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Russia Says To Detain Georgian Ships Off Abkhazia
Russia has patrolled the borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since it recognized them as independent after a war last August and on September 15 signed a deal to formally establish military bases in both provinces.
The coast guard will detain any ship which enters without permission waters claimed by Abkhazia, the deputy head of Russia's border service Viktor Trufanov was quoted as saying by local news agencies.
"We will do everything to ensure the security of the Russian state, the security of the Abkhaz state," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. "We have a task and we will fulfill it."
A spokesman for the border-guard service declined comment.
Georgia is blockading the rebel region and has detained ships en route to Abkhazia. It has banned economic and commercial activities there without its permission.
Abkhazia's rebel leader responded with a threat to destroy Georgian ships that enter its territorial waters, saying Tbilisi was trying to suffocate the region's economy.
The Georgian coastguard dismissed the Russian threat and said it would continue to "carry out its duties" in Georgia's territorial waters, which Tbilisi says includes those off the coast of Abkhazia.
"Of course, we are not going to provoke anyone," Coastguard head Beso Shengelia told Reuters. "We act only within the framework of the law."
Russia signed a 49-year deal with Abkhazia and South Ossetia on September 15 to formally establish bases in both regions for 1,700 Russian troops in each region, the Defense Ministry said.
Almost all investment in South Ossetia and Abkhazia comes from Russia. Only Nicaragua and Venezuela have followed Moscow in recognizing the regions as independent.
Both regions threw off Georgian rule in wars in the early 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union. But shunned by the West, they are dependent on Russian aid and investment.
A lush strip of sub-tropical territory on the Black Sea, Abkhazia was once the playground of the Soviet elite, and hopes to position itself again as a popular tourist destination.
But under Georgian law, foreigners face prosecution if they enter the region without permission from Tbilisi.
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- By RFE/RL
U.S. Reportedly Allows Ukraine To Strike Russia With Long-Range Weapons
U.S. media are reporting that President Joe Biden's administration has lifted restrictions that have prevented Ukraine from using American-provided weapons to strike deep inside Russian territory.
Reports on November 17 by The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP, Reuters, and others cited sources familiar with the matter.
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RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
The White House has not commented on the reports and did not immediately respond to requests for comment from RFE/RL. The National Security Council (NSC) also declined to comment.
If confirmed, it would represent a major shift in U.S. policy amid long-standing pleas by Kyiv to allow such actions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy did not directly confirm the reports but said that one of the main points of his "victory plan" presented to allies included the use of long-range weapons by his military.
"Today, many people in the media are saying that we have received permission for appropriate actions. But [militaries] do not strike with words. Such things are not announced. Rockets will speak for themselves," he said on Telegram.
Reuters, citing its sources, reported that Kyiv plans to conduct the first of such long-range attacks in the next few days, but it did not disclose specifics.
Ukraine would likely utilize ATACMS rockets -- which have a range of up to 300 kilometers -- Reuters said, citing three sources familiar with the issue.
The U.S. administration has been seeking ways to shore up support for Ukraine ahead of Biden’s departure on January 20, when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Trump has criticized the strong support Biden has given to Kyiv and has said he will seek an end to the war as quickly as possible, but with terms that would likely be unacceptable to Ukraine.
There was no immediate comment from the Trump transition team, but a key adviser attacked the move in a post on X.
"Escalating the wars before he leaves office," Richard Grenell wrote.
However, Ben Hodges, a retired U.S. lieutenant general and former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, told RFE/RL that such a move would send “a message to the Kremlin that the [the United States] is not just folding up our tents and waiting for Trump.”
Hodges said it would be a “good thing because this policy would be in effect as the Trump administration takes over and, frankly, it’s a good thing for Donald Trump.”
He said the priority for Ukraine in the use of the weapons will likely be in Russia’s Kursk region, using them to strike command-and-control sites, arms depots, and artillery batteries.
The next priority would likely be to target airfields that Russia uses to launch strikes against Ukrainian cities.
Phillips O'Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said he believes the move was long overdue, but that the concern now was whether Trump would reverse the move once he takes office.
He and other observers said the U.S. move would likely lead other allies -- including Britain and France -- to make similar moves.
Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied long-range weapons has dividend many of Kyiv’s allies, with some fearing it could provoke Russian counter-responses and lead to a wider European war.
Biden himself had been reluctant to allow such actions, although the White House in May granted permission for the use of ATACMS for limited hits just across the Russian border to deter imminent strikes against Ukraine.
AP and other outlets cited sources as saying the latest decision by Biden is likely in response to North Korea sending thousands of troops to Russia amid reports that some have already engaged in fighting in Russia’s Kursk region.
The Kremlin has warned that the allowance by the United States or other Western allies to use long-range weapons targeting Russia would be seen as a major escalation.
Since its February 2022 full-scale invasion, Russia has used its long-range weapons and warplanes to attack deep inside Ukraine, hitting civilian and infrastructure sites along with military targets.
After Russia launched one of its largest air strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure on November 17, Ukraine’s energy authority said all Ukrainian regions will experience temporary restrictions on power consumption on November 18.
The latest Russian attacks were condemned by the European Union, NATO, and other Western allies.
"NATO strongly condemns Russia's large-scale attack against Ukraine that has killed and terrorized civilians and targeted critical energy infrastructure," a spokeswoman said.
