China ramped up crude oil imports from Russia in May, customs data showed Monday, helping to offset losses from Western nations scaling back Russian energy purchases over the invasion of Ukraine. 

The spike means Russia has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become China’s top oil provider as the West sanctions Moscow’s energy exports. 

The world’s second-biggest economy imported about 8.42 million tons of oil from Russia last month, a 55% rise from a year ago. 

Beijing has refused to publicly condemn Moscow’s war and has instead exacted economic gains from its isolated neighbor. 

It imported 7.82 million tons of oil from Saudi Arabia in May. 

China bought $7.47 billion worth of Russian energy products last month, about $1 billion more than in April, according to Bloomberg News. 

The new customs data came four months into the war in Ukraine, with buyers from the United States and Europe shunning Russian energy imports or pledging to slash them over the coming months. 

Asian demand is helping to stanch some of those losses for Russia, especially buyers from China and India. 

India bought six times more Russian oil from March to May compared with the same period last year, while imports by China during that period tripled, data from research firm Rystad Energy show.   

“For now, it is just pure economics that Indian and Chinese refiners are importing more Russian-origin crude oil … as such oil is cheap,” said analyst Wei Cheong Ho. 

According to the International Energy Agency’s latest global oil report, India has overtaken Germany in the past two months as the second-largest importer of Russian crude. 

China has been Russia’s biggest market for crude oil since 2016. 

‘No limits’

Days before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping greeted his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Beijing where the two countries declared a bilateral relationship of “no limits.” 

Although demand in China remains muted because of COVID restrictions, there has been some improvement in the past month as cities loosen controls after the country’s worst outbreak since the early days of the pandemic. 

This has allowed supply chain problems to ease and industrial production to pick up, official data show. 

China’s overall imports from Russia spiked 80% in May compared with a year ago, to $10.3 billion, according to customs data. 

Beijing’s purchases of Russian liquefied natural gas surged 54% from a year ago to 397,000 tons, even as overall imports of the fuel fell. 

China has been accused of providing a diplomatic shield for Russia by criticizing Western sanctions on Moscow and arms sales to Kyiv. 

Joint goals

Once bitter Cold War rivals, Beijing and Moscow have stepped up cooperation in recent years as a counterbalance to what they see as U.S. global dominance. 

This month they unveiled the first road bridge linking the countries, connecting the far eastern Russian city of Blagoveshchensk with the northern Chinese city of Heihe. 

Last week Xi assured Putin of China’s support for Russian “sovereignty and security” in a call between the two leaders.  

The Kremlin said the pair had agreed to ramp up economic cooperation in the face of “unlawful” Western sanctions. 

The West has implemented unprecedented sanctions on Russia in retaliation for its war in Ukraine, forcing Moscow to find new markets and suppliers to replace foreign firms that have left Russia following the invasion. 

The 27-nation European Union agreed in late May to a package of sanctions that would halt the majority of Russian oil imports. 

The United States has already banned all Russian oil, but European nations are much more dependent on these imports. 

Energy is a major source of income for Putin’s government, and Western nations are trying to isolate Moscow and impede its ability to continue the war.
…

European Council President Charles Michel said he is confident EU leaders will vote Thursday in favor of granting candidate status to Ukraine.

EU leaders gathered in Brussels were also set to discuss the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on global food security, as well as additional EU economic, military and humanitarian support for Ukraine.

The European Commission recommended EU candidate status for Ukraine and its smaller neighbor, Moldova, last week.

The candidacy status is just the first step toward joining the 27-member group. Ukraine will need to meet political and economic conditions, such as meeting standards on democratic principles. Diplomats say the process could take a decade to complete.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation that he had spoken to 11 European Union leaders Wednesday about Ukraine’s candidacy and would make more calls Thursday. Earlier, he voiced his optimism at joining the EU, saying he believed all 27 EU countries would support Ukraine’s candidate status.

Zelenskyy said Russia carried out “massive air and artillery strikes” in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, adding that Russia’s goal is to “destroy the entire Donbas step-by-step.”

The Ukrainian leader called for faster arms deliveries to help his forces match up against those from Russia.

Kharkiv region Governor Oleh Synehubov said Wednesday shelling of the residential districts of Kharkiv or other towns in the region had continued unabated.

“There is no letup in the shelling of civilians by the Russian occupiers,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “This is evidence that we cannot expect the same scenario as in Chernihiv or Kyiv, with Russian forces withdrawing under pressure.”

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video address that Russian forces were hitting Kharkiv “with the aim of terrorizing the population” and forcing Ukraine to divert troops, Reuters reported.

Microsoft reported Wednesday that Russian intelligence agencies have conducted multiple efforts to hack the computer networks of Ukraine’s allies.

“The cyber aspects of the current war extend far beyond Ukraine and reflect the unique nature of cyberspace,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in the report.

The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported. In the past, Moscow has denied conducting foreign cyber espionage missions, saying it “contradicts the principles of Russian foreign policy.”

Since the conflict began four months ago, Ukrainian entities have been attacked by Russian state-backed hacking groups, Microsoft reported. Researchers found 128 organizations in 42 countries outside Ukraine were also targeted by the same groups in espionage-focused hacks, the report found. 

Nearly two-thirds of the cyberespionage targets involved NATO members, researchers found.

