Police in Russia's Perm region on August 30 launched a manhunt to catch a former inmate, Artyom Buchin, who is suspected of killing a 28-year-old woman and her daughter after returning from the war in Ukraine. The victims’ bodies were found a day earlier. Local media published photos of the suspect and a physical description of him, according to which, the 28-year-old was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February 2023 on a murder charge. He was pardoned after he signed a contract with the Defense Ministry and joined Russian troops invading Ukraine. Buchin returned to his town of Chusovoi in November. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.

A court in the Russian city of Samara on August 29 placed activist Alina Lushavina in pretrial detention until at least October 29 on a charge of justifying terrorism by reposting an unspecified message online. A day earlier, police searched Lushavina's apartment. Her lawyers say the charge is politically motivated, stressing the original post in question is still available online and its author was not prosecuted. Lushavina, who refers to herself as a politician, blogger, and rights defender, is known for her open criticism of authorities. She has covered news and developments in Samara, including protest actions. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.

Josep Borrell, the European Union's top diplomat, continued to ratchet up pressure on Ukraine's Western allies to lift restrictions on the use of weapons, saying Kyiv has the right to target the places from which it is attacked.

Speaking in Brussels as he headed into the second day of an informal meeting of the bloc's defense ministers, Borrell said on August 30 that it is "absurd" to say allowing targeting on the territory of Russia means waging war directly against Moscow.

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"No one wants" a war with Russia, he said.

"But put yourself in the shoes of the Ukrainians: The Russians are bombing you from a place you cannot reach. You would like to fight as equals," Borrell added, saying that to do this Ukraine needs to be able to strike the places where Russia is launching its attacks.

Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, have repeatedly called on Ukraine's global allies to take "decisive action" and allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with Western-provided weapons.

Earlier this month, Ukraine launched an incursion into Russian territory with Zelenskiy saying Russia "must feel what it has done." Russia has responded in recent days with some of its fiercest barrages of missile and drone attacks aimed at cities and critical civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials say that despite deliveries of new weapons that are helping bolster the fight, their armed forces are still at a disadvantage because the West's restrictions keeping Ukraine from using long-range weapons to strike deep inside Russian territory.

"Long-term security for Europe begins with short-term, bold decisions for Ukraine," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told journalists in Brussels before a meeting of EU foreign ministers on August 29.

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The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed on August 29 that an F-16 fighter jet provided by the West crashed while repelling one a missile and drone strike by Russia.

The talks in Brussels also come as Russian forces conduct "two key tactical operations" as part of their offensive to capture the strategic city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on August 29.

The first is along the Novohrodivka-Hrodivka line east of Pokrovsk with the aim of advancing to the outskirts of the city. The second is along the Selydove-Ukrayinsk-Hirnyk line to the southeast with the aim of "eliminating vulnerabilities to Ukrainian counterattacks."

The operations are seen by the Russian military as key to an "intensified offensive effort against Pokrovsk itself," ISW wrote.

Iran’s national police command said on August 30 that officers exhibited a "lack of anger control" while handling a man who died in custody earlier this week in the northern Gilan Province. The rights group Hengaw reported that Mohammad Mirmusavi was severely beaten by police in the city of Langarud following his arrest on August 24. The 36-year-old, who had been involved in a street brawl, died three days later. The allegations of police brutality prompted Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian to order an investigation. The national police command said "friction" between Musavi and officers led to his death. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, click here.

Germany has followed through on its announcement that it would deport "criminal" Afghan refugees and asylum seekers back to Afghanistan despite not having formal relations with the Taliban’s de-facto government.

A plane carrying 28 Afghan men convicted of crimes in Germany took off from Leipzig/Halle Airport for Kabul early on August 30, according to German officials. The men had been transported from across the country to Leipzig for the flight, which was arranged by the Interior Ministry.

A senior official from the Taliban's Transportation and Civil Aviation Ministry, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to Radio Azadi that they had given approval for a plane flying from Leipzig to land at Kabul International Airport. The official declined to provide any details regarding the passengers onboard the aircraft, which was expected to arrive in Kabul in the evening.

All of the deportees aboard the chartered Qatar Airways flight were "convicted offenders who had no right to stay in Germany and against whom deportation orders had been issued," government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement.
Hebestreit said Berlin had "asked key regional partners for support in order to facilitate the deportations," without providing further details.

A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry said on August 30 that Germany had no intention of normalizing its relations with the Taliban.

SEE ALSO:

Afghanistan Slides Into 'Ever More Hellish Conditions' After New Morality Law Enacted

"As long as the general conditions are as they are and the Taliban behave the way they do, there will be no effort to normalize relations with the Taliban," the spokesperson said. "There are contacts on a technical level, especially through our representative office in Doha."

