Three people have been killed in an explosion at a weapons factory in Sterlitamak, in Russia's Bashkortostan, authorities said. The blast at the Avangard plant, some 1,500 kilometers east of Moscow, occurred on August 5 while the three employees were working to dismantle a pipeline. Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement that a gas-air mixture was responsible for the blast, without giving details. The Avangard plant is part of Russia's state-owned Rostec defense conglomerate and specializes in the production of parts for multiple rocket launcher (MLR) systems. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

An emergency meeting of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers, on the request of Iran and Pakistan, is to be held in Saudi Arabia on August 7, as Iran mulls its response to the killing in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, deemed a terrorist organization by the United States and EU. The meeting in the coastal city of Jeddah will include discussions on the "crimes of the Israeli occupation" and the "assassination of Haniyeh," the Saudi-based OIC said on August 5. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in Tehran that Iran requested the meeting alongside Pakistan. The OIC, which represents 57 Islamic countries, sees itself as the voice of the Muslim world. Unlike the smaller Arab League, it also includes influential non-Arab states, including Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.

An outspoken priest leading Armenia’s latest protest movement vowed renewed efforts to remove Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian from power as he continued to tour Armenia’s regions this month.

Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, who emerged as the leader of antigovernment protests last spring when tens of thousands of Armenians took to the streets to oppose a controversial border-demarcation deal with Azerbaijan, signaled that the movement needed to rethink its format after a violent police crackdown on its supporters in front of the parliament building on June 12.

Galstanian, who has accused Pashinian of making unilateral territorial concessions to Azerbaijan, calling for his resignation, has spent the past several weeks visiting towns and villages across Armenia and holding meetings with his supporters.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service during one visit on August 4, Galstanian said active antigovernment campaigns pushing for Pashinian’s resignation would resume in early September.

He did not disclose specific actions but mentioned that the second stage of actions would commence with an indoor meeting, rather than an outdoor public rally, where “ways to remove Pashinian” would be discussed with supporters.

“What will the second stage of the struggle be? The anti-Christ must leave in a very good way,” Galstanian said, referring to Pashinian, as he met with supporters in Armenia’s northwestern Shirak Province.

He added that the methods of the struggle would change as they had “drawn conclusions” from the government’s actions.

“We have seen a bloodthirsty anti-Christ, a blood-craving government, and have decided to change our tactics and methods so as not to give [the authorities] the pleasure of having that blood,” the archbishop said, without elaborating.

Galstanian again countered claims that his antigovernment movement had lost momentum or lacked unity regarding the issue of the prime minister’s resignation. He asserted that support for the movement had increased, claiming that more people were joining both inside and outside the country.

“This is an ongoing struggle, an unceasing struggle,” he said, adding that the movement will continue “until I’m dead and the people of this struggle are extinct.”

Pashinian, who has also toured several communities across Armenia in recent weeks, mostly receiving an outpouring of support from residents, including in border villages, has not commented on Galstanian’s recent statements.

Pashinian allies, meanwhile, continue to dismiss the archbishop-led movement as unpopular.

Arpi Davoyan, a lawmaker representing Pashinian’s ruling Civil Contract party, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that Galstanian’s statements about renewed protests neither worried the government nor needed to be taken seriously.

“Why should I be worried that some unsuccessful priest is wandering all over Armenia, trying to convince everyone of something by spreading lies and falsehoods? Should I now be worried that this person has announced the second stage of his falsehood?” she said.

Ukraine's newly crowned Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh on August 5 urged Russian athletes to speak out against the invasion, saying she was disappointed they have remained silent at the Paris games. The 22-year-old high jumper, who fled Ukraine following Russia's invasion of her country, won the women's Olympic high jump in Paris on August 4. Speaking to AFP at Ukraine's Olympic hub in northern Paris a day later, Mahuchikh said she was disappointed that Russian athletes competing in Paris under a neutral status have not spoken out against the invasion. "They did not say anything against this war," she said in English, adding she did not know "how it's possible to compete" at the Olympics without speaking up.

Kosovar police on August 5 shut down at least nine branches of the Post of Serbia near the northern border with bitter rival Serbia, prompting angry responses from Belgrade and ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.

Veton Elshani, a police official for Kosovo’s northern region, told RFE/RL that three facilities in North Mitrovica, three in Leposavic, two in Zvecan, and one in Zubin Potok were closed.

Elshani said the offices were operating without a license and without registering with proper Kosovar agencies.

