A former U.S. Navy SEAL who went AWOL in 2019 was killed this week in Ukraine, American officials said Friday. They said he was not fighting in an official capacity.

Daniel W. Swift, who was a 1st class petty officer, was injured in Dnipro and died of his wounds, said one of the officials, who all spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues.

No other details were available, including whether Swift’s body has been taken out of Ukraine.

The Navy said he deserted his post in San Diego, California, in March 2019. “We cannot speculate as to why the former Sailor was in Ukraine,” the Navy said.

At least five other Americans are known to have died fighting in Ukraine, according to U.S. State Department statements and reports from individual families.

Swift joined the Navy in 2005 and was assigned to a SEAL unit in 2007. He voluntarily left the service in January 2014, but rejoined in 2015, and was assigned to a SEAL unit a year later. After he deserted, Naval Special Warfare Command stripped him of his SEAL qualification — essentially revoking the trident worn by SEALs.

Swift also worked briefly — just over three months in 2015 — as a police officer in Medford, Oregon. Medford Police Department Deputy Chief Trevor Arnold had no further information Friday.

He wrote a book in 2020 called The Fall of a Man. Its Amazon page says he became a father at age 20 and “by the time he was thirty he had deployed as a Navy SEAL five times to include Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen.” It adds that he had four children.

The U.S. government has discouraged Americans from going to fight for Ukraine, citing concerns that they may be captured by Russian forces and held hostage. At least 6,000 people contacted the Ukrainian embassy in Washington during the opening weeks of the war seeking information about how to volunteer on behalf of Ukraine.

Half the potential volunteers were quickly rejected for lacking military experience, having a criminal record, or otherwise not being fit to serve, Ukraine’s military attache said last year.

An unknown number of Americans have joined units of foreign fighters supporting Kyiv, including former military members. Others are volunteering with aid groups and human-rights organizations. The Biden administration has made it clear that no current U.S. service members are in combat in Ukraine, although there are some assigned to the embassy in Kyiv, including for security and with the defense attache’s office.

The State Department declined to address Swift’s death specifically but said in a statement that it could confirm the recent death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine.

“We are in touch with his family and providing all possible consular assistance,” the department said.
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Thousands of people packed into central Madrid Saturday to protest the Socialist government and accuse it of undermining the constitution, in a rally backed by rightist parties.

Protesters massed in the Plaza de Cibeles in front of City Hall, waved Spanish flags, called on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to resign and shouted out “traitor.”

More than 100 groups – including the conservative opposition Popular Party, center-right Ciudadanos and the far-right Vox – called the rally under the slogan “For Spain, for democracy and the constitution.”

Speakers attacked the government for a string of policies and decisions, ranging from the release of Catalan independence campaigners to its pacts with regional separatist parties. Around 30,000 people took part, according to local government estimates.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal, the only party leader to attend, told the crowd the government had “trampled the constitution by locking up Spaniards,” in reference to COVID lockdowns.

Around 200km (120 miles) away in the northwestern city of Valladolid, Sanchez told a Socialist rally that the protesters in Madrid were defending a “uniform” and therefore “discriminatory” Spain.

In June 2021, Sanchez’s government pardoned the nine jailed leaders of Catalonia’s failed 2017 independence bid “in the spirit of dialog.” Its recent decision to replace the crime of sedition with a lesser crime was opposed by the right. 
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RT France, the French arm of the Russian state broadcaster, will shut down after its French bank accounts were frozen over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the channel’s director said Saturday.  

“After five years of harassment, the authorities in power have achieved their goal: the closure of RT France,” Xenia Fedorova said in a Twitter statement.  

She said 123 employees were at risk of not being paid for January and could lose their jobs because of the account freeze — part of the latest European Union sanctions against Russia.   

Moscow had already warned of retaliation for the move by the French finance ministry, first reported by the unions of RT France on Friday.  

“The blocking of RT France accounts will lead to retaliatory measures against the French media in Russia,” the TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies quoted an anonymous foreign ministry source as saying, accusing Paris of “terrorizing Russian journalists.”   

The French finance ministry told AFP that the assets of the chain had been frozen in compliance with the most recent EU sanctions, and not on Paris’s initiative.   

A broadcast ban for Russian media was introduced by the European Union shortly after the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, and an appeal by RT France was thrown out by the European Court of Justice last July.  

France was the only member state in the bloc to have a registered RT subsidiary, which has continued to produce and distribute programs that are available via VPN internet access.  

Launched in 2005 as “Russia Today”, state-funded RT has expanded with channels and websites in languages including English, French, Spanish and Arabic.  

