A political campaign strategist for the Russian opposition Yabloko party’s deputy chairman was rushed to hospital on July 8 after an ambulance was called to a courtroom during his trial in Moscow on a charge of disobeying police. Lawyers for Vitaly Shushkevich said their client has an unspecified medical condition and constantly needs medicine, which police refused to supply him during two days of detention. He is a strategist for Maksim Kruglov, the only member of the Yabloko party who managed to collect enough signatures of supporters to be eligible to take part in municipal elections in the Russian capital in September. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Afghan authorities have slashed the salaries of women government workers who have been forced to stay at home since the Taliban seized power, the Taliban-led government's Finance Ministry said on July 8. After kicking out the foreign-backed government in 2021, the Taliban administration stopped most women employed in the public sector from attending their offices while continuing to pay them. "Women who are at home and do not go to the office... their salaries are 5,000 afghanis ($70) a month," Ahmad Wali Haqmal, the ministry spokesman, told AFP. Women who are permitted to work in segregated areas such as in government hospitals or schools would continue to get paid a salary according to their position.

The Kirov regional court in Russia on July 8 acquitted Nikita Belykh, the region's former governor and an opponent of President Vladimir Putin, in a new case against him on charge of abuse of office.

Belykh was released from prison last month after serving an eight-year prison term on a bribe-taking charge that he has rejected.

Then, in December 2023, a court in the Kirov region sentenced Belykh to an additional 2 1/2 years in prison on a charge of abuse of power but spared him from serving the punishment, citing the statute of limitations.

Meanwhile, prosecutors sought an additional term for Belykh on two charges of abuse of power, but the judge acquitted Belykh of the more serious of the two charges due to a lack of evidence, handing him only a 2 1/2-year sentence on the lesser of the two charges. Statute-of-limitations deadlines also mean he won't serve prison time on that charge.

On July 8, the Kirov regional court cancelled the lower court's December decision, fully acquitting Belykh due to "the absence of any elements of a crime" in the case.

One of the highest-ranking officials to be arrested in office since Putin was first elected president in 2000, Belykh maintained his innocence in both cases against him, saying he was the victim of a provocation by law enforcement authorities.

Once a leader of a liberal opposition party, the Union of Rightist Forces, Belykh was one of the few provincial governors in Russia not closely allied with Putin.

Before serving as Kirov governor, Belykh was a deputy governor for the Perm region and a lawmaker in that region's Legislative Assembly.

He conducted several political campaigns in opposition to Putin's policies and was sharply criticized by liberals, such as former ally Boris Nemtsov -- who was assassinated in February 2015 -- when he accepted the appointment in 2009 by then-President Dmitry Medvedev.

Putin fired Belykh in July 2016, shortly after his arrest.

With reporting by TASS and Interfax

The Kazakh Defense Ministry said on July 8 that its armed forces, along with those from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, had begun joint military maneuvers on the shores of the Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan. The Association-2024 drills, scheduled to run until July 17, are taking place at the Oimasha military test field and the Cape of Toqmaq in the Kazakh region of Manghystau. In all, up to 4,000 military personnel from the five countries and almost 700 pieces of military equipment and vehicles are taking part in the exercises. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

A court in Belarus opened the trial of Natallya Malets on a charge of facilitating extremist activities as the government of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka shows no signs of letting up in its campaign to crush any perceived signs of dissent.

The Brest regional court in the country's west on July 8 launched the trial of the 63-year-old Malets, who is accused of wiring cash 125 times to political prisoners. If found guilty, she faces up to six years in prison.

Last year, Malets was handed an 18-month parole-like sentence on a charge of "insulting a representative of law enforcement." Human right groups have recognized her as a political prisoner.

Meanwhile, the Hrodna regional court on July 8 started the trial in absentia of journalist Ales Kirkevich on the same charge of facilitating extremist activities. It remains unclear what Kirkevich did to be charged with the offense.

The Crisis In Belarus

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

Since mass protests in 2020 challenged the official result of a presidential election where Lukashenka was announced the winner -- many in Belarus and abroad say the vote was rigged -- Belarusian authorities have launched a sometimes deadly crackdown on independent journalists, activists, opposition politicians, and democratic institutions.

Over the weekend, the Brest regional court sentenced Iryna Pahadayeva to three years in prison, saying the 55-yrear-old activist wired cash to jailed political prisoners 32 times.

Pahadayeva was arrested in May and her state of health has dramatically worsened while in custody, as she suffers from issues related to high blood pressure. Human right groups have recognized her as a political prisoner.

The same court is currently trying another activist, Iryna Bandarenka, on the same charge. Bandarenka is accused of sending cash to political prisoners and bringing parcels to them while they were held in a detention center in Brest.

The Vyasna human rights group said on July 8 that 18 political prisoners, including four women, had been released since last week after Lukashenka signed a law on mass amnesty.