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

The European Union’s 27 leaders meet in Brussels this week to consider the membership applications of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. As Henry Ridgwell reports, E.U. leaders also will discuss military support for Ukraine as Russia intensifies its bombardment in the Donbas region.
…

A day before a meeting of European Union leaders, where a vote is likely on Ukraine’s candidacy to the union, Russian forces pounded Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and the eastern Donbas region.

The EU leaders’ two-day summit begins Thursday in Brussels. Olha Stefanishyna, deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, told The Associated Press the vote could come as soon as Thursday.

Last week, the European Commission formally recommended EU-candidate status for Ukraine and its smaller neighbor, Moldova. On Wednesday, Stefanishyna said she was “100%” confident that Ukraine would be accepted as an EU candidate.

The candidacy status is just the first step toward joining the 27-member group. Ukraine will need to meet political and economic conditions, such as standards on democratic principles.

Stefanishyna told AP she thought Ukraine could be an EU member within years. Some European officials have suggested it could take decades.

“We’re already very much integrated in the European Union,” she told AP. “We want to be a strong and competitive member state, so it may take from two to 10 years.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation that he had spoken to 11 European Union leaders on Wednesday about Ukraine’s candidacy and would make more calls on Thursday. Earlier, he voiced his optimism at joining the EU, saying he believed all 27 EU countries would support Ukraine’s candidate status.

Meanwhile, Kharkiv region Governor Oleh Synehubov said shelling of the residential districts of Kharkiv and other towns in the region had continued unabated.

“There is no letup in the shelling of civilians by the Russian occupiers,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “This is evidence that we cannot expect the same scenario as in Chernihiv or Kyiv, with Russian forces withdrawing under pressure.”

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video address that Russian forces were hitting Kharkiv “with the aim of terrorizing the population” and forcing Ukraine to divert troops, Reuters reported.

On Sunday, Zelenskyy had warned that Russia was likely to intensify its attacks this week, ahead of the EU action.

“Obviously, we expect Russia to intensify hostile activity this week. … We are preparing. We are ready,” he said.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday of Russia’s heavy air and artillery strikes in the eastern Donbas: “Step by step they want to destroy all of the Donbas. All of it.”

Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzianyk told AP that in some battles, for every artillery shell that Ukrainian forces fire, the Russian army fires at least six.

Also, Microsoft reported Wednesday, Russian intelligence agencies have conducted multiple efforts to hack the computer networks of Ukraine’s allies.

“The cyber aspects of the current war extend far beyond Ukraine and reflect the unique nature of cyberspace,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in the report.

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported. In the past, Moscow has denied conducting foreign cyber espionage missions, saying it “contradicts the principles of Russian foreign policy.”

Since the conflict began four months ago, Ukrainian entities have been attacked by Russian state-backed hacking groups, Microsoft reported. Researchers found 128 organizations in 42 countries outside Ukraine had been targeted by the same groups in espionage-focused hacks, the report found.

Nearly two-thirds of the cyberespionage targets involved NATO members, researchers found.

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

A no-confidence vote on Wednesday toppled Bulgaria’s government and Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who had pledged to tackle corruption and took an unusually strong stance against Russia.

Opposition lawmakers brought down the government, which took power six months ago, on a 123-116 vote after the ruling coalition lost its majority over disputes on budget spending and whether Bulgaria should unlock North Macedonia’s EU accession.

They accused the government of failing to implement fiscal and economic policies to tame surging inflation in the European Union’s poorest member state.

Bulgaria now faces possibly its fourth general election since April 2021, putting at risk millions of euros from EU recovery funds and its plans to adopt the euro in 2024.

“This vote is only one small step in a very long way,” Petkov said following the vote. “What they fail to understand is that this is not the way to win the Bulgarian people.”

Petkov, a 42-year-old Harvard graduate who had pledged to combat corruption, has taken a strong pro-European and pro-NATO position since Russia invaded Ukraine, an unusual stance for a country traditionally friendly toward Moscow.

Petkov sacked his defense minister in February for refusing to call the Russian invasion of Ukraine a war, backed EU sanctions against Moscow and agreed to repair Ukraine’s heavy military machinery while stopping short of sending arms to Kyiv.

The ensuing political gridlock may also hinder Bulgaria’s efforts to secure stable natural gas inflows after Moscow cut gas deliveries to the country, which was almost completely reliant on Russian gas, over Sofia’s refusal to pay in rubles.

Deputy Prime Minister Assen Vassilev expressed hope that parliament would vote to approve budget changes drafted to raise state pensions and support households as food and fuel prices surge.  

The former coalition partner ITN left the government after accusing Petkov of disregarding Bulgaria’s interests by pushing to lift its veto on North Macedonia’s EU accession talks under pressure from its EU and NATO allies.

Petkov has argued that any decision on the veto should be put to vote in parliament. Earlier on Wednesday, in a sudden shift, the main opposition GERB party said it would support lifting of the veto, but political bickering prevented a debate on the issue.

Lawmakers will now meet again on Thursday to discuss whether Sofia should unlock Skopje’s EU accession. Petkov will maintain Bulgaria’s veto at the EU summit this week, unless the parliament gives him a different mandate.

Petkov has rejected any coalition talks with opposition parties in the chamber but will seek defections from lawmakers to garner enough support for a new government and avoid early elections.

President Rumen Radev is required to call elections within two months and appoint a caretaker administration should Petkov fail to cobble together a majority for a new cabinet and if two other parties in parliament cannot form a government.