"We stand by Ukraine and allies continue to make unprecedented contributions to Ukraine's defenses," she said.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Todd Prince in Washington.
Georgian Students Denounce Elections As Opposition Vows 'Disobedience' Campaign
TBILISI – Student groups in the Caucasus nation of Georgia united in a manifesto condemning the disputed October 26 parliamentary elections – which gave the Russia-friendly Georgian Dream party the victory – as anti-government groups vowed a "disobedience campaign" in central Tbilisi for the next 24 hours.
The November 17 manifesto stated that the government's “systematic rigging of elections reveals a gross attempt by the Georgian Dream party to seize control of the state."
"We are not going to give up the freedom of our country. As citizens of Georgia, we remain committed to democratic values and state interests,” it read. “We do not recognize the elections and the parliament seated according to the results of these elections…and are ready to fight for the freedom of ourselves and our country!”
The manifesto also cited what it said were attacks on the educational system through “discriminatory and selective decisions in the process of granting” entry to educational institutions and “the imposition of censorship on the part of the teaching.”
“In light of repressive actions enforcing 'Russian' and censorship laws and other rights and freedoms, the fact of systematic rigging of elections reveals a gross attempt by the Georgian Dream [party] to seize the state," the manifesto stated.
It was signed by 13 groups, including students from at least 13 Georgian universities.
Georgia's Central Election Commission (CEC) on November 16 validated the results of last month's disputed elections, despite weeks of protests by the opposition and accusations of widespread fraud and Russian interference.
The Moscow-friendly ruling Georgian Dream party won 53.93 percent of the vote against 37.79 percent garnered by an opposition alliance, the CEC announced during an unruly session that was briefly interrupted after opposition representative Davit Kirtadze splashed a black liquid on CEC chief Giorgi Kalandarishvili and called him a "dark spot."
Kirtadze's protest was intended to refer to the ink from voters' pens that was visible through the thin paper on the other side of some ballots. The opposition says this compromised secrecy in the disputed voting on October 26.
Georgian Dream, in power since 2012, is the only party that recognized the election results, with pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili still refusing to acknowledge the outcome, which she said was heavily influenced by Russia.
Georgia's pro-European opposition has boycotted the new parliament, renouncing its mandates from the October 26 vote, alleging widespread fraud and Russian interference.
On November 15, student-led protests were held, with police cordoning off Tbilisi State University's main building as protesters gathered.
EU and other Western officials have expressed serious doubts about the elections and perceived irregularities.
Georgia has been a candidate for EU membership since last year, but the "foreign influence" law and anti-LGBT measures have stalled that effort.
The United States in July announced that it would pause more than $95 million in assistance to the Georgian government, warning it that it was backsliding on democracy.
- By RFE/RL
Lahore Residents Get Air-Quality Breather, But Only Slightly
For the first time in two weeks, the air quality in Pakistan’s second-largest city, Lahore, was no longer at the level considered “hazardous” for humans, but it still remained at the “very unhealthy” threshold on November 17, according to the Swiss-based firm IQAir. An unprecedented level of air pollution in Lahore – a city of more than 14 million people – on November 3 forced authorities to take emergency measures, including the closing of primary schools and the issuance of work-from-home orders. School closures were extended to November 24. The AQI index was listed at 243, rated "very unhealthy" but below the previous 300 level, which is considered "hazardous." Local officials described the continuing air-quality crisis as a “calamity.
- By RFE/RL
EU Council To Discuss Russian War In Ukraine, Political Situation In Georgia
The European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council is set to meet on November 18 to discuss Russian aggression against Ukraine and the tense situation in Georgia following disputed parliamentary elections in the Caucasus nation on October 26. In a statement, the EU said the meeting -- chaired by foreign policy chief Josep Borrell -- will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Brussels. The council “will discuss the Russian aggression against Ukraine, after an informal exchange of views with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha, via videoconference,” it said. It will also “exchange views on the situation in Georgia, in light of the parliamentary elections held on 26 October.” To read the original story by RFE/RL's Georgian Service, click here.
- By Current Time
Putin Opponents March To Russian Embassy In Berlin, Condemn War, Putin
BERLIN – Nearly 2,000 exiled Russians and other opponents of President Vladimir Putin and his war against Ukraine marched to the Russian Embassy in Berlin on November 17, with leading activist Yulia Navalnaya declaring that “Putin is a murderer” and others holding signs stating, “No War, No Putin.”
Standing on a table used as a speakers’ platform, Navalnaya told supporters that “if I have to climb up a table and say that Putin is a murderer, then I'll climb up a table and say that Putin is a murderer."
Participants shouted, "Russia without Putin" and "No to war" as Navalnaya and fellow opposition leaders Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin led the procession to the embassy.
The action comes as the opposition is struggling to maintain an influential voice after the unexplained jailhouse death of its most prominent leader, Aleksei Navalny, in February, and a decades-long clampdown that has escalated since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and driven many of Putin’s critics out of Russia.
German media cited Berlin police as estimating the crowd at 1,800 people at the beginning of the march, which ran from Potsdamer Platz to the Brandenburg Gate. The event appeared to end peacefully late on November 17 without incident.
The rally was co-organized by Kremlin critics Navalnaya – who is Navalny’s widow -- and Yashin and Kara-Murza, both of whom were released from Russian custody in a prisoner exchange in August.
