A 56-year-old ethnic Serb has been sentenced in the United States to three years in prison for possessing a residency permit obtained illegally by concealing his actions during the Yugoslav civil war more than 30 years ago.

Jugoslav Vidic falsely stated that he had never been charged with breaking any law when he applied to become a permanent resident of the United States, the U.S. Justice Department said in a news release on October 16.

He had in fact been charged in Croatia with a war crime against the civilian population before emigrating to the United States as a refugee in 1999.

"I never had any intent to do harm," Vidic told the court through an interpreter when he was sentenced on October 15. "I wanted to come here for the sake of my family."

Defense attorney Daniel Misiewicz said during the hearing that his client built a life as a sausage-maker in Parma Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. He was also a devout member of his church and a dedicated father of two, Misiewicz told the court, according to the local news outlet Cleveland.com.

"This is an extremely sad and difficult day," Misiewicz said. "He'll face the ultimate punishment of being deported after he built a life here."

In addition to concealing the war crimes charges, Vidic also made false statements about his past military service, saying he was in the Yugoslav Army from 1988 to 1989 when in fact he fought with the Serbian Army of Krajina and its predecessors during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1995.

Vidic pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an alien registration-receipt card -- known as a Green Card -- knowing it had been procured through materially false statements, the Justice Department said. As part of the plea agreement, Vidic agreed to be deported after he serves his three-year sentence in the United States.

Vidic admitted in his plea agreement that he was charged with a war crime in Croatia in 1994 and convicted in absentia in 1998 and admitted that he knew about the charges when he immigrated to the United States.

The Croatian court found that during an attack by ethnic Serbian forces in Petrinja, Croatia, on September 16, 1991, Vidic cut off the arm of civilian Stjepan Komes and let him bleed to death.

"Jugoslav Vidic lied about war crimes charged against him in an attempt to escape his past and live in the United States unlawfully," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.

"His sentence demonstrates that human rights violators will not be allowed to hide from their crimes in the United States," Argentieri added.

Katrina Berger, executive associate director of Homeland Security Investigations, said she hoped the sentencing of Vidic "provides some measure of solace to the victims' families with the knowledge that despite the passage of time, the United States will seek justice."

U.S. President Joe Biden announced a $425 million security assistance package for Ukraine as he updated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on his efforts to "surge" security assistance to Ukraine over the remainder of his term in office, the White House said on October 16.

The package includes additional air-defense capability, air-to-ground munitions, armored vehicles, and critical munitions to meet Ukraine's urgent needs, according to a White House statement that said Biden spoke by phone with Zelenskiy about addition U.S. aid to the country as it battles Russia's full-scale invasion.

Ukraine Briefing: News & Analysis Of Russia's Invasion

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

"In the coming months, the United States will provide Ukraine with a range of additional capabilities, including hundreds of air-defense interceptors, dozens of tactical air-defense systems, additional artillery systems, significant quantities of ammunition, hundreds of armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, and thousands of additional armored vehicles, all of which will help to equip Ukraine's armed forces," the statement said.

During the phone call, Zelenskiy updated Biden on his plan to achieve victory over Russia, and the two leaders "tasked their teams to engage in further consultations on next steps," the statement said.

Biden aims to shore up U.S. military support for Ukraine ahead of the November 5 election, which could return President Donald Trump to the White House in January. Trump has indicated he would seek to end the war quickly through negotiations, and many Republicans in Congress, including Trump's running mate, Senator J.D. Vance (Republican-Ohio), have opposed sending more military aid to Ukraine.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, have criticized Trump for saying he could quickly end the war, saying this would only allow Moscow to hold on to the parts of Ukraine that it currently occupies and seek further gains.

The White House statement said Biden and Zelenskiy committed to intensify security-assistance planning alongside Ukraine's international partners in order to ensure that Kyiv has the equipment it needs to prevail.

As part of this effort, Biden will host a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in November to coordinate their additional assistance, the statements said.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier on October 16 that U.S. support for Ukraine will be a big part of Biden's trip to Germany later this week.

Biden will not be able to meet with Zelenskiy while he is in Europe, but Jean-Pierre said that the United States wants to "be there for the Ukrainians" as they continue to battle Russian forces.

Biden rescheduled his visit to Germany after his original travel plan had to be scrapped last week because of Hurricane Milton.

The Uzbek Foreign Ministry has rejected Afghan media reports saying that the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan requested the cancellation of concerts or other musical events at a trade center located on the shared border.

The statement comes after the Afghan outlet Atlaspress reported on October 14 that the Taliban had requested the Uzbek government stop hosting musical performances at the Termiz International Trade Center.

According to the publication, the Taliban allegedly warned that if this request was not fulfilled, Afghan citizens might be barred from visiting the facility.

The Taliban, who follow their own interpretation of Islamic law, have been known to oppose music and public musical performances, which they consider contrary to their religious principles. This could explain why such a request may have been made to Uzbekistan, as musical events are held regularly at the center.

WATCH: The Taliban announced in August that it had destroyed over 20,000 musical instruments in Afghanistan in the past year. The extremist group considers instruments un-Islamic and permits only unaccompanied singing.

