Russian mortality statistics show that the number of Russian troops killed since the all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 likely exceed 71,000, according to a new report.

The June 27 report, by the independent outlet Important Stories, was the latest effort by journalists and nongovernment groups to come up with a plausible estimate of Russian casualties.

Neither the Kremlin nor the Defense Ministry has released any official casualty figures since September 2022, when the ministry announced that 5,937 troops had been killed since the start of the invasion -- a number that was widely seen as implausible.

Western estimates vary. Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at least 350,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded. The chief of Britain’s armed forces, Admiral Tony Radakin, estimated the Russian tally would reach 500,000 by the end of June.

Using open sources -- including published obituaries, inheritance records, and social media posts -- the Russian outlet Mediazona, along with the BBC Russian Service, have compiled a running tally of casualties. As of June 21, that tally stood at 56,858.

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For Some In Russia's Far-Flung Provinces, Ukraine War Is A Ticket To Prosperity

Important Stories, meanwhile, used a methodology similar to what independent researchers used during the COVID-19 pandemic, when government figures appeared to have been artificially deflated.

During the pandemic, experts and statisticians looked at “excess mortality” rates -- essentially, the number of deaths that occurred beyond the average or typical number recorded from the past year -- to compile what they said was a more accurate estimate of COVID deaths.

Using data from Russia’s national statistics agency, Rosstat, Important Stories looked at excess mortality data for men between 20 and 49 years old, the age group of Russian soldiers.

The final estimate in excess of 71,000 was likely an undercount, the outlet said, because many of the troops are former prison inmates, while others are non-Russian migrants whose numbers are not always reflected in official data. Important Stories said its estimate was reviewed by outside demographers.

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For its part, Ukraine has also released little information about its war casualties. In February, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said publicly that 31,000 soldiers had been killed in the two years since the launch of the Russian invasion.

Western officials, however, have said the figure was also likely an undercount.

Russia and Ukraine have handled the issue of replenishing depleted ranks differently. After President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization in September 2022, military recruiters were able to muster an estimated 300,000 Russian men to send to Ukraine.

Troop levels were boosted further by private mercenary companies like Wagner Group, which relied heavily on prison inmates. Wagner was dissolved after its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed in a plane crash, and its units were largely absorbed into the Defense Ministry.

Ukraine, however, which has a smaller population than Russia, has struggled to boost its troop numbers. After months of delays, parliament passed sweeping reforms to its recruitment and mobilization regulations, which officials say could bring in another 500,000 troops into the war effort.

But critics say the measures fail the address the question of rotations -- giving units a chance to rest away from frontline fighting -- or of demobilization, when an active-duty soldier can legally leave service.

Finland on June 28 approved a 24th package of military aid for Ukraine worth 159 million euros ($170 million), the Finnish Defense Ministry announced. Finnish President Alexander Stubb approved the new aid package at the request of the government. The ministry did not specify what is included in the package, as well as when and in what way the aid will be delivered. "Finland is committed to supporting Ukraine in its fight against unjust Russian aggression. It is not only about Ukraine, it is also about the right of all free nations to a normal existence," said Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on June 28 dissolved the South Caucasus nation's parliament and set September 1 for elections, moving the vote up from November. The ruling New Azerbaijan Party initiated the move last week saying that events to be held in the country, including the UN climate conference (COP29), warranted moving the date. The Constitutional Court approved the change on June 27. Opposition politicians and parties criticized the move as a tool to falsify the elections' results. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.

Poland will almost certainly sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine before July's NATO summit in Washington, the Polish prime minister said on June 28. A day earlier, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that before the NATO summit in Washington, which starts on July 9, talks will be held in Warsaw with the president of Ukraine. "I must, together with the defense minister, determine how we can continue to help Ukraine, but we cannot weaken Poland's defense capabilities," Tusk told reporters. "There is a 99 percent chance that we will sign this agreement with [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy (before the summit)."

A court in Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya again rejected a request by Zarema Musayeva, the imprisoned mother of three self-exiled outspoken Chechen opposition activists, for an early release.

Musayeva's lawyer, Aleksandr Savin, filed the request as his client had served a half of her sentence, making her eligible for early release.

The Team Against Torture human rights group on June 27 quoted Savin as saying that the court in the city of Shali rejected the request.

The court said in explaining its decision that Musayeva continues to reject the charge of attacking a law enforcement officer, is registered as a potential threat to officials, and did not cover damages to OTP Bank in a fraud case that Savin has called baseless, stressing that the bank has never sued his client.