"The march aims to unite everyone who stands against Vladimir Putin's aggressive war in Ukraine and political repressions in Russia," the organizers said in a statement prior to the march.
At the event, Yashin told the crowd, "Putin is not Russia. Russia is us. And we are against the war," while march participants chanted, “Russia will be free,” and “Freedom for political prisoners.”
The opposition says it has three main demands: the "immediate withdrawal" of troops from Ukraine, the trial of Putin as a "war criminal," and the liberation of all political prisoners in Russia.
Ahead of the protest, a dispute over whether the Russian flag should be unfurled at the protest erupted on social media.
The protest announcement featured images from a 2014 rally in Moscow against Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. However, critics say Russia's colors have been discredited by the country's brutal war.
As the controversy emerged late last month, Yashin said that “the discussion of flags clearly obscures the essence of the action that we want to hold in Berlin.”
Ukrainian officials and others expressed skepticism ahead of the planned march.
The Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksiy Makeev criticized the event as a "walk without dignity and without consequences," adding that it illustrated the opposition's "weakness."
Writing in the Zeit newspaper, Makeev argued that the three opposition figures were not doing enough to support Kyiv and call on their fellow citizens to protest in Russia.
Likewise Vitsche, the association of Ukrainian exiles in Germany, said that the event "failed to deliver a clear message" of support.
- By Reuters
Scholz Defends Call With Putin, Says Kremlin's Views On Ukraine Haven't Changed
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his conversation with Vladimir Putin on November 15 had given no indication of a shift in the Russian President's thinking on the war in Ukraine but defended his much-criticized decision to phone the Kremlin. Speaking from Berlin airport on November 17, immediately before his departure for the G20 summit in Brazil, Scholz said it had been worth talking to Putin to dispel any illusions he might harbor that the West was about to abandon its support for Ukraine. He added, with reference to Donald Trump's imminent return to the U.S. presidency, that it would also not be good if Washington were in regular contact with Putin while no European leader was.
- By RFE/RL
Controversial Gymnastics Coach Bela Karolyi, Who Discovered Nadia Comaneci, Dies At 82
Bela Karolyi, the controversial gymnastics coach who is perhaps best remembered for having trained Nadia Comaneci, the first person to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics, has died at the age of 82.
USA Gymnastics said Karolyi died on November 15. No cause of death was given.
Karolyi and his wife, Martha, trained several Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the United States and Romania, including Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton.
“A big impact and influence on my life,” Comaneci, who was just 14 when Karolyi coached her to gold for Romania at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, posted on X.
Karolyi was a polarizing and controversial figure, largely due to his strident training methods that came under scrutiny during the height of the Larry Nassar scandal.
The disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor was effectively given a life sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting gymnasts and other athletes. More than a dozen former gymnasts said the Karolyis were part of a system that created an oppressive culture that allowed Nassar’s behavior to run unchecked for years.
The Karolyis denied responsibility, telling CNN in 2018 that they were unaware of Nassar's behavior. But the revelations led to them receding from the spotlight.
The Karolyis defected from Romania to the United States in 1981, five years after his first big, and arguably, greatest success in 1976 at the Summer Olympics in Montreal. It was there that Comaneci mesmerized the world, scoring a perfect 10 not once but seven times, with Karolyi wrapping her in his trademark bear hugs.
Romania, which had won only three bronzes in Olympic gymnastics before 1976, left Montreal with seven medals, including Comaneci’s golds in the all-around, balance beam, and uneven bars, and the team silver. Comaneci became an international sensation, the first person to appear on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Time, and Newsweek magazines in the same week.
With reporting by AFP and AP
Georgian Separatist Leader Says No Compromise Reached With Abkhaz Protesters
The situation remained tense on November 17 in Georgia’s Russia-backed breakaway region of Abkhazia, with the self-styled president saying no compromise had been reached with the opposition.
Protesters were still reported to be inside the parliament compound in the capital, Sukhumi, which they stormed on November 15 in protest over an investment deal with Moscow.
The region’s de facto leader, Aslan Bzhania, had said on November 16 that he would resign once protesters left the compound. However, later that day, Bzhania met with his cabinet in his hometown of Tamysh to discuss "ways to stabilize the situation that arose."
There were fears of escalating violence amid the storming of the parliament, which followed weeks of tensions in a region whose independence Moscow has backed since a five-day war against Georgian forces in 2008 over another breakaway Georgian province, South Ossetia.
Opposition leaders have demanded not only the permanent abandonment of a proposed deal with Russia that opponents say would unfairly open the property market to wealthy Russians, but also Bzhania's resignation and those of his vice president and the breakaway leadership's prime minister.
"The situation will be stabilized. We will return everything to the legal framework,” Bzhania's press service quoted him as saying on November 16.
He reportedly added that "the entire country" -- which is overwhelmingly regarded as Georgian territory internationally -- "is controlled by the legitimate authorities, with the exception of the complex of buildings they have occupied."
Tamysh is about 40 kilometers from the region's capital.
Bzhania, a former chief of Abkhazia's state security service, told his supporters on November 16 that "enormous pressure is being exerted on members of parliament so that the parliament makes an unlawful decision to dismiss the president." But he warned that the "2014 scenario will not be repeated," a reference to one of two instances when Abkhaz leaders resigned due to opposition protests.
Abkhazia's Interior Ministry and security service issued statements saying they would obey orders from the president.
