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.

A Moscow court on June 27 issued an arrest warrant for journalist Farida Kurbangaleyeva on charges of justifying terrorism and the distribution of false information about Russia's military. Last week, Russian authorities added Kurbangaleyeva to their wanted list and the registry of terrorists and extremists. Kurbangaleyeva lives in Prague. Through the years, Kurbangaleyeva worked at various leading television channels in Russia and Current Time, the Russian-language TV and digital network run by RFE/RL, in Prague. She has a YouTube channel where she often interviews Ukrainian and Russian politicians and political observers. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, click here.

The U.S. National Press Club -- a professional association of American journalists -- and 18 other media freedom groups have called on President Joe Biden in a public letter to press for the recognition of RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who has been held in a Russian prison since last year, as a "wrongfully detained" person.

Kurmasheva, a Prague-based journalist who holds dual U.S. and Russian citizenships, was taken into custody on October 18, 2023, on a charge of violating the so-called "foreign agent" law and distributing false information about Russia's military, a charge that could lead to a 10-year prison sentence.

SEE ALSO:

Who Are The Americans Behind Bars In Russia?

She, her employer, and her supporters reject the charges as politically motivated.

The U.S. government and Biden himself have called for her immediate release, saying the charges are punishment for Kurmasheva's work as a journalist for RFE/RL.

However, the U.S. State Department has so far failed to designate her as a "wrongfully detained" person, a move that would raise the profile of the case against Kurmasheva, effectively labeling it as politically motivated.

A statement issued by National Press Club President Emily Wilkins that accompanied the letter said two previous appeals to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding the need to prioritize cases of detained American media workers remained unanswered.

"We have a section of the State Department designed for cases like Alsu’s -- the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs," the signatories of the letter said, adding that for her case to be transferred there, she needs to be declared wrongfully detained.

"She meets all the criteria. This should happen immediately. It should have happened months ago," the letter said.

"We have listened to the State Department twist itself into a pretzel explaining how there are other factors to be considered besides the criteria, but we have yet to hear a clear reason why State cannot declare her wrongfully detained," it continued.

Kurmasheva, who has worked for RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service for some 25 years, left the Czech capital in mid-May 2023 because of a family emergency in her native Tatarstan.

She was briefly detained while waiting for her return flight on June 2, 2023, at the Kazan airport, where both of her passports and phone were confiscated.

After five months waiting for a decision in her case, Kurmasheva was fined 10,000 rubles ($112) for failing to register her U.S. passport with Russian authorities.

Unable to leave Russia without her travel documents, Kurmasheva was detained again in October and this time charged with failure to register as a "foreign agent." Two months later, she was charged with spreading falsehoods about the Russian military.

On June 18, Judge Rizvan Yusupov upheld last month's decision by a district court in Tatarstan's capital, Kazan, to extend her pretrial detention until at least August 5.

During the last hearing on May 31, Kurmasheva said that her health had deteriorated and that she needed surgery.

"It has taken Alsu's government far too long to step forward and say that her detention is wrongful," the letter said, calling on Biden to step in.

"Your State Department must declare Alsu wrongly detained now," it said.

Among the signatories of the letter are media watchdogs and professional organizations such as Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Women Press Freedom, and the Coalition For Women in Journalism.

Two other Americans held in Russian custody, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, have both have been designated as "wrongfully detained" by the State Department.

Gershkovich went on trial on June 26 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg following his arrest in March 2023 on espionage charges that he, his employer, and the U.S. authorities have vehemently rejected as politically motivated.

The chief of Russia's Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, said on June 27 that about 10,000 migrant workers with Russian passports have been sent to the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. Bastrykin called the move "a good feature that led to the situation when migrants started slowly leaving Russia." Bastrykin added that his committee had "caught" more than 30,000 migrants who obtained Russian citizenship but failed to register at military offices, a routine obligation for men in Russia. Central Asian governments have warned citizens working in Russia that they will face mercenary charges at home if they join the war in Ukraine to fight for either side. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Emergency officials in the Siberian region of Sakha-Yakutia said on June 27 that wildfires had spread to 600,000 hectares of land in the region, making it the largest territory in Russia hit by wildfires at the moment. In all, 170 sites in the region have been hit by wildfires since early May, destroying 2.5 million hectares of forest, which is 1 percent of all forest in Sakha-Yakutia. Since May, wildfire emergencies have been announced in other Siberian and Far East regions, such as Buryatia, Zabaikalye, and Khabarovsk. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has expressed concern over recently adopted amendments to Tajikistan's law on the regulation of traditions and ceremonies, saying it worsens religious freedom violations in the Central Asian state.

