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- By RFE/RL
COVID-19: Afghanistan Freeing Thousands Of Inmates; Romania Surpasses 1,000 Cases
The global death toll from the coronavirus has reached nearly 24,000 with more than 526,000 infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the new respiratory illness.
Here's a roundup of developments in RFE/RL's broadcast countries.
Afghanistan
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has ordered the release of up to 10,000 prison inmates in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Ghani’s decree was directed at women, young offenders, critically ill patients, and prisoners aged more than 55, Attorney General Farid Hamidi told a Kabul news conference on March 26.
Calling the move a “responsible decision to safeguard the health of the people,” Hamidi said the decree “is not for those who have committed crimes against national and international security."
The announcement comes as Afghanistan's government is negotiating a prisoner exchange with Taliban as a confidence-building measure ahead of proposed peace talks under a U.S.-brokered process.
Afghanistan has recorded 90 confirmed coronavirus cases and two deaths, according to a tally on March 26 compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
However, the true figures are feared to be much higher as the war-torn country struggles to administer tests and screen an influx of Afghans returning from neighboring Iran -- one of the countries hit hardest by the pandemic.
Ghani's decree calls for a special committee to be set up to prepare a list of prisoners to be released.
Prisons chief Ahmad Rashed Totakhail said between 9,000 and 10,000 inmates would be released during the coming 10 days.
An official in Ghani's office said “several thousand prisoners will be released soon.” He also insisted that those freed would not include members of the Taliban or the Islamic State militant group.
Ukraine
Ukraine has reported 40 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the government has implemented an additional measure to maintain physical distancing in public transport.
The Health Ministry’s Center for Public Health says there are 196 confirmed laboratory cases of the COVID-19 respiratory illness in the country as of 10 p.m. on March 26.
On the same day, the cabinet issued a nationwide directive limiting passengers in all public transportation. All above-ground transportation such as minibuses, buses, trolleybuses, and trams should only ride up to half capacity.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meanwhile, in an online video address to the nation reiterated the country’s decision to shut cross-border travel after March 27, including for Ukrainian nationals.
He also added that 100,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests from South Korea for the coronavirus will be delivered on March 27.
On the same day, Zelenskiy said that "200,000 medical respirators, protective suits for doctors, 100,000 PCR tests, ventilators, [and] a large number of masks for pharmacies” will be delivered from China.
Romania
Romania surpassed 1,000 cases of the coronavirus on March 26, one month after the first confirmed infection there, prompting the resignation of the country's health minister.
Authorities on March 26 reported 123 more infections and four more deaths during the previous 24 hours, bringing the total in Romania to 1,029 confirmed cases with 18 deaths.
Health Minister Victor Costache resigned on March 26 amid criticism of the government's handling of the outbreak.
President Klaus Iohannis appointed a deputy minister, Nelu Tataru, to replace Costache.
Tataru has been one of the main public faces of the government's response to the crisis.
Costache on March 25 said all of Bucharest's population would be tested for COVID-19, a plan widely criticized as unfeasible and misguided.
Romania's hospitals have struggled to cope with an increasing number of patients.
Health workers say they do not have access to testing and adequate equipment with only about 16,000 people tested so far.
Out of 18 deaths, eight were patients at a hospital in the northeastern city of Suceava, a facility that has become the center of Romania's coronavirus outbreak.
Eleven other Romanian coronavirus patients have died abroad -- eight in Italy, two in France, and one in Britain.
About 4 million Romanians work abroad, most of them in Italy and Spain, Europe's worst-affected countries.
Romania declared a state of emergency on March 16 and went into a "total quarantine" on March 25, with army troops deployed to help enforce the order.
Iohannis on March 26 reiterated his appeal to Romanians to obey the lockdown order and remain at home.
Russia
The Russian government has ordered the suspension of all regular and charter flights in and out of the country effective from March 27 as the country battles to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Russian officials on March 26 reported a total of 840 confirmed coronavirus infections in the country, up from 658 a day before, with 136 of the new cases in Moscow alone.
Russia's coronavirus task force also confirmed the country's first two deaths from COVID-19, describing the victims as elderly patients from the Moscow region who were suffering from pneumonia and complications.
On March 19, Moscow health authorities had reported the death of a 79-year-old woman as coronavirus-related, but hours later a new statement was released saying an autopsy had confirmed the woman had died of a blood clot and not from the virus.
"Regular and charter flights from Russian airports to and from foreign airports are to be suspended starting at midnight on March 27, 2020, with the exception of flights aimed at bringing Russian nationals back from overseas…and flights carried out in accordance with the government’s decisions,” the government said on its website.
Russia had already put restrictions in place regarding air transportation.
As of March 23, Russian airlines were only allowed to service foreign capitals or large cities like New York and only from Moscow airports.
The moves come as countries throughout the world are restricting entry and exit from their borders in attempts to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
On March 25, President Vladimir Putin postponed next month's referendum on sweeping constitutional changes that could allow him to remain in power until 2036 because of concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
Putin said a new date for the April 22 vote would be determined based on the recommendations of health experts.
Putin’s announcement came after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ordered provincial governors to move at a quicker pace to provide hospital beds for coronavirus patients, while Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin ordered the closure of all the capital's eateries, shopping malls, and parks from March 28 to April 5.
Later on March 26, Putin proposed at a Group of 20 (G20) video conference that a freeze be placed on economic sanctions to allow countries to better combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is accusing the Russian government of stepping up control of news reporting in connection with the coronavirus pandemic on the “pretext” of combating disinformation.
In a statement on March 26, the Paris-based media freedom watchdog said Russian journalists covering the coronavirus crisis are being targeted by Roskomnadzor, the country’s media regulator, which it has included in its list of Digital Predators of Press Freedom.
Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, urged the Russian authorities not to “take advantage of this epidemic to restrict press freedom.”
Cavelier also called for “the repeal of the excessively vague ‘fake news’ law,” which she said “violates the freedom to inform.”
Russia is ranked 149th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index.
Iran
Iran has announced 157 new deaths from the coronavirus, raising the official toll to 2,234, as a ban on intercity travel came into effect amid fears of a second wave of infections in one of the world's worst-hit countries
Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told a news conference that a record-breaking 2,389 new cases have been confirmed over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of declared infections to 29,406.
Jahanpur said that the spread of the new coronavirus and its rate of infection was "growing steadily" in Iran.
The travel ban was imposed after officials had complained that many Iranians ignored the authorities' advice to stay at home and cancel travel plans for the Persian New Year holidays that began on March 20.
"Those who have traveled for the Iranian New Year holidays should immediately return to their cities without making any stop in the cities on their way back home," Hossein Zolfaghari, a member of Iran's national headquarters for fighting the coronavirus, said on March 26.
"The closure of universities and schools as well as the suspension of gatherings has been extended," Zolfaghari said, adding that violators of the measures will face legal consequences.
On March 25, the government warned about the danger of ignoring the authorities' travel guidelines.
"This could cause a second wave of the coronavirus," government spokesman Ali Rabiei said, according to state TV.
President Hassan Rohani said Iran will contain the coronavirus spread in two weeks, adding that further measures have been taken to ease the economic impact of the outbreak on lower-income citizens.
"We will send a letter to Iran's supreme leader today to seek permission for the withdrawal of $1 billion from Iran's sovereign wealth fund," Rohani said in a meeting, broadcast live on state TV.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the last say on all state matters.
Iran has rejected an offer from the Geneva-based medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to set up a 50-bed inflatable hospital in the central city of Isfahan to deal with the outbreak.
It has also refused the United States' offer of humanitarian assistance, saying that Washington should lift sanctions if it wants to help Tehran fight the epidemic.
Iran has been under crippling U.S. sanctions in connection with its nuclear and missile programs.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan's two largest cities will implement lockdown measures.
The fresh restrictions were announced on March 26 as Kazakhstan's government confirmed the country's first death from coronavirus.
Residents of Nur-Sultan and Almaty will be barred from leaving their homes except for work or to buy food or medicines, starting from March 28, the government said.
Authorities will also close all intercity transport terminals and public spaces in Shymkent, Kazakhstan's third-largest city, in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the government said.
Kazakhstan on March 26 had confirmed 109 cases.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has announced the first confirmed death from the coronavirus even as it stepped up measures to stem the spread of the pandemic in the Central Asian nation.
The Health Ministry on March 27 said a 72-year-old man in the city of Namangan had suffered from other medical ailments before contracting the coronavirus.
Namangan, in the Ferghana Valley, is the second-largest Uzbek city after the capital, Tashkent, to impose a lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
As of early March 27, Uzbekistan has confirmed 75 cases of infection to the COVID-19 virus. Experts warn, however, that it is impossible to know the true number of infections in any country because of a lack of testing.
Uzbekistan, a country of 32 million people, has locked down several cities and districts, including the capital, Tashkent, where municipal authorities imposed restrictions on movements on March 24.
On March 27, authorities in the province of Navoi said they were locking down the cities of Navoi and Zarafshan.