Protesters said in a statement that the occupation was not aimed at Abkhazia's close ties with Russia but against Bzhania, who they accused of "trying to use these relations for his own selfish interests [and] manipulating them for the sake of strengthening his regime."
Russia's state-run TASS news agency quoted a representative of the protesters, Adgur Ardzinba, as saying they would remain in place until the president resigned.
Moscow said on November 15 that it was following the "crisis situation" with concern and urged Russian citizens to avoid travel to Abkhazia.
With reporting by Reuters
Ukraine Sets Emergency Power Cuts As Russia Hits Energy Sites, Blasts Sumy
KYIV – Ukraine’s energy authority said that all Ukrainian regions will experience temporary restrictions on power consumption on November 18 after Russia launched one of its largest air strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Ukrenergo on November 17 said the power cuts would run from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. as crews worked to repair damage from the attacks “as quickly as possible.”
"All regions will be required to apply consumption-restriction measures. The temporary restrictions are due to the damage to power facilities during today's massive missile and drone attack," the Energy Ministry said.
Ukrenergo also said that two employees of a substation it operates were killed as a result of the Russian attacks early on November 17.
Separately, in one of the bloodiest attacks of recent months, at least eight people, including two children, were killed and some 20 injured in a Russian missile strike on a residential building in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy late on November 17, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
Overnight, Russia launched massive aerial attacks on Ukraine, Kyiv’s foreign minister said on November 17, with drones and missiles targeting energy infrastructure and other civilian sites in cities across the country, prompting neighboring Poland to scramble fighter jets.
“Russia launched one of the largest air attacks: drones and missiles against peaceful cities, sleeping civilians, critical infrastructure. This is war criminal [President Vladimir] Putin’s true response to all those who called and visited him recently. We need peace through strength, not appeasement,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on X.
Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had launched around 120 missiles and 90 drones in what he described as a "massive" combined air strike on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
"The enemy's target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine. Unfortunately, there is damage to objects from strikes and falling debris," he said in a statement on social media.
Explosions were reported early on November 17 in the capital, Kyiv, as well as other cities across the country, including Odesa on the Black Sea coast and the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhya. Russia's missile attack targeted power infrastructure across Ukraine, forcing the launch of preventive outages, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said.
The massive attack comes as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine grinds toward its 1,000th day. Russia is expending huge amounts of weaponry and human life to make small but steady territorial gains to the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls.
Ukraine, meanwhile, is struggling to minimize losses, maintain morale, and convince allies that, with more military aid, it can turn the tide. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has said he could quickly end the war, though it is unclear how.
On November 16, the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries reiterated its members' "unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes" in its struggle against invading Russian forces.
WATCH: A barrage of Russian missiles and drones struck across Ukraine on the night of November 16-17. Standing amid destroyed and heavily damaged houses, a man in Mykolayiv told RFE/RL how he was helping to save a neighbor and her child from burning debris. The woman was eventually pronounced dead.
Russia's attack on Ukraine on November 17 prompted neighboring Poland to scramble jets.
"Due to the massive attack by the Russian Federation using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles on objects located, among others, in western Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft have started operating in our airspace," the operational command of NATO member Poland's armed forces posted on X.
It said it had "activated all available forces and resources at his disposal, the on-duty fighter pairs were scrambled, and the ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest state of readiness.”
The Polish prime minster, Donald Tusk, wrote on X that the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine won't be stopped through phone calls -- remarks coming days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by phone with Putin.
"No one will stop Putin with phone calls. The attack last night -- one of the biggest in this war -- has proved that telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support from the whole West for Ukraine," Tusk wrote.
In his social media post, Zelenskiy said Russia deployed various types of drones, including Shaheds, as well as cruise, ballistic, and aircraft-launched ballistic missiles. Ukrainian defense forces shot down 140 air targets, he said.
The missile attack followed an overnight drone strike on Ukraine's capital. The roof of a residential building caught fire in Kyiv due to falling debris and at least one person was injured, city officials said on the Telegram messaging app.
"Emergency services were dispatched to the scene," Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, according to the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Serhiy Popko.
Host Georgia, Ukraine Draw Under Downpour In Nations League Match
Georgia and Ukraine drew 1-1 in their fifth-round meeting of the UEFA Nations League group stage. The match was played in pouring rain at Adjarabet Arena in the Georgian Black Sea coast city of Batumi. Ukraine opened a 1-0 advantage when Georgia's Saba Kvirkvelia scored an own-goal in the seventh minute of the match. But the hosts equalized when Georgiy Mikautadze netted in the 76th minute of the match. Final group-stage matches are scheduled for November 19, when the Czech Republic hosts Georgia and Albania hosts Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Georgian Service, click here.
- By AP
In Final Meeting, Xi Tells Biden China Is Ready To Work With New Administration
In their final meeting, China’s leader Xi Jinping told U.S. President Joe Biden that his nation was "ready to work with a new administration,” as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take over.
The two leaders met on November 16 on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Biden was expected to urge Xi to dissuade North Korea from further deepening its support for Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Without mentioning Trump’s name, Xi appeared to signal his concern that the incoming president’s protectionist rhetoric on the campaign trail could send the U.S.-China relationship into another valley.
Biden, meanwhile, said that "over the past four years, China-U.S. relations have experienced ups and downs, but with the two of us at the helm, we have also engaged in fruitful dialogues and cooperation, and generally achieved stability."