In early June, Musayeva's separate request for an early release due to the state of her health was also rejected after a new diagnosis made by state medical personnel.

In April, a state medical commission in Chechnya replaced Musayeva's previous diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes with multiple complications with a revised assessment of Type 2 diabetes without complications.

Musayeva, who is serving a five-year term in a colony settlement -- a dormitory-like penitentiary located near an industrial facility where convicts work alongside regular employees -- was hospitalized in late March after her eyesight deteriorated sharply and lumps appeared on her body.

Human rights groups have said Musayeva needs proper medical assistance as she has an acute form of diabetes, cataracts, and a constant pain in her knee.

Musayeva is the mother of Ibragim, Abubakar, and Baisangur Yangulbayev, all of whom have fled the country citing harassment from Chechen authorities over their online criticism of Kremlin-backed Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov.

Chechen police and security officers detained Musayeva in January 2022 in her apartment in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, some 1,800 kilometers from Chechnya, and forcibly returned her to the North Caucasus region's capital, Grozny.

In July last year, a court in Chechnya sentenced Musayeva to 5 1/2 years in prison on charges of fraud and attacking a police officer, which Musayeva and her supporters have denied.

In September, the Supreme Court of Chechnya shortened Musayeva's prison term by six months and said Musayeva must serve her term in a colony settlement instead of a correctional colony.

Kadyrov, other Chechen officials, and a member of the Russian Duma have publicly vowed to kill all members of the Yangulbayev family, calling them "terrorists."

Journalists, rights activists, and other Russians have urged the government to punish those who issued the threats.

Abubakar Yangulbayev has accused Kadyrov's law enforcement and security officers of "lawlessness on a daily basis in Chechnya" and said the case against his mother is Kadyrov's retaliation for his activities.

Ibragim and Abubakar have said they faced years of pressure from Chechen authorities over their online criticism of Kadyrov and the rights situation in Chechnya.

Many of their relatives have been similarly harassed in Chechnya and even deprived of their homes since Kadyrov and his people vowed to kill them and their families.

The activists' father, retired federal judge Saidi Yangulbayev, and a sister fled Russia in January 2022, following the threats.

Russian and international human rights groups have for years accused Kadyrov of overseeing grave human rights abuses, including abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and the persecution of the LGBT community.

Kremlin critics say Putin has turned a blind eye to the abuses because he relies on the former rebel commander to control separatist sentiment and violence in mostly Muslim Chechnya.

ASTANA -- Kazakh lawmaker Abzal Quspan said on June 28 that the Central Asian nation's presidential commission on clemencies had rejected a pardon request filed by Karim Masimov, a once-powerful politician who twice served as Kazakhstan's prime minister and now is serving 18 years in prison on charges of high treason and attempting to seize power during unrest in 2022.

Masimov officially asked President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev for clemency in March.

Officials said that despite the appeal, Masimov still faced charges of bribe-taking and money laundering, which are currently under investigation.

Masimov, a close ally of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev, was jailed in April 2023 over his role in deadly events that followed unprecedented anti-government protests in the former Soviet republic in January 2022.

The unrest began in the southwestern town of Zhanaozen in January 2022 over a sudden fuel price hike. But the demonstrations, buffeted by anger over corruption, political stagnation, and widespread injustice, quickly grew.

Much of the protesters' ire appeared directed at Nazarbaev, who ruled Kazakhstan from 1989 until March 2019, when he handed over power to President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev.

However, Nazarbaev was widely believed to remain in control behind the scenes.

The protests were violently dispersed by police and military personnel, including troops of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization whom Toqaev invited into the country claiming that "20,000 extremists who were trained in terrorist camps abroad" had attacked Almaty.

The authorities have provided no evidence proving Toqaev’s claim about foreign terrorists.

Google said on June 27 that it added 110 languages in one day, including those of multiple ethnic groups in the Russian Federation, including Bashkir, Buryat, Chechen, Chukchi, Chuvash, Meadow Mari, Komi, Ossetian, Saami, Tuvan, and Yakut. The U.S.-based Internet giant said the addition of such a large number of languages to the Google Translator system became possible thanks to artificial intelligence. In addition to the languages of the Russian Federation, other languages added include the mother tongues of ethnic groups in Africa and indigenous peoples of the South America, some of which are dead languages. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.

