The UN refugee agency and partners are seeking $97 million to provide “urgent humanitarian aid” for ethnic Armenians who have fled Nagorno-Karabakh after the breakaway region was retaken by Azerbaijan last month in a lightning military operation. The UN's office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the Armenia Emergency Refugee Response Plan (RRP), launched on October 7, brings together 60 partners, including 43 national nongovernmental organizations, and looks to cover aid efforts for the next six months through March 2024.

Imprisoned Iranian women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi celebrated winning this year’s Nobel Peace Prize in her Iranian prison cell with fellow detainees, her family said on October 7.

"Narges learned she had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday afternoon (October 6) from messages sent from the men's unit, where they have easier access to telephones on Fridays," family members told AFP. "Narges and her cellmates erupted in joy and celebrated this victory in their cell."

The Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo on October 6 said it was honoring the 51-year-old for “her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.”

In a statement released through The New York Times following the announcement, Mohammadi said the honor only strengthened her resolve to fight oppression, even if it means spending the rest of her life behind bars.

“I will never stop striving for the realization of democracy, freedom, and equality,” she said. “Standing alongside the brave mothers of Iran...I will continue to fight against the relentless discrimination, tyranny, and gender-based oppression by the oppressive religious government until the liberation of women.”

WATCH: The husband of jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has told RFE/RL the award is actually for the protest movement that swept the country in 2022. Speaking in Paris on October 6, Taghi Rahmani said: "Narges has received the prize as a symbol and as one of the activists of this movement."

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Nobel Prize Is For All Of Iran's Protesters, Says Jailed Winner's Husband

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The award was widely applauded by the international community, while Iran denounced it as a "biased and political" action.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media that Mohammadi's “fight against the oppression of women in Iran and for human rights is essential and universal.”

Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, a rights advocate who won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, wrote that the Iranian activist is "a courageous defender of Iranian women.... I hope this award further invigorates her campaign and elevates the voices of all Iranian women protesting against a repressive regime."

Prominent Iranian activist Masih Alinejad wrote that recognition for "brave" Mohammadi was "very bittersweet for Iranians," noting that "every day in Iran women are being harassed and bullied by morality police."

SEE ALSO:

'Naked' And Defiant: Diary Of An Iranian Protester

Mohammadi's campaign for freedom of expression and women's rights has prompted the Islamic regime to arrest her 13 times, convict her five times, and sentence her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes.

She is serving multiple sentences in Tehran's Evin Prison amounting to about 12 years' imprisonment -- she has not seen her family in more than eight years -- on charges that include spreading propaganda against the state.

“Although the years of her absence can never be compensated for us, the reality is that the honor of recognizing Narges’s efforts for peace is a source of solace for our indescribable suffering,” a family statement said.

“For us, who know that the Nobel Peace Prize will aid her in achieving her goals, this day is a blessed day,” it added.

Mohammadi is the 19th woman to win the 122-year-old prize and the second Iranian woman, after human rights activist Shirin Ebadi won the award in 2003.

“This prize means that the world is paying attention to the activities that are being done in Iran [against] the rights of women. The world sees how the establishment represses women,” Ebadi told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda after the announcement. “As I have repeatedly said, democracy will enter Iran through the gate of women’s rights.”

Mohammadi's husband, Taghi Rahmani, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that the Nobel announcement “opens a window for the fight for democracy, for human rights, civil equality.

“I think this is important. It’s not just a prize for Narges. It brings attention to resistance that is ongoing in Iran for freedom, democracy, and civil equality," he added.

First arrested 22 years ago, Mohammadi has spent much of the past two decades in and out of jail over her unstinting campaigning for human rights in Iran. She has most recently been incarcerated since November 2021.

With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters

Iranian political activist Majid Tavakoli has begun his sentence in the notorious Evin maximum security prison in Tehran, the newspaper Emtedad reported on Telegram on October 7. According to the report, the political activist will have to serve five years in prison. The well-known student leader and activist has been arrested several times in the past, including during the nationwide protests in late 2022, according to human rights activists. Earlier this year, a court sentenced him to five years in prison. Numerous celebrities and activists have been targeted by the Iranian judiciary for critical statements or their activism and have been imprisoned or sentenced.

