At least 93 people were executed in Iran in August, increasing the total for the year to more than 400, UN rights experts said on September 2. The UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed alarm over the monthly total -- a rise from 45 reported in July -- and called on Iran to immediately stop the execution of people facing the death penalty. It said 41 of those executed last month were due to drug offenses. "The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party, restricts the application of the death penalty to 'most serious crimes,' understood as intentional killing," it said. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, is traveling to Kyiv again on September 3. He will also visit the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in the southeast of the country, the IAEA announced in Vienna. Europe's largest nuclear plant has been occupied by Russia since 2022. The facility has been the target of repeated attacks and acts of sabotage for which Moscow and Kyiv blame each other. Grossi said in mid-August that the security situation was "deteriorating." He spoke after a blast in the immediate vicinity of the plant, which IAEA experts believe was caused by a drone with an explosive charge.

At least six people were killed and 13 injured in a blast in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on September 2, representatives of the de facto Taliban rulers said. Witnesses said the incident took place near the Attorney General's Office in the capital, with some residents telling RFE/RL's Radio Adazi that at least 15 people had been killed. Police officials declared it a "suicide attack," but details remain scarce. Residents near the emergency hospital in the Shahr-e Naw neighborhood told Radio Azadi they saw bodies and injured being taken by ambulance to the hospital. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the Sunni-led Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) branch has carried out numerous attacks since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, often targeting Taliban officials, foreign nationals, and the Shi'ite Hazara community. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, click here.

All 22 bodies have been recovered from the crash of a civilian helicopter Russia's Kamchatka region, the Emergencies Ministry said on September 2. The Mi-8 disappeared on August 31 with 19 passengers -- mainly tourists -- and three crew members aboard, and crashed into a hill, according to authorities. The crash site was discovered on September 1. The helicopter was operated by the Vityaz-Aero company, which has been engaged in passenger and tourist flights for 15 years, officials said. In August 2021, a helicopter operated by the same company also crashed in Kamchatka, killing eight people. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.

Belarusian lawyer Ales Mikhalevich said on Facebook on September 2 that Armenian authorities detained Belarusian activist Dziyana Maiseyenka at Minsk's request as she was crossing the Georgian-Armenian border. Mikhalevich added that Maiseyenka is wanted in Belarus on charges of "organizing and preparing activities that blatantly disrupt public order." The charges stem from Maiseyenka's participation in mass rallies protesting official results of the August 2020 presidential poll that named authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka the winner. An Armenian court is to rule on Maiseyenka's restrictions before a decision on her deportation is made. Mikhalevich said he and his colleagues are providing Maiseyenka with legal assistance. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

Richard Bennett, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, says he has arrived in Qatar to meet with "diverse groups" of Afghan men and women, along with government representatives, on the situation in Afghanistan. The country's de facto Taliban rulers barred Bennett from entering Afghanistan late last month, accusing him of "spreading propaganda." Since being appointed to the UN post in May 2022, Bennett has made several trips to Afghanistan and has accused the Taliban of violating human rights, especially in regard to the rights of girls and women. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.

Russian opposition political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was released from a Russian prison last month in a major prisoner swap between Russia and the West, says Mongolian authorities "must arrest" President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the East Asian country.

Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which Mongolia joined in 2003, for the unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

Putin arrived in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, on the evening of September 2 ahead of a planned visit that will include an appearance on September 3 at ceremonies marking Soviet and Mongol battle victories in World War II.

"In terms of the International Criminal Court, in terms of the Rome Statute, in terms of international law, Vladimir Putin should be arrested," Kara-Murza told Current Time on September 1.

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"If Mongolia considers itself a country with the rule of law that aspires to be part of the civilized world," Kara-Murza said, "then Mongolia must comply" with the terms of the Rome Statute that established the ICC.

He added that he and other Russian opposition politicians and activists signed an online petition calling on the Mongolian authorities to arrest Putin.

