore, today there is no reason to block support for Kyiv, to procrastinate. Thus, I call for decisive actions by the German government on all sorts of weapons to be delivered to Ukraine,” Morawiecki said at an event hosted by the German opposition Christian Democratic Union party in Berlin Tuesday.

European Union Council President Charles Michel voiced his support Wednesday for sending tanks to Ukraine. “The time is now; they urgently need more equipment and I am personally in favor of supplying tanks to Ukraine,” Michel told EU lawmakers.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Wednesday he expected an announcement that further main battle tanks would be sent to Ukraine.

“Definitely, there is momentum. Unfortunately, that the momentum has formed after we’ve seen, again, horrendous civilian deaths… We could do it right now, but we will be waiting for some other imaginary red lines to be crossed, because this is the modus operandi our allies are choosing,” Landsbergis told Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Divisions

Germany is providing Ukraine with Marder armored personnel carriers, a Patriot air defense missile battery, howitzers, anti-aircraft guns and Iris-T surface-to-air missiles.

There are, however, divisions within Germany’s governing coalition over increasing the supply of weapons. The Green party wants to go further in supplying tanks and other heavy weapons to Kyiv. “We are at a different and a new and a next step. And as we have done in the past, we will join forces (with allies) also in the upcoming future,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a member of the Greens, said Tuesday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appointed Boris Pistorius as his new defense minister Tuesday after the resignation of Christine Lambrecht earlier this week.

In the past, Pistorius has spoken out in favor of helping Ukraine defend itself. Speaking after his appointment Wednesday, Pistorius would not be drawn on any decisions over sending Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv. “The German army must adapt to a new situation which arose due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine,” Pistorius told reporters.

U.S. lead

Germany is looking to Washington to take the lead, says analyst Fix.

“It’s always step-by-step, it takes a long time until decisions are made. And Germany in any case does not assume a leadership role, but it only acts if the United States acts in parallel. And this reflects Germany’s concerns about escalation with Russia,” Fix said.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is due to host a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group of allies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday. The participants are expected to coordinate further military aid for Ukraine. The group consists of around 50 allies dedicated to helping Ukraine defend itself.

The meeting sends an important signal, says Fix.

“It also demonstrates that the West is not satisfied with a frozen conflict, with a frozen war, with a preliminary cease-fire – but that the Western alliance sees the necessity for Ukraine to make further great gains,” Fix told VOA.

Some of the information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
…

South Africa plans to conduct joint military exercises with the Chinese and Russian navies off its east coast next month (February 17-26), despite the Kremlin’s ongoing war on Ukraine. The opposition Democratic Alliance has slammed the decision, saying it means that contrary to its “neutral” stance on Russia’s Ukraine war, South Africa’s ruling National Congress Party has effectively sided with Moscow.

The China-Russia-South Africa drills, named Operation Mosi, which means smoke, are to take place off Durban from February 17 to 26.

While South Africa has held joint naval exercises with Russia in the past, in 2019, these latest ones overlap with the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing war against Kyiv.

Pretoria has officially remained “neutral” on the conflict, refusing to condemn the Kremlin’s invasion in a U.N. vote last year.

But South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, says hosting Russian warships shows the ruling African National Congress, or the ANC, has chosen sides.

Kobus Marais is the party’s shadow defense minister.

“While our government has claimed to be neutral, this is just another of many incidents where the ANC has clearly exposed their favoritism towards Russia and has in fact done nothing but to showcase and prove [the] government’s lack of neutrality in this case,” he said.

Marais says the South Africa of Nelson Mandela, once a beacon of democracy, risks losing its international standing by siding with what he calls “the most despicable autocracies of the world.”

Moscow’s invasion, the biggest in Europe since World War II, has been widely condemned internationally.

Western governments have hit Russia with diplomatic isolation and heavy sanctions and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine to defend itself.

Steven Gruzd, the head of the Russia-Africa program at the South African Institute of International Affairs, says South Africa’s hosting the drills risks its further isolation from the West while playing into Russia’s hands.