It has been accused by Western countries of distributing disinformation and Kremlin-friendly propaganda. 
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The European Union says it faced “unprecedented challenges” at its borders last year, with a sharp rise in asylum-seekers arriving on Europe’s southern shores and millions of Ukrainians fleeing to Europe to escape Russia’s invasion. As Henry Ridgwell reports, there are fears that Moscow is planning to create a new migrant crisis on the EU’s borders. 

 
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The U.N.’s top human rights official, Volker Türk, appealed Friday for $452 million to fund the critical work of the high commissioner’s office in protecting and defending human rights throughout the world this year. 

The high commissioner’s office is the guardian and defender of human rights.  It is the global watchdog of abuse and violence.  As such, it puts the spotlight on violators of human rights to pressure a change in bad behavior.  

In his appeal to donors, human rights chief Volker Türk noted there can be no durable peace nor sustainable development without human rights.  He said it was important to bring human rights to life in every part of the world to achieve stability and attain justice.

“We need to insist on action–globally, regionally, and domestically—so that we address inequalities, that we strengthen social protections, that we eliminate discrimination in whatever form, and other root causes of conflict, and that we address environmental crises and misery,” said Türk.

The high commissioner’s office has a difficult task.  There are many egregious human rights crises that need to be addressed.  They include Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the deadly protests in Iran, the continued internment of more than a million Muslim Uyghurs in so-called reeducation camps in China’s Xinjiang region, and the Islamist insurgency in Africa’s Sahel region.

Türk emphasized protecting human rights is essential in combatting these ills.  He said human rights are at the core of the United Nations charter and guide the world body’s principles and purposes.  

“We know that now more than ever, we need human rights to keep the world stable and provide us a roadmap for a better future as part of the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human rights) 75 initiative and beyond,” said Türk.

This year is the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or UDHR.  High Commissioner Türk said he plans to use the anniversary to bring the words of that seminal document to life.  

He is urging donors to support his appeal for funding so his office can strengthen its ability to provide a better future for all.
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Britain’s prime minister has been fined for not wearing a seat belt while taping a social media clip in the back of a car in northwest England.

When Rishi Sunak uploaded the video to Instagram, his error was widely noticed.

Viewers complained to Lancashire police.

Lancashire police said Friday, “After looking into this matter, we have today issued a 42-year-old man from London with a conditional offer of fixed penalty.”

A Sunak spokesperson said the prime minister has apologized for his “brief error of judgment” and he urges everyone to wear a seat belt.

This is not the prime minister’s first encounter with the law. In 2020, when he was the finance minister, Sundak, along with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, were fined for breaking COVID-lockdown rules.

Failure to wear a seat belt in Britain carries a fine of up to $620.
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Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov says Ukrainian forces will train to use Leopard 2 battle tanks, despite Western allies’ failure Friday to reach a decision on whether to supply Kyiv with the German-made tanks.

Reznikov told VOA’s Ukrainian Service on Friday that Ukraine’s troops will train on the tanks in Poland and described the development as a breakthrough.

“Countries that already have Leopard tanks can begin training missions for our tank crews. We will start with that, and we will go from there. I hope, Germany will follow their process, conduct their internal consultations, and will arrive at the decision to transfer tanks. I am optimistic regarding this because the first step has been made. We will start training programs for our tank crews on Leopards 2,” Reznikov said.

Earlier Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army General Mark Milley said no Leopard tanks would be given to Ukraine by Germany at this time. They made the remarks at a briefing at U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany following an international conference on Ukraine support.

The meeting was held amid Kyiv’s frustration with the dissent over sending tanks to Ukraine as the full-scale invasion reaches the 11-month mark. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made direct pleas for tanks at the meeting.

Reznikov said he was pleased with the results, “I consider that the key concepts of this meeting today were unity, timelines of delivering aid, and enhancement of the capabilities of the armed forces of Ukraine to continue counter-offensive operations in order to liberate temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. All the previously announced [military aid] packages have been confirmed. In addition, some new packages were discussed behind closed doors, but I am not at liberty to announce them just yet. This is inspiring. I am very satisfied.”

Austin denied there is a link between Germany not sending its Leopard tanks and the U.S. not committing its Abrams tanks. Downplaying the immediate importance of tanks, he emphasized that an extensive new U.S. military assistance package to Ukraine — which includes 59 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers — would give Ukraine new capabilities in the war.

