N’DJAMENA, chad — Chad’s government said Thursday that it had ended its defense cooperation pact with France, a move that could see French troops leave the Central African country. 

In a statement, Chad’s foreign ministry said the country, a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the region, wanted to fully assert its sovereignty after more than six decades of independence.  

It said the decision to end the defense cooperation agreement revised in 2019 would enable it to redefine its strategic partnerships.  

Chad has cooperated closely with Western nations’ military forces in the past, but it has moved closer to Russia in recent years.  

The decision is another nail in the coffin of France’s historic and colonial role in West and Central Africa after being forced to pull its troops out of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso following military coups.  

The military juntas have since turned to Russia, which has mercenaries deployed across the Sahel region – a band of countries stretching from Africa’s northwest to northeast coasts – and has been fostering closer ties with Chad’s President Mahamat Deby. 

“In accordance with the terms of the accord, Chad will respect the modalities of the termination, including the necessary deadlines, and will collaborate with French authorities to ensure a harmonious transition,” the statement said. 

The French foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment. 

France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, on Thursday visited Chad’s border with Sudan.  

There were no indications that Paris had been given advance notice of the decision, although a French envoy to President Emmanuel Macron this week handed in a report with proposals on how France could reduce its military presence in Chad, Gabon and Ivory Coast, where it has deployed thousands of troops for decades. 

France has around 1,000 troops as well as warplanes stationed in Chad. 

In a further blow to France, Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said in an interview with French state TV on Thursday that it was inappropriate for French troops to maintain a presence in his country.  

He stopped short of saying if or when French troops would be asked to leave, but he said Paris would be the first to know. Around 350 French troops are based in Senegal. 

The statement by Chad’s foreign ministry said the decision to end the nation’s defense partnership with France should in no way undermine the friendly relations between the two countries.  

Earlier this year, Chad ordered a small contingent of U.S. special operations to leave the country. In September, the U.S. said it was in talks for them to return.  

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on whether it has a presence in Chad. 
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GABORONE, BOTSWANA — Botswana has been added as a second center, in addition to Belgium, to verify the origin of rough diamonds meant for export to the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries, the nation’s presidency announced Thursday.

African producers had complained that making Belgium the sole verification center led to disruptions in the global diamond supply chain, as the G7 moved to stop the flow of gems mined in Russia.

A statement by the office of the president said Botswana was granted permission to set up a verification center following “intensive” discussions with the G7 Diamond Technical Team.

The announcement comes as President Duma Boko and Minister of Minerals Bogolo Kenewendo returned Thursday from a diamond conference in Brussels.

Kenewendo told state television it is logical to grant Botswana, the world’s second-largest producer of diamonds, the right to certify rough stones.

She said that Botswana has a track record in verification and certification, together with other countries under the Kimberley Process.

The Kimberley Process is a trade regime that certifies rough diamond exports entering the global market, but it has been criticized for failing to do enough to keep out diamonds from conflict zones.

Diamond-producing countries such as Angola and Namibia should be recognized verifiers because they have prepared through the Kimberley Process, Kenewendo said.

To sanction Russian diamonds, the G7, at the start of the year, proposed that all stones destined for export to their member countries be routed through Antwerp, Belgium, to verify their origin.

African producers, led by Botswana, protested, saying the move caused disruptions to the global supply chain due to delays and added costs.

Belgian-based diamond industry researcher Hans Merket said the addition of Botswana as a verification center will allow more flexibility.

“Botswana appears to be something of a test case with the G7 Diamond Technical Team already explicitly referencing Namibia and Angola as potential future certification nodes,” Merket said.

“By diversifying the certification points, this approach could establish a more balanced and inclusive framework for the G7 certification scheme aligning more closely with the global dynamics of the global supply chain,” he said.

“Moreover, it can also help pave the way for stricter controls and higher ethical standards in the diamond sector, particularly as the Kimberley Process certification scheme faces increasing criticism for its declining credibility and leniency,” Merket said.

Jaff Bamenjo, coordinator of the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition, said more African diamond producers should be added as verification centers because the addition of only Botswana will not resolve supply chain disruptions.

“African diamond producing countries are suffering from a problem they did not create,” Bamenjo said.

Botswana’s export certification center is expected to be operational early next year.
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stockholm — One of two Baltic subsea cables that were damaged earlier this month in a suspected sabotage is back online, a spokesman for operator company Arelion said.

The cable connecting Sweden and Lithuania was repaired as of Thursday and traffic had resumed at full capacity, spokesman Martin Sjogren said.

