Washington — Ukraine will receive $50 billion in loans, backed by frozen Russian assets, from Group of Seven allies, the White House said Wednesday. Distribution of the money will begin by year’s end, according to American officials who said the United States is providing $20 billion of the total.

Leaders of the wealthy democracies agreed earlier this year to engineer the mammoth loan to help Ukraine in its fight for survival after Russia’s invasion. Interest earned on profits from Russia’s frozen central bank assets would be used as collateral.

“To be clear, nothing like this has ever been done before,” said Daleep Singh, the deputy national security adviser on international economics.

“Never before has a multilateral coalition frozen the assets of an aggressor country and then harnessed the value of those assets to fund the defense of the aggrieved party all while respecting the rule of law and maintaining solidarity.”

At a ceremony Wednesday in Washington, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Ukraine’s finance minister, Sergii Marchenko, planned to put in writing assurances that the U.S. loan will be paid for by the windfall proceeds of the immobilized Russian sovereign assets, not by American taxpayer dollars.

“Russia is paying for this support,” Yellen said at a news conference Monday where she said the loan package was close to being finalized.

Singh said the Biden administration intends to divide the U.S. share of $20 billion between aiding Ukraine’s economy and military. It will require congressional action to send military aid, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that weapons and equipment being promised now can take weeks or months to get to Ukraine.

The additional $30 billion will come from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan, among others.

The idea of using Russia’s frozen assets to help Ukraine faced resistance at first from European officials who cited legal and financial stability concerns.

The move gained momentum after more than a year of negotiations between finance officials and after President Joe Biden in April signed legislation that let the government seize the roughly $5 billion in Russian state assets in the U.S.

The G7 announced in June that most of the loan would be backed by profits being earned on roughly $260 billion in immobilized Russian assets. The vast majority of that money is held in EU nations. 

The U.S. and its allies immediately froze whatever Russian central bank assets they had access to when Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The timing of the loan’s disbursement has been called into question, coming about two weeks before the presidential election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris. The candidates have taken opposing views on the threat from Russia.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin dismissed suggestions that military aid to Ukraine approved by the Biden administration now could be negated by any new team in power.

“I think we’re pretty sure that these materials will continue to flow,” Austin said, adding that he is confident it all will be delivered “on the timeline that we’ve outlined.”

The World Bank’s latest damage assessment of Ukraine, released in February, estimates that costs for reconstruction and recovery of the nation stand at $486 billion over the next 10 years.
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Ankara — Assailants set off explosives and opened fire in an attack Wednesday on the premises of the Turkish state-run aerospace and defense company TUSAS, killing four people and wounding several, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

At least two of the attackers died, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

“We have four martyrs. We have 14 wounded. I condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish mercy on our martyrs,” Erdogan said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in Kazan, Russia.

Putin offered him condolences over the attack.

Selim Cirpanoglu, mayor of the district of Kahramankazan, told The Associated Press that the attack on the company in the outskirts of the capital, Ankara, had abated but could not provide more details.

It was not clear who may be behind it. Kurdish militants, the Islamic State group and leftist extremists have carried out attacks in the country in the past.

Security camera images from the attack, aired on television, showed a man in plainclothes carrying a backpack and holding an assault rifle.

Turkish media said three assailants, including a woman, arrived at an entry to the complex inside a taxi. The assailants, who were carrying assault weapons, then detonated an explosive device next to the taxi, causing panic and allowing them to enter the complex.

Multiple gunshots were heard after Turkish security forces entered the site, the DHA news agency and other media reported. Helicopters were seen flying above the premises.

TUSAS designs, manufactures and assembles both civilian and military aircrafts, unmanned aerial vehicles and other defense industry and space systems. The UAVs have been instrumental in Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants in Turkey and across the border in Iraq.

Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said the target of the attack was Turkey’s “success in the defense industry.”

“It should be known that these attacks will not be able to deter the heroic employees of defense industry,” he wrote on X.
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Athens — Wildfire-plagued Greece has suffered its worst year in terms of climate conditions in four decades in 2024, its prime minister told parliament on Wednesday.

The already sun-baked Mediterranean region has been designated by scientists as a climate change “hotspot”, with warming higher than the global average, according to United Nations reports. 

Greece has been perennially struck by scorching heatwaves and destructive wildfires every summer, with conditions worsening in recent years.

“We were expecting a very difficult year in terms of climate, it was objectively the most difficult in the past 40 years according to data by all scientists, including those from the national climate monitor,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament.

He pointed to “temperatures constantly higher than average”, “prolonged drought”, “strong winds”, adding that Greece needed to face the consequences of climate change.