“Russia is trying to indicate that it’s not isolated internationally, that it has international military reach. And South Africa, by agreeing to hold these exercises, or going ahead with them, is feeding into that narrative that Moscow’s putting out,” he said.

South Africa’s African National Congress party has close ideological and historical ties to Russia under the Soviet Union, which backed its anti-apartheid struggle against white minority rule.

South Africa and Russia are also members of the BRICS group of leading, emerging economies, which includes Brazil, India, and China.

While many countries have shunned the Kremlin over its invasion, some nations, including those in BRICS, have not.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to South Africa Liubov Abravitova was clear to VOA in her criticism of the scheduled military drills.

“And on South Africa, Russia, China military exercises, let me just ask you, what the army that is killing innocent people, the army of rapists and murderers, what can they bring to [the] South African army as added value?” she said.

Some analysts say the world is in a new cold war, with authoritarian nations China and Russia on one side and Western democracies on the other.

This conflict is increasingly playing out in Africa as both sides scramble for influence on the strategically and politically important continent.

South Africa’s Department of Defense spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini tells VOA they will not reconsider the joint drills.

“I’d like to repeat that the exercise will go ahead with the two countries in South Africa in February. In relation to the military-to-military relations between these two countries and many others, which include the United States, where exercises have been held with each of those countries,” he said.

Despite pressure from Western governments, and visits last year by U.S. officials, Pretoria has continued to improve relations with Moscow.

South Africa in December received a sanctioned Russian ship that officials say was delivering ammunition ordered before the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine.

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor will on Monday host Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In August, South Africa will host the BRICS summit and has invited Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to attend.
…

A French nun who was believed to be the world’s oldest person has died a few weeks before her 119th birthday, the spokesperson for her nursing home in southern France said Wednesday. 

Lucile Randon, known as Sister André, was born in the town of Ales, southern France, on Feb. 11, 1904. She was also one of the world’s oldest survivors of COVID-19. 

Spokesman David Tavella said she died at 2 a.m. on Tuesday at the Sainte-Catherine-Laboure nursing home in the town of Toulon. 

The Gerontology Research Group, which validates details of people thought to be 110 or older, listed her as the oldest known person in the world after the death of Japan’s Kane Tanaka, aged 119, last year. 

Sister André tested positive for the coronavirus in January 2021, shortly before her 117th birthday, but she had so few symptoms that she didn’t even realize she was infected. Her survival made headlines both in France and beyond. 

In April last year, asked about her exceptional longevity through two world wars, she told French media that “working … makes you live. I worked until I was 108.” 

She was known to enjoy a daily glass of wine and chocolate. 

The oldest living known person in the world listed by the Gerontology Research Group is now American-born Maria Branyas Morera, who is living in Spain, and is 115. 
…

Turkey’s F-16 fighter jet request from the United States and the possibility of another operation by Turkish military in northern Syria are expected to top the agenda during talks in Washington when Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu meets Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. Analysts say any F-16 deal would be tied to Turkey’s timely support for NATO’s expansion and no military action in northern Syria. 

Turkey made an official request to purchase 40 F-16 jets and nearly 80 modernization kits from the United States in 2021. Biden administration officials have expressed support for the proposed sale, subject to approval by Congress. 

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the administration is preparing to begin consultations with Congress to seek approval for the $20 billion sale. 

James Jeffrey, chair of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, argues that any prospective support from Congress would depend on cooperation from NATO member Turkey on two issues: No military incursion into northern Syria and not blocking the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO. 

“The opposition in the Senate will probably require senior levels of the administration weighing in with security arguments. I’m not so sure if they’re ready to go that far, but I cannot imagine them doing a whole lot to help Turkey get F-16s if we don’t see a movement on those two issues,” he told VOA. 

Former head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) General Joseph Votel, who oversaw the military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria — also known as ISIS or Daesh — agrees. 

Answering VOA’s questions in writing, Votel said the United States must tie any F-16 deal to “Turkish support for NATO expansion and an agreement to not further de-stabilize northern Syria with military action.” 

