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Libyan NTC Forces Say Control All Of Sabha
On September 22, Ahmed Bani, military spokesman for the National Transitional Council (NTC), told reporters in Tripoli that interim authorities are investigating reports that Qaddafi had fled from Sabha, but could not confirm them.
Meanwhile in Brussels, the commander of the NATO military operation, Canadian General Charles Bouchard, said he is confident NATO can achieve its mission in Libya within the next three months.
On Wednesday, NATO allies extended their six-month-old air campaign in Libya by another 90 days.
compiled from agency reports
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Lithuanian President 'Hopes For Miracle' As Search For US Troops Continues
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said he still “hopes for a miracle” as rescue crews continue work to recover a submerged military vehicle that was carrying four US soldiers who remain missing.
Nauseda told reporters after he arrived on March 28 to survey the situation at the Pabrade military training ground near Lithuania's border with Belarus that while many sceptics "would probably say there is nothing to hope for in these circumstances, I want to believe."
"I am still hoping for a miracle," he added.
Rescue operations have been under way since the early hours of March 25, when four US soldiers in an M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle went missing.
Their vehicle was found submerged in a bog out in the training ground, triggering a massive recovery effort involving hundreds of Lithuanian and US personnel and dozens of vehicles.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Davile Sakaliene said the rescue operation was able to remove "two to three meters of silt," but the vehicle was still not visible due to murky water.
"It's still not enough, and water is rushing into the incident site from a nearby lake," she told LRT radio earlier in the day. She previously said the vehicle was located in water and mud at “more than 5 meters down.”
Sakaliene said that the fate of the four soldiers has yet to be determined and that investigators have not ruled out the possibility that they are not in the vehicle, but elsewhere.
On March 27, US Ambassador to Lithuania Kara C. McDonald visited the site of the search operation, pledging that US authorities "will not rest until we find them."
Following the McDonald’s visit and the arrival of a team of US divers to the training ground, Sakalene said Lithuanians are “heartbroken” and “watching every moment of this rescue operation.”
“Just as America doesn’t leave its own behind, we in Lithuania don’t leave ours behind either. And we consider these American soldiers our own,” she told Fox News on March 28.
Lithuania, a NATO and EU member, hosts more than 1,000 US troops stationed in the Baltic nation on a rotational basis.
US Army Europe and Africa said in a statement earlier that the four soldiers were "conducting scheduled tactical training" when they went missing on March 25.
In the early hours of the rescue operation, several conflicting accounts emerged, including comments from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that the four US soldiers were dead.
A NATO spokeswoman later walked back those comments.
Asked on the evening of March 26 by reporters if he had been briefed about the missing soldiers, US President Donald Trump said, “No, I haven’t.”
He has not commented on the situation since.
After New US Push, Ukraine Is Still Considering Minerals Deal
KYIV -- The Ukrainian government said it is still considering a draft agreement from the United States on the country's minerals amid media reports Washington has changed the terms of the deal several times.
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced at a government meeting that Kyiv is forming its position on the agreement but lawmakers would only state their stance once there was consensus. Before then, she said, public discussion would be harmful.
As the United States has been engaging in shuttle diplomacy to bring peace to Ukraine, US President Donald Trump said on March 24 that he expected the two countries would soon sign a minerals and natural resources deal.
Speaking to Reuters, Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that the draft agreement had yet to be finalized.
The news agency said that, according to three people familiar with the talks, the latest draft gives Ukraine no future security guarantees and requires it to contribute all income from the use of natural resources managed by state and private enterprises to a joint investment fund.
"Consultations are still happening at the level of the various ministries," Podolyak said.
Ukraine possesses significant deposits of critical minerals, including rare earths, although their exact size remains uncertain. Rare earth minerals are highly valued for their use in defense technologies, as well as in devices such as computers, smartphones, and batteries.
Recouping US Support
Last month, Ukraine and the United States reached a comprehensive agreement to develop Ukraine's vital mineral resources. The agreement was part of Trump's efforts to end the war and recoup some of the tens of billions of dollars the US has given Ukraine in financial and military aid since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Following a contentious meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy at the White House on February 28, attempts to finalize the agreement collapsed.
At the heart of the original deal was a joint fund that would be financed by future profits from the extraction of valuable minerals in Ukraine.
It is not clear whether the terms of the minerals deal have changed or whether it will include the security guarantees for Ukraine that Zelenskyy has pushed for.
The Ukrainian president said on March 27 that the United States was "constantly" altering the terms of the proposed agreement, though he added that he did not want Washington to believe that Kyiv was opposed to it.
The London-based Financial Times reported on March 27 that the new draft agreement goes far beyond the first agreement and would cover all mineral resources, including oil and gas, and major energy assets across Ukraine.
In comments on X on March 28, Svyrydenko said that, given the importance of the agreement, "it is crucial for us to have a constructive dialogue with our American partners."
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- Kian Sharifi
Insisting On Indirect Talks, Iran Responds To Trump Letter Via Oman
Iran said it has given a "restrained" response to a letter by US President Donald Trump proposing direct talks over a new nuclear deal, as Tehran continues to insist on indirect negotiations.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on March 27 that Iran delivered its formal written response to Trump via Oman, maintaining that Tehran will not hold direct negotiations as long as Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign is in effect.
"This official response includes a letter in which our position regarding the current situation and Mr. Trump's letter has been fully explained to the other party," Araqchi said.
Trump’s letter was delivered to Iran by an Emirati official on March 12. Some observers have argued that Iran’s decision to reply via Oman was due to concerns over the relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
Others, however, have pointed to Trump’s rapport with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that Israel will be made aware of the contents of Iran’s letter by Washington.
Reports say Trump’s letter included a proposal for direct negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and threats that failure to reach a deal would have severe consequences. Washington has not ruled out air strikes against Iran’s nuclear program.
Indirect Talks A No-Go
Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tehran’s response was “restrained.”
“It has been said in the letter that Iran is ready for indirect negotiations and if talks are held on equal footing, there is readiness to take further steps to negotiate,” said Shamkhani, a former national-security adviser.
Ali Vaez, Iran Program director at the International Crisis Group, says Tehran’s insistence on indirect talks will not go down well in Washington because Trump cares about the optics of face-to-face negotiations.
“Trump has no interest in indirect negotiations,” Vaez told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda. “Any indirect talks through mediators, no matter how good they progress, will be vulnerable.”
Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian ambassador to Germany, wrote on X that he believes Iran delivered “an ambiguous response” and “addressed all the key points in Trump’s letter.”
Vaez, however, criticized Iran’s negotiation tactics, arguing that decision-makers in Tehran “have no understanding” of how Trump operates.
“You cannot be ambiguous with Trump and his representatives. This type of diplomacy doesn’t work with this administration,” he said, adding that Iran needs to table a clear proposal for direct talks.
“Iran’s approach is a waste of time, and in the worst-case scenario, it’ll bring us to a dead-end where you can no longer have a peaceful resolution,” Vaez said.
The Islamic republic insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but there have been growing calls among hard-liners to weaponize it.
Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran during his first term in office, arguing that it did not go far enough to rein in Iran's threat, such as restricting its missile program and ending support for its regional proxies.
Iran says it is willing to talk to lift US sanctions, but it has categorically ruled out talks over the missile program and regional activities.
With reporting by Elaheh Ravanshad of RFE/RL's Radio Farda
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Temporarily Restores Funding For War Crimes Research On Abducted Ukrainian Children -- Report
The United States has reportedly made a temporary reversal to cut a US-backed project to compile evidence of possible Russian war crimes related to the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children.
The yearslong US-funded effort, which was spearheaded in part by Yale University, had helped pave the way for the International Criminal Court to issue indictments against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin’s main children’s advocate.
Yale researchers found that Putin and other top Russian officials were directly involved in an organized campaign to move children out of Ukrainian territories under Russian control, and move them into Russian summer camps and foster homes.
It was done, researchers said, with little to no effort to identify the children’s parents or legal guardians.
Earlier this month, the executive director of the Yale center, Nathaniel Raymond, told RFE/RL that the State Department was ending funding for the effort, something he called “a catastrophic blow" to efforts to document war crimes.
The Trump administration had also barred researchers from passing any of their evidence to the court's prosecutors. The White House has aggressively pushed back at The Hague court, all but declaring it to be illegitimate.
This week, however, the State Department reversed its decision, The Washington Post reported, and provided 6-weeks of funding to allow researchers to transfer its evidence to the European Union’s law enforcement agency, EUROPOL.
The State Department did not immediately respond to request for comment. Nor could Raymond be immediately reached.
Responding to a reporter’s question in Washington on March 27, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the administration had stopped funding the effort, but suggested that the database of evidence was intact and would be transferred “to the appropriate authorities.”
“The data is secured. We secured the data,” Rubio said. “The program is not funded. It was part of the reductions that were made, but we secured the data and we’ve ensured that we have it and it can be transferred to any appropriate authorities.”
