The Vatican tribunal said Wednesday it convicted a cardinal of aggravated fraud and other charges because of his “objectively inexplicable behavior” in paying a self-styled intelligence analyst over a half-million euros in Vatican money that she then spent on luxury items and vacations.

The city-state’s tribunal issued 816 pages of written motivations from its Dec. 16 verdicts in the Vatican’s “trial of the century.” The two-year trial of 10 people was borne out of the Holy See’s $380 million investment in a London property but grew to include a host of other financial dealings.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu, a once-powerful cardinal who was the No. 3, or “substitute,” in the Vatican’s secretariat of state, was the most prominent of the nine people convicted. He faces five and a half years in prison after being convicted of embezzlement, fraud and other charges.

He and the eight other defendants have announced appeals, as has the Vatican prosecutor. With the tribunal’s written explanations now filed — nearly a year after the convictions were handed down — both sides can elaborate the basis of their appeals.

The trial focused on the Vatican secretariat of state’s participation in a fund to develop a former Harrod’s warehouse into luxury apartments. Prosecutors alleged Vatican monsignors and brokers fleeced the Holy See of tens of millions of euros in fees and commissions and then extorted the Holy See for 15 million euros to cede control of the building.

Becciu was convicted of embezzlement stemming from the original Vatican investment of 200 million euros into the fund that invested in the London property. The tribunal determined that canon law prohibited using church assets in such a speculative investment.

Becciu was also convicted of aggravated fraud for his role in paying a self-proclaimed intelligence expert from his native Sardinia, Cecilia Marogna, 575,000 euros in Holy See money. He had said the payments were authorized by Pope Francis as ransom to free a Colombian nun held hostage by al-Qaida-linked militants in Mali.

The investigation showed, however, that Becciu essentially double-billed the Vatican, with the same amount of money being sent to a British security firm that actually has expertise in liberating hostages. The nun was subsequently freed, but there is no indication Marogna had anything to do with it, the tribunal noted.

The tribunal, headed by Judge Giuseppe Pignatone, said Becciu never provided a reasonable explanation for why he paid Marogna the same amount of money, or why he never asked her for any updates on her alleged efforts to liberate the nun.

Even when told by Vatican gendarmes that Marogna had instead spent the Vatican’s money on luxury vacations and purchases at Prada, Becciu didn’t file a complaint with prosecutors or keep his distance from Marogna. Instead, they continued to communicate via a family friend.

“An objectively inexplicable behavior, all the more for someone in a position of the defendant, a cardinal prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and for seven years the substitute in the secretariat of state, who for a long period enjoyed the full trust of the pope,” the tribunal wrote. “A behavior, moreover, that the defendant has never explained in any way.”

Marogna, for her part, was tried in absentia and provided contradictory and inconclusive explanations in her written defense, the tribunal said. She too was convicted and sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.

The bulk of the written motivations were devoted to deciphering the complicated transactions at the heart of the London deal. The text also repeated the tribunal’s previous rejection of defense arguments that the trial itself was fundamentally unfair.
…

Pentagon and United Nations — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-hyun, urged North Korea on Wednesday to withdraw from Russia an estimated 10,000 troops, which both countries believe are headed to fight alongside Russia in its war in Ukraine.

“They’re doing this because [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has lost a lot of troops, a lot of troops. And, you know, he has a choice of either getting other people to help him, or he can mobilize. And he doesn’t want to mobilize, because then the people in Russia will begin to understand the extent of his losses, of their losses,” Austin said during a joint news conference at the Pentagon.

More than a half-million Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale illegal invasion on February 24, 2022, U.S. officials say. Russia, they say, is now turning to pariah state North Korea to bolster its forces.

“Kim Jong Un didn’t hesitate to sell out his young people and troops as cannon fodder mercenaries,” Kim said. “I believe such activities are a war crime that is not only anti-humanitarian but also anti-peaceful.”

Western nations have expressed concerns about what Kim Jong Un’s regime will get in return from Moscow for its troops. North Korea is under international sanctions for its illicit nuclear ballistic missile programs.

The South Korean defense minister said it was likely that North Korea would seek nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile technology in exchange for the troops, escalating security threats on the peninsula and across the globe.

UN Security Council meeting

At the United Nations, Ukraine — with the support of the United States, Britain, France, Japan, South Korea, Slovenia and Malta — requested the Security Council meet to discuss the development.

Russia’s envoy dismissed the meeting, saying it was convened to tarnish Moscow with more lies and disinformation, adding it was “bare-faced lies” that North Korean soldiers are in Russia.

Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia’s comments appeared to contradict Putin, who last week did not deny that North Korean troops were currently in Russia, saying it was up to Moscow to decide how to deploy them as part of a mutual defense security pact that he signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June.

Nebenzia went on to claim that the Western nations were making accusations about North Korean troops assisting Moscow to lure South Korea into providing Ukraine with arms.

“We can see the Western spectacle in the Security Council today pursuing another goal. The Zelenskyy regime and collaborators for two years have been trying to compel the Republic of Korea [South Korea] to more actively cooperate with the Kyiv regime, and to have them provide and supply the much-needed lethal weapons. And here, the anti-Pyongyang frenzied rhetoric is very convenient for Washington, London and Brussels, because their own supply is something that the Kyiv regime has drained,” Nebenzia said. “We do hope that our South Korean colleagues will be wise enough not to fall for this trick.”

Since the war started, Seoul has joined U.S.-led sanctions against Moscow and sent both humanitarian and financial support to Kyiv but has not sent weapons, in line with its policy of not arming countries actively engaged in conflicts. On Tuesday, Seoul said it could consider sending weapons to Ukraine in response to the North dispatching troops to Russia.