Twenty-eight NATO members have already ratified Sweden and Finland’s admission to the alliance. Turkey and Hungary have not. Hungary says it will do so in early February, leaving Turkey as the sole holdout. 

Turkey expects Finland and particularly Sweden to do more to crack down on Kurdish militants and members of the Gulen movement, which Ankara accuses of being behind an attempted coup in 2016. 

F-35s for Turkey’s regional rival Greece 

According to the WSJ report, the Biden administration is separately planning to seek congressional approval to sell F-35 jets to Turkey’s regional rival and NATO ally Greece. 

Turkey was removed from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program, where it was once a production partner, due to its purchase of S-400 missile defense systems from Russia. 

U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel declined to comment on the potential sale Friday at the daily press briefing. 

Senate Foreign Relations Commitee Chairman Bob Menendez welcomed news of the proposed sale of F-35 aircraft to Greece, which he referred to as a “trusted NATO ally’’ in a written statement first reported by Reuters and shared with VOA. 

He underlined that the United States and Greece share principles “including collective defense, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.” 

Menendez opposes the proposed sale of F-16s jets to Turkey. 

“Until [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan ceases his threats, improves his human rights record at home — including by releasing journalists and political opposition — and begins to act like a trusted ally should, I will not approve this sale,” he said. 

Syria agenda 

U.S. military leaders continue to be worried about possible military action by Turkey in northern Syria against the Kurdish YPG, part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. 

CENTCOM Commander General Michael Kurilla noted that more than two dozen ISIS detention centers are secured by the Syrian Democratic Forces. 

“Anything we can do to de-escalate the situation and prevent that incursion by the Turks would be important,’’ he said last month during a news briefing.

Former head of CENTCOM Votel says the chances of some sort of military activity by Turkey are likely, even though it may be limited in scope. 

He points to previous decisions by Erdogan, saying “this generally plays well with his loyalists.” 

Reconciliation efforts between Turkey and the Syrian government are also expected to come up during the talks in Washington. 

Turkey’s Cavusoglu recently said he could meet his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, in February. 

The United States has already made its position clear, saying it does not support countries “upgrading” their relationship with the Assad regime in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reportedly said last week that “talks with Turkey should be based on the aims of ending the occupation of Syrian land” and halting support for what he called terrorism. 

The Wilson Center’s Jeffrey, who also served as the State Department Special Representative for Syria Engagement until 2020, argues that the Syrian president is unwilling to make any deals and that the talks are being pushed by Russia, “with no compromises on the security situation in Syria or on the return of the refugees,” which are two important concerns from Turkey’s perspective. 

“We shouldn’t read anything into this, particularly given the looming election in Turkey. I would rather wait until after the elections to see what the real Turkish policy is,” Jeffrey told VOA. 
…

In his meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday at the White House, President Joe Biden appeared to have made no progress to get the Netherlands to support U.S. restrictions on exporting chip-making technology to China, a key part of Washington’s strategy in its rivalry against Beijing. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
…

President Joe Biden hosted Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday at the White House, where he urged the Netherlands to support new U.S. restrictions on exporting chip-making technology to China, a key part of Washington’s strategy in its rivalry against Beijing.

During a brief appearance in front of reporters before their meeting, Biden said that he and Rutte have been working on “how to keep a free and open Indo-Pacific” to “meet the challenges of China.”

“Simply put, our companies, our countries have been so far just lockstep in what we’ve done in our investment to the future. So today, I look forward to discussing how we can further deepen our relationship and securing our supply chains to strengthen our transatlantic partnership,” he said.

ASML Holding NV, maker of the world’s most advanced semiconductor lithography systems, is headquartered in Veldhoven, making the Netherlands key to Washington’s chip push against Beijing. Ahead of Rutte’s visit, Dutch Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher said the Netherlands is consulting with European and Asian allies and will not automatically accept the new restrictions that the U.S. Commerce Department launched in October.

“You can’t say that they’ve been pressuring us for two years and now we have to sign on the dotted line. And we won’t,” she said.