Russia, Ukraine Exchange Drone Strikes
KYIV -- Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone strikes overnight, as Russian forces increased the intensity of attacks on the ground.
In a statement, the Ukrainian Air Force said that, on the night of March 28, Russia launched 163 drones of various types.
Of the 163 drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 89 of them. According to the air force, 51 failed to hit their targets, most likely as a result of electronic warfare countermeasures.
Over the past 24 hours, Russian troops have carried out massive shelling and air strikes on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and dozens of settlements in the region, said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional military administration, on March 28.
Kherson has been a focal point of fighting near the front line, with residents living under constant threat from drone and artillery strikes.
Three people were reportedly killed and 12 others were injured in the latest shelling in Kherson.
Meanwhile, in Russia, the cities of Saratov and Engels were attacked overnight on March 28, with local residents reporting multiple explosions in the sky, according to Russian Telegram channels.
The Saratov region has repeatedly been a target for Ukrainian drone strikes, in particular because of the significant military airfield close to the city of Engels.
In total, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the interception of 78 Ukrainian drones in the early hours of March 28.
Increased Russian Attacks
As the United States engages in shuttle diplomacy to try to bring peace to Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on March 28 that Russian troops had increased their activity on the ground, reporting 209 clashes in the last 24 hours.
The largest number of Russian attacks were in the direction of the strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, the General Staff said.
The Ukrainian General Staff also announced that, since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has lost 910,750 military personnel, including 1,860 in the last 24 hours.
On March 5, Britain's Defense Ministry said that, so far in 2025, Russia had likely sustained approximately 90,000 casualties, killed or wounded. The ministry added that, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia had likely sustained 875,000 casualties.
Putin Suggests Temporary Administration For Ukraine To Move Toward Ending War
Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested Ukraine could be placed under a form of temporary international administration to allow for elections and the signing of key accords.
The long-term goal of such an administration would be reaching a settlement to end the war, Putin said during a visit to the Northern Fleet in Murmansk on March 28, according to Russian news agencies.
"This is just one of the options. I am not saying that there are no others," Putin said, speaking after talks in Paris about how to firm up Ukraine's position on and off the battlefield.
The idea could be implemented "under the auspices of the UN, the USA, with European countries" and with "partners and friends" of Russia, Putin said.
The goal would be "to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government enjoying the trust of the people and then to start talks with them about a peace treaty," Putin said.
Putin has long complained that Ukraine's authorities are not a legitimate negotiating partner because President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has remained in power beyond the end of his five-year mandate.
No Elections Under Martial Law
Elections were to be held in May 2024, but under Ukrainian law Zelenskyy remains president until new elections are held. But they cannot be held under martial law, which the country has been under since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
Putin repeated that he views the current leadership of Ukraine as illegitimate and he is therefore resistant to signing any documents with it.
Putin also expressed Russia's readiness for a peaceful settlement, saying Russia is "persistently and confidently moving toward achieving all the goals stated at the beginning" of the Russian invasion. "There is reason to believe that we will achieve them.”
He said he believed US President Donald Trump sincerely wants to end the conflict, and Trump's push for direct talks between US and Russian negotiators showed that Trump wants peace.
There has been no reaction from Ukraine to Putin's latest statements.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it's too early to expect high-level talks with Russia.
"There's a lot of work to be done with both sides, particularly with the Russian side, which we haven't talked to for years," Rubio said on March 27 on his return flight to the United States after a Caribbean tour.
Asked how long it would take to make progress, Rubio said, "I just can't put a timeframe on that because it doesn't depend on us."
French President Emmanuel Macron, who on March 27 hosted a summit of the leaders of a "coalition of the willing," said they were more united around Ukraine than ever before and need to ensure that they're able to counter what he described as Russia's plan to draw out the negotiating process in order to grab more land.
"Our target is clear," Macron said at a press conference after the summit involving the leaders of 27 countries. "It is to achieve peace -- and to do this, we need to get Ukraine in the best possible place."
The summit discussed the potential deployment of European forces in Ukraine to complement a future cease-fire or peace deal.
"There will be a reassurance force operating in Ukraine representing several countries," Macron said.
He added that there is currently no unanimity on sending a European-led force and that not all members have agreed to participate, but he said that this is not required to move ahead.
The French president said that foreign ministers of coalition countries were tasked with looking at specific legal questions over any European-led reassurance force and told to report back in three weeks.
Whether the plan will result in a deployment or whether it will be integrated into diplomatic talks spearheaded by Washington remains to be seen.
Saudi Peace Talks
Following the summit, Zelenskyy said everyone understood that Russia does not seek peace and said that work on security guarantees would continue in the coming days and weeks.
Earlier this week, separate US talks with Kyiv and Moscow in Saudi Arabia led to the announcement of a deal that the White House said resulted in a cease-fire in the Black Sea and an agreement "to develop measures for implementing" their commitment to halt strikes on energy facilities.
But Russia is also demanding a number of conditions be met before it abides by the Black Sea agreement, including an easing of sanctions.
Macron said following the summit in Paris that he intends to speak to Trump and praised the recent US diplomacy.
Later on March 27, Trump adviser Elon Musk told Fox News that he believes there will be a negotiated peace to end the war.
“For the past two years, thousands of people have died every week for nothing. For what?” said Musk, who has become one of Trump's closest advisers.
He said he has "contempt" for people who want to continue the war without regard for those who are dying.
"I take great offense at those who…put the appearance of goodness over the reality of it,” he said. “Those who virtue signal and say we can’t give in to Russia but have no solution to stopping thousands of kids dying every day.”
Asked whether he is optimistic that Trump’s plan to end the war will work, Musk said the plan is the only thing that will work.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
- By RFE/RL
At Least 4 Russians Dead After Tourist Submarine Sinks In Egypt
At least four Russians died after a tourist submarine sank off the coast Hurghada, Egypt, on March 27.
The Russian Embassy in Egypt said all 45 tourists aboard the Sindbad were Russian citizens, confirming four fatalities while the fate of several others remained unknown.
It was unclear where the crew was from or whether they were among the dead.
“Most of those on board were rescued and taken to their hotels and hospitals in Hurghada,” the embassy said in a statement.
Local officials said that six people died and nine were injured in the incident.
It was not immediately clear what caused the submarine to sink in the popular Red Sea resort.
RFE/RL has not been able to independently verify available information.
This is a developing story and will be updated...
- By RFE/RL
New Russian Ambassador To US To Present Credentials On March 27
Russia's new ambassador to the United States will present his credentials to the Trump administration on March 27, the US State Department said.
Aleksandr Darchiyev, who was recently named as Russian ambassador to the United States, will present his credentials at 2:15 p.m. local time, according to the department's public schedule.
Louis L. Bono, the Senior Bureau official for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, will attend the “informal credential presentation,” according to the schedule.
Russia's RIA Novosti state news agency reported on March 26 that Darchiyev had arrived at his residence in Washington.
RIA Novosti said he told Russian journalists on arrival that a new "window of opportunity" had opened in the normalization of relations and the operation of diplomatic missions.
Moscow has not had an ambassador in the US since October.
Darchiyev previously served two long stints in the Russian Embassy in Washington and was ambassador to Canada from 2014 to 2021. He has been known in recent years for strong public denunciations of the United States and the West.
Darchiyev's appointment comes as Russia and the United States try to mend relations damaged by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and as US President Donald Trump pushes for a cease-fire in the conflict.
The White House said on March 26 that the United States reached separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia a day earlier to halt attacks in the Black Sea and "to develop measures for implementing" recent commitments to halt strikes on energy facilities.
Trump has said he wants to meet soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin in what would be the first meeting between Russian and US leaders since 2021.
With reporting by Reuters
- By RFE/RL
Macron Pushes Forward With Reassurance Force Plans For Ukraine Following Summit
Leaders from more than 30 countries met in Paris for talks about to how to firm up Ukraine's position on and off the battlefield as they promised new aid and considered proposals on the potential deployment of European forces in the country to complement a future cease-fire or peace deal.
Following the March 27 "coalition of the willing" summit, which does not include the United States, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the leaders gathered in Paris were more united around Ukraine than ever before. He said they need to ensure that they're able to counter what he described as Russia's plan to draw out the negotiating process in order to grab more land.
"Our target is clear," Macron said at a press conference after the summit. "It is to achieve peace -- and to do this, we need to get Ukraine in the best possible place."
The French president said that foreign ministers of coalition countries were tasked following the summit with looking at specific legal questions over any European-led reassurance force supporting a cease-fire, and told to report back in three weeks.
"There will be a reassurance force operating in Ukraine representing several countries," Macron said. "It is not Russia that can decide if a reassurance force can be stationed in Ukraine."
He added that there is currently no unanimity on sending a European-led force and that not all members have agreed to participate, but he said that this not required in order to move ahead.
Speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the eve of the summit, Macron said that the proposed reassurance force would not be on the front lines of the war and would not be tasked with monitoring or enforcing a cease-fire -- a job that he suggested could fall to UN peacekeepers.
At the March 27 press conference, Zelenskyy said that there were "many questions" and "few answers" over the possible deployment of European-led troops in Ukraine as part of any agreement.
"As for the actions of this contingent, its responsibilities -- what it can do, how it can be used, who will be in charge of it -- there are many questions. So far, there are few answers," Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy also urged the United States to respond to what he called Russia's violation of a commitment not to strike Ukrainian energy targets.
The Ukrainian leader said that energy infrastructure had been damaged in a Russian attack on March 27 and that it was "unclear who is monitoring" the pledges to halt such strikes.
Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations over breaching separate agreements with the United States to pause strikes against each other’s energy facilities.
Reaffirming Support For Ukraine
During the press conference, Macron added that a number of countries involved made further commitments of aid to Ukraine, including the French announcement of a new military aid package worth 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) on March 26.
Macron also said that European leaders had agreed not to ease sanctions imposed on Russia and that they would take additional measures to target Russia's so-called shadow fleet, a network of aged tankers used to covertly carry Russian crude oil around the world.
Earlier this week, separate US talks with Kyiv and Moscow in Saudi Arabia led to the announcement of a deal that the White House said resulted in a cease-fire in the Black Sea and an agreement "to develop measures for implementing" their commitments to halt strikes on energy facilities.
But Russia is also demanding a number of conditions be met before it abides by the Black Sea agreement, including an easing of sanctions.
Macron said following the summit in Paris that he intends to speak to US President Donald Trump and praised the recent US diplomacy.
Whether the plans will result in action on the ground and be integrated into diplomatic talks spearheaded by Washington remains to be seen.
Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy who has been involved in talks with Russia and Ukraine, earlier this week called the idea of the coalition “simplistic” and “a posture and a pose.”
Macron was asked about Witkoff’s criticism during his press conference and said that "we must hope for the best, but prepare for the worst," adding that he hoped that the United States would back the initiative but that his focus was on what Europe can do.
Easing Sanctions On Russia And A Black Sea Deal
US officials have recently raised the prospect of easing their set of sanctions on Russia.
Speaking to reporters during a working visit to Jamaica, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington will assess Moscow’s conditions.
"We're going to evaluate that. Some of those conditions include sanctions that are not ours -- they belong to the European Union," Rubio said at a news conference in Jamaica on March 26.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox News on March 26 that he believed Trump "would not hesitate to tighten sanctions if it gives him an advantage in negotiations." He added that tightening or easing sanctions would depend on further actions by the Russian leadership.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, at least 11 people were injured in overnight drone strikes on the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro on March 26, causing extensive damage.
Officials reported that Russian forces launched at least 86 Shahed drones at the two cities, hitting civilian buildings and vehicles.
- By Margot Buff and
- Austin Malloy
Iran Shows Off Military Might In Footage Of 'Underground Missile City'
Iran has released video showing a massive underground missile facility filled with a cache of high-powered weaponry.
The footage, shared by Iranian state media on March 25, showed Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Mohammad Baqeri and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace Force commander, showing off what Iranian media said was an "underground missile city."
Some of Iran’s most advanced weapons are seen mounted on vehicles parked in the underground tunnels.
The release of the video comes at a moment of high tensions between Iran and the United States.
Farzan Sabet, a researcher specializing in nuclear nonproliferation and Middle East politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute, said the Islamic republic has made similar displays of its military strength in the past.
“During times of tension, they'll find various ways to signal their offensive military power, their defensive military power, and their deterrence capabilities. And so, one of the things they do, for example, is test missiles or carry out military exercises,” Sabet told RFE/RL. “One of the other things they do is to tour military facilities, and among those are missile facilities.”
On March 15, the United States launched large-scale air strikes on Yemen targeting the Iran-backed, US-designated terrorist group Ansarullah, better known as the Huthis.
Some defense observers consider the strikes to be intended in part as a warning to Iran.
Meanwhile, Iranian hard-liners have renewed a push for the development of nuclear weapons in the new Iranian year, which started on March 20.
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on March 25 that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. But she noted that US intelligence agencies are monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities closely.
Alone In A War-Torn Village, Ukrainian Man Buried His Wife And Walked To Safety
Humanitarian workers in Ukraine’s Donetsk region continue risking their lives to evacuate civilians trapped near the front lines.
Among them is Yevhen Tkachov, head of the Proliska Humanitarian Mission, who recently rescued an elderly man left alone after his wife was killed.
“We'll try to evacuate an old grandfather, who has frequent memory loss due to the war and concussion,” Tkachov told RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service while driving through a drone-active combat zone.
The evacuee, Hennadiy Shchipakin, had lived in Kalynove with his wife. While others fled, they chose to stay -- until tragedy struck.
“A few days ago, his wife was blown up and died,” Tkachov said.
Shchipakin walked alone to the village of Zorya after burying her.
“On the outskirts of the village, there was a tripwire. My wife went around it, but a dog tripped it,” he explained. “She died after a couple of days. The wounds were small. It was either an infection or shock. I buried her somehow.”
With her gone, he became Kalynove’s last remaining resident.
“The village is ruined. On Podolskiy Street, a long street on the hill, everything was leveled. There's nothing,” he said.
In Zorya, Nataliya, a former neighbor, awaited him.
“We were friends. They were like parents to us,” she said, recalling how isolated the couple had been. “There was no phone connection, no one at all. He buried her in a shed. When the war ends, they will bury her properly.”
Shchipakin is now being taken by ambulance to Kyiv to reunite with his son, whom he has not spoken to in months due to communication blackouts. Their brief phone call was their first in a long time.
“Good, good. Let’s meet. We’ll figure it out,” his son told him.
For Shchipakin, the war has taken everything -- but he is no longer alone.
- By RFE/RL
Zelenskyy, Macron Call for Unconditional Cease-Fire As Russia Tables Demands
French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy say Russia should accept a U.S.-brokered cease-fire with no preconditions.
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington will assess Moscow’s conditions for accepting the cease-fire.
At a joint press conference with Zelenskyy in Paris on March 26, Macron accused Russia of displaying a “desire for war” and insisted Moscow must accept the 30-day cease-fire “without preconditions.”
“This is a decisive phase to put an end to the war of aggression,” Macron said. On March 27, he will host delegations from the “coalition of the willing” -- a group of Ukraine’s allies seeking to aid Kyiv and secure a lasting cease-fire with Russia.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, expressed hope that the United States wields enough influence to compel Russia into an unconditional cease-fire aimed at halting strikes in the Black Sea.
However, Washington says it will consider Russia’s conditions, which Moscow insists must be met before it agrees to the cease-fire.
"We're going to evaluate that. Some of those conditions include sanctions that are not ours – they belong to the European Union," Rubio said at a news conference in Jamaica on March 26.
Macron, however, pushed back, saying in Paris that it was “much too early” to consider lifting sanctions against Russia.
"We're not going to lift the sanctions, so it's much too early. Ultimately, sanctions depend solely on Russia's choice of aggression, and therefore, their lifting depends solely on Russia's choice to comply with international law," he said.
In addition to the Black Sea cease-fire, the White House said on March 25 that separate talks with Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia this week resulted in an agreement "to develop measures for implementing" recent commitments to halt strikes on energy facilities.
Search Continues As NATO Walks Back Remarks On US Troop Deaths In Lithuania
The fate of four US soldiers who went missing in Lithuania during a training exercise is "unknown," a NATO spokeswoman said, walking back Secretary-General Mark Rutte's comment about their alleged deaths.
Rutte told reporters in Warsaw on March 26 that he had received news about "four American soldiers who were killed in an incident in Lithuania."
But after Lithuanian authorities disputed Rutte's remark, NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart wrote on X that the search for the missing soldiers was "ongoing."
"We regret any confusion about remarks [by Rutte] delivered on this today. He was referring to emerging news reports & was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown," she wrote.
The soldiers in the M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle have been missing since the early hours of March 25 at the Pabrade training ground where US units have been rotating since 2019.
The US Army confirmed that the vehicle used by the four soldiers had been found submerged in water.
Search and recovery efforts involving hundreds of Lithuanian and US personnel with dozens of vehicles were continuing on March 27, with attempts to reach the area still under way.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that the vehicle was located at “more than 5 meters down,” and digging is under way to get to it.
She added during a visit to the site, that other potential whereabouts of the four US soldiers are also being checked and have not yet been ruled out by investigators.
The soldiers have already spent two months on deployment in Lithuania, and the Baltic country's army is in touch with their families.
“Our armed forces and rescue services are working around the clock,” she added in a social media post showing the scene.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X on March 27 that his country was sending dozens of troops and scuba divers and equipment to Lithuania to help with the search.
