Croatia has received the go-ahead to join Europe's Schengen passport-free travel zone in January in a long-awaited decision that leaves out Bulgaria and Romania.

The decision came on December 8 during a meeting in Brussels of interior and justice ministers of EU and Schengen states and was heartily welcomed by Croatia but greeted unhappily by Bulgaria and Romania.

"The Schengen area is growing for the first time in more than a decade," tweeted the Czech Republic, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency. "Ministers approved Croatia’s membership as of 1 January 2023!"

Croatia's delegation to the EU also responded enthusiastically.

"Last step completed! Council decision adopted -- It is now formally confirmed that #Croatia joins #Schengen area as of 1 January 2023," it said on Twitter.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic wrote on Facebook that, with the open borders, Croatia "has fulfilled the strategic goals of the government" and that "citizens and the economy will have the biggest benefit."

Deputy Prime Minister Davor Bozinovic said Croatia met all the conditions in a long and demanding process.

"With Croatia in Schengen, everyone benefits -- the citizens, the economy, Croatia and the EU," he said.

Twenty-six countries -- 22 EU states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland -- currently comprise the
Schengen area. Croatia will become its 27th country and the first to join since the area was expanded in 2011 to admit Liechtenstein.

The EU said Schengen is the largest free-travel area in the world. Within it there are 1.25 billion journeys annually and 3.5 million border crossings daily, it said.

The move required unanimous support from the 27 EU members. Croatia's bid received no notable opposition, while the membership of Romania and Bulgaria was opposed by Austria and the Netherlands, citing corruption and migration concerns as increasing numbers of people cross its borders without authorization via the Balkans region.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner noted that more than 100,000 people have entered Austria this year without authorization.

"It is wrong that a system that does not work properly in many places would get expanded at this point," he said.

Throughout the bloc in the first 10 months of 2022, 281,000 irregular entries were recorded, up 77 percent from a year before and the highest since 2016, Frontex, the EU's border police, said last month.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had urged Austria to change its mind especially at time when it is "important that Europe moves closer together,” she said in a statement.

The Netherlands also opposed granting access. The Dutch parliament in October adopted a resolution saying further analysis of the functioning of the rule of law and the extent of corruption and organized crime in Bulgaria and Romania was needed.

Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said he was disappointed and would reapply.

"We regret and honestly do not understand the inflexible position taken by Austria," he said.

Honor Keleman, Romania’s deputy prime minister, however, was incensed by the result and vowed to "continue to fight" to join Schengen "without giving in to Austria's miserable blackmail," he wrote on Facebook.

Bulgaria will also try again, its foreign minister said.

Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev was cautiously optimistic, saying he thought common ground could be found to overcome the objections of Austria and perhaps the Netherlands.

"Austria already signaled that there are mechanisms, compromises that it is ready to accept. So, the talks will continue," he told reporters.

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said Romania and Bulgaria deserve to be full members of Schengen and have access to free movement.

"I share the disappointment with the citizens of Bulgaria and Romania," he said.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and dpa

Following the call for three days of nationwide strikes in Iran, shopkeepers in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj have clashed with police forces who came to seal the strikers' shops on December 8.

Hengaw, a Norway-based group that monitors rights violations in Iran's Kurdish regions, reported that following the clashes, shopkeepers defied the move by authorities to keep their businesses closed by breaking the seals and reopening.

The protests, which have snowballed into one of the biggest threats to the clerical establishment that has ruled since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, started after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died on September 16, three days after being detained in Tehran by the morality police for allegedly breaching Iran's strict rules on head scarves.

The unrest was initially centered in Amini's hometown of Saghez in Iran's Kurdistan region before quickly spreading to dozens of cities and towns across Iran. Tehran has claimed, without providing evidence, that Kurdish groups in northern Iraq have been supporting the demonstrations.

Shopkeepers, workers, and students in dozens of Iranian cities joined a call to broaden the unrest even further by joining three days of nationwide strikes from December 5 to 7.

A video received by RFE/RL's Radio Farda from the central Iranian city of Isfahan appeared to show threats from security forces written on the shutters of some of the shops. The words "under watch" and "traitor to the country " could be seen on some storefronts.