The number of wildfires so far this year has reached 9,101, up from 7,163 last year, with 44,000 hectares (109,000 acres) burnt, the premier said during a parliamentary debate on the matter.  

Forest blazes began earlier than normal this year, with one igniting at the end of March in the country’s north.

Greece experienced its hottest summer ever, Athens’s climate monitor said in September, with premature heatwaves in June, and record-high summer temperatures.

June and July were the warmest months since records began in 1960, while August was the second hottest after August 2021, the observatory said on its meteo.gr website.

More than 20 people died in Greek forest fires last year, with a massive blaze in Dadia national park dubbed the most destructive ever recorded in the European Union.

Rising temperatures are leading to extended wildfire seasons and increasing the area burnt by the blazes, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 
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London — Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday played down allegations made by Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump’s team of “blatant foreign interference” by his Labour Party in the U.S. election, saying it was normal for its volunteers to campaign.   

Starmer also insisted that he maintained “a good relationship” with Trump, having met him for talks last month.   

The former president’s legal team filed a complaint to the U.S. Federal Election Commission alleging the “British Labour Party made, and the [Kamala] Harris campaign accepted, illegal foreign national contributions.”   

The filing cited media reports that Labour officials, including the prime minister’s new chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, traveled to the United States to advise the Harris campaign.   

Trump’s team also submitted a now-deleted LinkedIn post by Labour director of operations Sofia Patel calling for volunteers to travel to North Carolina, saying “we will sort out your housing.”   

Foreign nationals are allowed to volunteer in U.S. elections but may not be compensated.   

Starmer told media traveling with him to a Commonwealth meeting on the Pacific island of Samoa that his party had done nothing wrong, and that the volunteers had paid for themselves.   

“The Labour party has volunteers, who have gone over pretty much every election,” he said.   

“They’re doing it in their spare time, they’re doing it as volunteers, they’re staying, I think, with other volunteers over there.”   

“That’s what they’ve done in previous elections, that’s what they’re doing in this election and that’s really straightforward.”   

He also denied suggestions that it could damage relations with Britain’s most important ally should Republican party candidate Trump beat Democrat Harris and secure a return to the White House.   

Starmer said he had “established a good relationship” with the former president, having met him last month for a two-hour dinner at the former real estate tycoon’s Trump Tower residence in New York.   

Adding to the dispute, Trump surrogate Elon Musk wrote on his X site on Tuesday that “this is war” after leaked documents from campaign group Center for Countering Digital Hate appeared to show that one of its objectives was to “kill Musk’s Twitter,” X’s former name.   

The campaign group and think-tank is led by a former Labour adviser and McSweeney is a former director. 
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The European Union’s next foreign policy chief has told lawmakers that strengthening security must be a priority, warning that Europe must be prepared as Russia and “partly China” exploit the continent’s open societies.

“European security is deeply personal to me as a native of a country that has long told others that Russia’s imperialistic dream never died,” Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, said in written replies to members of the European Parliament published late on Tuesday.

“My short-term priority must be to address the pressing global concerns: Russia’s war against Ukraine and strengthening the EU’s security and defense,” she wrote.

Kallas, nominated by European leaders in June to serve as the bloc’s new high representative for foreign affairs, is set to succeed incumbent Josep Borrell.

The European Parliament will hold hearings in November for members of the next European Commission.

In 21 pages of answers to questions posed by the lawmakers ahead of the hearings, the Estonian politician outlined her vision for Europe’s foreign policy at a time when the bloc faces an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.

The EU must stay at “the forefront of humanitarian efforts” in the Middle East,” Kallas said, and work “with all actors to support the pursuit of a just and comprehensive peace” while also pointing to challenges such as China’s support for Russia.

“Actors such as Russia, Iran, North Korea, and partly China, aim at weaponizing interdependencies and exploiting the openness of our societies against us,” she added. “For this, we must be prepared.”
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Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it destroyed 14 Ukrainian aerial drones in areas along the Ukraine-Russia border as well as four uncrewed Ukrainian boats in the Black Sea.

The ministry said Russian air defenses destroyed 10 drones over Russia-occupied Crimea, and another four over the Rostov region.

Russian forces carried out a second consecutive night of heavy drone attacks targeting the Sumy region in southern Ukraine.

The Sumy regional military administration said Wednesday that Ukrainian air defenses shot down 19 Russian drones, a night after Ukraine downed 25 drones in the same area.

Officials in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions also reported drones being shot down overnight.

North Korean involvement

Ukraine has “information that two units of military personnel from North Korea are being trained — potentially even two brigades of 6,000 people each” — for combat in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday. 

