Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will run again for office in an election scheduled for March 17, 2024.

The state-run TASS news agency quoted Putin on December 8 as saying he would run after he attended a ceremony in the Kremlin to award soldiers who had fought in Ukraine with Russia's highest military honor, the hero of Russia gold star.

A plane urgently landed in Siberia due to an engine malfunction on December 8, the second such incident in the last 24 hours, amid severe sanctions faced by Russia's aviation sector imposed by the West over Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. A Boeing 737 belonging to the S7 air company heading from Novosibirsk to Moscow was forced to land shortly after taking off, according to the Eastern Interregional Investigation Department for Transport. None of the 176 passengers abroad was injured. A day earlier, a Tu-204 cargo plane landed in the Siberian region of Buryatia due to an engine malfunction. No casualties were reported. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

The International Federation of Journalists says 94 journalists and media workers, including nine women, have been killed in 2023, a 67 percent jump over the same period a year earlier, highlighting the need for "a new global standard" for protesting media.

The IFJ said in a report on December 8 that almost 400 media members have been jailed in 2023, showing the need for better protection for journalists across the globe.

"The IFJ insists that far greater action is required from the international community to safeguard journalists' lives and hold to account their attackers," the report said.

The report noted that the war in the Gaza Strip, which began in October, accounts for the sharp increase in deaths, with 68 journalists killed -- more than one per day -- since hostilities broke out between Israel and Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

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IFJ data showed a total of 68 journalists have died covering the war.

'The war in Gaza has been more deadly for journalists than any single conflict since the IFJ began recording journalists killed in the line of duty in 1990," the report said, adding that deaths have come at "a scale and pace of loss of media professionals' lives without precedent."

"The international community, and more particularly the International Criminal Court, must face up to its responsibilities and thoroughly investigate, and where appropriate bring prosecutions to those who have ordered and carried out attacks on journalists," it said.

In Europe, the IFJ said Ukraine remains a "dangerous country for journalists," with Ukrainian, Russian and French media members dying this year in Russia's war against Ukraine.

A court in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok has rejected a request filed by by a resident of Russia's Amur region regarding the removal of a statue of Russian writer and dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn located on Vladivostok's Korabelnaya street. Tynda resident Andrei Guk had called Solzhenitsyn a "controversial figure" and "the embodiment of a false concept about the Soviet Union." In January 2022, Vladivostok's administration refused to dismantle the statue following a request by city lawmaker Maksim Shinkarenko. A request by Shinkarenko to erect a monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was also rejected by the court in 2015. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev has pardoned 334 inmates who were serving prison terms for criminal offenses. Mirziyoev signed the decree to free the convicts on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the adoption of the Uzbek Constitution on December 7. Among those pardoned are 18 foreign citizens, 23 women, 15 men over 60 years of age, and 88 people who were convicted for their involvement with banned organizations. Authoritarian ruler Mirziyoev traditionally announces pardons before major holidays. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, click here.

Russia on December 8 unleashed a fresh wave of drone and missile attacks on several Ukrainian regions, killing at least one person, wounding several others, and causing substantial damage to civilian and energy infrastructure, Ukraine's military and regional official reported.

An air-raid alert was declared early on December 8 in Kyiv and most Ukrainian regions. The alert covered Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Kherson, Mykolayiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Sumy.

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The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 14 out of a total of 19 cruise missiles launched by Russia at Ukraine's territory during the morning of December 8.

"Part of the enemy's missiles targeted infrastructure facilities in [the southeastern] Dnipropetrovsk region," the air force said in a statement.

"A second group of missiles, after having reached Dnipro, changed the direction of movement toward Kyiv. As of 9 a.m., 14 out of 19 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles in the Dnipropetrovsk region and Kyiv region have been destroyed," the statement said.

A Russian missile hit the city of Pavlohrad in Dnipropetrovsk region, killing one resident and wounding four others, two of them seriously, regional Governor Serhiy Lysak reported on Telegram.