Ukraine has increased drone production a hundredfold in the past year following the full-scale invasion by Russia, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Two hundred companies alone have started developing new combat drones, media reports quoted him as saying on October 7. "Now the progress of a drone from development to purchase is as short as possible," Shmyhal said. He added that Ukraine's defense industry had radically changed its approach and the state arms company Ukroboronprom had been modernized. While Ukraine initially dominated thanks to drones from the Turkish manufacturer Bayraktar, Russia later caused severe damage with the mass-produced Iranian Shahed drones.

Vladimir Malov, a local official of the party backed by President Vladimir Putin, was killed in a vehicle explosion in the Russia-occupied city of Nova Kakhovka in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, the regional governor and Russian media reported on October 7. RIA Novosti initially reported that Malov, local secretary of the United Russia Party, had been seriously injured but later reported he had died in the hospital in the latest in a string of attacks against Russia-backed authorities in occupied regions of Ukraine. Volodymyr Saldo, the Kremlin-imposed governor, later confirmed the death in a Telegram post. To read the story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.

Forcibly deporting Afghans from Pakistan could lead to severe human rights violations -- including the separation of families and deportation of minors, the UN warned on October 7. Pakistan announced a crackdown on migrants living in the country illegally, including 1.7 million Afghans, telling them to return home by October 31 to avoid mass arrest and expulsion. The government denies targeting Afghans and says the focus is on people who are in the country illegally, regardless of their nationality. It said it is setting up a hotline and offering rewards to people who tip off authorities about such migrants.

The death toll from a series of strong earthquakes in Afghanistan’s Herat region has soared to at least 320 people, with hundreds more injured, the United Nations said on October 7, as rescue crews continued to search for survivors through the ruins of the area, including in several remote towns and villages.

There were reports of collapsed buildings in Herat, Afghanistan’s third-largest city some 850 kilometers west of Kabul.

“We have information that people are buried under the rubble,” Herat Public Health Director Mohammad Taleb Shahid told the AFP news agency.

The epicenter of the first earthquake was some 40 kilometers northwest of Herat, a city of 700,000 people. It was followed by at least three major aftershocks.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the largest of the temblors at a magnitude of 6.3, with the latest aftershock coming about 30 kilometers northeast of the city of Zindah Jan, which has a population of about 70,000 people.

“This earthquake was preceded by a 6.3 earthquake that occurred approximately 30 minutes before,” the USGS said.

Because of the remote nature of some of the earthquake-hit areas, authorities were uncertain as to the exact casualty toll.

A spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority told the German dpa news agency that "some villages had up to 1,000 or more people living in them. There were 300 houses. Only 100 people survived."

At least 600 people had been injured, officials said.

Musa Ashgari, head of the ruling Taliban agency in Herat, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi that at least 12 villages had been destroyed in the disaster and expressed concerns that the death toll could rise substantially.

Earthquakes are common in the Herat region of northwest Afghanistan and across the nearby border with Iran.

The World Health Organization (WHO) office in Afghanistan said it had sent 12 ambulances to Zindah Jan to evacuate casualties to hospitals.

“We have sent medicines and medical supplies to the hospitals to support treatment of those wounded. Our warehouse is ready to deploy for additional medicines as needed,” WHO Afghanistan said.

“As deaths and casualties from the earthquake continue to be reported, teams are in hospitals assisting treatment of wounded and assessing additional needs,” the UN agency said.

With reporting by AP, dpa, and AFP

Russia carried out dozens of air strikes against Ukraine during the night of October 6-7, as Ukraine’s military reported continued slow progress in its ongoing counteroffensive.

Ukraine’s General Staff said during its daily briefing that its forces were making slow progress in the areas of Melitopol in the south and Bakhmut in the east.

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A spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern group of forces told RFE/RL on October 6 that Kyiv’s forces had gained “up to 400 meters” of territory in the greater Bakhmut area and was holding its new positions against heavy Russian assaults.