The amendments, signed by President Emomali Rahmon on June 20, among other restrictions bans children's games of "idgardak" during two major Islamic holidays -- Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha -- and forbids the sale, import, promotion, and wearing of clothes that are "foreign to national culture."

That provision is considered as targeting traditional Islamic head scarves for women, known as hijab.

SEE ALSO:

Tajikistan Set To Outlaw Islamic Hijab After Years Of Unofficial Ban

Previously adopted regulations in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic have also imposed restrictions on circumcisions, baby-naming rituals, weddings, religious pilgrimage ceremonies, and funerals.

"The Tajik government, undeterred by the repeated CPC [country of particular concern] designations [by the U.S. government], continues to find new ways to further restrict religious freedom, as evident by its tightening of the already repressive 2007 traditions law," USCIRF Vice Chairman Eric Ueland said in the June 26 statement.

"While the State Department importantly designates Tajikistan as a CPC, naming and shaming is evidently not enough. The designation will only be effective if accompanied by actions, such as targeted sanctions or other consequences."

In an apparent attempt to target hijabs and other Islamic clothing, the Tajik government carried out a campaign to promote national dress in recent years.

In 2018, the government introduced a 376-page manual -- The Guidebook Of Recommended Outfits In Tajikistan -- which outlined what Tajik women should wear for different occasions.

The country has also unofficially banned bushy beards. Thousands of men in the past decade have reportedly been stopped by police and had their beards shaved off against their will.

"It is troubling to witness the recent onslaught of harassment against those who express their faith in ways that do not correspond with the state's preferred interpretation," USCIRF Commissioner Susie Gelman said.

"We urge the U.S. government to condition security assistance to the Tajik government on reform of the traditions law, the 2009 religion law, and all other legislation that criminalizes the peaceful expression of religion in the country," she added.

Russian Railways said on June 27 that two people were killed and one remained missing after nine of 14 passenger cars of the Vorkuta-Novorossiisk train derailed a day earlier in Russia's Komi region. The Health Ministry said 40 people were injured, while the railway had said the number of injured was 46. The head of the Komi region, Vladimir Uiba, said 10 people were hospitalized, including a 14-year-old girl, whose state was described as "very serious." In all, 215 passengers and Russian Railways workers were aboard the train when the accident occurred. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Kyrgyz lawmakers on June 27 approved the second and third readings of a bill requiring all judges in the Central Asian country to speak Kyrgyz at no less than the B1 intermediate level. Those without that proficiency will not be eligible to serve as judges. In July 2023, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov signed into law a bill that obliges all officials to be able to speak Kyrgyz for official purposes. Kyrgyz, a Turkic language, is Kyrgyzstan's state language, while Russian has the status of an official language. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.

Chisinau has confirmed that Russian journalist Timofei Ilyushin has been released by the separatist authorities of Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region. Ilyushin, a reporter with the independent Russian online publication Sotavision (Sota), was released late on June 26, Moldova's Reintegration Bureau said on June 27. Sota reported that Ilyushin had been detained in Transdniester on June 24, while on assignment for an article. Ilyushin was declared an "undesirable" person in Russian-backed separatist Transdniester in March. In Russia, Sota was declared an "undesirable organization" in May, based on a 2015 law targeting NGOs that receive funding from foreign sources. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service, click here.

Alireza Zakani, the hard-line mayor of Tehran, has said he is withdrawing from Iran’s presidential race -- the second to announce backing out of the June 28 election -- to help the conservative camp reach a consensus candidate.

Zakani made the announcement in a statement posted on social media on June 26, less than a day after Amirhossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, who served as a deputy to late President Ebrahim Raisi, dropped out of the race.

Iran is holding a presidential election on June 28 following the death of the ultraconservative Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. Elections in the Islamic republic are tightly controlled, with candidates being preselected by an unelected body dominated by hard-liners.