Security forces reportedly raided several markets during the strike as they tried to prevent the move from gaining steam.

The activist HRANA news agency said that as of November 29, at least 459 protesters had been killed during the unrest, including 64 minors.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

The chief of Iran's Law Enforcement Command has threatened to crack down more decisively on protesters as Iran enters its fourth month of unrest touched off in mid-September by the death of a young woman in police custody over how she was wearing a head scarf.

In a speech at the Amin Police Academy, Hossein Ashtari said security forces have exercised restraint in dealing with the protesters so far, a claim that flies in the face of estimates by human rights groups that say more than 450 people, including dozens of minors, have been killed so far in the uprising, one of the biggest challenges to the authorities since the Islamic revolution of 1979.

Ashtari said police will draw a "red line" at the safety of regular citizens, and that they will "deal decisively with those who target people's safety and will not hold back."

The warning from the country's top police official comes after weeks of increased threats by authorities that they will react harshly to any unrest. Lawmakers have pushed the judiciary to render harsh penalties -- including the death penalty -- in trials for those arrested during protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

The Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with the judiciary, reported on December 8 that 24-year-old Mohsen Shekhari had become the first protester to be executed after an appeal of his sentence was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Ashtari added that during the recent unrest, the police did not allow "enemies and counter-revolutionaries to achieve their ominous and fake goals."

Iranian officials have blamed foreign countries and intelligence services of orchestrating the unrest, though they have not provided evidence to back up the claim.

The activist HRANA news agency says that as of November 29, at least 459 protesters had been killed during the unrest. The figure includes 64 minors.

Amnesty International says at least 28 people, including three children, could face execution in connection with the nationwide protests as Iranian authorities use the death penalty "as a tool of political repression to instill fear among the public and end the popular uprising."

Several thousand people have been arrested since Amini's death on September 16, including many protesters, journalists, lawyers, activists, and digital-rights defenders.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

A Norwegian court has acquitted Andrei Yakunin, the son of one of President Vladimir Putin's longtime confidants, of charges he violated a law that bars Russian citizens from flying drones in Norway.

The Nord-Troms and Senja District Court handed down the decision late on December 7, saying that flying a hobby drone is not covered by the ban.

The 47-year-old, who has Russian and British citizenship and permanently resides in Italy, was arrested in October in Norway's Arctic region after he used two drones while sailing the Archipelago of Svalbard and along the coast of Norway.

Norwegian laws prohibit aircraft operated by Russian citizens and companies on Norwegian territory.

Prosecutors sought four months in prison for Yakunin. They said they will appeal the court's ruling.

Norwegian law enforcement officers have arrested several Russian citizens in recent months for flying drones or taking pictures of sensitive objects, including those near Norway's offshore oil and gas platforms.

Andrei Yakunin's father, Vladimir Yakunin, was a longtime member of Putin's inner circle. He has been under U.S. sanctions since Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014.

The 74-year-old businessman led Russian Railways for 10 years before he retired in 2015. British and Russia media reports said at the time that Vladimir Yakunin was dismissed due to his son's decision to apply for British citizenship.

In April, Andrei Yakunin said in an interview with Italy's La7 television channel that he stands against Russia’s ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

He also said he never voted for Putin, nor for the ruling United Russia party aligned with the president.

With reporting by NRK TV

Imprisoned Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski hasn't been allowed by Belarus authorities to hand over his speech for the award ceremony. His wife, Natalia Pinchuk, who will deliver a speech on Byalyatski's behalf during a December 10 award ceremony in Oslo, said it will still convey her husband's thoughts and statements. "He has been unable to hand it over. The situation with letters is difficult; everything is closely monitored," she told the Associated Press en route to Oslo. "But we have his statements and his thoughts, and the speech will contain them." To read the original story from AP, click here.