Two subsea cables, the other linking Finland and Germany, were damaged in less than 24 hours on November 17-18, prompting German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to say he assumed it was sabotage.

Undersea cables transmit nearly all the world’s internet data traffic and are considered critical infrastructure because they are the communication backbone between countries.

Investigators have zeroed in on Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the country sent a formal request to China seeking cooperation to help clarify what happened when the undersea cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea.

“We are cooperating with Swedish police in their investigation of our damaged cable,” Sjogren said.

“It’s very difficult to secure the entire subsea infrastructure but the international cooperation between authorities, military and companies is working very well,” he said.

Arelion, once part of telecom company Telia, owns 75,000 kilometers of fiber network.

Finland’s Cinia, which owns the other cable, has also started repair work and estimated completion by the end of this month.
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TBILISI, GEORGIA — Georgia’s ruling party said on Thursday that the country would suspend talks on European Union accession until 2028, while also refusing budgetary grants from Brussels, effectively halting its application to join the bloc, a long-standing national goal.

In response, thousands of pro-EU protesters blocked streets in the capital, while the country’s figurehead president accused the government of declaring war on its own people with the move.

The Georgian Dream governing bloc accused the EU of “a cascade of insults,” saying in a statement it was using the prospect of accession talks to blackmail the country and to “organize a revolution in the country.”

As a result, it said, “We have decided not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028. Also, we refuse any budgetary grant from the European Union until the end of 2028.”

The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million has the aim of EU accession written into its constitution and has traditionally been among the most pro-Western of the Soviet Union’s successor states.

Georgia’s relations with Brussels have deteriorated sharply in recent months amid EU allegations of authoritarianism and pro-Russian tendencies. The EU had already said that Georgia’s application is frozen.

Georgian Dream says that it is not pro-Russian and that it is committed to democracy and integration with the West.

It says it wants to join the EU eventually but has repeatedly engaged in diplomatic feuds with Brussels in recent years while deepening ties with neighboring Russia.

There was no immediate formal comment from the EU on Georgian Dream’s statement. But an EU official said the impact of Thursday’s move was huge, adding that the government was doing what the EU had feared and had hoped it would not.

Opinion polls show that around 80% of Georgians support EU membership, and the bloc’s flag flies alongside the national flag outside virtually all government buildings in the country.

Georgia’s pro-Western opposition reacted to Georgian Dream’s announcement with fury, while several thousand protesters massed outside parliament and the ruling party’s headquarters, blocking roads. Local media reported that protests erupted in several provincial cities.

Giorgi Vashadze, a prominent opposition leader, wrote on Facebook: “the self-proclaimed, illegitimate government has already legally signed the betrayal of Georgia and the Georgian people.”

President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU critic of Georgian Dream whose powers are mostly ceremonial, said the ruling party had “declared not peace, but war against its own people, its past and future.”

Zourabichvili’s term ends in December, and Georgian Dream has nominated a former lawmaker with hard-line anti-Western views to replace her.

The opposition says that an October election, in which official results gave the Georgian Dream bloc almost 54% of the vote, was fraudulent and have refused to take their seats. Western countries have called for a probe into alleged violations.

Georgian Dream and the country’s election commission say the election was free and fair.

Earlier on Thursday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists that EU membership might harm Georgia’s economy, as it would require Tbilisi to cancel visa-free agreements and trade deals with other countries.

The EU gave Georgia candidate status in December 2023 but has said that a raft of laws passed by Georgian Dream since, including curbs on “foreign agents” and LGBTQ rights, are authoritarian, Russian-inspired and obstacles to EU membership.

Foreign and domestic critics of Georgian Dream say the party, which is seen as dominated by its billionaire founder, ex-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, is steering Georgia back toward Moscow, from which it gained independence in 1991.

Russia and Georgia have had no formal diplomatic relations since a five-day war in 2008 but have had a limited rapprochement recently, with Moscow lifting a ban on flights to Georgia and scrapping a stringent visa regime for Georgians working in Russia.

Opinion polls show most Georgians dislike Russia, which continues to back two breakaway Georgian regions and defeated Tbilisi in the 2008 war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking on Thursday on a visit to Kazakhstan, praised the “courage and character” he said Georgian authorities had shown in passing the law on foreign agents, which domestic critics have likened to Russian legislation.
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LONDON — British and American authorities are investigating after several drones were spotted in recent days flying over four U.S. military bases in England. Britain has deployed dozens of troops around the bases amid concerns the overflights could be acts of deception or sabotage by an adversary such as Russia.