"From the point of view of international law, it's not a matter of choice or willingness -- it's a matter of a legal obligation that most definitely requires compliance," Kara-Murza said.

On September 2, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement urging Mongolia to either deny entry to or arrest Putin.

"Mongolia would be defying its international obligations as an ICC member if it allows [Putin] to visit without arresting him,” said Maria Elena Vignoli, senior international justice counsel at HRW.

The Kremlin said on August 30 that it had "no worries" about the trip, adding that Russia had "a wonderful dialogue with our friends from Mongolia."

Putin plans to take part in events in Mongolia devoted to the 85th anniversary of joint Soviet and Mongol armed forces' victory over Japanese troops in the Battles of Khalkhin Gol.

Putin's visit to Mongolia will be his first visit to a country that signed and ratified the ICC's Rome Statute since an ICC warrant was issued for him in March 2023.

In December 2023, Judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia was elected as an ICC judge.

On August 30, Ukraine also urged Mongolia to arrest Putin.

Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Under the Rome Statute, each of the 124 ICC member states would be expected to enforce the arrest warrant should Putin visit their territories.

However, the ICC does not have tools to secure the implementation of the treaty and relies on the cooperation of its member states to conduct any arrest warrants.

Russia's Investigative Committee announced on September 2 that the deputy commander of Russia's Leningrad Military District has been detained on suspicion of accepting a 20 million ruble ($224,000) bribe, the latest in a string of corruption probes. General Major Valery Muminjanov, according to investigators, helped several companies win contracts to provide the military with clothes in exchange for payment, the committee said in a statement. Several top military and Defense Ministry officials have been arrested on corruption charges since President Vladimir Putin dismissed close ally Sergei Shoigu as defense minister in May and replaced him with former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov.

The founding members of a Belarusian start-up accused by the authorities of being an extremist group have gone on trial on a raft of serious charges.

The trial of three members of Imaguru (I’m A Guru), which was founded in Belarus in 2013 with the aim of helping entrepreneurs and providing co-working spaces, began in Minsk on September 2.

The Crisis In Belarus

Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.

CEO Tatsyana Marynich and Imaguru member Anastasia Khamyankova are being tried in absentia on charges of inciting hatred, tax evasion, calls for international sanctions against Belarus, plotting to seize power, creating an extremist group, financially supporting extremist activities, involvement in an armed conflict abroad, facilitating extremist activities, discrediting the Republic of Belarus, and abuse of power.

Yauhen Puhach, a former Imaguru director who has been jailed in Belarus since July 2023, is charged with tax evasion and facilitating extremist activities.

The case against the start-up group was launched over its members' support of unprecedented protest rallies challenging the official results of an August 2020 presidential poll that named authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka the winner.

The Belarusian opposition and a majority of voters have insisted that the election was rigged.

In August last year, the Belarusian KGB labeled Imaguru "an extremist group."

In May 2021, Imaguru had to move its offices to Madrid as Belarusian authorities intensified their continuing crackdown on independent businesses, journalists, and opposition figures over the protests.

Also on September 2, the Minsk regional court started the trial of activist Maryna Hatsura on a charge of facilitating extremist activities. It remains unclear what the charge stems from.

The 59-year-old Hatsura was arrested in January along with more than 200 activists or relatives of individuals who are behind bars on politically motivated charges.

Thousands have been detained over the protests against the August 2020 election results, and rights groups have documented cases of torture and ill-treatment by security forces. Several people died during the crackdown.

Lukashenka has refused to negotiate with the opposition, and many of its leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country.

The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as the winner of the vote and imposed several rounds of sanctions on him and his regime, citing election fraud and the crackdown.