- By RFE/RL
Hungary Coach's Medical Emergency Pauses Nations League Match Against Netherlands
A UEFA Nations League match between hosts Netherlands and Hungary at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam was interrupted for about 10 minutes when assistant trainer and former Hungarian national team player Adam Szalai required medical attention on the bench. The Spanish referee stopped the match while medical staff attended to Szalai behind a sheet and with concerned team members and other staff gathered nearby. Play eventually resumed after Szalai was stretchered away to applause from players and the crowd. The Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) tweeted that Szalai had fallen ill and had been taken to an Amsterdam hospital for examination. It said "his condition was stable and he is conscious." The Dutch beat Hungary 4-0.
- By RFE/RL
Iranian Foreign Minister Says There's A 'Limited' Chance For Nuclear Talks With West
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on November 16 that there remains a "limited opportunity" for nuclear negotiations with the West, according to Iranian state media.
Relations between Tehran and the United States have been especially tense since then-President Donald Trump withdrew unilaterally from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and global powers and reimposed tough U.S. sanctions on Iran.
"There is still an opportunity for diplomacy, although this opportunity is not much. It is a limited opportunity," Araqchi was quoted as telling state television.
Western concerns at Iranian actions have soared amid the yearlong war in the Gaza Strip after U.S.- and EU-designated terrorist organization Hamas carried out a brutal attack in Israel in October 2023, with Iranian allies including Huthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon attacking Israel in support of Hamas.
With Trump poised to return to the White House in January following his election victory earlier this month, reports circulated of possible informal contacts, including claims that Trump ally Elon Musk met last week in New York with Iran's envoy to the United Nations.
After days of silence, Tehran on November 16 "categorically denied" that any such meeting took place.
This week, Rafael Grossi, head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), urged Iran and its global partners to achieve "concrete, tangible, and visible results" in talks over Tehran's nuclear program as the return of Trump could mean the window for diplomacy is closing.
The 2015 deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had given Iran some limited relief from international sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program designed to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
After Washington's withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iran expanded its nuclear program and restricted IAEA inspections of its nuclear sites.
U.S. President Joe Biden entered the White House in 2017 pledging to try to revive the deal but made no breakthroughs.
Trump's announced pick for secretary of state, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, is generally regarded as an advocate of tough action to counter Iranian influence through a return to a "maximum pressure" policy.
With additional reporting by AFP
Demolition Begins Of Belgrade Landmark That Hosted Queens And Presidents
BELGRADE -- Demolition crews have begun tearing down one of the Balkans' most storied luxury hotels, using excavators to tear away the walls of the Hotel Jugoslavija in Belgrade to make way for a residential and business complex. The eight-story hotel's construction on the plans of Zagreb architect Lavoslav Horvat was monitored by Josip Broz Tito as a prestige project before it opened in 1969. It hosted celebrities, luminaries, and visiting dignitaries from around the world, including Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, former UN Secretary-General U Thant, and a laundry list of luminaries before falling into disrepair and eventually suffering damage during NATO bombing in 1999. Construction of the 500 million euro project is slated to end in 2027. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.
12 Ukrainians Held By Belarus On 'Extremism' Charges
At least 12 Ukrainian citizens have been detained in Belarus on "extremism" charges, Kyiv's former ambassador to Minsk and current ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, Ihor Kyzym, told the independent Russian media outlet Mediazona. Kyzym said the Belarusian side rarely informs Ukraine of such detentions. Ukraine and Belarus's rift widened considerably when Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka allowed Russia to stage part of its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine from Belarusian territory. Kyzym said some of the detained Ukrainians have met with the Ukrainian consul. But he stressed that many Ukrainians have lived in Belarus a long time and can only be included on embassy lists if they or relatives inform Kyiv, or if human rights groups provide the necessary information. Lukashenka has maintained a brutal crackdown since claiming victory in a disputed presidential election in 2020.
- By RFE/RL
G7 Vows 'Unwavering Support' For Ukraine As Invasion Nears 1,000th Day
The Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries reiterated its members' "unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes" as that country battles for its survival against invading Russian forces. The current Italian G7 Presidency issued the statement in conjunction with the approach of the 1,000th day of the full-scale invasion, which followed eight years of lower-grade fighting against Russian-backed separatists and Russia's occupation and annexation of Crimea in 2014. November 19 will be the 1,000th day of the full-scale fighting, which has elicited considerable international support and sweeping Western sanctions against Russia. The G7 noted the "immense suffering" of Ukrainians. "We stand in solidarity contributing to its fight for sovereignty, freedom, independence, territorial integrity and its reconstruction," the statement said. "We recognize, too, the impact of Russia’s aggression on vulnerable people across the world."
- By AP
Russia's Gazprom Stops Flow Of Natural Gas To Austria, OMV Utility Says
Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom stopped supplies to Austria early on November 16, according to the Vienna-based utility OMV, after OMV said it would stop payments for the gas following an arbitration award. The official cutoff of supplies before dawn came after Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer held a hastily called news conference a day earlier to emphasize his country has a secure supply of alternative fuel for this winter. OMV said it would stop paying for Gazprom gas to its Austrian arm to offset a 230 million euro ($242 million) arbitration award it won from the International Chamber of Commerce over an earlier cutoff of gas to its German subsidiary.
