Latest news with #Ukrainians
Russia Today
an hour ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Minister tasked with repatriating Ukrainians accused of fleeing country
The minister charged with repatriating Ukrainians living in the West has been accused of fleeing the country. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and National Unity Minister Aleksey Chernyshov leads a government department created in late 2024 to encourage citizens to return home. MP Artyom Dmitruk and journalist Anatoly Shariy, both critics of the current Ukrainian government, claimed Chernyshov 'escaped' the country after several known associates of his were arrested on charges of fraud and embezzlement. Dmitruk, who himself left Ukraine earlier this year citing persecution by authorities, said Thursday on social media that the minister's departure is 'particularly comical,' adding 'However they are trying to conceal this and whatever happens to this case now the fact remains that the regime is crumbling before our eyes.' Chernyshov's office has denied his departure is linked to a criminal case launched by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) against five individuals over alleged offences committed when Chernyshov served as urban development minister. Among the suspects is a former Ukrainian deputy minister who also held a position at state-run energy firm Naftogaz, and a former ministerial aide. According to investigators, the group illegally transferred state-owned land to a private developer, who provided discounted luxury apartments in return. Authorities executed search warrants related to the case last year at an elite residential complex in Kiev. Ukrainian news outlets have identified the accused as longtime associates of Chernyshov. Media reports from 2024 linked one of the searched properties to his former head of security and claimed Chernyshov himself owns an apartment in the same building. Shariy, an EU-based reporter who was recently sentenced in Ukraine to 15 years in prison for state treason, claimed the minister is now hiding in the EU while awaiting protection from Vladimir Zelensky. On Thursday, Ukraine's parliament, which is dominated by Zelensky's supporters, approved the formation of a special commission to examine corruption allegations involving law enforcement and the judiciary. Critics claim the body is meant to target NABU investigators. The Ukrainian government has faced repeated corruption scandals in recent years. In 2023, former Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov stepped down following revelations that his ministry had paid inflated prices for military rations. His successor, Rustem Umerov, is reportedly under investigation by anti-corruption authorities for alleged abuse of power related to the defense procurement system.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Italy's immigration and emigration both soaring, stats agency says
ROME, June 20 (Reuters) - The numbers of Italians leaving their country and of foreigners moving in have soared to the highest in a decade, official data showed on Friday, fuelling national concerns about brain drain, economic decline and immigration. Italy has a right-wing government elected in 2022 on a mandate to curb migrant arrivals, but also has a shrinking population and growing labour shortages, highlighting the need to attract foreign workers. Meanwhile the country's stagnant economy and low wages - salaries are below 1990 levels in inflation-adjusted terms - have been blamed for pushing many Italians to seek better fortunes abroad. Last year 382,071 foreigners moved to Italy, up from 378,372 in 2023 and the highest since 2014, statistics agency Istat said. In the same period, 155,732 Italians emigrated, up from 114,057 in 2023 and also the highest since 2014. The immigration figure beat the previous high for the last decade of 301,000 in 2017, and was well above that period's low of 191,766 from 2020 - the height of the COVID pandemic. The figure of almost 270,000 nationals emigrating in the two-year period from 2023 to 2024 was up around 40% compared to the previous two years. The two-year immigration figure for that period, of around 760,000, was up 31% from 2021-2022. The figures are derived from town registry offices, so are unlikely to reflect undocumented migration. Ukrainians made up the biggest national group among those who arrived in 2023-2024, Istat said, followed by Albanians, Bangladeshis, Moroccans, Romanians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Argentines and Tunisians. As for the high number of emigrants, "it is more than plausible" that a significant number were "former immigrants" who moved abroad after acquiring Italian citizenship, Istat said. The agency also said Italy's poorer south was continuing to depopulate, noting that almost 1% of residents in Calabria, the region with the lowest per capita income, moved to central or northern areas during 2023-2024.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Italy's immigration and emigration both soaring, stats agency says