“I cannot give details because the enemy is using this information,” spokesman Ilya Yevlash said. “We have to get a foothold and only then can we talk about it more openly.”

Four civilians were reported injured in the Black Sea port city of Odesa as a result of an overnight missile attack that struck residential buildings and a granary. The missiles were launched from a coastal missile complex in the Russia-occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea, Ukraine’s military said.

Air-raid alerts were issued overnight in the Kharkiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions.

Authorities in Moscow have been dismantling a spontaneous memorial to the dozens of civilian victims of a suspected Russian attack on October 5 a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Muscovites have been bringing yellow and blue flowers and ribbons to a monument to Ukrainian poet Lesya Ukrayinka, with communal workers removing them almost immediately.

There have been no reports of arrests.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on October 7 that a Ukrainian drone had been shot down in an area of Moscow without causing any damage.

Later, Russia's Defense Ministry said late on October 7 that air-defense systems in Crimea had "detected and destroyed" two Ukrainian S-200 antiaircraft missiles that had been repurposed for ground attacks.

Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne quoted a resident as saying two explosions were heard near Yevtaporiya in western of Crimea.

The ministry also said a Ukrainian drone attack had been repulsed off the coast of occupied Crimea near the port city of Sevastopol.

RFE/RL is not able to independently verify reports from areas of heavy fighting.

With reporting by Reuters

A contingent of 200 British troops began arriving in Kosovo late on October 6, NATO and Britain’s Defense Ministry reported. The troops will bolster the 400-strong British force already in the country as part of an annual NATO exercise there. The additional troops will be under NATO command and authorized to conduct operations under the KFOR mandate. The deployment comes amid high tensions triggered by an attack late last month by ethnic Serbian forces on Kosovar police officers in northern Kosovo. Germany said on October 6 that it would deploy an additional 155 troops to Kosovo beginning in April 2024. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, click here.

The 15-year-old son of the strongman leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic has been awarded the Hero of Chechnya medal, State Duma Deputy Adam Delimkhanov reported on Telegram on October 6. Adam Kadyrov, the son of Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov, made headlines last month when video was released showing him beating a detained man who was accused of burning a Koran. Ramzan Kadyrov responded by saying he was proud of his son. Hero of Chechnya is the region’s highest honor and is bestowed by decree from the head of the region. Ramzan Kadyrov awarded the first such honor to himself in February. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Authorities in Cyprus on October 6 said they had arrested a Russian journalist for “security reasons,” prompting the Russian Foreign Ministry to demand a formal apology. State broadcaster CyBC quoted diplomatic sources as saying that the journalist would be deported. Cypriot authorities also dismissed Russian allegations that police used excessive force during the arrest, according to CyBC. A Foreign Ministry spokesman told CyBC that Cypriot authorities are in touch with the Russian government to resolve the matter. Russian news agency RIA Novosti identified the journalist as Aleksandr Gasyuk of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper. He reportedly already flew back to Russia.

The number of Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine is nearly 34,000, according to a tally of names confirmed through open sources by the BBC and Mediazona. The names and burial sites of 33,904 Russian military personnel were known as of October 6, according to the two media outlets, whose journalists have kept the tally since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. They say the real number could be up to two times higher. Since the last update two weeks ago, the number of Russian military personnel killed in the war has increased by 1,248 people. To read the original story on RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu said in an interview published on October 6 that the Wagner mercenary group founded by the now-deceased Yevgeny Prigozhin had planned a coup in Moldova.

Sandu told the Financial Times that according to government information, the coup was planned this year by Prigozhin’s team.

She also said money had been smuggled from Russia into Moldova, partly by couriers and partly through bank accounts in Dubai, and said that pro-Russian forces in Moldova will continue to be financed by Moscow to destabilize the country.

"The situation is really dramatic, and we have to protect ourselves," Sandu said in the interview.

Sandu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy first commented publicly in February about an alleged coup plot to topple the pro-Western government in Chisinau. Zelenskiy said then that the plan had been intercepted by his country's intelligence services.