Belgium's constitutional court on December 8 suspended a prisoner exchange treaty with Iran criticized for opening the way for a bomb-plot mastermind to return to Tehran. Iranian government opponents have said the treaty is "tailor-made" to permit the release of Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat convicted of supplying explosives for a foiled plot targeting Iran's exiled opposition. The Belgian government has said the treaty is the only way to secure the release an aid worker detained in Iran. The court ruled that the treaty was suspended pending a final ruling within three months.

Pope Francis broke down and cried on December 8 as he mentioned the suffering of Ukrainians during a traditional prayer in central Rome. The pope's voice began to tremble as he mentioned the Ukrainians and he had to stop, unable to speak, for about 30 seconds. When he resumed the prayer, his voice was cracking. Francis broke down during a traditional prayer to the Madonna at the foot of a statue on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a national holiday in Italy. To read the original story from Reuters, click here.

MINSK -- A date for the trial in absentia of noted retired Belarusian swimmer Alyaksandra Herasimenya and former handball manager Alyaksandr Apeykin has been set for December 19.

The Minsk City Court said on December 8 that the two were charged with "public calls for sanctions against Belarus, which damaged the country's national security." A conviction on the charge envisages a prison term of up to 12 years.

Herasimenya and Apeykin, who are currently out of Belarus, created the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) in August 2020 amid protests that erupted after a disputed presidential election that Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994, claimed he won.

The organization provides financial and legal help to Belarusian athletes targeted by the authorities over anti-Lukashenka protests.

In April last year, Belarusian authorities added Herasimenya and Apeykin to the country's wanted list.

In April this year, Herasimenya, 36, who currently resides in neighboring Lithuania, announced her decision to leave the BSSF. Apeykin is currently the foundation's acting director.

Herasimenya was a successful swimmer who won multiple medals at various competitions, including gold at the 2012 World Championships and silver at the 2012 London Olympics.

In one of the most high-profile cases targeting athletes, Belarusian team officials tried to force sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya to fly home from the Tokyo Olympics last year after she criticized them on social media.

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She took refuge in the Polish Embassy in Tokyo after refusing the order. Two days later she boarded a plane to Europe, reaching Warsaw, where she now lives in exile.

Lukashenka's crackdown on dissent has seen thousands detained, while there have been credible reports of the torture and ill-treatment of detainees by security forces. Several people have died during the crackdown and most opposition politicians have left the country, fearing for their security.

Lukashenka, 68, has leaned heavily on Russian support amid Western sanctions.

The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka's self-declared victory.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on December 8 that it has arrested two residents of Ukraine’s Russia-annexed Crimea on a high treason charge. According to the FSB, the men passed data about military installations in Crimea to Ukrainian intelligence. Russian authorities have arrested dozens of people in Crimea and across Russia on charges that include espionage, extremism, and terrorism since it illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in March 2014. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

The United States and Russia have carried out a prisoner exchange, swapping American basketball star Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout after months of negotiations that took place despite strained relations between the two countries.

President Joe Biden on December 8 confirmed the swap in a press conference, stressing that Griner was "wrongfully detained" after a "show trial" in Russia.

"This is a day we've worked toward for a long time,” said Biden, whose administration in late July proposed a deal for a prisoner swap to secure the release of Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

Biden said Griner would need time to recover from "needless trauma" after being "wrongfully detained" and held in a Russian penal colony in the central region of Mordovia.

Biden made the announcement at the White House flanked by Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"I'm just standing here, overwhelmed with emotions," Cherelle Griner said, describing the ordeal of her wife's imprisonment as "one of the darkest moments of my life."

SEE ALSO:

Who Are The Americans Still In Jail In Russia, And Who Could They Be Swapped For?

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told MSNBC that Griner would receive a medical check after arriving back in the United States later on December 8 and then would be able to "get back to her family, her teammates, and her life."

He said it was a bittersweet day because the exchange failed to include Whelan, whose release along with other U.S. citizens Biden pledged to continue to work toward.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time all-star for the U.S. Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), was arrested at a Moscow airport in February and accused of possession of vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil. She was passing through Moscow en route to Yekaterinburg, where she has played in the WNBA off-season.