Rutte did not mention the semiconductor issue ahead of his meeting with Biden, focusing instead on Russia’s invasion on Ukraine, where the NATO allies have been working together to support Kyiv.

“Let’s stay closely together this year,” Rutte said. “And hopefully, things will move forward in a way which is acceptable for Ukraine.”

China is one of ASML’s biggest clients. CEO Peter Wennink in October played down the impact of the U.S. export control regulations.

“Based on our initial assessment, the new restrictions do not amend the rules governing lithography equipment shipped by ASML out of the Netherlands and we expect the direct impact on ASML’s overall 2023 shipment plan to be limited,” he said.

Shoring up allies

Biden has been shoring up allies, including the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea — home to leading companies that play a critical role in the industry’s supply chain — to limit Beijing’s access to advanced semiconductors. Last week he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who said he backs Biden’s attempt but did not agree to match the sweeping curbs targeting China’s semiconductor and supercomputing industries.

U.S. officials say export restrictions on chips are necessary because China can use semiconductors to advance their military systems, including weapons of mass destruction, and commit human rights abuses.

The October restrictions follow the U.S. Congress’ July passing of the CHIPS Act of 2022 to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing, design and research, and reinforce America’s chip supply chains. The legislation also restricts companies that receive U.S. subsidies from investing in and expanding cutting edge chipmaking facilities in China.

Some information for this story came from AP.
…

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among climate activists detained during protests against the demolition of the coal village of Luetzerath on Tuesday, according to police.

Thunberg was detained while protesting at the opencast coal mine of Garzweiler 2, some 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) from Luetzerath, where she sat with a group of protesters near the edge of the mine.

Thunberg, who joined the protesters on Friday, was seen sitting alone in a large police bus after having been detained, a Reuters witness said.

“We are going to use force to bring you to the identity check, so please cooperate,” a policeman said to the group, according to Reuters footage.

“Greta Thunberg was part of a group of activists who rushed towards the ledge. However, she was then stopped and carried by us with this group out of the immediate danger area to establish their identity,” a spokesperson for Aachen police told Reuters, adding one activist had jumped into the mine.

It was not yet clear what would happen to Thunberg or the group she was detained with, or whether the activist who jumped into the mine was injured, the spokesperson said.

Thunberg was carried away by three policemen and held by one arm at a spot further away from the edge of the mine where she was previously sat with the group.

She was then escorted back towards police vans.
…

Belarus has opened the trial of a journalist and prominent member of the country’s sizable Polish minority, the latest in a series of court cases against critics of the authoritarian regime of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Andrzej Poczobut, 49, faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted of the charges of harming national security and inciting discord. Poczobut, a journalist for the influential Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a top figure in the Union of Poles in Belarus, has been behind bars since his detention in March 2021.

He widely covered major protests that gripped Belarus for weeks in 2020 following a presidential election that gave Lukashenko, in power since 1994, a new term in office, but that was widely regarded by the opposition and Western countries as fraudulent.

The trial in the western city of Grodno was closed to independent journalists and Western diplomats on Monday, but photos from the courtroom suggested that Poczobut has lost significant weight while in custody.

In Poland a spokesman for the government, Piotr Mueller, said that despite “numerous diplomatic efforts, unfortunately, we have no additional tools that could help in this area” of political freedom in Belarus. He said it was a “scandalous situation.”

Mueller told a news conference in Warsaw that Poland will continue diplomatic efforts to change the situation.

“But we know very well that at this point authorities in Belarus are directly linked to Russia and that they are pursuing a defined policy that counters not only Poland but the entire democratic area that holds human rights as top state priorities,” Mueller said.

Poland’s Foreign Ministry said it met the information about Poczobut’s trial with “disappointment” and said the charges are “untrue and politically motivated.”

The ministry appealed for Poczobut’s release and said his imprisonment constituted “another example of the instrumental use of the justice system against any and all democratic standards and an element in the anti-Polish campaign pursued by the authorities of Belarus.”