Germany's Der Spiegel magazine said the operation followed two months of "secret negotiations" in which Qatar, which has sustainable contacts with the Taliban authorities, served as an intermediary between Germany and the Taliban-led government.

The controversial development comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced in June that Germany would restart deportations of dangerous criminals and terror suspects to Afghanistan and Syria.

Scholz's announcement came after an Afghan refugee was charged in a deadly knife attack in the city of Mannheim in May. This week, after a Syrian refugee suspected of killing three people in Solingen was taken into custody, Scholz vowed to speed up deportations.

The issue has also become a major topic of debate ahead of regional elections on September 1 in the Saxony and Thuringia regions, where anti-immigration parties are expected to do well.

SEE ALSO:

3 Years Later, Afghans Still Reeling From Impact Of Devastating Kabul Airport Attack

Germany emerged as a major destination for Afghans fleeing insecurity and poverty at home and, after the Taliban retook power after nearly 20 years of war against a U.S.-led coalition, the prospect of persecution by the hard-line Islamist group.

Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, Germany halted deportations to Afghanistan and, like all countries, has refused to recognize the Taliban-led government and has no formal relations with it.

Germany is also a major destination for Syrians seeking to escape that country's civil war and rule under leader Bashar al-Assad. Syrians are the largest refugee group in Germany, with hundreds of thousands allowed into the country since 2015.

In 2020, Germany allowed a ban on deportations to Syria that had been in place since 2012 to expire.

The backlash against refugees and asylum-seekers rose significantly among conservative and hard-right politicians after a 25-year-old Afghan was accused of stabbing a German police officer to death and injuring five others in May.

In June, Scholz met with leaders of Germany’s 16 states in Berlin to discuss restarting deportations of Afghan and Syrian immigrants convicted of serious crimes.

SEE ALSO:

The Azadi Briefing: Thousands Of Afghans Detained By Taliban's Morality Police

Michael Stuebgen, the interior minister of the eastern state of Brandenburg, argued that Germany could engage in talks with the Taliban and that parts of Syria are secure enough to allow the returns of refugees.

In lieu of relations with the Taliban, Interior Ministry officials reportedly considered the possibility of routing Afghan deportees through third countries such as Uzbekistan and also discussed ways of conducting asylum proceedings in third countries.

Opponents argue that deportations of Afghans and Syrian refugees would go against the German Constitution and commitments under international law and that the outsourcing of asylum procedures would violate asylum-seekers' human rights.

Amnesty International Germany on August 30 harshly criticized the resumption of deportations.

"The rule of law also means adhering to international law," the rights watchdog said on X. "Extrajudicial executions, disappearances, and torture are the order of the day in Afghanistan. No one is safe there. If the German government deports people anyway it risks becoming an accomplice of the Taliban."

As the issue heated up in recent months, the Interior Ministry stressed that the deportations would affect only a small number of people.

The German government did not provide details on the crimes for which the 28 Afghans deported on August 30 had been convicted. However, AFP quoted the Justice Ministry of the Baden-Wuerttemberg state reportedly said one was convicted of participating in a gang rape of a 14-year old girl and another had more than 160 criminal convictions.

Following news that the deportation of Afghans had resumed, Green party co-leader Omid Nouripour was quoted as saying he welcomed the effort to expel serious criminals but said it did not signal the start of large-scale deportations.

"Law-abiding people, especially families and children who have fled from radical Islamists," are protected in Germany, he said.

With reporting by AP and AFP

A mudslide triggered by heavy monsoon rain hit a house in a remote part of northwestern Pakistan, killing 12 people, mostly children, a rescue official said on August 30. The state-run emergency service said the mudslide happened overnight in Upper Dir in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province. Rescuers retrieved the bodies of nine children, two women and a man. Authorities have warned that ongoing heavy rain, which began last month, could cause landslides and flash floods across Pakistan. Since July 1, more than 275 people have died in rain-related incidents in various parts of the country.

Russian forces are conducting "two key tactical operations" as part of their offensive to capture the strategic city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on August 29. The first is along the Novogrodivka-Hrodivka line east of Pokrovsk with the aim of advancing to the outskirts of the city. The second is along the Selydove-Ukrayinsk-Hirnyk line to the southeast with the aim of "eliminating vulnerabilities to Ukrainian counterattacks." The operations are seen by the Russian military as key to an "intensified offensive effort against Pokrovsk itself," ISW wrote. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, click here.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on August 29 that he stands fully behind the decision to grant citizenship to Pavel Durov, a day after the Telegram co-founder and CEO was indicted in Paris on charges of failing to control illegal content on the popular messaging app.

