US President Joe Biden is in France to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landing and to underscore the need for a strong transatlantic alliance in the face of Russian aggression. He’ll also take part in a formal state visit hosted by France’s president, and will meet face-to-face with Ukraine’s president, who has been invited to (somber ceremonies marking this decisive battle that led to the end of the World War II. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Paris. Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report
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Portsmouth, United Kingdom — King Charles III on Wednesday led commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary for the World War II D-Day landings, joining British veterans, other senior royals and political leaders.

The 75-year-old monarch, who only recently resumed public engagements as he battles cancer, spoke at a remembrance event in Portsmouth, on England’s south coast, organized by the Ministry of Defense.

Allied troops began departing from the port city and other sites on the southern English coast on June 5, 1944, crossing the Channel and battling to land the next morning on beaches in northern France.

“As we give thanks for all those who gave so much to win the victory whose fruits we still enjoy to this day, let us once again commit ourselves always to remember, cherish and honor those who served that day,” Charles told the flag-waving audience.

As head of state, Charles is commander-in-chief of Britain’s armed forces and served himself in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

He and his wife Queen Camilla will be in France on Thursday for further commemorations.

Senior royals, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and WWII veterans will join dozens of heads of state including US President Joe Biden, French leader Emmanuel Macron and other dignitaries at services across Normandy.

It will be Charles’s first overseas visit since his cancer diagnosis was announced in February.

‘Lucky’

Wednesday’s UK commemorations, which included readings, music and reenactments from the period, also featured recollections from D-Day veterans, mainly in pre-recorded videos.

However, Roy Hayward — who was aged 19 at the time — took to the stage to speak of his emotions eight decades on.

“I always considered myself one of the lucky ones that survived, because so many of us didn’t,” said the veteran, who later in WWII lost both his legs below the knees to amputation.

“I represent the men and women who put their lives on hold to go and fight for democracy and this country.

“I’m here to honor their memory and their legacy, and to ensure that their story is never forgotten,” Hayward added.

Charles’s elder son and heir Prince William — an RAF search and rescue pilot before becoming a full-time royal — also addressed the assembled dignitaries.

“Today, we remember the bravery of those who crossed the sea to liberate Europe, those who waited for their safe return,” he said after reading aloud an extract from a veteran’s diary.

The leaders of some of Britain’s main political parties took a break from general election campaigning ahead of the country’s July 4 poll.

Sunak penned a message in the event program and read out a message that was delivered to all D-Day troops.

Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer looked on from the audience.

Just hours earlier, the political rivals were clashing fiercely in the first live TV debate of the election campaign.
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On May 31, U.S. troops concluded first joint exercises practicing the reinforcement of Northern Finland in case of an attack from Russia. Both Norway and Finland have recently signed new defense pacts with the U.S. military giving access to bases in the far north of their territories. In this report for VOA, Henry Wilkins speaks to Finland’s minister of defense and U.S. officers about what this means for the region.
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Washington — In late May, the Faktor Druk printing plant in Kharkiv was hit during a missile attack.

Serhii Polituchyi, CEO of Faktor Druk Corp., which owns the plant, rushed to the scene, arriving before firefighters, and watched as the building was engulfed in flames. Seven of his employees were killed and 21 wounded.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the Russian military attacked Kharkiv and the neighboring city of Lubotyn with 15 missiles on May 23. One landed at Faktor Druk, the largest printing facility in Ukraine and one of the largest in Europe, destroying its binding shop — a 4,000-square-meter modern facility — and other critical equipment.

The plant printed about 40% of all books in Ukraine, including school textbooks. Before the full-scale invasion, it took orders from 16 European countries and the United States.

“The capacity allowed printing up to 50 million books per year, plus up to 100 million copies of magazines and 300 million newspapers. This is a huge blow to the industry,” said Ihor Solovey, head of the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, a Ukrainian government institution.

Destroying Ukrainian identity

Polituchyi said he thought that Russians were deliberately targeting the book publishing facility, pointing to four other missiles landing in the close vicinity of the printing facility.

Solovey said it was the third printing house in Kharkiv hit by Russian missiles.

“This is a direct attack by the Russians on the Ukrainian language,” said Rostyslav Karandieiev, Ukraine’s acting minister of culture and information policy.

According to the Ukrainian Book Institute, Russian strikes and other aggressive actions have destroyed 174 libraries and almost 2 million books.