Griner was sentenced in August to nine years in prison after she confessed to having the cannabis oil, which his illegal in Russia. She told the court a doctor had recommended medicinal cannabis for treatment of pain from injuries sustained during her basketball career.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a post on Telegram that the exchange took place at the Abu Dhabi airport.

SEE ALSO:

Merchant Of Death. Lord Of War. The McDonald's Of Arms Trafficking. Who Is Viktor Bout? 

The ministry said it had been negotiating with Washington to secure Bout's release "for a long time" and that initially the United States had "refused dialogue" on including him in any swap.

"Nevertheless, the Russian Federation continued to actively work to rescue our compatriot," it said. "The Russian citizen has been returned to his homeland."

Bout, nicknamed the "Merchant of Death," served 15 years of a 25-year sentence in the United States for arms dealing. He was accused of selling arms to rebels in conflicts such as the one in Colombia between government forces and rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Bout was arrested in Thailand in a U.S. sting operation in 2008, extradited to the United States, and sentenced in 2012.

The 55-year-old has extensive knowledge of Russian weapons at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to purchase weapons systems for the war in Ukraine. There is concern that he will return to illegal arms dealing, although some say his knowledge of weapons systems likely is obsolete.

Whelan has been imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges that he denies. Whelan’s brother, David Whelan, said in an e-mail on December 8 that the Whelan family was informed by U.S. government officials on December 7 that Whelan would not be freed in the exchange.

"That early warning meant that our family has been able to mentally prepare for what is now a public disappointment for us. And a catastrophe for Paul. I do not know if he is aware yet, although he will surely learn from Russian media," David Whelan said.

He also said his family is glad that Griner is on her way home and said the Biden administration had made the right decision to "make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to happen."

With reporting by CBS, MSNBC, and CNN

Uzbekistan has rejected the idea of creating a so-called "natural gas union" with Russia and Kazakhstan that was proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, a sign of the growing divide between Moscow and former Soviet republics over the war against Ukraine.

Putin proposed creating a "gas union" with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on November 28 at talks with Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time that the idea was proposed to establish a mechanism to ship natural gas between the three countries and to other nations, including China.

While such as deal would help the Central Asian countries ensure supplies during their peak needs, it has met resistance among populations wary of Moscow's intentions, especially at a time when it is waging war in another nearby part of the former Soviet Union.

Uzbek Energy Minister Jorabek Mirzamahmudov said in an interview with the Kun.uz news website published on December 7 that his country would not give up its national interests in exchange for natural gas.

"Signing a gas agreement with Russia does not mean an alliance or union...It would be a technical contract," Mirzamahmudov said.

"We will never compromise our national interests. Even if we [agree to receive natural gas from Russia], we will proceed via commercial sales contracts. We will not allow any political conditions to be imposed in return," he added, saying that Uzbekistan will agree to get natural gas from Russia only "at a reasonable price."

Kazakhstan has yet to commit to any gas union, saying only that it would study the idea.

Russia is a major natural gas exporter, while the amount of natural gas produced by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is barely enough for their own consumption, with shortages especially acute in winter.

The two major economies of the Central Asian region share a gas pipeline to Russia and a pipeline transporting natural gas from Turkmenistan to China.

Moscow has increased its natural gas deliveries to China since European nations began decreasing their dependence on Russian gas amid the Kremlin's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which started in late February.

Both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have kept their distance from Moscow during the war.

With reporting by Kun.uz

QYZYLORDA, Kazakhstan -- A court in Kazakhstan has rejected an appeal filed by imprisoned activist Erzhan Elshibaev against an additional seven years incarceration handed to him in September for "violating the penitentiary’s internal regulations and for calls to disobey prison guards."

Elshibaev’s lawyer, Zhanar Sundetqalieva, told RFE/RL on December 8 that the Qyzylorda city court of appeals in the country's south pronounced the decision a day earlier.

Sundetqalieva said her client was not allowed to be present at the hearing, adding that the court's decision will be appealed at the Supreme Court.

Elshibaev, who is recognized as a political prisoner by Kazakh rights watchdogs, was expected to be released in October next year. He was initially sentenced to five years in prison in 2018 after a court in his native town of Zhanaozen in the country's southwest found him guilty of hooliganism.