Macron, speaking in Belgrade at the start of a two-day state visit, said granting Durov citizenship was part of a strategy to enable star athletes, performers, and other foreigners who learned French to become French citizens.

“I granted citizenship to Durov, who learned French, just as I did for some athletes and artists, and I think that's something good for our country. I will continue to do that every time,” Macron said.

Durov, 39, was detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris over the weekend and he was charged on August 28 with several crimes related to alleged illicit activity on the messaging app.

French prosecutors accuse Durov of complicity in allowing drug trafficking and the sharing of sexual images of children on Telegram, and of refusing to share documents demanded by authorities investigating illegal activity on the app.

SEE ALSO:

Explainer: The Dark Side Of Telegram

The Russian-born Durov, who also has citizenship in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Caribbean archipelago of St. Kitts and Nevis, was granted conditional release on a bail of 5 million euros ($5.5 million) and on the condition that he report to a police station twice a week as well as remain in France, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement.

The French president said he didn’t know Durov was coming to France and that he didn’t invite him to visit.

“I don't know anything more about it, and it's normal that I don't know because we are a state governed by the rule of law, where state institutions are independent," Macron said at a press conference in Belgrade after meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

The question arose after French media reports said that Durov told police upon his arrest on August 24 that he was planning to meet with Macron.

Durov's lawyer said it was "absurd" to suggest his client could be implicated in any crime committed on the app.

"Telegram complies in all respects with European rules concerning digital technology," lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski said.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned France against turning the case into "political persecution," emphasizing that Durov is a "Russian citizen" and "we will be watching what happens next."

That is likely to be that the case will be sent to trial. The charge of "complicity in the administration of an online platform to enable an illicit transaction" alone carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of 500,000 euros ($550,000).

With reporting by AFP

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that an F-16 fighter jet crashed while repelling a missile and drone strike by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine.

The General Staff said in a Facebook post on August 29 that Ukrainian F-16s engaged in an air battle against the Russian barrage and shot down four enemy cruise missiles.

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"During the approach to the next target, contact was lost with one of the planes. As it turned out later, the plane crashed, the pilot died," the military said on August 29 on Facebook.

A special commission of the Defense Ministry has been appointed to determine the causes of the accident, the General Staff said.

Sabrina Singh, deputy spokeswoman for the Pentagon, said she had seen the reports about the crash of the F-16, adding that she was not aware of any request for assistance since the incident. She told a briefing that she had no further information, but added that pilots have been training in the United States and referred to the difficulties they face once in battle.

"I will say, broadly speaking, combat aviation is very complex," Singh said. "We are very proud to train pilots here in the United States, and our allies are also training pilots for Ukraine. Everyday they fly these aircraft. There are brave men and women who defend the skies."

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that the pilot was Oleksiy Mes and said he died while repelling a massive Russian strike. During the air battle, three cruise missiles and one drone were destroyed, the air force said.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that an F-16 was destroyed in a crash on August 26. An unidentified U.S. official quoted by the newspaper said that, although the incident occurred during a massive Russian missile barrage, initial reports indicated that the jet wasn’t shot down by enemy fire, and it was likely crashed as a result of pilot error.

CNN reported, however, that according to sources, the Ukrainian military does not believe that pilot error was the cause of the incident. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, and international experts will be invited to participate in it.

Earlier on August, the Netherlands said it allowed the use of F-16s it donated to Ukraine to be used on Russian territory.

"We have not imposed any restrictions on the use and range of the F-16s, provided that the laws of war are observed," General Onno Eichelsheim, the commander of the Dutch armed forces, told public broadcaster NOS.

Speaking from the United States, Eichelsheim said his American colleagues "partly" agreed with his position. The Netherlands has pledged 24 F-16s to Ukraine, with the first due to arrive soon. Eichelsheim declined to say if any are currently in operation.

Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels in defiance of international demands, a confidential report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said on August 29. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in the report, seen by Reuters and the Associated Press, that as of August 17 Iran had increased its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 percent by 22.6 kilograms, totaling 164.7 kilograms. Uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. The IAEA report says Tehran has also not reconsidered its September 2023 decision to ban the most experienced nuclear inspectors from monitoring its nuclear program and that IAEA surveillance cameras remain disrupted.

Sweden's Migration Agency says it will revise asylum applications filed by Belarusian citizens amid criticism that it had made decisions based on erroneous information and ignored an ongoing crackdown on dissent and democratic institutions in Belarus.

Sveriges Radio quoted Anna Lindblad of the Migration Agency on August 29 as saying "we are aware of the information and criticism directed at us."

Swedish Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told RFE/RL in a message sent by her press service that the her ministry "will conduct a legal review this autumn regarding the handling of cases from asylum seekers from Belarus."

"I will refrain from further comments on the matter until I have reviewed the results," the minister said.