Five drones were also shot down above the Pavlohrad and Synelnyk districts of Dnipropetrovsk, Lysak said.

The air defense separately reported that seven Iranian-made drones targeted the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Six S-300 guided missiles were launched at the Kharkiv region, the air defense said.

Regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram that the missile attack wounded two people and damage was caused to residential infrastructure, including a school.

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In Kharkiv's Kupyansk district, three people were wounded and one apartment building was damaged by Russian shelling, Synyehubov said.

Ukraine has been bracing for a second long winter of war with Russia amid intense fighting in the east, especially around the industrial city of Avdiyivka in Donetsk region.

Ukrainian defenders have repelled 30 Russian assaults in the Avdiyivka area over the past 24 hours, the General Staff of Ukraine's military reported in its December 8 report.

Russian forces have been attempting for several weeks to encircle Avdiyivka, which has become the latest symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

Avdiyivka has remained in Ukrainian hands even after Russia in 2014 seized large portions of the Donetsk region, including Donetsk city, located just 10 kilometers to the south.

As the cold season settles in, Ukrainian authorities have asked people to conserve energy after a power plant near the front line was hit by shelling, causing serious damage and disabling two power units.

The Energy Ministry said due to the stoppage of the two units and an increase in demand, there is a temporary shortage of electricity. The ministry appealed to consumers to support energy workers by using electricity "wisely and economically, especially during peak hours."

Kyiv has agreed with two American firms to jointly manufacture 155mm artillery shells in Ukraine, Strategic Industry Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin said on December 7. But he noted that Ukraine had never produced such shells and it would be "a minimum of two years, a maximum of three" before production could begin. The agreement followed a two-day Ukraine-U.S. defense conference in Washington that included bilateral meetings to discuss Ukraine's battlefield plans for 2024. The United States and allies have sent Kyiv more than 2 million 155mm rounds and are trying to increase production to replenish stocks.

Azerbaijan released 32 Armenian servicemen on December 7, while Armenia released two Azerbaijanis, according to a joint statement from the two countries that outlined other "tangible steps" toward building trust.

The statement from the office of Armenian Nikol Pashinian and the administration of the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, said both sides viewed the prisoner release as “guided by humanitarian values, and as a manifestation of goodwill."

The names of the released servicemen have not yet been released.

The statement also said there is a historic opportunity to achieve long-awaited peace.

"The two states reaffirm their intention to regulate relations and reach a peace treaty based on respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity," the statement said.

European Council President Charles Michel hailed the agreement as a "major break through" in Armenian and Azerbaijani relations.

"Welcome in particular release of detainees and unprecedented opening in political dialogue," Michel said on X, formerly Twitter. "Establishing and deepening bilateral dialogue between sides has been a key objective of the EU-led Brussels process: today’s progress is a key step."

He encouraged the leaders to finalize a peace deal as soon as possible.

In another goodwill gesture, Armenia expressed its support for Azerbaijan's bid to host next year's Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) and is withdrawing its own candidacy.

The two countries hope that other states of the convention's Eastern European Group will also support Azerbaijan's bid to host the event.

Azerbaijan in turn expressed its support for Armenia's candidacy for membership in the COP Bureau of the Eastern European Group.

Armenia and Azerbaijan will continue their discussions on the implementation of more confidence-building measures, the statement said. They also call on the international community to support their efforts, which they said will contribute to building mutual trust between the two states and have a positive impact on the entire South Caucasus.

Azerbaijan and Armenian have been taking preliminary steps toward a formal peace agreement since Baku regained control over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in September, resulting in an exodus of ethnic Armenians from the region.

Negotiators from the two countries last week led a meeting of their nations' border delimitation commissions and agreed to intensify future talks on the matter, which has been another focus of preliminary discussions.

The United States has issued sanctions against 13 individuals and entities in Yemen and other countries that the Treasury Department says are responsible for providing millions of dollars’ worth of funding to Huthi rebels in Yemen from the sale of Iranian commodities.