The European Union, which has attempted to help Kosovo and Serbia to normalize relations, criticized the move by Kosovo and called on Pristina to reconsider the action.

“The European Union considers today’s closure of nine Post of Serbia branches in the north of Kosovo by the Kosovo authorities a unilateral and uncoordinated step, which violates agreements reached under the EU-facilitated Dialogue,” a statement said.

“Unilateral and uncoordinated actions cannot offer solutions to this or any other issue that belongs to the normalization process between Kosovo and Serbia. Closing existing services of Kosovo Serbs, without any new prior agreed arrangement, will further negatively affect the daily lives and living conditions of this community,” it added.

The United States, which has been one of Kosovo’s leading supporters but which has also criticized the government over actions regarding its Serb minority, also assailed the move.

“The U.S. government is deeply disappointed by the unilateral, uncoordinated actions taken by the government of Kosovo against branches of Serbian post offices in the north of Kosovo,” said a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Pristina.

Kosovo’s actions “put Kosova[r] citizens and KFOR soldiers at greater risk, unnecessarily escalate regional tensions, and undermine Kosovo’s reputation as a reliable international partner,” it added, referring to NATO's peacekeeping troops in Kosovo.

The move comes after Kosovar authorities in May closed several postal savings banks in the region, claiming they were being used by ethnic Serbs to receive salaries from Serbia and conduct payments in Serbian dinars, which were banned in Kosovo at the beginning of the year.

Serb List, the dominant Serbian political party in Kosovo, condemned the action, saying that it "violates the agreements reached in Brussels in 2015 under the auspices of the European Union.”

"By doing so, the entire dialogue and its legacy are annulled, and the European Union is undermining its already weak authority and reputation that it has in the eyes of the Serbian people," Serb List said in a statement.

Petar Petkovic, head of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo, called the Kosovar police action "illegal" and accused Prime Minister Albin Kurti of "directly provoking a war conflict."

Belgrade, which has never acknowledged Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence, still pays many ethnic Serbs at institutions in Serb-dominated parts of the country – where an estimated 120,000 ethnic Serbs still live -- in dinars.

Many also hold their pensions and get child allowances in dinars.

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EU Raises Concerns Over Kosovo's Move Banning Dinar Use, Urges 'Sufficient' Transition

The work of the Post has been hampered since February 1 following the decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) to declare the euro the only currency for cash payments.

The CBK justified the move by saying it has a "legal obligation" to regulate the financial system, especially an issue like the currency, which "has remained unregulated for a very long time."

The international community has criticized the decision, saying it did not offer enough alternatives for local Serbs. The EU urged a longer transition period in the move away from the dinar.

Even though it is not a member of the EU or its currency zone, Kosovo unilaterally adopted the euro in 2002 to help bring monetary stability and to simplify and reduce transaction costs inside and outside the country.

Colonel Irek Magasumov, a former "Hero of Russia" who last month was sentenced to 11 years in prison over the death of a teen girl in the Russia-occupied Ukrainian city of Luhansk, has rejoined Russian troops invading Ukraine, his wife said on August 5. On August 2, 2023, President Vladimir Putin awarded Magasumov with the Hero of Russia medal for taking part in the Ukraine. Shortly after, Magasumov was arrested and the medal was revoked. Investigators said Magasumov and a friend invited two young women to practice shooting with their pistols in Luhansk, which led to 18-year-old Darya Kiselyova's death. His lawyers said the incident was an accident, but he reportedly agreed to accept the verdict on condition he be allowed to rejoin his military unit, although many details remain murky. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government on August 5 said it would allow people in the country on visas issued by the former Western-backed government to stay for now, but that they wouldn’t be allowed back in without documents from a Taliban-approved diplomatic mission. The announcement by the Taliban's Foreign Ministry on the social media platform X clarified its July 30 announcement that it would no longer accept documents from consulates and diplomatic missions abroad staffed by members of the former government. The move is part of the Taliban's efforts to gain control of Afghanistan’s representation abroad since returning to power in 2021.

The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office on August 5 recognized Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation as an "undesirable organization." The office said in a statement that the foundation, which says it is dedicated to the promotion of liberal democracy and a social market economy, "distributes materials discrediting the Russian Federation's leadership and its domestic and foreign policies." The "undesirable organization" law, adopted in 2015, targets NGOs and media outlets that receive funding from foreign sources. Russian officials have used the designation, which was expanded in 2021, to marginalize dozens of foreign organizations. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Russia's Investigative Committee said on August 5 that a court in Moscow sent to pretrial detention Vyacheslav Akhmedov, the director of the Defense Ministry's Patriot Park near the capital, on fraud charges.

