As war rages, Ukraine’s politicians circle presidential ‘electric chair’
Voice of America
FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy casts his ballot as his wife, Olena, stands nearby at a polling station during a parliamentary election in Kyiv on July 21, 2019.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been branded “a dictator without elections,” but rivals are already circling for his job as expectations mount of a vote later this year.
FILE - A member of the local police patrols a checkpoint for Islamic State militants in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2018. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Feb. 20, 2025, that Islamic State and other terrorists could be operating in Afghanistan.
A poster shows Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped to Gaza with her husband and two young sons on Oct. 7, 2023, in Jerusalem, Feb. 21, 2025. Palestinian militants and members of the Red Cross gather near vehicles on the day Hamas hands over deceased Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 20, 2025. People react at the so-called "Hostages Square" in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 20, 2025, as the bodies of four people, including two children, are handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza.
In this photo provided by the Australian Defense Force, the People's Liberation Army-Navy Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang travels in the Torres Strait off Australia's coast, on Feb. 11, 2025.
FILE - In this file photo dated May 1, 2019, a woman and child sit on a hill overlooking the Euphrates River as families picnic on May Day, in Derik, Syria.
FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive for a news conference in the White House on Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington.
FILE - Somali National Army soldiers stand guard against al-Shabab militants in the Middle Shabelle region in Somalia, Dec. 10, 2012. Somali officials say more than 100 militants were killed Feb. 20, 2025, during al-Shabab attacks on military bases in the region.
FILE - Geir Pedersen, the United Nations' special envoy to Syria, speaks to journalists in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 18, 2024. FILE - Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa walks in the presidential palace in Damascus, Dec. 28, 2024.
South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing at his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law, at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Feb. 20, 2025.
FILE - A poster of Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is seen along a road in Kabul, Aug. 14, 2023. ICC chief prosecutor’s announced, Jan. 23, 2025, seeking arrest warrants for Akhundzada and a close associate accused of crimes against humanity.
Ivorian troops take part in a ceremony marking the handover to them of the French military base in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Feb. 20, 2025. The sign reads: "See you soon."
FILE - The National Endowment for Democracy's Democracy Service Medal is displayed at the Library of Congress in Washington.
FILE- The "Visit Rwanda" logo is seen on the sleeve of Arsenal's Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard during a club friendly football match between Arsenal and Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium in London. July 30, 2022.