In a statement issued Wednesday, U.S. Air Forces in Europe said that “small unmanned aerial systems continue to be spotted in the vicinity of and over Royal Air Force Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Feltwell and RAF Fairford since Nov. 20.” It said the number of drones sighted has fluctuated and has ranged in size and configurations.

“To date, installation leaders have determined that none of the incursions impacted base residents, facilities or assets. The air force is taking all appropriate measures to safeguard the aforementioned installations and their residents,” the statement said.

RAF Lakenheath in the east of England is home to the U.S. Air Force 48th Fighter Wing, a cornerstone of its combat capability in Europe and home to several F-35 stealth fighter jets, among other aircraft. Four American B-52 strategic bombers are currently based at RAF Fairford in the west of the country.

The Pentagon said this week it is actively monitoring the situation. “The bottom line is it’s something that we’re going to take seriously. We’re continuing to look into it. But as of right now, [it] has not had any significant mission impact,” Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters Tuesday, adding that small drones have become “relatively common now across the landscape.”

Britain has deployed about 60 soldiers around the U.S. bases. British Defense Minister Maria Eagle said they are using “multilayered force protection measures.”

“We will be making sure that anybody that we manage to catch for engaging in this behavior is shown the full force of the law,” Eagle told lawmakers Wednesday.

The nature of the sightings suggests the drones are not being operated by hobbyists, said David Dunn, a professor of international politics at Britain’s University of Birmingham, who has written extensively on the dangers posed by drones.

“It’s particularly alarming in this context that actually talked about there [being] several different sizes of drones. It does seem to be a coordinated and planned activity. The most obvious thing is that these are disruptive practices and that they actually force the airfield to operate in a different way, to suspend air operations,” Dunn told VOA.

The drones can also be used for other purposes.

“They can gather intelligence on how many planes are operating, where they’re based, what the movements are. And, actually, they can also do that for individuals,” Dunn said.

Drones have been sighted above the U.S. base at RAF Feltwell, which primarily serves as living quarters for U.S. military personnel — a “particularly sinister” development, according to Dunn.

“Because in an age where you have highly sophisticated fifth-generation aircraft that operate stealthily and invisibly in the electronic spectrum when they’re flying — and are highly protected on the airbase in hardened aircraft shelters — the most vulnerable part of the overall system is actually the aircrew,” Dunn told VOA.

“And so, if you can identify where they live by following them home onto their married quarters, you can identify where you can actually break the weakest part of that chain,” he said.

The Times of London newspaper reported that authorities have not ruled out Russia as the culprit. Dunn said there’s evidence of Moscow seeking to step up hybrid attacks, meaning a nonmilitary form of warfare that can still be destructive.

“Whether that be the disruption of undersea cables or of incendiary parcels being sent to the city I live in, Birmingham — there was an incendiary parcel found in Birmingham airport. There’s another [example] of a warehouse being burned down, which stored material going to Ukraine. These things are typically, it seems, done at third party, whereby the Russian state, it seems, has employed criminals in the U,K.,” Dunn said.

The Russian Embassy in London had not responded to VOA requests for comment by the time of publication. Moscow has previously denied any involvement in hybrid attacks on the West.
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Russian drones and missiles pounded Ukrainian energy infrastructure Thursday, cutting off power to more than 1 million people across the country, Ukrainian authorities said.

“As of now, 523,000 subscribers in the Lviv region are without electricity,” regional head Maksym Kozytsky said on social media. The region, in the western part of the country, borders Poland.

Directly north of the Lviv region, 215,000 customers lost power in the region of Volyn, and in the neighboring Rivne region, governor Oleksandr Koval said 280,000 consumers were without power.

“Energy infrastructure is once again targeted by the enemy’s massive strike,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook.

Ukrenergo, the national electrical grid operator, introduced emergency power cuts amid the attack, Galushchenko said.

Officials told Reuters that several nuclear power units were disconnected from the network during the attacks.

Private power company DTEK said the power cuts impacted Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.

Some regional officials said water service also was affected by the airstrikes.

The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andrii Yermak, said in a Telegram post that Russia had stockpiled missiles to strike Ukrainian infrastructure and wage war against civilians during the cold season, The Associated Press reported.

Information from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters was used in the report. 
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Tehran, Iran — Iran is set to meet on Friday with France, Germany and the United Kingdom for talks on its nuclear program after the three governments joined with the United States to have Tehran censured by the U.N. atomic watchdog.

Last week’s chiding prompted a defiant response from Tehran, but its officials have since signaled willingness to engage with other parties ahead of the return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose last administration pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against the Islamic republic.

