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Ray Furlong

Ray Furlong has reported for RFE/RL from the Balkans, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and elsewhere since joining the company in 2014. He previously worked for 17 years for the BBC as a foreign correspondent in Prague and Berlin, and as a roving international reporter across Europe and the former Soviet Union.

FurlongR@rferl.org

Also by Ray Furlong

June 05, 2024
Ukraine Still Reeling From Flood A Year After Dam Destroyed

A year after Ukraine's Nova Kakhovka dam burst, causing massive flooding, it is still causing new problems -- with many buildings crumbling and in danger of collapse due to subsidence and lack of heating.
June 01, 2024
What's It Like Going To School In Russian-Occupied Ukraine?

Chilling accounts have emerged of school life for children in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, where Ukrainian textbooks were burned and replaced with new ones partly written by an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
May 31, 2024
Kharkiv Residents In Tears As Russia Strikes Homes

Injured people were desperately waiting for news of loved ones still missing in the ruins of an apartment block in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, after it was hit by a Russian missile strike on May 31.
May 31, 2024
'State Of Shock': Kyrgyz Migrants In Hungary Left Jobless And Desperate

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been a vocal critic of migrants coming to the European Union, but his government's own official figures show there are 120,000 migrant workers in Hungary. An RFE/RL investigation has uncovered how vulnerable some of these workers can be.
May 27, 2024
The Desperate Ways To Flee Ukraine And Avoid Mobilization

Amid a new mobilization law in Ukraine, men aged 18-60 are seeking increasingly inventive methods to flee the country and escape the war -- border guards even caught one man who tried to dress as a woman and use his sister's passport.
May 19, 2024
Frantic Search For Crashed Helicopter With Iranian President

Iranian rescue teams were frantically searching for a helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi after it crashed in a remote area of the country on May 19.
May 16, 2024
Dubai Unlocked: Ukrainians With Secret Investments

RFE/RL has discovered that senior current and former Ukrainian officials have luxury investments in the United Arab Emirates, after trawling through records revealed in the Dubai Unlocked property information leak. Most of them denied knowledge of Dubai real estate.
May 16, 2024
Slovakia In Shock Day After Attempted Assassination Of Leader

Slovaks are still absorbing the shock the day after an unprecedented assassination attempt left its prime minister, Robert Fico, hospitalized with several gunshot wounds. The attack came amid high political tensions in the country.
May 08, 2024
'Taiwan Is China': Vucic Welcomes Xi To Serbia

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic rolled out the red carpet for his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on May 8, declaring "Taiwan is China" before welcoming crowds in Belgrade. Belgrade residents whom RFE/RL spoke to appeared broadly happy about Xi's visit and their country's ties to China.
May 07, 2024
Muddy Floodwaters Surge Through Afghan Villages

Surging brown waters were cascading through rural houses and shops in Afghanistan's Ghor Province in the latest flooding to hit the country. Taliban authorities say more than 1,000 families were forced from their homes in recent days. It comes after flooding claimed 100 lives in March and April.
May 06, 2024
Medical Miracle Restores Ukrainian Woman's Smile

Polish surgeons have performed a series of operations on a Ukrainian woman who had part of her face and lower jaw blown off in a Russian attack -- winning a "medical Oscar" and enabling her to smile to the camera in an interview with RFE/RL.
May 03, 2024
Ukraine's AI Spokesperson: 'We Need To Be One Step Ahead'

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has launched a new, AI-generated virtual spokesperson, Victoria Shi, to represent it online. In an interview with RFE/RL, Shi says she will free up time for human diplomats to do more important work and will never get tired.
April 30, 2024
Ukraine Says Russia Used Cluster Bomb In Odesa Strike On 'Harry Potter' Castle

A Ukrainian Army spokesman told RFE/RL on April 30 that Russia used a cluster bomb in a deadly attack on a law school dubbed "Harry Potter's Castle" in Odesa. Among the wounded was a pregnant woman, a small child, and a former pro-Russian politician once awarded a state honor by Vladimir Putin.
April 29, 2024
Toomaj Salehi, The Iranian Rapper Sentenced To Death Amid Global Outcry

There has been global outrage after Iran handed a death sentence to Toomaj Salehi, a rapper who was detained for supporting protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022. One supporter has told RFE/RL she hopes Tehran will back down to avoid sparking a new wave of mass protests.
April 25, 2024
What's Behind The Arrest Of Russia's Deputy Defense Minister?

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov has been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes worth $10 billion, according to Russian media. He could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Analysts weigh in on why it could weaken his boss, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
April 24, 2024
Iran's 'Ambassadors Of Kindness' Enforce Hijab In New Head Scarf Crackdown

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has established a new unit in Tehran to enforce a crackdown on women not wearing a head scarf. Called "Ambassadors of Kindness," the unit has issued videos of girls happily receiving hijabs. But footage on social media shows women without a hijab being detained.
April 23, 2024
The Iranian Cartoonist Arrested For Her Art

Prominent Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani has been detained by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) after attempting to post her work on a wall near the presidential palace in Tehran, multiple sources in Iran have told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
April 22, 2024
As Ukraine Considers Recruiting Convicts, A Drug Smuggler Wants To Fight Russia

A Ukrainian drug smuggler says he'd rather be in the army than in jail -- and he may get his chance if a law is passed allowing convicts to be recruited for the war with Russia. RFE/RL gained exclusive access to a Ukrainian prison as legislation was being debated in the Ukrainian parliament.
April 18, 2024
U.S. Journalist Detained In Russia Defiantly Insists She Will Walk Free

Six months since being detained in Russia, U.S. journalist Alsu Kurmasheva has insisted she will walk free. Kurmasheva, who works for RFE/RL, is charged with failing to register as a foreign agent and spreading misinformation - charges are widely seen as reprisals for her journalistic work.
April 15, 2024
Iranians Voice Concern Following Attack On Israel

Despite images of celebrating crowds on the streets of Tehran, RFE/RL listeners in Iran have contacted us to voice apprehension about the possible consequences of their country's massive attack on Israel.

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