According to Vyasna, some political prisoners refused to accept the amnesty after they were required to write a letter to Lukashenka asking him personally for clemency.

Lukashenka, 69, has been in power since 1994. He has tightened his grip on the country since the August 2020 election by arresting -- sometimes violently -- more than 35,000 people. Fearing for their safety, most opposition members have fled the country.

The West has refused to recognize the results of the election and does not consider Lukashenka to be the country's legitimate leader.

Many countries have imposed sanctions against Lukashenka's regime in response to the suppression of dissent in the country.

A new right-wing alliance announced recently by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been accredited in the European Parliament with French National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella as its chairman, a spokesman for the Hungarian leader said via social media on July 8.

The registration of the Patriots For Europe grouping followed posts earlier in the day by Orban spokesman Zoltan Kovacs saying Bardella and Marine Le Pen's RN and the Italian Lega party led by Matteo Salvini would join.

"PatriotsforEurope has been officially accredited as the new defining right-wing political group of the [European Parliament]," Kovacs tweeted under the phrase "historic moment."

"Our political group will start its journey with [Bardella] as chairman and [Fidesz] MEP Kinga Gal as the first vice-chairman," he added.

Such groupings require a minimum of 23 representatives from at least seven EU member states.

The additions of the French and Italians after commitments from Danes, Spaniards, Czechs, and Austrians, and others suggested they could have quickly become the third-largest faction in the European legislative chamber.

"With 84 representatives from 12 countries our alliance of European patriots will fight for the future and sovereignty of the European people!" Kovacs said.

Le Pen's party colleagues had reportedly signaled their intention to join the Orban-backed grouping ahead of her national-populist party's third-place finish in French national elections in which the political left and right teamed up to beat back the surging RN's hopes of a win.

SEE ALSO:

Far-Right National Front Falls Short In Elections, But France Remains Polarized

"This new right-wing faction could become the third-largest in the European Parliament," Orban spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said earlier.

Kovacs also tweeted that the Patriots For Europe "continues to grow with the addition of Italy's Lega party" led by Matteo Salvini.

Salvini confirmed Lega's participation, saying on social media that "after a lot of work, the large Patriots group is born together with the Lega in Brussels, which will be decisive in changing the future of this Europe."

Orban announced the Patriots for Europe alliance in Vienna on June 30 alongside Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) President Herbert Kickl and billionaire former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who heads the Czech ANO party.

Orban vowed that it would "quickly" dominate the European political right.

Salvini estimated that the Patriots have attracted 80 members, which would outpace the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Party group led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Lega's domestic ally.

But Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party said it would not join the Patriots for Europe.

Orban's right-wing Fidesz party has been isolated in the European Parliament since quitting the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) group under threat of expulsion in 2021.

Elections in early June for the European Parliament showed big gains for Europe's far right, although Fidesz suffered a setback amid a challenge from party defector Peter Magyar and his center-right Tisza Party.

SEE ALSO:

Orban Challenger Says Strong Election Showing Marks Breakthrough For Hungary

The Hungarian prime minister has talked openly about his plans to turn the country from a democracy into an "illiberal state," and the government has taken control of much of Hungary's print and broadcast media.

Orban has hammered Brussels as his government imposed controversial laws on LGBT speech and clashed with the bloc over perceived backsliding on democratic and media freedoms.

He has also cozied up to Moscow diplomatically and economically while resisting EU and other sanctions imposed on Russia to punish its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and refusing to join NATO and other Western efforts to help arm Kyiv.

His self-described "peace mission" since Hungary took up the rotating six-month EU Council presidency has angered EU leaders, who quickly spoke out to say Orban did not represent the bloc in any potential negotiations about Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

SEE ALSO:

Orban Meets In Beijing With Xi As Solo 'Peace Mission' Continues

Russian human rights activist Svyatoslav Khromenkov said authorities at a prison in Siberia placed 62-year-old anti-war activist Natalya Filonova under stricter prison conditions. Filonova is now being held in a part of the facility where inmates are under stricter control, have limited access to other parts of the prison, and visits by friends and relatives are limited. Filonova is serving a 17-month prison term on a charge of attacking police officers at a rally in 2022 as a protest against the military mobilization to the war in Ukraine. Filonova rejects the charge as politically motivated. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 8 in the South Asian leader's first visit to Russia since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.

Modi reportedly arrived earlier in the day on the first stop on a three-day tour that will also take him to Austria.

Modi tweeted in conjunction with the Russian visit and the subsequent stop planned for Austria that "These visits will be a wonderful opportunity to deepen ties with these nations, with whom India has time tested friendship."

He suggested he'd be meeting with the Indian communities in both countries.

The Kremlin said the talks would explore "prospects for the further development of traditionally friendly Russian-Indian relations, as well as current issues on the international and regional agenda."

