A scheduled meeting between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo aimed at renewing of the process of talks on the normalization of relations between the two countries failed to take place in Brussels on June 26 amid continued signs of animosity on both sides.

Although it had been confirmed there would be a new round, Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic only met with their European counterparts.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who was to host the Kurti-Vucic meeting, confirmed that "no progress in implementation of the agreement could be achieved."

These efforts will continue next week, Borrell said, when he will again try to host the two negotiators in Brussels.

Borrell said the EU would "continue putting all our efforts and capacity at the service of the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia."

Vucic blamed Kurti for the talks failing to take place, saying his counterpart "didn't want to see me."

Kurti presented three conditions for further engagement in the broader normalization process, including the formalization of the Basic Agreement through the signatures of the respective heads of state and government and the handing over Milan Radoicic and his paramilitary-terrorist group to Kosovo’s judicial authorities.

Kurti said the conditions he presented were "guarantees of good faith and goodwill that would enable the implementation of the agreement."

Kosovo wants Serbia to turn over Radoicic, who is considered the mastermind of an attack in northern Kosovo on September 24, 2023, by armed ethnic Serbs on a Kosovo police patrol, killing one of the officers.

Borrell said Serbia was not ready to fully meet Kosovo’s conditions citing constitutional constraints, while Vucic indicated he was ready to explore options in formalizing the agreement in line with past dialogue practice.

“The parties’ positions remain far apart on how implementation of the agreement could be launched -- and consequently how the normalization process should continue. As I said before, the EU cannot alone want normalization of relations if the parties themselves cannot agree how to move forward,” said Borrell at the end of the meeting.

Serbia has never acknowledged Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia. In the late 1990s a NATO intervention against Belgrade ended fighting between Kosovo and Serbia that claimed some 10,000 lives, mostly ethnic Albanians.

There were never high expectations for the June 26 meeting. The European Union wanted to organize the round to renew the talks that appear to many observers to be on life support. The last time leaders met was in September 2023.

Borrell said that despite coming changes in the EU leadership -- he is due to leave office in the autumn -- the obligations for Serbia and Kosovo remain the same.

“In a few months’ time, there will be different people, different names in our jobs, but the agreements, the council conclusions and the European Union’s expectations will not change. The member states will not change. The commitments and obligations of Kosovo and Serbia will not go away. Everyone will still be looking at the capacity and willingness of the Serbian president and Kosovo prime minister to deliver a better, European future for their people,” Borrell said ahead of the talks.

“Normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia is at the heart of the European Union’s engagement in the Western Balkans,” he added.

With reporting by AFP

Georgia booked a place in the last 16 of Euro 2024 in their debut appearance at a major tournament with an early goal by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze's penalty for a 2-0 win over Portugal on June 26. Kvaratskhelia gave Georgia a shock lead against a second-string Portugal team with just over a minute on the clock at the stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Mikautadze then ensured Georgia would claim the biggest soccer victory in the nation's history with a 57th-minute penalty. Portugal created several chances, but Georgia defended resolutely, countered at pace, and fully deserved their victory. The team finishes third in Group F and faces Spain in the last 16. Portugal had already qualified for the next round as group winners and will play Slovenia in the knockout round.

A federal grand jury in the U.S. state of Maryland has returned an indictment charging a 22-year-old Russian citizen with conspiracy to hack into Ukrainian government computer systems and destroy them and their data.

The man named in the indictment, Amin Stigal, allegedly conspired with Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency and then launched cyberattacks against the Ukrainian government just before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the U.S. Justice Department said in a news release on June 26.

According to court documents, Stigal and members of the GRU conspired in January 2022 to use a U.S.-based company’s services to distribute malware to dozens of Ukrainian government entities’ computer systems and destroy them and related data stored on them in advance of the Russian invasion.

On January 13, 2022, Stigal and the GRU conspirators attacked multiple Ukrainian government agencies, the Justice Department's news release said. The list included the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry, the State Treasury, the Judiciary Administration, the Education and Science Ministry, and the Agriculture Ministry.

The conspirators infected computers on the agencies’ networks with malware called WhisperGate, which was designed to look like ransomware but was actually designed to completely destroy the targeted computer and related data.

The indictment says the cybercriminals compromised several of the targeted Ukrainian computer systems, lifted sensitive data and left this message at the websites: “Ukrainians! All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst. This is for your past, present, and future.”

The conspirators offered the hacked data for sale on the Internet in an effort aimed at sowing fear among Ukrainians regarding the safety of government systems, the Justice Department said.

If convicted, Stigal, who remains at large, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

To help catch Stigal and bring him to justice, the U.S. State Department has offered a $10 million reward for information on his whereabouts or about his malicious cyberactivity.

