News
Ex-Employee Said Hacking 'Widely Discussed' At Murdoch Tabloid
Clive Goodman, the paper's former royal editor who was jailed for hacking in 2007, also alleged that ex-editor Andy Coulson, who went on to become Prime Minister David Cameron's media chief, tried to cover up the scandal.
The letter released by parliament's media committee directly contradicts claims by owner Rupert Murdoch's top aides, who repeatedly claimed that they were unaware of the hacking and that Goodman was a rogue reporter.
Allegations of widespread hacking at Murdoch's News Corp's British newspaper arm forced the company to close the 168-year-old "News of the World" and accept the resignation of two of its most senior newspaper executives.
The committee recalled four former Murdoch executives to testify on September 6 and said it may also recall James Murdoch, the tycoon's son, over alleged inconsistencies in his testimony at an earlier hearing in July.
James and Rupert Murdoch gave evidence to the committee on July 19 at which they denied responsibility for what they suggested was a failure of subordinates.
Former News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks, who edited the "News of The World" during the years some of the most serious hacking activities are said to have taken place, expressed regret over the misdeeds and admitted to knowing that the tabloid used private investigators in its efforts to find information for stories.
compiled from agency reports
More News
Arrests Spark Diplomatic Clash Between Iran And Italy
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Italian ambassador over the arrest of Mohammad Abedini, who is wanted by the United States for his alleged involvement in a deadly drone attack on an American base in Jordan.
Abedini was detained at Milan's Malpensa Airport on December 16, 2024, at the request of U.S. authorities who have accused him of defying sanctions and transferring sensitive drone parts to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The components were used in a drone strike in Jordan in January 2024 that killed three U.S. service members, according to U.S. justice authorities. Iran has denied being involved in the attack.
Iran's diplomatic move on January 3 came a day after the Italian Foreign Ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to Rome to protest the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was detained in Tehran on December 19, 2024.
Italy's Foreign Ministry has said Sala, who has a podcast called Stories that covers life in different places around the world, was in Iran to carry out "journalistic activities."
In a January 3 meeting with the Italian ambassador, Majid Nili Ahmadabadi, director-general for Western Europe in Iran's Foreign Ministry, said Abedini's arrest was "illegal" and called for his immediate release, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
Ahmadabadi also reportedly said that the United States was attempting to "take Iranian nationals hostage all over the world."
The Iranian authorities have remained silent about Sala's case since her detention in December 2024. After Italian media reported her arrest, Iran's Culture Ministry announced only that she had "violated the laws of the Islamic republic," without providing further details.
The United States has called Iran's detention of Sala, who was arrested three days after Abedini, "retaliatory." Media watchdogs Reporters Without Borders and the International Federation of Journalists have described her arrest as "arbitrary" and aimed at "extortion."
According to the website of the Il Foglio daily, where Sala works, the Milan Court of Appeal will hold a hearing into Abedini's case on January 15.
Several European countries and the United States have characterized the Islamic republic's arrest of Western citizens as "hostage diplomacy," claiming that Iran uses these detentions as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.
In December 2024, a Tehran court sentenced Reza Valizadeh, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and former journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Farda, to 10 years in prison for "collaborating with a hostile government."
After working for Radio Farda for 10 years, Valizadeh left the company in November 2022. He visited his family in Iran in early 2024 before being taken into custody on September 22.
Montenegro Cracks Down On Guns After New Year's Massacre
PODGORICA -- The Montenegrin government has announced a raft of new gun-control measures, following a mass shooting that killed 12 people, including two children.
The shooting took place on January 1 in the western Montenegrin city of Cetinje. Four other people were injured.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic announced the proposed new Law on Weapons on January 3 following a seven-hour session of the National Security Council, which is chaired by the country's president.
The proposed law will mandate the reverification of existing weapons licenses and impose severe penalties for those who fail to surrender illegal weapons within a two-month period. Spajic also said that hunting clubs would be verified and the authorities would establish an anonymous tip line where citizens can report illegal weapons possession for a reward.
Manhunt
The suspected shooter, Aco Martinovic, died on the way to the hospital after attempting suicide following the killings and subsequent manhunt.
Martinovic had previously had illegal weapons confiscated in 2022 and received a three-month prison sentence in late 2024, which he had appealed.
Police have not yet revealed the identities of the victims, but they are believed to have been relatives, friends, and godparents of Martinovic.
While estimates vary, Montenegro has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Europe. In the country of just over 620,000 people, there are about 245,000 firearms in use, according to the Swiss-based Small Arms Survey.
Other estimates suggest the figure is lower. According to 2022 police data provided to RFE/RL's Balkan Service, there are over 100,000 legally owned weapons in Montenegro, while illegal firearms are estimated to number between 40,000 and 80,000.
The prime minister also highlighted staff shortages in law enforcement, noting that around 1,000 police officers had retired in the previous two years. He announced his intention to expedite the hiring of 200 additional officers.
During the incident, Cetinje, a city and municipal area of around 15,000 people, was protected by only about a dozen officers. An additional 150 officers from the capital, Podgorica, and other cities later were brought in to assist with the manhunt.
Police Response Criticized
Addressing questions about the police response, Spajic said that all murders occurred within 20 minutes across five locations, describing it as "a tsunami of violence." He said that police only learned about the crimes after the eighth victim was killed. It took five and a half hours from the last victim's death to Martinovic's body being found.
During the National Security Council session, hundreds of citizens protested outside the government building, demanding changes in the leadership of law enforcement agencies. The country began three days of mourning on January 2.
The prime minister said there were no discussions about resignations in law enforcement, saying: "We need to support the police at a time like this."
When questioned about potentially dismissing Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic, Spajic said that he "never blames the people below him," though he acknowledged that a statement the interior minister made about returning to "normal life" after the incident was unfortunate. Saranovic also reportedly said that the police deserved congratulations for their response to the massacre.
The Action for Human Rights and the Center for Women's Rights NGOs called for a thorough examination of the police response, saying that Cetinje had only a minimal police presence despite being home to 120 known organized crime members and having experienced a similar massacre in August 2022, when an attacker killed 10 people and wounded six before being killed by a passerby.
The organizations questioned what security improvements had been implemented since 2022 and why Cetinje remained vulnerable to such incidents.
Ukraine Can Expect Further U.S. Aid Offers Before Biden Leaves Office, White House Says
Ukraine can expect more announcements in coming days about additional U.S. security assistance, a White House spokesman said as President Joe Biden’s term in office winds down.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a briefing on January 3 that additional announcements on the provision of U.S. aid to Ukraine can be expected in the coming days. He gave no specifics.
The announcements would follow a $5.9 billion package of additional military and budget assistance for Ukraine announced by the Biden administration last week amid concerns that the new administration under 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.
The White House said in a statement on December 30 that the aid includes an additional $1.25 billion drawdown package for the Ukrainian military and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package. The Treasury Department later on December 30 announced a separate $3.4 billion disbursement to Ukraine in direct budget support.
Biden said in the statement that the United States would continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine's position in the war, but despite his pledge, the $5.9 million package was thought to be the last during his administration, which is set to end on January 20 with the inauguration of Trump.
Kirby also announced that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin would travel to Ramstein, Germany, for a meeting next week of Ukraine Defense Contact Group on January 9.
Kirby had previously said that there was a possibility that another meeting of the group could take place before Biden leaves office.
Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed later on January 3 that Austin would leave for Germany on January 7 to attend the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
The meeting will “reaffirm our enduring commitment to Ukraine,” Singh said at a briefing. “Together with defense ministers and military leaders from around the globe, Secretary Austin will focus on delivering practical and coordinated support that reinforces Ukraine’s ability to defend itself today and deter aggression in the future.”
She said more details about Austin’s schedule would be announced in the coming days.
Asked about plans for future meetings of the contact group, Singh said it would be up to the incoming secretary of defense to decide whether to continue them.
She added that Trump’s transition team had so far met with 79 Pentagon officials about the transition to the new administration.
There has been no confirmation from the Trump team that his designated Ukraine envoy, retired Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, will travel to Kyiv in the coming days. Reuters quoted two sources with knowledge of the trip's planning as saying that Kellogg will visit senior leaders in Kyiv.
His team is working to set up meetings with leaders in other European capitals, such as Rome and Paris, they said. He is not planning to visit Moscow during the trip.
The meetings are expected to focus on fact-finding on behalf of the new administration rather than on active negotiations, the sources said.
The trip is seen as a sign of the urgency that Trump, who said he would end the war in Ukraine swiftly after his inauguration, has placed on quickly winding down the war.
Ukraine and other European countries have been skeptical about the claim and are concerned that a deal drafted by Trump could force Ukraine to give up territory to Russia in exchange for peace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a televised interview broadcast on January 2 that Trump's "unpredictability" could help end the war.
Zelenskiy said that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is afraid of Trump, who could be "decisive" in ending the war.
With reporting by Reuters
Zelenskiy Claims North Koreans Suffer Major Losses In New Kursk Fighting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said North Korean soldiers, fighting alongside Kremlin forces in Russia’s Kursk region, had suffered heavy casualties over the past two days amid mounting reports of losses for the Asian nation’s forces fighting some 6,700 kilometers from home.
"In battles yesterday and today [January 4] near just one village, Makhnovka, in Kursk region, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian paratroops," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
"And that is significant," he added, citing information relayed from Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskiy.
The report could not independently be verified.
The size of a battalion can vary in different military alignments, often ranging from 300 to 1,000 troops.
North Korean military support is coming at a critical time in the war. Russia is seeking to overpower an undermanned and under-resourced Ukrainian infantry and gain territory before its own manpower and resources become constrained.
Russia has lost more than 600,000 soldiers in the nearly three-year war, the Pentagon said in early October. It has burned through so much war material that it is struggling to replace its artillery and missile needs amid sweeping Western sanctions.
Zelenskiy on December 23 said more than 3,000 troops, or about a quarter of the North Korean special forces sent to Russia, had been killed or injured, though he acknowledged it was difficult to determine exact numbers.
Western and Ukrainian intelligence and military sources estimate that Pyongyang has deployed about 11,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces still occupy territory after launching a mass cross-border incursion in August.
In his address, Zelenskiy also said "fierce battles" were raging along the 1,000-kilometer front line, with the "hottest spot" near the important logistical hub of Pokrovsk, a city in the Donetsk region with a prewar population of 64,000.
Zelenskiy also said a rescue operation was under way near Chernihiv in north-central Ukraine, where a Russian missile assault had damaged some 40 buildings.
Local officials on January 3 said one person was killed and five were injured when three missiles hit a residential site in the area. A picture posted on social media by Chernihiv regional Governor Vyacheslav Chaus showed the shattered facade of a private home.
The person killed was an associate professor at the Institute of Postgraduate Education, according to Suspilne Chernihiv. Local media said the 72-year-old's house was burned down after it was hit by Russian shelling in March 2022. Since then, he had been living in a barn.
Five people were injured in an earlier drone attack in the Kyiv region, and four were hurt when the town of Slovyansk near the front line in the Donetsk region was shelled, officials said. All four were hospitalized. Among the injured is a 2-year-old boy, whose mother was injured in the attack and was in serious condition, said Mayor Vadym Lyakh.
Russian forces used a guided aerial bomb, which struck a private sector of Slovyansk at about 3 p.m. local time, a police representative at the scene told RFE/RL.
Zelenskiy said on X that in the first three days of 2025, Russia had launched 300 attack drones and nearly 20 missiles on Ukrainian targets. Most, he said, had been downed or intercepted, but he said the attacks had killed and injured people, prompting him to renew his plea for his Western allies to send additional air-defense systems
“We are already preparing for the upcoming meeting in Ramstein,” he said, referring to the next session of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on January 9 in Germany.
He said Kyiv will be working with partners there to spur additional arms to help fight off Russian drones, guided bombs, and aircraft that have been attacking crucial infrastructure as the winter cold deepens.
On January 3, a White House spokesman said Ukraine can expect more announcements in coming days about additional U.S. security assistance as President Joe Biden’s term in office winds down on January 20.
The announcements would follow a $5.9 billion package of additional military and budget assistance for Ukraine announced by the Biden administration last week amid concerns that the new administration under 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.
Meanwhile, Russian newspaper Izvestia said a freelance journalist working for the media outlet was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike near the city of Donetsk on January 4.
Izvestia and a group of journalists traveling with Aleksandr Martemyanov said the man was killed when a drone hit their civilian automobile "for from the line of contact."
With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service
Polish Farmers Protest EU Policies As Warsaw Assumes Bloc's Rotating Presidency
Polish farmers marched in central Warsaw on January 3 to voice their opposition to European Union policies toward imports from Ukraine ahead of a gala to mark Poland taking the rotating EU presidency for the next six months.
Farmers carrying Polish flags and blowing horns took part in the demonstration to protest the import of Ukrainian agricultural products, which they say has driven down prices for their goods.
"We protested last year and we will continue to protest because nothing has been fixed," said one of the farmers in an address to the protesters.
Imports of Ukrainian grain to the European Union touched off anger last year as farmers blocked border crossings demanding the re-imposition of customs duties on agricultural imports from Ukraine, which were waived following Russian’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The farmers say imports from Ukraine are flooding Europe with cheap grains, making it impossible for them to compete.
A participant in the Warsaw march on January 3 told RFE/RL that Poland's independence is more important than its membership in the European Union.
"The EU is welcome here, but it is a union of countries, not one country," the protester said.
The march coincided with a gala to mark Poland taking the rotating EU presidency, which featured its own controversy.
The the entire diplomatic corps was invited to attend the gala, held at the National Theater in Warsaw, but the Hungarian ambassador was barred because of Budapest’s decision to grant political asylum to a former Polish deputy minister accused of corruption.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski sent a note to Ambassador Istvan Ijgyarto that he was “not welcome” at the event, said Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, Poland's deputy minister for European Affairs.
Sobkowiak-Czarnecka told public broadcaster TVP Info that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was also not invited to the evening event.
Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said this was a consequence of Hungary granting political asylum to Marcin Romanowski, a former deputy justice minister in the former government led by the Law and Justice party.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told the Hungarian news outlet HVG that the decision was a "pathetic and childish."
Poland last month summoned Hungary's ambassador over Budapest's decision, calling the move a "hostile act" that runs counter to the principle of loyal cooperation among members of the European Union.
Polish prosecutors have charged Romanowski with 11 offenses, including participation in an organized crime group and attempted embezzlement of funds totaling almost 40 million euros ($41 million) from a fund for crime victims that he supervised.
Romanowski denies the charges and had has argued that he is the victim of political retribution by Tusk's government.