“This is a challenge,” the president said in his daily address. “But we know how to respond to this challenge. And it is important that our partners do not shy away from this challenge, as well.” 

“If North Korea can intervene in the war in Europe, then the pressure on this regime is definitely not strong enough,” Zelenskyy said. “And if Russia is still able to expand and prolong this war, it means that everyone in the world who is still not helping to force Russia into peace is actually helping Putin to wage war.” 

“We expect a firm, concrete response from the world,” he added. “Hopefully, not only in words.” 

Also Tuesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement that Russia is playing with lives beyond Ukraine. 

“Russia’s indiscriminate strikes on ports in the Black Sea underscore that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is willing to gamble on global food security in his attempts to force Ukraine into submission. … In doing so, he is harming millions of vulnerable people across Africa, Asia and the Middle East to try and gain the upper hand in his barbaric war.”  

Starmer said Russia’s conduct in the conflict has shown “no respect for human life or the consequences of their invasion across the world.”

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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Ukraine’s prosecutor general announced his resignation Tuesday amid charges that his office provided exemptions to the military draft for government officials.  

“Many shameful facts of abuse have been established within the system of the prosecutor’s offices of Ukraine,” Andriy Kostin said in a statement.  

Kostin’s resignation followed a meeting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held with senior officials concerning the issuance of disability certificates. The certificates allowed officials throughout the government to avoid military service at a time when the country is struggling to recruit soldiers for its fight against Russia. 

“The prosecutor general must take political responsibility for the situation in the prosecution bodies of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a statement after the meeting.  

“The problem is not only that officials use their connections to obtain disability status,” the president said in his daily address. “The problem is also that people with real disabilities, in particular those disabled in combat, are often unable to get proper status and fair payments.” 

Zelenskyy said a full audit has been conducted on “the pensions and other accruals” that government officials were able to acquire with the faulty disability exemptions.  

Sixty-four officials within the Medical and Social Expert Commission have been notified that they are being investigated for illegally issuing disability certificates, according to the SBU, Ukraine’s domestic security service. Nine have been tried and found guilty.  

The president has ordered an overhaul of the disability assessment system. 

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.  
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The war in Ukraine is reshaping the strategic landscape of Europe. While Western and Eastern European nations within the NATO alliance recognize the Russian threat, each day, NATO nations bordering Belarus and Russia feel the immediacy of the threat.

In an exclusive interview with VOA’s Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze, Lieutenant General Charles Costanza, commander of the U.S. Army’s V Corps (also known as the Fifth Corps) in Poland, discusses how NATO adapts to Russia’s evolving tactics while defending its members’ borders.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: Can you explain the different threat assessments from Eastern and Western European partners of NATO regarding Russia?

Charles Costanza, commanding general of the U.S. Army’s V Corps: Clearly, in the eastern flank of Europe, the threat is real. They’re on the border with Belarus and Russia, and so, they see that threat every day differently. You see recent open-source reporting on the Russian UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones] coming over Romanian territory and Lithuanian territory. Those incursions have increased. You see the sabotage operations going on throughout eastern flank countries and Eastern European countries. So, Russia is increasing that, short of … challenges and interference [that would trigger the NATO mutual defense clause].

VOA: Do you think Russia is doing it deliberately?

Costanza: Of course, they are. They weaponize immigration — I say “weaponize” deliberately. This weaponized immigration is happening in Poland, it’s all been driven from Russia to interfere in Eastern Europe. Moldova is a near-term example with their elections. Russia is actively interfering in those elections to try and shape them in a pro-Russian way. So, all that is going on right now. So, that’s part of this threat assessment piece that isn’t necessarily impacting the Western European countries as much as Eastern Europe.

VOA: How threatening is Russia’s military?

Costanza: I think there’s a view that Russia is going to take three to 10 years to reconstitute, and I think that we need to look at that a little differently. Russian armed forces, ground forces right now, are actually bigger than they were before the war with Ukraine started 2½ years ago, despite the losses of open-source reporting [of] 600,000 casualties that they’ve incurred during the course of the war.

They may not be as well trained, but they’re bigger. Their industrial base is on a wartime footing. Their mobilization base is on a wartime footing. They know they’re fighting a Western-trained, West-equipped country with Ukraine. They’re learning how to defeat those capabilities and those systems over the last 2½ years. So, they’re modernizing their force based on the lessons that they’re learning, and I think that’s something we should be concerned about. They’re modernizing their equipment. They’re changing the way that they fight based on learning how to fight against Western-trained forces in Ukraine. And I think that should be a concern for all of us. It clearly is to our Eastern European allies.