Embed share

In Afghanistan, The Taliban Wages War On Music

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:03 0:00

In a statement to Gazeta.uz on October 15, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry clarified that no such request had been made.

"We have not received any formal communication from the Afghan side regarding the cancellation of any concerts or music-related events at the Termiz International Trade Center," the ministry's press service confirmed.

The Termiz International Trade Center, which opened in late August, serves as a free-trade zone where visitors, including Afghans, can trade for up to 15 days using multiple currencies without needing a visa.

The center regularly hosts entertainment events, including musical performances and concerts by Uzbek artists.

Despite the claims from Afghan media, the Uzbek government continues to operate the center as usual, with no disruptions to the planned entertainment and cultural programs.

The center remains a key hub for cross-border trade and interaction, further strengthening ties between the two neighboring countries.

With reporting by Atlaspress and Gazeta.ru

The United States imposed sanctions on October 16 on individuals and companies that it said are part of a sanctions evasion network that funnels millions of dollars to Hezbollah in part through sales of illegal amphetamines.

The action targets three individuals and four Lebanon-based companies linked to Hezbollah's "finance team." The individuals have registered companies in their own names in order to conceal Hezbollah's interest in the activities, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

"The companies in turn provide Hizballah potentially lucrative business opportunities while also providing them access the formal financial system," according to the department.

The sanctions build on designations imposed in September on other individuals and entities linked to Hezbollah's corporate network. Those sanctions targeted Hezbollah finance officials who the department said masquerade as ordinary Lebanese business owners, as well as several of their companies.

The Treasury also placed sanctions on three individuals involved in the production and sale of the amphetamine known as captagon, who it said have funded the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its allies, including Hezbollah.

"Today's action underscores (Hezbollah's) destabilizing influence within Lebanon and on the wider region, as the group, its affiliates, and its supporters continue to finance their operations through covert involvement in commercial trade and the illicit trafficking of captagon," Bradley Smith, acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that the sanctions were imposed in support of the objectives of the Illicit Captagon Trafficking Suppression Act passed by Congress last year and signed by President Joe Biden in April.

The law requires the president to impose sanctions on foreign persons "determined to engage in activities or transactions to contribute to the illicit production and proliferation of captagon."

Miller said the "dangerous and highly addictive amphetamine harms communities and countries across the region and beyond and is a source of funding for the Syrian regime and its backers, including Hezbollah."

He said Hezbollah continues to launch rockets into Israel, further destabilizing both Lebanon and the region, and the United States remains steadfast in its commitment to "disrupt Hezbollah's access to the international financial system and its various methods of generating revenue, which the Iran-backed group uses to fund its violence."

"We will also continue to target the illicit captagon trade in the region, which has become an illicit billion-dollar enterprise operated in part by senior members of the Syrian regime," he said.

The sanctions freeze any assets held by the individuals and companies in U.S. jurisdiction and bar U.S. persons from conducting business with them.

Forensic evidence from an independent examination and seen by RFE/RL shows that activist Rifat Dautov died in January from internal bleeding due to multiple blows sustained after his arrest in Russia's Bashkortostan region. The evidence from independent experts determined Dautov suffered at least 48 blows from a blunt object, with injuries covering 30 percent of his body. He died in a police car shortly after being detained following protests demanding the release of opposition figure Fail Alsynov. Dautov had denied participating in the protests. Officials attributed his death to acute heart failure. Police officers admitted to interrogating Dautov in the police car but denied any physical violence. In June, the Investigative Committee refused to launch a criminal investigation against the officers, citing a "lack of criminal activity." However, Dautov's lawyer, Pavel Vasilyev, told RFE/RL that he continued to push for justice, with the investigation still ongoing. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities, click here.

Former Belarusian police captain and blogger Andrey Parotnikau went on trial on October 16 in Minsk. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on charges including treason, conspiracy to seize power, and facilitating extremist activities. According to the human rights group Vyasna, the trial is being held behind closed doors. Parotnikau, who once ran the Belarus Security blog, was detained in Moscow in March 2023 and extradited to Minsk. A source close to the case suggests that Parotnikau’s health has deteriorated significantly during his detention in harsh prison conditions. Parotnikau is one of hundreds of bloggers, journalists, and activists imprisoned in Belarus amid an ongoing crackdown on democratic institutions and dissent. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

The Russian government has approved a measure that cuts the quota for residence permits for foreigners in 2025 by almost half even as the number of workers entering the country has fallen to a 10-year low, exacerbating an acute labor shortage.

The government said on October 16 that the new quota was set at 5,500 permits, compared with 10,600 in 2023. The quotas are distributed across the country based on the applications.

The move comes as public sentiment toward migrants grows increasingly negative, with some 80 percent of Russians surveyed expressing concerns about the high number of migrants, particularly from Central Asia and the Caucasus.

SEE ALSO:

Central Asian Returnees Struggle To Find Work Amid Russia's Record-High Deportations

Hundreds of thousands of labor migrants from those areas legally reside in Russia on working visas allowing them to stay and work in the country for a limited period, while residence permits allow stays in Russia for years.

But many Russians have turned against migrants from Central Asia after a terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall entertainment center near Moscow in March that claimed 140 lives.