Ukraine was knocked out of the European Championship on June 26 following a 0-0 draw with Belgium in its Group E match. Romania won the group, followed by Belgium and Slovakia, and those three teams will advance to the round of 16. All four Group E teams finished with four points, but Ukraine lost its chance to advance on goal difference. Ukraine's brave run came to an agonizing end as it became the first team since the tournament increased to 24 teams not to progress with four points.

At least 70 people were injured on June 26 when nine of 14 passenger train cars derailed in the Komi region of western Russia.

According to TASS, the carriages derailed after leaving the station in the town of Inta. The governor of the Komi Republic, Vladimir Uyba, head of Inta's municipal district Vladimir Kiselyov, and First Deputy Mayor Grigory Nikolaev went to the scene of the derailment, according to a Telegram post.

No deaths have been reported, but TASS said at least 70 of the 232 passengers were injured. RFE/RL's Russian Service estimates 150 of the passengers were traveling in the carriages that derailed.

A passenger who climbed out of one of the cars described the scene as a “nightmare” in a video on Telegram showing the derailed cars lying on their side.

Officials blame the derailment on a washed-out embankment. The same heavy rainfall that caused the embankment to erode has led to flooding and impassible roads which are hindering emergency services, according to the regional Health Ministry.

Two recovery trains were sent to the site of the derailment by Russian Railways, the company that owns the No. 511 Vorkuta-Novorossiysk. In addition, the ministry told TASS that doctors will fly to the derailment site in three helicopters within an hour.

Train traffic in the region has been suspended and the Transport Prosecutor’s Office announced an investigation. Russian Railways has also launched an investigation under Russian Railways director Oleg Belozerov, according to a Telegram post.

In 2019, a criminal case investigated the derailment of 23 freight cars in Komi. TASS reported that the freight train derailed due to erosion caused by a pipe-culvert defect, and no injuries were reported.

European officials announced on June 26 that Montenegro is ready for the final phase of accession to the European Union. After 12 years of accession negotiations, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said Podgorica has "broken the ice" in what EU Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi hailed as a "historic moment." Montenegro is considered the most advanced country in the EU accession process, but accession stalled over the Montenegrin judiciary. Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said Podgorica must continue to strengthen judicial independence and fight against corruption and organized crime. The announcement came as part of the Intergovernmental Conference between the European Union and Montenegro in Brussels. To read the original story on RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.

A court in Astana on June 26 rejected an appeal filed by former Kazakh Economy Minister Quandyq Bishimbaev against the 24-year prison term he was handed last month for the murder of his wife, Saltanat Nukenova. The court also upheld a four-year prison term handed to Baqytzhan Baizhanov, a relative of Bishimbaev, for failing to report the crime, which he witnessed. The high-profile trial that started in late March was followed online by millions of people in Kazakhstan and elsewhere. Bishimbaev was arrested in November after he beat his 31-year-old wife for hours in an Astana restaurant. The jury found him guilty of torture, murder with extreme violence, and repeatedly committing serious crimes. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has condemned Russia’s decision to block 81 European media outlets in 25 European Union countries. "This decision further restricts access to free and independent information and expands the already severe media censorship in Russia," Borrell said in a statement on June 26. Borrell called the decision "totally unfounded," saying the European media outlets "give factual information, also to Russian audiences, including on Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine." Moscow announced its ban on June 25 in retaliation for a May EU ban on Russian media outlets. Borrell said the EU's ban was due to the control Russian authorities have over the outlets, which he said were "instrumental in supporting the war of aggression against Ukraine."

Russia's Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don on June 26 sentenced in absentia five foreign nationals to prison terms for joining Ukraine's armed forces fighting against Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

According to the Russian Prosecutor-General's Office, Briton John Harding, Swedish citizen Mathias Gustafsson, and Croatian national Vjekoslav Prebeg, were sentenced to 23 years in prison each on charges of taking part in training to forcibly seize power, forced change of Russia's constitutional system, and taking part in an armed conflict as mercenaries.

Two other Britons -- Andrew Hill and Dylan Healy -- were sentenced to 3 1/2 years and four years, respectively.

Hill was found guilty of fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Russian troops in Ukraine, while Healy was convicted of recruiting fighters to the Ukrainian armed forces.

The five men were among those released in prisoner swaps in 2022.

SEE ALSO:

Trial Of Journalist Gershkovich Under Way In Russia As U.S. Calls For His Immediate Release

Britain's Foreign Office condemned the "exploitation" of prisoners of war and civilians for political purposes following the capture of Healy and Hill in 2022.

It was confirmed at the time that another Briton, Paul Ury, who was captured along with Healy and Hill, died in the custody of then Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's east.

The British government insisted then that as legitimate members of the Ukrainian armed forces, the Britons and other foreigners captured by Russian troops should be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.

In early March 2022, shortly after Russia started its full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Kyiv launched a website to recruit foreign volunteers to an "international legion" to fight invading Russian troops.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree then, introducing visa-free entrance to Ukraine for foreign nationals who intend to join the “international legion.”