Troop estimates

Ukraine’s ambassador said as many as 12,000 North Korean troops are being trained at five training grounds in Russia’s eastern military district.

“This contingent includes at least 500 officers of the DPRK army, with at least three generals from the general staff,” Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s full name. “Subsequently, it is planned to form at least five units or formations from DPRK military personnel, consisting of 2,000 to 3,000 servicemen each.”

The troops’ identities are expected to be concealed, Kyslytsya said, and they will be provided with Russian military uniforms and weapons and identity papers. They are likely to be integrated into units with ethnic minorities from the Asian part of Russia, he said.

“According to available information, between October 23 and 28, at least seven aircraft carrying military personnel of up to 2,100 soldiers flew from the Eastern Military District to Russia’s border with Ukraine,” Kyslytsya said, adding that they are expected to begin directly participating in combat operations against Ukrainian troops in November.

The Pentagon said Tuesday that a “small number” of North Korean troops have deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where they are likely to be used in combat against Ukrainian troops. Kyslytsya told the Security Council that they number about 400.

Pyongyang and Moscow are in close contact and are entitled to develop bilateral relations in many fields, said North Korea’s envoy, citing their strategic partnership treaty.

“If Russia’s sovereignty and security interests are exposed to and threatened by continued dangerous attempts of the United States and the West, and if it is judged that we should respond to them with something, we will make a necessary decision,” Ambassador Kim Song told the council.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press.
…

The governor of northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region said Thursday one person was dead and 29 others injured after a Russian missile strike on a residential building.

Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram the person killed in the late Wednesday attack was 11 years old.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian attack hit a nine-story building, and he reiterated his calls for more help in defending Ukraine.

“Partners see what happens every day,” Zelenskyy said. “In these circumstances, every delayed decision on their part means dozens or even hundreds more Russian bombs used against Ukraine. Their decisions are the lives of our people. That is why we must stop Russia together — and do so with all possible force.”

Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said Thursday that Ukrainian air defenses downed a wave of drones targeting the Ukrainian capital overnight.

Popko reported on Telegram that falling debris from downed drones damaged two residential buildings and an administrative building.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it shot down 21 Ukrainian drones.

The intercepts took place over the Rostov, Kursk, Volgograd, Bryansk, Belgorod and Voronezh regions, and over the Black Sea, the ministry said.

North Korean troops

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-hyun, urged North Korea on Wednesday to withdraw from Russia an estimated 10,000 troops, which both countries believe are headed to fight alongside Russia in its war in Ukraine.

“They’re doing this because [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has lost a lot of troops, a lot of troops. And, you know, he has a choice of either getting other people to help him, or he can mobilize. And he doesn’t want to mobilize, because then the people in Russia will begin to understand the extent of his losses, of their losses,” Austin said during a joint news conference at the Pentagon.

More than a half-million Russian troops have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale illegal invasion on February 24, 2022, U.S. officials say. Russia, they say, is now turning to pariah state North Korea to bolster its forces.

“Kim Jong Un didn’t hesitate to sell out his young people and troops as cannon fodder mercenaries,” Kim Yong-hyun said. “I believe such activities are a war crime that is not only anti-humanitarian but also anti-peaceful.”

Western nations have expressed concerns about what Kim Jong Un’s regime will get in return from Moscow for its troops. North Korea is under international sanctions for its illicit nuclear ballistic missile programs.

The South Korean defense minister said it was likely that North Korea would seek nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile technology in exchange for the troops, escalating security threats on the peninsula and across the globe.

UN Security Council meeting

At the United Nations, Ukraine — with the support of the United States, Britain, France, Japan, South Korea, Slovenia and Malta — requested the Security Council meet to discuss the development.

Russia’s envoy dismissed the meeting, saying it was convened to tarnish Moscow with more lies and disinformation, adding it was “bare-faced lies” that North Korean soldiers are in Russia.

Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia’s comments appeared to contradict Putin, who last week did not deny that North Korean troops were currently in Russia, saying it was up to Moscow to decide how to deploy them as part of a mutual defense security pact that he signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June.

Nebenzia went on to assert that the Western nations were making accusations about North Korean troops assisting Moscow to lure South Korea into providing Ukraine with arms.

“We can see the Western spectacle in the Security Council today pursuing another goal. The Zelenskyy regime and collaborators for two years have been trying to compel the Republic of Korea [South Korea] to more actively cooperate with the Kyiv regime, and to have them provide and supply the much-needed lethal weapons. And here, the anti-Pyongyang frenzied rhetoric is very convenient for Washington, London and Brussels, because their own supply is something that the Kyiv regime has drained,” Nebenzia said. “We do hope that our South Korean colleagues will be wise enough not to fall for this trick.”

Since the war started, Seoul has joined U.S.-led sanctions against Moscow and sent both humanitarian and financial support to Kyiv but has not sent weapons, in line with its policy of not arming countries actively engaged in conflicts. On Tuesday, Seoul said it could consider sending weapons to Ukraine in response to the North dispatching troops to Russia.

Troop estimates

Ukraine’s ambassador said as many as 12,000 North Korean troops are being trained at five training grounds in Russia’s eastern military district.

“This contingent includes at least 500 officers of the DPRK army, with at least three generals from the general staff,” Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s full name. “Subsequently, it is planned to form at least five units or formations from DPRK military personnel, consisting of 2,000 to 3,000 servicemen each.”