Romania's coalition government on September 2 sent to parliament for final approval a draft law enabling the donation of a Patriot missile-defense system to Ukraine. Bucharest said in June that it would donate one of its two operational Patriot systems to Ukraine on condition that allies replace it with a similar air-defense system. Romania, a NATO member since 2004, shares a 650-kilometer border with Ukraine and has had Russian drone fragments stray into its territory repeatedly as Moscow attacks Ukrainian ports just across the Danube River border. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Romanian Service, click here.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev has pardoned hundreds of convicts to mark the country's Independence Day, which was celebrated on September 1. State media reported that 159 prisoners were released outright, while 303 individuals were released on parole and the prison terms of 60 convicts were shortened. Among those affected were 19 foreigners, 56 women, 25 men of 60 years or older, and 233 "young" people, including one younger than 18. Twenty-seven of those pardoned were serving terms for involvement with banned groups. Mirziyoev’s last mass amnesty, which involved 426 people, was announced in April to mark the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, click here.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Mongolia to either deny entry or arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is set to visit that country on September 3. Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which Mongolia joined in 2003, for the unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. “Mongolia would be defying its international obligations as an ICC member if it allows [Putin] to visit without arresting him,” Maria Elena Vignoli, senior international justice counsel at HRW, said in a press release issued on September 2. The Kremlin said on August 30 that it had “no worries” about the trip, adding that Russia has “a wonderful dialogue with our friends from Mongolia.”

BESLAN, Russia -- The city of Beslan in Russia's North Caucasus region of North Ossetia is marking the 20th anniversary of one of the worst terror attacks in Russian history.

Local residents marched on September 1 in the yard of School No. 1 in Beslan, holding portraits of loved ones they lost 20 years ago in a massacre that unfolded after Chechen and Ingush Islamic extremists seized the elementary school and took more than 1,200 people hostage.

The procession was part of three days of "Silence and Mourning" in remembrance of the siege, which turned deadly when Russian forces stormed the school on September 3, 2004, resulting in a standoff that left 334 people dead, including 186 children.

Mourners on September 1 laid flowers in the ruins of the school's sports hall, where hostages were held for three days by some three dozen militants demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from then-breakaway region of Chechnya.

WATCH: This is an untold story about what happened after the 2004 massacre in Beslan. Music teacher Dina Kargiyeva lost her 11-year-old daughter in the chaos. At first, Kargiyeva did not want to live. Later, she tried in vitro fertilization and a surrogate mother but both failed. Finally, aged 44, she adopted a girl who was her salvation.

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After Beslan: A Mother's Path To 'Salvation' After The Torment Of A Lost Child

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Regional officials, residents, and members of the Mothers of Beslan NGO were among those attending the commemoration.

North Ossetian Governor Sergei Menyailo said on Telegram that he handed to the Vladikavkaz and Alania Diocese an icon of the Holy Bethlehem Infants, which he received as a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to North Ossetia last month.

The major commemoration events are scheduled for September 3, the anniversary of the day Russian forces stormed the school.

In 2006, a Russian parliamentary commission blamed the hostage-takers for the high death toll and exonerated Russian security forces.

But the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2017 ruled that Russia must pay nearly 3 million euros ($3,313,740) to the relatives of the Beslan victims, saying that Russian authorities failed to protect the schoolchildren, teachers, and parents.

The ECHR also said Russia had not done enough to prevent the attack, despite having information that such an act was in the works.

Kazakhstan will hold a referendum on October 6 on whether to build a nuclear power plant, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev announced on September 2.

Toqaev has argued the project is needed to diversify energy sources in Kazakhstan, which has abundant oil and natural gas reserves. It is also the world’s leading producer of uranium, used to fuel nuclear power plants.

SEE ALSO:

Amid Government Push, Russia Looms Large Over Kazakh Nuclear Power Debate

Kazakh Energy Minister Almassadam Satkaliyev has said the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan is the only way to meet a rising domestic power demand and carbon-neutrality goals.

Currently, Kazakhstan gets about 80 percent of its energy from coal-fired plants and another 15 percent is generated by hydropower, while the rest comes from renewable energy resources.