India has emerged as a growing trade partner for Russia since international sanctions were imposed to punish Russia's aggression, particularly as a key customer along with China for Russian oil.

Unlike his Western partners, Modi has avoided squarely blaming Russia for the invasion or condemning Moscow's actions.

Instead, New Delhi has stressed its desire for a peaceful end to the conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Modi would meet "with a free agenda, one-on-one."

Reuters quoted a senior Indian official as saying last week that Modi's top priorities on the visit would be addressing the growing trade imbalance with Russia and pursuing the release of Indian nationals seemingly duped into fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

In March, the Indian Embassy in Moscow said Indian national Shri Mohammed Asfan "tragically died." Indian reports suggested Asfan had been tricked by recruiters offering money for "helpers" but forcing respondents into the fighting.

With reporting by Reuters

A member of the Public Monitoring Commission in Russia's North Caucasus region of Daghestan said over the weekend that the former governor of the Sergokala district, who was fired last month after a deadly terrorist attack and sentenced to 10 days in jail on a hooliganism charge, was rearrested on July 5 on fraud charges after serving his jail term.

Details of the new charge against former official Magomed Omarov are unclear.

Media reports say Omarov's arrest is linked to his alleged involvement in a fraud related to the employment of Sergokala residents by a local newspaper.

There was no official announcement of Omarov’s arrest.

Russian media reports said Omarov could face a terrorism charge over the fact that his son Osman allegedly led a terrorist attack on a synagogue and an Orthodox church in the Daghestani capital in late June.

Omarov's nephew, Abdusamad Amadziyev, is also reported to have been one of the members of the group that attacked the buildings and people inside them.

At least 21 people were killed and 45 wounded in the attacks, which occurred late on June 23 when gunmen opened fire at two Orthodox churches, two synagogues, and a police station in Makhachkala and the region's other major city, Derbent.

SEE ALSO:

Daghestan Attacks: What Happened And Why

The head of Daghestan, Sergei Melikov, announced the decision to fire Omarov the following day.

Melikov also ordered a check of the backgrounds of all district governors and regional lawmakers after the deadly attacks.

Mostly Muslim-populated Daghestan has a history of armed Islamic militancy. It borders another volatile, mostly Muslim-populated region in the North Caucasus, Chechnya, where Russian forces fought two wars against separatists in the mid-1990s and early 2000s.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was requesting a meeting of the UN Security Council and vowed retaliation after a "massive" air attack on targets all over Ukraine including an apparent cruise missile that slammed into the country's largest children's hospital before midday on July 8.

The UN's humanitarian coordinator and the EU's top diplomat both quickly condemned the Russian air strikes, which Ukrainian authorities said killed at least 29 people nationally and injured dozens more and left an unknown number of victims buried under the rubble of Kyiv's Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital.

Earlier, Zelenskiy said that "more than 40 missiles of various types" had targeted Kyiv, Dnipro and Kryviy Rih in central Ukraine, and Kramatorsk and Slovyansk in the eastern Donetsk region.

Zelenskiy also said he would initiate a meeting of the UN Security Council over the July 8 bombardments and demanded that the West produce a "stronger response."

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko was reported as having told Reuters that it was "one of the worst" attacks on the capital in the 28-month-old full-scale war.

Video taken by RFE/RL of Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv showed lines of people helping to clear the debris as smoke billowed out of the facility.

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"There are people under the rubble, and the exact number of casualties is still unknown," Zelenskiy said on social media, calling Okhmatdyt "one of the most important children's hospitals not only in Kyiv but also in Europe."

Klitschko said via Telegram that "Patients of the children's hospital, which was hit by an enemy rocket, are being evacuated to the municipal hospital of the city."

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Unconscious Woman Saved From Rubble After Deadly Russian Attacks On Kyiv

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Zelenskiy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk held a moment of silence at their meeting in Warsaw for the victims of the daylight strikes. They were there to sign a bilateral security deal.

Zelenskiy also pledged to launch a new Ukrainian legion in Poland, which has accepted millions of Ukrainian refugees since Russia's full-scale invasion started in February 2022. He urged Ukrainians abroad to join the Polish-based legion,

Tusk said ahead of Poland's participation in a NATO 75th-anniversary summit this week in Washington where Ukraine will be a focus that "you will always be able to count on us."

But a seemingly solo bid by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at what he described as a "peace mission" after his country assumed the rotating EU Presidency has wrought havoc among Ukraine's European allies, despite the EU's quick denunciations of Orban's initiative.

• RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
• AFP
• AP
• Reuters

Russia launched dozens of missiles at cities across Ukraine on July 8, killing at least 24 people and devastated a children's hospital in Kyiv, officials said.

Back in Ukraine, the air force said it had shot down 30 of 38 Russian missiles in the attack.