On the same day, officials in Bukhara, a major tourism area, said they would close the city’s borders.
Municipal authorities announced restrictions in Samarkand and in the Ferghana Valley city of Andijon on March 26.
Authorities also said they were offering large bonus payment for workers in the medical field after at least 11 infections were reported among such workers.
Doctors every two weeks are to receive $2,500 -- several times their normal monthly pay -- while nurses and laboratory workers will get $1,500, junior medical workers $1,000, and others $500, according to a Reuters report.
Armenia
Armenia has reported its first death related to the coronavirus outbreak after a 72-year-old female patient died in hospital.
Health Ministry spokeswoman Alina Nikoghosian on March 26 said the patient was being treated at the intensive care department of Yerevan’s Nork Infectious Disease Clinical Hospital when she passed away.
A total of 290 people have been officially diagnosed with the coronavirus in Armenia -- the highest number among South Caucasus countries.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said that two elderly patients were in critical condition, one of whom is a U.S. citizen.
Health authorities say 18 people have recovered from the respiratory illness.
Armenia introduced a one-month state of emergency on March 16 in a bid to slow the spread of the outbreak.
Since March 25, police have been enforcing a nationwide lockdown after new restrictions were imposed to limit freedom of movement.
With reporting by Reuters, TASS, AFP, AP, Akipress, and Interfax
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Russia Launches Massive Air Attack Across Ukraine, Explosions Heard In Kyiv
Air-raid sirens blared across Ukraine early on December 31 as Russia launched another countrywide massive air attack, with explosions heard in some parts of Kyiv.
Warnings were issued in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, and Vinnytsya regions and local media said cruise and ballistic missiles launched in the attack.
The Kyiv military administration reported that three private buildings and two cars in the Darnitsky district were damaged by falling debris as air defense systems repelled the Russian missile strikes. There were no casualties according to the head of the administration, Serhiy Popko.
The head of the municipal administration in Shostka in the Sumy region, Mykola Noga, said 12 multistory residential buildings and two educational institutions were damaged, while several individual infrastructure facilities were destroyed.
No information on possible casualties was given.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil depot in Russia's Yartsevo district of the Smolensk region.
Smolensk regional Governor Vasily Anokhin said the fire was caused by falling debris when the drones were shot down.
"As a result, a fuel spill occurred and flammable materials began to ignite. There is no threat to residential buildings," he wrote on social media.
The new attacks come a day after the United States pledged additional security assistance for Ukraine to help strengthen its defenses along the front line.
The White House said in a statement on December 30 that the pledge includes an additional $1.25 billion drawdown package for the Ukrainian military and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package.
Hours later, the Treasury Department announced a separate $3.4 billion disbursement to Ukraine in direct budget support.
The announcements came as the White House ramps up support to the war-torn country before President Joe Biden's term ends next month.
Biden pledged to continue ratcheting up support, but the package is likely to be the last brought forth during his administration amid concerns that President-elect Donald Trump will significantly reduce or halt arms supplies to Ukraine in order to push Kyiv to negotiate a peace settlement with Russia.
Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20.
Russia has been pushing back Ukrainian troops on the front lines for weeks and claimed on December 29 to have seized another town in Ukraine's Donetsk region as it continues its long, bloody drive against the strategic -- but nearly destroyed -- southern logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on December 30 that its forces captured Novotroyitske, a settlement with a prewar population 6,300 about 16 kilometers south of Pokrovsk.
The Ukrainian military did not comment specifically about Novotroyitske, but it said Russian troops had carried out 133 attacks on its positions, most of which were in the Pokrovsk area.
Analysts have speculated on what the Kremlin forces' next steps will be for the city, a strategic logistics hub for Kyiv.
The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said geolocation data suggested the Russian military was about 10 kilometers from the border of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin may be putting pressure on the Russian military command to advance to the border, and not to cover Pokrovsk at this time," it wrote.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Viktor Muzhenko, the former Ukrainian military commander, said any truce between Kyiv and Moscow that leaves swaths of Ukrainian territory under Russian control would represent a victory for the Kremlin and "fully compensate [it] for its costs of the war."
Muzhenko, who led the military from 2014-19, said the situation with the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and parts of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions is "critical" -- "not only for the loss of territories, but also [the loss of] half of the resource base of Ukraine."
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said late on December 30 that during the day, some 153 combat clashes occurred on the front lines as Russia presses forward.
The ISW estimates territorial gains by the Russian army in 2024 reached about 3,300 square kilometers.
Counterattacks by Ukraine also took place in 2024, though only a few square kilometers of Ukrainian territory was recaptured.
The bulk of the Russian advances, it said, took place at the end of the year, when Russian troops captured 20 to 30 square kilometers per day, the ISW said.
- By RFE/RL
Russian Soprano Netrebko Withdraws From Vienna Debut In Strauss Opera Scheduled For Late January
Anna Netrebko has withdrawn from her planned role debut in Johann Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos at the Vienna State Opera, citing ill health earlier this month that limited her preparation.
“I am sad that I will not be interpreting this incredible new role but, because of the time unexpectedly lost, I am unable to prepare it to the standard I demand of myself," Netrebko said in a statement.
“I am sorry to disappoint everyone who planned on attending. Since beginning to study the role of Ariadne, I have fallen in love with it and looked forward to debuting it,” she said.
The star soprano will be replaced by Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen in four performances scheduled to take place in late January.
Netrebko said in her statement that she was grateful to Davidson for stepping in and wished her “all my best,” adding that she and Vienna State Opera director Bogdan Roscic were working to find another time for her to sing the Strauss opera in Vienna.
Netrebko's next scheduled performance is a recital in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 3, 2025, which will be her first U.S. appearance since 2019.
Netrebko has fallen out with U.S. opera houses since she was dropped from future performances by the Metropolitan Opera in New York shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Met general manager Peter Gelb had demanded she publicly distance herself from President Vladimir Putin in the wake of the invasion.
Netrebko condemned the war in a statement on Facebook and said her thoughts were with the victims of the war and their families. She added that she was "not a member of any political party, nor am I allied with any leader of Russia.”
Her concert in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk in June 2022 was subsequently canceled. The theater accused Netrebko of choosing European stages over her "Motherland's fate" by making the statement.
Netrebko last year sued the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Gelb alleging defamation, breach of contract, and other violations related to the opera’s decision to drop her.
Netrebko claimed in the lawsuit that the opera house caused “severe mental anguish and emotional distress” that included “depression, humiliation, embarrassment, stress and anxiety, and emotional pain and suffering.”
A U.S. judge in August dismissed most of Netrebko’s allegations but agreed to allow her gender discrimination claim to proceed.
Netrebko’s manager, Miguel Esteban, said in a statement at the time that the lawsuit was still important.
“Anna Netrebko remains fully committed to pursuing this complaint, to vindicating her rights, to restoring her reputation and to demonstrating that the Metropolitan Opera and Peter Gelb treated her unlawfully,” Esteban said.
With reporting by AP
Putin Places Producer Of Major Beer Brands Under Temporary Management
Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 30 signed a decree transferring shares of the foreign brewing company AB InBev Efes Russia to the temporary management of the Russia’s Vmeste group of companies.
The move places all the shares of AB InBev Efes Russia, a joint venture between the Belgian brewer and Anadolu Efes of Turkey that launched in 2018, under the temporary control of the Vmeste group, created in August.
The decree also upends the brewer’s plans to exit the country through a deal with Anadolu Efes.
Anadolu Efes and AB InBev agreed in October to swap stakes in their businesses in Russia and Ukraine. Under the deal, the Turkish brewer would become the sole owner of the Russian business, while AB InBev would acquire the Ukrainian unit. AB InBev had previously wanted to sell control of both operations to Anadolu Efes, but Russia objected to that plan, according to Bloomberg.
After Moscow’s latest intervention, it isn’t clear whether AB InBev will eventually be able to fully exit the country as other Western companies have done.
Also unclear is the status of the Ukrainian part of the deal, which was conditional on regulatory approvals, including from the Kremlin, Bloomberg said.
AB InBev Efes produces major brands in Russia, including Bud, Bud Alcohol Free, Spaten, Efes Pilsener, Velkopopovický Kozel, and Hoegaarden. The company also controls 11 breweries in Russia, including operations in Vladivostok, Volzhsky, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Omsk and Ufa.
Putin has been able to place companies in temporary management under a decree published in April 2023. It grants the manager full control of the assets except for the ability to dispose of them.
Since many multinational companies began leaving Russia, the country has made it harder for them to exit using tactics such as seizing subsidiaries and requiring companies to sell far below their estimated value.
AB InBev Efes was the last of the three largest foreign beer producers still in the Russian market. The other two -- Dutch company Heineken and the Danish brewery Carlsberg -- said in March 2022 they would sell their businesses in Russia, both citing the war.
Heineken sold all its assets by August 2023. Around the same time Carlsberg Group was transferred to temporary management.