SEE ALSO:

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

The six candidates cleared to run are all men, most are hard-liners, and some have ties to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of Iran's armed forces.

"I want them [the main candidates] to look for unity and not to ignore the demands of the forces of the revolution and prevent the formation of a 'third Rouhani government" Zakani said in his post on X, referring to moderate former President Hassan Rouhani.

Hard-liners have accused the sole reformist hopeful Masud Pezeshkian of looking to continue the politics of Rouhani, who was strongly criticized by conservatives during his eight years in power.

Zakani also urged conservative parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili to "unite" in a bid to stop Pezeshkian from winning the June 28 election.

Embed share

Why Iran's Presidential Election Matters More Than Past Votes

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:06:10 0:00

Qazizadeh Hashemi announced late on June 26 that he too had withdrawn from the race in order to cement support around a single hard-line candidate.

The two were seen to be vying for the same voting bloc, which could help Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and the sole reformist in the race.

Pezeshkian has the support of pro-reform parties and has been endorsed by moderates, including Rouhani and several members of his government.

The election was always thought to be a three-way race among Qalibaf, Jalili, and Pezeshkian. Several recent opinion polls in Iran show Pezeshkian pulling ahead of his conservative rivals. Pressure has been building on Qalibaf and Jalili to reach an agreement, with hard-liners warning that failing to settle on a consensus candidate could split the conservative vote.

The U.S. State Department said "foul play" was not suspected after an attache at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv was found dead in a hotel room in the capital. Reacting to Ukrainian media reports about the discovery of the body, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said late on June 26 that "it is our understanding that he died of natural causes, and there's no sign of foul play." The media outlet Strana UA, which first reported the discovery of the body, quoted a source at the embassy as saying the attache suffered from "high cholesterol."

Russia pounded Ukraine with air strikes early on June 27 and shelled civilian settlements in the frontline eastern region of Donetsk, killing at least one person and wounding 14, the military and regional officials said.

The death occurred during shelling of the industrial city of Toretsk, while those wounded were inhabitants of Memryk, Selidovo, and Komar, regional Governor Vadym Filashkin reported on Telegram.

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 Ukrainian military reported that Russia attacked Ukraine with six cruise missiles and 23 drones early on June 27.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down five of the missiles and all drones launched at targets in Ukraine, the military reported.

Serhiy Tyurin, the governor of the western region of Khmelnytskiy said on Telegram that nine incoming targets were shot down over the region, with no reports of casualties among civilians.

Six drones and three cruise missiles were downed over the southern region of Mykolayiv, Governor Vitaliy Kim reported, adding that there were no casualties.

Two drones were destroyed in the southern region of Kherson early on June 27, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported, adding that Russian shelling the previous day killed one civilian and wounded 16, including two children.

In the southern Dnipropetrovsk region, Russia launched a massive artillery attack on the city of Nikopol on the banks of Dnieper River, regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram, adding that one drone was also shot down over his region.

Schools and kindergartens were damaged, Lysak said. He did not mention any casualties.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said that seven Ukrainian drones were shot down by its air defenses -- four over the Tver region, two over the Moscow region, and one over the Belgorod region.

Sota reported, based on eyewitness accounts, that a drone attack occurred on the Redkinsky Experimental Plant in the Tver region, where aviation fuel is produced. The plant has previously been attacked by drones.

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

A scheduled meeting between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo aimed at renewing of the process of talks on the normalization of relations between the two countries failed to take place in Brussels on June 26 amid continued signs of animosity on both sides.

Although it had been confirmed there would be a new round, Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic only met with their European counterparts.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who was to host the Kurti-Vucic meeting, confirmed that "no progress in implementation of the agreement could be achieved."

These efforts will continue next week, Borrell said, when he will again try to host the two negotiators in Brussels.

Borrell said the EU would "continue putting all our efforts and capacity at the service of the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia."

Vucic blamed Kurti for the talks failing to take place, saying his counterpart "didn't want to see me."

Kurti presented three conditions for further engagement in the broader normalization process, including the formalization of the Basic Agreement through the signatures of the respective heads of state and government and the handing over Milan Radoicic and his paramilitary-terrorist group to Kosovo’s judicial authorities.