VOA: How are you preparing to defend and deter?

Costanza: First of all, to maintain a high stance on readiness from a U.S. forces standpoint but also the NATO standpoint. At the Fifth Corps, one of the key things we do as partners with our multinational corps and multinational divisions across the eastern flank of Europe [is] just to help build their war-fighting capability as they field new capabilities. HIMARS [High Mobility Artillery Rocket System], for example. Apaches [helicopters] — with Poland just purchasing 96 Apaches from the United States. So, we help them to employ those things, those capabilities. But how you employ them at the corps level, and how you employ them at the division level, we can help, and we do.

VOA: General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and now ambassador to the United Kingdom, recently gave a speech at Chatham House in London in which he talked about the technological advancements of this war, and how this is a different war than NATO was prepared to fight. How would you assess NATO’s capabilities today?

Costanza: I think you’re exactly right. And those are some of the comments that were made by our NATO partners in this event. I think that the United States is kind of setting the standard on that with a new program that our chief of staff of the Army [General Randy George] has talked about, which is transformation in contact. So, for the U.S. forces that are rotating over here to Europe, we’re modernizing them with equipment that’s available right now. So, instead of going through our normal four-year acquisition process to get new equipment, we’re taking things that are available based on what we’re watching happen in Ukraine. … So maybe that can be a model for our partners and allies.

VOA: We talked about NATO capabilities. Now I want to go back to Russian capabilities. How advanced do you think they are right now?

Costanza: I think the biggest concern is what I said before: They know they’re fighting Western-trained and -equipped forces. And so, as they modernize based on the lessons that they’re learning — not just their equipment, but how they fight — they’re really sharpening their ability to fight us in the future. And I think that’s something we need to be concerned about.

So, those things I just talked about that we’re trying to rapidly introduce into our brigade to execute the transformation, contact — the UAS [Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or drones], the border, ammunition, the counter UAS, the EW [electronic warfare] capability. And how do you synchronize all of that capability so that you can really, rapidly strike and kill targets? They’ve learned how to do that. And so, we need to be able to do that and do it better than they do.

VOA: Russia is gaining support from China and North Korea right now. Are we ready to face this threat?

Costanza: The lessons that I was talking about, the reasons we should be concerned about Russia — they’re sharing those lessons with China, with Iran, and vice versa, the capabilities that Iran and China are providing. And now you see the North Koreans, as well. North Korea is now providing, I think it’s an initial batch [of] open-source reporting, of 4,000 North Korean soldiers. I think that could potentially just be a starting point for what they provide in terms of manpower to Russia. And I think that’s a problem near-term here in Eastern Europe, because as we talked about before we started, the challenge for Ukrainians is people. It’s the amount of people that they have to put into this fight. And Russia doesn’t care how many losses it takes. I mean, 600,000 [casualties], and they’re still throwing more manpower at it and don’t even blink. Ukrainians can’t afford to take those losses. I think that’s going to be the limiting factor for that as we move forward, watch this war continue into this third period.

VOA: There are different assessments of threats between, let’s say, the political part of the NATO alliance and the military part of the alliance. How are you finding that common ground?

Costanza: Yeah, I think it’s just constant dialogue, right? And so, I know we do that at different levels. So, the combatant commander, the U.S. combat commander, has those discussions at the national levels with our NATO partners and allies. We all live in Eastern Europe, including myself — in Poland. We all see that threat the same way. It can be near term.

VOA: What do you mean by the near term?

Costanza: I think, one year, two years, three years.

VOA: And you’re trying to be ready for that?

Costanza: U.S. forces are ready, and I can tell you, our NATO partners and allies are ready. And we’re just continuing to build capabilities.
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President Joe Biden on Tuesday welcomed Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob to the White House, where Biden spoke of the importance of European unity and recognized the small Central European nation’s outsized role in the largest prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia in decades.

Biden underscored Ljubljana’s critical role in the August swap that saw the release of 24 people, including three high-profile Americans in Russian custody: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerskovich, Radio Free Europe reporter Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan. Slovenia held two Russian spies in prison – and their release was a critical part of the deal.

“You made it possible,” Biden said to Golob in the Oval Office. “Thank you. We made it clear to anyone who questions whether our allies matter. Well, just look at what you did. They matter a great deal.”

Biden, who spoke of his role in pushing for the nation to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization nearly two decades ago, continued his push for European unity – diplomatically and through institutions like the NATO security bloc – to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine.

“Because I knew then what I know now: We’re stronger when we stand together with good partners like you,” Biden said. “We’ve seen it in support for the brave people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s aggression and we see it in our work to support democracy and prosperity across the western Balkans.”