"Questions regarding the Swedish government’s foreign policy is kindly directed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the minister's response to RFE/RL's query said.

A day earlier, RFE/RL's Belarusian Service reported that a Belarusian man was arrested last week at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border after Swedish authorities rejected his asylum application and deported him to Belarus. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Zmitser Vaserman, who represents a Belarusian group in exile known as the People's Embassy of Belarus, told RFE/RL on August 29 that the Migration Agency's decision to revise Belarusians' asylum applications this autumn was made before the news about the Belarusian man's arrest following his deportation by Sweden broke a day earlier.

According to Vaserman, his group revived its talks with the Migration Agency in July after noted Belarusian opposition activist Kanstantsin Syarohin's asylum application was rejected again.

"[Syarohin's] case confirmed that despite the information on the current situation in Belarus updated in February to properly reflect the reality of mass terror in the country, the Migration Agency continues to support its previously made rulings in courts," Vaserman said.

Vaserman added that it was important that Sweden update the information but stressed that the process of decision-making on asylum applications filed by Belarusian citizens must be held with a moratorium in place on the deportation of Belarusian citizens. This would prevent the deportation of those whose applications have been denied, he said.

Earlier in August, Vaserman said at the New Belarus conference that more than 100 Belarusians applied for political asylum in Sweden and only three received it. Vaserman said then that many filed appeals against denials, while some moved to other countries to seek asylum there.

Following the disputed August 2020 presidential election in Belarus that gave authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth presidential term, mass pro-democracy demonstrations broke out across the country.

The demonstrations were brutally suppressed. In the ensuing years, officials have imprisoned hundreds of demonstration participants, often holding leading activists in near-complete isolation and denying many prisoners adequate medical care.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Mongolia, which is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), next week, the Kremlin said on August 29. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023, accusing the president of being responsible for the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine, which constitutes a war crime. "On the invitation of the President of Mongolia Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, on September 3, 2024 Russian President Vladimir Putin will make an official visit to Mongolia to participate in ceremonial events dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the joint victory of Soviet and Mongolian forces over Japanese militarists on the Khalkhin Gol River," the Kremlin said.

A Baku court ruled that partially paralyzed Azerbaijani activist Famil Xalilov must remain in detention as preliminary hearings into his case began on August 29. Xalilov was arrested in early May on a charge of possessing a large amount of illegal drugs with a goal to sell them. Xalilov rejects the charge as politically motivated. The activist, who has been known for criticism of the South Caucasus nation's government, has been on hunger strike since August 15, protesting his arrest. His lawyers have insisted that their client must be transferred to house arrest due to his medical condition. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.

The Specialized Inter-District Court in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, on August 29 sentenced the already imprisoned ex-wife of a convicted nephew of the Central Asian nation's former authoritarian president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, to 12 years in prison.

Gulmira Satybaldy was found guilty of forcibly holding her relative and former business partner Abai Zhunusov in isolation against his will for 165 days in 2019 to force him to give up his stakes in several businesses.

Her former driver Madi Batyrshaev was convicted of assisting to forcibly hold a person in isolation and sentenced to nine years in prison.

Satybaldy is concurrently serving two sentences -- eight years for embezzlement and the illegal appropriation of shares and assets of several enterprises, and seven years for abduction and actions aiding the commission of a crime.

The sentences were handed down by a court in May and June last year.

The court ruled that Satybaldy must serve the new 12-year sentence concurrently, meaning that the total time to be spent in prison by Satybaldy would be 12 years.

Gulmira Satybaldy was arrested along with her ex-husband Qairat Satybaldy in March 2022. He was tried separately in September 2023 and sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of fraud and embezzlement.

On August 16, a court in Kazakhstan's eastern city of Oskemen replaced Qairat Satybaldy's six-year prison sentence with a suspended sentence.

Court No. 2 in the capital of the East Kazakhstan region ruled on August 16 that Qairat Satybaldy must be released with a suspended 40-month sentence, saying the once powerful businessman and politician had returned all the money he was accused of embezzling to the State Treasury.

The probes launched against the couple were part of a series of investigations targeting relatives and allies of Nazarbaev following unprecedented anti-government protests that turned into deadly mass disorders in early January 2022.

After the deadly events, the Kazakh regime began to quietly target Nazarbaev, his family, and other allies, many of whom held powerful or influential posts in government, security agencies, and profitable energy companies.

With reporting by Vlast.kz

Georgian national Viktor Kipritidi was killed last week in Ukraine while fighting alongside Ukrainian armed forces against Russia's ongoing invasion, his son told RFE/RL on August 29. The body of the 49-year-old Kipritidi is expected to be repatriated to Georgia on August 30. Kipritidi, a native of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, joined Kyiv's armed forces right after Russia launched its full-scale aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. He initially joined the Georgian Legion and later became a soldier of the Ukrainian armed forces. Kipritidi is the 70th Georgian national known to have been killed in the war. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Georgian Service, click here.