Elshibaev and his supporters have rejected the charges, saying they were politically motivated and aimed at ensuring he wouldn't lead any protests in the restive town.

Elshibaev was one of the leaders of several protest rallies in Zhanaozen in 2018 during which residents in the oil town demanded jobs.

Kazakh authorities have been very sensitive to any dissent or protests in the volatile town, where police fatally shot at least 16 people while dispersing rallies by oil workers in December 2011.

In January 2022, a rally in Zhanaozen against abrupt fuel price hikes led to unprecedented anti-government protests across the nation that ended with violent dispersals in which at least 238 people, including 19 law enforcement officers, were killed.

The European Parliament has urged Kazakh authorities to release Elshibaev and other political prisoners.

Kazakhstan’s government has denied that there are political prisoners in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.

The Moscow-based human rights group Support Of Political Prisoners. Memorial has recognized Russian poets Artyom Kamardin, Nikolai Daineko, and Yegor Shtovba as political prisoners. The three were arrested in September on a charge of inciting hatred after they presented verses critical of the Kremlin's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Kamardin’s girlfriend said earlier that police raped the poet with a dumbbell during the arrest. Last month, a court sent Kamardin to a psychiatric clinic for a 30-day forced evaluation. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

A court in Russia’s Yakutia began the trial of the ex-leader of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's team in the Siberia region on December 8. Anatoly Nogovitsyn is being tried on a charge of discrediting Russian forces involved in Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The case against Nogovitsyn, who also leads the Yabloko party's branch in Yakutia, was launched in September after he criticized in an online post Russia's aggression against Ukraine and called on fellow citizens to stay away from 'killing Ukrainians." Nogovitsyn faces up to three years in prison if convicted. To read the original story by RFR/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told journalists that his country will veto EU members Romania and Bulgaria joining the passport-free Schengen Area, as he arrived for a meeting of EU justice and interior ministers in Brussels. The meeting was expected to approve Croatia joining Schengen, which currently includes 22 of the EU's 27 member countries as well as non-EU members Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland. Last month, the European Commission ruled that all three countries meet the technical criteria for joining, and the European Parliament has also voted in favor of their membership.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement on December 8 that it has visited more prisoners of war held by Russia and Ukraine in recent weeks, checking on their condition and treatment and sharing "much-awaited news with their families." The ICRC said the visits signify "important progress," but added that it must be granted unimpeded access to see all prisoners of war "repeatedly and in private."

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Russia's Caucasus region on December 8, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was 41 kilometers below the earth's surface, according to the EMSC. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

Iran has carried out its first execution of a protester from the unrest sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, carrying out a death sentence handed to a man who was accused of "warfare" for allegedly injuring a security officer.

The Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with the judiciary, said Moshen Shekari was hanged on December 8 after his appeal against his sentence was rejected by Iran's Supreme Court.

Shekari was accused of brandishing a weapon with the "intention of killing and causing terror and depriving the freedom and security of people," as well as "intentionally injuring" a security officer with a weapon and "blocking the street."

Shekari was one of thousands of Iranians to take to the streets nationwide since Amini died while in police custody in September. She was being held for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.

The government has launched a brutal, and often deadly, crackdown on demonstrators, while lawmakers have pushed for harsh punishments to try and quell what has become the biggest challenge to the country's leadership since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Rights groups and Western governments have warned Tehran about issuing death sentences to protesters after hasty trials some have called "sham" justice.

“Unfortunately, this is just really the latest tactic that we’ve seen from the Iranian regime with its ongoing, brutal crackdown on what can only be described as peaceful protesters -- individuals who are exercising their universal rights," U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said just two days before Shekari's execution.

"These sentences, we know, are meant to intimidate people, to suppress dissent. They are -- they simply underscore Iran’s leadership’s fears of its own people and the fact that Iran’s government fears the truth,” he added.

The activist HRANA news agency says that, as of November 29, at least 459 protesters had been killed during the unrest. The figure includes 64 minors.

