Також Ердоган 30 травня розмовляв з президентом Росії Володимиром Путіним.
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Це про незалежність самих європейців від російської енергетичної зброї, вважає Зеленський
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Минулого тижня ЗМІ повідомляли, що адміністрація Байдена схиляється до надання систем, про необхідність поставки яких неодноразово заявляли представники влади України
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«У період навчань буде обмежено рух окремими територіями, що прилягають до об’єктів збройних сил. Окрім того, заплановані заходи вогневої підготовки на стрільбищах»
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A 36-year-old man has been arrested and placed in psychiatric care after he smeared a glass screen encasing the Mona Lisa with cake, prosecutors said Monday, in a purported protest against artists not focusing enough on “the planet.”
Officials at the Louvre Museum in Paris, where the enigmatic portrait holds pride of place, declined to comment on the bizarre incident on Sunday, which was captured on several phones and circulated widely on social media.
The treasured work by Leonardo da Vinci, which has been the target of vandalism attempts in the past, was unharmed thanks to its bulletproof glass case.
A Twitter user identified as Lukeee posted a video showing a museum employee wiping a mess off the glass and another showing a man dressed in white being escorted away by security guards.
“A man dressed as an old lady jumps out of a wheelchair and attempted to smash the bulletproof glass of the Mona Lisa. Then proceeds to smear cake on the glass and throws roses everywhere, all before being tackled by security,” Lukeee wrote.
Speaking French, the man says: “There are people who are destroying the Earth… All artists, think about the Earth. That’s why I did this. Think of the planet.”
No image have emerged showing the actual incident.
An inquiry into “an attempt to vandalize a cultural work” has been opened, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
The Mona Lisa has been behind glass since a Bolivian man threw a rock at the painting in December 1956, damaging her left elbow. In 2005, it was placed in a reinforced case that also controls temperature and humidity.
In 2009, a Russian woman threw an empty teacup at the painting, which slightly scratched the case.
The Louvre is the largest museum in the world, housing hundreds of thousands of works that attracted some 10 million visitors a year before the Covid-19 pandemic.
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«Надалі обміни військовополоненими – це спільна робота ГУР та СБУ»
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24 травня міністерство фінансів США вирішило не продовжувати ліцензію, яка дозволяє Росії провадити виплати для обслуговування зовнішнього боргу
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«Втрата значної частини молодого покоління професійних офіцерів, ймовірно, посилить поточні проблеми з модернізацією підходу до командування та контролю»
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For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.
The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT:
3:55 a.m.: The latest intelligence report from the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense says that the lack of “experienced and credible” platoon and company commanders will likely result in continued “poor discipline,” and further erosion of moral.
3:00 a.m.: The New York Times looks at challenges Western leaders have had over the years reaching consensus with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The West would like to see Finland and Sweden join NATO; this month, Erdogan said “it is not possible for us to be in favor.”
1:45 a.m.: The European Council prepares for its May 30-31 meeting in Brussels during which council members will discuss Ukraine, energy food security, and defense.
“Ukraine is showing incredible courage and dignity in the face of the Russian aggression and atrocities,” said Council President Charles Michel in his invitation to the meeting. “From the very first day, we have been unwavering in our humanitarian, financial, military and political support to the Ukrainian people and their leadership. We will continue putting pressure on Russia. Our unity has always been our strongest asset. It remains our guiding principle.”
According to the council’s website, the members of the European Council are the heads of state or government of the 27 EU member states, the European Council President, and the President of the European Commission.
12:52 a.m.: The wife of a Ukrainian soldier who fought at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol is concerned about her husband. Since Ukrainian forces lay down their arms as they declared their mission at the plant over, she has not heard what happened to him, CNN reports.
12:01 a.m.: In The Guardian, Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik said she is concerned the war in Ukraine will become “the new normal.” She warns that, without more help from the west, her country could be defeated.
your ad hereКатрін Колонна «прибула до України, щоб надати підтримку Франції українському народу»
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to address the European Council Monday as he pushes for more help for Ukraine and more pressure on Russia to end its invasion.
European Council President Charles Michel said in a letter ahead of a two-day session that Ukraine is “showing incredible courage and dignity in the face of the Russian aggression and atrocities.”