As Ukrainians marked Constitution Day on June 28, Moscow unleashed a fresh wave of drone and artillery strikes on the southern regions for the second day in a row, causing damage but no reported casualties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a video message posted on his Telegram channel, congratulated his compatriots on Constitution Day, and highlighted the importance of national solidarity in times of war.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

"The 17th article of the constitution: The protection of Ukraine is the most important function of the state and the cause of the entire Ukrainian people. Millions of Ukrainians prove their devotion to this every day. Heroes on the front lines and those who work hard to strengthen the state. Ukrainians who changed their lives, changed their profession, but did not change their choice in favor of freedom, Ukraine, Europe," Zelenskiy said.

Zelenskiy's message came as Russia targeted Nikopol, the city that lies on the right bank of Dnieper River, for a second day on June 28.

"From very early in the morning, the Russian military struck the city of Nikopol again, targeting the district center with kamikaze drones," Dnipropetrovsk regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram, without specifying the number of drones.

"There are no dead or wounded," Lysak said, adding that several houses and industrial facilities in the city had been damaged in the attack.

On June 27, Russia launched a massive artillery attack on Nikopol, causing extensive damage to several schools.

Another southern Ukrainian region, Kherson, was also targeted by a fresh round of Russian strikes, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on June 28.

Prokudin said in a message on Telegram that 28 settlements across Kherson were targeted in the attack that wounded a total of six people and damaged a critical infrastructure facility. He did not elaborate.

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Meanwhile, a suspected Ukrainian drone attack set an oil depot on fire in Michurinsk, in Russia's Tambov region, some 400 kilometers southeast of Moscow, regional Governor Maksim Egorov reported on June 28.

Egorov said the fire was small and it was under control.

Aleksandr Bogomaz, the governor of Russia's Bryansk region, reported that five drones had been shot down over his region on June 28.

The governor of Smolensk region, Vasily Anokhin, said nine drones had been downed over a military facility in the Pochinovsk district.

Russia's Defense Ministry said a total of 25 drones had been downed over five regions. The claim could not be independently confirmed.

Ukraine, whose energy infrastructure has been devastated by constant Russian attacks, has over the past several months increasingly targeted fuel-production sites inside Russia, mainly oil-refining facilities that work for the Russian military.

Music streaming service Spotify has removed the pages and songs of several Russian artists who supported the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Among them are Shaman (Yaroslav Dronov), Chicherina, Polina Gagarina, Grigory Leps, Oleg Gazmanov, and rock group Lyube, according to Telegram channel Rodnoy Zvuk. The European Union imposed sanctions against Gagarina and Shaman earlier this week. Chicherina, Gazmanov, and Lyube leader Nikolai Rastorguev were placed under EU sanctions in October 2022, followed by Leps in December the same year. Spotify, the world's largest streaming service, ceased its Russia operations in April 2022, due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Iranians are casting ballots in an early presidential election triggered by the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash at a time of growing frustration among many over a lack of freedoms, declining living standards, and a faltering economy.

All four names on the ballot have been vetted and approved by the Guardians Council, an unelected constitutional watchdog whose members are directly and indirectly appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

No candidate is expected to secure enough votes on June 28 to be declared the outright winner in the tightly controlled contest.

A candidate needs to win at least 50 percent of the votes to win the race. A potential run-off election has been scheduled for July 5.

The election appears to be a three-way race between conservative Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, and reformist lawmaker Masud Pezeshkian.

Last-ditch efforts by conservatives to rally behind a consensus candidate failed on the eve of the election, with neither Qalibaf nor Jalili willing to drop out in favor of the other.

Conservatives have expressed concern that the lack of unity could split the vote, benefiting the lone reformist hopeful Pezeshkian.

Qalibaf is a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Air Force and is the longest-serving mayor of Tehran.

He is a traditional conservative who is running for president for the fourth time in the past 20 years. Qalibaf has faced many corruption allegations throughout his career, though none has dented his relationship with Khamenei.

Jalili serves as Khamenei’s personal representative on the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). He was the SNSC’s secretary between 2007 and 2013, during which time he led the Iranian delegation in failed talks with the West on Tehran’s nuclear program.

SEE ALSO:

Iran's 'Highly Engineered' Race For Presidency Dominated By Hard-Liners

Jalili represents the hard-line sect of the conservative camp and has never held elected office.

Pezeshkian has been a member of parliament since 2008 and served as deputy speaker between 2016 and 2020, when moderates and reformists had a majority in the legislature.

He has questioned Iran’s methods of enforcing the hijab, the Islamic head scarf for women, and spoken in favor of negotiating with the West.

But he also supports the principles of the Islamic republic and says he will follow Khamenei’s policies if elected.