Amnesty International says at least 28 people, including three children, could face execution in connection with nationwide protests as the Iranian authorities use the death penalty "as a tool of political repression to instill fear among the public and end the popular uprising."

"At least six people have already been sentenced to death in sham trials...The 28 individuals have all been denied fair trials including the rights to access lawyers of their choosing; to be presumed innocent; to remain silent; and to receive a fair, public hearing," it said in a statement on December 2.

The brutality of the crackdown prompted Badri Hosseini Khamenei, the estranged sister of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to publish a letter on December 6 expressing sympathy with mothers who have lost their loved ones because of their opposition to the Islamic republic in the last four decades and declared that she opposes the actions of her brother.

Badri Khamenei’s daughter and the supreme leader’s niece, Farideh Moradkhani, was arrested a week ago after being summoned to Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office.

Badri Khamenei noted her daughter's violent arrest saying that, if she was taken into custody this way, “it is clear that they will inflict thousands of times more violence on the oppressed sons and daughters of others."

The Kremlin says that Russia-annexed Crimea remains vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks after officials there said the Russian Navy had shot down a drone near its Sevastopol Black Sea Fleet naval base, and vowed to continue attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure that have left millions without electricity and water at the start of winter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in late February, decimating large swathes of Ukraine's infrastructure in the process.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Russia has bombarded the country with waves of missile attacks in recent weeks, targeting mainly energy installations.

Speaking at a ceremony on December 8 to award military medals, Putin admitted to the strategy but blamed Ukraine for the devastation, claiming the strikes were a response to an attack on a Moscow-built bridge to Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

He also accused Kyiv of blowing up power lines from the Kursk nuclear power plant and not supplying water to Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

In Crimea, a powerful explosion that rang out over the central part of Sevastopol early on December 8 was the result of the "downing of a drone" by a Russian Navy ship, said Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed administrator of the Black Sea port.

He did not specify whom the drone belonged to.

Starting in August, Sevastopol has been targeted several times by explosions that Russian authorities say were caused by Ukrainian drone attacks.

"There are certainly risks because the Ukrainian side continues its policy of organizing terrorist attacks. But, on the other hand, information we get indicates that effective countermeasures are being taken," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

In the east, the General Staff of Ukraine's military said on December 8 that Russian forces continued their relentless rocket attacks and bombardments on Ukrainian positions in Donetsk, with a particular focus on the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiyivka, and Luhansk, where Moscow's offensive was concentrated around Stelmakhyivka and Ploschanka.

SEE ALSO:

Winter Soldier, Winter Misery: Will Cold Weather Hand An Advantage To Ukraine Or Russia?

In the northeastern region of Kharkiv, Russians attacked Ternova, a village several kilometers from the Russian border.

The Ukrainian military also said Russian occupiers began to mobilize local people in Melitopol in Zaporizhzhya.

Mobilization orders are being issued there to "men of draft age with the requirement to come to the military commissariat in the near future," the military said.

On December 7, a Russian attack on the town of Kurakhovo in Donetsk killed 10 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

In Photos: The Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been described as a "meat grinder" due to being on the forefront of trench warfare, shelling, and assaults that have killed an untold number of soldiers and civilians.

• RFE/RL

The Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been described as a "meat grinder" due to being on the forefront of trench warfare, shelling, and assaults that have killed an untold number of soldiers and civilians. As temperatures plunge, both sides are digging in for a long and bloody battle.

Zelenskiy said the attack was "very brutal" and "absolutely calculated" and killed "peaceful people, ordinary people" at a market, a grain elevator, a gas station, a bus stop, and a residential building.

"The list of the dead so far includes 10 people and many others wounded."

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, said the Russian troops shelled Kurakhovo from multiple-rocket launchers. The town has been among the hot spots in fighting in the Donbas region.

Tymoshenko posted video footage of buildings in flames on Telegram.

The chief of Ukrenerho said on December 7 that Russian forces have fired more than 1,000 rockets and missiles at Ukraine's power grid since the start of the war.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned of an "apocalypse" scenario for the city this winter if Russian air strikes on infrastructure continue.