BRATISLAVA -- Igor Dodon, the pro-Russian leader of Moldova's largest opposition party and a former president, won't commit to running in Moldova's upcoming presidential election as he looks to spearhead the defeat of incumbent Maia Sandu and her pro-EU agenda.

In a wide-ranging interview with Current Time in Bratislava last week, Dodon blamed "all sides" for the war in Ukraine and said of Moscow's territorial claims that only "the results of peace talks will make it clear where the war will stop, for both Russia and Ukraine."

He accused Sandu and the current Moldovan government of "violating" Moldova's neutral status and suggested that if he were in power he would shut off the country as any sort of conduit for the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

Dodon, 49, also declined to rescind a previous threat, made during a visit to Russia, to refuse to recognize the results if Sandu emerges victorious in the October presidential election in the landlocked country of about 3.5 million people sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania.

"If we see that there is falsification, and we record it, of course, we will make some decisions about it," Dodon told Current Time. "And whether it will lead to the fact that the elections won't be recognized or will lead to other consequences, we'll see. It's too early to talk about that now."

SEE ALSO:

Wider Europe Briefing: What To Expect From EU Accession Talks For Ukraine And Moldova

With two months to go before official candidate registration begins for the October 20 vote, recent polls show Sandu with 30 to 35 percent support compared to Dodon's 16 percent, making him her closest current potential competitor among likely candidates.

A former prime minister and founder of the liberal Party of Action and Solidarity, the 52-year-old Sandu derailed Dodon's presidential reelection bid in a 2020 landslide pledging to accelerate pro-EU reforms and curb corruption.

Sandu has doggedly backed Kyiv and pursued energy independence from Russia and greater integration with the West amid mounting fallout from Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine on Moldova's politics, security, and economy.

Sandu has repeatedly demanded an end to the stubborn presence in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region of hundreds of Russian troops at a Soviet-era weapons depot.

EU candidate Moldova, one of Europe's poorest states, achieved a milestone this week when the bloc on June 25 officially launched what are expected to be years of membership negotiations with Chisinau, alongside Kyiv.

In his Current Time interview, Dodon, who heads the Party of Socialists (PSRM), accused Sandu of overplaying her hand and alienating a significant segment of voters on the political left.

Embed share

Former Moldovan President Challenged Over Pro-Russia Stance

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 0:02:11 0:00

"Maia Sandu has characteristics that make her, in my opinion, a more serious dictator than others you think are dictators or they call Russia and so on," Dodon said.

He accused Sandu of relying too much on the West and the diaspora for support, singling out the United States and the EU's leadership.

"I've spoken about this openly," Dodon said, "without the help of these two geopolitical players, Maia Sandu wouldn't have won and wouldn't have held power up to now."

There are an estimated 1.5 million Moldovan nationals abroad, with half a million in Russia and most of the rest in the West. Moldova has about 3 million registered voters in all.

Dodon alleged that postal voting and other unspecified changes in the run-up to voting signaled that Sandu and her "Western handlers" lack confidence and are "in agony."

SEE ALSO:

'I Realize I May Never Come Back': Moldovan Mercenaries Join Russian Units In Ukraine

Moldova's parliament in April approved postal voting from abroad in an amendment criticized by most of the opposition, although it is limited to democratic countries with which Chisinau has diplomatic relations and which are not embroiled in military conflicts.

Dodon has repeatedly advocated improving ties with what he describes as traditional allies China and Russia, including restoring what he has long described as a "strategic partnership" with Moscow.

He said the war in Ukraine was "a tragedy for the Ukrainian people…[and] for the Russian people." It was a tragedy for Moldovans, too, he said, "because for us, both Ukrainians and Russians are brothers."

Dodon called Moldova a "neutral country militarily," adding, "We condemn war…. We believe that the war should be ended as soon as possible through negotiations."

Asked who started the war in Ukraine, Dodon cited the Euromaidan unrest that ousted Ukraine's pro-Moscow president in 2014 but made no mention of Russia's covert occupation of Crimea and support for Ukrainian separatists. "I think all sides are to blame for this," he said.

"Unfortunately we have reached a situation where hundreds of thousands of men, women, children, as you said, are being killed -- on both one side and the other side -- so the responsible politicians must stop [it]," he said. "Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow…the Ukrainian side and the Russian side will sit down."

Asked if he would prevent Ukraine's allies from supplying Kyiv with weapons to defend itself, Dodon said, "I would act according to the constitutional status of Moldova, which clearly states that we are a neutral state, and a neutral state should not interfere in this."

Sandu "will have answer for this in the future," he added.

Article 11 of Moldova's 1994 constitution proclaims the country's "permanent neutrality" and excludes "the stationing of any foreign military troops on its territory."

Despite repeated calls from Sandu and other senior officials, Russia has maintained hundreds of troops at a former weapons depot in Transdniester, whose separatist leadership maintains close ties to Moscow.