Several Central Asian men, mostly from Tajikistan, were arrested on suspicion of taking part in the attack. Since then, law enforcement agencies have ramped up raids targeting migrant communities.

Earlier in the week, Tajikistan's human rights commissioner, Umed Bobozoda, voiced concerns over the mistreatment of Tajik migrants in Russia since the terrorist attack, accusing Russian law enforcement of using illegal methods, including physical abuse and unjustified detentions.

Some Central Asian migrant workers have been forced to join Russian armed forces involved in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

SEE ALSO:

The West Cautiously Extends Migrant Worker Options For Central Asia

The number of residence permits issued in Russia has been decreasing since 2021, when the quota was 39,000. According to the Interior Ministry, only 20 percent of the 2024 quota had been used by mid-year.

In Moscow, the quota for permits dropped from 1,500 to 1,000, while the Moscow region’s allocation went from 750 to 350. St. Petersburg’s allocation fell from 300 to 200 permits, while Tatarstan and Bashkortostan saw a dramatic reduction from 500 to 100 over the past two years.

The October 16 reduction came a day after the Russian parliament’s lower chamber, the State Duma, passed a law tightening the process for obtaining residence permits.

Foreigners married to Russian citizens will now have to wait three years after their marriage to apply, a significant change from the previous rule that allowed immediate application.

With reporting by RBK and TASS

An Italian ship with 16 migrants aboard arrived in the Albanian port of Shengjin on October 16, the first that Albanian authorities have agreed to accept under a controversial deal agreed with Rome in November.

The ship, the Libra, is said to be carrying 10 migrants from Bangladesh and six from Egypt who were rescued at sea after leaving Libya for the Italian island of Lampedusa. All 16 are males who have been deemed "safe" by Italian authorities.

SEE ALSO:

EU, Chisinau Reject Reports Of Plans To Open 'Deportation Hub' In Moldova

Under the agreement, Tirana will accept migrants rescued while still at sea in international waters that fall within Italy's search-and-rescue area as their asylum requests are processed in two centers -- or reception camps -- in Albania. Both facilities will be staffed by Italian personnel and will operate under Italian jurisdiction, though security outside of the centers will be provided by Albanian guards.

As part of the process, the migrants retain their rights under international and EU law to apply for asylum in Italy. Judges will hear their asylum cases by video from Rome.

The plan, which Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described earlier this week as "bold" and "unprecedented," envisages the processing of up to 36,000 migrants a year in an attempt to ease a major issue that has plagued Italy and the European Union in general, with hundreds of thousands of migrants trying to enter the bloc via boats that set sail from northern Africa.

Some critics have warned the plan is flawed because the process for administering asylum cases is drawn out and those rejected are often not allowed back in their own countries because governments there restrict the number of repatriations.

SEE ALSO:

Poland To Suspend Right To Asylum After Tensions With Belarus On Migrants

Instead, those who do not qualify, the critics say, end up "leaking out" of detention centers and fan out across Europe illegally, forcing them to live under the radar.

Others question the cost of the program and whether its scope will make a difference in a country where 160,000 migrants arrived in 2023.

"In the last three days, more than 1,600 migrants have landed in Italy. An Italian ship is transporting 16 of them to Albania," Matteo Villa, a researcher at the researcher at the ISPI think tank, said in a post on X.

For Albania, the plan is a chance to bolster its case to join the European Union -- one of its main foreign policy goals -- by showing support and help for one of the bloc's most pressing problems.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on October 15 that his country had rejected many requests from European countries to accept refugees but made an exception for Italy, which has long-standing ties with Tirana.

KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has outlined a set of measures that he says would turn the tide of the war in Kyiv's favor and possibly end the conflict with Russia no later than next year, even as his embattled country struggles to stave off a slow but relentless advance by Russian forces and the decimation of energy infrastructure ahead of the coming winter.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

In his speech to parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on October 16, Zelenskiy called for the "lifting by partners of restrictions on the use of long-range weapons on the entire territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia and on Russian territory and on enemy military infrastructure" and help in "equipping our reserve brigades."

His five-point "victory plan," in which he ruled out ceding Ukrainian territory, also called for an unconditional invitation for Kyiv to join the NATO military alliance and the deployment of a strategic nonnuclear deterrent package in Ukraine.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelenskiy, told RFE/RL that Russia had built its "entire propaganda campaign" on Ukraine not joining NATO and used that point to justify attacks or provocations against Ukraine.

"The president (Zelenskiy) says let's send a clear political signal to Russia that it can no longer make an ultimatum...saying this is my region of influence and Ukraine cannot be a member of NATO," Podolyak told RFE/RL in Brussels.

Another point of the victory plan addresses Ukraine's competence after the war, which he said would have "great experience" and would be able to replace certain contingents -- primarily American -- that are in Europe now.

"Our partners are investing in security today. They should understand that there is already a specific competence of Ukraine, which will be realized later in this form," he said.

WATCH: Ukrainians shared their thoughts about Zelenskiy's plan to make Russia stop its war against Ukraine.

Embed share

Ukrainians Split On Zelenskiy's Peace Plan Potential

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:00:59 0:00

In his speech to parliament, the Ukrainian leader said he would present the plan on October 17 at a European Union summit in Brussel, adding that the plan had been discussed with leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany.