The motion against the ruling coalition was proposed by the GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, which is likely to benefit from fresh polls alongside pro-Russian parties like nationalist Revival in a society polarized by economic problems and the Ukraine war.
…

Ukraine war plays a role in blocking of goods to Russian region of Kaliningrad
…

Risk of infection from the disease, which causes paralysis in children in under 1% of cases, was low because of high vaccination rates
…

European Union leaders hold a key summit Thursday and Friday with a top item on their agenda — okaying Ukraine’s bid to be a candidate for the bloc — appearing to be on track. The meeting comes amid heightened tensions between Europe and Moscow as the war drags on in Ukraine.

Hours before the European Union summit, France — which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the EU — offered a confident assessment of Kyiv’s candidacy application.

France’s Europe Minister Clement Beaune said there is a “total consensus” in favor, following discussions among EU country representatives. Now, he said, it’s up to their leaders to formally vote on the candidate status Thursday, along with those of Moldova and Georgia.

Kyiv has been pushing hard to join the 27-member bloc as soon as possible. Some EU countries like Portugal and Denmark earlier expressed reservations. But last week, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen offered a strong endorsement.

“Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective. We want them to live with us the European dream,” der Leyen said.

But it seems unlikely EU leaders will agree to Ukraine’s call for fast-tracking its application. Being admitted into the bloc can take years, or decades.

‘I think if there were a fast track [for Ukraine], then it would provoke some uproar from the western Balkan countries, who have been in the anti-chamber of this candidate status for a while now,” said Tara Varma who heads the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations policy institute.

“I think the Europeans need to be quite careful about how they deal with this,” Varma said. “Honestly, granting candidate status in such a short period would already be quite a revolution.”

France is pushing for an intermediary association for Ukraine and other non-EU members in the meantime.

This week’s summit follows a visit to Ukraine by leaders of France, Germany and Italy — the EU’s three most powerful members — along with Romania. Beyond the symbolism, they promised to deliver more weapons — a source of tension with Ukraine, among other issues.

But while EU leaders have displayed remarkable unity in agreeing to ever-stronger sanctions against Russia over the war, European citizens are feeling its economic backlash.

“Europeans will also have to think about how they deal with the situation at home as well. Because we’re seeing an increasing sense of worry from the European population side and also the beginning of a war fatigue,” said Varma.

Also up for discussion this summit will be the bloc’s deteriorating relationship with Moscow. Over the past week, Russia has cut off natural gas exports to more EU countries, notably heavyweights France and Germany. It’s also threatened EU and NATO member Lithuania over its rail transit blockade of some goods to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called Russia’s own blockade of Ukraine’s grain exports — which are critical for some of the world’s poorest countries — a war crime.
…

A United Nations study finds 222 million children and adolescents worldwide have had their education disrupted by multiple crises.

Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, produced the study. When the organization was created in 2016, the number of crisis-affected children whose education had been disrupted stood at around 75 million.

ECW Director Yasmine Sherif says multiple crises over the past six years have boosted the number to 222 million among more than 40 countries.  

“Conflicts are raging around the world — we know that, but they also are more and more protracted. But the growing record high number of refugees and internally displaced, as a result of conflicts and climate-induced disasters, have also contributed to this number, as have, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic,” Sherif said. 

The study finds 78.2 million children worldwide have dropped out of school entirely.  Education experts say those children are unlikely to resume their education, resulting in a detrimental impact on their prospects and earning capacity. 

Sherif says she has visited countries where most children currently are out of school, and she has seen what happens to children in crisis-ridden countries such as Mali, Chad, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.  

“When you do not go to school, you are very exposed to being — if you are a boy — forcibly recruited into armed groups, terrorist groups, militia, government groups,” she said. “And, if you are a girl, you are exposed to becoming part of a gender-based violence at homes, sexual violence, trafficking, early marriages, and early childbirth.”   

Sherif says the new data must be a wake-up call for all leaders and policymakers as more children are being left behind due to crises. She says the international community must do more to support their educational needs, or there will be far-reaching negative impacts for human and economic development. 
…

U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a “massive act of aggression,” was a major topic during the Global Chiefs of Mission Conference in Washington on Tuesday.

Speaking at the State Department to VOA’s Russian service, Sullivan said, “I think it’s important to understand the scale of the problem and what the Russian government has done through its actions. Almost 15 million people are either refugees, have left Ukraine or they’re internally displaced persons. We’ve heard the casualty statistics — thousands upon thousands of innocent people, men women and children killed, but millions of refugees.”

“So it imposes an enormous burden on Ukraine itself. It imposes an enormous burden on Ukraine’s neighbors,” he said. “The United States, led by President (Joe) Biden, and our allies and partners, have very consciously provided humanitarian and other assistance to Ukraine, to neighboring countries that are Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria that have had this massive influx of refugees.”

“But it all goes back to the decision of a government, really one person – President (Vladimir) Putin, to launch this war,” Sullivan told VOA.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: From the annual Global Chiefs of Mission Conference in Washington, what is the key message from the U.S. ambassadors of the world in terms of the impact of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine?

