LAGOS JULY 10TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that he had dismissed several of Kyiv’s senior envoys abroad, including the country’s outspoken ambassador to Germany. Zelenskiy announced the sacking of Ukraine’s ambassadors to Germany, India, the Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary and said new candidates were being readied for the positions. “This rotation…
By Uzoh Ifeanyi LAGOS JUNE 20TH (NEWSRANGERS)-It happened in South Africa. It happened in Pakistan. It happened in France. It happened in Ukraine. Volodomyr Zelensky, a lawyer and comedian, was a political outsider before he became Ukrainian president. His political party, Servant of the People, named after a TV series in which he played the…
LAGOS MAY 23RD (NEWSRANGERS)-A Kyiv court Monday ruled that a 21-year-old Russian soldier who killed a civilian was guilty of war crimes and handed him a life sentence, in the first verdict against Moscow’s forces since their invasion. “The court has found that (Vadim) Shishimarin is guilty and sentences him to life imprisonment,” judge Sergiy…
LAGOS MAY 4RG (NEWSRANGERS)-Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Pope Francis has floated the idea that he wants to take a trip to Kyiv to try to broker a ceasefire. But now he says he would prefer to go to Moscow to try to talk some sense into Vladimir Putin, who he has…
LAGOS APRIL 11TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Pope Francis on Sunday called for an Easter truce in Ukraine, and in an apparent reference to Russia, questioned the value of planting a victory flag “on a heap of rubble”. Francis spoke at the end of a Palm Sunday service for about 50,000 people in St. Peter’s Square, the first time…
LAGOS MARCH 19TH (NEWSRANGERS)-A Russian ambassador on Thursday said Bosnia and Herzegovina could face the same military aggression unleashed on Ukraine if the country joins NATO. Igor Kalbukhov made the remarks during an interview with broadcaster FTV on Thursday. He noted that the country is free to join the 30-member alliance but that Moscow would…
LAGOS MARCH 19TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that any foreign supplies to Ukraine containing military equipment will be considered “legitimate targets” for Russian strikes. “We clearly said that any cargo moving into the Ukrainian territory which we would believe is carrying weapons would be fair game. This is clear because we are…
LAGOS MARCH 19TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Russian missiles continued to devastate major cities across Ukraine on Friday — as rescuers desperately tried to reach as many as 1,300 people feared trapped for two days below the rubble of a blown-up theater. The early-morning barrages included strikes on capital Kyiv, where at least one person was killed when six…