European Council President Charles Michel said on X that he had invited Zelenskiy to the European Council summit on October 17 "to take stock of the latest developments of Russia’s war against Ukraine and present his victory plan."

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told RFE/RL in Brussels on October 16 that he wanted to hear from Zelenskiy directly before commenting on the plan, but said Ukraine must receive better and stronger security guarantees because the security of Ukraine is Europe's security.

"People in Europe have to understand, I think, that we have been hesitating too much in the past in order to provide the required military capabilities to Ukraine," Borrell said. "And now we don't have to hesitate.... The only way to making [Russian President Vladimir] Putin...go to a negotiation table is to have victory on the battlefield. Otherwise, it would not happen."

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on October 16 that the victory plan was a "strong signal" from Zelenskiy but he said he could not say that he supported it.

"That would be a bit difficult because there are many issues that we have to understand better," he said.

In addition to the EU Council summit, Zelenskiy will attend a NATO defense ministers meeting on October 17, also in Brussels, according to NATO's revised agenda.

Rutte said that there was "no doubt" the victory plan would be discussed during that meeting. Responding to Zelenskiy's call for an unconditional invitation to join NATO, Rutte said Ukraine was closer than ever to joining the alliance and that it will happen when the time is right.

The Kremlin immediately dismissed Zelenskiy's plan, calling it a "diktat" from the United States.

"The only peace plan there can be is for the Kyiv regime to realize the futility of the policy it is pursuing and understand the need to sober up," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The Foreign Ministry said the plan meant "trouble for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people." Zelenskiy "is pushing NATO members toward a direct conflict with our country," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

WATCH: Ukrainian children as young as 12 are burning cars and other government property to earn some quick money, an exclusive RFE/RL investigation has found.

Embed share

Exclusive: Russia Recruits Ukrainian Kids To Burn Military Hardware For Cash

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:01:59 0:00

Zelenskiy has said he expects a response to the plan before the November 5 presidential election in the United States -- Ukraine's main ally and provider of financial and military help -- where a victory by Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump could cast doubt about Washington's continued support for Kyiv.

Zelenskiy's presentation came as Russia continued to keep up the pressure on Ukraine's cities and infrastructure while Russian forces are advancing in the east toward the crucial logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

LISTEN: Ruth Deyermond, senior lecturer in the Department of War Studies at King's College London, joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss the situation on the battlefield and the latest wave of talk about talks.

Embed share

Perception And Reality In The War Against Ukraine

by RFE/RL

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

---

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:45 0:00

Direct link

• 128 kbps | MP3
• 64 kbps | MP3

Pop-out player

On October 16, Russia attacked Ukraine with 136 drones and two guided missiles. Most of them were neutralized by Ukraine's air defenses, the air force reported on Telegram.

A total of 51 drones were shot down over the Sumy, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Ternopil, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolayiv, Kyiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, and Chernivtsiy regions, the air force said, adding that another 60 Russian drones were neutralized as a result of electronic-warfare measures.

In the western region of Ternopil, some 50 firefighters worked to extinguish a large fire caused by a falling drone, regional Governor Vyacheslav Nehoda wrote on Telegram, saying there had been no injuries.

Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its air defenses had downed three Ukrainian drones -- two over the Belgorod and one over the Voronezh region.

Russia launched a drone attack on Kyiv late on October 15, prompting the mayor to tell people to stay in shelters. Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram that drones were headed toward the large Troieshchyna neighborhood on the outskirts of Kyiv. Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said on Telegram that air-defense units were engaged in repelling the attack. There was no immediate information about potential damage or injuries. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said earlier that since the beginning of the day, 164 combat clashes had taken place at the front. The largest number of battles took place in the areas of Pokrovsk and Kharkiv.

At least one person was killed in a fire at the Pars Petro Shushtar refinery in Iran's Khuzestan Province, state media reported on October 15, as efforts to control the fire are ongoing. A local authority attributed the cause of the incident "to a tanker collision with gasoline tanks" and said the incident is under investigation. IRNA quoted a local official in the province as saying that several people were also injured. "Firefighters on the scene are trying to bring the fire under control," the official added.

A former journalist for RFE/RL who returned to Iran after many years abroad has been arrested in Tehran, a source told RFE/RL on October 15.

Reza Valizadeh, a dual Iranian-U.S. national, was arrested about three weeks ago and is facing charges, including cooperation with Farsi-language media abroad, one of his relatives told RFE/RL.

Iranian officials have not yet commented on Valizadeh's arrest.

Valizadeh left his job as a staff member at RFE/RL’s Radio Farda in November 2022 and stayed abroad for some time.

In his last post on X on August 13, Valizadeh said he had traveled to Tehran on March 16.

The post says that he had "half-finished" negotiations with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ intelligence organization, but in the end he returned to Iran after 14 years on his own responsibility and "without a letter of trust, even verbally."

It is not clear under what circumstances he wrote this post.

A large number of Iranians with dual citizenships have been arrested by the security agencies and charged with committing various crimes. Many of their properties have been seized or blocked, and in some cases their family members inside Iran have been pressured to force these people to return to the country.