A court in Moscow has extended the detention and released the names of five more men suspected of being involved in the terror attack at the Crocus City entertainment center that claimed 145 lives near the Russian capital in late March.

The press service for Moscow's courts of common jurisdiction said on August 29 that the pretrial detention of Shahromjon Gadoev, Zubaidullo Ismoilov, Husein Hamidov, Mustaqim Soliev, and Umedjon Soliev had been extended until at least December 1.

Their names in the high-profile case had not been made public previously.

The men are accused of membership in a terrorist organization, preparing and implementing a terrorist attack, illegally possessing firearms, and illegally manufacturing explosive devices.

The attack at the Crocus City hall took place on March 22, 2024. A group of armed men rushed into the entertainment center where a concert was to be held, opened fire on civilians, and set the building on fire before fleeing.

Some 145 people, including six children, died in the attack, while more than 550 were wounded or injured.

In May, the chief of the Federal Security Service, Aleksandr Bortnikov, said more than 20 people suspected of involvement into the attack had been detained.

Later, the authorities said 12 men had been arrested in the case.

On August 16, a Moscow court extended the pretrial detention of four Tajik citizens -- Dalerjon Mirzoev, Saidakram Rajabalizoda, Shamsiddin Fariduni, and Muhammadsobir Faizov, who are suspected of carrying out the attack.

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Three other natives of Tajikistan, all members of one family -- Isroil Islomov, Dilovar Islomov, and Aminjon Islomov, as well as an ethnic Uzbek from Kyrgyzstan and Russian citizen Alisher Kasimov, were arrested for allegedly providing the attackers with accommodation, transportation, and communication.

An offshoot of the extremist Islamic State group known as Islamic State-Khorasan claimed responsibility for Russia’s worst terrorist attack in two decades.

Tajik authorities have officially condemned the treatment of the Tajik suspects amid allegations that the detainees were tortured in custody.

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What A Missed Terror Warning Says About U.S.-Russian Ties And Putin's Thinking

The Kremlin has insisted without evidence that Ukraine, with the help of the United States, was responsible for the attack. Both Kyiv and Washington have dismissed the accusation.

The attack was seen as a major failure for Russia's security and intelligence services. The United States has said it gave specific information ahead of time, warning of a possible terrorist attack. Iran also reportedly provided a tip ahead of time.

French President Emmanuel Macron began a landmark state visit to Serbia on August 29 with the signing of an agreement on the purchase of 12 Rafale multipurpose fighter jets, which he said represented a shift toward Europe.

Shortly after Macron arrived in Belgrade, Serbia signed a contract to purchase the warplanes from France's Dassault Aviation. Under the agreement, Serbia will receive nine single-seat and three two-seat Rafale jets by 2029, according to Dassault chief executive Eric Trappier.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the deal was worth 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion). Serbia will pay tranches of 420 million euros in 2024 and 2025 for the Rafale jets, he said.

Macron described the agreement as historically significant. The European Union needs a strong and democratic Serbia, he said, and the decision to purchase the fighter jets is a strategic and long-term choice in that direction.

"I see so many people criticizing Serbia for having partnerships with Russia or China, and now it has a partnership with France. This is truly a major change," he said in response to a question posed at a news conference.

"I respect Serbia's sovereignty and its partnerships with other countries, but this is an opening -- a strategic change that must be emphasized because it takes great courage and is a chance for Europe. This truly shows a European spirit," Macron added.

Vucic said the purchase doesn't mean that Serbia will change its stance on joining EU sanctions imposed on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"I know that [Macron] would like us to impose sanctions on Russia...but we have not done it, and we are not ashamed of our decision," Vucic said. He added that he didn't feel compelled to justify his decision because he explains his political moves directly to the Serb people.

Vucic reiterated Serbia's commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, describing it as a "friendly nation" and affirming that Belgrade has taken no hostile actions against it.

Following the meeting between the two presidents, memorandums and agreements on cooperation between Serbia and France in the fields of energy, defense, ecology, and culture were signed.

"We have an agreement between our governments and 11 other agreements that enable us to deepen our cooperation, strengthen our ties, and improve our capacities," Macron said, noting that cooperation between Serbia and France has been "increasingly strong" in recent years.

"Our economic cooperation has strengthened, we are engaged in long-term infrastructure projects, and our international relations have experienced a new upswing," Macron said, adding that France wants Serbia to make progress in its negotiations on joining the European Union.