The committee said that the deputy chief of the Defense Ministry's Department for Innovative Development, Major General Vladimir Shesterov, was also detained in the case, and that a court decision on his pretrial restrictions was pending.

The announcement follows the arrests of several top military and Defense Ministry officials on corruption charges after President Vladimir Putin's dismissal of close ally Sergei Shoigu as defense minister in May and his replacement with former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov.

Akhmedov and Shesterov are suspected of embezzling 40 million rubles ($467,430) that had been allocated for the Patriot Park and an exhibition hall just outside Moscow.

The news comes after media reports last month said police had searched the park's offices.

The park was launched in 2016 and occupies more than 3,500 hectares. It includes military museums, a site for the reconstruction of historic battles, and the military's main Russian Orthodox cathedral, the Cathedral of Christ's Resurrection.

Some media reports said the construction and development of the park was supervised by Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov.

Ivanov, who holds the rank of major general, was arrested in April on bribe-taking charges. He pleaded not guilty. Shortly after his arrest, two businessmen -- Sergei Borodin and Aleksandr Fomin -- were also arrested in the case.

In mid-May, the chief of the Defense Ministry's Main Human Resources Department, Lieutenant General Yury Kuznetsov, was also arrested on bribe-taking charges.

On May 21, Major General Ivan Popov, the former commander of Russia's 58th Army who once complained about his forces' lack of support from Moscow, was arrested on fraud charges. Last month, he was transferred to house arrest.

On May 22, a Moscow court sent to pretrial detention the deputy chief of the armed forces General Staff, Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin, on bribery charges.

Also in May, investigators arrested Vladimir Verteletsky, a top official of the Defense Ministry's Department for Handling Armament Orders, on a charge of abuse of power.

Last month, Russian officials confirmed the sudden death of Ivanov's direct subordinate, Magomed Khandayev, in June.

A village in Kazakhstan's Qostanai region has been put under quarantine after 13 cows were diagnosed with anthrax poisoning. The region's veterinary department's chief told RFE/RL on August 5 that the 15-day quarantine will be prolonged if the cows die, adding that no anthrax was confirmed among tests conducted on village residents. The animals ingested the anthrax through contaminated plants and soil. No explanation was given for how the anthrax appeared in the area. In 2016 in nearby Qaraghandy region, two people died of anthrax poisoning. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all types of anthrax infections can cause death if they are not treated with antibiotics. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

Russia' Interior Ministry on August 5 added Kremlin critic and political analyst Fyodor Krasheninnikov to its wanted list on unspecified charges. In September 2022, the Justice Ministry placed Krasheninnikov on the list of "foreign agents." The Kazakhstan-born Krasheninnikov lived in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg from 1995. He fled Russia in 2021 after coming under pressure from authorities for his articles criticizing President Vladimir Putin and the government. Since Moscow launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Krasheninnikov has publicly condemned Russia's aggression against its neighbor. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Fears of a wider Middle East conflict intensified late on August 5 as a U.S. spokesperson confirmed that “several” American personnel were injured in a rocket attack claimed by pro-Iran fighters on a military base in Iraq.

"There was a suspected rocket attack today against U.S. and coalition forces at Al-Asad Airbase, Iraq,” the spokesperson said. “Initial indications are that several U.S. personnel were injured."

Details of the attack, potential casualties, and damages remain unclear.

One of Iran’s so-called proxy groups -- an Iraq-based militia -- claimed to have launched the assault on the base in Iraq’s Anbar Province that hosts some of the remaining U.S. soldiers in the country, just days after a U.S. air strike killed at least four pro-Iran extremists in Iraq.

Iran-backed groups have resumed rocket attacks on U.S. troops in recent days after a lull, apparently seeking to punish Washington for its close alliance with Israel.

The report comes as concerns grow that Iran, or one of its proxy groups, could seek revenge after the assassination in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Iran and its Lebanese Hizballah ally -- which has also been deemed a terrorist organization by Washington -- vowed to avenge that attack and other deadly strikes in Iran and Beirut that Tehran has blamed on Israel.