Iranian diplomat Majid Takht-Ravanchi, who serves as the political deputy to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, is scheduled to represent Iran in the talks on Friday.

He will meet beforehand with Enrique Mora, deputy secretary general of the EU’s foreign affairs arm, according to the IRNA state news agency.

Last week, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution condemning Iran for its lack of cooperation on nuclear issues.

The resolution was brought by France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, and was actively opposed by Tehran.

In response, Iran announced the launch of “new advanced centrifuges” designed to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium.

Tehran’s willingness to sit down with the three European countries so soon after the censure comes just weeks before Trump is set to return to the White House in January.

During his first term, Trump focused on imposing heavy sanctions on Iran following the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal three years after it was established.

That agreement between Tehran and major powers aimed to give Iran relief from crippling Western sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear program to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

In retaliation for the U.S. withdrawal, Tehran has reduced its compliance with the deal, raising its uranium enrichment levels to 60% — close to the 90% required for a nuclear bomb.

Tehran has consistently denied any intentions of pursuing nuclear weapons.

For Tehran, the goal of the talks on Friday is to avoid a “double disaster” scenario, in which it would face renewed pressures from both Trump and European nations, according to political analyst Mostafa Shirmohammadi.

He noted that Iran’s support among European nations had been eroded by allegations it offered military assistance for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Iran has denied these accusations and hopes to mend relations with Europe, while also maintaining a firm stance.

‘Legal obligations’

The IAEA’s censure resolution urged Iran to “fulfil its legal obligations” under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ratified in 1970, which requires member states to declare and maintain their nuclear materials under IAEA supervision.

In response, Foreign Minister Araghchi, who was instrumental in the nuclear negotiations in 2015, said Iran was commissioning “several thousand advanced centrifuges.”

The head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, said Wednesday that they had begun inserting gas into the centrifuges.

Centrifuges work by rapidly spinning uranium gas to increase the proportion of the fissile isotope U-235.

Iran insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, but according to the IAEA, it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state enriching uranium to 60%.

Under the 2015 accord — which will expire in October 2025 — Iran’s enrichment was capped at 3.67%.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final authority in Iran’s decision-making, has issued a religious decree, or fatwa, prohibiting the use of atomic weapons.

Iran’s nuclear program dates back to the late 1950s when the United States, then an ally, signed a civil cooperation agreement with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
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Geneva, Switzerland — A young South African activist living with HIV will take over Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron’s Instagram account on World AIDS Day, the United Nations said Thursday.

Ibanomonde Ngema, a 21-year-old activist, will be given the reins to the South African-born actress’s global account @charlizeafrica, with some 7.6 million followers, on December 1, UNAIDS said in a statement.

The takeover by Ngema, who was born with HIV and has dedicated her advocacy work to dispelling myths and reducing stigma around HIV, will aim to bring awareness to the first-hand experiences of young people living with HIV, it said.

Theron, a so-called UN Messenger of Peace who has long advocated for tackling the systemic inequalities that drive HIV infections among young women and girls, insisted in the statement that “ending AIDS is within reach.”

But, she warned, “only if we completely dismantle harmful patterns of stigma and discrimination through laws, policies, and practices that protect people living with HIV.”

Theron won a best actress Oscar for her lead role in the 2004 film “Monster” and has more recently starred in pictures such as “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

“I have always loved watching Charlize Theron on the big screen and have long been inspired by her using her influence to help people around the world, especially in our home country of South Africa,” Ngema said in the statement.

The announcement came after UNAIDS this week released a new report that showed how rights violations exacerbate the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV.

Last year, women and girls accounted for 62% of all new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa, UNAIDS said.
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BERLIN — Russia’s acts of sabotage against Western targets may eventually prompt NATO to consider invoking the alliance’s Article 5 mutual defense clause, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event of the DGAP think tank in Berlin on Wednesday, Bundesnachrichtendienst chief Bruno Kahl said he expected Moscow to further step up its hybrid warfare.

“The extensive use of hybrid measures by Russia increases the risk that NATO will eventually consider invoking its Article 5 mutual defense clause,” he noted. “At the same time, the increasing ramp up of the Russian military potential means a direct military confrontation with NATO becomes one possible option for the Kremlin.”

Under Article 5, if a NATO member comes under attack, the other members of the alliance are obliged to help it respond.

NATO and Western intelligence services have warned that Russia is behind a growing number of hostile activities across the Euro-Atlantic area, ranging from repeated cyberattacks to Moscow-linked arson — all of which Russia denies.