Moscow has routinely denied targeting residences, schools, hospitals, and other civilian structures despite frequent bombings that suggest otherwise.

On July 8, the Russian Defense Ministry said its air attacks near Kyiv were aimed at "Ukrainian military industry facilities and Ukrainian air force bases," adding that "the strike's objectives were achieved."

It said "numerous published photos and video footage from Kyiv clearly confirm the fact of destruction as a result of the fall of a Ukrainian air-defense missile."

"Russia cannot claim ignorance of where its missiles are flying and must be held fully accountable for all its crimes. Against people, against children, against humanity in general," Zelenskiy said.

Falling rocket debris was reported in more than a half a dozen other areas around the capital.

Ukraine's Prosecutor-General's Office said the death toll in Kyiv was at least 15, with 37 injured.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko had previously put the known death toll around the country at at least 20 with 50 more injured.

UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown said that "dozens of people have been killed and injured" on July 8, adding, "It is unconscionable that children are killed and injured in this war."

EU high representative for foreign and defense policy Josep Borrell accused Russia of "ruthlessly" targeting Ukrainian civilians and urged "air defense" for the war-ravaged country.

"Russia keeps ruthlessly targeting Ukrainian civilians," Borrell said on X, formerly Twitter.

Zelenskiy said that "the entire world must use all its determination to finally put an end to the Russian strikes," adding, "Killing is what [Russian President Vladimir] Putin brings. Only together can we bring real peace and security."

Ukraine's air force put the entire country on air alert twice earlier on July 8.

Explosions thundered in Kyiv around 10:30 local time as the city's military administration told the public: "The air alert continues! Air defense works in the capital. Stay in shelters until the air-raid alarm goes off!"

Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said via Telegram that the "Shelling of Ukraine [came] at a time when there are the most people on the streets." He blamed "obsessed Russian terrorists."

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.

Daytime attacks on cities have been rare, even as Russia has stepped up aerial bombardments of Ukrainian population centers and power and other infrastructure over the past six months.

Ukrainian forces reported downing at least three cruise missiles overnight.

Air force commander General Mykola Oleshchuk said via Telegram that the missiles had been targeting the northwestern and central regions of Zhytomyr and Cherkasy.

In Zelenskiy's hometown of Kryviy Rih, in central Ukraine, the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration head said at least 10 people had been killed and 30 injured in a "massive enemy attack from the air."

In northeast Ukraine, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said two women were hospitalized for injuries after Russian shelling struck three residential buildings there.

Kharkiv's governor said later on July 8 that a mine blast in the region had killed five people.

In fighting on the ground, the Ukrainian General Staff said Russia was continuing offensives in the Kharkiv region.

But it said the Russian focus appeared to be on an offensive in the Pokrovsk area of the eastern Donetsk region where Russian troops with air support are trying to dislodge Ukrainian forces. The regional governor said at least three people were killed in Pokrovsk in the July 8 missile attacks.

It said Ukrainian troops were trying to "stabilize" the situation to prevent Russian forces from "advancing deep into Ukrainian territory" there.

Outside analysts recently predicted that Russia will soon launch attacks across a canal in the strategic city and logistics hub of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk, where Kyiv recently acknowledged losing a district nearly three months into an intense battle focused on that city.

The Russian domestic intelligence service, the Federal Security Service (FSB), claimed on July 8 that it had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to bribe a Russian military pilot into hijacking a Tu-22M3 strategic bomber and flying it to Ukraine.

It was not possible to independently confirm the FSB's claim, which it said included a promise of Italian citizenship in exchange for landing the Russian bomber on Ukrainian territory.

RFE/RL cannot independently confirm reports by either side of battlefield developments in areas of the heaviest fighting.

With reporting by Reuters

Dozens of Tajik migrant workers returned to Tajikistan on July 8 after Russian authorities refused them entry to the country five days earlier amid a wave of anti-Tajik sentiment. The workers told RFE/RL that they had been stranded in Moscow since July 3, while Russian authorities have not explained the reason for the ban. Tajik nationals trying to enter Russia as migrant workers have faced difficulties since 11 Tajik men were arrested in March and April for their alleged involvement in an attack on a concert hall near Moscow in March that left 144 people dead. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tajik Service, click here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on July 8, the prime minister's office said in a statement on X. The statement said the meeting will take place at 1:10 p.m. local time. It gave no further details. The meeting comes as Ukraine's air force put the entire country on air alert over a suspected threat of airborne attacks, while air defenses fought to repel a midmorning Russian missile attack on Kyiv.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing as a continuation of what he calls "Peace mission 3.0" but Hungary's Western partners have angrily called strictly bilateral initiatives centering around the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The meetings have followed Hungary's assumption of the EU Council presidency on July 1, and EU officials have emphasized that Orban is not representing the bloc.