“What we’re really focused on is making sure that Ukraine has a capability that it needs to be successful right now. So, we have a window of opportunity here — between now and in the spring … whenever they commence their operation, their counteroffensive,” he said.

The new U.S. aid package, worth $2.5 billion, brings American military assistance to Ukraine to almost $27 billion since Russia’s invasion nearly a year ago.

The military package also includes three types of missiles, tens of thousands of artillery and mortar rounds, and additional HIMARS ammunition, with eight Avenger air defense systems. The U.S. already announced it would send a Patriot missile system, while the Netherlands will supply two launching pads for them as well as missiles, Dutch news agency ANP reported.

Austin reaffirmed the allies’ commitment to defending Ukraine.

“It is not only about Ukraine security, it is about European security and about global security,” he said. He expressed confidence the group will remain united and continue to build momentum.

Asked if Germany is a reliable ally, Austin responded, “They are a reliable ally, they’ve been that way for a very, very long time, and I truly believe that they’ll continue to be a reliable ally going forward.”

Milley echoed Austin’s comment and noted this is the most unified he has seen NATO in his 40 years in uniform. He said the U.S. assistance package, along with unified donations from other countries, signify their resolve to defend Ukraine.

“As much as it takes, as long as it takes in order to keep Ukraine free, independent and sovereign,” he said.

However, Milley pointed out that “synchronizing, sending all these armaments and training Ukrainian troops in a short window before spring is challenging; equipment getting married to the people and creating a coherent plan.”

He also said it would be very hard for Ukraine to drive Russia’s invading forces from the country this year, and he stressed the importance of solidifying Ukraine’s defensive front.

Defense ministers from about 50 countries, including all NATO members, met at Ramstein. This was the eighth Ramstein summit since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Regarding tanks, Germany’s new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, suggested the issue was inching forward. Speaking to reporters outside the Ramstein conference hall at midday, Pistorius said, “We will make our decisions as soon as possible.”

In an interview with VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara on Friday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that it is up to Germany to decide the size, scale and scope of military assistance they are comfortable with providing to Ukraine. “We are not there, arm-twisting and pushing and cajoling,” he said.

Kirby said the NATO alliance remains “very, very solidly behind Ukraine.” However, he said NATO allies, as “sovereign nations, they get to decide because they have to have their own national security needs, they have to consider as well, just like we do.”

Earlier Friday, the head of NATO’s Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer of the Royal Netherlands Navy, also said Germany and other countries supporting Ukraine will have to decide individually on whether to supply it with tanks but warned that “giving away stuff now costs money but the cost for all of us will be much higher if Russia wins the war in Ukraine. … We need to seriously look at what Ukraine requires, and if possible, give them what they ask for.”

Zelenskyy said in his evening address Friday that Ukraine will have to fight to secure a supply of modern heavy armor.

“Every day we make it more obvious there is no alternative to making the decision on tanks,” he said.

Zelenskyy thanked the U.S., European allies and Canada for military weapons and stressed the significance of their speedy delivery. “The only thing worth emphasizing is the time, the delivery time,” he said. “Each agreement must be implemented as quickly as possible – for our defense.”

Moscow said Friday any additional tanks supplied to Ukraine will have no effect on the course of the conflict.

“We have repeatedly said that such supplies will not fundamentally change anything but will add problems for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

He said the West will “regret its delusion” that Ukraine can win on the battlefield.

In Kyiv on Friday, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, Lindsey Graham and Sheldon Whitehouse met with Zelenskyy and Ukrainian military officials. VOA’s Kyiv correspondent Anna Chernikova reported that during a news conference, the senators asserted the U.S. should provide tanks and long-range weapons to Ukraine to stop Russia’s invasion.

They expressed their conviction that Ukraine needs this help now, because time is not on the side of Ukraine and its allies. They also said that if Russian President Vladimir Putin is not stopped now, NATO countries would be next.

The senators appealed to their voters, asserting that their money is necessary to restore the world order. The main message to Ukrainians was that the U.S. would stay with them for as long as it takes.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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The White House on Friday announced it will designate the Wagner Group, the Russian private military company supporting Moscow’s war on Ukraine, as a Transnational Criminal Organization, hitting it with sanctions and limiting its ability to do business around the world.

Declaring Wagner a TCO freezes its assets in the U.S. and prohibits Americans from providing funds, goods or services to the group.

“It will give us more flexibility,” John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said in a Friday interview with VOA.

“We were already sanctioning Russia writ large across the board, and some of those sanctions and export controls we know also tangentially had an effect on private military contractors like Wagner, but this is really targeted towards Wagner specifically,” he said of the sanctions that will be put in effect by the U.S. Treasury Department next week.