US Ambassador to Lithuania Kara C. McDonald also visited the site of the search operation, where she praised Vilnius's assistance in the search and that US authorities "will not rest until we find them."
Asked on the evening of March 26 by reporters if he had been briefed about the missing soldiers, US President Donald Trump said, “No, I haven’t.”
US Army Europe and Africa said in a statement earlier that the four soldiers were "conducting scheduled tactical training" when they went missing on March 25.
The Pabrade training ground is located in eastern Lithuania, roughly 10 kilometers from the border with Belarus.
In a statement on March 26, the Lithuanian Army said the disappearance of the servicemen was reported at 4:45 p.m. local time on March 25, with official notification reaching Vilnius authorities by 7:20 p.m.
In Sign Of Move Away From Moscow, Armenian Parliament Votes To Start EU Bid
YEREVAN – Armenia’s parliament took another step in the country’s westward march, approving a bill calling for the government to seek European Union membership.
Adoption of the bill in the second and final reading was the latest move away from the orbit of Russia, as historical ties fray over what Yerevan says has been Moscow's glaring failure to support it in its conflict with neighbor and longtime adversary Azerbaijan.
The bill calling on the South Caucasus nation’s government to begin the EU accession process passed on March 26 with 64 yes votes, all from the ruling Civil Contract party, against seven no votes from opposition lawmakers.
“We submitted this bill so that the Republic of Armenia can express its political will for movement in the direction of the European Union. This process is irreversible. The people are calling for it,” said Artak Zeynalian, a former justice minister who represents a group advocating membership to the 27-nation bloc.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian backed the bill in January but noted that joining the EU would require a referendum. Armenia would also need to conduct major reforms in the justice system and other areas to have a chance of joining the 27-nation bloc.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought several wars in the past three decades over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been a majority ethnic-Armenian enclave since the Soviet collapse and is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.
After Baku took full control over the region as the result of a lightning, one-day military offensive in September 2023, nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia. Yerevan accused Russia, which had almost 2,000 troops stationed in the region, of doing nothing to prevent the fighting and the subsequent exodus.
Days after the assault, Pashinian said in a televised address that Armenia’s existing security alliances – a reference to Russia and the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) were "ineffective" and "insufficient.”
In February 2024, Pashinian froze Armenia's participation in the CSTO. It has also joined the International Criminal Court, meaning it would be expected to comply with an ICC arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin if he were to visit, and has deepened its defense ties with France.
Armenia held military drills with US troops in June 2024 and signed a strategic partnership agreement with the United States this January, a week before US President Donald Trump took office.
Russia has warned Armenia that a turn toward the EU could harm it in various ways, in particular economically. Russia’s deputy prime minister for Eurasian integration, Aleksei Overchuk, said in January that starting the process of joining the EU means “starting the process of leaving the Eurasian Economic Union,” a Moscow-led customs and trade alliance, adding that a country cannot be member of both blocs.
Last week, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said Armenia risks losing tariff-free trade with Russia and a potential hike in Russian natural gas prices, and that Russia could expel large numbers of Armenian migrant workers.
Armenia and Azerbaijan announced last week that they had finalized the text of the historic peace deal, though it remains unclear exactly when their leaders would sign it.
With reporting by AFP
- By RFE/RL
Russian Court Convicts Azov Fighters Of Terrorism In Trial Kyiv Calls A 'War Crime'
A Russian court has convicted 23 Ukrainians who were captured in the siege of the city of Mariupol on terrorism charges and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 13 to 23 years after a trial that Kyiv has described as a violation of international law and a "war crime."
The verdict and long prison terms came nearly two years after most of the defendants went on trial in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, near Ukraine's border, in June 2023. Eleven of the initial 24 defendants were convicted in absentia after returning to Ukraine in prisoner exchanges, and one died in custody last year.
The Last Days Of Azovstal And The Fate Of Ukraine's Mariupol Defenders
According to Russian media reports and rights activists, the defendants included 14 current or former members of Ukraine's elite Azov Brigade, formerly known as a battalion and a regiment, which Russia has labelled a terrorist group, and nine women and one man who worked as cooks or support personnel.
The defendants were captured during Russia's bloody siege of the Azov Sea city of Mariupol months into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Azov fighters battled Russian troops for months before around 2,500 surrendered in May 2022.
Many of them had held out at the Azovstal steel plant, whose capture cemented the Russian takeover of the ruined city.
The defendants were charged with staging a violent coup and organizing activities of a terrorist organization. Some were also charged with training to carry out terrorist activities.
In 2023, Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, wrote on Twitter that the trial amounted to "an official war crime."
A lawyer for one of the defendants said the 12 defendants who were in Russian custody would all appeal the verdicts. Acquittals and successful appeals are extremely rare in Russia.
With reporting by AP
Ukraine, Russia Report Drone And Energy Infrastructure Attacks As Kremlin's Conditions Cloud Black Sea Truce
Ukraine reported multiple Russian drone strikes overnight, including the largest such strike on the city of Kriviy Rih since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion, while Russia claimed it downed two Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and seven in other locations.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, repeated that Russia would adhere to a Black Sea cease-fire agreement only "after a number of conditions are met." And Ukraine and Russia traded accusations of attacks on energy facilities, the subject of another agreement the United States said it had reinforced separately with Kyiv and Moscow.
US President Donald Trump said his government was considering the Russian conditions and also allowed that Moscow "could be" dragging its feet as the United States seeks to broker a full cease-fire and an end to Russia's war in Ukraine as soon as possible.
The mayor of Mykolayiv, a Ukrainian port city near the Black Sea sea, said emergency power cuts were implemented following reports of a Russian drone attacks on the region. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said drone attacks also damaged infrastructure in the northeastern Sumy region, which borders Russia.
In all, Ukraine's air defense units shot down 56 of 117 drones launched by Russia overnight, the Ukrainian air force said. It said 48 of the drones were lost, suggesting the military used electronic warfare to redirect them.
The reports on March 26 came amid questions about when and how separate agreements the United States reached with Ukraine and Russia a day earlier to halt attacks over the Black Sea would come into force, with doubts stemming in part from conditions set by Moscow.
"Launching such large-scale attacks after cease-fire negotiations is a clear signal to the whole world that Moscow is not going to pursue real peace," Zelenskyy wrote on X.
The statement by the Russian Defense Ministry could not be independently verified, and it did not say whether the drones were aimed at targets on the Black Sea, a focus of fighting in its war against Ukraine, now in its fourth year since the full-scale invasion of February 2022, or were only flying over its waters.
The Defense Ministry said the Russian military had also destroyed two drones over the Kursk region and five over the Belgorod region, both of which border Ukraine. The Belgorod regional governor said one civilian was hospitalized with head injuries and a drone caused minor damage to an apartment building.
In Mykolayiv, it was not immediately clear whether the power outages were a precaution or a result of the overnight attack.
Peace Agreements
In addition to the Black Sea cease-fire, the White House said separate talks with Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia this week produced an agreement "to develop measures for implementing" recent commitments to halt strikes on energy facilities.
In a further sign of potential trouble for the agreements, Ukraine and Russia accused each other of mounting attacks on energy facilities.
On March 26, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine tried to attack civilian energy infrastructure in three locations, including a gas storage facility in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile, claimed that Putin ordered a 30-day moratorium on attacking energy infrastructure in Ukraine on March 18 and that it was being fulfilled.
Ukraine cried foul. Zelenskyy's deputy chief of staff, Ihor Zhovkva, said on television that Russia has attacked at least eight Ukrainian energy facilities since March 18.
The head of the military administration in Kryviy Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, said that the overnight the drone attack there sparked fires and damaged buildings but caused no casualties. "Apparently, this is how the occupiers 'want peace'," he wrote on Telegram.
The agreements reached at the separate US talks with Ukraine and Russia in Riyadh on March 23-25 appeared to be among the most concrete achievements in Trump’s efforts to broker an end to the war since he took office on January 20, but they left plenty of things unclear.
The White House said in two separate statements about the talks that the Black Sea agreement would help restore Moscow’s access to global markets for Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports that have been cut off since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
"The United States will continue facilitating negotiations between both sides to achieve a peaceful resolution," the White House statements said.
The agreements mark the first step toward a broader cease-fire deal to end the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, although the statements didn't mention ending strikes on other civilian infrastructure targets beyond energy.
Russian Caveats
Both Kyiv and Moscow confirmed the deal, although the Russian statement appeared to indicate major caveats for its side.
In a statement about the US-Russia talks, the Kremlin said it would adhere to the agreement only once its state agriculture bank is reconnected to swift Europe, the international payment system, and some trade restrictions are lifted that were imposed on Moscow following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Partial Cease-Fire, All-Out War: In Ukraine And Russia, A Harsh Reality Amid Peace Talks
Peskov told reporters on March 26 that the Black Sea agreement "can be activated after a number of conditions are implemented."