Golob replied by calling Biden a nickname that has become popular with European leaders.

“Dear Joe, just a couple of words,” he said, in English. “And that is with little help of true friends, nothing is impossible. And I think that’s really what our joint effort with the prisoner swap demonstrated to all of the world. And let’s continue to work in true friendship and with a lot of friends.”

The two also discussed a wide range of issues, the White House said, like energy security and cooperation and events in the Middle East.

This meeting – the first Oval Office visit by a Slovenian leader in 18 years – is “a particularly important legacy of Biden’s administration,” said Wojciech Przybylski, editor-in-chief of Warsaw-based think tank Visegrad Insight.

“Slovenia is also a major stakeholder in the development of other Southeastern European countries of the Balkan region, where the U.S. is investing heavily to make Europe whole and free from wars and autocratic rule,” he told VOA via email. “From a geopolitical point of view, Russian influence and even more important Chinese influence, including Beijing’s ambitions to be the dominant player in the Slovenian port of Koper, a major port on the Adriatic Sea, is an important backdrop to the discussions on the economic security of Central and Eastern Europe.”

Analyst Donatienne Ruy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told VOA by email that Golob’s visit is “an important recognition of the small country’s contributions to transatlantic relations, as both a NATO and an EU member.”

Slovenia, she said, is using its rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council to support Ukraine and is an “anchor for the Western Balkans region” and it could soon play a big role in helming the European Commission’s enlargement efforts, as the top diplomat in line for the job is a left-leaning Slovene.

The nation hasn’t always held liberal stances, she said.

“The country itself has seen ups and downs in governance in its post-Communist history, most recently under former Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who adopted an illiberal populist stance — he threatened the independence of the media and regularly attacked his opponents [rhetorically],” she said. “The current government has been a more positive actor both on governance and democracy issues and as an EU member, which the White House visit likely acknowledges.”

VOA asked representatives from the campaign of former President Donald Trump if he planned to meet with Golob during his U.S. visit. Former first lady Melania Trump was born in the southern Slovenian city of Novo Mesto. The campaign did not reply.
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For Lev Skoryakin, a fugitive Russian political activist on the Kremlin’s wanted list for staging anti-government protests, luck ran out in June 2023.

Having fled to Kyrgyzstan the previous summer, he managed to keep a low profile for more than a year before Kyrgyz authorities, acting on a Russian government request, found him in the capital, Bishkek. In October of that year, they extradited him to Russia.

Skoryakin, who emigrated to Germany early this year after spending three months in a Russian prison, told VOA that Kyrgyz authorities figured out where he was by using a novel facial recognition system, which they launched in June 2023 with the help of the Russian government.

“Russian emigre dissidents [in Central Asia] should be really vigilant, and they should follow basic safety rules. … The facial recognition system is still operating in Bishkek,” Skoryakin said.

The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry reported in January that the system had facilitated the arrests of more than 800 people through the end of last year, mostly common criminals, including more than 100 who were put on the international wanted list by Interpol.

Since 2022, scores of Russian anti-war activists such as Skoryakin have fled political repression in Russia and found temporary refuge in the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. But after a series of arrests, abductions and extraditions, these dissidents are no longer safe in those countries.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, there was an exodus from Russia of mainly conscription-age men. According to regional media reports, approximately 400,000 Russian citizens arrived in Kazakhstan in 2022 and around 445,000 Russian citizens went to Kyrgyzstan.

Critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, such as Skoryakin, saw these countries as transit points on the way to exile in the West. While he was in Kyrgyzstan, Skoryakin applied for a temporary travel document to allow him to emigrate to Germany.

Kyrgyz authorities initially welcomed the Russian dissidents. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said in an October 2022 New York Times interview, “We don’t see any harm; on the contrary, we see more benefits” from Russian immigrants.

Moscow had a different view. Since 2022, the Kremlin has used a range of measures to force Kazakh and Kyrgyz governments to act against Russian dissidents, including arrests and the banning of public protests against Russia.

Russia also relied on extradition treaties with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to silence its critics. Acting on Russia’s request, between 2022 and 2024, Kazakhstan arrested at least seven Russian dissidents.

Kyrgyz media reported on four arrests of anti-Kremlin activists in Kyrgyzstan, all of whom have been handed over to Russian authorities.

According to Kazakh media, the extradition cases against the Russian dissidents in that country are still pending a final resolution.

The Kremlin has also encouraged Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to reveal information about Russian activists. In June 2023, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement on sharing “information on the residence status, citizenship, migration registration, visas, property, criminal records and identity documents of individuals living within their borders.”