In the eastern Polish city of Bialystok, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border with Belarus, a group of protesters representing Belarusian diaspora and human rights organizations gathered before the Belarusian consulate to demand freedom for Poczobut and other political prisoners.

The 2020 protests in Belarus were the largest and most sustained in the country.

Authorities responded to the demonstrations with a crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested, thousands beaten by police and dozens of media outlets and nongovernmental organizations shut.

This month, Belarus put human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, a co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, on trial for financing protests. Another trial against two top figures of the now-banned independent news portal TUT.BY began last week.

About 300,000 of Belarus’ 10 million people are ethnic Poles. The Union of Poles came under government pressure after authorities accused Poland of trying to foment an uprising against Lukashenko.
…

Ukraine’s first lady scolded world leaders and corporate executives at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in the snowy Swiss town of Davos for not all using their influence at a time when Russia’s invasion leaves children dying and a world struggling with food insecurity.

As the anniversary of the war nears, Olena Zelenska said Tuesday that parents are in tears watching doctors trying to save their children, farmers are afraid to go back to their fields filled with explosive mines and “we cannot allow a new Chernobyl to happen,” referring to the 1986 nuclear disaster as Russian missiles have pounded Ukrainian energy infrastructure for months.

“What you all have in common is that you are genuinely influential,” Zelenska told attendees. “But there is something that separates you, namely that not all of you use this influence, or sometimes use it in a way that separates you even more.”

She spoke as hundreds of government officials, corporate titans, academics and activists from around the world who descended on the town billed as Europe’s highest. The weeklong talkfest of big ideas and backroom deal-making prioritizes global problems such as hunger, climate change and the slowing economy, but it’s never clear how much concrete action emerges to help reach the forum’s stated ambition of “improving the state of the world.”

“We are all internally convinced that there is no such global problem that humanity cannot solve,” Zelenska said. “This is more important now when Russia’s aggression in Europe poses various challenges.”

The war in Ukraine, which has killed thousands of civilians, displaced millions and jolted food and fuel markets worldwide. With the war raising inflation and expanding food insecurity in developing nations, Zelenska called it “an insult to mankind and human nature to have mass starvation.”

Ukraine and Russia had been key suppliers of wheat, barley and other food supplies to Africa, the Middle East and Asia where many were already going hungry.

About 345 million people in 82 countries are facing acute food insecurity, according to the U.N. World Food Program, up from 135 million in 53 countries before the pandemic and war in Ukraine.

Zelenska warned that the war could expand beyond Ukraine’s borders and worsen the crises but “unity is what brings peace back.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged the assembled executives and global leaders at Davos to keep aiding Ukraine.

“Ukraine wants to become a member of the European Union, and it is a perfect opportunity to take investment and reform to pave this way for Ukraine towards the European Union,” she said after Zelenska’s address. “And my call on you is: We need every helping hand on board. Ukraine deserves to have as much support as possible.”

While urging unity for Ukraine, von der Leyen unveiled a major clean tech industrial plan to compete with China and the United States as the 27-nation bloc looks to stay a leader on plotting a greener future.

She said the plan would make it easier to push through subsidies for green industries and inject funding into EU-wide projects to help reach its goal of climate neutrality by 2050. The bloc also would be more forceful in countering unfair trading practices.

At Davos, a helicopter buzzed overhead in overcast skies as scores of notables, including former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, trudged through the snow and crisscrossed the Alpine town of 10,000 to attend a number of panel sessions on everything from the environment to cryptocurrencies to the fight against COVID-19.

Many concerned minds in Davos were on the devastation from a Russian missile strike that hit an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing 44 people in one of the deadliest single attacks in months.

Zelenska said Ukrainians “can’t take a day off from war” and that they “have to risk their lives each day” but said she believed the world would unify for peace.

Her husband, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will be beamed in by video Wednesday to complement the in-person delegation of his wife and officials such as Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.

Davos offers a new chance for Ukrainian envoys to ramp up international support for donations of weapons like tanks and anti-rocket defenses and greater pressure to further isolate and squeeze Russia’s economy.