Iran is accused of putting pressure on foreign governments to implement its demands by illegally arresting or "taking hostage" foreign nationals, including dual citizens.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry on October 15 summoned the ambassador of Hungary over EU sanctions against seven individuals and seven entities linked to Iran. Iran summoned the ambassador to condemn the sanctions, which were announced on October 14. Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. The ministry announced in a statement Iran's "strong objection" and said "resorting to illegal and coercive methods such as sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran is not acceptable in any way and will lead nowhere." EU foreign ministers approved the new sanctions after Kyiv's Western allies accused Tehran of sending ballistic missiles to Russia to aid in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions, reported in an exclusive by RFE/RL's Radio Farda last week, target companies and individuals accused of being involved in the transfer of the weapons to Russia, including the country's flagship carrier Iran Air, as well as airlines Saha Airlines and Mahan Air.

Kazakh national soccer team coach Stanislav Cherchesov sparked controversy by making a joke about the Kazakh language during a press conference following a game against Slovenia. When a journalist asked him a question in Kazakh on October 13, Cherchesov responded, “Are you now speaking French to me?” The comment drew backlash from people who accused him of disrespecting the state language. Adilet Barmenqulov, the president of the Football Federation of Kazakhstan, defended Cherchesov, explaining that the coach's joke was tied to the journalist’s French football jersey. However, sports commentator Bekasyl Seiitkhan, who asked the question, called the joke inappropriate. This is not the first time Cherchesov, a Russian national, has faced criticism over language issues. Despite enrolling in a Kazakh-language course, his remarks have fueled tensions in Kazakhstan, where language remains a sensitive topic amid broader geopolitical concerns, especially following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

A Russian man sentenced to prison on a charge of discrediting Russia's armed forces after an anti-war drawing by his teenage daughter drew attention to him was released on October 15, saying conditions inside the institution were horrible and that he fears he may not be free for long.

SEE ALSO:

Russian Police Arrest Father Of Sixth-Grader Who Drew Anti-War Picture

Aleksei Moskalyov was embraced by his daughter, Masha, as he left the IK-6 prison in the Tula region after serving 19 months in detention in a case that attracted global attention. Masha was placed in the custody of her estranged mother during her father's imprisonment.

Moskalyov told reporters upon his release that security officers questioned people from his unit in the penal colony, raising fears the authorities were preparing new charges against him.

Moskalyov was sentenced to two years in prison, following his outspoken online posts against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which came to light after his daughter’s drawing was reported to authorities.

Her drawing, made in April 2022, depicted a Ukrainian woman shielding a child from Russian missiles, with inscriptions such as “Glory to Ukraine!” and “No to war!”

The artwork prompted school authorities to file a police report, leading to the investigation of Moskalyov’s social media activity.

Initially fined 32,000 rubles ($335) under an administrative charge of “discrediting” the Russian Army, Moskalyov later faced criminal charges for additional posts on social media.

He was convicted in March 2023 and sentenced to two years in prison, though his term was eventually reduced to one year and 10 months.

During his trial, Moskalyov fled house arrest but was later apprehended in Belarus and returned to Russia.

Moskalyov said he had been placed in punitive solitary confinement several times for what his lawyers described as minor "violations" such as "failure to get up quickly" or "not having his hands behind his back."

He described the punitive cell as a "torture chamber" and said the 2-meter by 1-meter cell was rat-infested and so cold "it was impossible to sit on a metal bench inside."

About 2,000 people turned out on October 15 for the burial of 19 villagers who died when flash floods and landslides swept through Bosnia-Herzegovina earlier this month.

The burials took place at a cemetery in the town of Jablanica in southern Bosnia. Mourners stood behind a row of imams and other religious leaders who faced 19 coffins draped in green cloth, in keeping with Islamic tradition.

The coffins were then lowered into the ground and dirt was shoveled on top of them.

Funeral Service For Flood Victims in Southern Bosnia

No media source currently available

0:00 0:00:29 0:00

The 19 victims were from Donja Jablanica, a village outside Jablanica where the Bosnian Islamic Community's grand mufti, Husein Kavazovic, led a prayer service before the burial.

“No words are necessary,” said Kavazovic, addressing the mourners outside Jablanica Mosque. “Although the grief is deep and unbearable, we are aware that God decides about our lives. We are mortals.”

All the victims died on the night of October 4 when heavy rains caused torrential flooding and landslides. The storm sent piles of rocks, mud, and water into the village, demolishing many houses.

In the wider area of northern Herzegovina and central Bosnia, the amount of rain caught people by surprise, and entire areas were cut off as flash floods swept away roads and bridges.

In addition to the 19 people killed in Donja Jablanica, four people died in Konjice and three died in the area of Fojnica. One person is still missing.

• RFE/RL's Balkan Service

Bosnia-Herzegovina is attempting to recover from deadly flooding that has claimed the lives of at least 22 people and left several missing in the biggest floods the Western Balkan country has seen in decades. Road and rail traffic continues to be disrupted in parts of central Bosnia. Jablanica in the south of Bosnia suffered the most damage in the floods and landslides that hit the country. RFE/RL documented the extent of the devastation and ongoing rescue works.

Semir Jahic, a Muslim cleric from Jablanica, said 18 members of his congregation had died in the floods.