When the Hungarian prime minister's office announced that it had granted asylum to Romanowski, it accused the Polish government of persecuting its political opponents.
The gala featured speeches by Tusk and new European Council President Antonio Costa.
Tusk stressed the importance of “security, competitiveness, innovation, imagination, courage [and] good leadership" as “sources of strength."
"If Europe is weak, it will not survive," Tusk warned.
Costa said the European Union must continue to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
"We must continue to stand with Ukraine as much as necessary for as long as it takes to win a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace," he said.
Costa praised Poland for being "at the forefront of Europe's defense capabilities that we need to develop to protect our countries, our societies, our values."
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Moldovans Facing Gas Shortages Are Chopping Wood To Get Through Winter
Some Moldovans are scrambling to find ways to heat their homes days after gas supplies from Russia were abruptly stopped. As of January 1, Ukraine refused to transit Russian gas, leaving the breakaway Transdniester region and some nearby Moldovan villages cut off. RFE/RL spoke to locals who are now firing up wood stoves, burning biomass, and hoarding gas cylinders.
Zelenskiy: Ukraine Elections Possible This Year If Martial Law Ends
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said presidential and parliamentary elections could happen this year if negotiations bring an end to the "hot phase" of the war with Russia, allowing for the lifting of martial law.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
Speaking in an interview broadcast on Ukrainian television late on January 2, Zelenskiy said Ukraine's position after it emerges from any settlement of the current battle to repel invading Russian troops will determine whether the country's long-delayed elections could take place.
“When it comes to 2025, should we manage to achieve the end of the hot phase of the war for Ukraine; once we manage to achieve it along with a strong army, strong weaponry package, and strong security guarantees, then this [elections] will happen," Zelenskiy said in the interview where he was accompanied by his wife, Olena.
"After that, in principle, we can think of lifting martial law in Ukraine. Once martial law is over, then the ball is in parliament’s court -- the parliament then picks a date for elections...My thinking is that there is no need to spend years waiting [for elections] once martial law is over.”
Zelenskiy's five-year term in office was supposed to end last year on May 20.
The 46-year-old entertainer-turned-politician would not commit on whether he'd seek another term as the country's leader.
"If I do more than I can, then I will probably look at this decision more positively. Today, this is not my goal," he said.
A presidential election was to have taken place in March or April 2024, but was postponed because the country is still under martial law. Under the Ukrainian Constitution, Zelenskiy must continue to perform his duties until a new head of state is elected.
Parliamentary elections were to be held on October 29, 2023, but they too were postponed due to the implementation of martial law.
Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. It has been extended in 90-day intervals 13 times by parliament, with the most-recent extension running until February 7.
Lawmakers would have to amend the law in order to hold elections during a state of war. Many analysts and politicians have cited concerns over security, displaced voters, and infrastructure as major impediments to Ukraine holding any type of legitimate election under the current circumstances.
While Russia has questioned Zelenskiy's legitimacy because of the delayed election, the European Union has said it had no doubt about his status as leader of Ukraine, while the United Nations has backed him saying Zelenskiy "remains...the person with whom the secretary-general communicates when he needs to contact the Ukrainian leader."
"In Ukraine people have concerns about elections at the time of war and in Russia they strongly want this to happen -- that’s so they keep giving traction to their narrative about the [alleged] illegitimacy of Ukraine’s president,” Zelenskiy said in the January 2 interview.
Speculation that peace talks could start soon has picked up in recent weeks.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin dangled the prospect of Russian concessions before audiences in Washington and the West, saying more than once during his annual question-and-answer conference that Russia was ready for a compromise.
But he attached numerous conditions to the idea of compromise, suggesting Moscow’s goal of subjugating Ukraine and winning major security guarantees from NATO and the West remain in place, as well as saying he does not consider Zelenskiy a legitimate leader.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump -- scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20 -- has said he would move to end the war quickly, though he has given no details.
Moldovan Electricity Provider Says Demand Will Be Met On Third Day After Halt In Russian Gas Supplies
Moldovan state-owned energy trader JSC Energocom said it would cover 100 percent of electricity consumption on January 3, two days after supplies of Russian natural gas abruptly stopped due to the expiration of a supply contract with Ukraine.
Energocom said on January 2 that consumption is expected to be higher by about 10 on January 3, but it will still cover demand. Electricity consumption of the right bank of the Dniester River was fully covered in the first two days of the year, the government's crisis group announced on January 2.
The company says that in addition to local production from heating plants in Chisinau and Balti and local renewable energy sources, electricity will be purchased from outside the country.
The crisis group, established on December 26, said that on January 1 almost half of the country's electricity consumption was covered by imports from Romania and there was no need to activate contingency contracts or unintended flows.
Authorities in Chisinau, meanwhile, confirmed that the breakaway region of Transdniester, which has not been supplied with natural gas since January 1, is being provided with electricity after the power plant serving the region switched to coal-fired operation.
According to public data, Tiraspol has reserves of about 70,000 tons of coal, which could cover consumption of the region for 30 to 50 days.
The municipal administration in Transdniester's capital, Tiraspol, said it has natural gas reserves of about 13 million cubic meters, which is sufficient for about 20 days.
But people in at least 11 communities near Tiraspol had no supply of natural gas, heating and hot water on January 1. The city has set up 30 meeting points where people can gather to warm up and eat hot meals. Meanwhile, about 115,000 households are receiving natural gas supplies only for cooking, according to supplier Tiraspoltransgaz.
"For now, the situation is not critical," one man from the city of Tighina told RFE/RL's Moldovan service on January 2, noting he has been able to cope so far using his electric stove. "For others, maybe, it's worse," he quickly added.
Ukraine’s decision not to renew the contract allowing the flow of Russian gas through its territory deepened a rift between Kyiv and Bratislava.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on January 2 that the Slovak government will discuss retaliatory measures, including cutting electricity supplies to Ukraine, lowering aid to Ukrainian refugees, and demanding either the renewal of gas transits or compensation for losses.
"The only alternative for a sovereign Slovakia is renewal of transit or demanding compensation mechanisms that will replace the loss in public finances of nearly 500 million euros,” Fico said on Facebook.
Slovakia has alternative gas supplies, but Fico says Slovakia will lose its own transit revenues and pay additional transit fees to bring in non-Russian gas.
Fico said a Slovak delegation would discuss the situation in Brussels next week and then his ruling coalition would discuss retaliation for what he called "sabotage" by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy said on January 1 that the end of natural gas supplies to Europe via the pipeline traversing Ukraine is a major defeat for Russian President Vladimir Putin after accusing Moscow of “weaponizing energy.”
With reporting by AFP
Finland Seeks Seizure Of Oil Tanker Suspected Of Damaging Undersea Cable
Finland's national power grid operator (Fingrid) is seeking the formal seizure of the oil tanker suspected of damaging an electric power cable in the Baltic Sea last month.
Fingrid said in a statement it had filed an application with the Helsinki District Court to seize the Eagle S to help secure its financial claim for damages related to the breakdown of the undersea Estlink 2 electricity interconnector.
The cable between Finland and Estonia was suddenly disconnected from the grid on December 25 along with telecommunications lines. The Eagle S was detained by Finnish authorities and is being held in Finnish waters in the Baltic Sea pending an investigation.
Fingrid will begin a new inspection of the cable on January 3 to determine the scale of the damage and begin repairs, a Fingrid official told AFP.