With reporting by Reuters

Hungary's government will siphon off nearly all profits earned on cheaper crude oil imported from Russia as of December 8, it said in a decree, a day after Prime Minister Viktor Orban's cabinet scrapped a retail fuel price cap amid a shortage of supplies. Lower crude imports from the Druzhba oil pipeline, extended maintenance work at oil group MOL's Danube refinery, and surging demand forced Orban to abandon the year-long cap. Orban, a vocal critic of Brussels, blamed the situation on EU sanctions on Russian crude. To read the original story from Reuters, click here.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has not ruled out that the fighting in Ukraine could turn into a "lengthy process," while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine will not leave any of its citizens under Russian occupation.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

The two presidents made the comments on December 7 as they addressed separate human rights organizations.

Putin, who met in a televised meeting of his Human Rights Council, said the "special military operation" could go on for a long time, and called Russia's annexation of part of the territories of Ukraine a major achievement of the operation.

“Of course, it could be a lengthy process,” Putin said roughly nine and a half months after ordering the invasion.

Putin vowed to “consistently fight for our interests" and to “protect ourselves using all means available” and reiterated his claim that he had no choice but to send troops into Ukraine.

Putin described the land gains as “a significant result for Russia,” noting that the Sea of Azov "has become Russia’s internal sea” and recalled how Tsar Peter the Great fought to get access to it.

Russia captured the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol in May after a nearly three-month siege of the city. In September, Putin illegally annexed four Ukrainian regions – Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, and Luhansk -- even though his forces did not completely control them. Russia illegally seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

SEE ALSO:

Settlements Liberated In Southern Ukraine, Zelenskiy Says, As Russia Begins Retreat From Kherson

Ukraine has managed to recapture some territories, including Kherson city and the entire right bank of the Kherson region after the withdrawal of Russian forces last month.

Zelenskiy, who addressed the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation, said Ukrainian forces have liberated 1,888 settlements from Russian occupation so far in the fighting.

The war has turned into a war for survival, he said.

“Hundreds of our cities and villages were simply burned to the ground due to Russian strikes,” he said. “We have already managed to free 1,888 settlements from occupation. But almost as many Ukrainian towns and villages remain under occupation. And this means that now the fate of millions of people is being decided on the battlefield in Ukraine.”

He stressed that Ukraine will not leave "any of our people under Russian occupation," in Russian camps, "where thousands have already disappeared," or on Russian territory, "where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were forcibly deported."

The subject of nuclear weapons was also discussed during Putin’s meeting with the Human Rights Council, whose members are mostly people who fully support the Kremlin's policy. Asked by a member of the council to pledge that Russia would not be the first to use nuclear weapons, Putin refused to give guarantees.

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Amid Putin's Saber-Rattling, What Exactly Is A Tactical Nuclear Weapon?

Russia's military strategy, he said, envisions the use of weapons of mass destruction in response to an attack.

Russia intends to protect "national interests" -- first by "peaceful means" and if this does not help, then by "all available,” Putin said.

"That means if a strike is launched against us, we will strike back in response," Putin said.

Putin has raised alarm in Western countries by making veiled threats about the use of nuclear weapons. These have raised fears that the Russian military could use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine in order to achieve results more quickly.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price, asked about Putin's remarks, declined to reply directly but said, "We think any loose talk of nuclear weapons is absolutely irresponsible."

Putin also said it made no sense to talk about another mobilization because there is no need for it "to date."

About half of the 300,000 conscripts recently mobilized are in the "special operations" zone, but only 70,000 are directly at the front, he said.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa

British tennis chiefs said on December 7 that they were "disappointed" at being fined $1 million by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for banning Russian and Belarusian players from their events. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) came under pressure from the British government to impose a ban. Russian and Belarusian players were eventually barred from all five ATP tournaments staged by the LTA. The All England Club, which organizes Wimbledon, also banned them from competing at that tournament.

Romania had a legitimate expectation to join Europe's open-borders Schengen area, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on December 7, rejecting Austrian claims that it is a gateway for illegal migrants as unjustified. European Union interior ministers are expected to vote on December 8 on whether to admit Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia into Schengen, a decision that requires unanimity. To read the original story from Reuters, click here.