"This is a difficult and moving situation," he was quoted by the AP as saying. "We are too small a community to lose so many people in one day."

Bosnian government officials said the collapse of a quarry was the cause of the large number of victims in Donja Jablanica.

Rescue teams from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro assisted in the search for missing persons in the flooded areas during the past week, while engineering units helped in other recovery efforts.

Aid was also delivered through the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union for housing, electricity generators, water pumps, and other equipment needed by displaced persons, the Bosnian Security Ministry said on October 14.

Floods and landslides destroyed at least 230 buildings in Jablanica, and the estimated damage is around 25.6 million euros ($28 million).

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Moldova has signed a memorandum of understanding with a group of Western countries to counter Russia's hybrid attacks just days ahead of crucial elections that could cement Chisinau's path toward Euro-Atlantic integration and untether the former Soviet republic from decades of Moscow's influence.

The deal was signed in Chisinau on October 15 by Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi and the foreign ministers of the eight members of the Nordic-Baltic format -- Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden.

The visit comes just days after EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Chisinau to voice her support for Moldova's European path.

Popsoi, who is also deputy prime minister, said the memorandum would strengthen Moldova's institutional capabilities in the face of an increasingly aggressive Russian disinformation campaign.

Pro-Western President Maia Sandu runs for a second term on October 20 in an an election that takes place simultaneously with a referendum to decide whether Moldovans want their country to pursue integration into the European Union.

Under the U.S.-educated Sandu, who defeated a Russian-backed incumbent in 2020, Moldova -- a country of 2.5 million wedged between Ukraine and EU and NATO member Romania -- made a radical U-turn toward the West despite Russia's ceaseless attempts to destabilize Sandu's government.

Despite still having Russian troops on the territory of its breakaway Transdniester region, Moldova sided with Ukraine after Russia's unprovoked invasion and opened its border to tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.

One of the poorest European countries, Moldova secured EU candidate status in 2022 and opened accession talks with the bloc earlier this year.

Popsoi told the visiting diplomats that their presence in Chisinau sent a "political message" and represented a "clear sign of support for the European aspirations" of Moldova.

The Nordic Eight ministers' trip comes after von der Leyen on October 10 unveiled an economic support plan for Moldova in Chisinau that provides for 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) worth of investment in Moldova over the next three years.

A strong signal of support also came from the United States, where Senator Ben Cardin, (Democrat-Maryland), chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on October 11 urged tech giants Meta and Alphabet to do more on their social media platforms to fight Russia's "malign" involvement in the Moldovan elections.

Following Cardin's open letters, Meta, the owner of Faceboook, said on October 11 that it had removed a network of group accounts targeting Russian-speakers in Moldova ahead of the election and referendum.

On October 15, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said a 40-member-strong delegation of observers from the OSCE and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) observers are going to monitor the dual vote in Moldova.

Senior officials from around Eurasia have begun meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit under tight security in Islamabad amid a surge in violence by various separatist groups in Pakistan.

Thousands of security officers had the capital locked down on October 15 as seven prime minsters -- including from longtime ally China and the foreign minister of archrival India -- began to discuss security issues, regional cooperation, trade, and financial integrity among the 10 member states.

Early on October 11, unidentified gunmen shot and killed 21 coal miners in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan Province, which has been rocked by a series of militant attacks since the start of the year.

Baluch separatist groups, such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), designated as a global terrorist organization by the United States, are engaged in fighting against the Pakistani government.

Pakistan's northwest has also recently experienced a surge in militant violence.

On October 10, militants opened fire on a police vehicle in the city of Tank, killing two officers. Within hours the military said it had killed four militants in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

In other recent violence in the country, two Chinese citizens were killed in a large blast near the airport of Karachi that the Chinese Embassy called a "terrorist attack." The blast was claimed by the BLA.

The attack took place late on October 6 and it targeted a convoy of Chinese employees of the Port Qasim Electric Power Company Limited that was traveling from the airport, the embassy said. The Chinese citizens were working on the construction of two coal-fired power plants in Pakistan.

Member countries of the SCO, formed in 2001 by Moscow and Beijing, include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, and Iran.

India and Pakistan became full members in 2017, while Iran became a member in 2023 and Belarus in July 2024.

Leaders from India and Pakistan are not expected to meet during the SCO summit.

A Russian man was found alive in a catamaran two months after it went missing off the Russian Pacific region of Khabarovsk and drifted about 1,000 kilometers across the Sea of Okhotsk.

Mikhail Pichugin, 49, along with his brother and teenage nephew set sail on August 9 on a whale-watching excursion around the Shantar Islands but lost contact soon afterward.

The regional emergency office said in a statement on October 15 that Pichugin -- who had lost 50 kilograms during the ordeal -- was the sole survivor when fishermen found the vessel a day earlier.

According to a report by Russia's Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office, Pichugin is under investigation as authorities try to determine what happened and whether there were violations of water-transport safety rules resulting in multiple deaths.