The troops’ identities are expected to be concealed, Kyslytsya said, and they will be provided with Russian military uniforms and weapons and identity papers. They are likely to be integrated into units with ethnic minorities from the Asian part of Russia, he said.

“According to available information, between October 23 and 28, at least seven aircraft carrying military personnel of up to 2,100 soldiers flew from the Eastern Military District to Russia’s border with Ukraine,” Kyslytsya said, adding that they are expected to begin directly participating in combat operations against Ukrainian troops in November.

The Pentagon said Tuesday that a “small number” of North Korean troops have deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where they are likely to be used in combat against Ukrainian troops. Kyslytsya told the Security Council that they number about 400.

Pyongyang and Moscow are in close contact and are entitled to develop bilateral relations in many fields, said North Korea’s envoy, citing their strategic partnership treaty.

“If Russia’s sovereignty and security interests are exposed to and threatened by continued dangerous attempts of the United States and the West, and if it is judged that we should respond to them with something, we will make a necessary decision,” Ambassador Kim Song told the council.

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

State prosecutors in the country of Georgia said Wednesday that they had initiated an investigation into Saturday’s parliamentary election amid claims that the vote was rigged.  

The Georgian Dream ruling party won the election with 54% of the vote, according to the electoral commission, a figure that would give the party a clear majority in Parliament.

The opposition alleged the election was rigged. Western countries and international observers also raised concerns, citing instances of voter intimidation, vote buying, double voting and violence.

The opposition took its protest to the streets of Tbilisi early this week in a rally condemning the results.

Prosecutors have summoned President Salome Zourabichvili, who is aligned with the pro-Western opposition, to testify, but she questioned why she should provide testimony about election rigging.

“It’s not up to the president to provide proof of election fraud,” she told reporters Wednesday. “Observers and everyday citizens have shown proofs of how massive the rigging of elections was.”

The investigative body, she said, “should have found the evidence itself.”

Zourabichvili charged in an interview with Reuters on Monday that Georgian Dream used a Russian methodology to falsify some election results.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, a member of Georgian Dream, has called on  Zourabichvili to turn over any evidence of rigging to authorities. He said he believed she did not have such evidence.

Zourabichvili said the opposition was calling for an investigation “conducted by an international mission with the adequate mandate and qualification” to look into how the election was conducted. Until that can be done, she said, “this election cannot and will not have legitimacy or trust.” 

Some election observers have been cautious about labeling Georgia’s vote as rigged.  Some observers, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, admitted there were reports of voter irregularities, but the organization stopped short of labeling the election as rigged.

Russia has denied any interference in Georgia’s election.   

Georgia’s election came at a crucial moment for the former Soviet republic as it seeks to join the European Union. However, Georgian Dream is seen by many as more aligned with Russia than with the EU.
…

There are growing fears that Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of aging oil tankers, which it uses to bypass the Western price cap, poses an environmental threat. A new report from the Kyiv School of Economics warns that an oil spill is “only a matter of time” and urges the international community to do more to take the vessels out of operation. Henry Ridgwell has more.
…

LONDON — Britain has detected its first case of new mpox variant clade Ib, the country’s health security agency (UKHSA) said Wednesday, adding that the risk to the population remained low.  

The clade Ib variant is a new form of the virus that was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in August after an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to neighboring countries in Africa.  

The case, in a patient who had recently traveled to affected countries in Africa, was detected in London and the individual has been transferred to a specialist hospital, the UKHSA said.  

Close contacts of the case are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organizations, the UKHSA added.  

There have been cases of mpox clade Ib reported in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Sweden, India and Germany, as well as Congo. It is a different form of the virus from clade II, which spread globally in 2022, largely among men who have sex with men.  

Mpox is a viral infection that typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, and while usually mild it can kill. Clade Ib is thought to cause more severe disease than clade II.  

Both forms can be transmitted through close physical contact, including sexual contact.  

The United Kingdom authorities said they would not provide any more details about the patient, but added that the person’s contacts were being followed up and would be offered testing and vaccination as needed, as well as further care if they test positive or have symptoms.  

According to the latest WHO figures, there have been more than 44,000 confirmed and suspected cases of mpox in Africa this year, and more than 1,000 deaths, largely in Congo.
…

WASHINGTON — Reports that billionaire Elon Musk has been talking on a consistent basis with Russian President Vladimir Putin are still reverberating among current and former U.S. officials, almost a week after news of the conversations first surfaced.

Musk, who owns electric car maker Tesla and the X social media platform, also owns SpaceX, a commercial spaceflight company that has numerous contracts with the U.S. government, doing work for the Department of Defense and U.S. space agency NASA.

Some of that work is so sensitive that the United States has given Musk high-level security clearances due to his knowledge of the programs, raising concerns among some that top secret U.S. information and capabilities could be at risk.

According to current and former U.S., European and Russian officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, such concerns may be warranted.

During one conversation, those officials said, Putin allegedly asked Musk not to activate Starlink, a SpaceX subsidiary that provides satellite internet services, over Taiwan as a favor to China.

“I think it should be investigated,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson told the Semafor World Economy Summit on Friday, a day after The Journal published its report.

“I don’t know that that story is true,” Nelson said, adding, if it is, “I think that would be concerning, particularly for NASA, for the Department of Defense, for some of the intelligence agencies.”

Russia and Musk deny frequent calls

Musk has previously denied frequent calls with Putin. In 2022, Musk said he had spoken to the Russian leader just once, but The Journal said there have been repeated conversations since then.

Musk has not commented or responded to the Journal article on X. Russia has also denied there have been frequent conversations between Putin and Musk.