The individuals and entities sanctioned use a “complex network of exchange houses and companies in multiple jurisdictions” to funnel Iranian money to the Huthis, Iran’s militant partners in Yemen, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a news release on December 7.

“The [Huthis] continue to receive funding and support from Iran, and the result is unsurprising: unprovoked attacks on civilian infrastructure and commercial shipping, disrupting maritime security and threatening international commercial trade,” Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson, said in the news release.

U.S. warships operating in international waters in the Persian Gulf have responded to the attacks, which the Treasury Department said risk broadening the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU.

A top White House aide said on December 7 the United States believes that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is helping to plan and carry out the missile and drone attacks.

"We believe that they are involved in the conduct of these attacks, the planning of them, the execution of them, the authorization of them and ultimately they support them," deputy national-security adviser Jon Finer said at the Aspen Security Forum.

Iran denies involvement.

The Treasury Department said the sanctions imposed by its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) target a network that Iran-based Huthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal has relied on to send the proceeds of Iranian commodity sales to the Huthis and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC).

Two of the individuals designated for sanctions -- Bilal Hudroj and Ahmet Duri -- own companies that made millions of dollars’ worth of financial transfers to Huthi rebels, according to OFAC. Their companies, based in Lebanon and Turkey, also were singled out for sanctions.

Five other companies among those blacklisted on December 7 operated in a similar fashion, handling funds on behalf of Jamal, including through one Yemen-based exchange that OFAC said was established 2021 as a means of bypassing U.S. sanctions imposed that year on Jamal’s other exchanges.

The five companies include one based in Russia -- OOO Russtroi-SK. All five are owned by Deniz Capital Maritime, established in St. Kitts and Nevis by international businessman Fadi Deniz, who OFAC said maintains identity documents from multiple countries. Both Deniz and Deniz Capital Maritime were designated for sanctions.

The sanctions announced on December 7 also hit illicit agents that organized shipments on behalf of Jamal and arranged payments for vessels used to transport commodities, the department said.

The sanctions freeze any property belonging to the designated individuals and entities in U.S. jurisdiction and bar people in the U.S. from dealings with them.

With reporting by Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his country's relations with Iran at a meeting in Moscow on December 7 with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Since launching its full-scale war in Ukraine, Moscow has sought to deepen its economic and political ties with Tehran. Putin told Raisi that relations between their two countries, both of which have been heavily sanctioned by the West, “are developing very well.” Putin also told Raisi to “convey his best wishes” to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's head of state. "Thanks to his support, we have gained good momentum over the past year," Putin said.

Popular Iranian rapper Amir Tataloo was taken into custody immediately upon his arrival in Iran on December 6, following his deportation by Turkish police authorities -- which he had demanded.

Ahead of his arrest, the rapper, who has been detained in Iran several times posted a video on November 29 on his Telegram channel in which he was at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokçen Airport, holding a ticket and preparing to board a plane to Iran.

He later stated that he couldn't board the plane because his passport had expired. Following the incident, videos surfaced on social media showing him loudly insisting on being deported back to Iran.

Iranian media on December 3 showed Tataloo's arrest by Turkish police after they received a complaint from the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. The charges against the rapper centered around his alleged insults directed toward consulate staff and members.

Upon crossing the border, coming into Iran at Bazargan, Tataloo, whose real name is Amir Hossein Maghsoodloo, was taken into custody by Iranian officials. Afterward, the judiciary said he was handed to judicial officers for further investigation.

The Mizan News Agency, associated with Iran's judicial system, reported that multiple complaints have been filed against Tataloo, notably involving minors under 18 and their families. The complaints arose following the teenagers' visit to Tataloo's Istanbul residence.

The controversial rapper supported hard-line candidate Ebrahim Raisi during the country’s 2017 presidential vote.

In a video clip posted online, Raisi, who was defeated by President Hassan Rohani and was later appointed as the head of the judiciary, was seen talking to Tataloo and praising his work.

In 2015, Tataloo praised Iran’s nuclear activities in a music video where the singer was seen on the deck of an Iranian warship in the waters of the Persian Gulf.