SEE ALSO:

Blinken Praises Progress Toward 'Dynamic Moldova' In Visit To Chisinau

Dodon said there are nothing but "pro-Western opinions left on [Moldovan] television," but that "Russia has more opportunities than the West" to influence elections.

"Of course," he added, "it would be good if we were left alone, by both Russia and the West, so that we can decide for ourselves." He vowed to "restore normal relations" with Putin and Russia "despite what is happening in Ukraine."

Transdniester is a heavily Russian-speaking sliver of land that has been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since a war in 1992. The autonomous region of Gagauzia is populated largely by ethnic Turkish Gagauz who speak Russian and have adopted Russian Orthodox Christianity.

On the coming election, Dodon declined to say whether he plans another run for the presidency but added, "It's clear that according to all the polls, it could be Dodon because that's what the polls show, that would be the best option for the Socialist Party."

Dodon said that if no other "nonpolitical, apolitical candidate" with sufficient support emerges in the next two weeks, his Socialists "will nominate their candidate from within the party leadership."

The monthlong registration period for presidential candidates begins on August 20.

Iranian-Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali has gone on a hunger strike to protest against being left out of a prisoner exchange deal between Tehran and Stockholm, his wife Vida Mehrannia told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.

Earlier this month, Sweden released former Iranian prison official Hamid Nouri in exchange for Swedish citizens Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi.

Djalali, who was detained in 2016 and subsequently sentenced to death for allegedly spying for Israel, was not part of the exchange. He has denied all charges.

Mehrannia said the Swedish government has not given Djalali’s family “convincing” explanations about why he was not included in the deal.

She added that Djalali’s hunger strike, which started on June 26, was in protest against Stockholm “leaving him behind” and “not taking any responsibility.”

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on June 25 that his government’s only options were to either bring Floderus and Azizi back or “drop everything” and forget the deal.

SEE ALSO:

Activists Condemn Iran-Sweden Prisoner Swap Of Convicted War Criminal Nouri

Mehrannia said she will meet a government representative in the first week of July to discuss her husband’s case.

She said Djalali, who is the longest imprisoned dual citizen held in Iran, was sentenced to death so that Tehan could use him to “pressure” European nations to release Iranian prisoners.

The prisoner swap deal has been widely condemned by rights groups and activists, because Nouri was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in 1988.

Western governments and rights groups have long accused Iran of detaining dual citizens to use them as bargaining chips against the West.

At least eight other European citizens are currently held in Iran, including Jamshid Sharmahd, a German citizen of Iranian descent sentenced to death.

The Islamic republic is also holding German-Iranian Nahid Taqavi, who was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison

Other Europeans held in Iran include French citizens Cecile Kohler and her partner, Jacques Paris, as well as a man identified only by his first name Olivier. Kohler and Paris are accused of spying, but no details have been released about Olivier's case.

An unnamed Austrian national was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in jail in Iran last year for spying, according to Vienna.

Swedish nationals Simon Kasper Brown and Stephen Kevin Gilbert, who were detained in 2021 and later convicted of drug trafficking, are serving eight and five years in prison, respectively.

Written by Kian Sharifi based on an interview by Fereshteh Ghazi of RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Nominees for four of the top jobs in Brussels have reportedly been agreed upon, with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas being tapped as the European Union's top diplomat, while European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will be nominated to serve a second term and former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa is set to become European Council president.

Meanwhile, NATO announced on June 26 from its headquarters in the Belgian capital that outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has been appointed as the military alliance's next secretary-general.

Brussels sources familiar with the negotiations regarding changes in the EU's top jobs told RFE/RL that there is agreement among the bloc's 27 members on Kallas, Costa, and von der Leyen, who are expected to be confirmed at a summit on June 27. Rutte will take over on October 1, when current NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg's term expires.

Rutte's appointment was agreed upon at a meeting on June 26 of the North Atlantic Council, the alliance's principal decision-making body consisting of the permanent representatives of all member countries, NATO said.

SEE ALSO:

Dutch PM Rutte Appointed As New Head Of NATO

He takes over at a critical time for European and global security as the war in Ukraine threatens stability.

Stoltenberg, a Norwegian former prime minister, assumed office in October 2014 and had his mandate extended four times, mainly as the alliance looked for stability and continuity after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Stoltenberg said that “Mark is a true trans-Atlanticist, a strong leader, and a consensus-builder."

“I wish him every success as we continue to strengthen NATO for the challenges of today and tomorrow. I know I am leaving NATO in good hands,” he added.

Favored by a large majority of the alliance's members, Rutte's candidacy met an unexpected obstacle when Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced in March that he intended to run for NATO's top position, arguing that the bloc needed change and an Eastern European perspective amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

However, earlier this month, Hungary and Slovakia, the last two countries that had opposed Rutte's candidacy threw their support behind the veteran Dutch politician, prompting Iohannis to announce on June 20 that he was withdrawing his bid.