As part of the agreement, Russia reportedly provided data about 85,000 Russian citizens to the Kyrgyz authorities. According to Kyrgyz media, Kyrgyzstan used this data for its facial recognition system, which helped identify and arrest four Russian dissidents, including Skoryakin, shortly after the data-sharing agreement was signed in June 2023.

Zhanar Akaev, the chair of the parliamentary committee in charge of international affairs, has said Russian security services are exerting pressure on Kyrgyzstan.

“Political immigrants from Russia should avoid coming [to Kyrgyzstan]. This is because Russian security services have strong influence. If they will ask, our security agencies will not say no. As far as I know, the FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service] works freely here,” he said.

In Kyrgyzstan, Akaev is part of a handful of Kyrgyz political activists who are publicly critical of the Kyrgyz government. International human rights watchdogs indicate that Kyrgyz authorities have become increasingly intolerant of political dissent and have silenced most government critics.

A Kyrgyzstani human rights activist, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity for fear of official retribution, said that “criticizing the treatment of Russian dissidents” can land human rights defenders in trouble with the Kyrgyz government.

“In return for getting the Russian [dissidents],” the activist said, “Moscow handed over Kyrgyz activists in Russia who were critical of the Kyrgyz government.”

The Russian government action against Russian dissidents in Central Asia has paid off.

As of early 2024, Rapid Response Unit, a nonprofit organization that assisted hundreds of Russian dissidents to flee from Russia, stopped sending people to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

In an August 2023 interview with Kazakh journalists, Evgenii Zhovtis, a Kazakhstani human rights defender, said that most of the arrested Russian activists were in legal limbo in Kazakhstan.

“There are no legal grounds to prosecute them, but letting them out of the country is also difficult. Their identification documents are about to expire. To obtain new documents, they need to go to the [Russian] consulate,” Zhovtis said.

With anti-Kremlin activists in Central Asia silenced, the Russian government is shifting its focus to unfriendly Central Asian nongovernmental organizations.

Addressing a Russian government meeting in February, former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, “Against the backdrop of the special military operation [against Ukraine], these NGOs significantly increased their anti-Russian activities in order to reduce military-technical, economic and cultural cooperation between the Central Asian states and the Russian Federation.”

He added that that Russia needs to take “special preventive measures” against such NGOs.
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy is showing resilience after bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic but the eurozone’s prospects are gloomier due to recent crises and deeper problems, according to IMF forecasts released Tuesday.

In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund revised its 2025 eurozone growth forecast down from 1.5% in July to 1.2% as challenges in manufacturing bog down countries such as Germany.

In contrast, the world’s biggest economy is anticipated to grow 2.2% next year.

The United States and eurozone have seen their paths diverge over the past two years, with the U.S. economy logging 2.9% growth in 2023, significantly above the eurozone’s 0.4%, IMF figures show.

The fund expects the U.S. economy to expand by 2.8% in 2024, again higher than the euro area’s 0.8% growth forecast.

This is because “Europe has experienced two shocks, while the United States has only experienced one,” EY chief economist Gregory Daco told AFP.

After rebounding from the pandemic, which led to historic recessions around the world, European countries took a hit from the effects of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

This once again sharply raised energy prices and snarled supply chains in the region, with the United States experiencing less of an impact given its distance from the conflict and greater energy independence.

Germany stalls

In particular, the war has made a significant impact on the eurozone’s biggest economy — Germany — which saw its economy shrink in 2023.

The German economy is set to see no growth this year, only expanding 0.8% in 2025, said the IMF’s latest report.

The 2025 figure was revised down from July’s projection of 1.3% growth.

“Persistent weakness in manufacturing weighs on growth for countries such as Germany and Italy,” said the IMF.

Although Italy’s domestic demand is set to benefit from a European Union-financed recovery plan, “Germany is experiencing strain from fiscal consolidation and a sharp decline in real estate prices,” the fund said.

But it noted that “in the euro area, growth seems to have reached its lowest point in 2023.”

France, the second-biggest EU economy, is projected to post modest growth of 1.1% for this year and the next.

US advantages

Daco of EY said the United States benefits from more favorable structural factors: “In view of its population growth, investment rate and productivity, it has growth prospects that are double those of Europe.”

He pointed to a younger U.S. population and greater competitiveness.

Other factors include Washington’s support for households and businesses during the pandemic, which have helped to prop up consumption.

Funds from the government’s CHIPS and Science Act as well as Inflation Reduction Act — to boost domestic semiconductor and clean energy industries, respectively — are also stimulating the economy, he said.

Meanwhile, Europe is struggling to contend with these major initiatives.