ROME - The numbers of Italians leaving their country and of foreigners moving in have soared to the highest in a decade, official data showed on Friday, fuelling national concerns about brain drain, economic decline and immigration. Italy has a right-wing government elected in 2022 on a mandate to curb migrant arrivals, but also has a shrinking population and growing labour shortages, highlighting the need to attract foreign workers. Meanwhile the country's stagnant economy and low wages - salaries are below 1990 levels in inflation-adjusted terms - have been blamed for pushing many Italians to seek better fortunes abroad. Last year 382,071 foreigners moved to Italy, up from 378,372 in 2023 and the highest since 2014, statistics agency Istat said. In the same period, 155,732 Italians emigrated, up from 114,057 in 2023 and also the highest since 2014. The immigration figure beat the previous high for the last decade of 301,000 in 2017, and was well above that period's low of 191,766 from 2020 - the height of the COVID pandemic. The figure of almost 270,000 nationals emigrating in the two-year period from 2023 to 2024 was up around 40% compared to the previous two years. The two-year immigration figure for that period, of around 760,000, was up 31% from 2021-2022. The figures are derived from town registry offices, so are unlikely to reflect undocumented migration. Ukrainians made up the biggest national group among those who arrived in 2023-2024, Istat said, followed by Albanians, Bangladeshis, Moroccans, Romanians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Argentines and Tunisians. As for the high number of emigrants, "it is more than plausible" that a significant number were "former immigrants" who moved abroad after acquiring Italian citizenship, Istat said. The agency also said Italy's poorer south was continuing to depopulate, noting that almost 1% of residents in Calabria, the region with the lowest per capita income, moved to central or northern areas during 2023-2024. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Russia sentences activist who helped Ukrainians flee war to 22 years in prison
LONDON: A Russian activist who helped collect humanitarian aid for Ukraine and evacuate Ukrainians from the war zone was sentenced on Friday to 22 years in prison by a Moscow military court, the RIA state news agency reported. Nadezhda Rossinskaya, also known as Nadin Geisler, ran a group called 'Army of Beauties', which said it had assisted some 25,000 people in Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine in 2022-23, according to a report last year in The Moscow Times. Authorities arrested Geisler in February 2024 and later charged her with treason and aiding terrorist activities over a post they said she made on Instagram calling for donations to Ukraine's Azov Battalion. Geisler denied any wrongdoing, and her lawyer said she was not the author of the post, according to a trial transcript compiled by Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet. Prosecutors had requested 27 years for Geisler, who is in her late 20s. Mediazona reported that she had asked the court to imprison her for 27 years and one day, so that her prison term could surpass that of Darya Trepova, a Russian woman jailed for delivering a bomb that killed a pro-war blogger in 2023. Trepova's sentence, handed down last year, was the longest given to any woman in modern Russian history. Prosecutions for terrorism, espionage and cooperation with a foreign state have risen sharply in Russia since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine over three years ago. Pervy Otdel, a Russian lawyers' association, says 359 people were convicted of such crimes in 2024.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Russian activist sentenced to 22 years for aiding Ukraine
LONDON: A Russian activist who helped collect humanitarian aid for Ukraine and evacuate Ukrainians from the war zone was sentenced on Friday to 22 years in prison by a Moscow military court, the RIA state news agency reported. Nadezhda Rossinskaya, also known as Nadin Geisler, ran a group called 'Army of Beauties', which said it had assisted some 25,000 people in Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine in 2022-23, according to a report last year in The Moscow Times. Authorities arrested Geisler in February 2024 and later charged her with treason and aiding terrorist activities over a post they said she made on Instagram calling for donations to Ukraine's Azov Battalion. Geisler denied any wrongdoing, and her lawyer said she was not the author of the post, according to a trial transcript compiled by Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet. Prosecutors had requested 27 years for Geisler, who is in her late 20s. Mediazona reported that she had asked the court to imprison her for 27 years and one day, so that her prison term could surpass that of Darya Trepova, a Russian woman jailed for delivering a bomb that killed a pro-war blogger in 2023. Trepova's sentence, handed down last year, was the longest given to any woman in modern Russian history. Prosecutions for terrorism, espionage and cooperation with a foreign state have risen sharply in Russia since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine over three years ago. Pervy Otdel, a Russian lawyers' association, says 359 people were convicted of such crimes in 2024.