Kahl said Russia’s military would likely be capable of attacking NATO by the end of the decade, adding that Moscow’s war on Ukraine meant that it had battle-proven troops under its command, raising the threat emanating from its conventional forces, while it also mastered modern drone warfare.

According to the assessment of his experts, high-ranking officials in the Russian defense ministry doubt whether NATO’s Article 5 including U.S. protective measures for Europe would actually be invoked in case of an emergency, the intel chief said.

“We don’t have any indication yet that Russia intends to go to war, but if such sentiments gain the upper hand in the government in Moscow, then the risk for a military confrontation will grow over the coming years.”

Should Russia attack one or several NATO allies, it would not do so to grab massive swaths of land, Kahl said, but rather to test red lines set by the West with the aim of defeating Western unity and NATO as a defensive alliance.

“In Russia’s view, this goal would be reached if Article 5 were to remain without effect in case of a Russian attack,” he said.

“To meet this target, you don’t need to send tank armies westwards, it is enough to dispatch little green men to the Baltics to protect allegedly threatened Russian minorities or adjust borders on Svalbard.”
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LONDON — Romania’s top security agency said Thursday it is investigating possible foreign interference in Sunday’s first round of the nation’s presidential election. The far-right candidate, Calin Georgescu, topped all other candidates with almost 23% of the vote, despite polling in single digits before the election.

Georgescu will compete in a December 8 runoff with center-right candidate Elena Lasconi, who finished second with 19% and hopes to pick up support from defeated centrist and leftist candidates. Romanians will also vote in parliamentary elections on December 1.

The Supreme Defense Council, which is led by incumbent President Klaus Iohannis, is due to meet on Thursday to “analyze possible risks to national security generated by the actions of state and non-state cyber parties,” according to a statement released Wednesday by the president’s office.

Additionally, the National Audiovisual Council of Romania, which regulates broadcasting and social media, has urged the European Commission to investigate the role TikTok may have played in Sunday’s vote amid what it called “suspicions of manipulation of public opinion,” according to Reuters.

Protests

Protesters have taken to the streets of Bucharest in the wake of Georgescu’s surprise victory. Uma, a student who did not want to give her family name, joined the protests in central Bucharest on Monday.

“Calin Georgescu, an extremist, a far-right extremist who is a pro-Russian, wants to take Romania away from the NATO course,” she said.

Georgescu has questioned NATO and European Union support for Kyiv in its war against Russian invaders. Romania hosts several thousand U.S. troops and shares a 613-kilometer border with Ukraine.

The 62-year-old presidential candidate has praised fascist politicians in the 1930s as Romanian heroes.

NATO membership, Russian engagement

In a video streamed Tuesday on social media, Georgescu — standing alongside his wife, Cristela — sought to clarify his positions.

“I do not want to leave NATO. I do not want to leave the European Union. What I want, however, is to take a stance, not to kneel over there, not to take everything. We should do everything in our national interest,” Georgescu said. “I have no connection to everything that says, ‘With Russia.’ I am Romanian, first and foremost. … I have no connection, and I am not, first and foremost, antisemitic.”

Georgescu has urged Western engagement with Russia, echoing other right-wing European leaders such as Hungary’s Viktor Orban, said noted political analyst Radu Magdin, CEO of Smartlink Communications.

“Mr. Georgescu talks a lot about peace. And the thing is, we all want peace, Ukraine wants peace. But it’s not easy to have peace when somebody invades your territory. So, from this perspective, by claiming peace, he’s part also of a movement across Europe, which in fact is a translation of what you may call war fatigue,” Magdin told VOA.

Speaking on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was unfamiliar with Georgescu’s policies. “We are well aware of Romania’s current leadership. It is not a friendly country for us. So, we will be watching the further development of electoral processes and who is going to win.”

Inflation

Economic pressures have also driven frustration with the established parties, according to Magdin.

“Beyond the geopolitics, what really bites is the living conditions,” he said. “Romania is affected by inflation, like a lot of other countries, and living conditions are not what they used to be.

“It’s like a never-ending nightmare. We had COVID, then we had the first wave of economic impact. Then we had war in the region, an energy crisis and an inflation wave again. And yes, you could say that Europe has tried to be resilient. But the reality is, we are all tired.”

TikTok

Young and overseas voters appear to have boosted Georgescu’s results.

“On social media, he was dominant on TikTok compared with other candidates,” Magdin said. “His vision is mostly conservative, traditionalist. … For example, he talks about peasants, not farmers, so as to connect with that part of the electorate. He sounds a little bit bucolic. He invokes God quite a lot, as well.”
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President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will nominate retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. 