Tataloo reportedly had been living in Turkey for several years.

The news of his extradition and arrest has sparked a flurry of reactions on social media.

Some observers speculate that this high-profile case might divert public attention from domestic issues, while others expressed concern that this might overshadow the commemoration of the 40th day since Armita Garavand's death.

The teen died after a confrontation with morality police, allegedly over the hijab, or mandatory Islamic head scarf, in Tehran's subway.

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

The Moscow City Court on December 7 extended the pretrial detention of Igor Girkin (aka Strelkov), once a leader of Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's east, who was arrested in July after he criticized President Vladimir Putin for “badly” handling the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Girkin, who has been charged with public calls for extremism, announced earlier that he plans to take part in the presidential election in March next year.

Girkin's lawyer, Aleksandr Molokhov, said on December 7 that his client's trial will start on December 14, adding that it will be held behind closed doors despite protests by his client and his defense team.

Russian authorities said earlier that Girkin's case was classified.

If convicted, the 52-year-old Girkin, who maintains his innocence, faces up to five years in prison.

Girkin was a key commander of Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region in 2014 and helped Russia annex Ukraine's Crimea that year.

A former officer of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Girkin has sharply criticized Putin in online statements for his handling of the Ukraine invasion, referring to the president as a “nonentity” and accusing him of “cowardly mediocrity.”

He has also called out Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for "mistakes" in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has accused both of "incompetence," saying a total military mobilization is needed for Russia to achieve victory.

In one of his harshest rants, Girkin said in a July 18 post on his official Telegram channel that Putin should transfer power "to someone truly capable and responsible." The post has garnered almost 800,000 views.

Shortly after his arrest, Girkin made a statement from pretrial detention, saying that he plans to take part in a presidential election next year.

In November 2022, a court in the Netherlands sentenced Girkin and two other defendants to life in prison in absentia in the case of the 2014 shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine. All 298 people on board died in the crash.

In February, international investigators said there were "strong indications" that Putin was personally involved in the incident.

The Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was blown out of the sky on July 17, 2014, amid a conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian armed forces. The victims came from more than a dozen countries, although more than two-thirds of them were Dutch citizens.

Russia has denied any involvement in the downing of the plane.

With reporting by RBK

A court in Moscow on December 7 extended the pretrial detention of three lawyers for imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei Navalny until at least March 13, 2024. Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Aleksei Lipster were arrested in October for allegedly participating in an extremist community because of their association with Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation. Last month, Russia's financial watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring, added the three to its list of extremists and terrorists, meaning that Russian banks must freeze their accounts and stop providing them with services. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

The British Foreign Office and the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on December 7 against two Russians for their ties to a group of cybercriminals sponsored by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) that Britain and the United States say has targeted people and entities in the two countries and other partner countries.

The United States also announced an indictment charging the two Russians -- identified as Ruslan Peretyatko and Andrei Korinets -- with conducting a campaign to hack into computers in the United States, Britain, and other NATO countries "all on behalf of the Russian government."

The U.K. Foreign Office said in a statement on December 7 that the cyber-spying was conducted by Star Blizzard, also known as the Callisto Group, an entity that Britain's cybersecurity center has established with quasi-total certainty is run by Center 18 -- an FSB unit identified as being behind a series of cyber-espionage operations targeting Britain.

Following an investigation, the Foreign Office placed sanctions on Star Blizzard members Ruslan Aleksandrovich Peretyatko and Andrei Stanislavovich Korinets "for their involvement in the preparation of spear-phishing campaigns and associated activity that resulted in unauthorized access and exfiltration of sensitive data, which was intended to undermine U.K. organizations and more broadly, the U.K. government."

Among the actions conducted by Star Blizzard, the statement enumerated the targeting, including "spear-phishing," of British lawmakers from various political parties since at least 2015; the hack of British-U.S. trade documents that were leaked ahead of the 2019 general election; and the targeting of journalists, universities, the public sector, NGOs, and civil society groups that have a key role in British democracy.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that, in sanctioning Korinets and Peretyatko and summoning the Russian ambassador, Britain was "shining a light on yet another example of how Russia chooses to operate on the global stage."