A single Russian nuclear power reactor operated from 1972 to 1999, generating electricity and desalinating water.

No exact site for the future nuclear power plant has been announced, although two have been mentioned as likely: at Ulken near Lake Balkash and at Kurchatov.

It’s also unclear who would build the plant. In 2023, the Kazakh Energy Ministry said Russia’s Rosatom was one of four contractors whose reactors were under consideration for the plant, with EDF of France, the China National Nuclear Corporation, and South Korea's Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power the other three.

The project has been met by much opposition. In recent weeks, several activists known for their stance against the nuclear power station's construction have been prevented from attending public debates on the issue.

Nuclear-power-related projects have been a controversial issue in Kazakhstan, where the environment was severely impacted by operations at the Soviet-era Semipalatinsk nuclear test site from 1949 to 1991 and the Baikonur spaceport, which is still being operated by Russia.

The ruling party of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is set to retain its majority in parliament after preliminary election results were released on September 2. Aliyev’s New Azerbaijan party won 68 seats of the 125 seats in the parliament, the Central Electoral Commission announced. It had 69 seats in the outgoing parliament. Other seats went to parties that back the government. Just over 2 million people voted in the September 1 elections, putting turnout at 37.3 percent. Instances of vote tampering were reported. It was the second snap election since Azerbaijan staged a lightning offensive a year ago to recapture the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. To read the original report by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.

Russia launched drones and cruise and ballistic missiles at Kyiv early on September 2, with falling debris injuring at least two people while sparking fires and damaging homes and infrastructure, the city's mayor said.

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.

A boiler at a Kyiv water plant was partially damaged, as was the entrance to a subway station also serving as a bomb shelter in the Svyatoshynk district, according to Vitaliy Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv.

At least two people were injured in the attack, Klitschko said, adding that emergency services were dispatched to several districts where debris fell from destroyed missiles.

"There will be an answer for everything. The enemy will feel it," Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office, wrote on his Telegram page following the attack.

Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's city military administration, said more than 10 cruise missiles, about 10 ballistic missiles, and a drone fired by Russia at the Ukrainian capital and its suburbs were destroyed by Ukraine's air defenses.

Later, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 35 missiles of various types and 26 Shahed drones at Ukraine overnight on September 1-2, adding that nine ballistic missiles, 13 cruise missiles, and 20 drones were downed.

Air-raid alerts went out across Ukraine for nearly two hours before the air force declared the skies clear early on September 2. Neighboring NATO member Poland activated Polish and allied aircraft to keep its airspace safe during the attacks, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, two drones hit a residential building and a school, Ukrainian media reported. No casualties were reported in that attack.

The barrage comes a day after Russia’s military reported intercepting and destroying 158 Ukrainian drones targeting multiple Russian regions in what was described as one of the biggest Ukrainian attacks since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

It also comes weeks after Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk region, which Moscow's forces have struggled to push back so far and to which the Kremlin has vowed to respond.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 2 that Ukraine's Kursk assault wouldn't prevent Russian forces from advancing in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces haven't achieved their goal of diverting Russian troops from the fighting there, he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last month that the aim of the Kursk incursion was to create a buffer zone that might prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border.

Zelenskiy on September 2 met in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhya with visiting Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and repeated his plea to allies to provide additional long-range weapons and to allow his forces to use them to fire deeper into Russian territory.

"For today, only to allow -- is also not enough," he told a briefing, adding that additional supplies of such weapons are desperately needed.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Thousands of protesters rallied in central Belgrade on September 1 against what they said were actions by the Serbian government to crack down on environmental activists opposed to an EU-backed lithium mine planned in the country. The protesters gathered in front of state-controlled Radio Television of Serbia’s (RTS) headquarters demanding that the network inform the public of the environmental issues related to the mine. Protesters oppose a lithium mining project set to be launched by the Anglo-Australian metals and mining giant Rio Tinto in Jadar in western Serbia over fears that it will pollute water and land resources in a country that already suffers from significant environmental degradation. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, click here.