In Ukraine, Top Japanese Diplomat Warns Of 'Alarming' North Korean Move
KYIV -- Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said in Ukraine on November 16 that Tokyo and Kyiv have committed to increased dialogue between their respective defense and foreign ministers on security issues in light of the "extremely alarming situation" around the recent deployment of North Korean troops to Russia as Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Iwaya warned at a joint briefing alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha in Kyiv that North Korean troops joining the 2 1/2-year-old Russian war effort could have "extremely significant implications" for Asia as well.
He met later with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy said he discussed with Iwaya "that now North Korea has become an accomplice of Russia and is helping Putin in this criminal war." He said they discussed "all threats from cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow."
With estimates of Russian casualties exceeding 600,000 and President Vladimir Putin desperate to avoid a politically unpopular second mobilization, reports suggest more than 11,000 North Korean soldiers are in southwestern Russia.
In Kyiv, Iwaya expressed "deep concern" and strong condemnation of the deployment.
He said the Japanese and Ukrainian sides would maintain a "bilateral high-level security policy dialogue" going forward, including the sharing of intelligence.
Iwaya arrived hours earlier and visited a memorial to the victims of Russian occupation in the city of Bucha, where Ukrainian and international prosecutors have alleged widespread atrocities against civilians by Russian troops.
Ukrainian military intelligence said the first North Korean troops arrived in the southwestern Russian region of Kursk on October 23.
Subsequent reports said the first clashes between North Korean soldiers and Ukrainian forces took place on November 5 in Kursk, where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion in August and now controls hundreds of square kilometers of territory.
Sybiha called the appearance of North Korean troops "evidence that the future of not only the European but also the global security architecture is being decided in Ukraine."
He cited shared values with Japan and said Iwaya's visit was an "important sign of solidarity, especially in such a difficult time."
With reporting by Reuters
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- RFE/RL
Iran 'Categorically Denies' Its UN Envoy Met With Trump Ally Musk
Tehran has "categorically denied" U.S. reports suggesting that billionaire Trump ally and adviser Elon Musk met with Iranian Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeed Iravani in New York last week, contradicting reporting by The New York Times and AP asserting that Tehran sought the meeting in an apparent effort to ease tensions with President-elect Donald Trump. Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei as saying those are "false reports." In his first term, Trump withdrew from a major nuclear accord with Tehran and global powers and reimposed tough sanctions that walloped Iran's currency and economy. Trump has pledged close if informal cooperation with Musk, who has boasted that he has "top-secret clearance" and said he looks forward to a role as "first buddy" to the next U.S. president. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.
Militants Kill 7 Pakistani Troops In Balochistan
At least seven Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed and 13 others were wounded in a militant attack on a checkpoint in the mountainous Kalat district some 150 kilometers from Quetta, the capital of the southwestern Balochistan Province, Ali Gul Baloch, deputy police commissioner of Kalat, told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, which was claimed by the separatist militant group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). The BLA has waged an insurgency for decades against the Pakistani state, carrying out mostly small-scale attacks against government forces and others. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, click here.
Putin Not Interested In Negotiations, Only In Ending His Own Isolation, Zelenskiy Says
Russian President Vladimir Putin "is not interested in holding negotiations to end the war but wants to hold talks with foreign leaders to put an end to his international isolation," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on November 16 following a telephone conversation between Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"I think that Putin does not want peace at all, but this does not mean that he does not want to sit down with some of the leaders [at the negotiating table]. Because for him political isolation means destruction. It is quite profitable for him to sit down, talk, and disagree," Zelenskiy said in a radio interview broadcast on November 16.
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"He can't travel, and to negotiate means he would be able to go somewhere.... This would be the end of his isolation for him," Zelenskiy said.
However, Zelenskiy said that Ukraine has to put an end to the conflict as soon as possible and admitted that the situation on the battlefield in the east, where Russia was making incremental advances, was difficult for the outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian Army.
"From our side, we must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means," Zelenskiy said.
He added that he wants to talk with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump directly, not through intermediaries, but said that is not allowed by U.S. legislation before Trump's inauguration.
"As the president of Ukraine, I will only take seriously a conversation with the president of the United States of America, with all due respect to any entourage, to any people," Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy has criticized Scholz's phone call with Putin on November 15, warning that it had opened a "Pandora's box" that undermined efforts to isolate Putin and end the war in Ukraine with a "fair peace."
WATCH: Ukrainian inventors have developed more than 200 different ground robotic systems in the last year. The devices can lay mines, destroy enemy positions, transport equipment and shells, or fire machine guns.
Russia, meanwhile, continued to batter Ukraine's cities and infrastructure.
The Russian military launched 83 drones and an S-300 missile at targets in Ukraine, the air force said on Telegram.
Ukraine's air-defense systems shot down 53 Russian drones over 11 of its regions -- Cherkasy, Odesa, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Mykolayiv, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv, and Khmelnytskiy.
Separately, Russian shelling killed one person on November 16 in the city of Slovyansk, in the eastern region od Donetsk, regional Governor Vadym Lyakh reported.
Black Liquid Splashed On Election Chief As Georgia Validates Disputed Poll Results
TBILISI -- Georgia's Central Election Commission (CEC) on November 16 validated the results of last month's disputed elections, despite weeks of protests by the opposition and accusations of widespread fraud and Russian interference.