The Kremlin subsequently urged Moldova to exercise caution in its statements about Russian forces stationed in the breakaway Transdniester region, where an estimated 1,100 Russian troops remain deployed.

Sandu's interview appeared as EU leaders met in Granada, Spain, to discuss the prospects for the accession of Moldova and other Eastern European countries. Sandu said that welcoming Moldova into the EU would be the best way to ensure Moldova's security.

Prigozhin, 62, and several of his associates died in an unexplained plane crash in late August. He was buried on August 29 in a discreet ceremony.

Two months before his death, on June 23-24, Prigozhin sent thousands of his fighters in a short-lived rebellion against the military command fighting in Ukraine, imposing one of the biggest challenges to President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power.

The insurrection came on the heels of months of intense public infighting between Prigozhin and Russia’s military leadership over the war strategy in Ukraine and ammunition supplies.

Wagner troops moved to Belarus after the unsuccessful mutiny. Reports on Telegram channels linked to the mercenary group have indicated that some of the group's fighters left Belarus for Russia or for vacations, while some were transferred to operations in Africa.

With reporting by Financial Times and dpa

The United States said on October 6 it was expelling two Russian diplomats in a retaliatory step after Moscow kicked out two Americans last month. "In response to the Russian Federation's specious expulsion of two U.S. Embassy Moscow diplomats, the State Department reciprocated by declaring persona non grata two Russian Embassy officials operating in the United States," a State Department spokesperson said. The State Department "will not tolerate the Russian government's pattern of harassment of our diplomats," the spokesperson said.

The Bulgarian Parliament has started a debate on constitutional amendments aiming to cut the power of the prosecutor-general and limit the role of the president in forming caretaker governments.

The draft amendments proposed by lawmakers from three parties on October 6 gathered 161 votes in favor -- not enough to be adopted by a fast procedure but enough to start a slower process. It envisions a new vote in two to five months in which 160 votes would be enough for adoption of the changes.

The amendments, proposed by We Continue The Change – Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB), GERB, and Movement For Rights And Freedoms (DPS) -- which together support the government -- aim to curtail the power of the prosecutor-general to ensure the independence of judges.

“Key features of the rule of law are fair justice and an independent and fair court. These are the main objectives of the proposal for changes to the constitution,” Justice Minister Atanas Slavov, who defends the changes, told lawmakers.

But the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, There Is Such People, and the pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party criticized the amendments.

The draft amendments envisage the division of the Supreme Judicial Council, which appoints and dismisses judges and prosecutors, into two separate councils -- one for the judges, where members appointed by the judges themselves would have majority, and one for the prosecutors, where members nominated by the parliament would have a majority.

SEE ALSO:

After Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine, Bulgaria Is Rapidly Trying To Modernize Its Armed Forces

The aim is to ensure the independence of the judges while limiting the influence of the prosecutor-general, who is member of the prosecutors’ council.

The draft amendments also envisage changes to limit the prosecutor-general’s influence over prosecutors.

But the amendments have been met with criticism by the leadership of the prosecution, which expressed concern that they would allow political influence in the appointment of prosecutors.

Representatives of the judges have welcomed the idea for a majority of the judges on the Judicial Council but have criticized other provisions, including the idea to allow the heads of the two supreme courts and the prosecutor-general to be re-elected for a second five-year term instead of being in the post for only one seven-year term.

“Is this some kind of test? If they had fulfilled the necessary orders, they are elected again? And if they had not, they are not elected,” said Tatiana Zhilova, head of the biggest judges’ association, the Union Of The Judges In Bulgaria.

A majority of the members of the Supreme Judicial Council has also criticized the amendments, saying they show different treatment of judges on the one hand and prosecutors on the other.

The amendments also aim to limit the powers of the president in forming caretaker governments in the country that was governed by caretaker governments appointed by President Rumen Radev for most of the past two years.

Among the proposals is to limit the president’s choice for caretaker prime minister to the speaker of the parliament, the head of the Constitutional Court, and the head of the Bulgarian National Bank. The president currently can choose whomever he wants.

The proposition drew criticism from Radev and his advisers.