Orban defended his unannounced visit to China to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict by saying, "#China is a key power in creating the conditions for #peace in the #RussiaUkraineWar," adding, "This is why I came to meet with President Xi in Beijing, just two months after his official visit to Budapest."

Orban's China trip follows a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 5 and a trip to present a mysterious peace proposal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on July 2.

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 Beijing stopover also comes one day before NATO leaders including Orban gather in Washington for a summit marking the transatlantic military alliance's 75th anniversary with the Western response to Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine high on the agenda.

Xi emerged from the meeting with Orban saying of the Ukrainian war that "The international community should create conditions and provide assistance for the two sides to resume direct dialogue and negotiations."

The Chinese leader has condemned the conflict but diplomatically backed Putin, with whom Xi formed a "no-limits" partnership in the weeks before the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022.

"Only when all major powers exert positive energy rather than negative energy can the dawn of a cease-fire in this conflict appear as soon as possible," Xi said.

Chinese state television said in a readout of the meeting with Orban that "The current focus is to abide by the three principles of 'no spillover of the battlefield, no escalation of the war, and no fueling of the flames by all parties' to cool down the situation as soon as possible."

Like both of his previous trips, Orban's China visit has come as a surprise.

Hungary's EU partners have reacted furiously to the seemingly uncoordinated shuttle diplomacy, which Orban on landing in Beijing referred to on social platform X as "Peace mission 3.0."

A day earlier, Germany's Foreign Ministry said it was "astonished" by Hungary's cancellation of a planned foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for Budapest on July 8. It said on July 5 that Brussels and Budapest needed a "serious and honest" discussion following the Putin meeting.

Budapest cited "an unforeseen change" in Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto's calendar in postponing the meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

After Orban arrived in Moscow on July 5, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said that "Prime Minister Orban has not received any mandate from the EU Council to visit Moscow." He said the visit "takes place, exclusively, in the framework of the bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia."

Orban has acknowledged that the rotating, six-month EU Presidency that Hungary now holds has no authority to represent the bloc in talks or negotiations.

"Even if the rotating EU-Presidency has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU, we cannot sit back and wait for the war to miraculously end," Orban tweeted. "We will serve as an important tool in making the first steps towards #peace. This is what our peace mission is about."

Orban has whipped up fears of an escalating conflict in recent Hungarian elections, seemingly adopted Kremlin talking points, and accused many in the West of warmongering in response to Russia's invasion.

In Kyiv on July 2, Orban presented Zelenskiy with a cease-fire proposal he said was aimed at pausing the fighting. He declined to give details but said he asked Zelenskiy "whether it was possible to take a break, to stop the firing, and then continue the negotiations."

Zelenskiy did not express his opinion on the proposal during the briefing with reporters, but a spokesman for the president said later on July 2 that Zelenskiy gave Orban an opportunity to air his thoughts.

Chinese President Xi visited Hungary in May in the latest sign of growing diplomatic and economic ties between Beijing and Budapest.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Britain’s newly appointed Labour Party defense secretary traveled to the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa on July 7 for his first official foreign journey, vowing his country’s continued support for Kyiv.

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.

"There may have been a change in government, but the U.K. is united for Ukraine," John Healey said, according to a statement released by the Defense Ministry.

Healey's visit to Odesa came on the same day that the foreign and defense chiefs of the Netherlands' new far-right government visited Kyiv and also vowed strong support for Ukraine's war effort.

Following meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, the British defense chief “announced that the U.K. would provide a new package of support to the country, including more artillery guns, a quarter of a million ammunition rounds, and nearly 100 precision Brimstone missiles,” the statement said.

He also pledged to “fast-track” military support committed for Ukraine in April by the previous Conservative government to arrive within the next 100 days.

Those promises included 400 vehicles, 1,600 strike and air-defense missiles, 4 million rounds of ammunition, and 60 boats, the statement said.

“Our commitment to stand with the Ukrainian people is absolute, as is our resolve to confront Russian aggression and pursue [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for his war crimes,” Healey said.

Also in Odesa, British Admiral Tony Radakin, chief of the defense staff, said that "the recent milestone of 500,000 Russians killed or wounded is a reminder of how badly this war has gone for Russia."

"Over the past year, with British help, Ukraine has driven the Russian fleet from Crimea and reopened the Black Sea for exports," he added, according to the statement. “By continuing to support Ukraine, and by helping to ensure Russia loses, Britain and Europe will be stronger and safer over the long term.”

The comments come on the heels of strong remarks by new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy in support of Ukraine in its war against Ukraine.

SEE ALSO:

New Dutch Leaders Pledge Weapons, 'Rock Solid' Support During Ukraine Visit

Lammy, who traveled over the weekend to Germany, Sweden, and Poland, wrote in the Local Europe publication that “European security will be this government’s foreign and defense priority.”