The Pentagon has so far declined to refute or confirm the allegations.

“We have seen the reporting from The Wall Street Journal but cannot corroborate the veracity of those reports,” Defense Department spokesperson Sue Gough told VOA in an email late Friday.

“[We] would refer you to Mr. Musk to speak to his private communications,” Gough said, adding that, by law, the department does not comment on the details or status of anyone’s security clearance.

“We expect everyone who has been granted a security clearance, including contractors, to follow the prescribed procedures for reporting foreign contacts,” she said.

Former U.S. intelligence officials who spoke to VOA said the reported conversations, since confirmed by other U.S. news organizations citing their own confidential sources, raise significant questions.

“There is no doubt that Russia is cultivating many possible channels of influence in the United States and other Western countries,” said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA officer who now teaches at Georgetown University.

“Russia would regard a wealthy and influential business mogul such as Musk as potentially a highly useful channel and thus a relationship worth nurturing,” he said.

Larry Pfeiffer, a former CIA chief of staff and former senior director of the White House Situation Room, is also wary.

“It does get the spider-sense tingling,” he told VOA.

“If the reports of Musk’s repeated conversations with Vladimir Putin are true, I would definitely have some concerns,” Pfeiffer said. “Russia under Putin will cultivate support wherever it can be bought, cajoled or coerced.

“Putin has equal opportunity security services that will take advantage of any opportunity to get foreign business leaders to influence their governments to align with Russian interests,” he said.

Concerns don’t equal wrongdoing

Former officials like Pillar and Pfeiffer, though, caution there is a difference between concerns and actual wrongdoing.

Other former officials note that even if Musk engaged in conversations that could make some in government uncomfortable, just having those conversations is not necessarily illegal.

“Americans are allowed to talk to essentially whomever they want,” said a former national security prosecutor, who spoke to VOA on the condition of anonymity. “There’s no inherent limitation.”

And in the case of a high-profile individual who oversees companies with global reach, conversations with foreign officials could be unavoidable.

“For a businessman, there may be commercially legitimate reasons to have those communications,” the former prosecutor said. “It’s when a businessman is having those communications, perhaps for political reasons or even proto-diplomatic reasons, that it gets probably more concerning from a counterintelligence perspective.”

There also may not be any legal issues with a potential failure by someone like Musk to voluntarily disclose conversations with foreign leaders. Hiding such conversations when asked about them, however, could wade into criminal territory.

Still, given the value the U.S. gets from Musk’s companies, U.S. officials may feel like they have little recourse.

“It is one of those unfair things in life that if the government has a unique need for you, you can get away with more and still get a security clearance,” the former prosecutor said. “Someone who has unique value is going to get more accommodation.”
…

China’s response to Russia’s growing influence over North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Un, likely combines “exasperation” and “panic” as Beijing appears to be losing control over its client state, according to former U.S. policy and intelligence officials.

They noted that the explicit security partnership between China’s two neighbors —Russia and North Korea — could undermine China’s strategic position in East Asia and has long-term implications that are not beneficial for China.

On Wednesday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced that North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui will hold “strategic consultations” in Moscow with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, as the United States, South Korea, and NATO express alarm that Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to train in Russia.

U.S. officials believe Russia intends to use North Korean soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region. South Korea has condemned that as a significant security threat to the international community.

In Beijing, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, and Russian deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko held talks Wednesday, with Wang reaffirming the strong ties between the two nations. The officials exchanged views on Ukraine but did not disclose details of their discussion.

But Chinese officials have avoided direct comments on North Korea dispatching thousands of troops to Russia.

“China calls for all parties to deescalate the situation and strive for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. This position remains unchanged,” Lin Jian, a spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, repeated Beijing’s stance during a briefing on Tuesday.  

China’s panic

“The radio silence in Beijing on this subject is staggering,” said Dennis Wilder, a former senior intelligence official with the CIA.

Wilder said Chinese President Xi Jinping is unlikely to say anything publicly as he faces an unpredictable Kim Jong Un.

“The Chinese have been very careful about nuclear assistance to the North Koreans, keeping them on IV drip of economic support so North Korea remains stable. But if [Russian President Vladimir] Putin goes down the road of nuclear assistance, this will bolster the American alliances in East Asia, maybe creating a true NATO.”

“And so [Chinese President Xi Jinping is] in a very, very difficult spot,” said Wilder during a seminar hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, on Tuesday.

Wilder suggested that the U.S. could leverage its intelligence channels with China for joint data collection and analysis.

Former White House national security council senior official Victor Cha said that by sending troops, North Korea is making a “downpayment” to Russia on a mutual security partnership — something Pyongyang could never secure from Beijing.

In China, he said, “There’s probably a combination of a little bit of exasperation, a little bit of panic and a little bit of they don’t know what to do with regard to the current situation.

“The panic is that Russia now has arguably much more influence over North Korea than China does,” added Cha, who is currently president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at CSIS.

Both Wilder and Cha served on former U.S. president George W. Bush’s National Security Council.

Language barrier  

Other military analysts noted that while North Korean soldiers could gain real-world experience in combat operations simply by deploying to another country, they would also encounter significant challenges.

“You also have an immense language problem,” said Colonel Mark Cancian, who spent over three decades in the U.S. Marine Corps and is now a senior adviser with the CSIS International Security Program. 

He questioned how a group of North Koreans could effectively integrate with a Russian military unit and communicate and operate together.

The possibility of Russia transferring technology related to ballistic missiles, air defenses and nuclear weapons to North Korea is “probably the most dangerous” scenario from the U.S. point of view, according to Cancian.