Kirby said the U.S. is urging other countries to target the group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch and confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In recent years the group has significantly increased its footprint not only in Ukraine, but also in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Mozambique and Mali and has been accused of human rights violations in countries where it operates.

The Biden administration also released newly declassified photos of what it says are Russian rail cars delivering infantry rockets and missiles from North Korea in November for use by Wagner forces. The administration submitted the imagery to the U.N. Security Council panel charged with enforcing North Korea sanctions to push for action on what it says is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions on arms transfers.

“The North Koreans had just been baldly lying about their support to Russia,” Kirby said, adding the U.S. wants to “lay out demonstrable evidence” of Pyongyang’s support.

40,000 Russian convict fighters

Last month the White House confirmed that Wagner deploys about 50,000 fighters in Ukraine, 40,000 of them recruited from Russian jails.

Olga Romanova, executive director of the civil rights movement Russia Behind Bars, told VOA that prisoners who agree to sign the contract with Wagner are paid about $3,000 a month.

“By the end of 2022, the desire to go serve in Wagner group in Ukraine has diminished significantly among the Russian convicts,” she told VOA, citing extrajudicial executions, unfulfilled promises and extremely high casualties.

Experts who study the group say up to 80% of Russian convicts used by Wagner die in Ukrainian battlefields. Out of thousands of Wagner-recruited convicts, only 106 were pardoned and allowed to go home after the fulfillment of their six-month contracts, Romanova said.

Prisoners are deployed without training, organizational capability, or command and control, Kirby said.

“They’re just throwing them into this meat grinder in the Bakhmut and Soledar areas, and they’re paying a heavy price for it,” he said, referencing two Ukrainian towns that are the focus of recent intense fighting.

Kirby spoke of mounting tensions between Prigozhin and the Kremlin, accusing the Wagner founder of making himself “seem more relevant and more viable than even the Russian military” while “trying to fill his own coffers.”

The Wagner group posted a picture of Prigozhin and his fighters in Soledar, which the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have captured last week without mention of Wagner’s role.

Foreign terrorist organization

Kirby would not confirm whether the U.S. is aiming next to designate the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. In December a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced the Holding Accountable Russian Mercenaries (HARM) Act, bipartisan legislation that would require the Secretary of State to designate Wagner as an FTO. A similar measure has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.

In November, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the European Council to place Wagner on the EU terrorist list.

Designating the group as a terrorist organization would not only freeze its assets, ban recruitment, financing and travel of its members said Méryl Demuynck, research fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism.

“It would send a very strong message and has a symbolic function, not only to Russia,” she told VOA. “But also to countries that are already resorting to the group or considering resorting to it.”
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Western defense ministers meeting at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany did not agree on providing tanks to Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s invasion. Still, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the alliance is focused on providing Kyiv with credible combat capability as Ukraine prepares for a spring counteroffensive. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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“I feel bad for the Ukrainian people, and for innocent Russians, too, for that matter,” said Jamie Moorman, an independent voter from Fort Walton Beach, Florida. “But my opinion is shifting. I was in favor of the U.S. providing funding to Ukraine at the start of the war, but at this point, haven’t we done enough?”

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden’s administration announced a new $3 billion military assistance package to support Ukraine in its war to repel Russia’s invasion. As the anniversary of the start of the conflict nears, some Americans are growing skittish about what they see as a blank check to fund a never-ending war on foreign soil.

According to a report published in December by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute, the United States sent nearly $50 billion in military, humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine in 2022. As that number continues to climb, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the U.S. Congress in December to appeal directly to lawmakers and the American people for additional assistance.

“It made me angry, to be honest,” Moorman told Voice of America. “It’s good for us to back Ukraine against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to some degree, but Zelenskyy has become shamelessly greedy. He’s demanding more and more money for a war we have no obligation to.”

Despite some voters’ growing doubt, polls indicate the majority of Americans still back sending some level of aid to Ukraine. In a YouGov/CBS News survey from earlier this month, 64% of respondents said they wanted their representatives to support U.S. aid to Ukraine.

“I feel proud that we are helping them to the extent we are,” James Delawyer, a Democratic voter from Hudson, Wisconsin, told VOA.

“I’m actually more in favor of funding Ukraine’s efforts than I was at the beginning,” he continued. “This is a struggle to preserve the Western world order that’s existed since the end of World War II, and it would be a major blow to democracy and to the autonomy of nations if we let Ukraine fall.”