Badri Hosseini Khamenei, the estranged sister of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has criticized her brother and his "despotic caliphate" in an open letter in which she also says she hopes to see him overthrown.

Badri Khamenei’s letter, published on her son's Twitter account on December 6, expressed sympathy to the mothers who lost their loved ones because of their opposition to the Islamic republic in the last four decades and declared that she opposes the actions of her brother.

“The regime of the Islamic Republic of Khomeini and Ali Khamenei has brought nothing but suffering and oppression to Iran and Iranians,” she added, referring to Ayatollah Khomeini, who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. “I hope to see the victory of the people and the overthrow of this tyranny ruling Iran soon.”

Khamenei's sister, who lives in Iran, wrote that her brother “does not listen to the voice of the people of Iran and wrongly considers the voice of his mercenaries and money-grubbers to be the voice of the Iranian people."

In recent years, as a humanitarian duty, she said she has tried to raise the voice of the Iranian people to her brother's ears but was disappointed and cut off contact with him.

Badri Khamenei also used the letter to address the violent arrest of her daughter, saying that if her daughter is arrested in this way, “it is clear that they will inflict thousands of times more violence on the oppressed sons and daughters of others."

Badri Khamenei’s daughter, Farideh Moradkhani, who is the supreme leader’s niece, was arrested a week ago after being summoned to Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office. In the last video she recorded before her arrest, she called on the international community to cut ties with the Iranian government.

Anger over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September has prompted thousands of Iranians to take to the streets nationwide to demand more freedoms and women's rights.

Amini died while in police custody after being detained for allegedly improperly wearing a hijab. Her parents and friends say she was beaten. The widespread unrest represents the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.

The activist HRANA news agency said that, as of November 29, at least 459 protesters had been killed during the unrest. The figure includes 64 minors.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

A Ukrainian lawmaker who has been sanctioned by the U.S. government has now been charged with violating the sanctions when he purchased two luxury properties in California.

The seven-count indictment against Andriy Derkach, unsealed on December 7 in New York City, also charges him with money laundering and bank fraud conspiracy in the purchase and maintenance of the two properties in upscale Beverly Hills, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Derkach purchased the properties in violation of U.S. sanctions and concealed his interest in the transactions from U.S. banks, prosecutors said.

Derkach, 55, was sanctioned for his efforts to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election on behalf of the Russian intelligence services. The U.S. Treasury Department alleged at the time that Derkach -- a member of the Ukrainian parliament who studied at the KGB school in Moscow -- had been "an active Russian agent for over a decade."

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in the Justice Department's statement on December 7 that Derkach’s conduct has shown that “he is ready, willing, and capable of exploiting [the] banking system in order to advance his illicit goals.”

The indictment alleges that, beginning in 2013, Derkach and a co-conspirator devised a scheme to purchase and maintain the two luxury condominiums while concealing his ownership and participation in the purchase. Derkach used the services of a corporate nominee, a multitiered structure of California-based shell companies, and numerous bank and brokerage accounts to purchase the properties, the Justice Department said.

Derkach used the network to wire approximately $3.92 million to the corporate nominee from overseas accounts in Latvia and Switzerland belonging to companies registered in the British Virgin Islands, the Justice Department said. The money was then used to pay $3.2 million in cash in the name of a corporate entity set up by the nominee, with Derkach having no visible affiliation with the purchase.

The remaining $800,000 was invested in a brokerage account and used to pay expenses on the condominiums, including taxes, homeowners’ fees, and utilities.

A parallel civil forfeiture action has been initiated to seize the condominiums and the remaining funds in the U.S. accounts, the department said. If convicted, Derkach, whose whereabouts are unknown, faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.

Ukrainian authorities in June said they had uncovered a Russian spy network involving Derkach. The State Security Service (SBU) on June 24 alleged that Derkach set up a network of private security firms to help facilitate the entry of Russian units into cities during Moscow's February 24 invasion.

Derkach has previously denied wrongdoing, claiming he was being targeted for exposing corruption.