"Further investigations at the damage site are expected to provide more information about the extent of the damages and enable more detailed planning and scheduling of the repair," Fingrid said in the statement.
Investigators have said they found a track on the seabed dozens of kilometers long indicating the ship dragged its anchor, but they have yet to find the anchor.
“The trail ends where the ship lifted the anchor chain, and from this place to the east [the trail] stretches for several tens, if not almost a hundred kilometers,” a representative of the Finnish investigation said in an interview with Finnish news outlet Yle.
Finland's customs service has said it believes the Eagle S, which set sail from a Russian port, is part of a shadow fleet of tankers used to circumvent sanctions on Russian oil. Investigators found it was missing an anchor after it was detained.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency on January 2 began an inspection of the tanker that it said is independent of the law enforcement investigation.
According to the global ship monitoring website MarineTraffic, the ship significantly reduced speed at the same time interference was detected in the electrical power cable, according to Finnish media.
Fingrid said last week it expected the cable to return to service in August. The cost of the repair work will be tens of millions of euros.
The owner of the vessel, United Arab Emirates-based Caravella LLC FZ, has previously asked that Finnish authorities to release it. The company has not responded to Fingrid’s request to seize the vessel.
Moscow has said Finland's seizure of the ship is not a matter for Russia.
NATO last week announced that it would strengthen its military presence in the Baltic Sea following the damage caused to the Estlink 2 and similar incidents in the Baltic Sea since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Energy and communications infrastructure in particular have been targeted as part of what experts and politicians call Russia's hybrid war with Western countries.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
Zelenskiy Says Trump Could Be 'Decisive' In Ending War
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a televised interview broadcast on January 2 that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's "unpredictability" could help end the war with Russia.
Trump, who is set to be inaugurated on January 20, has said he would end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office. Ukraine and other European countries have been skeptical about the claim and are concerned that a deal drafted by Trump could force Ukraine to give up territory to Russia in exchange for peace.
Zelenskiy said in the interview that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is afraid of Trump, who he said could be "decisive" in ending the war.
"He's very strong and unpredictable, and I would really like to see President Trump's unpredictability apply to Russia,” Zelenskiy said in the interview with Ukrainian TV.
He also said Trump promised in a recent conversation that one of his first meetings after the inauguration would be with Zelenskiy.
The Ukrainian leader has sought to build bridges with Trump amid concerns he could slow U.S. military aid or halt it entirely. Zelenskiy met Trump in Paris last month to discuss the war, and the idea of deploying European peacekeeping forces to monitor a potential cease-fire reportedly was on the agenda.
Zelenskiy said in the interview that he supports the idea of France deploying peacekeepers to guarantee a cease-fire but said “France alone is not enough” and stressed this would need to be a step toward joining NATO.
"We support this initiative, but. We would not want it to be one or two countries if it comes to this initiative. It should definitely be on the way to NATO," Zelenskiy said.
The idea of European forces in Ukraine is supported by some countries that have not yet spoken about it publicly, Zelenskiy said. But there are no specifics yet, he said, and a deployment of several thousand "demonstrative" soldiers would not work. There must also be naval and aviation support, he said.
Russia is against the deployment of Western peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of any settlement to end the conflict, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this week.
In an interview published on December 30, Lavrov said Moscow was “not satisfied” with that idea and others being proposed by Trump, including postponing Ukrainian NATO membership for 20 years.
Zelenskiy, who was interviewed together with his wife, Olena Zelenska, also discussed important achievements by the military in 2024, including the defeat of Russian plans to occupy Kharkiv, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhya and the incursion into Russia's Kursk region.
He acknowledged Ukraine's army is fatigued amid Russia's relentless assault on the front line but said the military "will do everything to stabilize the front in January," promising this should happen with the help of weapons due to arrive and with the return of Ukrainian military personnel who are training abroad.
Asked about elections, which have been postponed because of the war, Zelenskiy said he didn't know whether he would run for a second term but added that presidential and parliamentary elections are possible after martial law is lifted.
He suggested that this could even happen in 2025 if Ukraine manages to end the hot phase of the war in a strong position.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Montenegrins Express Disbelief In Wake Of Mass Shooting
Residents of Cetinje, Montenegro, said they were shocked over the fatal shooting of 12 people in the community on New Year's Day. The suspected shooter, Aco Martinovic, fired upon people in separate incidents before committing suicide, according to police. The Balkan nation declared three days of mourning in the wake of the killings, in which at least four others were seriously wounded. Cetinje also witnessed the fatal shootings of 10 people by a local man in 2022.
Thousands In Moldova's Transdniester Scramble For Heat, Hot Water After Russian Gas Flow Ends
Tighina, MOLDOVA -- Thousands of households in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester have been forced to cope without gas, heating, and hot water after supplies of Russian natural gas abruptly stopped on January 1 due to the expiration of a supply contract with Ukraine, a major transit hub for the gas.
The pipeline that runs through Ukraine, Russia's oldest gas export route to Europe, shut down at the end of 2024 with the expiration of the contract.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
The stoppage means Ukraine will forego around $800 million a year in transit fees. Russian energy giant Gazprom, meanwhile, will lose out on nearly $5 billion in gas sales.
But the biggest losers in the move may be Transdniester's 450,000 residents, many of whom, especially those living in apartment buildings, have been left without heating and hot water in a region totally dependent on Russian gas supplies.
"For now, the situation is not critical," one man from the city of Tighina told RFE/RL's Moldovan service on January 2, noting he has been able to cope so far using his electric stove.
"For others, maybe, it's worse," he quickly adds.
The municipal administration in Transdniester's capital, Tiraspol, has said it has natural gas reserves of about 13 million cubic meters, which is sufficient for about 20 days. However, the supply is intended mainly for hospitals and other "public and social institutions."
To help, the city said it has set up 30 meeting points where people can gather to warm up and eat hot meals.
Meanwhile, about 115,000 households are receiving natural gas supplies only for cooking, according to supplier Tiraspoltransgaz.
"We have started to adapt," one woman from Tighina told RFE/RL. "We have a stove, an electric hob, and we manage," she added.
The cut in Russian gas supplies to the rest of Europe comes as part of the diplomatic war that has accompanied the battleground fighting sparked by Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is nearing its third year.
The pipeline brought gas from Siberia to the Russia town of Sudzha, which is now under the control of Ukrainian soldiers in Russia's Kursk region.
From there it flowed through Ukraine to Slovakia, where the Soviet-era pipeline splits into branches going to the Czech Republic and Austria.
Ukraine repeatedly said it would not sign a new deal to replace the one expiring due to the war. The decision also aligns with efforts by Ukraine and its allies to cut off Kremlin sources of funding for the war.
Alternative Energy Sources
Russia used to supply a little under half of the European Union's natural gas, but the EU drastically reduced its dependency on that supply after the outbreak of the war.
Europe has found alternative energy sources, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) provided by the United States and Qatar and a piped supply from Norway.
The remaining buyers of the Russian gas traversing Ukraine, including Slovakia and Austria, have arranged for alternative supplies, and analysts foresee minimal market impact from the stoppage.
Austria's Energy Ministry said the natural gas supply for consumers was guaranteed thanks to purchases made for gas flowing through Italy and Germany and the filling of storage.
Slovakia will also not risk a shortage, though it faces an extra 177 million euros ($184 million) in fees for alternative routes, its Economy Ministry said.
