https://www.rferl.org/z/645 The latest news from RFE/RL's broadcast region. https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org/z/645 en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:45:01 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL Officials in Moscow have announced a new record victory for the Kremlin-controlled United Russia party in what the European Union dismissed as “sham elections” on September 21. https://www.rferl.org/a/33860268.html https://www.rferl.org/a/33860268.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 12:19:13 +0200 Russia As the conflict in the Persian Gulf continues to impact and shape the region, journalists from RFE/RL's Central Newsroom and Iranian service, Radio Farda, deliver ongoing updates and analysis. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-live-blog-trump-middle-east/33803414.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-live-blog-trump-middle-east/33803414.html Mon, 21 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0200 Iran There was no let up in fighting between Russia and Ukraine on September 20, as voters in Russia cast ballots on the final day of parliamentary elections from which a political party calling for peace was excluded. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-elections-drone-missile-strikes/33859774.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-elections-drone-missile-strikes/33859774.html Sun, 20 Sep 2026 16:33:26 +0200 News Russian officials claimed voting systems came under cyberattack, as the country entered the second of three days of voting for the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-duma-vote-election-ukraine/33859408.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-duma-vote-election-ukraine/33859408.html Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:01:40 +0200 News US President Donald Trump signed into law legislation aimed at increasing economic pressure on Russia over its war on Ukraine, including by targeting Moscow's energy revenues as well as countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas. https://www.rferl.org/a/33859294.html https://www.rferl.org/a/33859294.html Sat, 19 Sep 2026 07:53:39 +0200 News An attack involving an explosion and gunfire at a police headquarters killed at least 20 people and injured dozens of others in the Pakistani city of Kohat in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, which borders Afghanistan. https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-afghanistan-explosion-police-blast-gunfire/33859034.html https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-afghanistan-explosion-police-blast-gunfire/33859034.html Fri, 18 Sep 2026 19:28:22 +0200 News US President Donald Trump says Washington and Warsaw are making "major progress" toward establishing a permanent US Army base in Poland, potentially expanding the American military presence on NATO's eastern flank. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-poland-us-army-base-nato-russia/33858649.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-poland-us-army-base-nato-russia/33858649.html Fri, 18 Sep 2026 08:40:30 +0200 News Russians cast ballots to choose lawmakers for the State Duma, with the more-than-4 ½-year-old war on Ukraine and a slowing economy looming over the country’s first parliamentary elections since the 2022 invasion. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-duma-election-vote-putin-ukraine-war/33858191.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-duma-election-vote-putin-ukraine-war/33858191.html Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:01:52 +0200 News Russia resumed its missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities on September 17, hours after the US Congress passed a sanctions package that supporters say will increase pressure on Moscow and countries that help finance its war against Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-attack-ukraine-graham-bill-sanctions/33858069.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-attack-ukraine-graham-bill-sanctions/33858069.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:31:36 +0200 News The US Congress on September 16 passed sweeping legislation targeting Russia and Iran, sending to President Donald Trump a sanctions package supporters say will increase pressure on Moscow and countries that help finance its war against Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-congress-sweeping-russia-iran-sanctions-bill/33857946.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-congress-sweeping-russia-iran-sanctions-bill/33857946.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 07:18:57 +0200 News The US military says traffic in the Strait of Hormuz continues to gain momentum amid concerns that escalating fighting between Saudi Arabia and Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen threatens another vital artery for global oil supplies in the region. https://www.rferl.org/a/centcom-hormuz-houthi-saudi-fighting-iran-us/33857667.html https://www.rferl.org/a/centcom-hormuz-houthi-saudi-fighting-iran-us/33857667.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:42:17 +0200 Iran US special envoy John Coale announced that 25 people were released from Belarusian prisons in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions on two Belarusian companies following his talks with the country’s longtime authoritarian leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko. https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-us-prisoners-release-sanctions/33857455.html https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-us-prisoners-release-sanctions/33857455.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 13:55:01 +0200 Belarus An international tribunal in the Hague on September 16 said it has found former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander and later Kosovo President Hashim Thaci guilty of war crimes and sentenced the 58-year-old to 25 years in prison. https://www.rferl.org/a/hague-court-former-kosovo-president-thaci-guilty-war-crimes/33857358.html https://www.rferl.org/a/hague-court-former-kosovo-president-thaci-guilty-war-crimes/33857358.