Russian region holding Ukrainian Prisoners of War as ‘bargaining chip’
Voice of America
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Iya Rashevskaya was told her husband — a member of the country’s armed forces – had gone missing in the frontline in the eastern Donetsk region, in April 2023.
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.
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FILE - Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivers a speech during the Heads of State of Central Asia Summit session in Astana, Kazakhstan, Aug. 9, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service/handout via AFP)
This photograph shows a damaged hospital following a Russian drone strike in Odesa on Feb. 19, 2025.
FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the Australia - United Kingdom - U.S. (AUKUS) partnership,in San Diego, California March 13, 2023.