• RFE/RL's Radio Farda
• AP
• Reuters

Iranians are voting on June 28 to replace late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a May helicopter crash in the country's northwest along with the foreign minister and several other officials.

The outcome of the election is unlikely to result in major policy shifts, but it could have an impact on the succession to the 85-year-old Khamenei, who has been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989.

Opinion polls project a slightly higher voter participation than in the last presidential election in 2021, which saw a record-low turnout of just under 49 percent. Critics say the real number was likely even lower.

France-based political commentator Mojtaba Najafi told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda that because disillusioned voters were unlikely to show up en masse to vote, Pezeshkian was unlikely to capitalize on the conservative split to win the election in the first round.

He added, however, that Pezeshkian had a good chance of making it to the second round to face one of the two conservative candidates.

The political establishment has long maintained it derives its legitimacy from strong voter turnout, but poor participation in recent elections and deadly protests against the Islamic republic have challenged the legitimacy of the current leadership.

Voting is also taking place amid the backdrop of a war between Israel and Tehran-backed Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, in the Gaza Strip, and global pressure over advances made in Iran's nuclear power program.

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Khamenei has been calling on eligible voters, which number at just over 61.4 million people, to show up in droves to project an image of “a strong Iran.”

“The Islamic republic’s durability, strength, dignity, and reputation depend on the presence of people,” Khamenei told reporters after casting his ballot on June 28.

Dissidents at home and abroad have called for a boycott, arguing that voting in past elections has failed to deliver change.

In Iran, the supreme leader has the final say on all state matters and the president does not have much sway on many key issues.

Polls will close at 6 p.m. local time. Historically, voting hours have been extended through the evening but never past midnight.

Raisi, who many Iranians refer to as the "Butcher of Tehran" for his alleged role in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 when he was Tehran's deputy prosecutor, died along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several other officials when their helicopter crashed on May 19.

With reporting by Hannah Kaviani of RFE/RL’s Radio Farda

U.S. President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, clashed over foreign policy and Russia’s war against Ukraine in a televised debate between the two oldest candidates ever to seek the U.S. presidency.

After taking the debate stage on June 27 without shaking hands and with no audience in the hall, the current president and his predecessor laid out starkly differing views on Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.

Trump, who in the past has called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tactics in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine "genius" and "very savvy," attacked Biden saying that if the United States had a "real president," Putin would not have attacked Ukraine.

"He knew not to play games with me," Trump said referring to Putin.

Biden, 81, countered by calling Putin a "war criminal" and warning that if Russia is allowed to succeed in its war, Putin would not stop at Kyiv.

"He's killed thousands and thousands of people," said Biden, whose voice sounded raspy for most of the debate.

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Since the beginning of the war, the Biden administration has staunchly backed Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The United States has been the largest single contributor of military and financial aid to Kyiv during the conflict, though the most recently approved package of aid totaling $61 billion was delayed for some six months as Republican lawmakers held up the process demanding deep changes to border policy in exchange for their support.

The aid package was eventually approved though no deal on the border was reached.

Biden noted in the debate -- which was dominated by domestic policy issues such as the economy, immigration, and abortion -- that while Washington has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, he has rallied leaders from more than 50 countries around the world in a coalition to help Ukraine repel Russian troops.

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"This is a guy who wants to pull out of NATO," Biden, who at times appeared halting and unfocused in his responses, said of Trump.

Earlier this month, Putin said Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv met conditions including renouncing its NATO ambitions and ceding four partially occupied regions that Russia claims in their entirety. Ukraine dismissed the conditions as absurd and said they amounted to capitulation.

When asked about Putin’s remarks, Trump, 78, said the conditions laid out by the Russian leader "are not acceptable."

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But Trump, who voiced a litany of falsehoods during the 90-minute debate, also called Zelenskiy the "greatest salesman ever" for the Ukrainian leader’s military aid requests.

"Look, this is a war that never should have started if we had a leader," Trump said, claiming again he would be able to "settle" the war if re-elected in November.

He gave no details of how he would achieve such a result.

Concerns Over Age

Biden’s at times stumbling performance in the debate underscored concerns about his age and whether, at 81, he is too old to serve another four-year term, and prompted questions among some Democrats over whether he should step aside as their party’s nominee.

At one point, Biden seemed to confuse Trump with Putin; at another point, in a section on immigration and border security, he gave a meandering answer, prompting Trump to counter: "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows what he said."