The White House said in its own statement on March 25 that it “will help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.”
"We're thinking about all of them right now," Trump said when asked about the sanctions Russia says need to be lifted before it implements the Black Sea deal. "We're looking at all of them."
Trump said later that Russia could be stalling on ending the war.
“I think that Russia wants to see an end to it, but it could be they’re dragging their feet,” Trump said in an interview with US broadcaster Newsmax.
Reconnecting Russian banks to the SWIFT network could require approval from European countries. A European Commission spokesperson said on March 26 the withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine would be one of the main conditions to lift or amend EU sanctions.
"The end of the Russian unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine would be one of the main preconditions to amend or lift sanctions," the spokesperson said.
Later in the day, European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said that the EU had taken note of the US talks with Ukraine and Russia.
"Russia must now demonstrate genuine political will to end its illegal and unprovoked war of aggression," Hipper said in a statement, adding: "Experience has shown that Russia must be judged by its actions, not by its words."
Zelenskyy also commented on the agreements, saying that Kyiv intends to hold up its end and will push for further sanctions if Russia fails to do the same.
"It is too early to say that it will work, but these were the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps," he said on March 25.
"If they violate, here is the evidence -- we ask for sanctions, we ask for weapons," Zelenskyy added.
The Road Toward A Cease-Fire
While the agreements mark progress, the path forward remains unclear.
In his comments to reporters following news of the Black Sea deal, Zelenskyy stated that the partial truce was effective immediately.
But according to the Kremlin statement, the temporary moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure that started on March 18 and is valid for 30 days -- although it can be extended by mutual agreement.
The Kremlin added that if the agreement is breached by one party, the other party is also released from compliance.
This led to Zelenskyy accusing Russia of lying about the outcome of talks with US negotiators.
“The Kremlin is lying again, claiming that the Black Sea cease-fire supposedly depends on sanctions and that the energy cease-fire supposedly began on March 18," he said in his nightly address to Ukrainians. "Moscow always lies."
Oil refineries, oil and gas pipelines, and nuclear power stations are among the targets that Russia and Ukraine agreed to temporarily stop attacking.
A list posted on the Kremlin's Telegram channel and said to be "agreed between the Russian and American sides" also included fuel storage facilities, pumping stations, and other infrastructure used for electricity generation like power plants, transformers, and hydroelectric dams.
Other questions remain over the Kremlin's desire to have trade and payment restrictions lifted on its agriculture bank, and any coordination with European governments that may be required to do so.
The EU placed its own sanctions on Moscow and in an article published on March 24, David O'Sullivan, the European Union’s sanctions envoy, said that the bloc remains committed to keeping Russia sanctions in place despite pressure to ease them.
"Whatever the US now does, no reason exists to change course," O'Sullivan wrote for the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) think tank.
In another sign of how arduous the talks have been and the difficulties that lie ahead, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in televised comments that the Kremlin will need "clear guarantees" from Washington that Ukraine will respect the deal.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who took part in the talks, said on X that Kyiv would see any movement of Russian naval vessels beyond the eastern Black Sea as a violation of the spirit of the agreements reached in Riyadh.
The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine will also remain in Russia’s control, the Russian Foreign Ministry said following the end of the talks.
The ministry said transferring control to Ukraine or other countries would be impossible -- as would operating it jointly -- because of concerns over physical and nuclear safety.
Trump last week floated the idea of the US taking control of the power plant, which was seized by Russia early in the war.
The United States also said it is committed to helping Ukraine exchange prisoners of war, release civilian detainees, and return “forcibly transferred Ukrainian children,” as measures to achieve a durable cease-fire between Kyiv and Moscow.
Why Is The Black Sea Important For Russia And Ukraine?
Both Kyiv and Moscow rely on the Black Sea for commodity exports.
With the help of Turkey and the United Nations, both countries brokered a deal in mid-2022 allowing Ukraine to ship grain through the sea, but Russia withdrew from the agreement the following year as it argued that Western sanctions on its banks were severely limiting its ability to export agricultural products.
Russian then said it would view any vessel bound for Ukraine as a potential military target.
The Ukrainian military responded with a campaign that destroyed Russian warships and eventually pushed the Russian Navy out of the western parts of the Black Sea.
The operation allowed Ukraine to establish a new shipping zone in the Black Sea and return seaborne grain exports to near-prewar levels.
- By RFE/RL
Lawmakers Urge Trump To Rescind Order To Cut Funding To RFE/RL, Other US Media Outlets
Dozens of US lawmakers on March 25 urged President Donald Trump to reverse his executive order to shutter the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), arguing that the move would have a damaging impact on its broadcasters, including RFE/RL, and would only help US adversaries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
A letter to Trump signed by more than 40 members of Congress said shuttering USAGM would also hurt US credibility and global standing around the world.
“More directly, it will leave millions of people in closed and restrictive environments, from Havana to Caracas to Minsk to Tehran, less able to access information about the world around them,” the letter said. “We strongly urge you to reconsider this Executive Order and ensure the critical work of USAGM and its broadcasting networks continues.”
Representative Bill Keating (Democrat-Massachusetts), ranking member of the House Foreign affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe, said RFE/RL, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and other media outlets that are overseen by the USAGM “serve as a vital soft power tools” that enable people in closed societies to gain access to credible and objective information.
“Their work is so powerful that regimes in Iran, Russia, and China have condemned it as a threat to national security,” Keating said in a news release in which he referred to Trump’s executive order from March 14 as “reckless” and said it “emboldens US adversaries who are threatened by credible media.”
The letter said USAGM networks and grantees collectively serve a historic and pivotal role in providing honest, comprehensive news coverage to countries that lack a free or open media environment.
“Shuttering RFE/RL will enable governments in Russia, Belarus, Iran, and Central Asia to spread their own messages of regime propaganda without the fear of being held accountable by RFE/RL’s award-winning reporting,” the letter said.
The letter was sent the same day that a US judge issued an order in favor of RFE/RL in a lawsuit against USAGM seeking a reversal of the termination of RFE/RL’s congressionally appropriated funding.
US District Judge Royce Lamberth said the agency likely acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in terminating RFE/RL’s grant and that the actions would cause the broadcaster "irreparable harm" if carried out.
Lamberth said a temporary restraining order is needed to halt the closure of RFE/RL, which had shown it is likely to win its case in a court hearing.
Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya on March 25 also spoke about the threat to RFE/RL.
"Free media are our link between the truth, between the people in exile and the people in the country," she said in a speech in the Lithuanian parliament. "If these media die, they will be replaced by propaganda media."
RFE/RL has had an office in Lithuania from which it covers neighboring Belarus. The office is staffed by Belarusian journalists who went into exile in 2020 after a disputed election in which Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenko was declared the winner. The opposition and many Western governments and organizations believe the poll was rigged and that Tsikhanouskaya was the real winner.
Tsikhanouskaya stepped in as a candidate after her husband, Syarhey Tsikhanouski, was detained to prevent him from registering as a candidate. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
With reporting by dpa
- By Todd Prince
Court Orders USAGM To Halt Moves To Close Radio Free Europe
WASHINGTON -- A US court granted Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in its lawsuit against the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) over the termination of RFE/RL’s congressionally appropriated funding.
The United States District Court in Washington, D.C. said in its ruling on March 25 that the agency likely acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in terminating RFE/RL’s grant and that the actions would cause the broadcaster "irreparable harm" if carried out.
United States District Judge Royce Lamberth wrote in the 10-page ruling that the TRO was needed to halt the closure as RFE/RL had shown it is likely to win its case in a court hearing, that allowing the USAGM moves to continue until a court hearing on the fate of RFE/RL's funding would cause "irreparable harm" to the broadcaster, and that issuing the order was in the public interest.
"The leadership of USAGM cannot, with one sentence of reasoning offering virtually no explanation, force RFE/RL to shut down—even if the President has told them to do so," Lamberth explained.
The next step will be a decision on RFE/RL’s request for a preliminary injunction requiring USAGM to provide the approximately $77 million that Congress appropriated for RFE/RL’s activities for the rest of the 2025 fiscal year, which ends September 30. The court is expected to rule on that in the coming weeks.
The threat to the broadcaster’s funding has sparked a wave of global support from media watchdogs, analysts, and democracy advocates, as well as the audiences in the 27 languages and 23 countries in which RFE/RL broadcasts.
Lamberth appeared to acknowledge that in his decision, writing that since 1950 the government has specifically supported RFE/RL as a vehicle for providing “trustworthy, locally relevant news to audiences subject to communist propaganda.”
“We appreciate Judge Lamberth’s thoughtful and airtight ruling to prevent USAGM from ignoring the will of Congress. We look forward to further advancing our case that it’s unconstitutional to deny us the funds that Congress has appropriated to RFE/RL for the rest of the fiscal year," RFE/RL President & CEO Stephen Capus said after the ruling.