Bulgaria has long been considered one of the most corrupt European Union members, a dubious honor connected to the judiciary's lack of independence.

The prosecutor-general has long been viewed by both domestic and international critics as a blunt tool of the ruling elite to block investigations into their own members and target their opponents.

Washington and Brussels have for years been leaning on Bulgaria, which is also a NATO member, to reform the judiciary, including trimming the prosecutor-general's sweeping powers, and strengthening the judiciary’s independence.

Bulgaria's parliament in June adopted a mechanism for the independent investigation of the prosecutor-general, a move welcomed by international watchdogs. But it has not been put in practice, sparking debate over its effectiveness.

Jailed Azerbaijani activist Baxtiyar Haciyev’s has launched a new hunger strike to protest against the extension of his pretrial detention over charges of hooliganism and contempt of court.

Haciyev's lawyer, Elcin Sadyqov, said on October 6 that his client started the hunger strike four days earlier after a Baku court ruled in favor of prolonging his pretrial detention for at least three months.

On October 6, a court of appeals in Baku rejected Haciyev's appeal against the extension.

Haciyev held a 50-day hunger strike earlier this year to protest against his arrest and his lawyers said in February that his health had seriously deteriorated as he had lost 20 kilograms.

Haciyev, who was born in 1982, was arrested in early December last year. He rejects the charges.

In June, investigators added charges of illegal entrepreneurship, false entrepreneurship, forgery, use of forged documents, and smuggling. Haciyev has rejected these charges as well.

He previously was convicted on slander charges and had been detained during human rights protests in recent years.

In 2011, Haciyev was given a two-year prison sentence on charges of evading military duty but was released nine months early on the eve of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton scheduled visit to Baku.

He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

In February, the U.S. State Department expressed concerns over Haciyev's arrest and his state of health, stressing that the charges against him are "understood as politically motivated."

Critics of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil society advocates on trumped-up charges.

Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan with an iron fist since 2003, taking over for his father, Heydar Aliyev, who served as president for a decade.

With reporting by Turan

The Russian-installed Supreme Court in Moscow-annexed Crimea said on October 6 that it sentenced Ukrainian national Serhiy Tsyhypa to 13 years in prison on a charge of spying for Ukraine's Security Service. The details of the case are not clear, and it is unknown how Tsyhypa pleaded as the trial was held behind closed doors. Tsyhypa, a journalist and activist from the Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region, went missing in March 2022, less than three weeks after Russia launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

An opposition group called the Community of Railway Workers of Belarus said on October 6 that an explosion damaged a segment of a rail link close to the Azyaryshcha station -- a main hub for Russian military personnel, ammunition, and equipment. It remains unclear what caused the blast. Belarusian authorities have yet to confirm the group's statement. The authoritarian ruler of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory as a staging area for its invasion of Ukraine. Minsk also agreed to station Russian tactical nuclear weapons in the country. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

Germany will send around 150 soldiers to Kosovo in April 2024, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry said in Berlin on October 6, confirming a report by news magazine Der Spiegel. The planned Bundeswehr deployment comes after a deadly gun battle between Kosovo forces and armed Serbs last month fueled fears of an escalation in the ethnic Serbian-majority region 15 years after Pristina declared independence. The office of Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed this week to plans by the military to deploy a reinforced Bundeswehr company of around 150 soldiers to Pristina to support the NATO mission KFOR, Der Spiegel reported citing unnamed sources.

A court in Baku on October 5 sentenced Kenan Zeynalov, a bodyguard of opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AXCP) leader Ali Karimli, to 25 days in jail after finding him guilty of "disobeying police orders." The AXCP called Zeynalov's arrest and sentencing politically motivated. In October 2021, another of Karimli's bodyguards, Niyamaddin Ahmadov, was sentenced to 13 years in prison on terrorism charges that Ahmadov and AXCP also called politically motivated. Critics of President Ilham Aliyev say Azerbaijan frequently jails opposition activists without grounds to silence dissent. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.