Putin in early December removed Carlsberg's assets from temporary management after and the company announced the sale of its assets in Russia, including the brewing company Baltika.
With reporting by Reuters and Bloomberg
Belgrade Court Sentences Father Of School Shooter To 14 Years
A court in Belgrade has jailed the parents of a 13-year-old boy who last year shot and killed nine students and a security guard at an elementary school.
The Higher Court on December 30 announced a 14-year sentence against Vladimir Kecmanovic, father of the shooter in the May 2023 attack, and a three-year sentence against Miljana Kecmanovic, the shooter’s mother.
The Higher Court also sentenced shooting range instructor Nemanja Marinkovic to one year and three months in prison.
Vladimir Kecmanovic was convicted of a serious crime against public safety and neglect and abuse of a minor. He has been accused of training his 13-year-old son to handle firearms and failing to provide proper storage conditions for the weapons the boy used in committing the crime.
Miljana Kecmanovic was sentenced for neglecting a minor. Marinkovic was found guilty of giving false testimony.
Chief public prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic said he was satisfied with the court's decision, though it cannot compensate for the tragic consequences of the crime.
Defense attorneys for the parents and the instructor at the shooting range also announced their intention to appeal.
"This verdict was expected due to the enormous public pressure during this criminal trial. We are still convinced that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations in the indictment," said Irina Borovic, the lawyer representing the parents of the shooter.
No criminal proceedings are being pursued against the student who carried out the mass murder because of his age. He has been in a psychiatric hospital since the shooting.
The student was questioned during the trial, and the indictment against his parents was later expanded to include charges of neglect and abuse of a minor.
Vladimir Kecmanovic remains in detention, while a restraining order has been placed on Miljana Kecmanovic, prohibiting her from approaching or communicating with her son.
The trial concluded after 11 months, and it was closed to the public at the request of the prosecution to protect the minor involved.
According to the prosecution, the 13-year-old used his father's gun when he opened fire during the first period on May 3, 2023, killing nine students and school guard and injuring five other students and the teacher.
Serbia was rocked by the shooting only to suffer a similar tragedy one day later. In that case 21-year-old Uros Blazic used an automatic weapon to kill nine young people in villages near Belgrade.
Blazic was sentenced on December 12 to the maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. His father, Radisa Blazic, was also sentenced to 20 years for possessing illegal weapons used by his son to carry out the crime.
In response to the mass shootings, the government implemented a series of measures, including disarming the population, forming the Council for the Fight Against Peer Violence, ordering increased police presence in schools, and boosting the involvement of child psychologists.
Earlier this year in the United States, the parents of a 15-year-old school attacker became the first parents convicted in a mass school shooting in the country. Jennifer and James Crumbley in April were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison in their home state of Michigan.
They were accused of not securing a gun at home and acting indifferently to signs of their son’s deteriorating mental health. Their son, Ethan Crumbley, pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence for killing four classmates in 2021.
With reporting by AP
Hundreds Of POWs Freed In Latest Russia-Ukraine Prisoner Swap
Russia and Ukraine have conducted another prisoner swap brokered by the United Arab Emirates, freeing hundreds of prisoners of war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed the exchange in a post on Telegram announcing that 189 Ukrainians returned home as a result of the action.
“These are the...defenders of Azovstal and Mariupol, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Zmiiniy Island, from different directions of the front,” Zelenskiy said. “Among them are soldiers, sergeants, officers.”
Two civilians who were captured in Mariupol also were among those released, Zelenskiy said. In the post, which included photos of smiling soldiers seated on a bus, he added that Ukraine continues working to free all those held in Russian captivity.
The Russian Defense Ministry also announced the prisoner exchange, saying the number released was 150 on each side. There was no explanation for the discrepancy.
"On 30 December, as a result of the negotiation process, 150 Russian servicemen were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In return, 150 Ukrainian army prisoners of war were handed over," a ministry statement said.
The statement said the 150 Russian soldiers had been evacuated to Belarus, where they were receiving medical and psychological assistance and were given the opportunity to contact their relatives.
"All released servicemen will be delivered to the Russian Federation for treatment and rehabilitation in medical institutions of the Russian Ministry of Defense,” the statement added, noting the U.A.E. assistance in providing humanitarian efforts during the return of the POWs.
Russia and Ukraine have conducted 59 POW exchanges since the beginning of the full-scale war.
Fighting on December 30 included 104 combat clashes at the front on December 30 through 4:00 p.m. local time, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian military. More than half of the battles took place in the areas around Pokrovsk, Kurakhiv, and Vremovskiy.
In the Russian-occupied Kherson region of Ukraine, the Kremlin-installed governor said a Ukrainian strike hit a hospital, killing a doctor and wounding another.
Russian-installed Governor Vladimir Saldo accused Ukraine's Western military backers of participating in the attack, which occurred in the Russian-held town of Oleshkiy.
Deputy chief physician Vasily Borisov was killed in the attack, while chief physician Vladimir Kharlan was injured by shrapnel, Saldo said on Telegram.
Images published by Saldo showed the facade of a building with its windows blown out, while another showed a room cluttered with damaged furniture.
Kyiv did not immediately comment but denies targeting civilians in Russian-held areas.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Finnish Investigators Find Anchor Marks On Seabed Near Damaged Cables
Finland said drag marks from an anchor have been found on the Baltic Sea floor in an area where several power and data cables were damaged, which authorities suspect was caused by a vessel linked to Russia's "shadow fleet."
"Our current understanding is that the drag mark in question is that of the anchor of the (seized) Eagle S vessel. We have been able to clarify this matter through underwater research," said Sami Paila, the chief investigator for Finnish police in the case.
He added that the trail created by the anchor ran "dozens" of kilometers.
Finland seized the Eagle S on December 26, citing suspicions that it caused an outage of the Estlink 2 undersea power cable and damaged four Internet lines. Finnish investigators said the ship may have caused the damage by dragging its anchor along the sea floor.
Finnish and EU officials say the Eagle S is believed to belong to a "shadow fleet" of old, uninsured oil vessels used to bypass Western sanctions and maintain a source of revenue for Russia's economy and its war against Ukraine.
The poor condition of these ships has also raised concerns about environmental disasters.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has described the suspected sabotage of a Baltic Sea power cable as a "wake-up call" for the West and urged the European Union to impose new sanctions targeting Russia's "shadow fleet."
Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister who is now the EU's top diplomat, said on December 30 that "sabotage in Europe has increased" since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In an interview with the German newspaper Welt, she said recent "sabotage attempts in the Baltic Sea are not isolated incidents" but "part of a pattern of deliberate and coordinated actions to damage our digital and energy infrastructure."
Though the investigation continues, a media outlet focusing on shipping news and intelligence reported that the ship suspected of damaging the cable linking Finland and Estonia on December 25 was equipped with "special transmitting and receiving devices that were used to monitor naval activity."
The Eagle S "had transmitting and receiving devices installed that effectively allowed it to become a 'spy ship' for Russia," Lloyd's List reported on December 27, citing "a source familiar with the vessel who provided commercial maritime services to it as recently as seven months ago."
Baerbock has reiterated the need for "new European sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet," which she said is "a major threat to our environment and security" used by Russia "to finance its war of aggression in Ukraine."
"Almost every month, ships are damaging major undersea cables in the Baltic Sea," Baerbock said in a statement to the Funke media group.
"Crews are leaving anchors in the water, dragging them for kilometers along the seafloor for no apparent reason, and then losing them when pulling them up."
"It's more than difficult to still believe in coincidences," she said. "This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us."
With reporting by AP
13, Including Former Cabinet Minister, Indicted Over Deadly Serbian Roof Collapse
Thirteen people including a former government minister have been indicted over the deadly collapse of a train station roof last month in Novi Sad that sparked massive protests, turning up the heat on the government.
Former Transport Minister Goran Vesic and the former director of Serbian Railway Infrastructure, Jelena Tanaskovic, were among those named in the indictment, handed down by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad on December 30.
"The indictment was submitted to the Higher Court in Novi Sad, accompanied by the complete documentation collected during the pre-investigation and investigation process, as well as all other evidence," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Thousands have taken to the streets to demand accountability for the collapse of a canopy at the train station in Novi Sad that killed 15 people.
Some of the protests have been marred by violence.
The organizers of a massive student demonstration on December 22 demanded the government identify and prosecute the people who allegedly attacked demonstrators during previous protests over the accident.
The organizers also called for the release of activists detained during earlier protests and an end to legal proceedings against them.
The collapse of the canopy has turned into a political headache for President Aleksandar Vucic as more than 50 academic faculties at four state universities, the offices of several university rectors, and dozens of high schools remain blocked in solidarity with the protests.
Students also have taken part in daily protests in which traffic stops for 15 minutes in cities across Serbia.
The accident occurred after the railway station had been renovated twice in recent years by a Chinese-led consortium of four companies. Serbian Railways insisted that the renovation didn’t include the concrete overhang, but some experts disputed that.