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:28:12 +0200 News The US indictment targets five people, including two men linked to Russia's main intelligence agency, who plotted assassinations and sabotage in the United States and Europe. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-charges-five-russian-intelligence-sabotage-assassination-plot/33857324.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-charges-five-russian-intelligence-sabotage-assassination-plot/33857324.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:15:32 +0200 Russia sweeping Russia sanctions bill championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham cleared a key procedural hurdle in the US House of Representatives on September 15, setting up a final vote on legislation that supporters say would increase pressure on Moscow and strengthen US support for Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-sanctions-bill-us-house-trump-ukraine/33857261.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-sanctions-bill-us-house-trump-ukraine/33857261.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:10:06 +0200 News Ukrainian skeleton racer and Olympian Vladyslav Heraskevych is urging US lawmakers and the State Department to deny visas to Russian athletes who seek to compete under the Russian flag at the 2028 Olympic Games in LA, arguing that Moscow has turned sport into an instrument of war propaganda. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-heraskevych-russian-athletes-us-visa-ban-los-angeles-olympics/33855970.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-heraskevych-russian-athletes-us-visa-ban-los-angeles-olympics/33855970.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 14:20:21 +0200 News The US House Rules Committee has advanced legislation imposing tougher sanctions on Russia and Iran, clearing a key procedural hurdle for a possible House vote later this week but exposing deep Democratic concerns over the measure’s expansion of presidential tariff authority. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-house-panel-advances-russia-iran-sanctions-bill-putin/33855848.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-house-panel-advances-russia-iran-sanctions-bill-putin/33855848.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:52:41 +0200 News A NATO fighter jet shot down a drone carrying an explosive device after it entered Lithuanian airspace early on September 15, Lithuanian authorities said, as a series of incidents involving Russia and NATO members raised fresh concerns about the spillover of the war in Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-drone-strikes-nato-lithuania/33855738.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-drone-strikes-nato-lithuania/33855738.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 07:53:22 +0200 News The US House of Representatives could take up a sweeping Russia and Iran sanctions bill as soon as September 15, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina told RFE/RL. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-sanctions-russia-iran-ukraine-oil/33854891.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-sanctions-russia-iran-ukraine-oil/33854891.html Mon, 14 Sep 2026 21:29:46 +0200 News US President Donald Trump has said that Russia and Ukraine have agreed not to target each other’s energy facilities, a day after he criticized Kyiv for hitting Russian oil refineries. https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-russia-ukraine-energy-fuel/33854264.html https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-russia-ukraine-energy-fuel/33854264.html Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:33:12 +0200 News Ukraine's parliament is expected to vote on the resignation of the prosecutor general on September 15 after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his quick removal amid rising tensions over a series of high-profile anti-corruption investigations. https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-removal-ukraine-prosecutor-general-scandal/33853826.html https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-removal-ukraine-prosecutor-general-scandal/33853826.html Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:47:32 +0200 News Two Russian drone strikes hit near the Polish border early on September 13, Ukrainian authorities have reported, attacks that Kyiv said was Moscow “knocking on the doors of the EU and NATO” and urged further sanctions. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-poland-border-russian-strikes/33853301.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-poland-border-russian-strikes/33853301.html Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:26:43 +0200 News Russia continued to pound the Ukrainian civilian population, killing at least nine people in attacks throughout the country, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated he'd be willing to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin at the upcoming G20 summit -- something the Kremlin called “impossible.” https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-putin-trump-miami-g20-war-talks/33853066.html https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-putin-trump-miami-g20-war-talks/33853066.html Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:06:50 +0200 News The US State Department has urged American companies to exercise extreme caution when considering business transactions with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan after a former US official attended the signing of a deal between a Saudi energy group and the hard-line authorities. https://www.rferl.org/a/33852884.html https://www.rferl.org/a/33852884.html Sat, 12 Sep 2026 11:02:04 +0200 Afghanistan A fresh round of Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least three people and wounded dozens of others over the past 24 hours, Ukraine's president said on September 12, adding that the strikes targeted civilian sites and infrastructure across the country. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-strikes-odesa-zapporizhzhia-missile-shahed-drones/33852877.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-strikes-odesa-zapporizhzhia-missile-shahed-drones/33852877.html Sat, 12 Sep 2026 10:51:10 +0200 News The US House of Representatives is preparing to take up legislation next week that is intended to impose tougher economic pressure on Russia, setting up what could be a heated fight between Republicans and Democrats over how far Congress should go in expanding President Donald Trump's tariff powers. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-sanctions-us-shadow-fleet-congress/33852638.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-sanctions-us-shadow-fleet-congress/33852638.html Fri, 11 Sep 2026 22:26:52 +0200 News Anthropic said it has disrupted attempts by Iran to use its artificial intelligence (AI) models to disseminate state propaganda and spy on ethnic minorities and dissidents. https://www.rferl.org/a/anthropic-claude-iran-propaganda/33852428.html https://www.rferl.org/a/anthropic-claude-iran-propaganda/33852428.html Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:41:07 +0200 Iran PAVLOHRAD, Ukraine -- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ottawa will provide Ukraine with air defense support as he visited Canada in an attempt to shore up support from the country's allies amid deadly Russian drone and missile attacks. https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-canada-support-russian-missile-attacks/33851650.html https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-canada-support-russian-missile-attacks/33851650.html Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:47:46 +0200 News Iran said it attacked vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on September 9 after the United States destroyed several Iranian oil tankers overnight, in a sharp escalation in the six-month war. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-oil-shipping-hormuz/33851101.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-oil-shipping-hormuz/33851101.html Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:29:20 +0200 Iran A Russian drone attack targeted a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, killing two people and injuring three others, while another drone struck a residential building in Kyiv, as Moscow continues its campaign of near-continuous strikes across Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-attack-ukraine-moldova-checkpoint/33850936.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-attack-ukraine-moldova-checkpoint/33850936.html Wed, 09 Sep 2026 14:06:19 +0200 News The United States has imposed sanctions on all of Iran's remaining active airlines, sharply escalating pressure on Tehran's aviation sector as part of a broader campaign aimed at cutting the Islamic republic off from international trade and finance. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-sanctions-iran-airlines-aviation/33850336.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-sanctions-iran-airlines-aviation/33850336.html Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:38:20 +0200 Iran Ukraine's top prosecutor said he had submitted his resignation as anti-corruption investigators homed in on an embezzlement scheme connected to a top official in the prosecutor's office. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-prosecutor-resignation-corruption-zelenskyy-kravchenko/33849965.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-prosecutor-resignation-corruption-zelenskyy-kravchenko/33849965.html Tue, 08 Sep 2026 10:01:28 +0200 News Russia hammered the Ukrainian capital with drones and ballistic missiles, killing at least five people in a major attack hours after White House envoys left Kyiv amid a renewed push for peace negotiations. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-russia-attacks-us-envoy-visit/33849876.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-russia-attacks-us-envoy-visit/33849876.html Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:06:12 +0200 News An Iranian-American citizen, Kamran Hekmati, has been released from Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, sources have told RFE/RL's Radio Farda, but he is unable to leave the country due to a travel ban. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-kamran-hekmati-release-travel-ban/33849101.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-kamran-hekmati-release-travel-ban/33849101.html Mon, 07 Sep 2026 21:02:55 +0200 Iran Former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic, who was convicted by The Hague tribunal for war crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been buried with state honors in Belgrade on September 7 despite international condemnation. https://www.rferl.org/a/ratko-mladic-funeral-belgrade/33848433.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ratko-mladic-funeral-belgrade/33848433.html Mon, 07 Sep 2026 10:51:34 +0200 News Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the resumption of trilateral negotiations between the United States and Russia as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner concluded talks in Kyiv and Moscow, as part of efforts to end the conflict, now in its fifth year. https://www.rferl.org/a/kushner-witkoff-putin-zelenskyy-ukraine-russia/33847622.html https://www.rferl.org/a/kushner-witkoff-putin-zelenskyy-ukraine-russia/33847622.html Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:03:14 +0200 News US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have begun their meeting in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin as part of a renewed White House effort to end Russia's war against Ukraine, with the pair set to visit Kyiv afterward. https://www.rferl.org/a/witkoff-kushner-land-in-moscow-ukraine-peace-talks-kyiv-strikes/33847598.html https://www.rferl.org/a/witkoff-kushner-land-in-moscow-ukraine-peace-talks-kyiv-strikes/33847598.html Sat, 05 Sep 2026 15:54:33 +0200 News Russia has been sending abducted Ukrainian children to a summer camp in North Korea, according to a European Union document seen by RFE/RL outlining a new round of planned sanctions. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-abducted-ukrainian-children-north-korea/33847096.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-abducted-ukrainian-children-north-korea/33847096.html Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:19:12 +0200 Ukraine The United States has imposed sanctions on a Turkish investment bank and two subsidiaries, accusing them of helping Iran move oil revenue and providing access to the international financial system as Washington intensifies its campaign to squeeze Tehran. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-turkey-bank-sanctions-treasury-economic-outcast/33847194.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-turkey-bank-sanctions-treasury-economic-outcast/33847194.html Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:16:11 +0200 Iran US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have landed in Moscow as part of the latest White House attempt to end Russia's war against its neighbor, with the two diplomats set to visit Kyiv afterward. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-sbu-attack-witkoff-kushner-russia-visit/33847119.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-sbu-attack-witkoff-kushner-russia-visit/33847119.html Fri, 04 Sep 2026 17:52:47 +0200 News EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has canceled a planned visit to Serbia after a government plane flew the body of convicted Bosnian Serb wartime commander Ratko Mladic to Belgrade. https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-draws-international-criticism-for-honoring-war-criminal-mladic/33847116.html https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-draws-international-criticism-for-honoring-war-criminal-mladic/33847116.html Fri, 04 Sep 2026 17:27:41 +0200 Serbia The recent shoot-out between Ukraine’s two leading security agencies in Kyiv has raised eyebrows among Ukrainians. Two days later, there are still more questions than answers. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-gunfire-security-agencies-russia-war/33846889.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-gunfire-security-agencies-russia-war/33846889.html Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:58:30 +0200 News Ukraine’s top sanctions official says he remains optimistic about prospects for a sweeping Russia sanctions bill in the US Congress despite growing uncertainty over when the House will take it up, as lawmakers face a sharply shortened legislative calendar ahead of the November elections. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-congress-vlasiuk-russia-sanctions-graham/33846754.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-congress-vlasiuk-russia-sanctions-graham/33846754.html Fri, 04 Sep 2026 04:31:35 +0200 News US Vice President JD Vance said the United States is investigating Iranian claims that an air strike struck a wedding party, but he says he is "skeptical" of reports coming out of Tehran. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-vance-wedding-party-attack-probe-skeptical/33846519.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-vance-wedding-party-attack-probe-skeptical/33846519.html Thu, 03 Sep 2026 22:08:29 +0200 Iran Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with the two US special envoys who told him they will visit Kyiv "in the coming days" and that they will also travel to Moscow for talks, even as Russian strikes continued on the Ukrainian capital. https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-witkoff-kushner-trump-kyiv-russia/33846491.html https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-witkoff-kushner-trump-kyiv-russia/33846491.html Thu, 03 Sep 2026 21:00:36 +0200 News KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for “accountability” and “personnel decisions” after a shootout in Kyiv involving the country’s major security services. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-shootout-security-agencies/33845793.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-shootout-security-agencies/33845793.html Wed, 02 Sep 2026 23:10:52 +0200 News WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has confirmed that Washington and Kyiv are negotiating a license that could allow Ukraine to produce missiles for the US-made Patriot air-defense system, reviving an idea that President Donald Trump appeared to downplay only weeks ago. https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-ukraine-war-patriot-air-defense/33845802.html https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-ukraine-war-patriot-air-defense/33845802.html Wed, 02 Sep 2026 23:08:16 +0200 Ukraine The recent incident at Leipzig Airport in which Russian explosive-laden drones interrupted flights is the "new normal," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as she vowed to double down on support for Ukraine and more restrictive measures on Moscow. https://www.rferl.org/a/europe-leipzig-drone-russia-threat-ukraine/33845626.html https://www.rferl.org/a/europe-leipzig-drone-russia-threat-ukraine/33845626.html Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:28:08 +0200 News President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned airlines using Russian airspace about the threat posed by Ukrainian drones, saying the skies above Russia are no longer safe amid Moscow's continued escalation. https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-russia-ukraine-war-airspace/33845033.html https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-russia-ukraine-war-airspace/33845033.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 23:39:14 +0200 News Russian air strikes pounded the Kyiv region, killing and injuring local residents as children across Ukraine headed to school for their first day of classes on September 1. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-strike-boryspil-war/33844937.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-strike-boryspil-war/33844937.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 19:49:08 +0200 Photo Galleries