“One of our most pressing concerns is assisting the Ukrainian state, along with our international partners, with its liquidity needs,” Michel said. “We will also discuss how best to organize our support for Ukraine’s reconstruction, as a major global effort will be required to rebuild the country.”
Michel said the meetings would include addressing high energy prices linked to the conflict and a need to “accelerate our energy transition” in order to phase out European dependence on Russian fossil fuels, as well as discussing ways to deal with issues of food security and price hikes.
With Russian forces carrying out a heavy assault on Sievierodonetsk, the last Ukrainian-controlled city in the Luhansk region, Zelenskyy said in a video address late Sunday that seizing the city “is a fundamental task for the occupiers” and that Ukraine will do all it can “to hold this advance.”
Zelenskyy said Russian attacks have damaged 90% of the buildings in Sievierodonetsk, knocking out telecommunication and destroying more than two-thirds of the city’s housing.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said told French TF1 television Sunday that Russia’s “unconditional priority is the liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.” He said Russia views the areas as “independent states.”
Russia turned much of its attention to Donetsk and Luhansk, in the Donbas region, after redeploying many of its forces that had initially moved on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and faced fierce resistance in the initial stages of the invasion it launched in late February.
Kharkiv visit
Zelenskyy made a rare visit outside Kyiv Sunday to meet Ukrainian forces in the eastern city of Kharkiv, a trip meant to highlight Ukraine’s success in driving Russia away from Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Zelenskyy was briefed on current operations in the city and presented state awards to the troops.
“I want to thank each of you for your service,” Zelenskyy said. “You are risking your life for all of us and our state. Thank you for defending Ukraine’s independence. Take care!”
But while also praising regional officials Sunday, Zelenskyy said Kharkiv’s security chief had been fired for “not working to defend the city from the first days of the full-scale war.”
Ukrainian regional military administrator Oleh Synyehubov said 31% of the Kharkiv region is still occupied by Russian forces.
Ukraine mounted a new counteroffensive Sunday to reclaim land around the southern port city of Kherson.
Kherson has served as a staging ground for Russian forces in southern Ukraine, the first major city to fall to Moscow’s forces as they swept north out of Crimea more than three months ago.
But Sunday, the Ukrainian military said on Twitter, “Hold on Kherson, we’re coming.”
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Тепер норвезькою країна називатиметься саме «Білорусь» (Belarus), а не Hviterussland (буквально – «Біла Росія»)
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Pope Francis named 21 new cardinals Sunday, most of them from continents other than Europe — which dominated Catholic hierarchy for most of the church’s history — and further putting his mark on the group of people who might someday elect the next pontiff.
Sixteen of those who will receive the prestigious red cardinal’s hat from Francis in a consistory ceremony at the Vatican on Aug. 27 are younger than 80 and thus would be eligible to vote for his successor if a conclave — in which pontiffs are secretly elected — were to be held.
Francis read out the names of his choices after delivering traditional Sunday remarks from an open window of the Apostolic Palace to the public in St. Peter’s Square.
Among those tapped by the pontiff for elevation will be two prelates from India and one each from Ghana, Nigeria, Singapore, East Timor, Paraguay, and Brazil, in keeping with Francis’ determination to have church leaders reflect the global face of the Catholic church.
With church growth largely stagnant or at best sluggish in much of Europe and North America, the Vatican has been attentive to its flock in developing countries, including Africa, where the number of faithful has been growing in recent decades. Only one new cardinal was named from the United States: Robert Walter McElroy, bishop of San Diego, California.
This is the eighth batch of cardinals that Francis has named since becoming pontiff in 2013. A sizable majority of those who are eligible to vote in a conclave were appointed by him, increasing the likelihood that they will choose as his successor someone who shares his papacy’s priorities, including attention to those living on society’s margins and to environmental crises.
A total of 131 cardinals would be young enough to elect a pope once the new batch are included, while the number of cardinals too old to vote will rise to 96.
Pontiffs traditionally have chosen their closest advisers and collaborators at the Vatican from among the ranks of cardinals, who have been dubbed the “princes of the church.”