Biden "did get stronger as the debate went on but by that time, I think the panic had set in," David Axelrod, an adviser to former President Barack Obama, said on CNN. "There are going to be discussions about whether he should continue."

Elsewhere in the debate, Trump also slammed Biden for failing to gain the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been in Russian detention for more than a year on espionage charges that he, his employer, and the U.S. government have rejected as politically motivated.

The former president said Biden should have had Gershkovich, whose trial began on June 26 and is being held behind closed doors, "out a long time ago" and that Putin is "probably asking for billions and billions of dollars" for the reporter’s release.

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Trump didn’t elaborate or substantiate his assertion, but it appeared to be a reference to a 2023 deal that saw the release of five detained Americans in Iran in exchange for the transfer of billions of dollars worth of frozen Iranian assets from banks in South Korea to Qatar.

Washington has said several times the funds are being held in special accounts with restricted access that allow for them to be used by Iran solely for humanitarian goods, such as medicine and food.

Trump also accused Biden of being responsible for the "most embarrassing moment in the history of our country" for the U.S.-led withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan in August 2021.

While Trump himself had agreed to the withdrawal of international troops with the Taliban leadership a year before he left office, he did not finalize the plan and it fell to Biden to oversee the operation several years later.

Biden said that when Trump left office after losing the November 2020 election, "things were in chaos."

With reporting by Reuters

Russian hackers who broke into Microsoft's systems and spied on staff inboxes earlier this year also stole emails from its customers, the tech giant said on June 27, around six months after it first disclosed the intrusion. The disclosure underscores the breadth of the breach as Microsoft faces increasing regulatory scrutiny over the security of its software and systems against foreign threats. An allegedly Chinese hacking group that separately breached Microsoft last year stole thousands of U.S. government emails. The Russian government has never responded to the Microsoft hacking allegations, but Microsoft has said the hackers targeted cybersecurity researchers who had been investigating the Russian hacking group's actions. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

Ahmadshoh Komilzoda, a well-known journalist and the first deputy chairman of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan, has been arrested, a Tajik law enforcement source told RFE/RL on June 27.

The details surrounding his arrest remain murky as law enforcement authorities have not made any official statements and his family members were unavailable for comment.

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The source, who spoke with RFE/RL on condition of anonymity, said Komilzoda has been held in the a temporary detention center since June 15. The source declined to provide further information.

Another source close to the Tajik Prosecutor-General's Office confirmed the arrest and disclosed that on June 16 Komilzoda's residence was searched, resulting in the confiscation of his computer, notes, and a phone.

According to the source, Komilzoda's arrest is linked to the case of Saidjafar Usmonzoda, a former chairman of the Democratic Party and a member of parliament. Usmonzoda was arrested on June 12 under suspicion of "attempting to usurp the government."

In early May, a group claiming affiliation with the Democratic Party dismissed Usmonzoda and elected Shahboz Abror, a journalist and owner of several print media outlets, as its leader.

Komilzoda, who previously served as Usmonzoda's deputy, was subsequently elected as the first deputy to Abror. Komilzoda also was expected to replace Usmonzoda as a member of parliament on behalf of the party.

Komilzoda has a background in journalism and politics. He was a board member of the national movement Rastohez and served as a manager at Tajikistan National Television in the late 1990s.

In 1993, he was arrested along with several other journalists and spent time in prison. Following the signing of the Peace Agreement and the establishment of the National Reconciliation Commission, Komilzoda became its spokesman.

Until 2011, he worked as a correspondent for Voice of America in Tajikistan.

RFE/RL has reached out to the Prosecutor-General's Office seeking an explanation of the situation but has not received a response.

The United States on June 27 denounced Hungary's implementation of a new sovereignty act and actions by the recently established Sovereignty Protection Office to target civil society and independent media organizations.

The Sovereignty Protection Office, which has been tasked with defending the country's sovereignty against foreign influence, this week launched an investigation into the Hungarian branch of the anti-corruption organization Transparency International.

The organization said on June 25 it had received a six-page letter announcing "a specific and comprehensive investigation" into Transparency International Hungary's activities and requesting financial and operational information.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on June 27 said in a statement that the United States was "deeply concerned" by the office's "draconian actions."

The Hungarian government's attempt to “harass, intimidate, and punish independent organizations runs counter to the principles of democratic governance rooted in the rule of law," Miller said in the statement.

He said the new law, known as the Defense of National Sovereignty Act, “places no limit" on the Sovereignty Protection Office's ability to target the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Hungarians "and puts at risk any country, business entity, or individual that chooses to engage with them.”