Iran on August 5 said punishing Israel will prevent further instability in the Middle East, but it added that it does not want to escalate tensions already running high after the assassination of Haniyeh.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Iran and its proxies against attacking his country and said Israel was already in a "in a multifront war against Iran's axis of evil."

The Tasnim news agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani as saying that "we believe that Iran is entitled to punish the aggressor within the framework of international law…. Iran will definitely and decisively take serious and deterrent measures by exercising its inherent right on the basis of international principles to ensure its security."

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What Hamas Leader's Killing Means For Talks Aimed At Ending Gaza War

"Iran believes that stability will be achieved with the punishment of the aggressor," he added.

Israel has not taken responsibility for Haniyeh's killing in the Iranian capital in what has become a major embarrassment to the authorities in Tehran.

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Tehran on August 5, according to Russian state media, for a working visit with senior Iranian officials, including President Masud Pezeshkian, who was sworn in less than a week ago.

According to Iranian state media, Pezeshkian told Shoigu that Tehran was determined to expand relations with its "strategic partner” and expressed appreciation for Moscow’s support.

"Russia is among the countries that have stood by the Iranian nation during difficult times," Pezeshkian reportedly told Shoigu.

The IRGC said on August 3 that a short-range projectile was behind the killing and accused the United States of supporting the attack, which it blamed on Israel. The IRGC said in a statement that a rocket with a 7-kilogram warhead was used to target the residence of Haniyeh, who was the political leader of Hamas.

Citing unnamed sources, The New York Times reported that the blast that killed Haniyeh was a bomb covertly smuggled two months ago into the guesthouse where Haniyeh was staying in Tehran.

Kanaani said the international community, and the United States in particular, had failed to help maintain stability in the region.

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How Will Rising Middle East Tensions Impact Afghanistan and Pakistan?

A day earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged Washington's "iron-clad support" for Israel if Tehran were to launch an attack.

On August 5, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Washington has sent messages through diplomatic channels urging countries to tell Tehran that escalation in the region "is not in anyone's interest."

Miller told a briefing that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on August 5 with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on regional tensions, but he did not say whether messages had been delivered to Iran.

Washington and Tehran do not have diplomatic relations and messages are often transmitted by third-party nations.

As calls for de-escalation continue from around the globe, Tehran has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) over Haniyeh's assassination. The group, which consists of 57 states including all of Israel's neighbors, agreed to meet on August 7.

Tensions have been running high in the region since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7 that killed some 1,200 people, with another 240 being taken hostage as Hamas fighters retreated back into the Gaza Strip.

In response, Israel launched a withering war against Hamas that, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry, has left almost 40,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.

Then, on April 13, Iran attacked Israel with more than 300 drones and missiles -- which caused limited damage and casualties -- in response to a suspected Israeli air strike on the Iranian Embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 that killed seven Iranian commanders, including two generals.

With reporting by AFP and AP

Bulgaria's There Is Such A People (ITN) party on August 5 returned the mandate to form a government to President Rumen Radev -- the third party to do so since an inconclusive June 16 election. The move means Radev will have to schedule yet another parliamentary election within 60 days, most likely on October 6 or 13. The center-right GERB and centrist anticorruption We Continue the Change (PP-DB) political groupings earlier failed to form a government before the mandate was given to ITN on July 29. It will be the seventh general election in three years in the European Union's poorest country. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service, click here.

Police in Russia's northwestern region of Karelia detained blogger Aleksei Trunov for unknown reasons after searching his home on August 5. Trunov had planned to attend an event that day to commemorate thousands of victims of the Soviets' "Great Purge" campaign who are buried in Karelia's Sandarmokh area. In February, Trunov was convicted of discrediting Russia's military over online comments condemning the war in Ukraine and ordered to pay a fine. Also, on August 5, unknown individuals tried to forcibly enter the apartment of a pro-Ukrainian activist in Karelia, Andrei Litvin, whose colleagues say they have been unable to reach him by phone since the morning. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

At least one Russian warplane and ammunition storage facilities were destroyed in a Ukrainian strike on a Russian military base in the Rostov region, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said on August 5.

"Space intelligence data show that a Su-34 fighter-bomber was destroyed as a result of fire damage to the military airfield at Morozovsk on August 3," HUR said in a statement on Telegram, adding that satellite imagery show two more Su-34 aircraft were likely damaged in the explosion of the aircraft ammunition storage facility.

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"Large areas of burnt ground can be seen in the satellite images," the message says.

The Morozovsk air base is located some 265 kilometers east of the front line.