Kurti said the conditions he presented were "guarantees of good faith and goodwill that would enable the implementation of the agreement."

Kosovo wants Serbia to turn over Radoicic, who is considered the mastermind of an attack in northern Kosovo on September 24, 2023, by armed ethnic Serbs on a Kosovo police patrol, killing one of the officers.

Borrell said Serbia was not ready to fully meet Kosovo’s conditions citing constitutional constraints, while Vucic indicated he was ready to explore options in formalizing the agreement in line with past dialogue practice.

“The parties’ positions remain far apart on how implementation of the agreement could be launched -- and consequently how the normalization process should continue. As I said before, the EU cannot alone want normalization of relations if the parties themselves cannot agree how to move forward,” said Borrell at the end of the meeting.

Serbia has never acknowledged Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia. In the late 1990s a NATO intervention against Belgrade ended fighting between Kosovo and Serbia that claimed some 10,000 lives, mostly ethnic Albanians.

There were never high expectations for the June 26 meeting. The European Union wanted to organize the round to renew the talks that appear to many observers to be on life support. The last time leaders met was in September 2023.

Borrell said that despite coming changes in the EU leadership -- he is due to leave office in the autumn -- the obligations for Serbia and Kosovo remain the same.

“In a few months’ time, there will be different people, different names in our jobs, but the agreements, the council conclusions and the European Union’s expectations will not change. The member states will not change. The commitments and obligations of Kosovo and Serbia will not go away. Everyone will still be looking at the capacity and willingness of the Serbian president and Kosovo prime minister to deliver a better, European future for their people,” Borrell said ahead of the talks.

“Normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia is at the heart of the European Union’s engagement in the Western Balkans,” he added.

With reporting by AFP

Georgia booked a place in the last 16 of Euro 2024 in their debut appearance at a major tournament with an early goal by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze's penalty for a 2-0 win over Portugal on June 26. Kvaratskhelia gave Georgia a shock lead against a second-string Portugal team with just over a minute on the clock at the stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Mikautadze then ensured Georgia would claim the biggest soccer victory in the nation's history with a 57th-minute penalty. Portugal created several chances, but Georgia defended resolutely, countered at pace, and fully deserved their victory. The team finishes third in Group F and faces Spain in the last 16. Portugal had already qualified for the next round as group winners and will play Slovenia in the knockout round.

A federal grand jury in the U.S. state of Maryland has returned an indictment charging a 22-year-old Russian citizen with conspiracy to hack into Ukrainian government computer systems and destroy them and their data.

The man named in the indictment, Amin Stigal, allegedly conspired with Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency and then launched cyberattacks against the Ukrainian government just before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the U.S. Justice Department said in a news release on June 26.

According to court documents, Stigal and members of the GRU conspired in January 2022 to use a U.S.-based company’s services to distribute malware to dozens of Ukrainian government entities’ computer systems and destroy them and related data stored on them in advance of the Russian invasion.

On January 13, 2022, Stigal and the GRU conspirators attacked multiple Ukrainian government agencies, the Justice Department's news release said. The list included the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry, the State Treasury, the Judiciary Administration, the Education and Science Ministry, and the Agriculture Ministry.

The conspirators infected computers on the agencies’ networks with malware called WhisperGate, which was designed to look like ransomware but was actually designed to completely destroy the targeted computer and related data.

The indictment says the cybercriminals compromised several of the targeted Ukrainian computer systems, lifted sensitive data and left this message at the websites: “Ukrainians! All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst. This is for your past, present, and future.”

The conspirators offered the hacked data for sale on the Internet in an effort aimed at sowing fear among Ukrainians regarding the safety of government systems, the Justice Department said.

If convicted, Stigal, who remains at large, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

To help catch Stigal and bring him to justice, the U.S. State Department has offered a $10 million reward for information on his whereabouts or about his malicious cyberactivity.

Ukraine was knocked out of the European Championship on June 26 following a 0-0 draw with Belgium in its Group E match. Romania won the group, followed by Belgium and Slovakia, and those three teams will advance to the round of 16. All four Group E teams finished with four points, but Ukraine lost its chance to advance on goal difference. Ukraine's brave run came to an agonizing end as it became the first team since the tournament increased to 24 teams not to progress with four points.