These are the churchmen named by Francis:
— Jean-Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille, France; Peter Okpaleke, bishop of Ekwulobia, Nigeria; Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, archbishop of Manaus, Brazil; Filipe Neri Antonio Sebastao di Rosario Ferrao, archbishop of Goa and Damao, India; Robert Walter McElroy, bishop of San Diego, California; Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva, archbishop of Dili, East Timor; Oscar Cantoni, bishop of Como, Italy; Anthony Poola. archbishop of Hyderabad, India; Paulo Cezar Costa, archbishop of Brasilia, Brazil; Richard Kuuia Baawobr, bishop of Wa, Ghana; William Goh Seng Chye, archbishop of Singapore; Adalberto Martinez Flores, archbishop of Asuncion, Paraguay; and Giorgio Marengo, apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
In addition to those churchmen, also under 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave are three prelates who work at the Vatican: Arthur Roche of Britain, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments; Lazzarro You Heung-sik of South Korea, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy; and Fernando Vergez Alzaga of Spain, president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and president of the Vatican City State’s Governorate.
Francis in his choices kept up a tradition of naming some who are too old to vote in a conclave, but whose long decades of dedication to the Catholic church is honored by bestowing cardinal’s rank on them. In this latest batch of nominations, they are Jorge Enrique Jimenez Carvajal, emeritus archbishop of Cartagena, Colombia; Lucas Van Looy, emeritus archbishop of Ghent, Belgium; Arrigo Miglio, emeritus archbishop of Cagliari, Sardinia; the Rev. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, a Jesuit professor of theology; and Fortunato Frezza, canon of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Presiding over the consistory this summer adds to an already ambitious schedule in the months ahead for Francis, who has taken to using a wheelchair or a cane of late due to a knee ligament problem. On Saturday, the Vatican released details of the 85-year-old pontiff’s pilgrimage, from July 2 to 7, to Congo and South Sudan. He is also scheduled to make a pilgrimage to Canada later in July to apologize in person for abuse committed by churchmen and church institutions against Indigenous people in that country.
Almost as significant as those chosen to be cardinals are those who were not chosen, despite holding posts that in the past would have traditionally earned them the red hat.
In Francis’ selection Sunday, he passed over the prominent archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone. Earlier this month, Cordileone said he will no longer allow U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to receive Communion because of her support for abortion rights.
While Francis hasn’t publicly weighed in on the soon-expected U.S. Supreme Court ruling on abortion rights, in the past he has decried the political weaponizing of Communion.
The new U.S. cardinal, McElroy, holds very different views from Cordileone. He was among the relatively few U.S. bishops who several years ago called for U.S. church policy to better reflect Francis’ concerns for the global poor. He also signed a statement last year expressing support for LGBTQ youth and denouncing the bullying directed at them.
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Iran’s seizure of two Greek-flagged oil tankers in Gulf waters is “a serious violation of international law,” France’s foreign ministry said Sunday, calling for the immediate release of the ships and their crews.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized the Greek tankers in the Persian Gulf on Friday, days after Athens confirmed it would deliver to Washington Iranian oil it had seized from a Russian tanker.
“We call on Iran to immediately release the crews and vessels,” a French foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
“France reiterates its commitment to the rules of international law protecting the freedom of navigation and maritime safety. We call on Iran to immediately cease its actions that contravene these rules,” the statement concluded.
Iran said Saturday the crews of two Greek oil tankers were in “good health” and not under arrest.
But Greece has condemned Tehran’s detention of the two ships as “tantamount to acts of piracy” and warned its citizens not to travel to Iran.
The Revolutionary Guards – the ideological arm of Iran’s military – had said it seized the tankers “due to violations,” without elaborating further.
Greece said one of the tankers had been sailing in international waters, while the second was near the Iranian coast when it was seized.
Nine Greeks are among the crews, the Greek foreign ministry said, without specifying the number of other sailors on board.
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Щодо шостого пакету санкцій проти Росії у ЄС не можуть дійти згоди понад місяць.
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Сьогодні Володимир Зеленський відвідав Харків та передові позиції українських військових в області.
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На засіданні Європейської ради 30-31 травня планують обговорити допомогу Україні
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