Russia did not comment on HUR's claim, which comes after the General Staff of Ukraine's military said on August 3 that it had struck the Morozovsk airfield and oil depots in the Rostov region, without giving details.

This is the second time Ukraine has claimed to have struck Morozovsk. On April 5, Ukrainian sources told RFE/RL that at least six Russian military aircraft had been destroyed in a massive Ukrainian drone attack on the Morozovsk airfield, where Su-24, Su-24M, and Su-34 bombers had been reportedly stationed at the time.

That claim could not be independently confirmed.

The Ukrainian Air Force, meanwhile, reported that its air-defense systems shot down all 24 drones launched by Russia early on August 5 at seven Ukrainian regions -- Kyiv, Vinnytsya, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, and Dnipropetrovsk.

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, infrastructure was damaged by falling debris, Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram.

On August 4, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy officially confirmed the arrival of the long-awaited F-16 fighter jets he has said are crucial to the defense of his country against invading Russian forces.

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"Now this is really a reality, a reality in our skies, F-16s in Ukraine," Zelenskiy said during ceremonies marking Air Force of Armed Forces Day in Ukraine, standing on the tarmac in front of the U.S.-made warplanes marked with Ukrainian symbols.

Zelenskiy did not specify how many F-16s were currently in Ukraine but said the air force "has already begun to use them for our country."

Kyrgyz prosecutors asked a Bishkek court to sentence Maya Alieva, who is the mother of late criminal kingpin Kamchy Kolbaev (aka Kamchybek Asanbek), to 10 years in prison on a charge of money laundering, lawyer Baktybek Jumashev told RFE/RL on August 5. Kolbaev, who was killed during a police operation in Bishkek in October 2023, was a leader of the so-called Brothers' Circle, a Eurasian drug-trafficking network. In 2014, the U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Kolbaev's criminal network. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.

The European Union has added 28 Belarusians to its sanctions list for their role in the "ongoing internal repression and human rights violations" in the country.

The listings "include various members of the judiciary, namely prosecutors and numerous judges who have issued politically motivated sentences, including against citizens who protested the fraudulent presidential elections of 2020, or who simply voiced their opinions" against the regime of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the European Council said in a statement on August 5.

Also placed on the list were two deputy chiefs of the Interior Ministry's Main Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (HUBAZiK). HUBAZiK is one of the main bodies responsible for political persecution in Belarus, "including arbitrary and unlawful arrests and ill-treatment, including torture, of activists and members of civil society," the statement added.

The Crisis In Belarus

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

Rights groups say tens of thousands of Belarusians have been subjected to "political repression" since Lukashenka claimed victory in a presidential vote in 2020 that the West and opposition politicians said was rigged.

Lukashenka, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994, has refused to negotiate with the opposition, whose leaders have mostly been arrested or forced to leave the country.

The European Council said in its statement that a group of "longtime supporters" of Lukashenka who had "benefitted" from the regime are also targeted in the latest round of sanctions, which now apply to 261 individuals and 37 entities.

The director-general of the biggest state news agency, the Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA), Iryna Akulovich, as well as the former director, Dzmitry Zhuk, were placed on the list, as well as the host of the Senate television program on the STV channel and the chairman of the Youth Council at the National Assembly of Belarus, Mikita Rachylouski.

"These regime propagandists willingly provided the Belarusian public with false information about repression perpetrated by the state authorities, spread disinformation produced by both Belarusian and Russian authorities, and promoted hatred towards democratic opposition and civil society," the statement said.

Those placed on the sanctions list are subject to an asset freeze in the EU, while the bloc's citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to them. Individuals are also subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through EU members.

Uzbekistan's Interior Ministry said on August 4 that its officers detained 30 individuals, including 12 foreigners, in Tashkent on suspicion of organizing illegal online gambling operations. According to the ministry, investigators confiscated 12 payment cards, 34 telephone SIM cards, 37 laptops, $1,400 cash, an Internet router, and seven mobile phones from the suspects. The ministry added that the suspects rented an apartment in the Uzbek capital, where only in the last three months they allegedly illegally generated $900,000. If convicted, the suspects face up to seven years in prison. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, click here.