Those indicted face up to 12 years in prison if they are found guilty of charges of committing criminal acts against public security, endangering the public, and irregular construction work.
Newly Announced $5.9 Billion In U.S. Aid Comes At Critical Time For Ukraine, Zelenskiy Says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said additional U.S. security assistance for Ukraine announced on December 30 comes at a critical moment and will help strengthen Ukrainian defenses along the front line.
"Every act of solidarity from our partners saves lives, strengthens our independence, and reinforces our resilience. It also demonstrates that democracies are stronger than autocratic aggressors," Zelenskiy said on X after the United States announced $5.9 billion in a three-pronged aid package.
The White House said in a statement on December 30 that the pledge includes an additional $1.25 billion drawdown package for the Ukrainian military and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package.
Hours later, the Treasury Department announced a separate $3.4 billion disbursement to Ukraine in direct budget support.
The announcements came as the White House ramps up support to the war-torn country before President Joe Biden's term ends next month.
"I've directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible -- including drawing down older U.S. equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons," Biden said in the White House statement.
"At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine's position in this war over the remainder of my time in office," Biden added.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen added in a separate statement: "Our direct budget support to Ukraine arrives at a critical time as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure."
"Economic assistance from the United States and our allies is crucial for Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty and achieve a just peace by maintaining the critical government services that underpin its brave fight," she said in the statement.
Despite Biden's pledge to continue ratcheting up support, the package is likely to be the last brought forth during his administration amid concerns that President-elect Donald Trump will significantly reduce or halt arms supplies to Ukraine in order to push Kyiv to negotiate a peace settlement with Russia.
Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20.
Russia has been pushing back Ukrainian troops on the front lines for weeks and claimed on December 29 to have seized another town in Ukraine's Donetsk region as it continues its long, bloody drive against the strategic -- but nearly destroyed -- southern logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces captured Novotroyitske, a settlement with a prewar population 6,300 about 16 kilometers south of Pokrovsk.
The Ukrainian military did not comment specifically about Novotroyitske, but it said Russian troops had carried out 133 attacks on its positions, most of which were in the Pokrovsk area.
Analysts have speculated on what the Kremlin forces' next steps will be for the city, a strategic logistics hub for Kyiv.
The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said geolocation data suggested the Russian military was about 10 kilometers from the border of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin may be putting pressure on the Russian military command to advance to the border, and not to cover Pokrovsk at this time," it wrote.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Viktor Muzhenko, the former Ukrainian military commander, said any truce between Kyiv and Moscow that leaves swaths of Ukrainian territory under Russian control would represent a victory for the Kremlin and "fully compensate [it] for its costs of the war."
Muzhenko, who led the military from 2014-19, said the situation with the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and parts of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions is "critical" -- "not only for the loss of territories, but also [the loss of] half of the resource base of Ukraine."
The announcement of the new support from Washington comes on the heels of an announcement by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on December 29 that Kyiv had received an additional 150 million euros ($156 million) in aid from Denmark, France, and Lithuania to help finance the country's defense industry.
"These funds, in particular, will be used for the production of missiles, deep-strike drones and artillery installations," he said in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, outgoing German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she does not expect the next government in Berlin to "abandon" Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
"No German government devoted to the security of Germany and Europe will abandon the people of Ukraine," she said in an interview published by Bild newspaper on December 29.
Germany will vote on February 23, a day after the anniversary of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. after a coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed last month.
Berlin trails only Washington in the amount of support provided to Ukraine, although Scholz has been reluctant to send heavy weaponry to Kyiv, often angering the Ukrainian leadership.
Addressing worries that Trump may push a peace deal detrimental to Kyiv following his inauguration, Baerbock underlined the importance of providing for Ukraine's security needs in any such agreements.
"Only reliable, long-term and, above all, truly sustainable security guarantees will prevent Putin from resorting to further campaigns of conquest. Only then will there be lasting peace and stability in Ukraine," she told Bild, without being specific.
- By RFE/RL
Jimmy Carter, Nobel Laureate Whose Presidency Was Marred By Iran Hostage Crisis, Dies Aged 100
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, whose presidency was marred by the 444-day Iran hostage crisis, has died at age 100 after receiving hospice care for almost two years.
"Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, died peacefully Sunday, December 29, at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family," the Carter Center in his home state of Georgia said in a statement.
U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that "America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman, and humanitarian."
Biden declared January 9, the day Carter's funeral will be held in Washington, D.C., as a national day of mourning.
Though his presidency was marked by his failure to rein in rampant inflation, revive the economy, and his inability to free dozens of Americans held captive at an embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, his life after office was celebrated for his humanitarian work around the world.
"God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes -- and we must," Carter said in his speech upon accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the first former U.S. president to win the award.
Former President Barack Obama praised Carter's "decency," saying in a tribute the onetime peanut farmer who was raised in poverty "taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service."
President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that "the challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans."
The iconic Empire State Building in New York City was lit up in red, white, and blue to honor Carter.
Carter, a one-term leader, is remembered for having brokered a peace deal between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work and efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts.
But it was the Iranian hostage crisis that would come to define Carter's presidency from 1977 to 1981.
The Islamic Revolution in 1979 toppled the U.S.-backed shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and brought to power a group of clerics led by exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Carter granted the ailing shah political asylum, to the anger of many Iranians.
In late 1979, a group of hard-line Iranian students who were believed to have had the tacit support of Khomeini stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage. They demanded the return of the shah and an apology for past actions by the United States in Iran.
444 Days: Looking Back At The U.S.-Iran Hostage Crisis
Carter said the United States could not give in to the hostage-takers, and the crisis dragged on for over a year.
"It's vital to the United States and to every other nation that the lives of diplomatic personnel and other citizens abroad be protected, and that we refuse to permit the use of terrorism, and the seizure and the holding of hostages, to impose political demands,” he said.
“No one should underestimate the resolve of the American government and the American people in this matter."
With negotiations with the Iranians proving fruitless, Carter ordered U.S. Special Forces to try to rescue the American hostages in April 1980. The mission ended in disaster, and eight U.S. soldiers died in an accident caused by equipment failure.
Carter announced the failed rescue mission to the nation: "I share the disappointment of the American people that this rescue mission was not successful. And I also share the grief of our nation because we had Americans who were casualties in this effort to seek freedom for their fellow citizens who have been held hostage for so long.
"But I also share a deep pride in the commitment and courage and the integrity and the competence and determination of those who went on this mission."
The Iranian hostage crisis -- and Carter's inability to resolve it -- dominated the news in the United States throughout 1980, a presidential election year.
He was easily defeated in his reelection bid by Ronald Reagan, a former Hollywood actor who had energized the Republican party with his smooth appearance and supply-side economic policies.
In a final insult to Carter, Iran decided to release the hostages on January 20, 1981, the day Carter left office and Reagan was inaugurated as president.
One of Carter's first goals after becoming president was to work on a second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, known as SALT II, with the Soviet Union. The treaty was designed to further limit the number of nuclear weapons held by both countries.
Negotiating the treaty with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was difficult because of Carter's persistent criticism of Moscow's human rights record. But in June 1979 the two leaders signed SALT II. The U.S. Senate did not ratify the treaty following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, but its terms were honored by both sides.
In response to the Soviet invasion, the president announced what came to be known as the Carter Doctrine -- that the United States would defend its interests in the Persian Gulf with military force if necessary. The United States also boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.
"I have given notice that the United States will not attend the Moscow Olympics unless the Soviet invasion forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan before February 20,” said Carter at the time. “That deadline is tomorrow, and it will not be changed."
Though his term in office is often characterized as a failure, Carter's presidency had its share of triumphs.
He established an effective national energy policy and encouraged the creation of 8 million new jobs, although at the cost of high inflation. He also improved the operation of the U.S. federal government through reform of the civil service.
Carter's greatest achievement as U.S. president was the 1978 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, brokered at the Camp David presidential retreat. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.
Carter's wife, Rosalynn, died in November 2023, at age 96.
- By RFE/RL
World Reacts To Life, Passing Of Former President Jimmy Carter
U.S. President Jimmy Carter's Democratic presidency was marred by the 444-day Iran hostage crisis but he was hailed as a humanitarian figure later in life, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Carter died at age 100 on December 29.
Here is a roundup of reactions from leaders around the world following news of his death.
U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: “America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian.
“Over six decades, we had the honor of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well. “
U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: “The challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”
FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: "Elected in the shadow of Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised voters that he would always tell the truth. And he did — advocating for the public good, consequences be damned. He believed some things were more important than reelection — things like integrity, respect, and compassion.
"Because Jimmy Carter believed, as deeply as he believed anything, that we are all created in God’s image."
FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Carter's legacy will "inspire Americans for generations [and he] set an example of service that will inspire Americans for generations.
"He was loyal to his family, his community, and his country. President Carter dignified the office."
FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: "From his commitment to civil rights as a state senator and governor of Georgia; to his efforts as president to protect our natural resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, make energy conservation a national priority, return the Panama Canal to Panama, and secure peace between Egypt and Israel at Camp David; to his post-Presidential efforts at the Carter Center supporting honest elections, advancing peace, combating disease, and promoting democracy; to his and Rosalynn’s devotion and hard work at Habitat for Humanity—he worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world."
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: "Throughout his life, Jimmy Carter has been a steadfast advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable and has tirelessly fought for peace. France sends its heartfelt thoughts to his family and to the American people."
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER: "I would like to pay tribute to his decades of selfless public service.
"His presidency will be remembered for the historic Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, and it was that lifelong dedication to peace that saw him receive the Nobel Peace prize.
"Motivated by his strong faith and values, President Carter redefined the post-presidency with a remarkable commitment to social justice and human rights at home and abroad."
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: “Jimmy Carter, former US president who was committed to human rights, has died. He was 100 years old.
"Carter set a powerful example for world leaders to make human rights a priority, and he continued to fight for human rights after he left office.”
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CHIEF TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: "His unwavering commitment to people's wellbeing in the United States and around the world will be remembered forever.
"His work through the Carter Center has saved countless lives and helped bring many neglected tropical diseases close to elimination."
With reporting by Reuters
- By RFE/RL
Jimmy Carter, Whose Presidency Was Marred By Iran Hostage Crisis, Dies Aged 100
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, whose presidency was marred by the 444-day Iran hostage crisis, has died at age 100.
"Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, died peacefully Sunday, December 29, at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family," the Carter Center in his home state of Georgia said in a statement.
U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that “America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian.”
Biden said he will order a state funeral to be held in Washington, D.C., although he did not set a date as of yet.
President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “the challenges Jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans.”
“For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”
Human Rights Watch said in a statement that "Carter set a powerful example for world leaders to make human rights a priority, and he continued to fight for human rights after he left office."
The iconic Empire State Building in New York City was lit up in red, white, and blue to honor Carter.
Carter, a one-term leader, is also remembered for having brokered a peace deal between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work and efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts.
But it was the Iranian hostage crisis that would come to define Carter's presidency from 1977 to 1981.
The Islamic Revolution in 1979 toppled the U.S.-backed shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and brought to power a group of clerics led by exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Carter granted the ailing shah political asylum, to the anger of many Iranians.
In late 1979, a group of hardline Iranian students who were believed to have had the tacit support of Khomeini stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage. They demanded the return of the shah and an apology for past actions by the United States in Iran.
444 Days: Looking Back At The U.S.-Iran Hostage Crisis
Carter said the United States could not give in to the hostage-takers, and the crisis dragged on for over a year.
"It's vital to the United States and to every other nation that the lives of diplomatic personnel and other citizens abroad be protected, and that we refuse to permit the use of terrorism, and the seizure and the holding of hostages, to impose political demands,” he said.
“No one should underestimate the resolve of the American government and the American people in this matter."
With negotiations with the Iranians proving fruitless, Carter ordered U.S. Special Forces to try to rescue the American hostages in April 1980. The mission ended in disaster, and eight U.S. soldiers died in an accident caused by equipment failure.
Carter announced the failed rescue mission to the nation: "I share the disappointment of the American people that this rescue mission was not successful. And I also share the grief of our nation because we had Americans who were casualties in this effort to seek freedom for their fellow citizens who have been held hostage for so long. But I also share a deep pride in the commitment and courage and the integrity and the competence and determination of those who went on this mission."
The Iranian hostage crisis -- and Carter's inability to resolve it -- dominated the news in the United States throughout 1980, a presidential election year.
He was easily defeated in his reelection bid by Ronald Reagan, a former Hollywood actor who had energized the Republican party with his smooth appearance and supply-side economic policies.
In a final insult to Carter, Iran decided to release the hostages on January 20, 1981, the day Carter left office and Reagan was inaugurated as president.
One of Carter's first goals after becoming president was to work on a second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, known as SALT II, with the Soviet Union. The treaty was designed to further limit the number of nuclear weapons held by both countries.
Negotiating the treaty with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev was difficult because of Carter's persistent criticism of Moscow's human rights record. But in June 1979 the two leaders signed SALT II. The U.S. Senate did not ratify the treaty following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, but its terms were honored by both sides.
In response to the Soviet invasion, the president announced what came to be known as the Carter Doctrine -- that the United States would defend its interests in the Persian Gulf with military force if necessary. The United States also boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.
"I have given notice that the United States will not attend the Moscow Olympics unless the Soviet invasion forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan before February 20,” said Carter at the time. “That deadline is tomorrow, and it will not be changed."
Though his term in office is often characterized as a failure, Carter's presidency had its share of triumphs.
He established an effective national energy policy and encouraged the creation of 8 million new jobs, although at the cost of high inflation. He also improved the operation of the U.S. federal government through reform of the civil service.
Carter's greatest achievement as U.S. president was the 1978 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, brokered at the Camp David presidential retreat. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.
Carter's wife, Rosalynn, died in November 2023, at age 96.
- By RFE/RL
Syria's De Facto Leader Wants To Maintain 'Respectful' Ties With Iran, Russia
New Syrian de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television channel that he wants relations with Iran and Russia, but he insisted any ties must be based on mutual "respect."
Russia and Iran were major allies of Syria under the regime of President Bashar al-Assad until the totalitarian leader was ousted by rebels in early December.
The West is closely watching the new ruler's actions, including the depth of any future ties with Tehran and Moscow.
"Syria cannot continue without relations with an important regional country like Iran," Sharaa told Al Arabiya in a wide-ranging interview on December 29.
But relations "must be based on respect for the sovereignty of both countries and noninterference in the affairs of both countries," he added.
Sharaa urged Tehran to rethink its regional policies and interventions and pointed out that opposition forces protected Iranian positions during the fighting to oust Assad, even though rebels knew Iran was a major backer of the president.
Sharaa said he had expected positive overtures from Iran following these actions but said they have not been forthcoming.
Sharaa, previously known by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, said that while he expects Moscow to withdraw its forces from Syria, he also spoke of "deep strategic interests" with the "second most powerful country in the world."
"We don't want Russia to exit Syria in a way that undermines its relationship with our country,” he told Al-Arabiya, without providing details.
"All of Syria's arms are of Russian origin, and many power plants are managed by Russian experts.... We do not want Russia to leave Syria in the way that some wish," he said.
According to flight data analyzed by RFE/RL, Russia is reducing its military footprint in Syria and shifting some of its assets from the Middle Eastern country to Africa.
To offset the potential loss of its air base in Hmeimim and naval base in Tartus, Russia appears to be increasing its presence in Libya, Mali, and Sudan, although experts say the loss of Syrian bases is a major blow to the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Sharaa also said that organizing elections in the country could take up to four years and that a new constitution could require three years to be finalized.
The leader expressed hope that the new U.S. administration under Donald Trump -- set to take office on January 20 -- would lift sanctions on his country.
"We hope the incoming Trump administration will not follow the policy of its predecessor," Sharaa said.
The rebels who ousted Assad were led by Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist group, a U.S. and EU-designated terrorist organization.
Sharaa has publicly pledged to adopt moderate policies regarding women's rights, national reconciliation, and relations with the international community, although world leaders say they remain wary of the new rulers pending concrete actions.
- By RFE/RL
Russian Forces Claim Capture Of Town In Pokrovsk Area, But Next Steps Unclear
Russia on December 29 claimed to have seized another town in Ukraine's Donetsk region as it continues its long, bloody drive against the strategic -- but nearly destroyed -- southern logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces have captured Novotroyitske, a settlement with a prewar population 6,300 about 16 kilometers south of Pokrovsk.
The Ukrainian military did not comment specifically about Novotroyitske, but it said Russian troops had carried out 133 attacks on its positions as of 4 p.m. on December 29 -- the largest number in the Pokrovsk area.
"In the Pokrovsk direction, since the beginning of the day, the occupiers have already made 26 attempts to push our defenders out of their positions" in several settlements, it said.
On December 15, British intelligence said Russian forces had made gains south of Pokrovsk, but it is not clear what the Kremlin forces' next steps will be.
The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said geolocation data suggested the Russian military was about 10 kilometers from the border of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin may be putting pressure on the Russian military command to advance to the border, and not to cover Pokrovsk at this time," it wrote.
Heavy fighting was also reported in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces battle to hold territory taken earlier this year.
"In the Kursk region, Ukrainian defenders repelled 16 attacks by Russian invaders today, 19 clashes continue. In addition, the enemy launched 152 artillery attacks," the military said.
Meanwhile, Russia's assault on Ukraine's Mykolayiv region in the south also intensified.
Regional Governor Vitaliy Kim on December 29 said defense forces had shot down at least nine Iranian-made Shahed drones, although falling debris hit one of the targets -- an energy infrastructure facility -- causing a fire and injuring one person.
On December 28, the military said Ukrainian defenders had neutralized all 16 drones launched by Russia in Mykolayiv city, the capital of the region adjacent to Kherson.