Violation of UNSC resolutions

On Tuesday, U.S. officials disputed Russian foreign minister Lavrov’s assertion that military assistance between Russia and North Korea does not violate international law.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Tuesday that “Russia’s training of DPRK soldiers involving arms or related material,” as well as “any training or assistance involving DPRK soldiers in the use of ballistic missiles or other arms,” constitutes a direct violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions. He was referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced plans to exchange delegations to coordinate actions and share intelligence regarding North Korean troop deployments to Russia.

This week, Kyiv’s special envoy to South Korea will begin talks with South Korean officials.

In Washington, U.S. officials said they would welcome increased South Korean support for Ukraine. The South Korean government indicated that it would consider sending “weapons for defense and attack” and may also dispatch military and intelligence personnel to Ukraine to analyze North Korean battlefield tactics and assist in interrogations of captured North Koreans.

“We, of course, welcome any country supporting our Ukrainian partners as they continue to defend their territorial integrity and sovereignty,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told VOA during a recent briefing.
…

London — Thousands of Russians, including soldiers, have fled their country to seek asylum in the West since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, although only a fraction of asylum applications has been approved. However, in a landmark case, France has allowed several Russian army deserters to enter the country to seek refugee status. Anti-war activists hope it will prompt more Russian soldiers to flee.

Alexander, who does not want to give his family name for fear of political retaliation, is among the six Russian men and four of their partners permitted to enter France in recent months. He and his wife, Irina, are now living in the French city of Caen as they await a court decision on their asylum applications.

In January 2022, as Russia was preparing its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Alexander recounted that he was told to go to Russian-occupied Crimea for military exercises. He did not want to go — but was told he had no choice.

Instead, his unit crossed the border into Ukraine as part of the invasion force. 

“I was personally in shock; I didn’t understand what was happening,” Alexander told Agence France-Presse in an interview. “We had just crossed the border into Ukraine. I went to see my commander and asked him: ‘What’s going on? Why are we here? Why have we crossed the border? Why are we on the territory of another country?’ … I didn’t get any answers to my questions.”

Alexander eventually managed to flee the army. “I realized then that I only had two choices: either leave Russia or go to prison. Because going back to the front — I didn’t have the slightest desire, nor the moral possibility,” he said.

“Maybe, thanks to my example, someone will be inspired and want to quit the army. The weaker the army at the front is, the fewer people there are, the quicker the war will end and Ukraine will win,” the 26-year-old told AFP.

Alexander and Irina initially fled to Kazakhstan, where they connected with other Russians escaping the war. However, many Russian exiles say they don’t feel safe in former Soviet countries. Army deserters face 10 years or more in prison if caught and returned to Russia. 

A French court ruled in 2023 that Russians who refuse to fight can claim refugee status, but most are not able to travel abroad to lodge an asylum application, said Ian Bond, a Russia expert and deputy director of the Centre for European Reform.

“It’s relatively easy for Russians still to get to countries in the former Soviet Union. Russians have two passports — they have an internal passport and some have a foreign passport. Particularly for people of military age or active servicemen, even getting their hands on a foreign passport is extremely difficult,” Bond told VOA.

But France granted permission for Alexander and Irina, along with eight other Russians, to enter the country and apply for asylum. It’s believed they arrived in Paris on separate flights from Kazakhstan without passports or travel documents, although the exact details of their journeys have not been released.

“There are a number of ways in which they could have gotten to France, and I think they’re not the first Russian deserters to get asylum in the West. But this seems to be a larger group — rather than in the past [when] I think there have just been some scattered individuals,” said analyst Bond.

The decision followed months of advocacy and campaigning by organizations like Paris-based Russie-Libertes, which encourage Russians to desert the army. The groups say the deserters were meticulously vetted for their anti-war stance.

Olga Prokopieva, the head of Russie-Libertes, said France’s decision to allow the group of army deserters into the country was “unprecedented” and urged other European countries to follow suit. “It has taken us a year of talks. We have tried so many things,” she told Agence France-Presse.

However, Prokopieva told VOA via email on October 29 that Russie-Libertes would no longer be commenting on or publicizing the case, an indication of the sensitivity of the asylum applications.

Get Lost, a Georgia-based organization that helps Russians flee their country, claims to have aided more than 38,000 people, including thousands of soldiers. It also helped Alexander and Irina, along with the eight other Russians allowed to enter France.

Many European nations will have security concerns, said Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform.

“There will be some, maybe in eastern Europe, who will say Russians are always a security risk; we should not be encouraging this. There will be others, and I would be among them, who would say the more people that we can encourage to leave Russia, the more acute [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s shortage of manpower will be — not just for the armed forces, but also for the military industrial complex.” 

“I think the fact that Russia has brought some thousands of North Korean troops to the battlefield is an indication that the manpower shortage is really starting to bite. But certainly, you’ll have to scrutinize these people quite closely to make sure that you aren’t importing Russian special forces disguised as deserters,” Bond told VOA.

It’s not clear if France intends to allow more Russian deserters to enter the country and claim asylum. The French foreign ministry did not respond to VOA requests for comment.

Since fleeing Russia, deserter Alexander and Irina have created a YouTube channel aimed at other Russian soldiers.

“Maybe with the help of this YouTube channel, the soldiers who have already taken this step, who have left their unit, Russia, the conflict zone, will be able to pass on these ideas to those who are still there, who are at a crossroads, who decide to flee or stay,” Irina said.

Sergei, another of the Russian deserters permitted to enter France, said Russian soldiers always have a choice.