Macron's two-day visit will include further meetings with Serbia's populist nationalist president, during which they are expected to discuss Belgrade's progress toward integration into the European Union and cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence.

Macron will also unveil a plaque marking the completion of modernization works at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport; travel to Novi Sad, Serbia's second-largest city, to visit the Gallery of Matica Srpska, one of the largest and oldest art galleries in Serbia; and give a speech at the Forum on Youth and Artificial Intelligence.

Macron's speech at the forum is seen as recognition of Serbia's progress in the burgeoning AI industry.

"Serbia's international credibility in the field of AI was recognized through its successful candidacy for the presidency of the Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence 2025," the French Embassy told RFE/RL on August 29. The Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) is an international initiative founded in 2020.

The Elysee Palace previously announced that Macron will confirm his support for Serbia's EU integration and that his visit will be an opportunity to talk with Vucic about the economy, health care, energy, culture, and artificial intelligence.

Macron's visit comes less than five months after he hosted the Serbian president in Paris. It will be the second visit of the French president to Serbia in the last five years, following the strengthening of relations between the two countries.

Serbia, which has been a candidate for membership in the European Union since 2012, has irritated the European Union by maintaining ties with Russia during its war of aggression against Ukraine and by refusing to impose sanctions on Moscow over its war.

The European Union told Serbia on August 15 that this behavior is not compatible with EU values and the accession process. Brussels also said the EU "wants to count on all candidate countries as reliable European partners for common principles, values, security, and prosperity."

The reaction followed meetings between Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin and Kremlin officials in Moscow along with claims of intelligence cooperation with Russia.

While in Moscow, Vulin repeated that he is proud that Serbia is "not part of the anti-Russian hysteria" and has not joined the Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's Investigative Committee said on August 29 that it has launched a probe on fraud charges against former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov, part of an ongoing campaign against top military officials.

The Investigative Committee added that Popov, who is a general in the Russian Army, was detained.*

Popov, who was sacked from the post in June after serving 11 years as a deputy defense minister, is suspected of illegal enrichment via fraudulent activities linked to his supervision of the operations of the Defense Ministry's Patriot Park near Moscow in 2021-24.

Investigators say Popov carried out his alleged illegal activities along with Patriot Park Director Vyacheslav Akhmedov and the deputy chief of the Defense Ministry's Department for Innovative Development, Major General Vladimir Shesterov.

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Both Akhmedov and Shesterov were arrested in early August on embezzlement charges.

According to the Investigative Committee, Popov is suspected of organizing construction and repair works at his property near Moscow using finances allocated for the Patriot Park.

"Investigations revealed that...Popov and members of his family also own multiple properties in prestigious sites in Moscow, the Moscow region, and the Krasnodar Krai," the committee said.

The value of the buildings involved is more than 500 million rubles ($5,463,000), the Investigative Committee's statement said, adding that the legality of the ownership of the buildings is being investigated.

Several top military and Defense Ministry officials have been arrested on corruption charges since President Vladimir Putin dismissed close ally Sergei Shoigu as defense minister in May and replaced him with former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov.

Patriot 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 (no relation to Pavel 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.

*CORRECTION: A previous version of this story identified Popov as a former defense minister. He was a deputy defense minister.

The Netherlands has allowed the use of F-16s it donated to Ukraine to be used on Russian territory, the commander of the Dutch armed forces told public broadcaster NOS on August 29. "We have not imposed any restrictions on the use and range of the F-16s, provided that the laws of war are observed," General Onno Eichelsheim told NOS. Speaking from the United States, Eichelsheim said his American colleagues "partly" agreed with his position. The Netherlands has pledged 24 F-16s to Ukraine, with the first due to arrive soon. Eichelsheim declined to say if any are currently in operation.

Two senior officers with Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) were killed in a gas leak in the central province of Isfahan, the IRGC's Sahib al-Zaman regional center announced in a statement on August 29.

Another 10 people were taken to the hospital with injuries after the incident at an IRGC workshop on the evening of August 28, the statement added, without specifying whether an explosion or gas inhalation caused the deaths and injuries.

The statement identified the two officers who were killed as Captain Mojtaba Nazari and Lieutenant Colonel Mukhtar Morshidi.

The statement did not say what activities were under way at the workshop affected by the incident and did not give its precise location nor the region of Isfahan Province where the incident occurred.

Iranian authorities usually give only skeletal details of such incidents.

The statement came amid heightened regional tensions following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in Tehran.

Iran has accused Israel of killing Hanyieh, who was the political leader of the radical Islamist group Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

Israel, which has been engaged in a war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip since Hamas fighters stormed across the border into southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage, has not admitted officially that it was behind Hanyieh's death.

On April 19, Israel launched a limited air strike on a defense facility near the city of Isfahan, prompting Iranian air defenses to open fire.