Mounting criticism

Delawyer said he can see that enthusiasm for continued funding for Ukraine’s defense is waning among some Americans. He is hopeful the Biden administration will give as much as possible before criticism reaches a tipping point and aid is possibly slowed or halted.

Jordan Cohen, a policy analyst at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, said there are indicators the country is moving in that direction.

“We can see members of the Republican Party in the House [of Representatives] are beginning to signal they do not want to continue with unrestricted aid,” Cohen explained. “Americans that support those politicians and that watch conservative news stations are in turn adopting those talking points.”

In fact, a series of YouGov/CBS News polls found evidence of a growing partisan divide on the issue of U.S. backing for Kyiv. In March, at the beginning of the war, the percentage of Republicans who wanted their representatives to provide military and other support to Ukraine was nearly as high as it was among Democrats (75% for Republicans to 80% for Democrats).

By last month however, the polling outfit found the gap had widened significantly. Eighty-one percent of Democrats now wanted their representatives to provide assistance for Ukraine’s defense, compared with 52% of Republicans.

“What is the end goal here?” asked Chad Daniels, a Republican voter from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. “There’s no oversight for the money we’re giving, and we conservatives know Ukraine is a corrupt country.”

“Should we just piss away $120 billion at a time to Ukraine forever?” he continued. “If we can define what the end goal is, maybe I’d reconsider. But now it just seems like a blank check I can’t support.”

Many still support funding

When Zelenskyy addressed the U.S. Congress in December, he expressed gratitude for the help Americans have provided thus far. At the same time, however, he stressed that the aid the U.S. has sent to his country shouldn’t be viewed as a handout.

“Your money is not charity,” he said. “It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”

That message has resonated for many Americans, particularly among Democratic voters.

“It’s important that Putin sees Ukraine has global support behind them,” said Michele Harrison, a retired business owner living in Portland, Oregon. “I don’t know how people can say this is a waste of money. We’re talking about a sovereign nation and a democracy under threat. We see how hard they’re fighting this evil invasion, and it’s our responsibility to back them — we’d hope for the same if we were invaded.”

Even among many who bristle at the growing price tag of America’s backing of a foreign war, there is an understanding that U.S. involvement has global implications.

“The issue isn’t sending money,” Garrick Willis, a sales manager from Fairfax, Virginia, told VOA. “The issue is the amount of money, and the frequency we’re being asked to send it. We’re giving all of this money to Ukraine, but we have our own issues that need attention at home. We’re making ourselves vulnerable.”

Growing debate

Many who feel the U.S. is spending too much in Ukraine point to domestic causes that could be funded instead.

But some in favor of continuing to fund Ukraine’s defense at current levels feel this is a dubious argument.

“I mean, I can understand people feeling like they’d want that money spent at home,” said Daq Bazzini, a musician and Democratic voter from Santa Monica, California, “but most of the people saying that now are Republicans. Where were they when [former President George W.] Bush raised hell in Iraq and Afghanistan for eight years?”

Dillard University public policy professor Robert Collins said that remembering Americans’ attitudes toward the Afghanistan War can be instructive in understanding shifting opinions regarding the war in Ukraine.

“War fatigue always sets in,” he told VOA. “At the beginning of our war in Afghanistan, for example, sending troops over there to fight was popular. But that didn’t last. Eventually, we didn’t see the point anymore and we wanted our people home.”

“I think we’ll see a similar pattern with our appetite to fund the war in Ukraine,” he added. “Even many of the people who currently support us sending money over there will eventually get tired of it.”

A December poll from Morning Consult found that 41% of American voters were “very concerned” about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That’s down from 58% last March at the beginning of the war.

“Personally, I’m more concerned about solving the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine than in giving them more weapons,” said David Brown, a retired information technology specialist in Seal Beach, California.

“Let’s keep giving money to provide food, shelter and gainful employment to refugees and those in need,” he continued, “but Ukraine doesn’t seem interested in a cease-fire right now and unless we stop sending them weapons and money for security, I don’t think they ever will be. This war will go on forever.”
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Ukraine’s new media law has divided critics, with journalists warning it gives the government new, expansive powers, and Kyiv arguing that it brings the country closer to the European Union and will help fight propaganda.

Signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and set to take effect in April, the bill was developed in line with the EU directive on audiovisual media services’ requirements and Council of Europe standards.

While it includes most of the provisions recommended by the EU, the law goes much further and will replace six previous laws related to media. It also increases the government’s regulatory power over TV, radio, and news websites.