The Smithsonian Institution, located in Washington, has also documented the massive destruction of Ukraine’s book publishing facilities, some of which are designated as cultural heritage sites, as well as libraries and archives.

The Smithsonian, with its partners, such as at the Heritage Monitoring Lab in Ukraine, uses satellite sensing and imagery and on-the-ground examination to monitor conditions in Ukraine.

In their recent assessment of potential damage to sites in Ukraine from the beginning of the invasion through April 30, 2024, Katharyn Hanson, head of research at the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, told VOA that they concluded that up to 143 sites identified as libraries or archives have been potentially damaged.

Its research in Donetsk Oblast found that cultural buildings had more than a 20% chance of being damaged compared with about a 13-14% chance for any other civilian buildings, including hospitals.

“This finding leads us to believe with some confidence that cultural buildings were deliberately targeted in the region,” she said.

The Smithsonian’s report, titled “Potential Damage to Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Sites,” identified that between February 24, 2022, and April 30, 2024, potential damage was caused to 2,122 out of 28,710 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine, with the memorials and places of worship being the most affected.

“Damage and looting to Ukrainian cultural heritage sites may represent criminal acts, [that] violate the 1954 Hague Convention, and be potential war crimes or crimes against humanity,” the report says.

The 1954 Hague Convention, to which Russia and Ukraine are member states, obligates its signature states to “respect” and “safeguard” cultural objects during armed conflict.

After the hit, Russian Telegram channels spread information that the printing house in Kharkiv produced drones for the Ukrainian army, debunked by Ukrainian fact-checker Gwara media.

Leading up to the 2022 full-scale invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin published a lengthy essay arguing that “true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia” because of the ties formed during” their shared history. They are, therefore, “one people.”

In the course of the invasion and occupation, Ukrainian authorities and human rights groups documented Russians targeting the expression of Ukrainian national identity, including speaking or reading in the Ukrainian language.

In its March 2024 report, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights details violence and intimidation employed by Russia to impose Russian language, laws and education while “suppressing expressions of Ukraine” culture and identity.”

“Ukrainians opposing occupation or expressing their identity as Ukrainians were labeled as Nazis,” the report says. “The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights has specifically warned that this denial of Ukrainian identity and history as a justification for war violates Ukrainians’ right to self-determination.”

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2024, claiming the Russian military was seeking the “denazification” of its neighboring country. Ukraine and Western nations condemned the actions, with the EU and Western countries leveling harsh economic sanctions against Moscow and providing military, food and medical aid to Kyiv.

Ukraine’s capital of book publishing

The Buffett Foundation announced that it would help to rebuild the facility and replace the equipment.

In a written reply to VOA, Howard Buffett, the son of billionaire Warren Buffett, said the foundation estimates it will spend at least $8 million. Despite focusing primarily on civilian needs in Ukraine, the foundation thought allocating funds to help the publisher was important.

“Putin is actively targeting for destruction and occupation any civilian infrastructure that represents Ukrainian identity, including this publisher of textbooks for Ukrainian schools. This war is as much about affirming Ukrainians’ right to exist as a people in a sovereign nation as it is about deterring Russian aggression that threatens the Western world,” Howard Buffett wrote.

The printing facility will remain in Kharkiv, a city 20 kilometers from the Russian border, which has been experiencing an almost-daily barrage from Russian drones and missile strikes.

“Historically, Ukraine’s vast majority of printing capacities are concentrated in Kharkiv. Experts believe that Kharkiv printing houses provide up to 80% of the total volume of printing services,” Oleksandra Koval, director of the Ukrainian Book Institute, told VOA.

Since the early 19th century, when a printing shop of Kharkiv University became one of the leading printing facilities in Ukraine under the Russian empire, the city has been attracting book publishers and writers.

Factor Druk’s Polituchiy said that modern book printing requires a high degree of specialization, and most of these specialists live in Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine. He said that moving a printing plant with complex equipment to a safer area of the country would be prohibitively expensive.

He plans to rebuild the printing plant and hopes that it will not be hit by another Russian missile or drone.
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Washington — There are new warnings about potential attacks aimed at disrupting the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris, including the potential for more terror plots like the one disrupted last week by French officials.

A report released Tuesday by the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future states that despite a high likelihood of cyberattacks, the greatest risk to the Paris Games will come from in-person threats instead of from cyberspace.