Kellogg was chief of staff on Trump’s National Security Council during his first administration and was the national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence.

“Together, we will secure peace through strength, and make America, and the world, safe again,” Trump said in a statement naming Kellogg as envoy.

Kellogg spoke exclusively with VOA’s Ukrainian service in July about his vision for ending the war in Ukraine, published as part of the book, “An America First Approach to U.S. National Security.” At the time he said he had not presented the plan to Trump nor was he a formal adviser but said the plan would be one option to consider.

He recommended then that the U.S. begin a formal policy “to seek a ceasefire and negotiated settlement of the Ukraine conflict.” The U.S. would continue to arm Ukraine to deter Russia from attacking during or after a deal is reached, under the condition that Kyiv agrees to enter into peace talks with Russia.

To persuade Russia to participate in the negotiations, Kellogg wrote that the U.S. and other NATO partners would delay Ukraine’s membership in the alliance for an extended period in exchange for a “comprehensive and verifiable deal with security guarantees.”

Under the imagined deal, Ukraine would not be asked to give up its ambition to regain all land seized by Russia, but Kyiv should agree to use diplomatic means only and realize that it might take a long time to regain all of the territories. The strategy proposes partial lifting of sanctions on Russia to encourage the Kremlin to take steps toward peace and establish levies on Russian energy imports to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction.
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Russia’s demographic crisis is deepening, with the nation projected to lose up to half of its population by the end of this century. In response, Moscow is stepping up its war on Western-style liberal influence with a law that fines anyone who promotes a childless lifestyle. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina.
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Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that Russian forces launched 89 drones in a wave of overnight attacks that left three people injured in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration, said on Telegram that falling debris from a destroyed drone damaged a building.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 of the 89 drones, the country’s military said.

In addition to Kyiv, intercepts took place over the Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, and Zhytomyr regions.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it shot down 25 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and Russia-occupied Crimea.

That followed another 22 drones that Russian air defenses shot down overnight, the ministry said.

Most of the drones were shot down in areas along the Russia-Ukraine border, including over the Rostov, Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk and Bryansk regions.

There were no reports of major damage from the Ukrainian attacks.

“The only effective way to protect ourselves from this is to eliminate Russian weapons and Russian launchers directly on Russian territory,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Tuesday.

“That is why the ability to strike Russian territory is so important to us. This is the only factor that can limit Russian terror and Russia’s capacity to wage war in general,” he added.

Countries that have given Ukraine weapons to fight Russia have been reluctant to give Ukraine permission to launch those weapons directly into Russia, but Zelenskyy said he is “grateful to all the partners who understand this and convey it to other partners.”

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters
…

THE HAGUE — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor asked judges on Wednesday to issue an arrest warrant for the head of Myanmar’s military regime for crimes committed against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who took power from elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup in 2021, is accused of crimes against humanity for the deportation and persecution of the Rohingya.

Nearly a million people were forced into neighboring Bangladesh to escape what has been called an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes, killings and the torching of homes.

From a refugee camp in Bangladesh, the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, said in a statement that he intends to request more warrants for Myanmar’s leaders soon.

“In doing so, we will be demonstrating, together with all of our partners, that the Rohingya have not been forgotten. That they, like all people around the world, are entitled to the protection of the law,” the British barrister said.

The allegations stem from a counterinsurgency campaign that Myanmar’s military began in August 2017 in response to an insurgent attack. Hlaing, who heads the Myanmar Defense Services, is said to have directed the armed forces of Myanmar, known as the Tatmadaw, as well as national police to attack Rohingya civilians.

Khan was in Bangladesh where he met with members of the displaced Rohingya population.

Myanmar does not belong to the global court, but Bangladesh does. In 2018 judges at the court ruled the prosecutor could look into crimes which were “completed” on the territory of a member state, such as forcible deportation.

In 2019, Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, formally requested to open an investigation into the situation and judges gave the green light for investigations into “any crime, including any future crime” committed at least partly in Bangladesh or another court member state and linked to the Rohingya.

The move paved the way for Khan to pursue crimes beyond forcing men, women and children over the border and into refugee camps.

The request comes days after a powerful rebel group seized a key trading town in northeastern Myanmar on the Chinese border, taking control of a lucrative rare earth mining hub in another setback for the military-led government.

The military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021, triggering intensified fighting with long-established armed militias organized by Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups in its border regions which have struggled for decades for more autonomy.