The bodies of 17 dead were recovered on September 1 amid the wreckage of a civilian Mi-8 helicopter that disappeared the previous day in Russia’s Kamchatka region with 22 on board. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said all 22 -- 19 passengers and three crew -- were presumed dead. The state-run TASS news agency said the helicopter crashed into a hill. Officials said the helicopter belonged to the Vityaz-Aero airline, which has been engaged in passenger and tourist transportation for 15 years. Authorities said a criminal investigation into possible safety violations was under way. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.

The deadly May 19 crash of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was due to "complex climatic and atmospheric conditions," including heavy fog, the "final" report issued by a special commission said on September 1. The report by the general staff of the armed forces ruled out the possibility of the helicopter being targeted with "offensive and defense systems, electronic warfare, and the creation of magnetic fields and lasers." An August 22 report by the semiofficial Fars news agency said the helicopter had been "overweight," but the general staff rejected that claim and did not mention the weight issue in its latest report. Raisi and seven others were killed when the helicopter crashed on its way to the city of Tabriz on May 19 in heavy fog as it crossed a mountainous and forested area. To read the original report by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.

Pakistan’s military said on August 31 that four people -- including an army officer -- who had been abducted by insurgents three days earlier had been freed and were “safe at home.” In a brief statement, officials did not release full details but said their “safe and unconditional” release was “secured due to a role played by tribal elders and local notables.” Lieutenant Colonel Khalid Ameer was abducted on August 28 while in a mosque after attending his father's funeral, according to local police. Three members of his family were also seized in an action claimed by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal, click here.

PRAGUE -- Azerbaijan’s deputy minister for renewable energy has expressed surprise at the emergency weekend suspension of operations at a nuclear plant in neighboring Armenia and hinted at concerns over “certain technologies that Armenians are using currently.”

Deputy Minister Elnur Soltanov warned in the comments to RFE/RL on September 1 that “nuclear plants in the neighborhood” might not be up to world standards and “it’s not just Armenia that will suffer” in the event of an accident.

The comments follow the emergency shutdown and temporary disconnection from the grid of Caucasus neighbor Armenia’s only functioning nuclear reactor, at Metsamor, after a lightning strike late on August 30. The facility was put back online the next day.

SEE ALSO:

Armenian Nuclear Plant Reconnected To Grid After Lightning Strike Shuts Down Facility

Soltanov was speaking to RFE/RL on the sidelines of the Globsec security conference in Prague early on September 1.

Approached as he left a panel discussion on navigating climate change and the upcoming UN climate conference, COP29, which his country is hosting in November, Soltanov was initially unclear what “crisis” he was being asked about.

Informed that neighboring "Armenia's only nuclear power plant suffered a safety-related shutdown" about 36 hours earlier, he said, “Really? I have no idea. Oh my God.”

Soltanov continued to discuss the COP29 cooperation including “mutual support” that resulted in the lifting of Armenia’s veto on Baku hosting the event.

Then he argued the importance of nuclear technology in the climate fight as “sine qua non” to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

“But it has to be secure. It has to be safe. It should be answering the global standards,” Soltanov said.

“Because we know what happened in certain technologies that Armenians are using currently. So in that sense, yes. Anything that is constructively contributing to the process, pushing the situation to the world standards, which we believe that may not be the case with the nuclear plants in the neighborhoods, would be very great.”

“Because…it's not just Armenia that will suffer, right?” Soltanov said. “Everybody will suffer, and the consequences could be dire for everybody.”

Armenia’s only nuclear power plant is located 36 kilometers from the capital, Yerevan, and is less than 100 kilometers from Azerbaijani territory.

The plant’s initial Soviet-era construction with VVER-440 plant technology with no secondary containment building and with technology designed to withstand quakes of limited magnitude was controversial in a region regarded as heavily earthquake-prone.