European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said EU preparations ahead of the end of the contract had included energy efficiency measures, renewable energy development, and a flexible gas system.
Most Russian gas routes to Europe are now shut, including Yamal-Europe via Belarus and the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic, which were blown up in 2022.
Hungary and other countries continue to receive Russian gas from the south via the TurkStream pipeline on the bottom of the Black Sea. Hungary and Slovakia, which have close ties with the Kremlin despite the war, had been keen to continue deliveries through the Ukrainian route.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on January 1 that the end of natural gas supplies to Europe via a major pipeline traversing Ukraine is one of the "biggest defeats" for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As a result of Russia weaponizing energy and resorting to cynical blackmail of partners, Moscow lost one of the most profitable and geographically accessible markets,” he said.
Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Is Preparing To Reestablish Diplomatic Ties With Syria
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv is making preparations to reestablish ties with Syria after a diplomatic mission led by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha visited Damascus to meet with the Middle Eastern country's new leadership.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
The Ukrainian delegation met with Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa and other interim government figures on December 30 after the Russia-backed administration of ousted President Bashar al-Assad was toppled earlier this month.
"We are preparing to restore diplomatic relations with Syria and the interaction with international organizations. I would like to thank our intelligence for securing the basis for these contacts as a result of the visit," Zelenskiy said in a video on social media on January 2.
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.
Ukraine has moved quickly to establish a line of communication with the new Syrian leaders saying it is interested in stabilizing the situation and believes it is essential for Syria's security to remove any Russian presence from the country.
Zelenskiy announced earlier this week that Ukraine had delivered 500 tons of wheat flour to Syria as part of its "Grain from Ukraine" initiative.
Russia granted Assad and his family asylum earlier this month after they fled Damascus on December 8.
Kremlin aides have said Moscow is in contact with Syria's new administration at both a diplomatic and military level. Russia is concerned, in particular, about the fate of a naval facility and an air base it operates in the country.
Several media outlets, including The Washington Post, have reported that Syrian fighters received about 150 drones as well as other covert support from Ukrainian intelligence operatives ahead of their lightning advance through the country that culminated in the toppling of Assad.
Montenegro In Mourning After Mass Shooting In Cetinje Leaves 12 Dead
Montenegro began a three-day mourning period on January 2 following a deadly mass shooting incident on New Year's Day.
Twelve people, including two children, were killed in Cetinje after a gunman went on a rampage in the western city late on January 1. Four others were injured in the killing spree.
Authorities in Cetinje have announced that all planned events and public gatherings in the city have been canceled for the foreseeable future.
Officials said the suspected shooter, identified as Aco Martinovic, attempted suicide after a manhunt was launched and died while being transported to hospital.
Montenegrin Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic said at a predawn press conference on January 2 that the motive for the killings was unknown.
The victims were killed at five separate locations: four people each at the first and second locations, two children aged 10 and 13 at the third, and one person each at the fourth and fifth locations.
Police have not yet revealed their identities, but Saranovic said they included relatives and friends of the suspect.
Of the three men and one woman who were injured in the incident, one was in extremely critical condition and the three others were in a stable but life-threatening state, said Aleksandar Radovic, the head of the Clinical Center in the capital, Podgorica, where the patients are being treated.
"Two men and one woman are stable, and this morning they are in the process of being weaned off a ventilator," he said on January 2. "The fourth is in critical condition, he underwent surgery early this morning."
The rampage began after a brawl in a bar, officials said. Police said in a statement that the incident was "not the result of a confrontation between organized crime groups."
Martinovic had a conditional conviction in 2005 for violent behavior and had been sentenced to one year in prison, but was not considered a person of significant security interest, according to Saranovic.
He added that in 2022, weapons and explosives had been found in Martinovic's possession, leading to a three-month sentence.
The victims are believed to have been relatives, friends, and godparents of Martinovic.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic went to the hospital where the wounded were being treated and announced three days of mourning, beginning on January 2. New Year's concerts in Podgorica, Budva, and Kotor were also canceled.
Spajic also announced that the government would be looking to introduce stricter gun laws in Montenegro, which has long had comparatively high rates of gun ownership. "We will consider a complete ban on carrying firearms," he said.
President Jakov Milatovic said he was “shocked and stunned” by the tragedy. “Instead of holiday joy...we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Milatovic said on X.
Meanwhile, other regional leaders have expressed their condolences over the killings.
In a statement on his Instagram account, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, said he reacted to the news "with sorrow, disbelief, and regret." He also offered support, pledging "any form of assistance from Serbia."
Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, conveyed his sympathies in a telegram. "Unfortunately, violence has become an everyday occurrence and knows no borders," he stated.
Zeljko Komsic, a member of Bosnia-Herzegovina's presidency, also expressed his condolences and emphasized his support for Montenegro in a phone call with Milatovic.
The U.S. Embassy in Podgorica joined others in expressing its sympathy, saying in a post on X that "we extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wish a full recovery to those injured."
The rampage was the second in the past three years in Cetinje, which lies about 30 kilometers from Podgorica. In August 2022, an attacker killed 10 people, including two children, before he was shot and killed by a passerby in the city.
Pakistani Shi'ite, Sunni Leaders Reach Peace Deal To End Regional Clashes
Shi’ite and Sunni leaders in northwestern Pakistan on January 1 signed a peace agreement to end tensions and establish a permanent cease-fire after clashes believed to be linked to a tribal land dispute killed more than 100 people in the past 90 days.
A traditional gathering of ethnic, religious, and political leaders known as a Loya Jirga concluded in the regional capital, Quetta, after the parties signed the agreement. The meeting had taken place over the previous three weeks with the support of the provincial government.
The agreement comes after an attack on November 21, 2024, on a passenger convoy in the Kurram district killed around 46 Shi’ites and four Sunnis. Fighting between Shi’ite and Sunni groups subsequently broke out, killing around 130 people and injuring more than 200, including the initial attack on November 21.
An earlier attack on October 12, 2024, initially injured three people traveling to Kunj Alizu mountain before the gunmen attacked a convoy of passenger vehicles in the same area, killing 17.
Malik Abdul Wali Khan, a participant in the Loya Jirga, told RFE/RL on January 1 that Shi’ite leaders had first signed the agreement. Twenty leaders representing Sunnis then added their signatures on January 1. Some of the remaining leaders would sign the agreement soon, Khan said.
He added that after the peace agreement is signed by all the leaders attending the Loya Jirga, roads in the Kurram district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province that have been closed for nearly three months will be reopened and the government will be responsible for protecting them.
Roads in Kurram have remained closed despite repeated calls from the public for them to be reopened. Though the two sides reached a cease-fire brokered by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on December 1, 2024, key public roads have not reopened, according to local residents.
The road closures have led to severe shortages of essential goods, including food, medicine, fuel, firewood, and gas.
The provincial government had previously decided to deploy about 400 special police officers to secure the Parachinar road in Kurram by setting up checkpoints every few kilometers.
According to the agreement signed at the Loya Jirga, a strategy is to be developed within 15 days for the handover of weapons to the government. In return, the bunkers built by both sides in the area will be dismantled, and all people displaced by the unrest will be resettled back home.
The agreement also says that future land disputes will be resolved through oral and written documents and says the government will take action against those who spread hate on social media.