U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan: I just returned from Moscow at the end of last week for this conference and it’s amazing how the world has turned upside down since the Russian war, aggression started at the end of February, and it’s a big subject of this conference … (of) U.S. ambassadors worldwide, making sure that the world knows and responds to this massive act of aggression and aggressive war waged on the European continent with artillery shells, rockets landing on ancient cities in Europe, sites that we thought we had left behind us in the 20th century, innocents being slaughtered, women and children, hospitals, schools. All because the Russian government and President (Vladimir) Putin decided that he was going to wage a war of aggression and try to capture some or all of an independent, sovereign country that’s a member of the United Nations. And that’s what we’re dealing with now. President (Joe) Biden and Secretary (of State Antony) Blinken have sought to rally the world to oppose this.

VOA: President Biden on the World Refugee Day on Monday recommitted to engaging in diplomatic efforts to “bring an end to the ongoing conflicts” to help refugees. So, what diplomatic solutions are there to bring an end to this particular war? There were many opportunities before, but Putin is not agreeing to anything.

Sullivan: I think it’s important to understand the scale of the problem and what the Russian government has done through its actions. Almost 15 million people are either refugees, have left Ukraine or they’re internally displaced persons. We’ve heard the casualty statistics: thousands upon thousands of innocent people, men women and children killed, but millions of refugees. So it imposes an enormous burden on Ukraine itself. It imposes an enormous burden on Ukraine’s neighbors, small countries like Moldova, who’ve seen their total population spike because of the vast increase in refugees fleeing the violence that the Russian government has unleashed in Ukraine.

So the United States, led by President Biden, and our allies and partners have very consciously provided humanitarian and other assistance to Ukraine, to neighboring countries that are Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, that have had this massive influx of refugees. … We’ve got a program to admit 100,000 Ukrainian refugees to the United States. But it all goes back to the decision of a government, really one person, President Putin, to launch this war. And it’s a symptom (English playwright William) Shakespeare wrote a famous line from, I believe it’s “Julius Caesar:” “Cry Havoc! And let slip the dogs of war.” A person does that, when a government does that, the consequences are often unforeseeable. I think, in this case, it would have been foreseeable that there would be millions of refugees, but I don’t think the Russian government really cared.

VOA: U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said in an interview with VOA in Kyiv, “We all understand very much what’s at stake and that’s why we’re here to help Ukraine prevail.” How confident are you in Ukraine’s overall success, after four months of full-scale Russian war and advances in eastern Ukraine?

Sullivan: I’m not a military expert, but I say this just as a human being, what (Ukraine) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and his government has done to resist this massive aggression is inspirational. I don’t think the Russian government expected the Ukrainian government to stand firm and resist. For President Zelenskyy to stay in Kyiv with a Russian army headed south out of Belarus to get him, that took nerve, that took courage. It was inspirational, it motivated, I’m sure, his fellow Ukrainians, who believe in their country, are fighting for their country and they’re not going to give up. You know, the Russian government, Russian media types like to talk about the strength of Russia. They’ve underestimated the strength of Ukraine.

VOA: Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that he is ready for talks with Vladimir Putin. While the peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have stagnated and as the chief Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamiya, who visited Washington last week, said that Kyiv might resume talks with Moscow only at the end of August. What do you think should happen for Putin to approve a potential meeting or at least a call with Zelenskyy?

Sullivan: Well, it’s something that President Biden, leaders across the world have been urging the Russian government to stop the war, to stop the aggression and negotiate. I’ve seen no indication that the Russian government, that President Putin is interested in negotiating. They want the Ukrainians to give up their resistance, succumb to a Russian invasion, and then they’ll negotiate. And President Zelenskyy, on behalf of his people whom he represents, democratically elected president, said, “No, thanks, we’ll negotiate but not when you’re holding a gun to our head.” I think, as President Biden would say, this conflict will end as all conflicts do — with some form of negotiation. And what the United States is looking to do is to support Ukraine, to support President Zelenskyy, so that the outcome that the Ukrainians want themselves is what’s achieved not only in the battlefield but in the negotiations, eventually, with Russia.

VOA: Do you think that China would have played a much bigger role in urging Russia to negotiate and maybe you had some talks with the Chinese ambassador in Moscow on that issue?

Sullivan: I have not. I know the U.S. government has, my colleagues in the U.S. government have made it clear that our hope and expectation is that China stands with the rest of the civilized world, those who support the U.N. charter, those who are against aggressive war and violence. And I think it’s fair to say there’s disappointment that the rhetoric from Beijing hasn’t been what one would have hoped. But I also don’t know that we’ve seen the type of material support that would actually bolster the physical effort by the Russian government to crush Ukraine.

VOA: Regarding repression of Russian opposition activists and independent media, you met with the deputy foreign minister of Russia on June 10 to protest threats against journalists working for U.S. media outlets in Russia. Also, the repression against opposition leaders like Alexey Navalny, who has been sent to a maximum-security prison, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was detained after his speech in Arizona about Putin’s war. How does the war impact those cases of people whom experts call hostages of the regime?

Sullivan: I’ve been in Moscow well over two and a half years now, and from the day I arrived, there’s been a snowball rolling of the gradual repression of civil rights, civil society, journalists, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations). And it has been law after law that’s been passed, individuals and organizations being designated as foreign agents or extremists, people being driven out of the country. These are loyal Russians who have lived in their homeland their entire lives, who love their country, disagree with actions their government has taken. But they’re forced to flee their country if they’re lucky. If they’re not, they get thrown in a labor camp for a long time. And so this is something I’ve witnessed over the years. It has increased since the war started.