The Moscow-friendly ruling Georgian Dream party won 53.93 percent of the vote against 37.79 percent garnered by an opposition alliance, the CEC announced during an unruly session that was briefly interrupted after opposition representative Davit Kirtadze splashed a black liquid on CEC chief Giorgi Kalandarishvili and called him a "dark spot."
"Unfortunately, the CEC, under your leadership, your direct involvement, and your unfair decisions, instead of leading the country toward Europe, is moving it towards Russia," Kirtadze told Kalandarishvili after throwing the black liquid on him.
Kirtadze's protest was intended to refer to the ink from voters' pens that was visible through the thin paper on the other side of some ballots. The opposition says this compromised secrecy in the disputed voting on October 26.
Georgian Dream, in power since 2012, is the only party that recognized the election results, with pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili still refusing to acknowledge the outcome, which she said was heavily influenced by Russia.
Georgia's pro-European opposition has boycotted the new parliament, renouncing its mandates from the October 26 vote, alleging widespread fraud and Russian interference.
Representatives of the two main opposition blocs -- the United National Movement (ENM) and the Coalition for Change -- filed an appeal this week with the CEC in a technical move to prevent it from registering the opposition candidates who won seats as lawmakers.
The new parliament is expected to hold its first postelection session by the end of the month, with the makeup of a new government possibly to follow within days.
While the CEC was announcing the validation of the election results, a protest was under way outside the commission's building. The opposition has been holding large daily protests in Tbilisi since Georgian Dream claimed victory.
On November 15, student-led protests were held, with police cordoning off Tbilisi State University's main building as protesters gathered.
WATCH: A student-led protest was held in Georgia's capital on November 15 over elections in October that officials said confirmed the ruling Georgian Dream party's hold on power. Opposition parties and the country's president say results were manipulated with help from the Central Election Commission.
Students inside a building of Shota Rustaveli State University, in the Black Sea port city of Batumi, were pledging to stay inside for a second night of protest there.
Also on November 15, Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze ignored a journalist's question about the protests as he left a downtown meeting with Tbilisi's mayor, saying only, "The opposition is in trouble. The opposition is in trouble."
A presidential election should be held by early January.
Zurabishvili has feuded for years with the governing Georgian Dream, but the crisis has boiled over in the past six months with the enactment of curbs on NGOs and media under a "foreign influence" law that Zurabishvili and other critics call a "Russian law."
Zurabishvili said the voting showed Georgian Dream had "captured" the country.
EU and other Western officials have expressed serious doubts about the elections and perceived irregularities.
Georgia has been a candidate for EU membership since last year. But the "foreign influence" law and anti-LGBT measures have stalled that effort.
The United States in July announced that it would pause more than $95 million in assistance to the Georgian government, warning it that it was backsliding on democracy.
- By AP
Austria Says Russia's Gazprom Will Cut Off Natural Gas Supply This Weekend
Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom will cut off supplies to Austria’s OMV utility early on November 16, Austria’s chancellor said, adding that his country’s underground gas storage was full and that it had alternative, non-Russian supplies. The cutoff follows OMV’s announcement it would stop paying for Gazprom gas to its Austrian arm to offset a 230 million euro arbitration award it won over an earlier cutoff of gas to its German subsidiary. Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Austria has a secure supply of alternative fuel and that “no one will freeze.” “The supply is secure,” he said in a hastily called appearance on November 15.
Embattled Leader Vows To 'Stabilize' Abkhazia, But Protesters Still Hold Parliament
The embattled leader of Georgia's Moscow-backed separatist region of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, was quoted as saying on November 16 that "legitimate authorities" control all of Abkhazia except the parliamentary complex that opposition protesters wrested control of a day earlier to block a controversial Russia-related vote.
The opposition has since demanded Bzhania's and other senior officials' resignations and new elections.
Bzhania's press service said he held an urgent meeting with his cabinet at a school in his home village of Tamysh to discuss "ways to stabilize the situation that arose."
Bzhania had previously said he was "ready" to step down if opposition supporters agreed to leave the parliament compound in the capital, Sukhumi.
There were fears of escalating violence amid the storming of the parliament, which followed weeks of tensions, in a region whose independence Moscow has backed since a five-day war against Georgian forces in 2008 over another breakaway Georgian province, South Ossetia.
WATCH: The leader of the Moscow-backed Abkhazia region said on November 16 that he would step down if protesters leave the parliament compound. A day earlier, demonstrators against an investment agreement with Moscow stormed the parliament in Sukhumi, the administrative center of the Georgian breakaway territory.
Opposition leaders have demanded not only the permanent abandonment of a proposed deal with Russia that opponents say would unfairly open the property market to wealthy Russians, but also Bzhania's resignation and those of his vice president and the breakaway leadership's prime minister.
"The situation will be stabilized. We will return everything to the legal framework,” Bzhania's press service quoted him as saying on November 16.
He reportedly added that "the entire country" -- which is overwhelmingly regarded as Georgian territory internationally -- "is controlled by the legitimate authorities, with the exception of the complex of buildings they have occupied."
Tamysh is about 40 kilometers from the region's capital.
The opposition called for a fresh rally on November 16 after protesters the previous day stormed the parliament grounds over a real estate deal with Moscow and demanded Bzhania’s ouster.
"Those who seized the buildings, those who tried to commit a coup d'etat, must vacate the compound, after which I am ready to call elections, ready to resign, and run in fresh elections," Bzhania said from Tamysh.