The bodies of 64 Ukrainian personnel killed in the war have been returned in an exchange with Russia, Ukraine's Coordinating Agency for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on October 6. "Today, the Ukrainian side managed to bring back the bodies of 64 fallen defenders of Ukraine to the territory under the control of the government," the agency said in a message on Telegram. Ukraine handed over an unspecified number of bodies of dead Russian soldiers, it said. Last month, the bodies of 51 Ukrainian soldiers were returned. Since the beginning of the war, the agency says the bodies of almost 1,900 Ukrainian soldiers have been repatriated. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

The Sota Telegram channel said on October 5 that Russian anti-war activist Natalya Narskaya, arrested in Kazakhstan in July at Moscow's request, will reportedly be extradited to Russia soon. It added that Narskaya has developed mental problems, as she has been held in solitary confinement for weeks. Russian journalist Yevgenia Baltatarova cited sources as saying that Narskaya will be extradited by October 25. Narskaya, who fled Moscow last year, is wanted for criticizing Russia for its aggression against Ukraine on YouTube. Kazakh rights defender Denis Zhivago told RFE/RL that the Kazakh Bureau for Human Rights is following Narskaya's case. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

Russia's envoy to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) said that Moscow plans to revoke its ratification of the pact, known as the CTBT, prompting immediate criticism from the United States.

Mikhail Ulyanov said on October 6 on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Russia "plans to revoke ratification" of the CTBT, a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons tests for civilian and military purposes.

"The aim is to be on equal footing with the #US who signed the Treaty, but didn't ratify it. Revocation doesn't mean the intention to resume nuclear tests," he said.

Ulyanov's statement came after the chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said the Russian parliament's lower chamber at its "nearest" session will discuss revoking Moscow's ratification of the 1996 treaty.

The CTBT has been signed by 187 countries and ratified by 178 but cannot go into force until eight holdouts -- China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, North Korea, India, Pakistan, and the United States -- have signed and ratified it.

Though the United States has not ratified the treaty, it has observed a moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions since 1992 and says it has no plans to abandon the treaty.

The U.S. State Department said it was "disturbed" by Ulyanov's comments.

"A move like this by any state party needlessly endangers the global norm against nuclear explosive testing," a spokesman said.

Russia should reach an "equal footing" with the United States "by not wielding arms control and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric in a failing attempt to coerce other states," the spokesman added.

Since the beginning of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, various pro-Kremlin politicians and public figures, including government officials, have spoken about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons or at least resuming nuclear testing.

Asked if rescinding the CTBT could pave the way for a resumption of tests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it doesn't mean a statement about the intention to resume nuclear tests.”

He noted that a possible move to revoke Russia's ratification of the ban would "bring the situation to a common denominator” with the United States.

Volodin repeated Moscow’s claim that Western military support for Ukraine means the United States and its allies are engaged in the conflict, adding that this requires "new decisions" that conform with Russia's national interests.

Speaking on October 5 at a forum with foreign affairs experts, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it would be up to the Duma whether Russia revokes the ratification.

In the wake of these statements, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged “all nuclear weapon states to publicly reaffirm their moratoriums against nuclear testing and their commitment to the CTBT,” UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Armenian troops are not taking part in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization's (CSTO) one-week military maneuvers that kicked off near Kyrgyzstan's northern town of Balykchy on October 6. The Kazakh Defense Ministry said troops from other CSTO members -- Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan -- are participating in the Indestructible Brotherhood drills. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said last month before joint Armenian-U.S. military exercises that Yerevan's "full reliance on Moscow on security matters was a mistake." He also said in September that Yerevan's involvement in the CSTO was "not effective" for Armenia's interests. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

A day after pledging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy their unwavering support, EU leaders on October 6 will face one of their worst political headaches on a key commitment -- how and when to welcome debt-laden and battered Ukraine into the bloc. The bloc has said since Russia's invasion that at the end of the war it would work steadfastly on "lasting unity" that would eventually translate into Ukraine's EU membership. The leaders will assess "enlargement" at their informal summit in southern Spain's Granada. Beyond Ukraine, several Western Balkan countries and Moldova are also knocking with increasing impatience at the door.