You mentioned Vladimir Kara-Murza. I met with Vladimir in early March, shortly before he was arrested. He’s a friend of mine and he’s a very brave man. He knew the risks he was running, but he loves his country. And he wanted to be there and speak to the Russian people. Of course, he writes for The Washington Post. And it’s tragic what’s happened to him. But it also doesn’t strike me as the sign of a government that’s confident in what it’s doing if they have to treat their people that way. We here in the United States enjoy a competition of ideas and rhetoric, sometimes a little too much, but it’s a strength, it’s not a weakness. And what they’re revealing is weakness not strength.

VOA: Former Marine Trevor Reid has been released from a Russian prisoner in a swap for Russian citizen Konstantin Yoshinaga. Reid’s family said President Biden might have saved their son’s life. Can you give us any details of the negotiations and how difficult it was because it came during the Russian war?

Sullivan: Trevor has been one of the most important cases I’ve worked on since I became ambassador. He was arrested a few months before I was confirmed as ambassador. And I got to know him very well. He’s an amazing American, former Marine. And one of my first visits to him was before he was convicted in a pretrial detention facility in Moscow called SIZO-5. We were having a conversation and just talking about things he needed, books we were going to try to get him, passing messages from his family. And he just looked at me out of the blue and he said, “Ambassador, I want to tell you something. I want you to know I will never do anything to embarrass the United States.” Wow. Usually in my job people want things from me. And to have somebody trying to reassure me that he was going to be OK. Incredibly strong character and I couldn’t be happier for him.

Unfortunately, though, and Trevor himself has noted, that we have other Americans there now — (former Marine) Paul Whelan, (U.S. Women’s National Basketball Association player) Brittney Griner and others who are there, whom we’re focused on now. I really can’t go into any detail on negotiations, if there are any, because it wouldn’t help getting to their release talking about it publicly.

VOA: This weekend, President Biden departs for the Group of Seven (G-7) Leaders’ Summit in Germany. Many discussions are expected to be about Ukraine. From there, he heads to the NATO summit in Madrid. What are your expectations from these crucial meetings? And is there enough unity being shown among the Western leaders? What do you think?

Sullivan: People have been asking me this question for six months and at every turn the United States and its allies and partners have shown remarkable unity. I am confident that will be the outcome, both of the G-7 meeting and of the NATO leaders’ summit. It’s been a mistake of the Russian government and President Putin underestimating the unity of the NATO alliance, of the United States and our EU partners. That was a mistake because we are unified, and we will resist this aggression.

VOA: There have been some European Union disputes about the Russian gas supplies, an issue that has long been one of the EU’s greatest fears.

Sullivan: It’s a short-term problem that we collectively will overcome, and we won’t make the mistake of being over reliant on such an unreliable aggressive and hostile country like Russia.

VOA: It seems like Russia is operating more through the propagandistic channels inside the country, showing that it’s not a war against Ukraine, but a war against the U.S., against NATO, against the West. What do you think about this? Do you think Russian people, from what you see, are eager to receive this narrative?

Sullivan: It’s difficult. I’ve heard many Russians here in the United States, whom I know, I’ve talked to about this … if that’s the only news you hear, at some point it starts to seep in and that’s just all they hear and it’s difficult for alternative points of view to become well-known.

But there’s an underlying sense, I believe, in Russia that something’s wrong and what’s happening in Ukraine is wrong. They support their country. They love their military. But something’s not right and they know it, and you can sense this lurking. People want to know: When is it going to stop? When is it going to go back to being the way it was? And the message is, unfortunately, it’s not going to be any time soon.
…

Elite swimmer Mykhailo Romanchuk doesn’t know if his father was able to see him winning a medal for Ukraine at the swimming world championships.

Romanchuk’s father is fighting in the east of Ukraine, where pockets of resistance are still denying Russia full military control of the region almost four months after it unleashed its invasion.

“He’s in a hot spot and it’s a hard time,” Romanchuk said after taking bronze in the men’s 800-meter freestyle race on Tuesday.

Romanchuk doesn’t dare talk to his dad out of fear his father’s location could be tracked through the call.

“It’s not possible for them to join the network because the Russians can search everything,” Romanchuk said. “But every morning he sends me (a message) that he is OK.”

The 25-year-old Romanchuk – who intends to race the men’s 1500, then the 10K and 5K races in open water at the worlds – almost never made it to Budapest.

“My mind was to go to the war to defend my home,” said Romanchuk, who spent 10 days agonizing with his wife and family over the best course of action after Russia invaded his country on February 24.

“We decided that I cannot do anything with the gun. For me, it’s better to continue training, to do everything that I do best,” said Romanchuk, who won bronze in the 800 and silver in the 1500 at the Tokyo Olympics last year. “With my swimming, I can tell all the world about the situation in Ukraine.”

As training facilities were destroyed by the war, Romanchuk was invited by German swimmer Florian Wellbrock, who finished second behind American Bobby Finke in the 800, to join him in Germany to train.

Romanchuk and Wellbrock embraced after finishing 1-2 in qualifying for Tuesday’s race. But Finke’s strong finish prevented a repeat in the final. Romanchuk finished 0.69 seconds behind Finke.

Romanchuk said he was both “proud and disappointed” of his third place. He said his medal proves “that Ukrainians will fight to the end, it doesn’t matter what the situation.”