The Israeli strike reportedly targeted an air-defense radar system at the defense facility, and satellite imagery suggested that an Iranian surface-to-air missile battery was struck.

The Israeli strike came in apparent response to an Iranian drone and missile strike in Israel, which was prompted by a strike by the Jewish state on the Iranian Consulate in Syria's capital, Damascus.

A court in Russia on August 28 extended the pretrial detention of saxophonist Andrei Shabanov, who has a very serious medical condition, for another six months over his anti-war stance. Shabanov, who has several autoimmune diseases, as well as a serious spinal condition, accused the judge of ignoring his state of health and removed his shirt, revealing severe lesions all over his body. Shabanov was arrested in April and charged with making online calls for terrorism, which he and his supporters reject. The charge stems from Shabanov's online posts condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union have held their first international "memory marathon" to raise awareness of the deportation and persecution of the group under brutal dictator Josef Stalin and through into post-Soviet Russia.

The chairman of the Association of Ethnic Germans of Ukraine Vyacheslav Bodrov (aka Redekopp) told RFE/RL that the event, which began on August 26 and ended on August 28, was held in Germany, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and the United States.

"This is the first [international] event held by ethnic Germans from the post-Soviet space to express solidarity in different countries and attract attention to the big problem," he said of the single largest and one of the oldest diaspora groups in the former Soviet Union that is connected to a foreign state.

"Through the marathon, we remind about the suffering of the German minority in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia, and also focus on the destinies of the successors of those who survived the deportation," Bodrov added.

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According to Bodrov, before Russia launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the major problem faced by ethnic Germans in Russia was assimilation.

But since the Kremlin launched its offensive, ethnic German males have been actively recruited to the war in Ukraine.

Bodrov said more than 500 ethnic Germans recruited to Russia's aggression have been killed in Ukraine.

German organizations in Russia are currently divided over the war, with one part openly condemning the full-scale aggression against Ukraine, while the other is trying to keep a low profile and avoid the war, Bodrov said.

"People in Germany very often have no idea about our problems. German authorities responsible for solving problems faced by ethnic Germans in post-Soviet countries report that there are no problems. But it is a big problem to enter Germany for ethnic Germans from the post-Soviet states because of German law," Bodrov added.

As part of raising awareness over the situation, ethnic Germans held pickets in front of the German Consulate in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty; the UN Office in Bonn; the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg; Amnesty International's headquarters in Dusseldorf; the Federal Administrative Office in Cologne; the White House in Washington; and in several U.S. cities.

At least one single-person picket was held in Russia.

The picketers held placards with slogans saying: "Kremlin Sends Russia's Germans to Die," "80 Years of Assimilation and Ethnocide," "Save German Minority in the Former Soviet Union," and "Russia's Germans Are Hostages Of Russian-German Business."

Bodrov said he and his organizations have sent letters of awareness to several European institutions, urging them to help ethnic Germans from the post-Soviet space obtain refugee status in Germany and other European nations.

"Germany and Russia have been unable to solve the problem of ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union in the last 30 years. It means the problem is now international," Bodrov said.

Ethnic Germans in the post-Soviet space are successors of Germans invited to the Russian Empire in the 18th century by Russian empress Catherine the Great, who was German herself.

In the autumn of 1941, shortly after Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Soviet authorities dissolved the German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Volga area and deported at least 400,000 ethnic Germans to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Siberia.

In the late 1980s and early '90s, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans emigrated from the former Soviet Union, mostly from Kazakhstan, to Germany.

Human rights groups and media reports have said that since Russia started its invasion against Ukraine, Moscow has been mostly recruiting representatives of ethnic minorities to the war.

A Pakistani Army colonel and several members of his immediate families have been abducted, authorities said early on August 29. The officer, two of his brothers, and a nephew were kidnapped while attending a family funeral in the Kalach area of Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, security sources told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal. The banned Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in a message to Radio Mashaal, adding that those kidnapped were safe. The incident comes after the government launched an operation against militants that it says are coming into Pakistan from neighboring Afghanistan.

KYIV -- Ukraine on August 29 commemorated those who have fallen defending the country's independence as Russia unleashed fresh strikes on Kyiv and across the country.

Ukraine's air defenses shot down more than 10 Russian drones over Kyiv in the third large-scale attack on the Ukrainian capital in four days, the city's administration reported.

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"The third air attack on Kyiv in the last four days! A mass attack again! This time, they used exclusively attack UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)," Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said on Telegram, adding that the attack came from the occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson region and from Russia's Kursk region.

Popko said drone debris ignited a fire that was put out by firefighters and added that there were no immediate reports of casualties or material damage.