At least 70 people were injured on June 26 when nine of 14 passenger train cars derailed in the Komi region of western Russia.

According to TASS, the carriages derailed after leaving the station in the town of Inta. The governor of the Komi region, Vladimir Uyba; the head of Inta's municipal district, Vladimir Kiselyov; and First Deputy Mayor Grigory Nikolayev went to the scene of the derailment, according to a Telegram post.

No deaths have been reported, but TASS said at least 70 of the 232 passengers were injured. RFE/RL's Russian Service estimates 150 of the passengers were traveling in the carriages that derailed.

A passenger who climbed out of one of the cars described the scene as a "nightmare" in a video on Telegram showing the derailed cars lying on their side.

Officials blame the derailment on a washed-out embankment. The same heavy rainfall that caused the embankment to erode has led to flooding and impassible roads which are hindering emergency services, according to the regional Health Ministry.

Two recovery trains were sent to the site of the derailment by Russian Railways, the company that owns the No. 511 Vorkuta-Novorossiysk. In addition, the ministry told TASS that doctors will fly to the derailment site in three helicopters within an hour.

Train traffic in the region has been suspended and the Transport Prosecutor's Office announced an investigation. Russian Railways has also launched an investigation under Russian Railways director Oleg Belozerov, according to a Telegram post.

In 2019, a criminal case investigated the derailment of 23 freight cars in Komi. TASS reported that the freight train derailed due to erosion caused by a pipe-culvert defect, and no injuries were reported.

European officials announced on June 26 that Montenegro is ready for the final phase of accession to the European Union. After 12 years of accession negotiations, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said Podgorica has "broken the ice" in what EU Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi hailed as a "historic moment." Montenegro is considered the most advanced country in the EU accession process, but accession stalled over the Montenegrin judiciary. Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said Podgorica must continue to strengthen judicial independence and fight against corruption and organized crime. The announcement came as part of the Intergovernmental Conference between the European Union and Montenegro in Brussels. To read the original story on RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.

A court in Astana on June 26 rejected an appeal filed by former Kazakh Economy Minister Quandyq Bishimbaev against the 24-year prison term he was handed last month for the murder of his wife, Saltanat Nukenova. The court also upheld a four-year prison term handed to Baqytzhan Baizhanov, a relative of Bishimbaev, for failing to report the crime, which he witnessed. The high-profile trial that started in late March was followed online by millions of people in Kazakhstan and elsewhere. Bishimbaev was arrested in November after he beat his 31-year-old wife for hours in an Astana restaurant. The jury found him guilty of torture, murder with extreme violence, and repeatedly committing serious crimes. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has condemned Russia’s decision to block 81 European media outlets in 25 European Union countries. "This decision further restricts access to free and independent information and expands the already severe media censorship in Russia," Borrell said in a statement on June 26. Borrell called the decision "totally unfounded," saying the European media outlets "give factual information, also to Russian audiences, including on Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine." Moscow announced its ban on June 25 in retaliation for a May EU ban on Russian media outlets. Borrell said the EU's ban was due to the control Russian authorities have over the outlets, which he said were "instrumental in supporting the war of aggression against Ukraine."

Russia's Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don on June 26 sentenced in absentia five foreign nationals to prison terms for joining Ukraine's armed forces fighting against Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

According to the Russian Prosecutor-General's Office, Briton John Harding, Swedish citizen Mathias Gustafsson, and Croatian national Vjekoslav Prebeg, were sentenced to 23 years in prison each on charges of taking part in training to forcibly seize power, forced change of Russia's constitutional system, and taking part in an armed conflict as mercenaries.

Two other Britons -- Andrew Hill and Dylan Healy -- were sentenced to 3 1/2 years and four years, respectively.

Hill was found guilty of fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Russian troops in Ukraine, while Healy was convicted of recruiting fighters to the Ukrainian armed forces.

The five men were among those released in prisoner swaps in 2022.

SEE ALSO:

Trial Of Journalist Gershkovich Under Way In Russia; U.S. Calls For Immediate Release

Britain's Foreign Office condemned the "exploitation" of prisoners of war and civilians for political purposes following the capture of Healy and Hill in 2022.

It was confirmed at the time that another Briton, Paul Ury, who was captured along with Healy and Hill, died in the custody of then Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's east.