Swimmers from Russia and its ally Belarus have been excluded from the championships. Romanchuk said he doesn’t know how he would have reacted if they hadn’t been.

“My reaction could be maybe aggressive, I don’t know,” said Romanchuk, who referred to Olympic backstroke champion Evgeny Rylov appearing at a pro-war rally in Moscow. “Inside of me, I was ready to go and to kill him,” he said of Rylov. “But before he was a good friend. Before. But everything changed.”

Romanchuk spoke of the destruction Russia has caused in his country, the people killed, the lives shattered.

It makes it hard for him to focus on swimming.

“Especially in the beginning when I moved to Germany to join the group. It was hard because mentally you are in the war and you are sleeping just three or four hours because you are always reading the news,” Romanchuk said. “It was so hard in the beginning, but then you understand that all you can do is to swim, to train, to represent your country.”

For the freshly minted medalist, it’s a time to feel proud.

“I’m so proud of all the people in Ukraine. This is all I can say. I’m proud of the people, of the government, the president. I’m so proud of them,” Romanchuk said. “And I’m really happy to be Ukrainian.”
…

Ukraine reported heavy strikes Tuesday in the Sievierodonetsk region as Russian forces push to gain full control of the eastern city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address that the military situation in the eastern region of Luhansk “is really the toughest area right now. The occupiers are also putting serious pressure on the Donetsk direction.”

He said Russia has stepped up efforts to evict Ukrainian troops from key areas.

A spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said at a daily briefing that fighting in Sievierodonetsk was fierce, with Russia conducting airstrikes and shelling on Ukrainian positions.

Serhiy Haidai, governor of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, told The Associated Press in written comments, “It’s just hell there. Everything is engulfed in fire. The shelling doesn’t stop even for an hour.”

“Today, everything that can burn is on fire,” Haidai said. He reported heavy fighting at the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, where Ukrainian fighters and about 500 civilians are taking shelter.

Russian forces control about 95% of the Luhansk region, AP reported, with Ukraine forces holding just the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk.

Haidai also said Russian forces had brought “catastrophic destruction” to Lysychansk, an industrial city just across a river from Sievierodonetsk.

Zelenskyy acknowledged difficulties trying to defend the country’s eastern region but said Russian forces would continue to be met with Ukrainian resistance.

In Lviv, Ukraine, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland met Tuesday with Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova to announce the creation of a team focused on war crimes accountability, the Justice Department said.

“The United States is sending an unmistakable message. There is no place to hide. We will, we and our partners, will pursue every avenue available to make sure that those who are responsible for these atrocities are held accountable,” Garland told reporters.

The War Crimes Accountability Team will assist Ukraine with criminal prosecution, evidence collection and forensics of human rights abuse, war crimes and other atrocities, the department said, adding that the team’s lead counselor is Eli Rosenbaum, a Justice Department official who once led the effort to track down Nazi war criminals.

“America — and the world — has seen the many horrific images and read the heart-wrenching accounts of brutality and death that have resulted from Russia’s unjust invasion of Ukraine,” Garland said in a statement.

The team also will focus on potential war crimes over which the United States has jurisdiction, including killing and wounding U.S. journalists, the department said.

“In addition, the Justice Department will provide additional personnel to expand its work with Ukraine and other partners to counter Russian illicit finance and sanctions evasion. Among other things, the Department will provide Ukraine an expert Justice Department prosecutor to advise on fighting kleptocracy, corruption, and money laundering,” the DOJ statement said.

Also, Ukraine is set to become an official candidate for European Union membership on Thursday, ministers and diplomats said on Tuesday.

Last week, the European Commission recommended the action. After several days of internal EU discussion, none of the 27 member states have voiced opposition to the plan, three diplomats told Reuters.

“We are working towards the point where we tell (Russian President Vladimir) Putin that Ukraine belongs to Europe, that we will also defend the values that Ukraine defends,” Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s foreign affairs minister, said, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday that the United Nations and its humanitarian partners delivered on Monday “12 trucks of critical supplies to help nearly 64,000 people in the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.” He said the cities are close to the front lines of the government-controlled Donetska Oblast.

The humanitarian convoy that reached the two cities carried hygiene supplies, water purification tablets and food assistance, he said.

Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.
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Pavlo Vyshebaba joined the military on the first day of the Russian invasion, having no combat experience at all. Then the well-known Ukrainian eco-activist headed straight to his native Donbas region. During brief calm moments on the front line, he wrote about what he was seeing and feeling. Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
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President Emmanuel Macron held talks Tuesday with France’s main party leaders in a bid to show he is open to dialogue after his centrist alliance failed to win an absolute majority in parliamentary elections. 

The meetings at the Elysee presidential palace come after Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne formally offered her resignation Tuesday, in line with the tradition after parliamentary elections. Macron immediately rejected the offer and maintained the current government. 

Macron’s Together! alliance won 245 seats in Sunday’s parliamentary elections — 44 seats short of a majority in the National Assembly, France’s most powerful house of parliament. 

The leftist Nupes coalition won 131 seats to become the main opposition force. The far-right National Rally got 89 seats in the 577-member chamber, up from its previous eight. 

Macron held successive meetings with opposition members, including the president of The Republicans, Christian Jacob, the head of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, and far-right leader Marine Le Pen. 

