Latest news with #AlexanderVanDerBellen
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ukraine's Zelenskyy visits Austria for first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of his country
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Austria on Monday in his first trip to the European Union member country since Russia 's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Austria is famously neutral — a stance it declared in 1955 after World War II — and Vienna has come under heavy criticism since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war for maintaining ties with Moscow. Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 138 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, mainly at the eastern Donetsk region. Of those, 125 were either intercepted or jammed, while 10 reached their targets. Eight others caused damage as falling debris. Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Christian Stocker, and the two presidents were set to hold a news conference later Monday. This is Stocker's first high-profile visit from a foreign dignitary since he took office in March at the head of a previously untried three-party coalition after a record five-month wait for a new administration. Zelenskyy's wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, and Doris Schmidauer, Van der Bellen's spouse, will also host a discussion about the role of women in promoting peace and security during the trip. Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in the run-up to World War II, declared neutrality after the war under pressure from Western allies and the Soviet Union. It sought a role as a mediator between East and West, developing ties with Moscow that outlasted the Cold War. The Austrian government has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine but also stressed the need to maintain diplomatic relations with Moscow. Vienna has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine but no weapons. Former Chancellor Karl Nehammer was the first EU leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face after the war started. Nehammer traveled to Moscow in April 2022 in a fruitless attempt to persuade the Russian leader to end the invasion.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine's Zelenskyy visits Austria for first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of his country
VIENNA (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Austria on Monday in his first trip to the European Union member country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Austria is famously neutral — a stance it declared in 1955 after World War II — and Vienna has come under heavy criticism since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war for maintaining ties with Moscow. Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 138 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, mainly at the eastern Donetsk region. Of those, 125 were either intercepted or jammed, while 10 reached their targets. Eight others caused damage as falling debris. Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Christian Stocker, and the two presidents were set to hold a news conference later Monday. This is Stocker's first high-profile visit from a foreign dignitary since he took office in March at the head of a previously untried three-party coalition after a record five-month wait for a new administration. Zelenskyy's wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, and Doris Schmidauer, Van der Bellen's spouse, will also host a discussion about the role of women in promoting peace and security during the trip. Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in the run-up to World War II, declared neutrality after the war under pressure from Western allies and the Soviet Union. It sought a role as a mediator between East and West, developing ties with Moscow that outlasted the Cold War. The Austrian government has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine but also stressed the need to maintain diplomatic relations with Moscow. Vienna has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine but no weapons. Former Chancellor Karl Nehammer was the first EU leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face after the war started. Nehammer traveled to Moscow in April 2022 in a fruitless attempt to persuade the Russian leader to end the invasion.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Ukraine's Zelenskyy visits Austria for first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of his country
VIENNA (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Austria on Monday in his first trip to the European Union member country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Austria is famously neutral — a stance it declared in 1955 after World War II — and Vienna has come under heavy criticism since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war for maintaining ties with Moscow. Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 138 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, mainly at the eastern Donetsk region. Of those, 125 were either intercepted or jammed, while 10 reached their targets. Eight others caused damage as falling debris. Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Christian Stocker, and the two presidents were set to hold a news conference later Monday. This is Stocker's first high-profile visit from a foreign dignitary since he took office in March at the head of a previously untried three-party coalition after a record five-month wait for a new administration. Zelenskyy's wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, and Doris Schmidauer, Van der Bellen's spouse, will also host a discussion about the role of women in promoting peace and security during the trip. Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in the run-up to World War II, declared neutrality after the war under pressure from Western allies and the Soviet Union. It sought a role as a mediator between East and West, developing ties with Moscow that outlasted the Cold War. The Austrian government has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine but also stressed the need to maintain diplomatic relations with Moscow. Vienna has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine but no weapons. Former Chancellor Karl Nehammer was the first EU leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin face-to-face after the war started. Nehammer traveled to Moscow in April 2022 in a fruitless attempt to persuade the Russian leader to end the invasion.
Asharq Al-Awsat
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Leadership Offers Condolences to Austrian President over Graz School Shooting
The Saudi leadership extended its condolences to President of Austria over a school shooting in Graz that left several students dead and injured, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud sent on Wednesday a cable of condolences to President Alexander Van der Bellen over the shooting incident. He condemned the heinous criminal act and expressed to the Austrian president, the families of the victims, and the friendly people of Austria his deepest condolences and sincere sympathy. Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, also sent a cable of condolences and sympathy to Van der Bellen, expressing his deepest condolences to the President, the friendly people of Austria. He wished the injured a speedy recovery.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Graz school shooting: Grief and shock in Austria's second city
There is shock, sadness and disbelief in Graz, after the worst shooting in modern Austrian history left 11 people dead, including the gunman."We never could have imagined that this could have happened here, in our place. It's a sad day for the whole city," said Reka, who lives close to the many years, Austria had been spared the pain of mass school that all changed at about 10:00 on Tuesday when a former student ran amok at a secondary school in the Dreierschützengasse, close to the main station in Austria's second largest classes were under way when the attack took place. Some students at the school would have been taking their final took police 17 minutes to bring the situation under control. By the time it was over six female victims and three males had died. Hours later, a seventh female victim, an adult woman, died in hospital. Several others remain in hospital, some with critical gunman, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen with two firearms, took his own life at the school.A former pupil who never passed his final exams, he is reported to have seen himself as a victim of bullying. Local resident Reka told me she couldn't understand how an attack like this could have happened in her well-ordered city."This area is quiet, safe and beautiful," she said. "People are nice, the school is good."Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen said: "This horror cannot be put into words. What happened today in a school in Graz, hits our country right in the heart. These were young people who had their whole lives ahead of them. A teacher who accompanied them on their way."He said there was "nothing at this moment that can alleviate the pain that the parents, grandparents, siblings and friends of those murdered are feeling". Austria's Chancellor Christian Stocker, who rushed to the scene with the Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, called it "a national tragedy, that had shaken the entire country." He said there were no words to describe "the pain and grief that we all – the whole of Austria – is feeling".Three days of mourning have been declared in Austria. Flags on the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, where President van der Bellen has his office, will fly at has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 persons, according to the Small Arms Survey, an independent research school shootings here are rare. There have been a few incidents over the years that have involved far fewer casualties:In 2018 a 19-year-old was shot by another youth in Mistelbach, north of ViennaIn 2012 in St Pölten, a pupil was shot dead by his fatherIn 1997, in Zöbern, a 15-year-old killed a teacher and seriously injured anotherAnd in 1993 a 13-year-old boy in Hausleiten seriously injured the head teacher and then killed most violent gun attack in recent years took place in the heart of Vienna in November 2020. Four people were killed and 22 injured when a convicted jihadist ran through the centre of the city opening fire, before he was eventually shot by guns and pump action guns are banned, while revolvers, pistols and semi-automatic weapons are allowed only with official authorisation. Rifles and shotguns are permitted with a firearms licence or a valid hunting licence, or for members of traditional shooting Graz gunman is understood to have owned both firearms legally, and he had no criminal record. One of his guns was bought only the day before the attack, according to one the school, a young man on a bicycle watched as the police allowed security vehicles through the security cordon round the school."It's horrific," he told me. "This is my home. I can't understand how so many people my age are dead. This shouldn't happen here."