“Russia’s barbaric invasion has made clear the need for us to do more to strengthen our own defenses," he said.

Britain, under the previous Conservative-led government, has provided nearly $10 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, fresh off a controversial trip to Moscow, may now be on his way to Beijing, a Hungarian media site reported on July 7, although the government in Budapest hasn't confirmed the journey. Hungarian news portal 444.hu reported that tracking sites have shown that a Hungarian military-government Dassault Falcon 7X aircraft is on its way from Budapest to Beijing – a plane often used to transport the country’s prime minister. Orban, who holds the rotating EU Presidency, was soundly criticized by EU leaders for his July 5 trip to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin in what the Hungarian premier called an effort to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Brussels and Ukraine said Orban did not speak for the EU or Kyiv. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hungary in May.

KYIV -- Days after taking office, top leaders of the new far-right Dutch government sought to dispel concerns about a shift toward Russia, vowing during a visit to Kyiv that its support for Ukraine was “rock solid” and that sophisticated warplanes and an air-defense system were on the way.

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.

Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp and defense chief Ruben Brekelmans -- in their first foreign trip since taking office -- made the announcements during meetings with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and during a Kyiv news conference.

The two Dutch officials arrived in Kyiv on July 6, but their visit was not disclosed publicly until July 7 for security reasons.

The Netherlands on July 2 swore in its first far-right government as recent ultraconservative swings in several countries sent shock waves through Europe and raised concerns about further support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

However, in an interview with Reuters in central Kyiv, Brekelmans said, "I wanted to stress that our support for Ukraine is rock solid. Our support to Ukraine is beyond any doubt."

"My message to all the officials in the Ukrainian government is that the Netherlands stands by Ukraine and will continue to support Ukraine in political, military, financial, and moral ways," Veldkamp told Reuters.

Veldkamp told the Kyiv news conference that the Netherlands will begin sending F-16 fighter planes to Ukraine "without delay" after export licenses were finalized last week, although he did not specify a date for the promised 24 warplanes.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Norway have combined to pledge more than 60 F-16s to Ukraine since Washington reluctantly gave approval for the U.S.-designed planes to be provided by allies.

Delivery has been held up as individual nations establish protocols for exporting their F-16s and because Ukraine wasn't fully prepared to maintain or fly them despite the ongoing training of Ukrainian pilots in the West.

Kyiv has said it badly needs the sophisticated jets to allow it to win air superiority over its territory in the face of Russian air assaults.

The two Dutch leaders also said the Netherlands would provide Kyiv with an additional U.S.-made Patriot air-defense system, joining several other EU nations that have pledged to provide Ukraine with such armaments.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he “urgently” needs Patriot systems to protect Ukrainians and the nation's infrastructure from Russia's continued bombardment.

"Today we discussed how this initiative will be implemented and the expected delivery time of this system to Ukraine," Kuleba said of the Patriot system.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and The New York Times

The Iranian Navy frigate Sahand capsized during repairs in the southern port of Bandar Abbas, Iranian state media reported on July 7. "As Sahand was being repaired at the wharf, it lost its balance due to water ingress. Fortunately...the vessel is being returned to balance quickly," the official news agency IRNA reported, citing a Iranian Navy statement. It did not specify when the accident occurred. State media carried a picture of a capsized ship and said several people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

A new far-right alliance in the European Parliament -- launched just a week ago by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- has enough parties to achieve group status. The Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), Belgium's Vlaams Belang, and the Danish People's Party announced their intention to join the alliance over the weekend. Their declaration means seven countries are now represented in the alliance, called Patriots For Europe, an important condition to form a parliamentary group in the EU legislature. The group's manifesto has the usual far-right focus on retaining national sovereignty vis-a-vis the European Union, fighting illegal migration, and pushing back EU measures to reduce climate change. Orban said the parties would meet on July 8 in Brussels.

Moderate reformist Masud Pezeshkian, the winner of Iran's runoff presidential vote, will be sworn in before lawmakers early next month, Mojtaba Yosefi, a member of the Iranian parliament's presiding board, told state media.

Pezeshkian defeated ultraconservative hard-liner Saeed Jalili in the July 5 runoff, garnering 53.7 percent of the vote, or 16,384,403 votes, while Jalili received 44.3 percent, or 13,538,179 votes, according to final results announced by the Interior Ministry.

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Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who wields ultimate power in Iran, first has to give his approval to Pezeshkian's win in a ceremony known as "tanfiz."

Following that ceremonial step, "the swearing-in ceremony of the president will be held on August 4 or 5," Yosefi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA on July 7.

"The president will then have 15 days to present his proposed ministers to the parliament for a vote of confidence," he said, adding that, according to parliamentary rules, Pezeshkian will officially renounce his lawmaker mandate on July 31.