"This ruling further sends a strong message to our journalists around the world: Their mission as designed by Congress is a worthy and valuable one and should continue. For 75 years, RFE/RL has been closely aligned with American national security interests by fighting censorship and propaganda in many of the world’s most repressive societies.”
The USAGM claimed to terminate RFE/RL’s grant on March 15, hours after an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump called for the reduction of seven agencies -- including the USAGM -- to “the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
The purported termination of RFE/RL’s grant was communicated in a letter signed by Kari Lake, who listed her title as “Senior Advisor to the (USAGM) Acting CEO with Authorities Delegated by Acting CEO.”
The letter stated “the award no longer effectuates agency priorities.”
It gave no further explanation, and Lamberth said the USAGM had failed to give any further rationale for the move to cut funding during a hearing on March 24.
"The 'explanation' offered by USAGM can scarcely be characterized as an explanation: it amounted to one line in the termination letter stating that “the award no longer effectuates agency priorities,” Lamberth wrote in his ruling.
During the March 24 hearing, the USAGM did say it had taken "immediate administrative steps" to initiate a disbursement of $7.46 million in funds RFE/RL was seeking for the days in March that it operated before Lake's letter was issued.
Abigail Stout, a Justice Department lawyer representing the USAGM, also argued at the hearing that the grant agreement between USAGM and RFE/RL, as stated in the International Broadcasting Act, gives the agency the right to terminate the agreement if RFE/RL fails to comply with the provisions outlined within it.
Lamberth said that the USAGM's demand that RFE/RL use those funds to pay off its financial obligations and not for operations was the "functional equivalent of not receiving them at all."
"RFE/RL would be forced to break lease agreements, terminate employment contracts—thus destroying the credibility RFE/RL has built over decades—and cease all other operations," he wrote.
Jiri Pehe, a Czech political analyst and director of New York University's academic center in Prague, was one of those who helped bring RFE/RL from Munich to its current Prague headquarters after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Pehe was a senior adviser to then-President Vaclav Havel when the dissident playwright-turn politician cleared the way for the move.
"If RFE/RL closes, many people in the countries where it operates won’t be able to access alternative news any longer. Of course, people would try to access the kind of information that RFE/RL provides elsewhere, but RFE/RL provides news that at this moment is very important in providing alternatives to official news sources," Pehe told RFE/RL.
"RFE/RL closing would also mark a symbolic full stop that would show that the United States, which until now has led the free world, is no longer interested in fighting for democracy and freedom in those countries where there is no democracy and freedom," he added.
Dozens of US lawmakers on March 25 urged Trump to reverse his executive order to shutter the USAGM. A letter to Trump signed by more than 40 members of Congress said shuttering the agency would also hurt US credibility and global standing around the world.
“More directly, it will leave millions of people in closed and restrictive environments, from Havana to Caracas to Minsk to Tehran, less able to access information about the world around them,” the letter said.
Representative Bill Keating (Democrat-Massachusetts), ranking member of the House Foreign affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe, said RFE/RL, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and other media outlets that are overseen by the USAGM “serve as a vital soft power tools” that enable people in closed societies to gain access to credible and objective information.
“Their work is so powerful that regimes in Iran, Russia, and China have condemned it as a threat to national security,” Keating said in a news release.
Since Lake's letter, readers and listeners from Iran to Belarus, Afghanistan to Russia, Pakistan to Ukraine have swamped social media and other outlets to praise RFE/RL journalists for their brave, impartial, and honest reporting on the front lines of war and in some of the world’s most repressive political and media landscapes -- and expressed concern that it could vanish.
“Sometimes you were like a ray of light that broke through the darkness of lies,” Oleh Prozorov, a reader from Ukraine, wrote on Facebook while thanking RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service for its “protection of political freedoms.”
Lake has been nominated by Trump to take over as head of Voice of America, though her nomination must still be approved by the International Broadcasting Advisory Board (IBAB).
The members of the IBAB, an advisory board established by Congress to oversee the activities of the USAGM, were removed from their positions by the US administration in January and have not been replaced.
Trump, who has taken several moves to slash government spending since taking office for a second term in January, clashed with the USAGM over the content of US-government-funded programming during his first term.
With the future of RFE/RL uncertain, European Union politicians have been looking into the possibility of supporting the broadcaster.
The USAGM is an independent US government agency that oversees the broadcasting of news and information in more than 60 languages to over 400 million people each week.
The total budget request for the USAGM for fiscal year 2025 was $950 million to fund all of its operations and capital investments.
This includes media outlets such as RFE/RL, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio Marti), Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Open Technology Fund.
The 2025 budget request for RFE/RL itself was about $153 million, according to USAGM documents.
Lukashenko Sworn In For Seventh Term As Rights Groups Decry 'Unconstitutional' Rule
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko was sworn in for a seventh term on March 25 as human rights groups said the authoritarian leader’s rule was "unconstitutional."
Lukashenko won over 86 percent of the vote in the January 26 presidential election that was widely condemned as a sham by Western countries.
"They took place in conditions of a deep human rights crisis, in an atmosphere of total fear caused by repression against civil society, independent media, the opposition, and all dissenters,” said a joint statement by 10 Belarusian rights groups on March 25.
Lukashenko was sworn in during a ceremony in the capital, Minsk.
On the same day, hundreds of supporters of the Belarusian democratic opposition held rallies across Europe, including in Lithuania, Poland, and the Czech Republic, to mark the country’s Freedom Day.
March 25 marks the anniversary of the 1918 declaration of an independent Belarus and is traditionally celebrated by the Belarusian opposition, many of whom have fled into exile or been imprisoned by Lukashenko's regime.
In the January presidential election, which barred the presence of international media and Western observers, Lukashenko ran against four other candidates, all of whom supported his government and its policies.
Lukashenko, who has been in power for three decades, dismissed all criticism of the election, as did Russia, Minsk's closest ally.
In 2020, mass protests erupted after a disputed presidential election that extended Lukashenko's longstanding rule for another term.
The election was widely condemned as fraudulent by the United States, the European Union, and other international actors.
The protests, which demanded Lukashenko’s resignation, were met with mass arrests, alleged torture, and violent crackdowns that left several people dead.
Russia, Ukraine Agree Separately With US To Halt Military Force In Black Sea
Ukraine and Russia have separately agreed at talks with the United States in Saudi Arabia that they will stop using military force in the Black Sea and develop measures to ban strikes against energy facilities in the two countries.
The White House said in two separate statements about the talks that the agreement would help restore Moscow’s access to global markets for Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports that have been cut off since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
"The United States will continue facilitating negotiations between both sides to achieve a peaceful resolution," the White House statements said.
The agreements mark the first step toward a broader cease-fire deal to end the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, although the statements didn't mention ending strikes on other civilian infrastructure targets beyond energy.
Both Kyiv and Moscow confirmed the deal, although the Russian statement appeared to indicate major caveats for its side.
In a statement about the US-Russia talks, the Kremlin said it would adhere to the agreement only once its state agriculture bank is reconnected to SWIFT, the international payment system, and some trade restrictions are lifted that were imposed on Moscow following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Partial Cease-Fire, All-Out War: In Ukraine And Russia, A Harsh Reality Amid Peace Talks
The White House said in its own statement that it “will help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions,” which could be a first step toward lifting wider sanctions placed on Russia.
"We're thinking about all of them right now," US President Donald Trump said when asked about the sanctions Russia says need to be lifted before it implements the Black Sea deal. "We're looking at all of them."
Trump said later that Russia could be stalling on ending the war.
“I think that Russia wants to see an end to it, but it could be they’re dragging their feet,” Trump said in an interview with US broadcaster Newsmax.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reacted to the deal, saying that Kyiv intends to hold up its end and will push for further sanctions if Russia fails to do the same.
"It is too early to say that it will work, but these were the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps," he said on March 25.
"If they violate, here is the evidence -- we ask for sanctions, we ask for weapons," Zelenskyy added.
The Road Toward A Cease-Fire
While the agreements mark progress, the path forward remains unclear.
In his comments to reporters following news of the Black Sea deal, Zelenskyy stated that the partial truce was effective immediately.
But according to the Kremlin statement, the temporary moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure that started on March 18 and is valid for 30 days -- although it can be extended by mutual agreement.
The Kremlin added that if the agreement is breached by one party, the other party is also released from compliance.
This led to Zelenskyy accusing Russia of lying about the outcome of talks with US negotiators.
“The Kremlin is lying again, claiming that the Black Sea cease-fire supposedly depends on sanctions and that the energy cease-fire supposedly began on March 18," he said in his nightly address to Ukrainians. "Moscow always lies."
Oil refineries, oil and gas pipelines, and nuclear power stations are among the targets that Russia and Ukraine agreed to temporarily stop attacking.
