Europe

(Reuters) --- Russia will soon have more than 120,000 troops on Ukraine's border, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday, calling for new Western economic sanctions on Moscow.

Kyiv, Washington and NATO have been alarmed by the large build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Western officials say the concentration of forces is now larger than during that annexation.

(Reuters) --- At least 12 of the European Union’s 27 member states have said they are confident of being able to vaccinate 70% of their adult population by mid-July, the EU executive’s vaccine task force chief said on Tuesday.

The European Commission has set a target of inoculating 70% of the EU's adult population by the end of this summer, banking on a big increase in vaccine deliveries to accelerate its vaccination drive.

(Reuters) --- Germany is very concerned about Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's health, Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

"The German government, together with others, is pressing for him to receive adequate medical treatment," she told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Tuesday.

Merkel also said that a Russian troop buildup on the border with Ukraine created an "alarmingly tense" situation, saying it was important to keep a dialogue going on the issue.

(Reuters) --- Armin Laschet, leader of Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU), won the backing of senior party members at an internal meeting to run as the conservative candidate to succeed Angela Merkel in a federal election in September, party sources said on Tuesday.

That brings him a step closer to being named candidate for the conservative bloc, a role for which he has been vying with Markus Soeder, leader of the CDU's smaller Bavarian sister party CSU.

LONDON (AP) — Experts at the European Medicines Agency are preparing to present the conclusions of their investigation later on Tuesday into possible links between the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine and very rare cases of unusual clotting disorders detected in the U.S.

MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. ambassador in Moscow said Tuesday he will head home for consultations — a move that comes after the Kremlin prodded him to take a break after Washington and Moscow traded sanctions.

Ambassador John Sullivan said in a statement that he is returning to the United States this week to discuss U.S.-Russian ties with members of President Joe Biden’s administration. He emphasized that he would come back to Moscow within weeks.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s foreign policy chief said Monday that in the face of the big military buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine’s borders, it will only take “a spark” to set off a confrontation.

In a glum assessment of relations with Moscow, Josep Borrell also said that the condition of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was “critical” and that the 27-nation group would hold the Kremlin accountable for his health and safety.

MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/: The speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, has said she believes that Russia has entered a post-covid period. She was speaking at a meeting of the scientific and expert council under the office of the FC speaker, devoted to the development of the cyber environment as a space of security, rule of law and sustainable development, Matviyenko.

"I believe that postcovid period is already a reality. I am very glad to see all of you face to face," Matviyenko said.

SEVASTOPOL, April 19. /TASS/: The Black Sea Fleet’s marine corps stationed in Crimea and the Krasnodar Region embarked military hardware and personnel on the Fleet’s large amphibious assault ships in a final combat readiness check after the winter training period, the Fleet’s press office reported on Monday.

PRAGUE, April 19. /TASS/: The Czech authorities will officially cross out Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom from the list of bidders to build a new power unit at the Dukovany nuclear power plant in the south-east of the Czech Republic, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlicek said on Monday.

"In the coming days, they [Rosatom] will be dropped [from the list of companies that were chosen] to take part in the tender," he said in an interview with the Pravo newspaper.