“There is always a possibility to lay down your arms, not to kill other people and to end your participation in this war,” the 27-year-old told AFP.   Thousands of Russians, including soldiers, have fled their country to seek asylum in the West since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, although only a fraction of asylum applications has been approved. However, in a landmark case, France has allowed several Russian army deserters to enter the country to seek refugee status. Anti-war activists hope it will prompt more Russian soldiers to flee.

Alexander, who does not want to give his family name for fear of political retaliation, is among the six Russian men and four of their partners permitted to enter France in recent months. He and his wife, Irina, are now living in the French city of Caen as they await a court decision on their asylum applications.

In January 2022, as Russia was preparing its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Alexander recounted that he was told to go to Russian-occupied Crimea for military exercises. He did not want to go — but was told he had no choice.

Instead, his unit crossed the border into Ukraine as part of the invasion force. 

“I was personally in shock; I didn’t understand what was happening,” Alexander told Agence France-Presse in an interview. “We had just crossed the border into Ukraine. I went to see my commander and asked him: ‘What’s going on? Why are we here? Why have we crossed the border? Why are we on the territory of another country?’ … I didn’t get any answers to my questions.”

Alexander eventually managed to flee the army. “I realized then that I only had two choices: either leave Russia or go to prison. Because going back to the front — I didn’t have the slightest desire, nor the moral possibility,” he said.

“Maybe, thanks to my example, someone will be inspired and want to quit the army. The weaker the army at the front is, the fewer people there are, the quicker the war will end and Ukraine will win,” the 26-year-old told AFP.

Alexander and Irina initially fled to Kazakhstan, where they connected with other Russians escaping the war. However, many Russian exiles say they don’t feel safe in former Soviet countries. Army deserters face 10 years or more in prison if caught and returned to Russia. 

A French court ruled in 2023 that Russians who refuse to fight can claim refugee status, but most are not able to travel abroad to lodge an asylum application, said Ian Bond, a Russia expert and deputy director of the Centre for European Reform.

“It’s relatively easy for Russians still to get to countries in the former Soviet Union. Russians have two passports — they have an internal passport and some have a foreign passport. Particularly for people of military age or active servicemen, even getting their hands on a foreign passport is extremely difficult,” Bond told VOA.

But France granted permission for Alexander and Irina, along with eight other Russians, to enter the country and apply for asylum. It’s believed they arrived in Paris on separate flights from Kazakhstan without passports or travel documents, although the exact details of their journeys have not been released.

“There are a number of ways in which they could have gotten to France, and I think they’re not the first Russian deserters to get asylum in the West. But this seems to be a larger group — rather than in the past [when] I think there have just been some scattered individuals,” said analyst Bond.

The decision followed months of advocacy and campaigning by organizations like Paris-based Russie-Libertes, which encourage Russians to desert the army. The groups say the deserters were meticulously vetted for their anti-war stance.

Olga Prokopieva, the head of Russie-Libertes, said France’s decision to allow the group of army deserters into the country was “unprecedented” and urged other European countries to follow suit. “It has taken us a year of talks. We have tried so many things,” she told Agence France-Presse.

However, Prokopieva told VOA via email on October 29 that Russie-Libertes would no longer be commenting on or publicizing the case, an indication of the sensitivity of the asylum applications.

Get Lost, a Georgia-based organization that helps Russians flee their country, claims to have aided more than 38,000 people, including thousands of soldiers. It also helped Alexander and Irina, along with the eight other Russians allowed to enter France.

Many European nations will have security concerns, said Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform.

“There will be some, maybe in eastern Europe, who will say Russians are always a security risk; we should not be encouraging this. There will be others, and I would be among them, who would say the more people that we can encourage to leave Russia, the more acute [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s shortage of manpower will be — not just for the armed forces, but also for the military industrial complex.” 

“I think the fact that Russia has brought some thousands of North Korean troops to the battlefield is an indication that the manpower shortage is really starting to bite. But certainly, you’ll have to scrutinize these people quite closely to make sure that you aren’t importing Russian special forces disguised as deserters,” Bond told VOA.

It’s not clear if France intends to allow more Russian deserters to enter the country and claim asylum. The French foreign ministry did not respond to VOA requests for comment.

Since fleeing Russia, deserter Alexander and Irina have created a YouTube channel aimed at other Russian soldiers.

“Maybe with the help of this YouTube channel, the soldiers who have already taken this step, who have left their unit, Russia, the conflict zone, will be able to pass on these ideas to those who are still there, who are at a crossroads, who decide to flee or stay,” Irina said.

Sergei, another of the Russian deserters permitted to enter France, said Russian soldiers always have a choice.

“There is always a possibility to lay down your arms, not to kill other people and to end your participation in this war,” the 27-year-old told AFP.  
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Officials in Ukraine’s capital said Wednesday a Russian drone attack left at least nine people injured.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram an 11-year-old girl was among those hurt when debris from a downed drone hit an apartment building.

Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said air defenses destroyed Russian drones that attacked the city from multiple directions.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it destroyed 23 Ukrainian drones deployed in overnight attacks.

The intercepts took place over the Rostov, Kursk, Smolensk, Oryol, Bryansk and Belgorod regions, the ministry said.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram there was damage to electrical lines, while officials in Kursk reported a fire at an administrative building.

North Korea

The Pentagon said Tuesday a “small number” of North Korean troops have deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, where they are likely to be used in combat against Ukrainian troops.

“[There are] indications that there’s already a small number that are actually in the Kursk Oblast, with a couple thousand more that are either almost there or due to arrive imminently,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told reporters.