Miller said the United States “will continue to advocate for the protection of civil society organizations and media freedom in the face of these anti-democratic measures."

It was the third time in two days that the State Department criticized the leadership of Hungary, which takes over the European Union's rotating presidency next week.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, unveiling a global report on religious freedom on June 26, accused Hungary of engaging in anti-Semitic tropes, and on June 27 he singled out Hungary in remarks about Pride month.

"In Hungary, the government is smearing, scapegoating, stigmatizing LGBTQI+ persons -- vilifying them with degrading labels, denying them equal rights, normalizing violence against them," Blinken said at a Pride reception at the State Department.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban's administration in 2021 banned the "promotion of homosexuality" among under-18s despite strong criticism from rights groups and the European Union. Gay marriage is not recognized in Hungary and only heterosexual couples can legally adopt children.

Orban has been an outspoken critic of the European Union's policies on migration and clashed with Brussels over judicial and academic independence in addition to LGBT rights. Brussels, in turn, has frozen billions of euros in funds.

With reporting by AFP

Germany's armed forces are to continue their deployments in Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and off the coast of Lebanon as part of international missions, lawmakers in Berlin agreed on June 27. Germany's parliament extended the mandate for NATO's KFOR mission in Kosovo, the EU mission Eufor Althea in Bosnia, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The KFOR mission will continue to have up to 400 German soldiers. At 25 years, KFOR is the German military's longest continuous overseas mission. In Eufor Althea, up to 50 German soldiers are to help ensure compliance with the Dayton agreement, which ended the Bosnian War in 1995. The Bundeswehr can also continue to support the UNIFIL mission by contributing up to 300 soldiers.

The United States on June 27 issued fresh sanctions against Iran in response to Tehran further expanding its nuclear program, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

"Over the past month, Iran has announced steps to further expand its nuclear program in ways that have no credible peaceful purpose," Blinken said. "We remain committed to never letting Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, and we are prepared to use all elements of national power to ensure that outcome."

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The new sanctions take aim at three companies based in the United Arab Emirates and 11 vessels used in the export of Iranian petroleum or petrochemical products, Blinken said.

Earlier this month, the Group of Seven nations warned Iran against advancing its nuclear enrichment program and said it would be ready to impose new measures if Tehran were to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia.

Iran rebuked the statement, calling on the G7 to distance itself from "destructive policies of the past."

Blinken in his June 27 announcement also cited the G7 statement, saying Iran “must cease its escalations with regard to its nuclear program as well as its other destabilizing actions.”

Blinken said Iran’s actions to increase its enrichment capacity are all the more concerning in light of statements by Iranian officials suggesting potential changes to Iran’s nuclear doctrine.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes, but government officials caused alarm recently by saying it could change its "nuclear doctrine" if it is attacked or its existence is threatened by Israel.

Blinken also said Tehran’s “continued failure to cooperate" with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was worrisome. The board of governors of the IAEA on June 5 passed a resolution calling on Iran to step up cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog and reverse its decision to bar inspectors.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry slammed the vote, describing it as a “political and unconstructive” move.

With reporting by Reuters

BELGRADE -- The Serbian government banned a contemporary art and cultural festival that promotes Serbian-Kosovar relations just hours before it was due to open on June 27 in Belgrade, citing security concerns.

Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, who is also the Serbian interior minister, announced the festival was canceled “due to the danger of jeopardizing the safety of people and property, as well as the danger of disrupting public order and peace on a larger scale.”

The three-day Miredita, Dobar Dan festival uses the name of a region of northern Albania and the greeting “good day” or "hello" in Albanian and Serbian. The annual festival began in 2014 and was supposed to take place this year from June 27-29.

Although opposition to the festival is common, several officials had called for it to be postponed given that it coincides with the religious and national holiday Vidovdan. Vidovdan, celebrated on June 28, commemorates the Battle of Kosovo in which Serbian and Turkish armies clashed in 1389.

Festival officials refused to postpone the festival since it was rescheduled twice for Serbian elections.

Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Sapic had called for the festival to be canceled, saying it “undermines the constitutional and legal order,” referring to the Serbian Constitution, which considers Kosovo a part of Serbia. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a move Serbia has refused to acknowledge.

The ban went into effect after Kosovars had already begun to arrive in Belgrade. Local media reported that protests at the site of the festival had blocked the entrance to the event. Nationalist protesters taunted the festivalgoers with banners saying “No Surrender” and shouted, “Welcome to your capital!”