In 2022, the International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ highest court, advanced a separate case against Myanmar brought by Gambia alleging the Southeast Asian nation is responsible for genocide against the Rohingya. Five European countries and Canada have asked the court to back Gambia in the proceedings.
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Former Russian federal and local parliament deputies who broke away from Russian President Vladimir Putin and turned against the Kremlin are gathered for a meeting in Warsaw. Former Russian State Duma member Gennady Gudkov told VOA Russian that Russian exiles need to create efficient media outlets to oppose Kremlin propaganda and reach Russian-speaking populations inside and outside of Russia.

See the full story here.

 

 
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Russia launched its largest drone strike on Ukraine overnight with 188 drones, Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday.   

Ukraine’s military said it shot down 76 Russian drones in the overnight attacks that targeted areas across the country and damaged critical infrastructure facilities.  

The air force said Russia also used four missiles in the aerial assault.  

“Unfortunately, there were hits to critical infrastructure facilities, and private and apartment buildings were damaged in several regions due to the massive drone attack,” according to an air force statement.  

The attack coincided with a push by Russia on the front lines in eastern Ukraine, where Russia claimed to have gained nearly 240 square kilometers in the past week, for a total of about 600 square kilometers in November, Reuters reported, citing the Russian army and other analysts. 

For its part, Ukraine reporting repelling Russian troops from Kupiansk, a logistical center in Kharkiv, for the third time, according to Reuters. 

“The only effective way to protect ourselves from this is to eliminate Russian weapons and Russian launchers directly on Russian territory,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. 

“That is why the ability to strike Russian territory is so important to us. This is the only factor that can limit Russian terror and Russia’s capacity to wage war in general,” he added.  

Countries that have given Ukraine weapons to fight Russia have been reluctant to give Ukraine permission to launch those weapons directly into Russia, but Zelenskyy said he is “grateful to all the partners who understand this and convey it to other partners.”   

“Nearly 200 Russian drones against Ukraine in one day — that is nearly 200 proofs that Russian ambitions are utterly detached from any ideas of real peace,” Zelenskyy said. 

Ukraine’s president said rescue operations are still underway in Sumy, where Russia’s barrage of drones targeted a vehicle service station. The president said two people had been killed in Sumy and “one person is likely still trapped under the rubble.”   

Ukrainian air defenses shot down drones in the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia and Zhytomyr regions. 

The power grid of Ternopil in western Ukraine, about 134 miles east of Poland was hit in the attack. 

“The consequences are bad because the facility was significantly affected and this will have impact on the power supply of the entire region for a long time,” the governor of Tenopil, Vyacheslav Nehoda, said in a televised address.  

Serhiy Lysak, governor of Dnipropetrovsk, said on Telegram that one drone hit the center of Nikopol. 

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down 39 Ukrainian aerial drones overnight. 

Most of the drones were shot down over the Rostov region, with other intercepts taking place over Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk, Oryol, Voronezh and Russia-occupied Crimea. 

Officials in Rostov, Bryansk and Voronezh said on Telegram there were no reports of damage or casualties from the attacks. 

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters. 
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Moscow awaits Donald Trump’s inauguration amid escalating military tensions with Ukraine and Western powers following the Kremlin’s use of a new nuclear-capable missile against Ukrainian positions. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina.
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WASHINGTON — Exiled members of China’s Uyghur minority group accuse Beijing of human rights violations and say the Communist Party chief in the Xinjiang region where most of them are from has been more heavy-handed in his approach toward them than his predecessor.

Members of the largely Turkic Muslim minority group said they had hoped Ma Xingrui, with his technocratic background, might moderate the region’s hardline stance, but three years into his current position, observers said the opposite is happening in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China.

“Under Ma’s watch, arbitrary detentions have persisted, and forced labor has expanded, especially in Belt and Road projects,” said Abduweli Ayup, a Norway-based Uyghur activist. China’s Belt and Road Initiative is a global infrastructure and trade endeavor that has lasted for more than 10 years.

Ayup also said that under Ma, 240 Uyghurs who sought refuge in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing were forced to return to Xinjiang.

“These individuals were arrested and forcibly returned to Xinjiang, where their fates remain uncertain,” Ayup told VOA, citing information from trusted sources from China.

Obtaining and verifying information from inside China has been challenging due to the government’s tight control over communications and the people’s fear of repercussions for disclosing sensitive details.

Despite the risks, Uyghurs from within and outside of China rely on discreet networks and encrypted messaging to get the word out, often at great peril, according to Ayup and other exiles.

Activists said they notice during Ma’s tenure, he has not only upheld but intensified the internment of over 1 million Uyghurs, turning temporary detentions into long-term imprisonments.