Macron also met with representatives of his own party and allied movements. Other meetings were scheduled Wednesday. 

Talks were aiming at finding “potential constructive solutions” to the situation, according to Macron’s office. 

Macron has not publicly commented on the elections’ results yet. 

With the most seats at the National Assembly, his government still has the ability to rule, but only by bargaining with legislators. To prevent potential deadlock, Macron’s party and allies may try to negotiate on a case-by-case basis with lawmakers from the center-left and from the conservative party. 

Macron was reelected in April on an agenda including measures to boost purchasing power, tax cuts and raising the minimum retirement age from 62 to 65. 

After her meeting with Macron, Le Pen said that he “listens,” but “does he hear? We’ll see.” 

She said she told him her party’s MPs will be part of the opposition but don’t want to do “systematic obstruction.” 

“If measures are being proposed that go in the right direction … we will vote for them. If they go in the wrong direction, we will amend them. If they are not amended as we want, then we will oppose them,” she said. 

On his way out of the Elysee, Jacob said The Republicans, who hold 61 seats, won’t enter into any “pact or coalition” with Macron’s centrists. However, he opened the door to voting in favor of some measures if they are in line with his party’s platform. 

He notably mentioned pension changes, since the conservatives are, like Macron, in favor of raising the retirement age. 

The Socialist leader, Olivier Faure, told reporters “it’s possible to move forward” but “we won’t approve policies which would be contrary to commitments we made to the French.” 

Faure advocated for a measure proposed by the leftist coalition to bring the monthly minimum salary from about 1,300 euros to 1,500 euros. 

Macron will also soon need to handle another issue: a government reshuffle. Three ministers — out of the 15 who were running for reelection — have lost their seats and won’t be able to stay in the government under the rules he set. 

While keeping him busy at home, the situation at parliament is not expected to destabilize Macron’s international agenda. The French president holds substantial powers over foreign policy, European affairs and defense. 

Macron is to travel to Brussels for a European summit scheduled on Thursday and Friday. He will then head to a G-7 meeting in Germany next week, followed by a NATO summit in Spain and a brief visit to Portugal. 

 
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Russia has summoned the European Union’s envoy to Moscow to “strongly” protest new restrictions on goods shipments to its Kaliningrad exclave through EU member Lithuania while threatening the Baltic state with “retaliation.”

The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said on Tuesday that EU Ambassador to Moscow Markus Ederer was informed of the “inadmissibility of such actions” and warned “retaliation will follow” if the restrictions aren’t removed immediately. It did not elaborate.

Kaliningrad is wedged between Lithuania and Poland, where the Pregolya River feeds into the Baltic Sea. It has about 500,000 inhabitants.

Lithuanian officials said they imposed the restrictions beginning on June 20 in an effort to shore up punitive measures that followed Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Ederer echoed that line after the meeting in Moscow, saying that “Lithuania is not taking unilateral measures, it is implementing EU sanctions.”

He added that there was no blockade of Kaliningrad as the transit of non-sanctioned goods to the enclave continues.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, dispatched one of President Vladimir Putin’s top allies to Kaliningrad, where he warned that “appropriate measures” will be taken by Moscow “in the near future.”

“Russia will certainly respond to such hostile actions,” Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev said at a regional security meeting in Kaliningrad.

“Their consequences will have a serious negative impact on the population of Lithuania,” he warned.

Some information came from Reuters, AFP, and AP.
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Lawyers for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are urging the Australian government to do more to gain the release of the Queensland-born activist. Assange is to be extradited from Britain to the United States to face espionage charges, in a move approved by the British government late last week.

To his supporters, Julian Assange is a hero who, among other things, exposed U.S. wrongdoing in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. They insist his prosecution is politically motivated.

But officials in Washington have for years said the confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables Assange’s Wikileaks website released had violated U.S. espionage laws and put lives at risk.

The Australian-born activist is in a British prison awaiting extradition to the United States, where he is wanted on 18 criminal charges, including breaking spying laws.

Last Friday, British Interior Minister Priti Patel approved Assange’s extradition.

Assange’s legal team is urging the recently elected government in Canberra to demand Assange’s release from prison. It is reported that Australia is quietly lobbying for his release and has raised the case with senior United States officials.

Greg Barns is a member of Assange’s Australian-based legal team. He told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Canberra had intervened to bring home an Australian terrorism suspect from Guantanamo Bay and a Melbourne-based academic recently detained in Iran.

“There is precedent for Australia doing this. We saw most famously the David Hicks case back in, I think, 2004 when the [former Prime Minister John] Howard government used its good offices with the Bush administration to get David Hicks back to safety from Guantanamo Bay,” said Barns. “We saw it in Kylie Moore-Gilbert, for example. Simply because a case is before other jurisdictions does not mean that Australia cannot get involved.”

In a statement, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Assange’s case has “dragged on for too long and that it should be brought to a close.” She added that the Australian government could not “intervene in the legal matters of another country.”

Since it was founded in 2006, Wikileaks has released hundreds of thousands of secret classified files and diplomatic cables in what has been described as the largest security breach of its kind.

Assange has been fighting extradition to the United States since June 2019 and has indicated he plans to appeal Britain’s expulsion order.

 
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Ukraine reported heavy strikes Tuesday in the Sievierodonetsk region as Russian forces push to gain full control of the eastern city. 

A spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said at a daily briefing that fighting in Sievierodonetsk was fierce, with Russia conducting both airstrikes and shelling on Ukrainian positions. 

Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai reported heavy fighting at the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk, where Ukrainian fighters and about 500 civilians are taking shelter. 

Haidai also said Russian forces had brought “catastrophic destruction” to the city of Lysychansk, located just across a river from Sievierodonetsk. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged difficulties trying to defend the country’s eastern region but said Russian forces would continue to be met with Ukrainian resistance. 

“We have the most difficult fighting there. But we have our strong guys and girls there,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Monday, adding, “the occupiers receive a response to their actions against us.” 

Earlier Monday, Zelenskyy accused Russia of holding Africa “hostage” by blocking wheat deliveries and contributing to rising food prices on the continent. 

In a video speech to African Union leaders, Zelenskyy said, “This war may seem very distant to you and your countries. But catastrophically, rising food prices have already brought it home to millions of African families.” 

He said Ukraine is holding “complex, multilevel negotiations” to try to end Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports. 

“But there is no progress yet. … That is why the global food crisis will continue as long as this colonial war continues,” he said. 

Russia denies it is deliberately blocking wheat exports from Ukraine and blames sanctions imposed by Western nations for rising global food prices. 

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called Russia’s actions “a real war crime.” He told the EU’s top diplomats gathered in Luxembourg on Monday, “It is inconceivable, one cannot imagine that millions of tons of wheat remain blocked in Ukraine while in the rest of the world, people are suffering (from) hunger.” 

Also Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland met in Toronto to discuss sanctions and other ways to boost economic pressure against Russia. 

Yellen said at the start of the meeting that the two would also work together to boost energy production to counter high gas and energy prices. 

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
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British rail workers launched their biggest strike in decades on Tuesday. 

Last-minute talks to avoid the stoppage failed Monday, with the rail management and the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union unable to resolve a dispute about pay and job security. 

Union leaders say pay has failed to keep pace with inflation. 

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warned the strike would cause “mass disruption.” 

The union of more than 40,000 workers plans to strike on Thursday and Saturday as well. 

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Dmitry Muratov, editor of one of Russia’s last independent newspapers, auctioned off his 2021 Nobel Peace Prize medal on Monday, bringing in a record-shattering $103.5 million to benefit children displaced by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Organizer Heritage Auctions did not identify the winning bidder of the auction, which took place on World Refugee Day.

The money is going to UNICEF’s humanitarian response for displaced Ukrainian children.

Muratov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with journalist Maria Ressa of the Philippines for their work to preserve free speech in their countries.

The previous record price paid for a Nobel Prize medal was $4.76 million in 2014.

Muratov said after Monday’s auction that he hoped “there was going to be an enormous amount of solidarity, but I was not expecting this to be such a huge amount.”

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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Two Americans detained in Ukraine while fighting on the Ukrainian side of the war were mercenaries who endangered the lives of Russian servicemen and should face responsibility for their actions, the Kremlin said Monday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, interviewed by the U.S. television network NBC, also said U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, held in Russia for more than two months, was guilty of drug offenses and not a hostage.

Peskov’s comments were the first formal acknowledgment that the two men, identified in U.S. reports as Andy Huynh, 27, of Hartselle, Alabama, and Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, were being held and under investigation.

“They are soldiers of fortune. They were involved in illegal activities on the territory of Ukraine. They were involved in firing at and [the] shelling of our military personnel. They were endangering their lives,” Peskov said.

“And they should be held responsible for those crimes they have committed. Those crimes have to be investigated. … The only thing that is clear is that they have committed crimes. They are not in the Ukrainian army. They are not subject to the Geneva Conventions.”

Family members said last week the two men went to Ukraine as volunteer fighters and had gone missing.

Russian media last week broadcast images of them captured while fighting for Ukraine.

Peskov would not reveal where the men were held.

Two Britons and a Moroccan have already been sentenced by a court under the jurisdiction of separatists in Donetsk on grounds that they were mercenaries and not subject to the Geneva Conventions governing prisoners of war.

Kyiv condemned the court ruling as having no authority and said the fighters were members of the Ukrainian armed forces, and thus subject to Geneva Conventions’ protections.

Moscow calls its actions a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and its allies in the West say the fascist allegation is baseless and the war is an unprovoked act of aggression.

Griner’s prosecution

Peskov said Griner, who had come to promote basketball in Russia, was being prosecuted under laws forbidding the import of drugs.

“Russia is not the sole country in the world to have quite strict laws in that sense … it is prosecuted by law. We can do nothing about that,” Peskov told NBC.

He “strongly disagreed” with any notion that Griner, who arrived in Russia in February, was being held hostage.

“We cannot call her a hostage. Why should we call her a hostage?” he said. “She violated Russian law and now she is being prosecuted. It not about being a hostage.”

Russian customs officials say vape cartridges containing hashish oil were found in Griner’s luggage.

The U.S. State Department determined in May that Griner was wrongfully detained and assigned diplomats to work for her release. Her wife, Cherelle Griner, has said she is a political pawn.
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According to United Nations estimates, since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, some 2.5 million Ukrainians have crossed the Polish border and gone back to Ukraine. Iryna Martynenko was among those who returned to her native city of Sumy, in the northeast. Olena Adamenko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera and video editing by Mykhailo Zaika.
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