Pezeshkian has been a member of parliament since 2008 and served as deputy speaker between 2016 and 2020, when moderates and reformists had a majority in the legislature.

Pezeshkian's victory came amid a turnout of 49.8 percent, considerably higher than the record-low 40 percent in the first round of the election, which was triggered by the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.

Pezeshkian, who finished the first round with 10.5 million votes -- 1 million more than Jalili -- appears to have been the one who benefited from the larger turnout in the second round, finishing the runoff with nearly 3 million votes more than his opponent after voting was extended three times until midnight.

His campaign had sought to increase turnout by convincing young and disappointed people who boycotted the first round to vote in the runoff.

Following his surprise victory, Pezeshkian thanked young Iranians for helping him win.

"I am especially grateful to the dedicated and capable young people who came to work lovingly and sincerely on my team and together with the rest of the people shone a ray of hope and confidence in the future," the 69-year-old former heart surgeon wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

However, he warned that a "difficult path" lies ahead for the Islamic republic and appealed to Iranians not to leave him "alone" as he begins his presidency in a country beset by economic hardships compounded by international sanctions and dominated by a repressive theocracy.

Khamenei called the runoff vote "very important" and urged everyone "to work together.

Iran's theocracy, installed after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, has long maintained that it derives its legitimacy from strong popular support that translates into high voter turnout, but poor participation in recent elections and deadly antiestablishment protests have challenged the legitimacy of the current leadership.

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Iran's New Reformist President Unlikely To Bring Major Policy Shifts

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Pezeshkian questioned Iran's methods of enforcing the Islamic head scarf for women following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022 while in the custody of Iran's dreaded morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.

He has also said that while the hijab law should be observed, "there should never be any intrusive or inhumane behavior toward women."

Pezeshkian has called for "constructive relations" with Western countries and favors reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, but he also supports the principles of the Islamic republic and said he would follow Khamenei's policies if elected.

Iran's acute economic doldrums worsened after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers in 2018, reimposing harsh sanctions.

Following Pezeshkian's victory, the European Union said it was prepared to talk.

"We take note of the results of the presidential elections in Iran and congratulate President-elect Masud Pezeshkian," Nabila Massrali, EU spokeswoman for foreign affairs and security policy, said on X. "We are ready to engage with the new government in line with EU policy of critical engagement."

Washington, however, dismissed the impact of Pezeshkian's election.

"The election will not have a significant impact on [Washington's] approach to Iran," a U.S. State Department spokesman told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. "Our concerns about Iran’s behavior are unchanged. At the same time, we remain committed to diplomacy when it advances American interests."

In a separate development, Iranian authorities on July 7 said they had arrested eight people in connection with the killing of two security force members who were carrying election boxes in the eastern Sistan-Baluchistan Province after the first round of voting on June 28.

The identities of those arrested were not revealed.

The United Nations' high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan, met with Afghan refugees in Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 7. Grandi listened to the refugees’ concerns and assured them of the support of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Qaisar Afridi, the UNHCR spokesperson in Peshawar, told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal. Grandi will meet Pakistan government officials and other humanitarian and development partners. Grandi's visit comes as Pakistan continues to deport unregistered Afghan refugees. According to the UNHCR, Pakistan hosts approximately 3.2 million Afghan refugees, 76 percent of whom are women and children. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, click here.

Chinese soldiers arrived in Belarus on July 6 for joint a “anti-terrorism training exercise,” Belarus’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram. It said the maneuvers will be held from July 8-19. The joint training “will allow…the laying of a foundation for further development of Belarusian-Chinese relations in the field of joint training of troops,” it said. Belarus on July 4 joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional grouping promoted by Beijing and Moscow as an alternative to Western influence, while China has been making moves in recent years to increase ties with countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

A state of emergency was declared on July 7 in parts of Russia's Voronezh region near the border with Ukraine following a suspected Ukrainian drone attack that set an ammunition depot on fire, regional authorities said.

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Regional Governor Aleksandr Gusev said Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air-defense systems and that the fire was ignited by debris that fell on an ammunition depot in the Podgornensky district overnight.

Videos posted on Telegram purported to show at least one drone heading toward the depot and then a long series of blasts could be heard while plumes of black smoke were rising in the air.

Gusev said there were no immediate reports of casualties. Later in the morning, he announced that he had declared a state of emergency in the settlement where the burning depot was located, without identifying it by name.

The road that leads into the area has been closed and authorities have begun evacuating residents to temporary accommodation centers, reports said.

Ukraine, whose energy and civilian infrastructure has been decimated by months of intensive Russian drone and missile strikes, has in turn started targeting industrial facilities, mainly oil refining capabilities that work for the military, inside Russia.

On July 7, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) claimed in a message on Telegram that its agents on the previous day had struck a logistics center in Debaltseve, in the Russia-occupied part of Donetsk, that housed tank equipment and ammunition.