Media rights groups are wary, with Gulnoza Said of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) telling Voice of America she sees it as “an attempt to establish an even stricter control of the government over the free flow of information.”

In July and September, the CPJ issued two statements calling on Ukrainian lawmakers to drop the bill over concerns it will restrict press freedom.

Authorities came under criticism in November after journalists had their accreditation revoked for reporting on the liberation of the city of Kherson before government officials arrived. 

The new law will not govern media access, but it will empower the regulatory body, the National Сouncil of Television and Radio Broadcasting, to issue licenses for media companies and impose sanctions on outlets deemed to be in violation of the law.

For registered media, any action would be court approved, but experts have said that the law will make it easier to take action, including fines and temporary suspensions, against unregistered news outlets and without court approval.

“We don’t believe that the framework proposed by this law is that of a totally independent national regulator,” Ricardo Gutierrez, secretary general of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), told VOA.

He expressed concern about the expansion of the broadcasting council’s ability to impose sanctions and fines without independent judicial review.

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine also voiced concern that the council could act at the behest of the government.

“The key aspects that are fundamental for media legislation include the political independence of the national media regulator. We want the regulator in this case to be independent,” said union director Sergiy Tomilenko.

Government officials defended the law, saying that until recently, media were able to broadcast whatever they wanted, including pro-Russian propaganda.

For a long time, the regulator’s authority was limited, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy Taras Shevchenko told VOA.

“The Ukrainian regulator has been completely impotent for most of its existence. You can see that on the example of the pro-Russian TV channels that no one could do anything about,” Shevchenko said. “The expansion of regulator’s powers is a necessary step to guarantee independence.”

Made up of eight people from media, culture, science and legal sectors, the broadcasting council has four members appointed by the president and four from parliament. But a majority party rule has raised flags among media.

Maksym Dvorovyi, who is part of the task force that started drafting the new media law in 2019, said that his working group worked to include safeguards.

“Two authorities that nominate candidates to the broadcasting council represent one political power. Among the legislation’s provisions, we established as many safeguards as possible to offset the political influence,” said Dvorovyi.

Balancing act

Natalia Ligachova, head of Detector Media, a group founded by Ukrainian journalists to raise national media literacy, agrees the council will probably be more pro-presidential but noted that lawmakers amended the legislation around concerns.

“The latest version of the law has been considerably softened,” she told VOA. “Before, any blogger who posted something online or had a YouTube channel or a Facebook, Instagram or TikTok page could fall under the new regulation. This has been changed, and it’s important.”

Lawmakers made almost 1,000 pages of amendments based on concerns by media groups. They removed highly criticized provisions, such as mandatory registration of media, blocking of some outlets without court decisions, and a proposal that would define bloggers and social media users as media.

But some critics still are concerned it could limit Ukraine from having a truly free press.

“Today, our position is less radical than it was in July, but we still believe that this law is not sufficient to guarantee media freedom,” said Gutierrez of the EFJ.

His organization laid out its remaining concerns in a letter to the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

She replied that the European Commission is following the issue closely and that the EU delegation in Ukraine is working with the Ukrainian government and parliament.

Media reform is one of the European Union’s conditions for negotiations on Ukraine’s membership, and Ukrainian officials say the new law is just one of several statutes passed as part of efforts toward EU membership.

This article originated in VOA’s Ukraine service.
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A French Irish citizen held in Iran has suspended his dry hunger strike at the request of his family, who fear for his life, his sister told AFP on Friday.

Bernard Phelan, detained in Iran since early October, will accept food and fluids again, Caroline Masse-Phelan said, but remains determined, and will “start again if there is no progress” toward his release.

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

Iran accuses him of anti-government propaganda, a charge he has denied.

He started refusing food on January 1, and fluids on Monday. Phelan, who suffers from a heart condition and a chronic bone issue, was judged to be in critical condition by Wednesday.

Masse-Phelan said earlier in the week the family had managed to pass messages to her brother through diplomatic channels.

“Bernard has agreed to read our messages and has suspended his hunger and thirst strike,” she said on Friday.

“His life is still in danger,” she said, adding that her brother had received no medical attention, and was suffering from “an enormous drop in blood pressure.”

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

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

Fellow French national Benjamin Briere, who was sentenced last year to eight years in prison on spying charges, is being held in the same prison.

“We are extremely worried for Bernard Phelan,” a French foreign ministry official told AFP on Friday.

“We hold Iran entirely responsible for his situation, and for the state of his health,” said the source, who declined to be named.