“We remain concerned that Russia intends to use these soldiers in combat or to support combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Kursk,” he added.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense said that North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to train in Russia, more than tripling the previous estimate, and warned that those forces would likely augment Russian forces near Ukraine over the next several weeks.

The Pentagon has “no information” to corroborate reports that North Korean troops are also inside Ukraine, according to Ryder.

Asked by VOA whether Ukraine should strike back against North Korean forces, President Joe Biden replied, “If they cross into Ukraine, yes.” 

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia “poses a significant security threat to the international community.” 

The comments at a Cabinet meeting in Seoul followed Yoon saying Monday that the deployment of North Korean troops to the battlefield in Ukraine could happen “more quickly than anticipated,” according to South Korean intelligence assessments.

NATO on Monday had confirmed that 3,000 North Korean troops had been sent to Russia with some deployed to Russia’s Kursk region. Ukrainian troops invaded the border region in a surprise attack in August and still hold territory there. 

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the deployment of North Korean troops was a sign of “growing desperation” on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Rutte added that more than 600,000 Russian forces have been killed or wounded since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

The Pentagon did not provide further details on the type of troops or equipment that North Korea had sent with them. When pressed by VOA Monday on what capabilities these troops could bring, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said, “It’s additional bodies on the battlefield.” 

“If we see DPRK troops moving in and towards the front lines, they are co-belligerents in the war,” she warned. 

Russia and North Korea have boosted their political and military alliance since Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin initially dismissed reports about a North Korean troop deployment as “fake news,” but Putin last week did not deny that North Korean troops were currently in Russia, adding that it was up to Moscow to decide how to deploy them as part of a mutual defense security pact that he signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June. 

At odds with Putin’s comments, a North Korean representative to the United Nations in New York last week characterized the reports of Pyongyang’s deployment of troops in Russia as “groundless rumors.” 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will host his South Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-Hyun, on Wednesday at the Pentagon, where the two are expected to discuss the North Korean troops who are now in Russia. 

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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A significant fire remains ongoing at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, northwest England, that builds Britain’s new generation of nuclear submarines, but there was no nuclear risk from the incident, police said on Wednesday.

UK’s Cumbria police said in a statement that two people had been taken to a hospital after suffering from suspected smoke inhalation and that there were no other casualties.

The police said that everyone else had been evacuated from the Devonshire Dock Hall facility and accounted for.

BAE’s site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, manufactures Royal Navy’s Astute and Dreadnought submarines, according to BAE’s website.

The incident was reported at 12:44 am local time, police said.

BAE did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Police have advised residents nearby to remain indoors.
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washington — Investigations into the death in Russian custody of Viktoria Roshchyna are being hampered by Moscow’s refusal to return the body of the 27-year-old Ukrainian journalist.

Ukraine earlier this month announced that Roshchyna had died in Russian custody on September 19. She had been due to be returned as part of a prisoner release.

Petro Yatsenko, from the Ukrainian Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said that Roshchyna’s body was supposed to be repatriated on October 18, according to a letter that Roshchyna’s father received from Russia’s Defense Ministry. It remains unclear why her body was not included in that exchange.

Roshchyna’s death is “something that happened to a Ukrainian journalist in Russia, by Russian authorities. So all the keys to understanding what happened are in Russia’s hands. And there’s obviously very little hope that Russia will even wish to show even a little bit of the truth,” Karol Luczka told VOA.

Luczka, who monitors Eastern Europe at the International Press Institute in Vienna, said it is “inexplicable and just appalling” that Russian authorities have not released the body.

Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023 during a reporting trip to a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine. Moscow did not acknowledge that she was detained until about eight months after her disappearance. 

Andriy Yusov, from Ukraine’s Military Intelligence, confirmed earlier this month that Roshchyna had been slated for a prisoner release. Some reports indicate that Roshchyna died while being transferred from a detention center in Taganrog, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border, to Moscow in preparation for her return home.

Russia’s Washington embassy, Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry did not reply to VOA’s emails requesting comment for this story.

A freelance journalist, Roshchyna contributed to Ukrainian outlets including Ukrainska Pravda. She also freelanced for the Ukrainian Service of VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Colleagues remembered her as a journalist committed to reporting on war crimes in Russia’s war against Ukraine, even in dangerous regions.

In 2022, Roshchyna was briefly detained by Russian forces while reporting in Berdiansk, in occupied southeastern Ukraine.

That experience didn’t deter her from continuing to report in Russian-occupied regions.

When Moscow confirmed that Roshchyna was in Russian custody, it was a relief for her supporters, including Elisa Lees Munoz. The executive director of the International Women’s Media Foundation, or IWMF, said the news confirmed that Roshchyna was at least still alive and that there was hope that she would be released.

“Unfortunately, that hope vanished when we learned of her passing,” Munoz told VOA.

The IWMF awarded Roshchyna its 2022 courage award. When the IWMF invited Roshchyna to the U.S. to accept the award in person, Roshchyna declined, saying she needed to stay in Ukraine to keep reporting, Munoz said.

Press freedom groups are calling for Moscow to make public the circumstances of Roshchyna’s death.

Figuring out how Roshchyna died will be difficult without her body, according to Arnaud Froger, the head of investigations at Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, in Paris.

“Without the body, there are only assumptions that we can make,” Froger told VOA. He added that he wouldn’t trust any Russian medical records or autopsy reports without an independent examination of the body.

RSF is investigating Roshchyna’s death to figure out what happened and who was involved. With travel to Russia not possible due to security concerns, RSF is left to push Moscow to release Roshchyna’s body and search for witnesses, Froger said.