The United States and Canada have accused China of genocide. The European Union and rights organizations have condemned China’s policies against the Uyghurs and described Beijing’s approach as crimes against humanity.

Chinese authorities deny allegations of repression in Xinjiang, framing their policies as efforts to combat “terrorism, extremism and separatism.”

“China is a law-based country. Judicial departments handle cases in accordance with law,” Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, wrote in a response to a VOA request for comment.

Repression extends beyond Xinjiang

Observers said Beijing’s narrative sharply contradicts firsthand accounts and international reports that accuse China of human rights abuses, including mass detentions and cultural erasure.

Some Uyghurs have tried to move out of Xinjiang and away from the scrutiny of Chinese officials within the region. But the crackdown has spilled beyond Xinjiang’s borders, targeting Uyghurs in other parts of China, Ayup said.

One such case involves Irpan Yarmemet, a Uyghur content producer who was arrested in Shanghai in September for traveling to Turkey eight years ago to study. Ayup said Yarmemet was living in Shanghai for fear of arbitrary detention in Xinjiang. After his arrest, he was detained in Xinjiang. It is unknown whether he is charged or convicted of a crime.

“His hopes of staying safe by avoiding Xinjiang were dashed,” Ayup said. “The recent arrests and forced returns show that the crackdown under Ma Xingrui has no geographical boundaries.”

The human cost

Uyghur exile Madina Mehmet, now living in the Netherlands, said leaving China was a matter of survival.

In 2012, she enrolled at Beijing Foreign Studies University but was forced out after just a year.

“They kept pressuring me to remove my headscarf,” Mehmet said. “They wouldn’t let me live in peace. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

She eventually secured a university scholarship in Turkey, where she lived and studied for eight years. She then moved to the Netherlands. However, Beijing’s reach continued to haunt her.

“While I was in Turkey, Chinese officials demanded proof that I was a student there,” she said. “Even now, they interrogate my mother in Urumqi, asking for my address and details about my life in the Netherlands.” Urumqi is Xinjiang’s capital.

Mehmet said her relatives have also been scrutinized for their travels. She said almost a decade ago, her sister, Mihray Mehmet, cousin and aunt had either studied or traveled to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, all countries Beijing has deemed sensitive.

In late 2021, Madina Mehmet said, the three women were detained in Urumqi. They were falsely accused of being “connected to terrorist organizations,” said Mehmet.

Rights groups reported that Uyghurs who had visited a sensitive country prior to 2017 would be scrutinized for possible arrests and interrogations.

“My sister was an exceptional student,” Mehmet said of her sister, who was attending Xinjiang Medical University when her academic aspirations were derailed by state harassment over her headscarf.

“Teachers humiliated her by forcibly removing it in front of her classmates,” Mehmet said. Mihray Mehmet eventually left university to study in Egypt — a decision later used to justify her detention.

VOA asked the Chinese Embassy in Washington about Mihray Mehmet’s case, and Liu responded by saying, “I have not heard about the case you mentioned.”

Last year, Madina Mehmet’s aunt was released from detention, but her sister and cousin were sentenced to at least seven years in prison.

“They’ve committed no crime,” Mehmet told VOA. “My sister’s children — just 3 and 5 years old when she was arrested — are growing up without their mother.”

Despite the risks of speaking out, Madina Mehmet refuses to stay silent.

“I want the Chinese government to release my sister and cousin,” she said. “They deserve to be free, to raise their children, to live without fear.”

Targeting prominent Uyghurs

Rehmutulla Semet, the vice chair of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Xinjiang and a prominent real estate developer, was also a target of China’s Xinjing policies. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison in 2021 on charges of “assisting terrorist activities” and “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order,” according to a source who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal.

Sources close to Semet fear retaliation and request not to be revealed but told VOA the charges are false. They said he was targeted due to his ethnicity, social status and wealth.

Since Ma’s arrival in Xinjiang, Semet’s assets, valued at more than $400 million, have been seized. Some of his assets were auctioned off on platforms such as Douyin, China’s domestic version of TikTok.

“One of his signature buildings, the Gold Coin Hill Building, a high-rise in Urumqi, was among those auctioned off,” a source told VOA. “He owned similar buildings in other major cities in the region, all of which were officially confiscated by the government this past August.”

Ayup said such prosecutions are part of a broader pattern of stripping influential Uyghurs of their wealth and silencing dissent.

Mehmet and Ayup are part of a growing number of Uyghur exiles who are calling for international accountability and action.

“The world must act — justice for Uyghurs is long overdue,” Mehmet said.
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