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world news Diaranson 3 augustus 2022

Some flee eastern Ukraine, others defy govt order to leave

(AP) — Maryna Havrysh evacuate as soon as possible southwest.
struggled to hold back her as Russian forces press deep-
tears as she helped a group er into the region. As she struggled to board the
of volunteers load her el- van bound for the train sta-
derly parents into an evac- “The more people leave tion, Valentyna Abramanovs-
uation van in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region now, the ka, 87, carried only a black-
near the front line of Rus- fewer people the Russian and-white photograph of her
sia’s war on Ukraine. army will have time to kill,” mother and sister taken near-
Zelenskyy said. ly 50 years ago on the Sea of
Her 84-year-old father, Vik- Azov, a memento of her life
tor Mariukha, was carried by Even as the August weather to carry with her.
stretcher out of the house, remains warm in eastern
while her mother Lidia, 79, Ukraine, authorities are pre- “God help me, God help me,”
held a cane as volunteers held paring for the cold months she repeated as she crossed
her under each arm. As the of fall and winter, when they herself with trembling hands.
couple left the home they had fear that many of the roughly “I think I’m going crazy.”
shared for nearly 70 years to 350,000 residents still inside the train station in Pok-
begin a journey to a nursing Donetsk may not have access Abramanovska said she’d Nina Grandova’s third-floor rovsk, hundreds of evacuees
home in western Ukraine, to heat, electricity or even been terrified after the apartment in Kramatorsk was climbed onto the sweltering
their daughter offered them clean water. bombings in her village be- damaged by Russian shelling train for the several-hour
words of comfort. came “a nightmare,” and was in July, and her disabled hus- journey west to the city of
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s dep- persuaded by her daughter to band, Yurii, has been living Dnipro.
But when the van’s sliding uty prime minister, Iryna leave. in the building’s dingy base-
door closed, Maryna burst Vereshchuk, said a train car- ment since the Russian inva- Standing on the platform with
into sobs. rying evacuees from Donetsk She still has childhood sion began on Feb. 24. her young daughter, Viktoria,
had arrived in central memories, she said, of Ger- a young mother from the
“I understand that this will Ukraine, representing the man soldiers who occupied Yet she said they have no eastern city of Bakhmut said
be the last time that I ever start of what authorities are Ukraine during World War plans to leave, and has been the danger posed by shelling
see them,” said Maryna, who describing as a compulsory II. But for her, the experience collecting firewood in the and the prospect of a winter
decided to remain in Kra- evacuation effort that would of Russian bombardment has yard of her building to cook without heat had convinced
matorsk with her husband to take 200,000-220,000 people been far worse. with over in winter. She is her to flee.
continue working. “You see out of the eastern province willing to sign a document
their age, I can’t give them by fall. “They are beasts, jackals. God required by authorities de- “We already have problems
the proper care.” forgive me for what I’m say- claring that those who stay with electricity and no gas, so
On the outskirts of Krama- ing,” she said. “How is it pos- take responsibility for their I think families with children
The evacuation of Maryna’s torsk, which has undergone sible? They are killing chil- own lives, she said. will be the first to leave,” she
parents, carried out by vol- frequent Russian shelling, dren.” said.
unteers with a Ukrainian aid volunteers have set up a col- “I have nowhere to go. I have
group, came days after Presi- lection point for gathering While the government’s to take care of my husband,” Moments before the train
dent Volodymyr Zelenskyy evacuees who are then trans- order to evacuate has con- she said. “What will happen lurched into motion toward
issued an order to all those ported to the nearest working vinced some of those left in will happen.” the west, an air raid siren
remaining in the country’s train station in Pokrovsk, 50 the Donetsk region to flee, pierced the air.
embattled Donetsk region to miles (85 kilometers) to the others are resistant. After being transported to

US ambassador to Japan warns of Chinese economic coercion

(AP) — The United States is mayor of Chicago and chief of staff “From intellectual property theft to tional spheres of influence.
working with Japan and other for President Barack Obama, is push- coercion to debt dependency that
likeminded countries to counter ing what he calls “commercial diplo- China creates, the idea that they China has become one of the big-
China’s efforts to use its econom- macy,” the idea that the United States could actually honestly say, ‘We don’t gest lenders to developing countries
ic might to force political change and Japan will be more eager to do coerce,’ and then you have not one, through its “Belt and Road Initiative”
around the world, the U.S. am- business with each other and with not two, not three – many world- to expand trade by building ports,
bassador to Japan said Tuesday in similar secure and stable countries wide examples where they use their railways and other infrastructure
an interview with The Associated amid worries caused by the COV- economic market access to force across Asia, Africa and the Middle
Press. ID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine a political change in a country ... I East to Europe. This has prompted
and Chinese economic coercion. think everybody’s woken up to that,” accusations Beijing is using debt to
Rahm Emanuel, who was previously Emanuel said in the interview at his gain political leverage, but Chinese
residence in the heart of downtown officials deny that.
Tokyo.
China has been more assertive about
Emanuel, who arrived in Japan in pressing other governments to em-
January, laid out a number of exam- brace Chinese-led initiatives includ-
ples of Chinese coercion, including ing a trade group, the Regional Com-
with Japan, which saw Chinese ship- prehensive Economic Partnership.
ments of rare earth metals blocked
over a territorial dispute; South Ko- Emanuel said that finding ways for
rea, which suffered Chinese busi- Japan and the United States to stand
ness boycotts when it installed a U.S. up to Chinese economic coercion
missile defense system; Australia; and was one of the first issues he raised
countries in Europe and Southeast with Japan’s foreign minister.
Asia.
Japan has expressed deep worry
China’s growing economic impor- about increased Chinese activities in
tance and spending abroad have regional seas, including near a Jap-
rattled those countries, which worry anese-controlled island claimed by
that Beijing is increasing its strategic Beijing, and has pushed for peace and
and political influence in their tradi- stability in the Taiwan Strait.