Among those protesting the festival, which alternates between Pristina and Belgrade, were Serbian Action and People’s Patrol, two groups that are known for their ties to the Russian far right.

Serbian and Kosovar political parties joined organizers of the festival in condemning the ban.

"It is incomprehensible that 25 years after the conflict, Serbia is still unable to accept progressive ideas of tolerance for discussion," the Serbian opposition party Green-Left Front said in a statement. “This ban is an essential attempt to silence dissident voices, which throughout history mostly came from the fields of art and culture.”

The ban “constitutes a violation of freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, and freedom of expression,” the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), a regional network of NGOs, said in a statement.

"It also extinguishes any illusions that this government prioritizes a peaceful resolution to the Kosovo issue or Serbia's European integration," it said, adding that it would appeal the ban.

The decision to cancel the festival shows that there is a ban on cooperation between the art scenes of Serbia and Kosovo, Marko Milosavljevic, program director of the YIHR, told RFE/RL.

"This ban also means that there will be no peaceful solution to the dispute with the Kosovo side. This should worry not only the citizens of Serbia and Kosovo but also the international community, which should understand this as a big step backwards," Milosavljevic said.

With reporting by AFP

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev will not lead or participate in the country’s delegation to the NATO summit in July, his press service said on June 27. The press service said Radev's refusal is due to differences over the country's positions on the war in Ukraine. Radev “does not accept some provisions of the framework positions adopted by the Council of Ministers relating to commitments that our country undertakes regarding the war in Ukraine," Radev's press service said. The announcement came shortly after acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said that Radev should lead the Bulgarian delegation. The government's press center said earlier that both Radev and Glavchev would participate in the summit in Washington, but it was not clear who would lead the delegation. To read the original story on RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service, click here.

Belarusian authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka reshuffled key positions in the government and presidential administration on June 27. Lukashenka was quoted by state news agency BelTA as saying "efficiency must be increased" and bureaucracy reduced. The new head of Lukashenka’s presidential administration is the former ambassador to Russia, Dmitry Krutoi. The position has been vacant since March. Lukashenka also replaced the first deputy head of the presidential administration, the foreign minister, the deputy prime minister, the minister for agriculture, and the minister of industry. All those appointed are under international sanctions. To read the original story on RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on June 27 signed security agreements with the European Union, Estonia, and Lithuania at the start of a two-day EU summit in Brussels.

The security deal with the European Union reinforces the bloc’s support for Kyiv in nine areas of security and defense policy.

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A draft of the agreement obtained by RFE/RL reiterates the “resolute condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine” and reaffirms the EU’s “unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” Kyiv's right to self-defense against the Russian aggression, and its pursuit of a just peace.

The draft says that the EU supports Ukraine’s reforms and EU accession path, noting that overall EU assistance to Ukraine amounts to almost 100 billion euros ($107 billion), including 35 billion euros in military support.

“The European Union is determined to continue providing Ukraine and its people all the necessary political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military, and diplomatic support for as long as it takes and as intensely as needed,” the document says.

The draft stresses that "Russia must not prevail" in its full-scale war launched in February 2022 and says Ukraine must get back territory annexed by Moscow. It also lists commitments to providing military equipment, military training, and cooperation between the European and the Ukrainian defense industries.

The agreements Zelenskiy signed with Lithuania and Estonia while at the EU summit are intended to complement other similar agreements sealed between Ukraine and its allies. They are not mutual defense pacts but do amount to pledges to provide Ukraine with weapons and other aid and deter any future invasion.

The signing ceremony opened a meeting of the European Council attended by the leaders of the 27 EU countries who are in Brussels for their first formal meeting since European elections on June 6-9.

Apart from the defense matters, the summit is poised to approve Ursula von der Leyen, Antonio Costa, and Kaja Kallas in leadership roles. Von der Leyen is expected to be confirmed for another five-year term as president of the European Commission; Costa is expected to become president of the European Council; and Kallas, who is currently Estonia’s prime minister, is expected to become the EU’s foreign policy chief.

With reporting by Reuters

ASTANA -- The chairman of Kazakhstan's parliament, Maulen Ashimbaev, said his country will not extradite to Ukraine Altai Zhaqanbaev, one of two Kazakh citizens suspected of the attempted murder of Kazakh opposition activist and journalist Aidos Sadyqov in Kyiv.

"According to our country's laws, our republic gives a priority to our citizens' rights.... Kazakhstan does not extradite its citizens to other countries," Ashimbaev said on June 27, adding that Kazakh investigators are ready to cooperate with Ukrainian officials to investigate the attack on Sadyqov.