Russia and Ukraine have used drones regularly since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, with the Kremlin increasingly targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure as the winter cold sets in.
Russia has denied it targets civilian infrastructure sites, despite widespread evidence of such attacks, as the Kremlin seeks to solidify positions in the territories it has occupied, not only since the February 2022 full-scale invasion but since its invasion of 2014.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Viktor Muzhenko, the former Ukrainian military commander, said any truce between Kyiv and Moscow that leaves swaths of Ukrainian territory under Russian control would represent a victory for the Kremlin and "fully compensate [it] for its costs of the war."
Muzhenko, who led the military from 2014-19, said the situation with the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and parts of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions is "critical" -- "not only for the loss of territories, but also [the loss of] half of the resource base of Ukraine."
On the foreign-aid front, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on December 29 said Kyiv had received an additional 150 million euros ($156 million) in aid from Denmark, France, and Lithuania to help finance the country's defense industry.
"These funds, in particular, will be used for the production of missiles, deep-strike drones and artillery installations.," he said in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, outgoing German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she does not expect the next government in Berlin to "abandon" Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
"No German government devoted to the security of Germany and Europe will abandon the people of Ukraine," she said in an interview published by Bild newspaper on December 29.
Germany will vote on February 23, a day after the anniversary of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. after a coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed last month.
Berlin trails only Washington in the amount of support provided to Ukraine, although Scholz has been reluctant to send heavy weaponry to Kyiv, often angering the Ukrainian leadership.
Addressing worries that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may push a peace deal detrimental to Kyiv following his January 20 inauguration, Baerbock underlined the importance of providing for Ukraine's security needs in any such agreements.
"Only reliable, long-term and, above all, truly sustainable security guarantees will prevent [Russian President Vladimir] Putin from resorting to further campaigns of conquest. Only then will there be lasting peace and stability in Ukraine," she told Bild, without being specific.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian and Russian services
- By Current Time
Russian Arrested For Running Gay Travel Agency Found Dead In Cell
A Russian man arrested in October for operating a travel agency for gay customers was found dead in his Moscow cell while in pretrial detention, the OVD-Info rights group said on December 29. The group quoted the lawyer of Andrei Kotov, 48, as saying the man had died by suicide in his cell, although the report cannot independently be confirmed. Kotov was director of the Men Travel agency, and was facing charges of "organizing extremist activity and participating in it." Russia in recent years has intensified its relentless crackdown on LGBT rights, often accusing suspects of extremist activities. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.
Black Box Sent To Brazil As Baku Accuses Russia Of 'Covering Up' Cause Of Crash
Kazakh authorities on December 29 said the cockpit recorders of the Brazilian-made plane involved in a deadly crash are being sent to Brazil for investigation amid accusations by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that Russia is trying to "cover up" the cause of the tragedy.
The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to Grozny in Russia's Chechnya region on December 25 when it was diverted and crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
There has been growing evidence that the jet was hit by a Russian air-defense missile in Chechnya before it went down near the city of Aqtau in western Kazakhstan.
The Kazakh Transport Ministry said the commission in charge of the probe had "decided to send the flight recorders to the Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents in Brazil" -- the country that manufactured the popular Embraer-190 jet, utilized mainly for flights of less than three hours.
Aliyev said the plane was mistakenly shot down while approaching Grozny, adding that the jet's GPS systems were affected by electronic jamming.
"Our plane was hit by accident," Aliyev told state television on December 29. "Therefore, admitting the guilt, apologizing in a timely manner to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about this -- all these were measures and steps that should have been taken."
"Unfortunately, for the first three days, we heard nothing from Russia except for some absurd theories," added Aliyev, citing statements in Russia that attributed the crash to birds or the explosion of some sort of gas cylinder on the plane.
Those theories, Aliyev said, showed "that the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue."
Aliyev's comments came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev but did not accept blame for the plane crash.
In a phone call with Aliyev, Putin said Russian air defenses were repelling an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Grozny when the plane was trying to land at the airport there, a Kremlin statement said.
Putin "conveyed his apologies in connection with the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace," the statement said, indicating that Putin acknowledged the plane was damaged over Chechnya but stopped short of stating a Russian missile strike was the cause.
Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the possible violation of flight safety rules, the statement said. It said two Azerbaijani prosecutors were working with Russian law enforcement in Grozny and that Russian, Azerbaijani, and Kazakh authorities were working together at the crash site in Kazakhstan.
The Kremlin statement is likely to further increase suspicions that a Russian missile damaged the Embraer-190 jet before it was diverted to Aktau, across the Caspian Sea from Chechnya, where it crashed near the shore after a steep descent and burst into flames.
Evidence of a missile strike includes footage of damage inside the plane before the crash and images of the hole-pocked tail section after the crash, as well as comments from survivors who said they heard at least one explosion outside the plane over Chechnya.
Azerbaijani lawmaker Hikmat Babaoghlu told RFE/RL on December 27 that there is a "very strong" possibility that the plane was damaged by a Russian air-defense missile. He said that the "observations and conclusions drawn so far support the idea that the plane being shot down is the closest to the truth."
New Georgian President Sworn In Amid Political Standoff
TBILISI -- Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former soccer player and right-wing populist, has been sworn in as Georgia's new president amid a monthslong political crisis, likely further complicating the country's prospects for European Union membership.
Outgoing President Salome Zurabishvili left her residence in the presidential palace in the capital, Tbilisi, on the same day but said she remained the legitimate head of state.
The pro-Western Zurabishvili, whose term ended on December 29, had said she would not step down. She claimed her successor -- chosen by an electoral college dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party -- is "illegitimate."
Georgia has been the scene of anti-government protests since Georgian Dream claimed victory in October parliamentary elections that were marred by instances of vote-buying, double-voting, physical violence, and intimidation.
The rallies intensified after a government decision last month to delay negotiations on the South Caucasus country joining the European Union.
In a defiant speech to thousands of supporters outside the presidential palace on December 29, Zurabishvili said she remained the "only legitimate president" and vowed to continue to fight on.
"This building was a symbol only as long as a legitimate president was sitting here," she said. "I take the legitimacy with me."
Zurabishvili, who called for new parliamentary elections, called Kavelashvili's inauguration a "parody."
Her remarks came moments after the 53-year-old Kavelashvili, a hard-line critic of the West, was formally sworn in during a ceremony in parliament.
In his speech, Kavelashvili called for the country to unite behind him around "shared values, the principles of mutual respect, and the future we should build together."
Kavelashvili has been known to make fiery anti-Western remarks in the past, although during his speech he stated that Georgians should "strengthen our country and move toward the European family."
In 2016, he helped found the People's Power party, a more-radical offshoot of Georgian Dream.
But he has remained close to the ruling party and has been criticized for his ties to Moscow-friendly billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister and founder of the Georgian Dream party,
The presidency is a largely ceremonial post, but in the current tense political environment holds deeper symbolic meaning, and the departure of Zurabishvili could deepen Georgia's split with the West -- once the nation's closest backers.
Several hundred protesters rallied outside the parliament building, with some holding up red cards in a gesture to Kavelashvili's soccer career.
The demonstrators dispersed shortly afterward but vowed to rally again in the evening.
The Interior Ministry said six protesters were detained outside the parliament building. Local media reported that several demonstrators were injured by police.
A day earlier, Zurabishvili joined protesters in Tbilisi as rally participants waved Georgian and EU flags, played music, and marched along the Saarbruecken Bridge in the capital to form a "chain of unity."
The rally marked one month since the start of the recent wave of protests, which have been met with violent police action, injuries, and mass arrests by Georgian authorities.
Protesters accuse the Georgian Dream-led government of moving the country away from the EU and tilting closer to Russia.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson on December 29 told RFE/RL in e-mailed comments that the United States is closely monitoring the situation in Georgia.
The spokeperson added that respect for the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly are critical to a functioning society.
On December 27, the United States said it had slapped fresh sanctions on Ivanishvili for undermining Georgia's democracy for the "benefit of the Russian Federation."
"Under Ivanishvili's leadership, Georgian Dream has advanced the interests of the Kremlin by derailing Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic trajectory -- in direct contradiction to what was envisioned by the Georgian people and the Georgian Constitution," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The action prompted anger from the Georgian Dream party, while the Georgian opposition hailed the action and called on the EU to also move against Ivanishvili and other Georgian leaders.
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in an X post on December 29 that he commends Zurabishvili "for her vital leadership and unwavering commitment to Georgia's European course."
"For a month now, Georgian people are peacefully defending their democratic and European future in the streets despite violence and intimidation," he said, adding that the Georgian government should "restore public trust" and "consider possible new elections."
Zurabishvili -- who has spilt with the government and backed the protesters early in the wave of rallies -- had called on Georgian Dream to set a date for new parliamentary elections by December 29.
In another show of Western support, U.S. Republican House member Joe Wilson on December 27 wrote on X that he welcomed the new sanctions and added that he had invited Zurabishvili -- "as the only legitimate leader in Georgia" -- to Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on January 20.
Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023, but ties with Brussels have been tense in recent months following the adoption in May of a controversial "foreign agent" law pushed through parliament by Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012.
Russia Cuts Gas To Moldova Used By Moscow-Backed Separatist Region
Russia's state energy giant Gazprom on December 28 said it would cease gas deliveries to Moldova at the end of this year because of a dispute over debt with the small Balkan nation that is aligned with the West. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean condemned Gazprom's decision, describing it as "an oppressive tactic" through which Russia "uses energy as a political weapon" and said he would pursue international legal means to fight it. The head of Moldovagaz said that, as early as December 2022, the entire volume of gas supplied by Gazprom was intended for the Moscow-backed separatist region, Transdniester, located on the left bank of the Dniester River. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service, click here.
- By RFE/RL
Zelenskiy Blasts Fico In Energy Feud As Fighting Intensifies On Battlefield
Drone attacks and fighting intensified in Ukraine and Russia on December 28, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Slovakia's prime minister of taking "orders" from the Kremlin to harm Kyiv and his own people as an energy feud heightened as well.
"It appears that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin gave [Robert] Fico the orders to open the second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the Slovak people's interests," Zelenskiy wrote on social media.
"Fico's threats to cut off Ukraine's emergency power supply this winter while Russia attacks our power plants and energy grid can only be explained by this."
The comments came after Fico on December 27 threatened to halt supplies of electricity to Ukraine if Kyiv blocks transit of Russian gas to Slovakia.
Ukraine has announced it will not extend the transit contract of Russian state-owned company Gazprom after January 1 -- ceasing deliveries of gas to several European nations -- as the West looks to cut off the Kremlin's source of funding for the war.
The transport deal was signed before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and most European nations have since begun developing alternative sources of gas, although Fico says finding alternatives would be too costly for Slovakia.
Fico, along with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, has angered the West by continuing to have close ties to Putin despite U.S. and EU sanctions. Fico visited Putin in Moscow earlier this week and has offered to host potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
Zelenskiy said Slovakia accounts for nearly 20 percent of Ukraine's power imports.
"Slovakia is part of the single European energy market and Fico must respect common European rules," Zelenskiy wrote.
"Any arbitrary decisions in Bratislava or Moscow's orders to Fico regarding electricity cannot cut Ukraine's power supply, but they can certainly cut current Slovak authorities' ties to the European community," he added, suggesting the move would deprive Slovakia itself of some $200 million a year.
Meanwhile, as Russia's full-scale invasion grinds on toward its fourth year, Ukraine and Russia exchanged accusations of drone attacks in several regions as battlefield clashes intensified along the front lines, with the "hottest" fighting reported around the embattled Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.
Russian air defenses destroyed 56 drones overnight, the Defense Ministry said on December 28.
It said 28 drones were shot down in the Rostov region, 17 in the Voronezh region, and 11 in the Belgorod region, where local officials reportedly said two residents of a village were injured by shrapnel from a blast. The Russian claims could not be independently verified.
A Russian occupation official said on Telegram that four people were wounded in what he said was a Ukrainian drone attack that hit a car in the Russian-held city of Nova Kakhovka in Ukraine’s Kherson region early in the morning.
In Mykolayiv, the Ukrainian-held capital of a region adjacent to Kherson, the military said Ukrainian defenders had neutralized all 16 drones launched by Russia on December 28.
"Of the 16 UAVs launched, 15 were shot down, another one was a simulator. All 15 were shot down in the Mykolaiv region," the Ukrainian Air Force said
Earlier, a Russian drone attack in the city caused fires on the roof of a five-story residential building and on the grounds of a commercial enterprise, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegra.
He said that nobody was hurt, and that the military had destroyed 12 drones over the region overnight.
Russia and Ukraine have used drones regularly since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
There are mounting suspicions that the crash of a Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet earlier this week near Aqtau, Kazakhstan, that killed 38 of the 67 people aboard was caused by Russian air-defense systems on alert for Ukrainian drone attacks on the Chechnya region, where the jet was due to land in Grozny before it was diverted across the Caspian Sea.
Ukraine said its forces struck a "protected facility" of the Russian military in the Oryol region near the border with Ukraine. It said the target was a warehouse holding Iranian-made Shahed drones.
Also on December 28, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed it had thwarted a plot to kill a high-level Russian military officer and an unnamed Russian “war blogger” who writes about the invasion.
The FSB, whose claim could not be independently verified, said it had arrested a Russian man it said was acting under instructions from Ukrainian military intelligence. It said it had found a cache outside Moscow with an improvised explosive device camouflaged as a stereo speaker.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the FSB claim, which came 11 days after the general who headed Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces (RKhBZ) was killed, along with an assistant, by a bomb concealed in a scooter.
A source at Ukraine's SBU security service told RFE/RL that the blast that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant was the result of a special operation by the Ukrainian agency.
In the United States, White House spokesman John Kirby on December 27 said Washington has reports of North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian troops "taking their own lives rather than surrendering to Ukrainian forces."
He said the action was "likely out of fear of reprisal against their families in North Korea in the event that they’re captured. "
In a video address, Zelenskiy had said "several" North Korean soldiers -- badly wounded in fighting alongside Russian forces -- have died after being captured by Ukrainian troops on the battlefield.
Zelenskiy said, without providing details, that Kyiv had reports of North Korean "enforcers" executing wounded soldiers to prevent them being captured alive by Ukrainian forces.
Western sources estimate that 12,000 North Korean troops are in Russia's Kursk region, parts of which are occupied by Ukrainian forces amid ongoing pitched battles and reports of heavy losses.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian and Ukrainian services
Germany Says Baltic Cable Damage A 'Wake-Up Call' As Report Describes 'Spy Ship'
Germany's foreign minister described the suspected sabotage of a Baltic Sea power cable as a "wake-up call" for the West and urged the European Union to impose new sanctions targeting what is known as Russia's "shadow fleet."
Meanwhile, a media outlet focusing on shipping news and intelligence reported that the ship suspected of damaging the cable linking Finland and Estonia on December 25 was equipped with "special transmitting and receiving devices that were used to monitor naval activity."
The Eagle S "had transmitting and receiving devices installed that effectively allowed it to become a 'spy ship' for Russia," Lloyd's List reported on December 27, citing "a source familiar with the vessel who provided commercial maritime services to it as recently as seven months ago."
Finland seized the Eagle S on December 26, citing suspicions that it caused an outage of the Estlink 2 undersea power cable and damaged four Internet lines. Finnish investigators said the ship may have caused the damage by dragging its anchor along the sea floor.
Finnish and EU officials say the Eagle S is believed to belong to a "shadow fleet" of old, uninsured oil vessels used to bypass Western sanctions and maintain a source of revenue for Russia's economy and its war against Ukraine. The poor condition of these ships has also raised concerns about environmental disasters.
"The suspected vessel is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia's war budget," the European Commission said on December 26, suggesting the incident was part of a deliberate effort to damage "critical infrastructure" in Europe. "We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet."
In comments on December 28, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged "new European sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet," which she said is "a major threat to our environment and security" that is used by Russia "to finance its war of aggression in Ukraine."
"Almost every month, ships are damaging major undersea cables in the Baltic Sea," Baerbock said in a statement to the Funke media group. "Crews are leaving anchors in the water, dragging them for kilometers along the seafloor for no apparent reason, and then losing them when pulling them up.”
"It's more than difficult to still believe in coincidences," she said. "This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us."
With reporting by AFP and dpa
Showdown Looms In Georgia As President Calls Supporters To Tbilisi Streets
TBILISI -- On the eve of a potentially explosion day, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called for supporters to gather at the presidential palace on December 29 as she joined a mass rally against the Georgian Dream-led government’s moves to delay closer European Union integration.
"Greetings from the Orbeliani Palace,” she said in a video released to social media. "I am here, I will be here, I will spend the night here as well."
"Tomorrow, I will be waiting for you…at 10 a.m. -- and from here, I will tell you what tomorrow will be like. I will tell you what the following days will be like, and what the days of victory will be like."
A potential showdown looms on the streets of Tbilisi on December 29 as Zurabishvili has vowed not to step down at the end of her term on that day, claiming her successor -- chosen by an electoral college dominated by Georgian Dream -- was "illegitimate."
She joined protesters in the capital on December 28 as rally participants waved Georgian and EU flags, played music, and marched along the Saarbruecken Bridge in the capital to form a "chain of unity."
The rally marked one month since the start of the recent wave of anti-government protests, which have been met with violent police action, injuries, and mass arrests by Georgian authorities.
Protesters accuse the government of the Georgian Dream party of moving the country away from the EU and tilting closer to Moscow.
The political crisis erupted after Georgian Dream claimed victory in October parliamentary elections that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said was marred by instances of vote-buying, double-voting, physical violence, and intimidation.
The rallies intensified after a government decision last month to delay negotiations on Georgia joining the EU.