A report by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, unveiled in September, aims to limit Europe’s economic gap with the United States.

“It is crucial to swiftly follow up, with concrete and ambitious structural policies, on Mario Draghi’s proposals for enhancing European competitiveness,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde last Thursday.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine amid a Russian advance on the battlefield and increasing anxiety among Ukrainians that Western allies are experiencing growing fatigue toward the Russia-Ukraine war. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. VOA footage by Vladyslav Smilianets.
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LONDON — Two passenger trains collided in Wales, killing a man and injuring 15 people, transport police said Tuesday.

The low-speed crash on Monday evening happened near the village of Llanbrynmair in central Wales.

“We can sadly confirm a man has died following this evening’s incident,” said British Transport Police superintendent Andrew Morgan.

Those taken to hospital were not believed to have suffered serious injuries.

Morgan said transport police were working “to understand the circumstances leading up to this collision.”
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Russian officials said Tuesday a Ukrainian drone attack caused an explosion and fire at a biochemical plant in the Tambov region.

Tambov Governor Maxim Yegorov said on Telegram the fire was extinguished early Tuesday and that preliminary information indicated there were no injuries.

Ukrainian drones also damaged two distilleries in the Tula region, officials said Tuesday.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down 11 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region, three drones over Belgorod, two over Kursk and each over the Tula and Oryol regions.

The governor of Belgorod reported two homes were damaged by falling debris from destroyed drones, while the governor Bryansk said the attack damaged one building.

In Ukraine, Sumy Governor Ihor Kalchenko said a Russian drone attack killed three people.

Kalchenko said Ukrainian air defenses shot down 25 Russian drones in the region.

US aid

The United States “will get Ukraine what it needs” to continue to fight its 32-month war with Russia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday during a visit to Kyiv.  

But he gave no indication the U.S. would consent to Ukraine’s wish to immediately join NATO or allow Kyiv’s forces to launch missile strikes deeper into Russia.  

Austin said the U.S. would hand Ukraine what it requires “to fight for its survival and security,” saying it was essential for Western allies to fend off Russia’s aggression.  

“Europe’s future is on the line,” Austin said in a speech at the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. “NATO’s strength is on the line. America’s security is on the line.”  

As Austin visited Ukraine, the U.S. announced its 68th tranche of military aid since the start of the war with Russia, about $400 million in new armaments, including munitions for rocket systems and artillery mortar systems and rounds, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons.  

Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told VOA that the new U.S. assistance does not provide most of what Ukraine asked for. 

“In other words, there was no new weaponry provided. Ukraine still does not have the capability to use its weaponry to strike inside Russia, and there was no discussion of a potential NATO membership for Ukraine,” she said. 

As fighting continues, a Russian missile attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia killed two people and injured 15 in the city center and caused huge damage to civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten and more than 30 residential buildings, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said.   

North Korean involvement 

Separately at the U.N. Security Council, Western officials expressed concern that North Korea may be planning to send thousands of troops to Ukraine to fight for Russia. 

Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Sunday that there is satellite and video evidence that North Korea is sending not only equipment to Russia but is also preparing soldiers for deployment. 

Russia’s envoy only alluded to the accusations during a council meeting Monday on Ukraine. 

“They [the West] have become distracted by circulating scaremongering with Iranian, Chinese and [North] Korean bogeymen, each one of which is more absurd than the one before,” Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said. 

South Korea’s envoy said according to his government’s National Intelligence Service, Pyongyang has shipped Russia over 13,000 containers filled with artillery shells, missiles and anti-tank rockets since August 2023, and now they are sending troops. 

“Pyongyang, according to our NIS [National Intelligence Service], has deployed about 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s Far Eastern cities, aboard Russian naval vessels, since earlier this month,” Ambassador Hwang Joonkook said. “The transported soldiers were provided with Russian military uniforms and Russian weapons. And to disguise their identity, they were issued with fake identity cards of residents from Yakutia and Buryatia who share similar facial features with North Koreans.” 

Hwang said North Korea will expect a “generous payoff” from Moscow in return for its troops. 

“It could be either military or financial assistance; it could be nuclear weapons-related technology,” he said. 

The U.S. envoy said Washington is aware of the reports, and if true, they are a “dangerous and highly concerning development.” 

“If Russia is indeed turning to the DPRK for manpower, it would be a sign of desperation on the part of the Kremlin,” U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador Robert Wood said. “We know Russia is suffering extraordinary casualties on the battlefield due to the bravery and effectiveness of the Ukrainian military. Russia cannot sustain its aggression without assistance.” 