Sadyqov, an outspoken critic of Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and his government, was shot on June 18 while he was in his car in the Ukrainian capital and is currently in intensive care.

His wife, Natalya Sadyqova, who is also a journalist, was in the vehicle during the attack but was unharmed.

On June 26, Kazakh Deputy Interior Minister Marat Qozhaev told RFE/RL that if Ukraine requests the extradition of the two suspects from Kazakhstan, "everything will proceed in accordance with the law."

Earlier on June 25, the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office said it had started the extradition process for two Kazakh nationals suspected of the attempted assassination of Sadyqov.

On June 19, just one day after the attack, Ukrainian police said investigators established that Sadyqov had been shot by two Kazakh suspects -- Altai Zhaqanbaev, born in 1988, and Meiram Qarataev, born in 1991 -- who were added to an international wanted list.

On June 22, Kazakhstan's Prosecutor-General's Office said the Central Asian nation's police had detained Zhaqanbaev and that they were trying to establish the whereabouts of Qarataev.

Natalya Sadyqova has said that Qarataev worked as a police officer in the northern Qostanai region. The Kazakh Interior Ministry, however, claimed that Qarataev had been sacked from the police force in 2019.

The Sadyqovs, along with their children, moved to Kyiv in 2014 after Kazakh authorities launched a case against Sadyqova, who worked as a journalist for the independent Respublika newspaper at the time. She was accused of slander.

Natalya Sadyqova said the attempted assassination against her husband appeared to be a "professional" operation.

On June 19, Sadyqova told RFE/RL that, hours before the attack, she and her husband had issued a new video titled Toqaev Is Putin's Puppet on their YouTube channel.

The video criticizes Toqaev's "pro-Russian politics" and looks at the activities of Russian oligarchs and agents of influence in Kazakhstan, some of whom obtained Kazakh citizenship after Russia launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

She added that Toqaev would have stood to gain from her husband's killing but did not present any evidence that connected the president in any way to the shooting.

Toqaev's spokesman, Berik Uali, said on June 21 that the Kazakh president "had ordered law enforcement entities to find the two suspects' whereabouts and undertake corresponding measures."

"Kazakhstan's side is ready to cooperate with Ukraine's law enforcement structures, including via Interpol," Uali said.

Sadyqov used to lead a branch of the opposition Azat Social Democratic Party in his native Aqtobe region in Kazakhstan's northwest until 2010.

He later headed a group that was a major force for establishing a union to defend the rights of Kazakh workers at the Chinese-owned CNPC-Aktobemunaygaz oil company.

Montenegrin authorities announced on June 27 an investigation into the country's ex-special prosecutor over his alleged links to war crimes committed during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. Milivoje Katnic was arrested earlier this year. According to a statement from the Special State Prosecutor's Office, Katnic is “accused of inhumane treatment of certain civilians of Croatian nationality, including attacking, torturing, and physically injuring them.” Katnic is also suspected of lifting entry bans for members of a Serbian criminal gang. Officials in Montenegro have pledged to tackle corruption and organized crime as part of the country's bid to join the European Union.

A military court in Russia on June 27 sentenced a former Justice Ministry official who openly condemned Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine to 14 years in prison in absentia. The court also ordered Maria Mamedova to pay a fine of 600,000 rubles ($6,850). She was found guilty of "facilitating terrorism." It is not clear what the charge stemmed from. Russian officials earlier issued arrest warrants for Mamedova and her husband, Denis Mamedov, on charges of distributing false information about the Russian military. Mamedov was later sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison in absentia. The couple currently resides in the United States. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

A Russian satellite has broken up into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter, U.S. space agencies said. There were no immediate details on what caused the breakup on June 26 of the RESURS-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, which was decommissioned in 2022. U.S. Space Command said on June 27 that there was no immediate threat as it tracked the debris swarm. It occurred in an orbit near the space station, prompting U.S. astronauts on board to shelter in their spacecraft for roughly an hour, NASA's Space Station office said.

Russian authorities on June 27 added Artyom Kriger, a journalist with the independent SotaVision Telegram channel, to the list of terrorists and extremists. The 23-year-old was arrested last week for cooperation with the team of late opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, which was labeled extremist and banned in Russia in 2021. Kriger is known for interviews with Russian politicians. In May 2023, his uncle, Mikhail Kriger, was sentenced to seven years in prison on a charge of justifying terrorism, which he and his supporters reject as politically motivated. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.