“We assess that physical security threats — including terrorism, violent extremism, civil unrest and disruptive protests — pose the greatest risk of harm and disruption,” the report from Recorded Future’s Insikt Group said.

“Terrorists and violent extremists — particularly IS [Islamic State] and al-Qaida supporters in France and neighboring European countries — will almost certainly continue to plot and incite violent attacks targeting the Paris Olympics,” the report added. “Though extensive security infrastructure in place for the event will make a successful mass-casualty attack very unlikely.”

The warning from Insikt Group comes as French authorities have already announced the disruption of at least two terror plots targeting the upcoming Games.

In late April, French anti-terrorism forces arrested a 16-year-old from the town of Marignier after he announced on social media that he planned to build an explosive belt and die as a suicide bomber at an Olympic venue.

And just last week, French security officials arrested an 18-year-old, charging him of planning an attack in the name of IS at the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne.

Additionally, Insikt Group warns that IS has been pumping out propaganda, “urging its supporters to recreate the November 2015 series of terrorist attacks in Paris that included a suicide bombing at the Stade de France — the main venue for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.”

And while there is no convincing evidence yet of any large-scale plot against the upcoming Olympics, the terror group has been inciting supporters across Western Europe to carry out attacks by leveraging connections through the internet and social media.

U.S. officials further warn the IS group’s Afghan affiliate, known as IS-Khorasan or ISIS-K, has been building momentum from its deadly attacks on Kerman, Iran, in January and on a Moscow concert hall in March.

“We see the ISIS network sort of resettling after a period of disquiet,” National Counterterrorism Center Director Christine Abizaid warned during a security forum last month in Doha.

“This ability of the global ISIS enterprise, even without territorial solidity, the ability to reach out virtually to a network of supporters, some of whom are going to conduct attacks, is quite concerning,” she said, calling ISIS-K’s ability to reestablish itself in Afghanistan “probably the most significant additive capability we’ve seen to the global ISIS network in the last three years.”

There are also concerns that other extremists could be motivated by the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, a U.S. designated terror group that has controlled Gaza since 2006.

Tuesday’s report by Insikt Group calls potential attacks targeting Israelis or Americans due to the war in Gaza “very unlikely but within the realm of possibility.”

Groups connected to Iran, including the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group or supporters of various Palestinian terror organizations “would likely view the Paris Olympics as an attractive venue,” the report said, though it emphasized it had not identified any intelligence suggesting such groups are preparing to act.

Cyber threats

In addition to the potential for various groups to attempt to carry out physical attacks on the Paris Games, Insikt Group warns that hackers, sometimes working for criminal enterprises and other times working for other countries, are likely to target the Olympics.

Cyber threats to the Olympics include disruptive cyberattacks by various hacktivist groups as well as ransomware attacks, cyber espionage and influence operations.

“Russia, China and Iran are likely to leverage Olympic-themed phishing lures or infrastructure to carry out espionage activities during the Paris Olympics,” according to the report.

“Networks based in Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan are also likely to work overtly and covertly to amplify narratives critical of France, NATO and Israel,” the report said.
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DEAUVILLE/PARIS — Crowds cheered and applauded as U.S. veterans arrived at French airports ahead of ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when more than 150,000 Allied soldiers landed in Normandy to drive out Nazi Germany forces.  

Many of those flying in over the weekend into Monday were older than 100, pushed on wheelchairs by relatives and aides.  

“It’s unreal. It’s unreal. Wow,” 107-year-old Reynolds Tomter said at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport as students waved U.S. and French flags and held up photos of the veterans.  

“It feels great … and I’m so thankful that I got the opportunity to be back out here, my son with me,” said 101-year-old Bill Wall, as his son, Ray, pushed him through arrivals.

“I lost some great friends. All of these people who are out there on their crosses and unmarked graves are the true heroes. It gives me a chance to pay tribute to them which they so need. It will bring back some memories of some great people,” he added.

After shaking hands with students, 95-year-old Dave Yoho said: “My heart is full. My heart is full.”  

In Deauville, Normandy, a specially chartered flight landed on Monday.  

Across Normandy, where beaches and fields still bear the scars of the fighting that erupted on June 6, 1944 and the weeks that followed, preparations were in full gear for official ceremonies. World leaders from U.S. President Joe Biden to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will attend.  