Ukraine’s ambassador accused North Korea of fueling and prolonging the war and said Russia is “begging global outcasts” for weapons and troops. Sergiy Kyslytsya said according to publicly available information, about 11,000 North Korean infantry troops are being trained in the east of Russia and are expected to be ready for deployment by November 1. 

VOA national security correspondent Jeff Seldin and VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some material was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
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Many European Union countries are calling for the bloc to clamp down on migration amid a surge in support for right-wing political parties. But Spain is bucking the trend — and insists Europe’s aging population needs controlled migration to boost its economy. Henry Ridgwell reports. Camera: Alfonso Beato.
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washington — The General Assembly of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is set to begin Thursday, following months of ongoing harassment from the Chinese government that the top Uyghur organization has described as “unprecedented.”

In the months leading up to the group’s eighth general assembly, which takes place this year in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Uyghur organization has endured numerous efforts to derail or even cancel the event, the group said. The harassment included threats of physical harm, arrest and sabotage.

Groups that advocate for Uyghur human rights have long faced harassment from the Chinese government, but this recent harassment was particularly extreme, according to Zumretay Arkin, the WUC’s spokesperson and director of global advocacy.

“It’s reached another level this time,” Arkin told VOA from Sarajevo. “The World Uyghur Congress is among the most important organizations in our movement, in the diaspora, and they want to destroy it completely.”

In one of the most severe examples, the email account of a WUC employee was hacked, Arkin told VOA. The unidentified hackers on Monday sent out emails, which VOA has reviewed, to all attendees, including WUC delegates and candidates, as well as foreign lawmakers, falsely claiming that the general assembly had been postponed.

The WUC holds its general assembly every three years. At each assembly, the organization elects its leadership and sets strategic priorities in response to human rights abuses in the Chinese region Xinjiang, where most Uyghurs live.

“We are advocating for not only the human rights of Uyghur people, but also self-determination of Uyghurs. And that’s considered a threat to the Chinese government,” said Arkin, who is running to be the WUC’s next vice president.

The Germany-based WUC has condemned the harassment.

“It is a clear effort to intimidate the Uyghur community and silence their voices,” the organization said in a Friday statement.

In other cases of harassment, the Chinese Embassy in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has exerted pressure to cancel the general assembly entirely and indicated it would encourage local authorities to arrest former WUC President Dolkun Isa, who is a German citizen.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has an extradition treaty with China. When Isa and Arkin arrived in Sarajevo on Monday, Arkin said they didn’t have any issues in entering the country.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassy in Sarajevo did not immediately reply to VOA’s emails requesting comment.

In another example, an informant with knowledge of the situation told the Norway-based Uyghur activist Abduweli Ayup that Chinese authorities were considering various ways to disrupt the general assembly, including staging a car accident or cutting electricity.

“He told me that they might make [a] car accident and cut the electricity, or protest in front of the World Uyghur Congress,” Ayup told VOA.

Chinese authorities have also directly targeted WUC delegates from countries including Australia, Germany, Ireland and Turkey, Arkin said. Those authorities have pressured delegates not to participate in the general assembly, including by making threats against family members who are still in Xinjiang, according to Arkin.

And in the case of Uzbekistan, local Uzbek authorities pressured WUC delegates who live in Uzbekistan to not participate in the general assembly, according to Arkin, who said no delegates from Uzbekistan will be attending as a result.

Uzbekistan’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.

Beijing has long targeted Uyghur rights groups and activists around the world to silence criticism, according to Sophie Richardson, a visiting scholar at Stanford and the former China director at Human Rights Watch. This recent bout of harassment is just the latest example.

“It’s the ultimate expression of how desperate it [Beijing] is to keep people from talking about genocide and crimes against humanity,” Richardson told VOA.

The Chinese government stands accused by rights groups and multiple Western governments of perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, which many Uyghurs prefer to call the Uyghur Region or East Turkestan. Beijing denies any wrongdoing in the region.

Part of why the Chinese government is so brazen in its perpetration of transnational repression is that Beijing has long done so with almost complete impunity, according to Richardson.

“They’ve now been doing so for decades and accelerated it significantly over the last decade — and not really had to pay a price for doing so,” Richardson said.

With the general assembly set to begin in just a few days, there are a lot of things on Arkin’s mind — the most pressing of which is the safety of WUC members, her family members still inside Xinjiang and herself.

Nevertheless, Arkin thinks the extreme lengths the Chinese government is going to in order to derail the general assembly may also underscore Beijing’s own fears.

“We’re building a system that is our own. We’re building something totally opposite to what the Chinese government has, and so they’re scared of that. They’re scared of democracy and human rights,” Arkin said.
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