More than 50,000 people have been detained for political reasons after mass protests broke out following the August 2020 presidential election, said Leonid Sudalenko, a member of Belarusian human rights center Vyasna and a former political prisoner. Calculations made by Vyasna concluded that at least 5,472 people have been convicted in politically motivated criminal cases, Sudalenko said. The protests were triggered by the results of the election that gave strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term in office despite extensive evidence of fraud. The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as the winner. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Mali's military rulers have cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine over its alleged involvement -- which Kyiv denies -- in an attack by rebels that resulted in the killing of dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries.

Armed groups in Mali's predominantly Tuareg north said they killed at least 47 government soldiers and 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries in fighting last month near the West African country's border with Algeria.

Following the rebels' announcement, Andrey Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), told the United News Telemarathon, without confirming Kyiv's involvement, that the rebels "received all the necessary information they needed" to defeat the Russian mercenaries fighting alongside Malian troops.

In a statement, the military government in Bamako accused Ukraine of supporting terrorism and violating Mali's sovereignty.

"The actions taken by the Ukrainian authorities violate the sovereignty of Mali, go beyond the scope of foreign interference, which is already condemnable in itself, and constitute a clear aggression by Mali and support for international terrorism," the Malian government said in a statement late on August 4.

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In a related development, Senegal's Foreign Ministry also summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Yuriy Pyvovarov over a post on the embassy's Facebook page in which the Ukrainian diplomat allegedly expressed support for the Tuareg in Mali.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the move by Mali's military rulers, calling it "short-sighted and hasty given that Ukraine is a victim of unprovoked full-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation."

"Ukraine unconditionally adheres to the norms of international law, the inviolability of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries, and resolutely rejects the accusations of the Transitional Government of Mali of alleged support of international terrorism," the ministry said in a statement on August 5, stressing that for decades Ukraine, "being one of the founders of the United Nations, actively supported the right of African peoples to independence and decolonization, including the Republic of Mali.

"Meanwhile, the Russian Federation, continuing its unprovoked full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, is destroying the architecture of international security, violating the goals and principles of the UN Charter, which in particular guarantee the right of African countries to a free future," the statement said.

"Ukraine reserves the right to take all necessary political and diplomatic measures in response to the unfriendly actions of the Transitional Government of the Republic of Mali," it said.

Mali, where military authorities seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, is battling a years-long insurgency. It has said Russian forces there are not Wagner mercenaries but trainers who are helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia.

Mali's military rulers have accused Tuareg and Islamist groups of collaborating, but in its statement, the rebel groups under the umbrella of the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD), said they had fought alone "exclusively from the beginning to the end" of the recent clashes.

The Tuareg people are a traditionally nomadic Berber ethnic group that live in parts of the western Sahara. Many have complained of being persecuted by the Malian military government.

Wagner was involved in some of the fiercest fighting of Russia's war in Ukraine, but its fate was put into question when founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash in August 2023, two months after leading a brief mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Wagner mercenaries who did not sign contracts with Russia's Defense Ministry after the mutiny are believed to have gone to Africa.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

KYIV -- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on August 4 welcomed the arrival of the long-awaited F-16 fighter jets he has said are crucial to the defense of his country against invading Russian forces.

"Now this is really a reality, a reality in our skies, F-16s in Ukraine," Zelenskiy said during ceremonies marking Air Force of Armed Forces Day in Ukraine, standing on the tarmac in front of the sophisticated warplanes marked with Ukrainian symbols.

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"We have held hundreds of meetings and negotiations to strengthen the capabilities of our aviation, to strengthen the capabilities of our air defense, our defense forces," he said.

"We often heard in response, 'This is impossible.' But still we made our ambition possible."

Zelenskiy thanked Kyiv's partners -- specifically the Netherlands and the United States -- for their help in providing the F-16s to Ukraine.

He did not specify how many F-16s were currently in Ukraine but said the air force "has already begun to use them for our country."

"I cannot yet say in detail what tasks will be performed or have already been performed by our first F-16 aircraft.... So far, there are a number of pilots in Ukraine who have already been trained. But this is not enough," Zelenskiy added.

The event was held at an undisclosed location, for security reasons.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian authorities have been asking the West to provide modern F-16 fighter jets. In 2023, several countries, with the consent of the United States, agreed to transfer such aircraft to Kyiv.

On July 31, Bloomberg reported that the first F-16s had arrived, with other reports putting the number at six, provided by the Netherlands.

Zelenskiy also instructed diplomats to organize a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, at which he plans to discuss the possibility of organizing alliance countries bordering Ukraine into a coalition to help shoot down Russian missiles, although he acknowledged it would be a "difficult" proposition for some allies.