Already, at the weekend, in Vierville-sur-Mer, a town just above Omaha Beach – one of the sectors where U.S. soldiers landed – a re-enactment camp was set up, giving visitors a chance to see what equipment the soldiers were using.  

People took rides in World War Two jeeps and armored vehicles.  

“It’s always very intense when we meet veterans, because they always have many stories to tell, and you still feel the emotion,” said Julie Boisard, who lives in Normandy and took part in the re-enactment.  

A handful of serving members of the Virginia National Guard 29th Infantry Division gazed out over the beach their elders stormed 80 years earlier.  

“It’s historic, it’s memorable … and it’s very emotional as well,” said U.S. serviceman Esaw Lee. “Those guys were so courageous and so mythical. They were legendary.”  

With war raging on Europe’s borders in 2024, this anniversary’s D-Day ceremony will carry special resonance.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will be among the guests. Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, touching off Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War Two, was not invited to the D-Day events.  

The commemorations “remind us that we were occupied for four years and were liberated by the Americans,” said Marie-Therese Legallois, who was seven at the time of D-Day, and remembers it vividly.  

“But I always have a bit of sadness to see that the war continues, in Ukraine or elsewhere.”
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Atlanta, Georgia — Hilbert Margol says he didn’t look on himself as a hero when his U.S. Army artillery unit fought its way across Europe during World War II. But he will be feted in France as one of 60 American veterans of that conflict traveling to Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

“I know my brother and I never looked at it as we were any kind of heroes, nothing like that,” Margol said recently of himself and his twin brother Howard, who served with him. “It was just our time. That we were asked to serve. And we did.”

The 100-year-old Margol, who lives in suburban Atlanta, is among the dwindling band of veterans of the conflict leaving Atlanta on Sunday on a chartered flight for Deauville, Normandy. The veterans will take part in parades, school visits and ceremonies — including the official June 6 commemoration of the landings by soldiers from across the United States, Britain, Canada and other Allied nations on five beaches.

Margol didn’t land at D-Day, but the Jacksonville, Florida, native was among those that liberated the Dachau Concentration Camp on April 29, 1945.

The trip also includes high school and college students selected to escort the veterans and learn about their experiences.

Charter flights also took veterans from Atlanta to France in 2022 and 2023.

Andy Negra of Helen, Georgia, came ashore with the 6th Armored Division at Utah Beach on July 18, 1944, about six weeks after D-Day. It’s his second trip back to France after also taking part in last year’s flight.

“Well to me, we fought for freedom, and we fought for peace, and we fought for a good life,” Negra, a native of Avella, Pennsylvania, said in a recent interview.

The trip is being organized by Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, the Best Defense Foundation and the North American branch of French tire maker Michelin.

“It is our privilege to celebrate and honor these heroes by flying them directly to Normandy and recognizing their incredible sacrifices and contributions to the world,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement.
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London — Halla Tomasdottir, a businesswoman and investor, has won Iceland’s presidential election, topping a crowded field of candidates in which the top three finishers were women, the country’s national broadcast service reported. 

Tomasdottir was elected to the largely ceremonial post with 34.3% of the vote, defeating former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, with 25.2%, and Halla Hrund Logadottir, with 15.5%, RUV said Sunday. 

Tomasdottir, 55, campaigned as someone who was above party politics and could help open discussions on fundamental issues such as the effect of social media on the mental health of young people, Iceland’s development as a tourist destination and the role of artificial intelligence. 

She will replace President Gudni Th. Johannesson, who did not seek re-election after two four-year terms. Tomasdottir will take office on Aug. 1. 

Iceland, a Nordic island nation located in the North Atlantic, has about 384,000 people and a long tradition of electing women to high office. Vigdis Finbogadottir was the first democratically elected female president of any nation when she became Iceland’s head of state in 1980. 

The country has also seen two women serve as prime minister in recent years, providing stability during years of political turmoil. Johanna Sigurdardottir led the government from 2009-2013, after the global financial crisis ravaged Iceland’s economy. Jakobsdottir became prime minister in 2017, leading a broad coalition that ended the cycle of crises that had triggered three elections in four years. She resigned in April to run for president. 

Tomasdottir first rose to prominence during the financial crisis, when she was hailed as the co-founder of Audur Capital, one of the few Icelandic investment firms that survived the upheaval. She is currently on leave as chief executive of the B Team, a non-profit organization that works to promote workplace diversity and has offices in New York and London. 
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