Romanians, Bulgarians Celebrate Joining EU's Schengen Zone
Bulgarians and Romanians celebrated the lifting of European Union land border controls as the two EU members gained full entry into the bloc’s free-travel Schengen Zone.
Fireworks lit up the sky at the border crossing near the Bulgarian town of Ruse just after midnight on January 1 as the interior ministers from the two countries symbolically raised a gate on the Friendship Bridge across the Danube River.
Romanian authorities said they will scrap 39 border crossing posts between it and Hungary and Bulgaria.
Though both Romania and Bulgaria have been members of the European Union since 2007, they were still subject to visa requirements across the EU. Objections from Austria, which argued that the two countries were not doing enough to stem illegal migration, had held up the process for years.
Joining the Schengen Zone now means citizens can now cross borders, neighboring and further afield, without passport checks.
Romania pledged to continue conducting random spot checks of identification documents to monitor illegal migration.
"This is a historic moment," said Bulgarian Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev who symbolically splashed water at the border checkpoint at Kulata. "From Greece in the south to Finland to the north and all the way to Portugal to the west -- you can travel without borders."
The Schengen area now covers 25 of the 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
With reporting by Reuters
- By RFE/RL
Hungary Loses Out On $1 Billion In EU Funding
Hungary has been officially denied some $1 billion dollars in European Union funding that the bloc had frozen because of corruption allegations.
The move, confirmed in an EU statement late on December 31, was the first time that it had taken such a step against a bloc member.
Budapest made no immediate statement about the expired funds.
That amount was part of a larger sum -- 19 billion euros ($19.7 billion) -- that had been frozen, dating back to 2022, when Brussels began "conditionality" proceedings against Hungary.
Those proceedings blocked the disbursements of funds because of allegations that the Hungarian government had violated rules on public procurement as well as a lack of control and transparency.
Budapest made a number of reforms that allowed some funds to be unblocked, but the deadline for the release of the latest installment expired on December 31.
That meant that Hungary lost the funding, which amounted to 1.04 billion euros ($1.08 billion).
In a report released in July, the European Commission said that Hungary did not meet EU democratic standards, specifically regarding political financing, conflicts of interest, and media independence.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban earlier promised to fight to protect money "that is ours.”
"They constantly try to take the money of Hungarians by a variety of means and a variety of methods," he said in December.
Hungary’s economy is sputtering, putting pressure on Orban ahead of new parliamentary elections scheduled for 2026.
With reporting by AFP
Russia Targets Ukraine With Scores Of Drones; Kyiv Says 63 Downed
Russia targeted Ukraine with scores of drones overnight, and Ukrainian officials claimed most were downed or jammed by air defenses. At least one person was killed in Kyiv.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
The January 1 air assault was the latest effort by Russia to batter Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and terrorize its exhausted population, nearly three years into Moscow’s all-out invasion.
Ukrainian authorities said one person was killed in Kyiv during the attack, and seven others were wounded by debris.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two floors of a residential building were partially destroyed and the body of a woman was later pulled from the debris.
Ukraine’s air force said in a statement that 111 attack drones in all were launched by Russia, and 63 of them were shot down. Another 46 were “locationally lost,” it said, meaning they were likely jammed by electronic warfare defenses.
"Even on New Year's Eve, Russia was only concerned about how to hurt Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram.
Though Ukraine has made major strides in protecting its energy infrastructure and building alterative backup supplies, the country continues to suffer regular blackouts and disruptions in central heating and hot water as Russia uses drones, as well as ballistic and cruise missiles to hammer targets.
Russia, for its part, said Ukraine had fired at least 66 drones at targets inside Russia. The Defense Ministry claimed all had been downed.
On the battlefield, meanwhile, exhausted Ukrainian forces struggle to hold back relentless Russian advances at multiple locations across the nearly 1,100-kilometer front line.
The logistics hub of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, is increasingly at risk of encirclement, and Russian forces are grinding down Ukrainian defenses near Kurakhove, Velyka Novosilka, and Chasiv Yar.
Further to the north, Ukrainian troops have steadily lost ground in Kursk, the Russian border region where Kyiv launched a surprise, cross-border invasion over the summer. Moscow has employed thousands of North Korean forces to help push back Ukrainian troops.
"We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war, something each of us desires," Zelenskiy said in 21-minute New Year's greetings video that was set against a backdrop of the blue-and-yellow national flag, battlefield scenes and pictures of children.
With reporting by Reuters
- By RFE/RL
End Of Russian Gas Transit A Defeat For Moscow, Zelenskiy Says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on January 1 that the end of natural gas supplies to Europe via a major pipeline traversing Ukraine is a major defeat for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
When Putin became president of Russia more than 25 years ago, the amount of natural gas transiting through Ukraine to Europe annually totaled more than 130 billion cubic meters, Zelenskiy said on X. Now it is zero, he said.
"This is one of Moscow's biggest defeats. As a result of Russia weaponizing energy and resorting to cynical blackmail of partners, Moscow lost one of the most profitable and geographically accessible markets,” he said.
Zelenskiy's comments came after Russian state gas giant Gazprom said that it had suspended gas supplies to Europe via the pipeline after Kyiv refused to renew a transit contract signed before Moscow’s all-out invasion in 2022.
The stoppage means Ukraine will forego around $800 million a year in transit fees. Gazprom, meanwhile, will lose out on nearly $5 billion in gas sales.
Zelenskiy said the majority of European countries had adjusted to the changes but noted that Ukraine and its allies must “support Moldova during the energy transformation period.” Moldova is still partially dependent on Russian gas.
He also said Ukraine hopes for an increased U.S. gas supply to Europe, saying that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to be inaugurated on January 20, had already mentioned this possibility.
“The more gas available on the market from Europe's true partners, the sooner the last remaining consequences of Europe's reliance on Russia will be eliminated,” he said.
Ukraine Invasion: News & Analysis
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's invasion, Western military aid, the plight of civilians, and territorial control maps. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
The stoppage, announced by Gazprom early on January 1 on Telegram, was expected after Ukraine had repeatedly said it would not renew the contract. It was not expected to cause major immediate problems for most European customers due to a yearslong effort by many countries to wean themselves off Russian gas.
Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and several Balkan countries had continued to use Russian gas shipped via Ukraine, though in smaller volumes.
Challenges In Moldova
Moldova, however, was more at risk, due to a major power plant that is fueled by Russian gas. Moldovan officials had declared a state of emergency last month in anticipation of the transit contract between Moscow and Kyiv expiring.
The Transnistrian Regional Power Plant, located in the breakaway region of Transdniestr, began shutting down early on January 1, and its operator, Tirasteploenergo, said it was cutting central heating and hot water supplies to all households and administrative buildings in Transdniestr except for hospitals.
Residents of the region were told where they could buy firewood and coal and were permitted to collect tree trunks, fallen branches, and other dry wood from forests for personal use, but must inform the forestry authorities in advance.
Residents have access to electricity from the power plant, but it is unclear how long it will last. Authorities in the breakaway region said this could be about 50 days, based on the supply of coal. However, estimates from officials at the Energy Ministry in Chisinau say it would be closer to 20 days.
Soviet-Era Pipeline
The Ukrainian Energy Ministry said the flow of Russian natural gas through the territory of Ukraine was stopped for national security reasons and it had informed its international partners about the move.
"We have stopped the transit of Russian gas, this is a historical event," Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said in a statement. "Russia is losing its markets, it will suffer financial losses."