On December 24, Human Rights Watch called for Georgian security forces to be investigated for the "brutal police violence" against largely peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets for the demonstrations.
On December 27, the United States said it had slapped fresh sanctions on Russia-friendly billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister and the founder of the Georgian Dream party, for undermining Georgia's democracy for the "benefit of the Russian Federation."
"Under Ivanishvili's leadership, Georgian Dream has advanced the interests of the Kremlin by derailing Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic trajectory -- in direct contradiction to what was envisioned by the Georgian people and the Georgian Constitution," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The action prompted anger from the Georgian Dream party, while the Georgian opposition hailed the action and called on the EU to also move against Ivanishvili and other Georgian leaders.
Zurabishvili -- who has spilt with the government and backed the protesters early in the wave of rallies -- on December 22 called on Georgian Dream to set a date for new parliamentary elections by December 29.
In a show of Western support, U.S. Republican House member Joe Wilson on December 27 wrote on X that he welcomed the new sanctions and added that he had invited Zurabishvili -- "as the only legitimate leader in Georgia" -- to Donald Trump's presidential inauguration on January 20.
"I am in awe of her courage in the face of the assault by Ivanishvili and his friends" in China and Iran, Wilson added, without mentioning Russia.
Earlier this month, an electoral college dominated by Georgian Dream chose Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former soccer player and right-wing populist, as Georgia's next president.
His inauguration is supposed to take place on December 29, though the 72-year-old Zurabishvili, whose term ends this year, has said she will not step down, setting up the potentially tense showdown.
"Next week at this time, I will be president," Zurabishvili restated on December 27.
Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023, but ties with Brussels have been tense in recent months following the adoption in May of a controversial "foreign agent" law pushed through parliament by Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012.
Afghan Taliban Says Its Forces Struck Targets In Pakistan As Cross-Border Clashes Erupt
Afghanistan's Taliban-led government said Taliban forces targeted what it claimed were "centers and hideouts for malicious elements" it said were involved in a recent attack in Afghanistan, as an upsurge of cross-border fighting continues.
The statement from the Taliban's Defense Ministry followed reports of deadly early morning clashes on December 28 between Taliban forces and Pakistani border guards. It came days after the government said Pakistani aircraft bombed targets in Afghanistan in an attack it said killed dozens of civilians.
The ministry gave few details about the strikes, which it said were launched against targets in several districts behind the "hypothetical line" -- a reference to a portion of the border with Pakistan that Afghan authorities have long disputed.
Local sources told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that three people in Paktia Province were killed and two wounded by gunfire from Pakistani border guards, and that clashes also took place in the Khost province. The reports could not be independently verified.
There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani government. But the head of a community in the Kurram district told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that Taliban forces fired rockets at two security posts near the border at about 6 a.m., setting off fighting that continued for several hours.
The Taliban's Defense Ministry suggested the strikes on Pakistan were retaliation for what the Taliban-led government said were Pakistani air strikes that killed 46 civilians in Paktika Province, which also borders Pakistan, on December 24.
Pakistan says that militants from the Islamist group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are hiding across the border in Afghanistan, and Islamabad has repeatedly asked the Afghan Taliban to take action against them. The Afghan Taliban say the TTP is in Pakistan.
There has been a steady increase in TTP attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan.
With reporting by Reuters
- By RFE/RL,
- Kaisa Alliksaar,
- Kian Sharifi and
- Will Tizard
Why Iran And The U.A.E. Fight Over 3 Tiny Islands
Major oil exporters in the Persian Gulf region are keenly focused on who has control of a small archipelago in the middle of the Strait of Hormuz. Both Iran and the United Arab Emirates have made claims.
More Pardons In Belarus As Lukashenka Prepares To Extend His Rule
Authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka extended a wave of pardons ahead of a January presidential election in Belarus, ordering the release of 20 prisoners jailed on extremism charges his opponents and rights groups say were politically motivated.
Lukashenka's press service suggested the pardons were issued on humanitarian grounds, saying 14 of those ordered released have chronic illnesses and 10 of them have children. It said 11 of the 20 are women.
The press service claimed the prisoners had all sought pardons and expressed remorse, an assertion that could not be independently verified. It said that authorities would "monitor their behavior following their release."
Since July, Lukashenka has pardoned more than 225 people whom activists consider political prisoners. Rights groups have recognized nearly 3,600 people as political prisoners since the state launched a massive crackdown when pro-democracy protests erupted after Lukashenka, in power since 1994, claimed a landslide victory in an August 2020 election that millions believe was stolen though fraud. Many of those have served out their sentences.
Ahead of a January 26 election in which he is certain to be awarded a new term, Lukashenka may be seeking to signal to the West that he is easing off on the persistent clampdown that the state has imposed since the 2020 election.
But the crackdown continues, with frequent arrests and trials on what activists say are politically motivated charges. At least 1,253 people whom rights groups consider political prisoners remain behind bars, and the real number is believed to be higher.
Lukashenka has roped Belarus closely to Russia and has provided support for Russia's war on neighboring Ukraine, including by allowing Russian forces to invade from Belarusian territory, and he says Russian nuclear weapons have been deployed in Belarus. But over 30 years in power, he has often tried to capitalize on Belarus’ position between Russia in the east and NATO and the European Union to the west and north.
Putin Apologizes, Tells Azerbaijan Russian Air Defenses Were Activated When Jet Crashed
Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized over the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane this week, the Kremlin said, amid growing evidence that the jet was hit by a Russian air-defense missile in the Chechnya region before it went down in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
In a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Putin said Russian air defenses were repelling an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Chechnya’s capital, Grozny, when the plane was trying to land at the airport there, a Kremlin statement said.
Putin "conveyed his apologies in connection with the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace," the statement said, indicating that Putin acknowledged the plane was damaged over Chechnya but stopped short of stating a Russian missile strike was the cause.
"In the conversation, it was noted that…the aircraft tried more than once to approach the Grozny airport for landing," it said, adding that “at this time, Ukrainian combat drones were attacking Grozny [and the nearby cities of] Mozdok and Vladikavkaz, and Russian air-defense systems were repelling these attacks."
Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the possible violation of flight safety rules, the statement said. It said two Azerbaijani prosecutors were working with Russian law enforcement in Grozny and that Russian, Azerbaijani, and Kazakh authorities were working together at the crash site near Aqtau, Kazakhstan.
The Kremlin statement is likely to further increase suspicions that a Russian missile damaged the Embraer-190 jet before it was diverted to Aktau, across the Caspian Sea from Chechnya, where it crashed near the shore after a steep descent and burst into flames.
Evidence of a missile strike includes footage of damage inside the plane before the crash and images of the hole-pocked tail section after the crash, as well as comments from survivors who said they heard at least one explosion outside the plane over Chechnya.
Azerbaijani lawmaker Hikmat Babaoghlu told RFE/RL on December 27 that there is a "very strong" possibility that the plane was damaged by a Russian air-defense missile. He said that the "observations and conclusions drawn so far support the idea that the plane being shot down is the closest to the truth."
On the same day, White House spokesman John Kirby said U.S. experts "have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air-defense systems."
Reuters quoted an Azerbaijani source familiar with the investigation as saying results indicated the plane was hit by a Pantsir-S air-defense system, a self-propelled antiaircraft gun and missile system designed by Russia.
The crash has disrupted air traffic in the Caucasus and beyond. An Azerbaijan Airlines flight bound for the Russian spa town of Mineranlye Vody, not far from Grozny, took off from Baku on December 27 but then abruptly headed back after receiving a flight information notice that Russian airspace it was due to fly through was closed.
Azerbaijan Airlines later said it is suspending flights to several Russian cities, including Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Grozny, and Makhachkala.
Turkmenistan Airlines announced on December 28 that it was canceling all its flights between the capital, Ashgabat, and Moscow from December 30 to January 31, giving no reason for the decision. Turkmenistan borders Kazakhstan on the eastern shore of the Caspian.
Also on December 28, Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that restrictions were briefly placed on the operation of the airport in the Tatarstan regional capital, Kazan, to ensure flight safety, and media reports said that all departures and arrivals had been suspended.
Flights heading to Kazan from the Siberian cities of Tomsk, Surgut, and Kemerovo were redirected to an airfield in Nizhnekamsk, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the airport's press service.
No specific reason was given for the measures, which Rosaviatsia said had been lifted a few hours later. Russia has closed airports at times due to alleged drone attacks, and a drone attack hit high-rise buildings in Kazan on December 21.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Tatar-Bashkir, and North Caucasus services.
- By RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service,
- Vusala Alibayli,
- Rovshan Gambarov and
- Will Tizard
Azerbaijan Official: Passenger Plane Crash Caused By 'External Interference' (Video)
The crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Kazakhstan on December 25 was caused by "external interference," according to Azerbaijan's transport minister. Rasad Nabiyev said that the plane lost control after flying over an area of Russia where anti-aircraft systems are frequently in use. At least 38 of the 67 passengers were killed as it crash-landed near Aqtau.
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