The latest attacks on Ukraine came as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with the EU foreign ministers in Brussels and urged them to expedite deliveries of promised air defense systems.

"I conveyed a sense of urgency regarding the delivery of already pledged military aid, including air defense systems," Kuleba said on X on August 29 as Ukraine marked the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine.

The holiday marked the 10th anniversary of the battle of Ilovaisk, in the Donetsk region, when hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were killed by Russian troops on August 24, 2014, as they began to withdraw from the Russia-encircled town, despite the Russian military giving assurances that the withdrawal would be allowed to proceed peacefully.

General Oleksandr Syrskiy, the commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said the holiday serves as a perpetual warning about what he called the treachery of the Russian aggressor.

"Ilovaisk is not only a tragic event in the history of Ukraine but also a page of Ukrainian indomitability. It is an act and feat of the Ukrainian military. Let's remember that despite the loss and deception of the enemy, our soldiers did not give up but kept attempting to break out of the trap and fight," Syrskiy said in a message on Telegram.

"This day will always remind us of the treachery of the Russian aggressor [and will remind us] that any negotiations with terrorists and murderers are a mortally dangerous business, and that they cannot be trusted," he added.

Separately, Ukraine's General Staff on August 29 confirmed that it was behind three drone strikes the previous day that targeted Russian oil depots and an ammunition storage facility.

The General Staff said that the strike on the oil depot in the Kamensky district of Russia's Rostov region was carried out by units of the Special Operations Forces of the military and the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) in cooperation with other branches of Ukraine's defense forces.

It also claimed responsibility for a strike on the Zenit oil depot in the Kirov region, some 1,500 kilometers northeast of the Ukrainian border, and one on the ammunition depot of the artillery group Zapad in Russia's Voronezh region.

In Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on August 29 that one person had been killed and two wounded by Ukrainian strikes.

Gladkov said on Telegram that "the town of Shebekino was targeted by Ukrainian forces" and "unfortunately, one person was killed."

Ukraine has not commented on the claim, which could not be independently confirmed.

The Romanian government on August 28 approved the start of negotiations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the purchase of a major stake in Moldova's Danube River port of Giurgiulesti.

The port, located near Moldova's borders with Romania and Ukraine, is 134 kilometers from the Black Sea and can be accessed by river and sea vessels.

Two different port infrastructure entities operate in Giurgiulesti -- Giurgiulesti State Port and Giurgiulesti International Free Port. The Moldovan government said on August 28 that it does not intend to sell the state port.

The negotiations will take place with the operator of the Giurgiulesti International Free Port, Danube Logistics SRL, which was acquired by the EBRD in 2021.

The Romanian government approved a memorandum to form a negotiation commission and begin talks with the EBRD to acquire Danube Logistics SRL. The purchase would be made through a company controlled by the Romanian state through the Transport Ministry.

"The Romanian state has expressed interest to buy the shares given competition between Constanta port and the other Black Sea ports and those of other EU states, as well as the expansion of Constanta port and its transformation into a market leader for central and southeast Europe," the memorandum said.

A Moldovan government spokesperson said EBRD is negotiating with several potential investors, including from Romania, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

The Romanian government did not specify when it expected negotiations to take place or how much it was willing to pay, but it appears to be under pressure to start negotiations because the Bulgarian company MBF Port Burgas has already shown interest in Giurgiulesti.

MBF Port Burgas operates two terminals in the Port of Burgas in southern Bulgaria and is part of Navigation Maritime Bulgare (Navibulgar). Until 2008, Navibulgar was the largest shipping company owned by the government in Sofia.

After the privatization, Navibulgar ended up in the portfolio of billionaire brothers Kiril Domuschiev and Georgi Petrov Domuschiev, who are close to former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

RFE/RL contacted MBF Port Burgas for comment but didn't receive a response.

An EBRD official confirmed to RFE/RL that the bank wants to sell its stake in the port of Giurgiulesti and is interested in making the process transparent.

"EBRD wants to find a reputable buyer for the port. We are often approached by various interested buyers, but we are currently focusing on working with the government of the Republic of Moldova to pave the way for a transparent sale process," the EBRD official said.

Romania's main Black Sea port of Constanta has seen an influx of investment, including EU funds to increase its capacity, since becoming Ukraine's biggest alternative grain export route following Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

According to the memorandum, taking into account the competition between the Port of Constanta and the other ports of the Black Sea basin and of the EU member states, the purchase of Giurgiulesti International Free Port would help to expand the port of Constanta and transform it into a market leader for Central and Southeastern Europe.

The Romanian state's interest in the port was announced last year by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.

Through this investment, Romania will become one of the most important international hubs for the reconstruction of Ukraine after the end of the war, he said at the time.

With reporting by Reuters