Meanwhile, Russia claimed that its forces seized the eastern Ukrainian village of Novoselivka Persha, as Ukrainian authorities ordered the evacuation of civilians from areas of heavy Russian shelling in the Donetsk region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Moscow had "liberated the settlement," the latest in a string of villages in the eastern region that the Kremlin has claimed in recent weeks. Some of the villages consist of just a few streets.

Donetsk is one of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine that Russia claimed to have annexed in 2022, just months into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a Telegram post, regional Governor Vadym Filashkin said Russian forces continued to "destroy the cities and villages of these communities with aerial bombs every day, forcing the decision to evacuate children with their parents or other legal representatives" from several villages in the area.

"In total, we have to evacuate 744 children and their families from four communities to safer regions of Ukraine," he said.

"Another high-profile day in the Donetsk region is another example of Russian atrocities," he added.

Elsewhere, the Ukrainian armed forces downed five drones as Russia launched a wave of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles at several Ukrainian regions in the early hours of August 4.

Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on Facebook that five Iranian-made Shahed-type drones had been intercepted in the Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, and Zaporizhzhya regions.

The drones were launched from an air base in Russia's Krasnodar region.

Russia also fired two S-300 antiaircraft guided missiles and two Kh-59 guided missiles, the Ukrainians said.

Separately, the governor of Russia's western Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said an elderly woman had died in Ukrainian drone attacks on the city of Shebekino.

Ukrainian drones also targeted the villages of Saltykovo and Petrovka, according to Gladkov, who said a bus and a car were damaged but nobody was hurt.

RFE/RL is not able to independently verify combat reports inside Russia.

In Ukraine, Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on August 4 that 15 people, including a child, were injured in Russian shelling a day earlier.

Despite strong evidence to the contrary, Russia maintains it does not target civilians in its war against Ukraine.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has reported that at least 11,284 Ukrainian civilians have been killed by hostile actions since Russia invaded in February 2022, emphasizing that the real figure is likely to be much higher.

In Russia, the authorities have started sending out text messages to encourage people to enlist with the Defense Ministry and "immediately" receive 800,000 rubles ($9,400) after signing a contract.

Russian media first reported on the ministry's plan to launch an SMS campaign to recruit soldiers in June.

In addition to the sign-up fee, regional governors have the authority to pay soldiers from their regions extra cash to maintain competition for recruitment. Reports say the extra payments range from 1.12 million rubles ($13,200) in the Komi region to 1.7 million rubles ($20,000) in the Leningrad region.

Russia is trying to encourage enlistment to bolster its numbers in its war against Ukraine without formally declaring a mobilization, which could cause discontent.

In December, ahead of the presidential election in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that there would be no new mobilization announcements since there were already "half a million" soldiers on the front lines.

On the diplomatic front, Ukraine said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit three African countries in the coming days as Kyiv looks to bolster support on that continent.

Kuleba is scheduled to visit Malawi, Zambia, and Mauritius on August 4-8, the Foreign Ministry said.

Israel is already in a "multifront war" with Iran and its proxies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on August 4, as the United States and allies prepared to defend Israel from an expected counterstrike and prevent an even more destructive regional conflict. Tensions have soared following nearly 10 months of war in Gaza and the killing last week of a senior Hizballah commander in Lebanon and the top political leader of Hamas -- deemed a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU -- in Iran. Tehran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas says it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.

Tawain's Lin Yu-ting on August 4 was declared the winner of a women's boxing match over Bulgaria's Svetlana Kamenova Staneva -- prompting anger from the "indignant" Bulgarian coach, who claimed the gender controversy at the Paris Games influenced the judges' decision.

The action further heightened the debate brewing at the Paris Olympics and has raised questions from various boxing federations, including those of Hungary and Bulgaria, after two boxers who were disqualified from the World Championships last year were allowed to compete in Paris and went on to defeat their countries' participants.

Tawain's Lin and Algeria's Imane Khelif have been at the center of the storm, which came under sharper focus on August 1 when Khelif won her opening bout against Angela Carini of Italy, who tearfully pulled out of the fight after sustaining a series of crushing blows in the first 46 seconds of the bout.

SEE ALSO:

Gender Controversy Rages As Khelif Beats Hungary's Hamori To Win Olympic Boxing Medal

Lin and Khelif were disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after failing unspecified International Boxing Association (IBA) gender-eligibility rules but were allowed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete in Paris.