HUR also claimed that an electronic warfare jamming communication station was destroyed in Novoluhansk in the occupied Luhansk region. The claims could not be independently verified.

Separately, Ukraine's Air Force said on July 7 that its air-defense systems had repelled a fresh Russian missile and drone attack on several regions earlier in the day.

"The enemy attacked with 2 Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 13 Shahed drones," the Air Force reported on Telegram, adding that 13 drones were shot down in the Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Sumy, and Poltava regions.

Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said on Telegram that its Iskander missiles had destroyed two Ukrainian launchers for Patriot surface-to-air missile systems and a Giraffe radar station in the village of Yuzhne in the Odesa region.

However, Ukrainian Air Force commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk asserted on Telegram that Russian forces had struck decoy launchers aimed at fooling Moscow into firing off expensive missiles at fake targets.

Claims on either side could not be independently verified.

The European Union has said it is ready to get involved in talks with the winner of Iran's presidential election, Masud Pezeshkian, following his July 6 victory. "We take note of the results of the presidential elections in Iran and congratulate President-elect Masud Pezeshkian," Nabila Massrali, the EU's spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, said on X. "We are ready to engage with the new government in line with EU policy of critical engagement," Massrali wrote. Pezeshkian has called for "constructive relations" with Western countries and favors reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and global powers.

All 10 Russian wrestlers who received permission from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to participate in the Paris Olympics have refused to attend, the Russian Wrestling Federation (RWF) said on July 6.

The RWF said the decision was made after some of the country’s leading wrestlers were left off the invitation list, including two-time gold medalist Abdulrashid Sadulayev and Zaurbek Sidakov, the 2023 world champion.

"We do not accept the unsportsmanlike principle of selection that guided the IOC in compiling the list of eligible athletes, the purpose of which is to undermine the principle of unity of our team," the federation said.

In December 2023, the IOC allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Olympics as neutrals without flags and anthems because of the war in Ukraine. They also would not be allowed to march in the opening ceremony at the Olympics, which runs from July 26 to August 11.

The wrestling portion of the Olympics will run August 5-11.

In March, the IOC set up a special commission to assess the right of each Russian and Belarusian athlete to compete in Paris in a neutral status.

Among the IOC's requirements for neutral status are the lack of support for Russia's war against Ukraine, as well as ties with the army and special services, including the Dynamo and CSKA sports clubs.

On July 5, the IOC announced quotas for Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) -- those with Russian or Belarusian passports who have been confirmed as eligible to compete in Paris in each sport.

It listed 10 Russian wrestlers as being eligible for the games. However, according to the RWF, those wrestlers -- seven men and three women -- refused to travel to the Paris event.

Over the past decade, Russia has been isolated in international sports, first over doping allegations and then after Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Hundreds of residents in Pakistan’s Swat Valley and Orakzai tribal district rallied to condemn a newly announced military operation by the federal government, with one movement calling for a nationwide protest on July 7.

The Ulasi Pasoon (Public Revolution) and Orkazai Peace Movement organized the protests on July 5 in which political workers, rights activists, and students carried placards demanding peace and security in their areas and denouncing the planned military operation.

Residents have long opposed the national government's military operations in the region, claiming they have driven millions of people from their homes and disrupted businesses and other activities of ethnic Pashtuns in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

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Pakistani Protesters Fear Impact Of Military Operations

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They have also protested the lack of overall security provided by the national authorities.

The protesters in Swat and Orakzai demanded peace and asked the military forces to target the terrorists’ hideouts rather than conducting operations in civilian areas.

Pakistan’s top leadership on June 22 approved plans for the Resolve For Stability military operation designed to combat escalating extremist violence and terrorist attacks in the region. The operation has not yet started.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a remote northwestern province near the Afghan border, has seen an increase in deadly attacks in the past two years, mostly blamed on Islamist extremist groups, including Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan and affiliates of Islamic State.

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Fearful Of Losing Their Livelihoods, Pakistanis Oppose Latest Military Operation

Islamabad has accused neighboring Afghanistan of providing safe havens for the groups operating in Pakistan, something Kabul has denied.

Pakistani security forces have said they have been conducting targeted operations against militants in several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

Citing the effects of previous military operations, local residents and political activists in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa launched the protest rallies and other actions after plans for Resolve For Security were announced by the government in Islamabad.

The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) rights group has announced plans for countrywide protests against new military operations on July 7.

The office of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had stated that the new operation would not be a full-scale military campaign displacing a large number of people like the previous operations.

The Pakistani military on July 5 said in a statement that the new operation is aimed at “harnessing the national counterterrorism efforts in a synchronized manner to dismantle the nexus of terrorism and illegal spectrum in the country for enduring stability and economic prosperity.”