France, the U.K., the U.S. and other nations are vowing to send increasingly powerful weapons to Ukraine, such as tanks or armored combat vehicles.
…

Belarus on Monday began the trial in absentia of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the country’s state-run Belta news agency said. 

Tsikhanouskaya fled Belarus after facing President Alexander Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential elections that drew mass protests over allegations of electoral fraud that gave Lukashenko a new term. 

Speaking to news agencies in Switzerland, Tsikhanouskaya called her trial a “farce” and said she was not given access to court documents. 

The charges against her include treason, conspiracy to seize power and leading an extremist organization. 

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
…

British Foreign Minister James Cleverly will seek to bolster support for Ukraine on a trip to the United States and Canada which begins on Tuesday, ahead of the first anniversary of the invasion by Russia.

Britain has been a steadfast supporter of Kyiv since Russia’s invasion last February, and at the weekend pledged to send 14 Challenger 2 tanks and other heavy weaponry to Ukraine.

Germany is under pressure to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, but its government says such tanks should be supplied to Ukraine only if there is agreement among Kyiv’s main allies, particularly the United States.

Cleverly will tell U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly that it is the right time to go “further and faster” to give Ukraine military support.

“Today we stand united against Putin’s illegal war, and we will continue to use our uniquely strong defense and security ties to ensure that, in the end, the Ukrainian people will win,” Cleverly said in a statement ahead of the trip.

The British foreign ministry also said Cleverly would raise the topic of Iran while on the trip after Britain temporarily recalled its ambassador following the execution of British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari on Saturday.
…

Sweden and Finland must deport or extradite up to 130 “terrorists” to Turkey before the Turkish parliament will approve their bids to join NATO, President Tayyip Erdogan said.

The two Nordic states applied last year to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but their bids must be approved by all 30 NATO member states. Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the applications.

Turkey has said Sweden must first take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt.

“We said look, so if you don’t hand over your terrorists to us, we can’t pass it (approval of the NATO application) through the parliament anyway,” Erdogan said in comments late Sunday, referring to a joint news conference he held with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson last November.

“For this to pass the parliament, first of all you have to hand more than 100, around 130 of these terrorists to us,” Erdogan said.

Finnish politicians interpreted Erdogan’s demand as an angry response to an incident in Stockholm last week in which an effigy of the Turkish leader was strung up during what appeared to be a small protest.

“This must have been a reaction, I believe, to the events of the past days,” Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told public broadcaster YLE.

Haavisto said he was not aware of any new official demands from Turkey.

In response to the incident in Stockholm, Turkey canceled a planned visit to Ankara of the Swedish speaker of parliament, Andreas Norlen, who instead came to Helsinki Monday.

“We stress that in Finland and in Sweden we have freedom of expression. We cannot control it,” the speaker of the Finnish parliament, Matti Vanhanen, told reporters at a joint news conference with Norlen.

Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson said Monday that his country was in a “good position” to secure Turkey’s ratification of its NATO bid.

Erdogan’s spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said Saturday that time was running out for Turkey’s parliament to ratify the bids before presidential and parliamentary elections— which are expected in May.
…

Up to 12,000 people marched Monday to the EU Parliament in the eastern French city of Strasbourg in support of Iran’s anti-government protesters while the Eiffel Tower lit the night with the slogan “Woman. Life. Freedom,” which embodies the protest movement spilling beyond Iran.

The Eiffel Tower display also beamed the message, “Stop executions in Iran,” highlighting a demand of protesters.

Both messages pay tribute to Mahsa Amini, whose death in September triggered demonstrations in Iran, along with arrests and executions.

Paris posthumously declared Amani an honorary citizen in October, and Paris City Hall has said that the Eiffel Tower displays Monday were an homage to Amini and to “those who are bravely fighting for their freedom as the (Iranian) regime is continuing executions of protesters.”