The British government insisted then that as legitimate members of the Ukrainian armed forces, the Britons and other foreigners captured by Russian troops should be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.

In early March 2022, shortly after Russia started its full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Kyiv launched a website to recruit foreign volunteers to an "international legion" to fight invading Russian troops.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree then, introducing visa-free entrance to Ukraine for foreign nationals who intend to join the “international legion.”

BRATISLAVA -- Igor Dodon, the pro-Russian leader of Moldova's largest opposition party and a former president, won't commit to running in Moldova's upcoming presidential election as he looks to spearhead the defeat of incumbent Maia Sandu and her pro-EU agenda.

In a wide-ranging interview with Current Time in Bratislava last week, Dodon blamed "all sides" for the war in Ukraine and said of Moscow's territorial claims that only "the results of peace talks will make it clear where the war will stop, for both Russia and Ukraine."

He accused Sandu and the current Moldovan government of "violating" Moldova's neutral status and suggested that if he were in power he would shut off the country as any sort of conduit for the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

Dodon, 49, also declined to rescind a previous threat, made during a visit to Russia, to refuse to recognize the results if Sandu emerges victorious in the October presidential election in the landlocked country of about 3.5 million people sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania.

"If we see that there is falsification, and we record it, of course, we will make some decisions about it," Dodon told Current Time. "And whether it will lead to the fact that the elections won't be recognized or will lead to other consequences, we'll see. It's too early to talk about that now."

SEE ALSO:

Wider Europe Briefing: What To Expect From EU Accession Talks For Ukraine And Moldova

With two months to go before official candidate registration begins for the October 20 vote, recent polls show Sandu with 30 to 35 percent support compared to Dodon's 16 percent, making him her closest current potential competitor among likely candidates.

A former prime minister and founder of the liberal Party of Action and Solidarity, the 52-year-old Sandu derailed Dodon's presidential reelection bid in a 2020 landslide pledging to accelerate pro-EU reforms and curb corruption.

Sandu has doggedly backed Kyiv and pursued energy independence from Russia and greater integration with the West amid mounting fallout from Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine on Moldova's politics, security, and economy.

Sandu has repeatedly demanded an end to the stubborn presence in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region of hundreds of Russian troops at a Soviet-era weapons depot.

EU candidate Moldova, one of Europe's poorest states, achieved a milestone this week when the bloc on June 25 officially launched what are expected to be years of membership negotiations with Chisinau, alongside Kyiv.

In his Current Time interview, Dodon, who heads the Party of Socialists (PSRM), accused Sandu of overplaying her hand and alienating a significant segment of voters on the political left.

Embed share

Former Moldovan President Challenged Over Pro-Russian Stance

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:11 0:00

"Maia Sandu has characteristics that make her, in my opinion, a more serious dictator than others you think are dictators or they call Russia and so on," Dodon said.

He accused Sandu of relying too much on the West and the diaspora for support, singling out the United States and the EU's leadership.

"I've spoken about this openly," Dodon said, "without the help of these two geopolitical players, Maia Sandu wouldn't have won and wouldn't have held power up to now."

There are an estimated 1.5 million Moldovan nationals abroad, with half a million in Russia and most of the rest in the West. Moldova has about 3 million registered voters in all.

Dodon alleged that postal voting and other unspecified changes in the run-up to voting signaled that Sandu and her "Western handlers" lack confidence and are "in agony."

SEE ALSO:

'I Realize I May Never Come Back': Moldovan Mercenaries Join Russian Units In Ukraine

Moldova's parliament in April approved postal voting from abroad in an amendment criticized by most of the opposition, although it is limited to democratic countries with which Chisinau has diplomatic relations and which are not embroiled in military conflicts.

Dodon has repeatedly advocated improving ties with what he describes as traditional allies China and Russia, including restoring what he has long described as a "strategic partnership" with Moscow.

He said the war in Ukraine was "a tragedy for the Ukrainian people…[and] for the Russian people." It was a tragedy for Moldovans, too, he said, "because for us, both Ukrainians and Russians are brothers."

Dodon called Moldova a "neutral country militarily," adding, "We condemn war…. We believe that the war should be ended as soon as possible through negotiations."