To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

Russian forces struck the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv with S-300 missiles early on October 15, killing a woman and wounding 16 other people, regional Governor Vitaliy Kim reported on Telegram. Kim said the attack damaged civilian infrastructure, including a shopping center, residential buildings, and cars. Separately, Ukraine's air force said its defenses shot down 12 out of 17 Russian drones over 12 the Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Odesa, Poltava, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, and Cherkasy regions. Meanwhile, heavy fighting was under way in Ukraine's northeast in the direction of Kharkiv, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military reported early on October 15. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

Israeli forces launched fresh strikes on Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon on October 15 after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed no mercy for the Iran-backed militant group.

Multiple Israeli strikes targeted Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, taking a hospital in the city of Baalbek out of service, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.

The strikes came as Netanyahu vowed a ruthless response to a Hezbollah drone strike that killed four Israeli soldiers in central Israel on October 13.

Netanyahu, speaking during a visit to the military base where the four soldiers were killed, said Israel would continue to strike the group "without mercy, everywhere in Lebanon -- including Beirut."

Hezbollah -- which is considered a terrorist group by the United States, although the EU has only blacklisted its armed wing, and not the political party -- controls much of southern Lebanon.

The Hezbollah attack on the Israeli army base in the town of Binyamina was one of the bloodiest since October last year and employed a "swarm" of drones that were difficult to locate and destroy by the Israeli air defenses.

Israel's sophisticated air defenses have usually shot down Hezbollah's rockets without problems.

Following the deadly Hezbollah strike, Israeli strikes killed 41 people and injured 124 in Lebanon on October 14, the Health Ministry said. More than half of the victims were killed in the northern village of Aito, which lies outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.

Israel said it “struck a target belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” but the UN's human rights office in Geneva called for an independent investigation.

“We have real concerns with respect to…the laws of war,” said Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the human rights office. Laurence said the UN had received credible reports that a dozen women and children were among the dead.

In a televised speech on October 15, Hezbollah’s acting leader declared that the group is focused on “hurting the enemy” by targeting Haifa and other parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv. Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s deputy chief, vowed to “defeat our enemies and drive them out of our lands.”

Separately, Netanyahu's office said in a statement on October 15 that he will take into account the position of the United States -- Israel's main ally -- but will have his country's own "national interests" as a top priority as it ponders a response to a massive Iranian attack earlier this month.

"We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interest," his office said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Israel that it must increase the amount of humanitarian aid it is allowing into Gaza within the next 30 days or it could risk losing access to U.S. weapons funding.

The warning came in a letter to their Israeli counterparts dated October 13 that restates U.S. policy toward humanitarian aid and arms transfers.

A senior U.S. defense official said on October 15 that Blinken and Austin sent the letter as they saw a recent decrease in assistance reaching Gaza. The official said a similar letter sent by Blinken in April triggered “concrete measures from the Israelis.”

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the latest letter was a way to similarly address the problem.

Fears of an all-out regional war grew as signs indicated Israel could be preparing to launch a direct strike on Iran in retaliation for Tehran's strike on October 1.

U.S. President Joe Biden has warned Netanyahu against striking Iran's nuclear or oil facilities to avoid a further escalation of the conflict.

On October 13, Biden announced that he had ordered the Pentagon to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and troops to Israel as part of U.S. efforts to defend its ally.

With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters

A large number of state institutions in Ukraine on October 14 were evacuated after hundreds of schools, businesses, embassies, and media outlets received e-mails threatening a terrorist attack.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Authorities inspected schools, businesses, hotels, embassies, and media organizations -- including RFE/RL -- that received the threatening e-mail looking for explosive devices that the message said had been planted at those locations.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said 60 of its missions abroad had received the threatening e-mail, some of them suspending consular services.

The threatening e-mail mentions the names of RFE/RL journalists Iryna Sysak and Valeria Yehoshyna, as well as freelancer Yulia Khymeryk, whose activities the senders appear to blame for prompting them to plan the alleged bombings, although they did not mention any specific activity.

It follows an investigation published by the three journalists in the Skhemy (Schemes) investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service showing how Russian intelligence services recruit Ukrainians, including minors, to set fire to the cars of the Ukrainian military personnel and representatives of conscription centers.

Representatives of Ukraine's National Police who checked the locations -- including the office of RFE/RL in Kyiv -- said late on October 14 that they had not found any explosive device after searching some 60 percent of the threatened locations, but searches continued.

The message was sent by a person who identified himself as a representative of a "terrorist group" whose name matches that of an anti-Ukrainian Telegram channel, which has spread calls to burn cars belonging to Ukrainian military personnel and representatives of conscription centers. RFE/RL is not disclosing the name of the sender or the group for security and ethical reasons.

After receiving the threatening e-mail, Schemes also found out that a person with the same name as the sender of the threatening e-mail lives in Russian-occupied Crimea and has a Russian passport.

RFE/RL President Stephen Capus said RFE/RL was aware that its journalists had been named in the threatening e-mails.

"We will not be intimidated and stand behind our reporters who will continue to bring news to Ukrainian audiences without fear or favor," Capus said, pledging to fully cooperate with authorities in their investigations.

According to Schemes, the group that claimed responsibility for the alleged planting of explosives is actively spreading messages on social media calling for the burning of Ukrainian military vehicles and demonstrating the results of previous arson attacks. The recruiting effort offers $100 to those who agree to take part.