United Nations experts are calling for accountability in Roshchyna’s case, as well as the release of her body.

Munoz says she isn’t very hopeful about long-term accountability in Roshchyna’s case. 

Without an autopsy, Munoz said it will be difficult to determine whether Roshchyna was killed, or whether she died as a result of poor prison conditions.

“Regardless of whether she died of so-called ‘natural causes,’ it was obviously a result of her captivity,” Munoz said. “I would say that she was killed.”
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Thousands of Russians, including soldiers, have sought asylum in the West since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — though only a fraction of their applications have been approved. This month, however, France allowed several Russian army deserters to enter the country to seek refugee status. Henry Ridgwell reports.
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Madrid — Torrential rains caused by a cold front moving across southeastern Spain flooded roads and towns on Tuesday, prompting authorities in the worst-hit areas to advise citizens to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel. 

Spain’s state weather agency AEMET declared a red alert in the eastern Valencia region and the second-highest level of alert in parts of Andalusia in the south, where a train derailed due to the heavy rainfall, although no one was injured. 

Footage showed firefighters rescuing trapped drivers amid heavy rain in the Valencian town of Alzira and flooded streets with stuck cars. 

Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Meteorologists believe the warming of the Mediterranean, which increases water evaporation, plays a key role in making torrential rains more severe. 

AEMET expected Valencia to take the brunt of the storm, with forecasts of more than 90 mm of rain in less than one hour, or 180 mm in under 12 hours. 

Schools, courthouses and other essential services were suspended in Carlet and some other nearby towns in the Valencia region. 

Local emergency services requested the help of UME, a military unit specialized in rescue operations, in the area of Utiel-Requena, where farmers’ association ASAJA said the storm was causing significant damage to crops. 

The storm first struck Andalusia. In El Ejido, a Mediterranean city known for its sprawling greenhouses, a hailstorm broke hundreds of car windscreens, flooded the streets and damaged the mostly plastic greenhouse infrastructure. 

In Alora, also in Andalusia, the Guadalorce river overflowed and 14 people there had to be rescued by firefighters, authorities said. Alora topped AEMET’s ranking on Tuesday with 160 mm of rainfall.
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BERLIN — Thousands of German workers launched nationwide strikes to press for higher wages on Tuesday, compounding problems for companies worried about staying globally competitive as high costs, weak exports and foreign rivals chip away at their strengths. 

The strikes by unionized workers in the nearly 4-million strong electrical engineering and metal industries hit companies such as Porsche, BMW and Mercedes. 

Also this week, car giant Volkswagen could announce plans to shut three plants on home soil for the first time in its 87-year history, as well as mass layoffs and 10% wage cuts for workers who keep their jobs. 

A worsening business outlook in Europe’s largest economy has piled pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s rickety coalition government, which could be on the verge of collapse ahead of federal elections next year as policy cracks widen. 

Scholz hosted a meeting with business leaders on Tuesday, including Volkswagen boss Oliver Blume, to discuss strategies for bolstering Germany’s industrial sector. 

The three-hour closed-door meeting in Berlin was aimed at exploring policy measures to drive growth, protect industrial jobs, and reinforce Germany’s position as a global industrial hub, government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement. 

The talks mark the beginning of a broader initiative by the German government, with follow-up discussions planned for Nov. 15, Hebestreit added. 

In a sign of government dysfunction, his finance minister has also announced a separate summit on the same day. 

Germany has a long history of so-called “warning strikes” during wage negotiations, but they come at a time of employers’ deepening concerns about the future. A leading business group said a survey of companies pointed to Germany experiencing another year of economic contraction in 2024 and no prospect of growth next year. 

“We are not just dealing with a cyclical, but a stubborn structural crisis in Germany,” said Martin Wansleben, managing director of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry that conducted the survey. 

“We are greatly concerned about how much Germany is becoming an economic burden for Europe and can no longer fulfill its role as an economic workhorse,” he said. 

A separate survey by the VDA auto industry association suggested the transformation of the German car industry could lead to 186,000 job losses by 2035, of which roughly a quarter have already occurred. 

“Europe — especially Germany — is losing more and more international competitiveness,” said the VDA report, which also stated that German companies paid up to three times more for electricity than their U.S. or Chinese rivals, while facing higher taxes and increasing bureaucratic burdens. 

Workers want share 

The International Monetary Fund joined those calling for reforms in Germany, suggesting the government ditch a constitutionally enshrined borrowing cap known as the debt brake so it can boost investment.  

While the debt brake is supported by Finance Minister Christian Lindner, he is at odds with Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who has called for a multibillion-euro fund to stimulate growth. 

“The economic policy debate is where it belongs: right at the top of the agenda,” Lindner said on X. “We have no time to lose.” 

The meetings with Lindner and Scholz have prompted companies and industry associations to air their gripes. The chemicals lobby VCI lamented “poor framework conditions” and high energy costs faced by its members, and called on Scholz to make “groundbreaking decisions” to unleash competitiveness. 

Reinhold von Eben-Worlee, from the association of family-run companies, compared the plight of Germany’s Mittelstand firms to a marathon runner weighed down by a heavy rucksack of high taxes and social security contributions, and red tape. 

Tuesday’s strikes were orchestrated by the powerful IG Metall union, which also staged a walkout during the night shift at Volkswagen’s plant in the city of Osnabrueck, where workers worry the site may be shutting down. 

Approximately 71,000 workers participated in Tuesday’s strike, impacting around 370 companies across Germany, according to a spokesperson for IG Metall. 
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