Rutte is a history graduate and a former manager at a consumer products conglomerate. He became prime minister of the Netherlands for the first time in 2010. He is known for his no-frills behavior and can be seen frequently biking around The Hague.

Experts say that Rutte, renowned as a consensus builder, will need to muster all his political skills to maintain harmony in the alliance as the Ukraine war drags on.

Kallas will become the EU's new high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, taking over from Josep Borrell.

Costa will replace incumbent Charles Michel, while von der Leyen will remain as the president of the European Commission for another five years.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak

One of the most influential Russian poets, Bakhyt Kenzheev, died in New York at the age of 73, his colleagues wrote on social media on June 26. The cause of death was not given. Born in Kazakhstan's southern city of Shymkent in 1950, Kenzheev grew up in Moscow and in the early 1970s, amid heavy Soviet censorship, co-founded the Moscow Time underground poetry group along with other noted poets -- Aleksei Tsvetkov, Aleksandr Soprovsky, and Sergei Gandlevsky. In 1982, Kenzheev emigrated to Canada. He moved to New York in 2008. He wrote dozens of books of poems and novels. Kenzheev was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

A court in Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, on June 26 rejected an appeal filed by lawyers of well-known opposition activist and Soviet-era dissident Aleksandr Skobov against his pretrial arrest. The 66-year-old activist, who has condemned Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, was arrested and placed in pretrial detention in April on a charge of justifying of terrorism. The charge is related to Skobov's online comments about an explosion on the Kerch bridge in Russian-occupied Crimea in 2022. Skobov did not rise when the judge entered the courtroom and refused to answer the judge's questions, saying: " I neither recognize nor respect your court, because it serves not justice but [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's Nazi dictatorship." To read the original story by RFE/RL's North.Realities, click here.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office said on June 25 that it had started the extradition process for two Kazakh nationals suspected of the attempted murder of Kazakh opposition activist and journalist Aidos Sadyqov in Kyiv.

Sadyqov, an outspoken critic of Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and his government, was shot on June 18 while he was in his car in the Ukrainian capital and is currently in intensive care.

His wife, Natalya Sadyqova, who is also a journalist, was in the vehicle during the attack but was unharmed.

Just one day after the attack, Ukrainian police said investigators established that Sadyqov had been shot by two Kazakh suspects -- Altai Zhaqanbaev, born in 1988, and Meiram Qarataev, born in 1991 -- who were added to an international wanted list.

On June 22, Kazakhstan's Prosecutor-General's Office said the Central Asian nation's police had detained Zhaqanbaev and that they were trying to establish the whereabouts of Qarataev.

Natalya Sadyqova has said that Qarataev worked as a police officer in the northern Qostanai region. The Kazakh Interior Ministry, however, claimed that Qarataev had been sacked from the police force in 2019.

On June 26, Kazakh Deputy Interior Minister Marat Qozhaev told RFE/RL that if Ukraine requests extradition of the two suspects from Kazakhstan, "everything will proceed in accordance with the law."

He did not elaborate.

Qozhaev declined to answer RFE/RL's question about how and under what circumstances Zhaqanbaev was detained.

When RFE/RL asked Qozhaev if media reports saying that Zhaqanbaev used to work in the structures of the Committee for National Security were true, Qozhaev answered: "I do not have such information."

The Sadyqovs, along with their children, moved to Kyiv in 2014 after Kazakh authorities launched a case against Sadyqova, who worked as a journalist for the independent Respublika newspaper at the time. She was accused of slander.

Natalya Sadyqova said the attempted assassination against her husband appeared to be a "professional" operation.

Embed share

Kazakh Authorities Arrest Suspect In Connection With Journalist's Shooting In Kyiv

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 0:02:36 0:00

On June 19, Sadyqova told RFE/RL that, hours before the attack, she and her husband had issued a new video titled Toqaev Is Putin's Puppet on their YouTube channel.

The video criticizes Toqaev's "pro-Russian politics" and looks at the activities of Russian oligarchs and agents of influence in Kazakhstan, some of whom obtained Kazakh citizenship after Russia launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

She added that Toqaev would have stood to gain from her husband's killing but did not present any evidence that connected the president in any way to the shooting.

Toqaev's spokesman, Berik Uali, said on June 21 that the Kazakh president "had ordered law enforcement entities to find the two suspects' whereabouts and undertake corresponding measures."

"Kazakhstan's side is ready to cooperate with Ukraine's law enforcement structures, including via Interpol," Uali said.

Sadyqov used to lead a branch of the opposition Azat Social Democratic Party in his native Aqtobe region in Kazakhstan's northwest until 2010. He later headed a group that was a major force for establishing a union to defend the rights of Kazakh workers at the Chinese-owned CNPC-Aktobemunaygaz oil company.