However, the opposition appeared determined to ignore Bzhania's demands.
"Aslan Bzhania is resorting to desperate attempts to preserve his government," a so-called Coordination Council of the opposition said in a statement, adding, "His reign is over."
The statement accused Bzhania of "enriching his relatives and a narrow circle close to him."
Local media said lawmakers had on November 15 failed to ratify the deal, which opponents fear would allow wealthy Russians to acquire property in the picturesque Black Sea region, pushing real estate prices higher and making it unaffordable for locals.
Bzhania, a former chief of Abkhazia's state security service, told his supporters on November 16 that "enormous pressure is being exerted on members of parliament so that the parliament makes an unlawful decision to dismiss the president." But he warned that the "2014 scenario will not be repeated," an allusion to one of two instances when Abkhaz leaders resigned due to opposition protests.
On June 1, 2014, Abkhaz leader Aleksander Ankvab resigned following opposition protests led by Raul Khajimba, who took his place, only to resign, too, after the Supreme Court overturned the results of the 2019 presidential election. Bzhania then became president after winning a March 2020 vote.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia's rule after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Moscow recognized the independence of the two regions after Russian forces repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war in 2008 that ended with Georgia's defeat.
Most countries still recognize Abkhazia as part of Georgia, but its economy is almost entirely dependent on Moscow, which pays the salaries of public administrators as well as social payments to residents.
Georgian pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili responded to the tensions in what Tbilisi regards as its occupied region by accusing Russia of "taking accelerated steps toward annexation" of Abkhazia.
Tensions have been running high in the region in recent weeks, with opposition activists demanding an end to Russia's dominance over the region and its economy, though opposition parties on November 15 said their protest is not against Russia.
"The actions of the protesters are not directed against relations between Russia and Abkhazia," they said in a joint statement. "In fact, we, the opposition, have always emphasized the importance of fraternal and strategic ties between our countries."
Russia's Foreign Ministry accused the Abkhaz opposition of exceeding legal means and "provoking an escalation." It said through a spokeswoman that Russia was not interfering and expected the situation "will be resolved exclusively by peaceful political means."
Moscow recommended that any Russian citizens in Abkhazia leave "if possible" and that others refrain from traveling there.
UEFA To Rule After Kosovar Players Walk Off In Romania Amid Claims Of 'Racist' Chants
European football's governing body is expected to announce a decision following a Nations League match between Romania and Kosovo in Bucharest that was abandoned in stoppage time on November 15 after Kosovar players left the field complaining of "racist" abuse.
The Kosovar players headed for the dressing room in the 92nd minute with the game heading for a goalless draw after some spectators chanted, "Serbia! Serbia!" during a scuffle between Kosovo captain Amir Rrahmani and Romanian striker Denis Alibec.
The Football Federation of Kosovo on November 16 warned that it will submit a complaint to UEFA for what it said were "provocations and racist behavior" of Romanian fans during the match.
Kosovo national team manager Bajram Shala said the decision to abandon the match was made by the Kosovar federation, coach Franco Foda, and the players after "racist calls" against their country.
"We, as a federation, coach and team, have decided not to participate in a match where the fundamental values of UEFA are not respected. Not only were the values not respected, but there was racial discrimination, so we decided we couldn't allow that. It's happening for the second time in the same stadium from the fans," Shala said at a press conference in Bucharest.
The captain of the Kosovo team, Amir Rrahmani, said that Romanian fans chanted, "Serbia, Serbia," and, "Kosovo is Serbia," and that he had informed Danish referee Morten Krogh "at least three times" that his team would leave the field.
The Romanian team remained on the pitch for about an hour before the referee decided to abandon the game after the Kosovar players refused to return.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has been recognized by more than 100 countries, but not Romania and other four EU states -- Spain, Cyprus, Greece, and Slovakia.
The Romanian team on November 16 thanked their fans for "the extraordinary support and for the behavior they had in the match with Kosovo, a game that will remain in everyone's memory not only as a three-hour one, but also as an example of unity and solidarity."
"It's a regrettable gesture that the visiting team chose to leave the field without the referee's consent, refusing to end the match on the pitch, in the spirit of fair play, which reflects a lack of respect not only for football, but also for the profession of footballers," the Romanian team's message said.
The Romanian Gendarmerie said 13 spectators were fined after the game and another nine were banned from entering a sports competition for a period of up to one year.
The game is not the first one between the two teams to be marred by incidents.
During a previous game in Bucharest in September 2023, Romanian ultras shouted chants at Kosovo players and unfurled a huge banner with the inscription "Kosovo is Serbia" in Romanian and Serbian.
The game was interrupted for 50 minutes, the Romanian Football Federation was fined by UEFA, and Romania played the next match with only children under 14 allowed in the stands.
Kosovar fans responded in kind during the first leg of the League of Nations played in Pristina this fall, which was won by Romania 3-0. They whistled during the Romanian anthem, chanted racist slogans, and even invaded the pitch. The incidents led to the Kosovar Federation also being fined by UEFA.
UEFA said it would communicate "further information in due course."
Romania is top of Nations League Group C with 12 points, followed by Kosovo with nine points, and would have automatically qualified into the upper Group B had the game ended in a draw. A UEFA decision in favor of Kosovo would bring the two teams to the same number of points, with one more game left to play each.
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