Both have reached the semifinals of their weight classes.

In the 57-kilogram quarterfinal match on August 4, Lin held back and attempted to strike Staneva from distance, according to Reuters. She received a warning from the referee for elbowing and twice went to the canvas after appearing to be tripped by the Bulgarian.

Lin, a two-time world champion, won the match by unanimous decision as all five judges marked her as the better fighter in the second and third rounds. Lin is now assured of winning at least a bronze medal.

Borislav Georgiev, the Bulgarian coach, claimed the gender debate influenced the judges into awarding Lin the win over Staneva.

"You could see that [Lin] did not want to fight," Georgiev said. "She was running all the time. She was playing dirty as hell, the very first round was for an official warning for an elbow."

"In general, I am indignant at the circus that is taking place. They have decided to make them champions and that's it," he added.

"I expected it, but I hope there are reasonable and honest people who will watch the game and support women's sports."

"We had the qualities and we were sure we would beat [Lin]. They just didn't let us," the coach said. Staneva did not immediately comment.

The 34-year-old Staneva had also lost to Lin at the World Championships, but that result was overturned and declared a no contest after Lin was disqualified.

IOC President Thomas Bach repeated on August 4 that there "was never any doubt" that Khelif and Lin were women and had every right to compete at the Paris Olympics.

The IOC alleged that the IBA gender tests were flawed and illegitimate.

Asked if the support of IOC leaders for the fighters might have helped sway the judges, Georgiev said: "100 percent. If your bosses are supporting something, you also work to support it. There's no other way."

Following the match, Lin did not mention the controversy and said she had stopped looking at social media before she began her Olympic quest.

Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female president, wrote "Let's cheer for Lin Yu-ting together" in a Facebook post before the bout.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who arrived in Tehran on August 4 on a rare visit to discuss rising tensions in the Middle East, said he was not carrying a message from Israel to Tehran, but he nevertheless pleaded for "peace, stability, and security" in the troubled region.

"I did not come to Tehran to convey a message from Israel to Iran or vice versa," Safadi was quoted by the Palestinian news agency Sama and Al-Jazeera as saying.

Jordan has generally good relations with neighboring Israel.

"My visit to Iran is to consult on the serious escalation in the region and to engage in a frank and clear discussion about overcoming the differences between the two countries with honesty and transparency," Safadi told a Tehran news conference alongside his Iranian counterpart, acting Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri Kani.

Safadi and Baqeri Kani spoke on the phone twice in the past two days to discuss developments in the Middle East after the assassination in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Safadi's trip to Iran was the first by a Jordanian foreign minister since March 2015.

Fears that the Gaza war could turn into a wider regional conflict have intensified as Iran and its Lebanese Hizballah ally have vowed to avenge deadly strikes in Tehran and Beirut that Iran has blamed on Israel.

In Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran and its proxies against attacking his country and said that Israel was already in a "in a multifront war against Iran's axis of evil."

"I reiterate and tell our enemies: We will respond and we will exact a heavy price for any act of aggression against us, from whatever quarter," Netanyahu told his cabinet, according by his office.

After the meeting in Tehran, the Jordanian foreign minister said in a statement that Amman wants the Middle East region to be peaceful, secure, and stable and wants to see an end to the tensions.

Safadi also called for an end to the Gaza war and the continuation of negotiations for the recognition of the Palestinian state.

The statement called the assassination of Haniyeh an "escalatory step" and warned that a regional war would have a "devastating impact on all."

Israel has not taken responsibility for Haniyeh's killilng in the Iranian capital in what has become a major embarrassment to the authorities in Tehran.

SEE ALSO:

What Hamas Leader's Killing Means For Talks Aimed At Ending Gaza War

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said on August 3 that a short-range projectile was behind the killing and accused the United States of supporting the attack, which it blamed on Israel.

The IRGC said in a statement that a rocket with a 7-kilogram warhead was used to target the residence of Haniyeh, who was the political leader of Hamas.

SEE ALSO:

Iran Says 'Short-Range Projectile' Used In Assassination Of Haniyeh

Citing unnamed sources, The New York TImes reported that the blast that killed Haniyeh was a bomb covertly smuggled two months ago into the guesthouse where Haniyeh was staying in Tehran.

Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron and Jordan's King Abdullah II on August 4 agreed in a phone call that an escalation of military actions in the Middle East must be avoided "at all costs," the French presidency said.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa

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