Artem Dekhtyarenko, spokesman for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Russia was trying to make it look like arson attacks are being carried out by ordinary Ukrainians when in fact the attacks are instigated by Russian security services.

The group's Telegram channel also shares videos of officers at conscription centers detaining Ukrainian citizens for mobilization and calls for persecution of these soldiers in exchange for a promised payment of $1,000.

Schemes also reported that in early October representatives of the same group sent messages to several Ukrainian government agencies offering to "kill for a fee" top security officials and public figures. They introduced themselves as an organization that "has long been engaged in the execution of orders for violent actions and the resolution of issues through physical elimination."

The group's website says that it provides "services" such as "racketeering, contract killings, car theft, bodily harm, arson."

The SBU's press service told Schemes that the mass mailing of threatening e-mails should be viewed as an operation aimed at spreading panic among the Ukrainian public.

Another Chinese Communist party official is visiting Serbia in the latest sign of close cooperation between the two countries.

Li Xiaoxin, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCPC) and director of the State Commission for Public Sector Reform, arrived in Belgrade on October 14, a month after the visit of Lin Wu, the party secretary of Shandong Province.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who met with Li, said Serbia is extremely proud of its “excellent relations, ironclad friendship, and overall cooperation with China.” Vucic posted a photo of the meeting on Instagram, saying that he and Li discussed economic cooperation between Serbia and China.

This cooperation is “dynamically developing” through numerous infrastructure and energy projects and “increasingly intense” investment cooperation, especially in mining and the automobile industry, Vucic said.

Serbia is one of the countries in China’s Belt and Road initiative to fund infrastructure projects with Chinese loans.

In addition to meetings with officials in Belgrade, members of the Chinese delegation are meeting with the leadership of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

The SNS said on October 14 that the visit comes after the establishment of cooperation between Serbia and China and after close party cooperation between SNS and the CCPC "paved by presidents Aleksandar Vucic and Xi Jinping."

SEE ALSO:

What Is Behind Serbia And China's 'Ironclad Friendship'?

Marina Ragus, a member of the SNS presidency and the vice president of the Serbian parliament, said the two countries are in a new phase of developing bilateral relations and have continued to support each other since Xi's visit to Serbia in May. She did not respond to RFE/RL’s inquiry about the frequent visits by Chinese party delegations.

Vuk Vuksanovic, a senior researcher at the Belgrade Center for Security Policy (BCSP), told RFE/RL that the intensified dialogue between the two parties and political elites is an integral part of the Serbian-Chinese partnership.

"The frequency of these visits speaks to the intensity of that partnership and shows a reality that has existed for at least six years, which is that China has replaced Russia as Serbia’s primary partner outside the Western world," says Vuksanovic.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the government of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina led by provincial President Maja Gojkovic is visiting China’s Shandong Province.

The government of Vojvodina announced on October 13 that officials discussed cooperation and project implementation by Chinese companies in Vojvodina.

Jailed Belarusian political activist Palina Sharenda-Panasyuk is again facing accusations of showing "disobedience" to the administration of the prison where she is incarcerated.

The latest charge is the subject of a new trial that began on October 14 in the Rechytsa district court in southeastern Belarus.

Sharendra-Panasyuk, a mother of two, has already served nearly four years in prison and could face an additional year if convicted again.

Her continued imprisonment is widely seen as a politically motivated act of repression by the Belarusian authorities.

The activist's husband, Andrey Sharenda, said his wife is now accused of “malicious disobedience to the requirements of the administration of the correctional facility.”

Before her trial, Sharenda-Panasyuk was transferred from a pretrial detention center in the regional capital, Homel, to a detention center in Rechytsa, a nearby town.

Sharenda expressed concern over her transfer to this facility, where conditions are reportedly harsh.

According to him, inmates are forced to sleep on metal slabs without mattresses or bed linen, which exacerbates his wife’s back problems.

Despite her medical condition, Sharenda claims that the authorities have subjected his wife to inhumane treatment. He also noted that her latest trial began on October 14, the same date on which Belarus celebrates Mother’s Day. Sharenda-Panasyuk has not seen her children for four years.

SEE ALSO:

'Robbed Of Childhood': The Children Of Belarus's Political Prisoners Left Behind In Lukashenka's Crackdown

Sharenda-Panasyuk was initially sentenced to two and a half years in prison for insulting authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka and allegedly assaulting a police officer. Her term was extended by two years in successive trials for allegedly disobeying prison guards' commands.

Sharenda-Panasyuk was due to be released in May but has remained in custody pending investigation into the new criminal case.

Her health has been a significant concern throughout her imprisonment. In July 2024, her family learned that she had been diagnosed with moderate chronic pancreatitis. Sharenda has reported that his wife's health has deteriorated sharply in recent months, including constant stomach and back pain.

While the prison administration claims that “necessary treatment is being provided,” her husband remains skeptical about the quality of care she is receiving.

Belarusian human rights organizations have recognized Sharenda-Panasyuk as a political prisoner.

Her continued imprisonment has drawn attention both within Belarus and internationally and highlights the ongoing repression of opposition activists and dissidents in Belarus, where the government has been cracking down on any form of dissent, particularly since the disputed 2020 presidential election.