The construction of a garment factory near Bishkek to employ relatives of more than 80 Kyrgyz men and women killed during anti-government protests in June 2010 began earlier this month, according to plant construction foreman Jenish Nusubaliev. The unrest toppled then-President Kurmanbek Bakiev, who was sentenced in absentia to several lengthy prison terms, including life. He fled to Belarus, where he has now been living for 14 years. President Sadyr Japarov said last week that "individuals who suffered" during the protests had asked Bakiev for help to build the factory, which is expected to employ 200 people. Many in Kyrgyzstan considered Japarov's announcement as an attempt to pave the way for Bakiev's return to Kyrgyzstan. Groups uniting relatives of the 2010 victims told reporters on June 25 that they were against Bakiev's return as a free man. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and senior commanders of the Ukrainian military on June 26 visited Donetsk, where they met with the troops that have been engaged in the defense of the eastern frontline region and discussed the current situation on the battlefield.

Zelenskiy said in a video posted on his Telegram channel that he was accompanied by Ukraine's top military commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy, and the newly appointed commander of the Joint Forces of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Brigadier General Andriy Hnatov.

Zelenskiy on June 24 appointed Hnatov to replace Lieutenant General Yuriy Sodol following criticism that, under his leadership, Ukrainian forces suffered a large number of casualties and lost territory to Russian troops.

Embed share

Top Ukrainian General Replaced Amid Criticism Over Heavy Casualties

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 0:02:46 0:00

"Today, I officially introduced Andriy Hnatov to all those responsible for the defense of Donetsk region. We listened to reports directly from [the defenders of] the positions," Zelenskiy said in the video shot in front of the sign of Pokrovsk, the Donetsk city that was the target of a Russian missile strike on June 24 in which four people were killed and more than 40 were wounded.

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.

Russian forces have been pressing ahead with an offensive in the direction of Pokrovsk in recent weeks after capturing Avdiyivka in February following a protracted battle.

Zelenskiy also said that urgent humanitarian needs in the region were also discussed.

"I held a meeting here in the Donetsk region on security and support for people -- a detailed meeting. Many questions. In terms of providing life -- water, social issues, evacuation, and in terms of defense assistance, and in terms of housing restoration," he said.

Separately, a Russian ballistic missile struck civilian infrastructure in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa early on June 26, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

"An administrative building was damaged in the [city's] industrial sector. Fortunately, people were not injured," Kiper wrote.

Odesa, one of Ukraine's largest cities and a crucial port for Ukraine's grain exports, has been repeatedly targeted by Russian missile and drone strikes since the start of Moscow's unprovoked invasion in February 2022.

The NATO military alliance has appointed outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as its next secretary-general. NATO ambassadors approved the move at a meeting in Brussels on June 26. He takes over for Jens Stoltenberg at a critical time for European and global security as the war in Ukraine threatens stability. Stoltenberg assumed office in October 2014 and had his mandate extended four times, mainly as the alliance looked for stability and continuity after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The trial of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been in Russian detention for more than a year on espionage charges that he, his employer, and the U.S. government have rejected as politically motivated, began on June 26.

SEE ALSO:

Who Are The Americans Behind Bars In Russia?

Gershkovich was seen with a shaven head as he stood in a glass box during a brief appearance before journalists, wearing an open-necked black-and-blue plaid shirt with his arms folded.

The proceedings continued behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg, the Ural city where Gershkovich was arrested on March 29, 2023 during a reporting trip. He has been charged with trying to obtain military secrets to pass on to the CIA.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow, whose representatives were given brief access to the hearing, said in a statement that Russian authorities failed to provide any evidence to back the charges and called in a statement for Gershkovich's immediate release, urging Moscow to stop using U.S. nationals as leverage for political ends.

"We are talking about the Kremlin using American citizens to achieve its political goals. Russia must stop using the likes of Evan Gershkovich or [former U.S. Marine] Paul Whelan as bargaining chips. Both of them must be released immediately," the statement said.

No media, friends, or family members were allowed to attend the proceedings, which White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said was "nothing more than a sham trial."

Kirby told reporters on a conference call that Gershkovich has never been employed by the U.S. government and has never been a spy. He added that Russia has failed to justify his detention, saying he and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who also is jailed in Russia, are being used as bargaining chips, Kirby said.

Gershkovich, the American-born son of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, is the first U.S. journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War.

He risks up to 20 years in prison if found guilty, an outcome that is all but certain.

Russian Prosecutor Mikael Ozdoyev claimed Gershkovich was collecting secret military intelligence for the CIA.

"The investigation has established and documented that the American journalist of The Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich, on the instructions of the CIA...collected secret information about the activities of a defense enterprise about the production and repair of military equipment in the Sverdlovsk region," Ozdoyev told journalists, without offering any details about the alleged evidence.

The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have firmly rejected the charges, saying Gershkovich, 32, was merely doing his job as an accredited reporter when he was arrested.

Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal publisher Almar Latour and Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker issued a joint statement on June 26 on the "shameful and illegitimate" proceedings.