Diplomats said earlier that Phelan received his first French consular visit only on January 9, after repeated requests.
…

Ireland’s foreign minister said Thursday the government was doing all it could to secure the release of a French-Irish citizen held in Iran after his family urged Dublin to intensify talks because of concerns for his health following a hunger strike.

Micheal Martin told a news conference in Dublin that “we’re going to do everything we possibly can” to help release Bernard Phelan, a 64-year-old Paris-based travel consultant arrested in October while traveling through Iran in the wake of anti-regime protests.

“I think we have been very active in respect of Bernard’s situation,” Martin told reporters. “We’ve sought his release on humanitarian grounds from the Iranian government, and we’re waiting a response from the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Iran. We’ve been engaged with the ambassador here as well.”

Martin’s comments followed a plea from Phelan’s sister Caroline Masse-Phelan for Dublin to step up its negotiations with Tehran.

“Escalate negotiations with the Iranian authorities to get Bernard out of there. His health condition is extremely bad following his hunger and thirst strike,” Masse-Phelan said on RTE radio.

“His health is extremely at risk. And we still do fear for his life. So escalate, escalate, escalate,” she said, explaining that her brother suffers from a heart condition and chronic bone illness.

Innocent pawn

One of seven French nationals held by Iran, Phelan is being held in Mashhad, a city in the northeast, on a number of charges including disseminating propaganda critical of Iran’s clerical leadership. He has denied all the charges.

“He’s a person who loved Iran, and he was involved in travel and tourism, in terms of encouraging people to visit Iran from a tourism perspective,” Martin said.

At the start of the year, the dual national Phelan began a hunger strike and had refused water for the past three days.

Masse-Phelan said the family had managed to pass a message to her brother through diplomatic channels on Wednesday, getting him to end the hunger strike.

Previously, requests for direct communication with the family had been turned down by Iranian authorities.

She said they urged him “to stop, to eat, to drink and that it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t worth losing his life in this situation.”

Speaking to Agence France-Presse on Wednesday, Caroline Masse-Phelan said under the “dry” hunger strike, her brother would survive no more than a few days.

A diplomatic source said Iranian authorities had so far refused to release Phelan on medical grounds despite repeated requests from French and Irish authorities.

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.

Fellow French national Benjamin Briere, who was sentenced last year to eight years in prison on spying charges, is being held in the same jail.

Masse-Phelan said her brother was “an innocent pawn in a bigger political game,” explaining he had “worked in tourism and for all his life and was promoting Iran as a destination.”
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Campaigners from troubled Kashmir, Chad and Venezuela on Thursday won the Martin Ennals Award, one of the world’s most prestigious human rights prizes, with the jury hailing their “courage.”

The winners are Khurram Parvez, a prominent rights activist in restive Indian-administered Kashmir; Delphine Djiraibe, one of Chad’s first female lawyers; and Feliciano Reyna, a rights activist and advocate for access to health care for marginalized LGBTQ people in Venezuela.

“The common denominator between the 2023 laureates … is their courage, passion and determination to bring the voice of the voiceless to the international arena, despite the ongoing, sometimes life-threatening challenges they endure,” prize jury chairman Hans Thoolen said in a statement.

“We are particularly proud to honor these three exceptional laureates who have each dedicated over 30 years of their lives to building movements which brought about justice for victims or delivered medicines to the marginalized,” he said. “They have made human rights real for thousands of people in their communities.”

The award ceremony will take place in Geneva on February 16, the organizers said. The laureates will each receive 20,000 to 30,000 Swiss francs ($22,000-33,000).

The award is managed by the Geneva-based Martin Ennals Foundation. The prize honors individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional commitment to defending and promoting human rights, despite the risks involved. It raises their profile and gathers international support for their work.

‘An inspiration’

The annual Martin Ennals Award, named after the first secretary-general of Amnesty International, was first given in 1994. The jury comprises representatives from 10 leading human rights organizations, including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch.

Parvez, 45, the founder of the widely respected Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, likely will not be able to attend the ceremony, though. He has been detained by India since November 2021.

According to the prize organizers, Parvez was catapulted into nonviolent activism at age 13, when he witnessed the shooting of his grandfather during a demonstration in Kashmir.

Parvez, who is also the chair of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, has traveled to the most remote parts of Kashmir to collect and document stories of abuse.

“Despite continued attacks on his right to freedom of expression by the Indian government, being jailed in 2016 and losing a leg to land mines, Parvez relentlessly spoke the truth and was an inspiration,” the prize jury said, slamming his latest arrest on “politically motivated charges.”