The Strasbourg march was organized by Iranians in Europe on the 44th anniversary of the day when Iran’s last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ailing and under growing pressure, left the country forever. The following month, the monarchy collapsed under the fervor of the Islamic revolution that gave Iran its theocracy. Some of the demonstrators Monday carried photos of the former shah.

Local media cited police as saying some 12,000 people took part.

“Your silence is violence,” one banner read, reflecting the demand of Iranian protesters abroad to support their message and ensure Tehran hears it.

Protesters want the European Union to take a firmer stance against Iran, declaring the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.

The European parliament’s plenary session is to debate the EU’s response this week to the protests and executions in the Islamic Republic. A non-binding resolution is to be voted on Thursday, which protesters and others see as a chance to put the Revolutionary Guard on the EU’s terrorist list.

A letter last week by over 100 ministers to Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, called on the bloc to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “in its entirety as a terrorist organization.” The U.S. designated the Revolutionary Guard a foreign terrorist organization in 2019.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on Monday after a meeting with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in The Hague that they both had summoned Iran’s ambassadors in their respective countries to protest executions of protesters and British-Iranian former defense ministry official Ali Reza Akbari.

Hoekstra said the ministers support moves “to go further with EU sanctions against those responsible, all those responsible for these grave human rights violations in Iran.”

Iran has been rocked by protests since the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Amini, who died after being detained by the morality police. The protests have since become one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s leaders.
…

There is a certain bravura among war-wounded amputees at the St. Panteleimon Hospital in Lviv, Ukraine.

We meet two men on their lunch break from demining roads and neighborhoods. Both are missing the lower half of one leg from mine explosions on the job, and six of their teammates have also recently lost limbs. 

“We are too busy to be psychologically damaged from this,” says Taras, 40, a soldier and father of two. 

“This guy works and has four kids,” he adds, gesturing to his colleague who wraps and re-wraps his stump before trying on a slightly smaller temporary prosthetic. A few minutes later the pair head back out to search for more of the mines that litter large swaths of Ukraine.

The prosthetist, Nazar Bahniuk, explains their quick visit to the hospital, saying man-made limbs need to be replaced or adjusted from time to time, because a person’s thigh is not accustomed to carrying their weight.

“You stand on your heels and feet since you are maybe one year old,” he explains. 

Most of Bahniuk’s patients come from battle zones in eastern Ukraine, the heart of the nearly yearlong war with Russia, but there is no region of the country that has been completely spared, he says. About 75% are soldiers and the rest are civilians, including a 70-year-old woman who recently stepped on a landmine.

The waiting list for prosthetics at his hospital is in the hundreds, adds Bahniuk.

Upstairs in a rehabilitation room, patients use treadmills and a stationary bike to gather their strength. Andriy, 44, lost his leg in September on a mission in Kherson, a city that was occupied by Russia for nine months before being freed by Ukraine and is now under constant attack.

We asked how he feels about losing his left leg.

“I’m sad I lost my time,” Andriy replies. “I’ve been in the hospital for months when I could have been fighting in the war.”

Children prepare

In the Lviv city center, where markets are packed by day with a population long swelled by displaced families, the local tourism office now serves as a press center. They offer emergency first aid kits, body armor and helmets to freelance journalists.

Olga Letnianchyk, a press center official, is also the mother of an eight-year-old girl. The school is open, she says, and children regularly go down into the basement when the air raid sirens go off or bombs hit the region, usually aiming at infrastructure outside of the city. Her daughter has a bag prepared in case of long stays in the shelter, she says, which holds water, a snack and a teddy bear.

But Lviv is comparatively safe, and more than a thousand kilometers from the ground war, Letnianchyk adds, which is why she stayed home when millions of other people fled Ukraine.

“It would be harder,” she adds, “to be outside and not be able to do anything.”

Like many people here, she jokes about the dangers of the war, saying after almost a year, the new ways of life in Ukraine have become ‘almost’ normal.

But only almost, she emphasizes, saying one never really gets used to bombs sailing in from the sky from more than a thousand kilometers away.

“It is mostly OK,” she says. “But don’t look up.”
…