The Soviet-era pipeline, which brought gas from Siberia to the Russia border town of Sudzha then into Ukraine, was the last major pipeline for Russian gas to Europe in operation following the destruction of the undersea Nord Stream pipeline in late 2022.
The Yamal-Europe pipeline, which brought gas to Poland via Belarus, has also been shut due to the Ukraine invasion launched in February 2022.
Many European customers have turned to alternative sources, including liquefied natural gas provided by the United States and Qatar and from Norway.
Austria's Energy Ministry said its supplies were guaranteed thanks to purchases made for gas flowing through Italy and Germany and earlier efforts to fill up storage containers.
Hungary and other countries continue to receive Russian gas from the south via the Black Sea TurkStream pipeline.
Fico Visit
Slovakia, whose prime minister, Robert Fico, made an unusual visit to Moscow last month, was also not expected to see any shortages, though officials said alternate supplies would cost an extra 177 million euros ($184 million).
In a statement released hours after gas stopped flowing, Fico predicted the move would have "dramatic consequences for all of us in the European Union" but not for Russia.
"Regardless of whether two elephants love each other or fight against each other it's the grass that invariably gets hurt," he said.
He added that he did not want Slovakia to be "that grass" and for this reason he would continue building a "dual-track" foreign policy toward the EU and Russia simultaneously and would "not interfere in the internal affairs of others."
In his post on X, Zelenskiy referred to the “hysteria of some European politicians who prefer mafia-style schemes with Moscow to transparent energy policy” but did not refer to Fico by name.
Zelenskiy last week was outraged when Fico met with Putin and subsequently threatened to cut off Ukraine's emergency power supply during the winter months over Kyiv's decision not to renew the pipeline contract.
Zelenskiy accused Fico of taking "orders" from the Kremlin to harm Ukraine and his own people while Russia attacks Ukrainian power plants and its energy grid.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Russian Judge Who Sentenced War Critic
The United States has imposed sanctions against the Russian judge who sentenced human rights activist Alexei Gorinov to seven years in jail for speaking against the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. Treasury Department on December 31 said it was imposing sanctions on Olesya Mendeleeva "for her role in the arbitrary detention” of Gorinov, a former Moscow municipal deputy.
Gorinov, 63, was the first man to be jailed under Russia's war censorship laws and is one of the most prominent jailed dissidents still inside Russia.
He was convicted in 2022 for spreading false information about the Russian army after telling a Moscow City Council meeting that children in Ukraine were "dying every day" as a result of Moscow's invasion. He also called the full-scale invasion a "war" rather than "a special operation," according to the Treasury Department.
"Known for handing down long and harsh sentences, Mendeleeva convicted Gorinov for knowingly disseminating false information about the Russian military, becoming the first judge in Russia to find a defendant guilty...for such a charge," the department said in a news release.
After serving two years of the seven-year sentence, Gorinov was handed a new three-year sentence in November on a charge of justifying terrorism based on alleged conversations with fellow inmates about Ukraine's Azov Regiment.
During the hearing, Gorinov firmly denied any ties to terrorism, calling himself “a committed internationalist and an opponent of war and violence.”
Mendeleeva was designated for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world. The sanctions freeze any assets the judge holds in U.S. jurisdiction and generally bars U.S. persons from dealing with her.
Earlier this year, Gorinov, who is in poor health, was transferred from a detention center in Moscow to a prison in the Vladimir region. He complained of harsh conditions, including solitary confinement in a cold cell without a mattress, blanket, or access to hot water.
Gorinov was relocated to a slightly improved cell after Dmitry Muratov, editor in chief of the Novaya gazeta newspaper and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross for an inspection of the conditions Gorinov was being held in.
The Treasury Department’s news release said Gorinov had suffered physical abuse and had been denied medical treatment.
It quoted Bradley T. Smith, acting Treasury undersecretary, as saying that Russia's manipulation of its legal system “silences dissent and suffocates the truth about Russia's indefensible war against Ukraine."
Smith added that the United States joins international human rights experts in calling for Gorinov’s release and the release of all others arbitrarily detained in Russia.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller also called on Russia to release Gorinov and all others arbitrarily detained.
“The United States stands in solidarity with the Russian people, who face threats, violence, reprisal, and imprisonment from Russian Federation authorities for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms in their own country,” Miller said in a news release.
Russian Gas Flow Through Pipeline In Ukraine Ends
Russian natural gas supplies to Europe via a pipeline traversing Ukraine are set to end on January 1 with the expiration of a contract signed before Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
The pipeline, Russia's oldest gas export route to Europe, was set to shut down at the end of 2024 with the expiration of the contract. Data from Ukraine's gas transit operator on December 31 showed that Russia had not requested any gas flows for January 1.
The operator said Russia had begun reducing gas flows through the pipeline hours ahead of the expiration of the contract signed in December 2019 between Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz.
The pipeline brought gas from Siberia to the Russia town of Sudzha, which is now under the control of Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region. It then flowed through Ukraine to Slovakia, where the Soviet-era pipeline splits into branches going to the Czech Republic and Austria.
Ukraine repeatedly said it would not sign a new deal to replace the one expiring due to the war. The decision also aligns with efforts by Ukraine and its allies to cut off the Kremlin's source of funding for the war.
Russia used to supply a little under half of the European Union's natural gas, but the European Union drastically reduced its dependency on that supply after the outbreak of the war.
Europe has found alternative energy sources, including liquified natural gas (LNG) provided by the United States and Qatar and a piped supply from Norway.
The remaining buyers of the Russian gas traversing Ukraine, including Slovakia and Austria, have arranged for alternative supplies, and analysts foresee minimal market impact from the stoppage.
Austria's Energy Ministry said the natural gas supply for consumers was guaranteed thanks to purchases made for gas flowing through Italy and Germany and the filling of storage.
Slovakia will also not risk a shortage, though it faces an extra 177 million euros ($184 million) in fees for alternative routes, its Economy Ministry said.
European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said EU preparations ahead of the end of the contract had included energy efficiency measures, renewable energy development, and a flexible gas system.
"The European gas infrastructure is flexible enough to provide gas of non-Russian origin to Central and Eastern Europe via alternative routes. It has been reinforced with significant new LNG import capacities since 2022," Itkonen said.
The consequences for Ukraine including giving up some $800 million a year in fees from Russia, while Gazprom will lose close to $5 billion in gas sales to Europe.
Most Russian gas routes to Europe are now shut, including Yamal-Europe via Belarus and the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic, which were blown up in 2022.
Hungary and other countries continue to receive Russian gas from the south via the TurkStream pipeline on the bottom of the Black Sea. Hungary and Slovakia, which maintained close ties with the Kremlin despite the war, had been keen to continue deliveries through the Ukrainian route.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week was outraged when Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and subsequently threatened to cut off Ukraine's emergency power supply during the winter months over Ukraine's decision not to renew the pipeline contract.
He accused Fico of taking "orders" from the Kremlin to harm Kyiv and his own people while Russia attacks Ukrainian power plants and its energy grid.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Announces Sanctions Against Russian, Iranian Entities Accused Of Election Interference
The United States on December 31 imposed sanctions on entities in Iran and Russia that it accused of attempting to “stoke socio-political tensions” through disinformation campaigns during the 2024 U.S. elections.
The U.S. Treasury Department said its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on a subsidiary of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and an organization affiliated with the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU).