A list posted on the Kremlin's Telegram channel and said to be "agreed between the Russian and American sides" also included fuel storage facilities, pumping stations, and other infrastructure used for electricity generation like power plants, transformers, and hydroelectric dams.
Other questions remain over the Kremlin's desire to have trade and payment restrictions lifted on its agriculture bank, and any coordination with European governments that may be required to do so.
The EU placed its own sanctions on Moscow and in an article published on March 24, David O'Sullivan, the European Union’s sanctions envoy, said that the bloc remains committed to keeping Russia sanctions in place despite pressure to ease them.
"Whatever the US now does, no reason exists to change course," O'Sullivan wrote for the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) think tank.
In another sign of how arduous the talks have been and the difficulties that lie ahead, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in televised comments that the Kremlin will need "clear guarantees" from Washington that Ukraine will respect the deal.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who took part in the talks, said on X that Kyiv would see any movement of Russian naval vessels beyond the eastern Black Sea as a violation of the spirit of the agreements reached in Riyadh.
The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine will also remain in Russia’s control, the Russian Foreign Ministry said following the end of the talks.
The ministry said transferring control to Ukraine or other countries would be impossible -- as would operating it jointly -- because of concerns over physical and nuclear safety.
Trump last week floated the idea of the US taking control of the power plant, which was seized by Russia early in the war.
The United States also said it is committed to helping Ukraine exchange prisoners of war, release civilian detainees, and return “forcibly transferred Ukrainian children,” as measures to achieve a durable cease-fire between Kyiv and Moscow.
Why Is The Black Sea Important For Russia And Ukraine?
Both Kyiv and Moscow rely on the Black Sea for commodity exports.
With the help of Turkey and the United Nations, both countries brokered a deal in mid-2022 allowing Ukraine to ship grain through the sea, but Russia withdrew from the agreement the following year as it argued that Western sanctions on its banks were severely limiting its ability to export agricultural products.
Russian then said it would view any vessel bound for Ukraine as a potential military target.
The Ukrainian military responded with a campaign that destroyed Russian warships and eventually pushed the Russian Navy out of the western parts of the Black Sea.
The operation allowed Ukraine to establish a new shipping zone in the Black Sea and return seaborne grain exports to near-prewar levels.
- By Todd Prince and
- Margot Buff
USAGM Agrees To Release Portion Of Radio Free Europe Grant As Judge Mulls Case
WASHINGTON -- The US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) committed to release to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) some of the funds appropriated for it by Congress, as a U.S. judge heard arguments over whether the federal agency was justified in canceling a grant agreement with the broadcaster.
The agency’s move on March 24 came hours ahead of a hearing in US federal court in Washington, D.C. over the fate of the agreement. The agency’s withholding of the funds has jeopardized the continued operation of the media organization that since 1950 has provided fair and unbiased news to audiences in countries where a free and independent press have been stifled.
“We hope the imminent disbursement of two weeks’ worth of funding that Congress appropriated to RFE/RL will keep our lights on until the court rules on the broader case," RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement.
"We’re confident the law is on our side as the US Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power of the purse. It is unlawful to deny us the funds that Congress has already appropriated to RFE/RL for the rest of this fiscal year."
'Immediate Administrative Steps'
The USAGM said it has taken "immediate administrative steps" to initiate the disbursement, which should occur by March 26. RFE/RL would receive the funds by the end of the month, it added.
At the court hearing, Abigail Stout, a Justice Department lawyer representing the USAGM, argued the grant agreement between USAGM and RFE/RL, as stated in the International Broadcasting Act, gives the agency the right to terminate the agreement if RFE/RL fails to comply with the provisions outlined within it.
"So, the statute actually contemplates that the agency could terminate a grant," she said.
In response, David Zionts, one of RFE/RL’s lawyers, said “it would make no sense” for Congress to approve funding only for agencies to be able to do as they please.
RFE/RL is still seeking the remainder of the grant funds due for the full 2025 budget year, which ends September 30, 2025, and is seeking a preliminary injunction from the court for that purpose. Judge Royce Lamberth is expected to decide whether or not to issue the injunction in the coming weeks.
"If RFE/RL closes, many people in the countries where it operates won’t be able to access alternative news any longer. Of course, people would try to access the kind of information that RFE/RL provides elsewhere, but RFE/RL provides news that at this moment is very important in providing alternatives to official news sources," Jiri Pehe, a Czech political analyst and director of New York University's academic center in Prague, told RFE/RL.
"RFE/RL closing would also mark a symbolic full stop that would show that the United States, which until now has led the free world, is no longer interested in fighting for democracy and freedom in those countries where there is no democracy and freedom," Pehe, who was an adviser to former Czech President Vaclav Havel, added.
The threat to the broadcaster’s funding also has sparked a wave of support from the audiences in the 27 languages and 23 countries in which RFE/RL broadcasts.
From Iran to Belarus, Afghanistan to Russia, Pakistan to Ukraine: Readers and listeners praised RFE/RL journalists for their brave, impartial, and honest reporting on the front lines of war and in some of the world’s most repressive political and media landscapes -- and expressed concern that it could vanish.
“Sometimes you were like a ray of light that broke through the darkness of lies,” Oleh Prozorov, a reader from Ukraine, wrote on Facebook while thanking RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service for its “protection of political freedoms.”
The directive to terminate funding came hours after an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump called for the reduction of seven agencies – including the USAGM – to “the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
Cuts To Government Spending
The purported termination of RFE/RL’s grant was communicated in a letter signed by Kari Lake, who listed her title as “Senior Advisor to the (USAGM) Acting CEO with Authorities Delegated by Acting CEO.” The letter stated “the award no longer effectuates agency priorities.” It gave no further explanation.
Lake has been nominated by Trump to take over as head of Voice of America, though her nomination must still be approved by the International Broadcasting Advisory Board (IBAB).
The members of the IBAB, an advisory board established by Congress to oversee the activities of the USAGM, were removed from their positions by the US administration in January and have not been replaced.
Trump, who has taken several moves to slash government spending since taking office for a second term in January, clashed with the USAGM over the content of US-government-funded programming during his first term.
He has reiterated those concerns since retaking office. Supporters of the broadcasters say they are an important arm of US diplomacy.
“It is vital that Congress protect USAGM, ensure the safety of its affiliate journalists, and reaffirm the U.S. government’s commitment to a free and independent media at home and abroad,” a group of 28 press freedom and journalist groups from around the world wrote in a letter to US lawmakers on March 19.
With the future of RFE/RL uncertain, European Union politicians have been looking into the possibility of supporting the broadcaster.
The USAGM is an independent US government agency that oversees the broadcasting of news and information in more than 60 languages to over 400 million people each week.
The total budget request for the USAGM for fiscal year 2025 was $950 million to fund all of its operations and capital investments.
This includes media outlets such as RFE/RL, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio Marti), Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Open Technology Fund.
The 2025 budget request for RFE/RL itself was about $153 million, according to USAGM documents.
- By Andriy Kuzakov and
- Current Time
Russian Forces Intensify Attacks Near Pokrovsk As Cease-Fire Talks Begin In Riyadh
As Russian and Ukrainian delegations meet for cease-fire discussions with US officials in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Moscow's troops are intensifying their attacks on Kyiv's positions on the front line near the city of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian soldiers in the area told Current Time.
“There are 200-300 explosions per day, all coming in our direction,” said Ukrainian servicemen Serhiy, standing at the bottom of a muddy trench.
“They're trying to advance on our positions -- but we're holding them back.”
“They have plenty of manpower,” said Dmytro, another soldier. “If we didn't cover the infantry positions, they would advance without any trouble.”
The Ukrainian troops showed little optimism about the Riyadh talks, comparing them to efforts in previous years to broker cease-fires in Ukraine.
“I don't believe it,” says Yevhen. “This is a repeat of 2014 when they negotiated a cease-fire. It's all just to pull in troops and strengthen their positions.”
Residents in the nearby town of Rodynske, just 5 kilometers from Pokrovsk, are also feeling the full effects of war.
As a Current Time crew were filming a report in the area, the town was targeted by a drone attack.
“As soon as something starts, we crawl into the cellar at night, and that's it,” says local resident Vitaliy.
“It was so loud that people's windows were blown out by the blast,” says Natalya, who also lives in Rodynske.
“The most important thing is peace -- for all of this to stop."
Tate Brothers Check In At Police Station To Comply With Romanian Legal Measures
Facing multiple charges of sex trafficking and exploitation in the United States and Romania, controversial Internet personalities Andrew and Tristan Tate have appeared at a police station in a suburb of Bucharest to fulfill their monthly judicial obligations, where they again denied all charges against them.
The brothers arrived in Voluntari, just outside the Romanian capital, shortly after 10 a.m. in a black Mercedes accompanied by five men believed to be bodyguards. They used the occasion to once again proclaim their innocence, dismiss the media, and attack what they describe as "the Matrix" -- a system they claim is out to silence them.