Asked who started the war in Ukraine, Dodon cited the Euromaidan unrest that ousted Ukraine's pro-Moscow president in 2014 but made no mention of Russia's covert occupation of Crimea and support for Ukrainian separatists. "I think all sides are to blame for this," he said.

"Unfortunately we have reached a situation where hundreds of thousands of men, women, children, as you said, are being killed -- on both one side and the other side -- so the responsible politicians must stop [it]," he said. "Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow…the Ukrainian side and the Russian side will sit down."

Asked if he would prevent Ukraine's allies from supplying Kyiv with weapons to defend itself, Dodon said, "I would act according to the constitutional status of Moldova, which clearly states that we are a neutral state, and a neutral state should not interfere in this."

Sandu "will have answer for this in the future," he added.

Article 11 of Moldova's 1994 constitution proclaims the country's "permanent neutrality" and excludes "the stationing of any foreign military troops on its territory."

Despite repeated calls from Sandu and other senior officials, Russia has maintained hundreds of troops at a former weapons depot in Transdniester, whose separatist leadership maintains close ties to Moscow.

SEE ALSO:

Blinken Praises Progress Toward 'Dynamic Moldova' In Visit To Chisinau

Dodon said there are nothing but "pro-Western opinions left on [Moldovan] television," but that "Russia has more opportunities than the West" to influence elections.

"Of course," he added, "it would be good if we were left alone, by both Russia and the West, so that we can decide for ourselves." He vowed to "restore normal relations" with Putin and Russia "despite what is happening in Ukraine."

Transdniester is a heavily Russian-speaking sliver of land that has been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since a war in 1992. The autonomous region of Gagauzia is populated largely by ethnic Turkish Gagauz who speak Russian and have adopted Russian Orthodox Christianity.

On the coming election, Dodon declined to say whether he plans another run for the presidency but added, "It's clear that according to all the polls, it could be Dodon because that's what the polls show, that would be the best option for the Socialist Party."

Dodon said that if no other "nonpolitical, apolitical candidate" with sufficient support emerges in the next two weeks, his Socialists "will nominate their candidate from within the party leadership."

The monthlong registration period for presidential candidates begins on August 20.

Iranian-Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali has gone on a hunger strike to protest against being left out of a prisoner exchange deal between Tehran and Stockholm, his wife Vida Mehrannia told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.

Earlier this month, Sweden released former Iranian prison official Hamid Nouri in exchange for Swedish citizens Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi.

Djalali, who was detained in 2016 and subsequently sentenced to death for allegedly spying for Israel, was not part of the exchange. He has denied all charges.

Mehrannia said the Swedish government has not given Djalali’s family “convincing” explanations about why he was not included in the deal.

She added that Djalali’s hunger strike, which started on June 26, was in protest against Stockholm “leaving him behind” and “not taking any responsibility.”

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on June 25 that his government’s only options were to either bring Floderus and Azizi back or “drop everything” and forget the deal.

SEE ALSO:

Activists Condemn Iran-Sweden Prisoner Swap Of Convicted War Criminal Nouri

Mehrannia said she will meet a government representative in the first week of July to discuss her husband’s case.

She said Djalali, who is the longest imprisoned dual citizen held in Iran, was sentenced to death so that Tehan could use him to “pressure” European nations to release Iranian prisoners.

The prisoner swap deal has been widely condemned by rights groups and activists, because Nouri was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in 1988.

Western governments and rights groups have long accused Iran of detaining dual citizens to use them as bargaining chips against the West.

At least eight other European citizens are currently held in Iran, including Jamshid Sharmahd, a German citizen of Iranian descent sentenced to death.

The Islamic republic is also holding German-Iranian Nahid Taqavi, who was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison

Other Europeans held in Iran include French citizens Cecile Kohler and her partner, Jacques Paris, as well as a man identified only by his first name Olivier. Kohler and Paris are accused of spying, but no details have been released about Olivier's case.

An unnamed Austrian national was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in jail in Iran last year for spying, according to Vienna.

Swedish nationals Simon Kasper Brown and Stephen Kevin Gilbert, who were detained in 2021 and later convicted of drug trafficking, are serving eight and five years in prison, respectively.

Written by Kian Sharifi based on an interview by Fereshteh Ghazi of RFE/RL's Radio Farda