Both of Metsamor’s reactors were closed in the late 1990s but Armenia reopened one of them in 1995 as energy demand grew.

SEE ALSO:

As Peace Negotiations Advance, Armenia And Azerbaijan Are Going It Alone

Longtime bitter foes Armenia and Azerbaijan are currently locked in tough discussions around a possible peace treaty following Azerbaijan’s decisive operation to retake Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas controlled for decades by Yerevan-backed ethnic Armenians.

Soltanov has been deputy energy minister since 2018 responsible for renewable energy and energy efficiency.

He was also appointed chief executive officer for the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP29, which Baku will host in mid-November.

Voting has concluded in Azerbaijan’s first parliamentary elections since it reclaimed full control of its breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, with reports of irregularities taking place at polling stations in the highly controlled electoral process.

The balloting offered Azerbaijan's 6 million-plus voters limited alternatives to loyalists of President Ilham Aliyev and came early in a fifth term built for decades on petro-wealth and carefully choreographed elections.

Although the outcome was never in doubt, one exit poll showed the ruling party winning 63 of 125 seats, down from 69 in the current legislature, the Milli Mejlis parliament, which is dominated by Aliyev’s New Azerbaijan party. Most of the rest belong to small pro-government parties or independents.

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service said instances of alleged vote tampering were being reported. It posted several videos that appeared to show the same voters casting ballots more than once.

WATCH: A Woman In Baku Appears To Vote Twice (RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service)

When asked by RFE/RL whether he had voted twice as it appeared in a video, a man in the Neftchala region refused to answer. A member of the election commission denied that a person had voted twice.

A woman in Baku and one in Sumgait were also filmed apparently voting twice. The woman filmed in Sumgait gave her name as Shahnaz Mammadova and indicated to RFE/RL that she had voted at two different voting stations and said she was sent by people from her work office.

An RFE/RL correspondent also filmed what appeared to be two people entering a single voting booth at the same time in the city of Sumgait.

An hour before polls closed, election officials reported a turnout of 33.8 percent.

The national election commission said 50 organizations would conduct observer missions. The largest observer contingent, from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, is scheduled to present its preliminary assessment of the election on September 2.

The Musavat party, the major opposition grouping, put forward 34 candidates for the election but only 25 of them were registered. The Republican Alternative opposition party has 12 candidates. The leading opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AXCP) is staying away from "the government's masquerade of a fraudulent election" for the seventh straight time.

SEE ALSO:

Azerbaijan's Second Snap Vote Since Karabakh Victory Could Further Signal Democratic Dead-End  

Aliyev was himself reelected to another seven-year term in a snap poll in February that was widely deemed to have been unfair and flawed.

Western observers have consistently criticized elections cementing Aliyev's reign as undemocratic, and Azerbaijani votes stretching back to 2003 and as recently as 2020 have been marred by violence.

Aliyev has sought a boost in popular support following Azerbaijan's victory over ethnic-Armenian separatist forces in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region in September 2023 in a lightning offensive.

Baku has been negotiating with Yerevan on a peace treaty looking to end decades of violence in the region.

With reporting by Reuters

Ukrainian officials said dozens of people were injured when Russian missiles struck a shopping and entertainment complex in the battered northeastern city of Kharkiv, while authorities in Moscow reported damage to industrial sites following a massive drone strike on the Russian capital.

After the Kharkiv strike on September 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy again pleaded with allies to allow his forces to deploy Western-provided missiles deeper across the border to reduce Russia’s ability to strike at Ukrainian civilian sites.

“Russia terrorizes Kharkiv again. Strikes on civilian infrastructure,” he wrote on Telegram.

“All the necessary forces of the world must be involved in order to stop this terror. This does not require extraordinary forces, but sufficient courage of the leaders -- courage to give Ukraine everything it needs for protection.”