As per a Romanian court order, the Tate brothers must report to police each month as part of judicial supervision measures in two criminal cases.
Prosecutors in Romania accuse the British-American siblings of recruiting women and coercing them into creating online pornographic content for profit -- a case brought to public attention in August 2024 by Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). The brothers have denied all charges.
The Tate brothers' legal troubles also extend to the United States and Britain where there are similar outstanding cases against them.
In 2023, Andrew and Tristan Tate were indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States.
US prosecutors charged the brothers with multiple crimes, including sex trafficking, obstruction of justice, and operating an international criminal enterprise aimed at exploiting women.
According to the indictment, the Tates allegedly used manipulation, coercion, and emotional abuse to force victims into creating sexually explicit material distributed for profit.
The US Justice Department described the brothers as central figures in a "global scheme" targeting vulnerable individuals, often under the pretense of romantic relationships or promises of wealth and fame.
The scheme allegedly involved manipulation, coercion, and emotional abuse to force victims into creating sexually explicit material distributed for profit.
In the United Kingdom, four women have filed a civil suit against Andrew Tate, accusing him of rape and coercive control.
Speaking to reporters outside the Voluntari Police Station, Andrew Tate dismissed the Romanian and US cases as baseless attacks.
"I'm happy to be back in Romania -- I live here and I love it," he said, asserting that he's not under investigation in Florida, where he was visiting after leaving Romania earlier this month.
Just days after their arrival, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced an active criminal investigation into the brothers, saying Florida has “zero tolerance for people who abuse women and girls.”
The Tates also addressed the release of Adolescence, a four-part Netflix miniseries that explores the murder of a teenage girl by a 13-year-old boy -- allegedly influenced by the "hypermasculine," "incel"-driven ideology promoted by the Tate brothers online.
Incels are members of an online community of young men who consider themselves unable to be sexually attractive to women and are typically associated with views that are hostile toward women and men who are sexually active.
The Tates have a significant online presence, where they often share controversial views on masculinity and relationships. Andrew dismissed the series, calling it "another Matrix story made by Netflix."
- By RFE/RL
US Court Set To Hear Radio Free Europe Case Against USAGM Over 'Harmful' Cuts
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A hearing is set to take place in a US court on March 24 in the lawsuit filed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty against the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) “to avoid irreparable harm” to the broadcaster over the withholding of its Congress-approved grant as part of the agency’s efforts to terminate RFE/RL’s funding.
The US District Court for the District of Columbia will hear arguments from both sides in the case starting at 2 p.m. local time.
RFE/RL is demanding that the USAGM, which supervises US government-backed broadcasters such as RFE/RL and Voice of America (VOA), release $7.5 million to RFE/RL that covers the period from March 1 to March 15, the day the USAGM said funding from the Congress-approved grant for RFE/RL had been terminated.
The lawsuit argues that denying access to funds appropriated by Congress for RFE/RL violates federal laws and the US Constitution, which gives Congress the ultimate authority over federal spending. It also asks the court to grant a temporary restraining order (TRO) to release the March funds to limit damaging the broadcaster.
RFE/RL's legal moves also seek the remainder of the grant funds due for the full 2025 budget year, which ends on September 30. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for mid-April for that balance.
“Terminating our freelance contracts and furloughing our employees will significantly impede our ability to deliver uncensored news in the 23 countries we serve,” RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said in a filing to the court outlining the impact the withholding of funds has had on the company.
RFE/RL's court filing adds: “The Court should grant the modest TRO that RFE/RL has requested to avoid irreparable harm before the preliminary injunction motion can even be heard.”
The USAGM said in its filing that the District Court is the wrong venue for the case and that Congress had imbued USAGM “with broad discretion to oversee its grantees; even if this Court had jurisdiction to grant the Plaintiff’s request to override USAGM’s judgment, it would not be in the public interest to do so.”
'A Ray Of Light' Through 'The Darkness Of Lies'
The threat to the broadcaster’s funding has sparked a wave of support from the audiences in the 27 languages and 23 countries it broadcasts in.
From Iran to Belarus, Afghanistan to Russia, Pakistan to Ukraine: Readers and listeners praised RFE/RL journalists for their brave, impartial, and honest reporting on the front lines of war and in some of the world’s most repressive political and media landscapes -- and expressed concern that it could vanish.
“Sometimes you were like a ray of light that broke through the darkness of lies,” Oleh Prozorov, a reader from Ukraine, wrote on Facebook while thanking RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service for its “protection of political freedoms.”
The directive to terminate funding came hours after an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump called for the reduction of seven agencies -- including the USAGM -- to “the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
RFE/RL’s grant was terminated in a letter, which was signed by Kari Lake, who listed her title as senior adviser to the (USAGM) acting CEO with authorities delegated by the acting CEO. The letter stated that “the award no longer effectuates agency priorities.” It gave no further explanation.
Trump's Clashes With USAGM
Lake has been nominated by Trump to take over as head of Voice of America, though her nomination must still be approved by the International Broadcasting Advisory Board (IBAB).
The members of the IBAB, an consultancy body established by Congress to oversee the activities of the USAGM, were removed from their positions by the US administration in January and have not been replaced.
While USAGM and Voice of America are federal agencies, RFE/RL is a private, nonprofit corporation, chartered in the U.S. state of Delaware. Though funded by Congress through grants, RFE/RL staff are not U.S. federal government employees.
Trump, who has taken several moves to slash government spending since taking office for a second term in January, clashed with the USAGM over editorial independence and the direction of programming during his first term.
He has reiterated those concerns since retaking office. Supporters of the broadcasters say they are an important arm of US diplomacy.
“It is vital that Congress protect USAGM, ensure the safety of its affiliate journalists, and reaffirm the US government’s commitment to a free and independent media at home and abroad,” a group of 28 press freedom and journalist groups from around the world wrote in a letter to US lawmakers on March 19.
Will The EU Step Up?
With the future of RFE/RL uncertain, European Union politicians have been looking into the possibility of supporting the broadcaster.
The USAGM is an independent US government agency that oversees the broadcasting of news and information in more than 60 languages to over 400 million people each week.
The total budget request for the USAGM for fiscal year 2025 was $950 million to fund all of its operations and capital investments.
This includes media outlets such as RFE/RL, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio Marti), Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Open Technology Fund.
The 2025 budget request for RFE/RL itself was about $153 million, according to USAGM documents.
- By RFE/RL
Mass Protests Continue Across Turkey After Erdogan Rival Imamoglu Arrested
Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Istanbul and other cities across Turkey for a fifth night on March 23, after the main political rival to the country’s strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was formally arrested and charged with corruption.
Police officers were seen using tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons against the protestors, who were waving Turkish flags and pro-opposition banners. There were also reports of clashes between police and demonstrators.
Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, was due to be selected in a vote on March 23 as the opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) candidate for Turkey’s next presidential election, which is currently scheduled for 2028.
But Imamoglu, 54, and dozens of others, including politicians, journalists, and entrepreneurs were detained as a part of a corruption investigation on March 19.
The popular mayor was formally arrested on March 23 and charged with "establishing and managing a criminal organization, taking bribes, extortion,” and other crimes.
The mayor -- who is a member of the CHP, the main opposition against Erdogan's ruling alliance -- has denied the allegations against him, describing them as “unimaginable accusations and slanders.”
"I will never bow," Imamoglu wrote on X before his arrest.
Imamoglu’s detention is widely seen as a politically motivated act to remove him from the presidential race. But the government insists the country's courts are independent entities.
Imamoglu's wife, Dilek Kaya Imamoglu, addressed the protesters outside Istanbul city hall in the evening on March 23, telling the large crowds that the "injustice" her husband has faced has "struck a chord with every conscience.”
The arrest of Imamoglu and others has further intensified political tensions and sparked protests across Turkey, with demonstrators rallying in at least 55 provinces to express support for him.
Police have detained 1,133 people across the country since the start of protests five days ago, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on March 24.
He added that 123 police officers had been injured during the protests and that the government would not allow what he described as "terrorizing of the streets.”
The Journalists' Union of Turkey said, nine journalists who covered the demonstrations were among those detained by police. It was not immediately clear why the reporters were detained.
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas, who is also a member of the CHP, told reporters on March 23 that jailing his colleague was a disgrace for the judicial system.
Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the CHP, slammed Imamoglu's detention as an "attempted coup against our next president."
Several European countries have voiced concern over the developments in Istanbul, saying they feared the consequences for democracy over the move.
“The arrest of the mayor is deeply concerning,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, told reporters in Brussels.
“Turkey must uphold the democratic values, especially the rights of elected officials.”
Imamoglu tops Erdogan in some opinion polls. Erdogan has reached his two-term limit as president after having earlier served as the country's prime minister.
If he seeks to run again, as expected, he must either call an early election or change the constitution.
With reporting by AP and Reuters
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