"It’s jarring to see him in yet another courtroom for a sham trial held in secret and based on fabricated accusations. While we are told he’s doing well given the circumstances, Evan’s wrongful detention continues to be a devastating assault on his freedom and his work and an unfathomable attack on the free press," the statement said. "It’s outrageous that he has already endured 455 days in prison when he never should’ve been arrested."

Gershkovich's family also issued a statement in which they said the past 15 months have been "extraordinarily painful" for both Evan and his family.

"We miss our son and just want him home. We’re deeply disappointed that he will have to endure further attempts to discredit him and to paint a picture that is unrecognizable to anyone who knows him."

Court officials said the next hearing for Gershkovich was set for August 13.

SEE ALSO:

Fresh Arrests Of Americans Prompt Fears Russia Could Be Taking New Hostages

Gershkovich has been held in Moscow's infamous Lefortovo Prison ever since his arrest, and all his appeals for release have been rejected.

Gershkovich and Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence also on espionage charges, have been designated by the U.S. government as "wrongfully detained."

Such a designation ensures that the case is assigned to the office of the special envoy for hostage affairs in the U.S. State Department, raising the political profile of their situation and allowing the U.S. administration to allocate more resources to securing the prisoners' release.

Gershkovich is one of two American reporters currently being held by Russian authorities. The other is Alsu Kurmasheva, an RFE/RL journalist who holds dual U.S.-Russian citizenship.

Kurmasheva, 47, was arrested in Kazan in October and charged with failing to register as a "foreign agent" under a punitive Russian law that targets journalists, civil society activists, and others. She’s also been charged with spreading falsehoods about the Russian military and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

RFE/RL and the U.S. government say the charges are reprisals for her work as a journalist for RFE/RL in Prague.

Unlike Gershkovich and Whelan, Kurmasheva has not been designated as " wrongfully detained" despite repeated calls by her employer and family for this to happen.

Embed share

Russian Court Again Extends Detention Of RFE/RL Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva

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 0:02:58 0:00

In a news release on June 26, the National Press Club in Washington reiterated its call for Kurmasheva to be recognized as wrongfully detained. National Press Club President Emily Wilkins said the club and others in the journalism community "have spoken out about the need for the State Department to immediately declare journalists detained by a foreign government as wrongfully detained."

Wilkins said the press club sent a letter calling for the change to President Joe Biden on April 14, 2023. It sent a similar letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on November 28, 2023.

"No action was taken and there was no reply," Wilkins said. “There is no reason to have not done so after eight months, and there is no reason to wait one more day.”

Wall Street Journal Assistant Editor Paul Beckett voiced hope that the U.S. administration's efforts will bear fruit and Gershkovich, as well as Kurmasheva and Whelan, will be released.

"[U.S.] President [Joe] Biden has long promised to bring Evan home. We've seen efforts to that effect in the 15 months that he's been there. Obviously, there's only one definition of success. And that's for him to come home. So [we] really hope that this will spur efforts to bring him and Paul Whelan and Alsu and others home from Russia," Beckett told RFE/RL.

Another U.S.-Russian citizen, Ksenia Karelina, appeared in court in Yekaterinburg last week at the start of her trial on a treason charge, which will take place behind closed doors.

Karelina, 33, was arrested in February during a visit to her native Yekaterinburg after security officers accused her of sending $51.80 from her U.S.-based bank account to the Razom for Ukraine foundation, which helps Ukrainian civilians.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Andrei Belousov on June 25, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said, adding that Austin had "emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine." Austin initiated the call, the first between U.S. and Russian defense ministers since March 2023, Ryder said. Russia's Defense Ministry said the two "exchanged views on the situation around Ukraine." Belousov pointed out the danger of further escalation of the situation in connection with the continued supply of American weapons to the Ukrainian Army, the ministry said. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

North Macedonia's government on June 25 formally announced a $500 million project with investor Alcazar Energy Partners to build the largest wind farm in the country.

The project will significantly boost energy independence and foreign investment and will be the largest investment in renewable energy sources in North Macedonia, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said.

The wind farm will be located in the country's southeast, with a capacity to generate up to 400 megawatts of renewable energy.

Construction on a total of 55 wind turbines is expected to begin in the second half of 2025, representatives of the company said on June 25 in Skopje. The first electricity is expected to be produced in the second half of 2027.

Once operational, the wind farm is scheduled to produce enough energy to power more than 100,000 households annually, while avoiding the release of more than 670,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Alcazar Energy Partners said in a statement that grid connections with Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Kosovo, will help reduce energy shortages and support the transition to renewable energy in the Western Balkans.

Company managing partner Daniel Calderon said Alcazar Energy "sees North Macedonia as a promising investment location for renewable energy."

The firm, which focuses on renewable energy projects in emerging markets, is headquartered in Luxembourg and has an advisory team based in Dubai.