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Russian Missiles Rupture Gas Pipe, Wound Dozens In Kharkiv

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The barrage comes just days after Ukraine's energy infrastructure was targeted by over 200 Russian drones and missiles in one of the biggest such attacks. On September 1, Ukraine reported more Russian attacks in its eastern and southeastern regions.

It is also nearly a month since Ukraine went on the offensive in Russia's Kursk region, even as Russian troops are reported to be making advances in eastern Ukraine, especially in the Donetsk region.

Kyiv is urging Washington to lift restrictions on using allied-supplied weapons to strike deep inside Russia. Ukraine argues such strikes would greatly impede Moscow’ s ability to continue its attacks on Ukraine.

Senior officials from Zelenskiy's administration were in Washington last week, appealing to the United States for what Zelenskiy called, "capabilities to truly and fully" protect the country.

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 Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by the state-run TASS news agency, said 158 drones had been destroyed by the country’s air-defense systems. The ministry said on Telegram that the highest number -- 122 -- were downed over the regions of Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh and Belgorod, which border Ukraine.

It was not possible to independently confirm the Russian reports.

In his Telegram post, Zelenskiy did not confirm the drone attacks directly but said that “it is only fair that Ukrainians can respond to Russian terror exactly as necessary to stop it. Every day and every night our cities and villages are under enemy attack."

Early on September 1, loud blasts were reported near the Konakovo Power Station in the Tver region, one of the largest regional energy producers, according to the Baza Telegram news channel, which is close to Russia’s security services.

Five drones were destroyed over the Tver region, according to Igor Rudenya, the regional governor. He did not mention possible damage.

A Ukraine-launched drone was destroyed near the Moscow Oil Refinery, said the Russian capital's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin. There was no damage or threat to the refinery's production process, he said.

The refinery is owned by Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom.

Ukraine also allegedly attempted to strike the Kashira Power Plant in the Moscow region with three drones, Mikhail Shuvalov, the head of the Kashira city district said on Telegram. There was no fire, damage or casualties as a result of the attack, he said.

"Electricity is being supplied without problems," Shuvalov said.

At least nine drones were destroyed in Moscow and in the surrounding region, Sobyanin said.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the head of Russia’s Belgorod region near the border, claimed that 11 people were injured, including two children, by Ukrainian shelling.

Some 26 Ukraine-launched drones were destroyed over the border region of Bryansk in Russia's southwest, the region's governor, Aleksandr Bogomaz, said on Telegram.

More than 10 drones were destroyed over the Voronezh region and several were downed over the Kursk, Lipetsk, Ryazan and Tula regions, the governors of these regions said, according to Reuters.

No injuries or damage were reported as a result of the attacks. Russia rarely discloses the full extent of damage caused by Ukrainian air attacks.

In Ukraine overnight, eight drones were shot down out of 11 launched by Russia, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

One person was killed and four wounded in shelling in the Sumy region, local officials said, while in Kharkiv 13 people were wounded in intermittent shelling during the day, according to regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) was reconnected to the grid on August 31 after being shut down a day earlier following a lightning strike, authorities said. The plant in Metsamor -- about 30 kilometers west of the capital, Yerevan -- was hit late on August 30 by the lightning strike, forcing its disconnection from the national grid. The Soviet-built plant, which features two reactors, generates 35-40 percent of Armenia’s electricity. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, click here.

Estonia and Latvia commemorated the 30th anniversary of the withdrawal of Russian troops from the two Baltic states with various events on August 31. In the Estonian capital, Tallinn, President Alar Karis, and in the Latvian capital, Riga, his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkrvics highlighted the symbolic, political, and legal significance of the events three decades ago. Both heads of state emphasized that without the troop withdrawal, neither genuine independence nor the path to the 2004 accession to the European Union and NATO defense alliance would have been possible. With the troop withdrawal, half a century of Russian military presence in the Baltics came to an end, a year after Russian forces had already withdrawn from Lithuania.