Djiraibe, 62, meanwhile, pioneered the human rights movement in Chad, and was a key figure in bringing former dictator Hissene Habre, who brutally ruled from 1982 to 1990, to justice, the jury said.

As head of the Public Interest Law Center, she has accompanied people seeking justice for rights violations, with a growing focus on gender-based violence.

Reyna, 67, was an architect, who upon the death of his partner from AIDS in 1995 founded Accion Solidaria to provide medication and treatment to Venezuelans living with HIV and AIDS.

He later helped create the first national AIDS help line and has advocated more broadly for health care access for marginalized LGBTQ populations.
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From Lafayette Park in front of the White House to the streets of London, Toronto and many other cities around the world, activists have been staging small protests to condemn the Taliban’s repressive policies against women in Afghanistan and call for a stronger international response.

While they attract a relatively small number of participants, the protests have increased in frequency over the last year, largely in response to growing Taliban restrictions on women inside Afghanistan.

On January 14, fewer than 100 protesters showed up at Farragut Square Park in Washington to chant slogans against the Taliban’s recent edict banning universities and work for Afghan girls and women. On the same day, about three dozen protesters gathered in heavy rain in Los Angeles, making similar demands.

“In Los Angeles, we called for an end to the gender apartheid instilled by the Taliban,” Arash Azizada, an Afghan American community organizer, told VOA.

The protests take place as women and civil society activists inside Afghanistan have gone silent under Taliban rule.

‘We want to be their voices’

Human rights groups accuse Taliban authorities of forcefully banning protests, detaining and torturing activists, and censoring the media. The Taliban strongly reject the allegations and instead claim they have freed the country from a U.S. invasion.

The protesters outside Afghanistan say they show solidarity with Afghan women whose rights are being crushed under the Taliban’s undemocratic rule.

“We want to be their voices. We want to be their bridge to the world,” said Asila Wardak, a former Afghan diplomat and now a fellow at Harvard University who participated in several protests in the U.S.

The Afghan protesters are part of a widespread global chorus that demands the Taliban immediately reverse restrictions imposed on women’s work and education in Afghanistan.

But the Taliban have remained defiant, giving no clarity about when or whether the will be lifted.

“Anti-government protests outside the country that the government controls (e.g., anti-Iranian government protests that take place in Washington) do not seem to have much impact in the country that the protests concern,” Thomas Carothers of the Global Protest Tracker at the Carnegie Endowment told VOA by email.

“Repressive governments are usually able to control news of such events,” he said.

While U.S. and European officials have often voiced support for Afghan women and have imposed travel and economic sanctions on Taliban leaders and institutions, protesters say the international community should undertake meaningful action to dissuade and disable the Taliban from depriving millions of women of their basic rights.

“Just issuing statements of solidarity with Afghan women is not enough,” said Wardak. “The international community should facilitate opportunities for Afghan women to directly engage the Taliban and demand accountability.”

Azizzada, an activist in Los Angeles, said a meaningful response to the Taliban’s perceived misogyny would be for the U.S. and its Western allies to offer more asylum and educational opportunities for Afghans.

“If Afghan girls cannot learn in Afghanistan, they should be allowed to do so in the United States or elsewhere,” Azizzada said.

Local voices

Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, more than 150,000 Afghans, among them many women leaders and activists, have been evacuated or given asylum in the U.S., Canada and European countries.

Many evacuees have engaged in high-profile advocacy for change in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Some activists have received prestigious awards and fellowships at elite universities, giving them a bully pulpit from which to write for and appear in prominent media outlets.

Now there are concerns that the activists in the Western countries are given too much attention at the cost of women inside Afghanistan.

“Efforts outside of Afghanistan should complement the activism of those inside the country and not hijack the narrative and present unrealistic solutions,” said Obaidullah Baheer, a Kabul analyst.

Even while women are not allowed to advocate for their rights inside Afghanistan, Baheer said, “it should not mean that their voices be ignored.”

That Afghan women have continued to suffer under the Taliban, despite protests and advocacy outside Afghanistan, is not disputed by some prominent activists.

“I believe that protests have impacts on the situation,” Zarifa Ghafari, a former Afghan official who now advocates for Afghan women’s rights from Germany, told VOA. “But I do not have confidence in the scattered gatherings by Afghans, and you have not seen any positive result over the past one and one-half years.”

Taliban officials have largely ignored the Afghan protests abroad or labeled the protesters as Western puppets.

Inside Afghanistan, however, nearly all Afghans have rated their lives as “suffering,” and a majority have said that women are disrespected under the Taliban, according to a recent Pew survey.

 
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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