In its portfolio, Alcazar Energy lists five solar photovoltaic plants and two wind farms in Jordan and Egypt. It began a wind-park project in Montenegro in September, according to its website.

Mickoski leads a new right-wing government that had its first working day on June 24. Mickoski promised a "furious start to projects," including the promotion of new investments, after his government was approved on June 23.

With reporting by AP

A Hungarian authority tasked with defending the country's sovereignty against foreign influence has launched an investigation into the Hungarian branch of anti-corruption organization Transparency International. Transparency International Hungary said on June 25 it had received a six-page letter announcing the investigation from Hungary's newly formed Sovereignty Protection Office, which has been condemned by rights groups as a means to stifle dissent. The authority requested financial and operational information and said it had initiated "a specific and comprehensive investigation" into Transparency International Hungary's activities. The group said it would comply but that it believes the office is unconstitutional.

Russia said on June 25 it had exchanged 90 captive soldiers for an equal number of Ukrainian soldiers in a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

"As a result of the negotiation process, 90 Russian servicemen who were in mortal danger in captivity have been returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In return, 90 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian armed forces were handed over," Russia's Defense Ministry said on Telegram.

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.

The ministry said the released Russian prisoners returned to Moscow for medical checks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also confirmed the prisoner swap on Telegram.

“Home is not just words,” Zelenskiy said. “Home is Ukraine. We remember all our people in Russian captivity. We continue to work for the liberation of each and every one.”

Zelenskiy said those exchanged primarily served in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhya.

U.A.E. state media outlet WAM confirmed the U.A.E.’s role as mediator of the exchange. This marks the third time this year that the U.A.E. facilitated a prisoner swap, beginning on February 9 with the exchange of 100 prisoners on each side.

The U.A.E. also facilitated a May 31 prisoner exchange in which 75 prisoners were returned to Russia and Ukraine respectively.

The Ukrainian Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said the exchange on June 25 involved 32 National Guardsmen, 17 representatives of the Naval Forces, 15 army soldiers, eight Territorial Defense Forces members, and 18 Border Guards were part of the exchange.

The headquarters said 59 of the 90 Ukrainian servicemen released served in Mariupol.

Andriy Yermak, the Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said those brought home included servicemen who defended the Azovstal steel mill in the port of Mariupol in 2022 and others taken prisoner when Russian forces captured the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

With reporting by Reuters

Russia on June 25 announced a ban on access to 81 different media outlets from 25 European Union countries, saying the action is in retaliation for an EU ban announced in May on several Russian media outlets.

The EU ban stripped the broadcasting rights in the bloc of what it described as four "Kremlin-linked propaganda networks," naming them as the Voice of Europe, the RIA Novosti news agency, Izvestia, and Rossiiskaya gazeta.

Among the 81 news outlets that the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was banning in retaliation are Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the leading print publications Der Spiegel and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Germany, Le Monde and Liberation in France, El Pais in Spain, and La Stampa and La Repubblica in Italy.

Austria's ORF state TV company, Ireland's RTE broadcaster, and Spain's EFE news agency were also among the outlets affected by the move.

The only EU countries with no media outlets on the banned list are Croatia and Luxembourg.

The ministry accused them of "systematically distributing inaccurate information" about what Russia calls its special military operation in Ukraine.

"The Russian Federation has repeatedly warned at various levels that politically motivated harassment of domestic journalists and unjustified bans on Russian media in the EU will not go unanswered," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"In spite of this, Brussels and the capitals of the bloc's countries preferred to follow the path of escalation, forcing Moscow to adopt mirror and proportional countermeasures."

It said it would review the ban if the EU lifted its restrictions on RIA Novosti, Izvestia, and the Rossiiskaya gazeta.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the move was another sign of the Russian government's crackdown on journalism.

"They're afraid of their own people hearing the truth; hearing the truth about Russia's actions inside Russia, the actions by the government to repress their own people, about Russian's actions to invade a neighbor, and illegally occupy its neighbor," he said.

Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Russian State Duma, said the EU's ban on the Russian news outlets had shown that the West refused to accept any alternative point of view.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry criticized Moscow's decision and summoned the charge d'affaires of the Russian Embassy in Vienna.

"This decision is another, albeit unsurprising, step by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to suppress media diversity and thus keep his own population in the dark," the ministry said.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than a million websites have been blocked in Russia, including Facebook, Instagram, and X, as well as independent media websites, including RFE/RL. To bypass blocking, Russians use VPN services, which the authorities also regularly block.

With reporting by Reuters and dpa

The Kremlin announced on June 25 that it was preparing for a visit to Russia by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- his first since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The dates of the trip will be announced later, assistant to the Russian President Yury Ushakov said. However, The Tribune, an Indian newspaper, wrote that Modi will visit Moscow on July 8, which immediately precedes the July 9-11 NATO summit in Washington. Modi and Putin spoke in early June by phone, and Modi last traveled in 2019, meeting Putin in Vladivostok. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.