“As affiliates of the IRGC and GRU, these actors aimed to stoke socio-political tensions and influence the U.S. electorate during the 2024 U.S. election,” the Treasury Department said in a news release.
The governments of Iran and Russia have targeted the U.S. election processes and institutions and have sought to divide Americans through targeted disinformation campaigns, said acting Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith.
“The United States will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy,” Smith said in the news release.
The Russian Embassy in Washington denied the accusations.
"Russia has not and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, including the United States," an embassy spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.
"As President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed, we respect the will of the American people. All insinuations about 'Russian machinations' are malicious slander, invented for use in the internal political struggles in the United States," the spokesperson added.
Former President Donald Trump of the Republican party defeated Democratic party candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump is to be inaugurated on January 20.
The Treasury Department’s announcement named Cognitive Design Production Center, a subsidiary of the IRGC, for allegedly planning influence operations since at least 2023.
It also singled out Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) as the newly sanctioned Russian entity, saying it circulated disinformation about candidates and directed and subsidized the creation of deep fakes.
CGE also manipulated a video to produce "baseless accusations concerning a 2024 vice presidential candidate," the department said. It did not specify which candidate was targeted.
The center used generative AI tools to create disinformation distributed across a network of websites that were designed to look like legitimate news outlets, the department said.
It accused the GRU of funding the CGE and a network of U.S.-based facilitators in order to build and maintain its AI-support server and maintain the network of websites.
CGE director Valery Korovin was also designated for sanctions in the announcement on December 31.
The latest action builds on sanctions previously imposed on the IRGC, GRU, and other proxy groups. The sanctions freeze any assets the entities hold in U.S. jurisdiction and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.
Earlier this year, the U.S. government said that Iranian authorities sought to stoke discord and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions using “social engineering and other efforts to gain access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both parties.”
The Treasury Department announced a round of sanctions against an Iranian national and employees of an Iranian cybersecurity company following that disclosure.
- By Current Time and
- Will Tizard
Russian Helicopter Downed By Ukrainian Sea Drone, Says Kyiv
Ukrainian's military said it has downed a Russian helicopter for the first time with a missile launched from a new-generation sea drone. In a December 31 statement, Ukraine said a water-based drone on the Black Sea was responsible for the attack. Until now, such drones have only been known for strikes against Russian ships or other marine targets.
Volunteers Race To Clean Oil Covered Coastline After Tanker Accident In Kerch Strait
At least 63 kilometers of coastline in Russia's southern region of Kuban has been covered by heavy fuel oil from two oil tankers that ran aground in the ecologically sensitive waters off Ukraine's Moscow-annexed Crimean Black Sea coast.
The Emergency Situations Ministry reported on December 31 that while almost 70,000 tons of contaminated sand and soil were collected from the coast, new pockets of fuel oil have been found.
The accident, which occurred on December 15, left one sailor dead and forced the evacuation of 26 crew members from the vessels Volgoneft-239 and Volgoneft-212.
Officials have said crew error during stormy conditions was to blame and there was no evidence of any links to Russia's war on Ukraine.
Both tankers were laden with large cargoes of fuel oil. The Volgoneft-212 is said to have been carrying more than 4,000 tons of the heavy pollutant, leaving the potential for one of the largest environmental disasters ever in the Kerch Strait, which is a key shipping lane.
Volunteers have been racing to clean up the spill but have complained that instead of receiving special equipment from the government, people were being forced to clean up the fuel oil with shovels and scoops while breathing in toxic fumes.
They said the situation is so bad that they appealed to President Vladimir Putin to intervene and send additional forces to clean up the shore and save marine wildlife.
"After 2 1/2 hours, even if you're wearing a respirator mask, goggles, gloves, and are fully protected, the fumes start to take a toll. You feel a headache, nausea, and start vomiting," Ksenia Vysotskaya, one of the volunteers working to clean up the Russian coast, told RFE/RL.
"I had to lie down for several hours afterward."
The vessels were were about 7 kilometers from the shore in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, when they issued distress signals.
In 2007, the strait, which links the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea, saw the Volgoneft-139 tanker split in half during a storm while anchored nearby, spilling more than 1,000 tons of oil.
Greenpeace called on the Russian authorities "to take all efforts to mitigate or reduce environmental impact of the oil spill, and withdraw the navy ships, and stop militarization of the region, returning Crimea under rightful control of Ukraine."
Experts have warned the environmental impact of the accident "is very likely to be astronomical," with the potential cost of cleanup seen at more than $100 million.
Russia uses "shadow tankers" -- vessels that are not Western-owned or Western-insured, to skirt sanctions that prohibit it from selling oil and oil products at rates that exceed a set price cap, which varies for crude and different kinds of oil products.
Andriy Klymenko, project director at the Kyiv-based Institute of Strategic Black Sea Studies, wrote on Facebook that the vessels are "not seagoing vessels" but are river vessels that are permitted to travel in coastal waters.
According to Klymenko, neither of the tankers was authorized to sail in seas where waves are higher than 2.5 meters, while he said the waves in the Kerch Strait were reaching 3.5 meters on December 15.
Ukraine Says It Downed Russian Helicopter With Sea Drone For First Time
Ukraine claims that for the first time one of its sea drones has downed a Russian military target in the air during a day of intense attacks by both sides as the war edges closer to its three-year anniversary.
Ukraine's military intelligence agency (GUR) said in a post on Telegram on December 31 that a Magura V5 sea drone equipped with missiles shot down an Mi-8 helicopter in a battle near Cape Tarkhankut on Crimea's west coast.
Another Russian helicopter, the GUR said, was hit by fire but managed to return to a Russian airfield.
"GUR soldiers destroyed an air target for the first time in the world using a Magura V5 naval drone," the intelligence agency said in the post, which had grainy video of what it said was evidence of the attack.
The video has not been independently verified.
The GUR claim came hours after air-raid sirens blared across Ukraine 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.
A woman told RFE/RL at the scene that she and her husband ran into a hallway of their third-floor apartment after hearing explosions. She said they taped up a broken window before more explosions and damage occurred.
"We put a blanket [on the window], but it did not help," she said.
She described her home as "half intact" and said the wind is blowing through it. She and her husband planned to spend the night at their daughter's home.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the nation later in an address to mark the new year that Ukraine must fight in 2025 to bolster its position both militarily and ahead of any talks to end Russia's three year invasion.
"Every day in the coming year, I, and all of us, must fight for a Ukraine that is strong enough. Because only such a Ukraine is respected and heard both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table," he said in his address.
"May 2025 be our year," he added. "We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war. This is what each of us wishes for."
Earlier on December 31, 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.
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
Russia Advances, Ukraine Struggles, The War Turns Grimmer For Kyiv
2Hundreds Of Ukrainian Marines Missing After 'Hell On Earth' Battle For Krynky
3Hungary Loses Out On $1 Billion In EU Funding
4After A Plane Crash, Putin's Partial Apology Speaks Volumes
5Anger Toward Russia Grows After Deadly Azerbaijani Plane Crash
6Russian Gas Shutoff Pumps Up Pressure On Moldova's Pro-Western Government
7The Woes Of The 155th: A French-Trained Brigade’s Problems Highlight Bigger Ukrainian Difficulties
8Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Is Preparing To Reestablish Diplomatic Ties With Syria
9Will The War In Ukraine End In 2025?
10Thousands In Transdniester Scramble For Heat, Hot Water As Russian Gas Flow Ends
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