He said Russia’s attempts to interfere in U.K. politics "are completely unacceptable and seek to threaten our democratic processes."

The United States took action against Peretyatko and Korinets "in solidarity and support with the United Kingdom" after identifying their connection to the FSB unit and its activity targeting U.S. critical government networks, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a news release.

The U.S. Justice Department said the indictment charges each defendant with conspiracy to commit computer fraud against the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The men are presumed to be in Russia and would risk being brought to the United States for prosecution on the charges only if they were arrested in a country that has an extradition treaty with the United States. The sanctions freeze any assets they hold in U.S. jurisdictions and bar people in the United States from conducting business or any other dealings with them.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in the Justice Department's news release that the indictment unsealed on December 7 highlights that the Russian government continues to target the critical networks of the United States and its partners.

“Through this malign influence activity directed at the democratic processes of the United Kingdom, Russia again demonstrates its commitment to using weaponized campaigns of cyber espionage against such networks in unacceptable ways," Olsen said.

The Treasury Department said the FSB has conducted spear-phishing campaigns designed to gain access to targeted e-mail accounts and maintain access to them to obtain potentially sensitive information.

The department said that Korinets and Peretyatko operated between at least 2016 and 2020. Their activities included creating malicious domain infrastructure for FSB spear-phishing campaigns and using several e-mail addresses designed to mimic legitimate management accounts of well-known technology companies.

One of the fake e-mail accounts intended to mimic a retired U.S. Air Force general and, since the date of its activation until late 2019, it had sent at least 20 spear-phishing e-mails, which included domains created by Korinets, the Treasury Department said.

Fraudulent e-mail accounts created by Peretyatko sent spear-phishing e-mails purporting to be from a major software company directing victims to change their passwords in an attempt to harvest their credentials.

A court in Astana on December 7 sentenced Aidar Syzdyqov, a member of the unregistered opposition Algha Kazakhstan (Forward Kazakhstan) party, to 15 days in jail on hooliganism charges which the activist rejected as politically motivated. Syzdyqov and another member of the party, Aset Abishev, were detained a day earlier near a detention center where they were awaiting the release of their colleague. Abishev's trial on the same charge is pending. Last week, a court in Astana sentenced the chairman of Algha Kazakhstan, Marat Zhylanbaev, to seven years in prison on extremism charges that he also rejects as politically motivated. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

A former Ukrainian lawmaker who was gunned down near Moscow took safety precautions that were likely aided by the Russian authorities, as he "took an active part in pushing Russian propaganda," an official from Ukraine's military intelligence has said.

The body of Illya Kyva was found with two gunshot wounds in the village of Suponevo, southwest of Moscow, on December 6.

Ukrainian law enforcement sources have told RFE/RL that the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) "liquidated" the former Ukrainian lawmaker during a special operation. Russia's Investigative Committee has confirmed Kyva's death and announced a criminal investigation.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service on December 7 that people "who are in the active circle of the Russian special services -- and Kyva was exactly that -- and who take an active part in the work of Russian propaganda" take security precautions.

"Actually, [Russia] is trying to help such people in one way or another, and where he lived recently, this is in particular a sign of his attempts to escape and protect himself," Yusov said.

After Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyva moved to Russia, where he took part in pro-Kremlin TV talk shows and roundtable discussions.

He claimed Ukraine had been "enslaved and brought to its knees by the West, permeated by Nazism, and has no future" and called Russia's full-scale invasion a "necessary liberation."

A court in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv last month sentenced him in absentia to 14 years in prison after finding him guilty of high treason.

His death and that of another Ukrainian who collaborated with Russia, Oleh Popov, a former de facto lawmaker in a part of Ukraine's Luhansk region occupied by Russia, was also reported on December 6.

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Popov, who headed the Russian-installed government committee on state security and defense, law enforcement agencies, the judicial system, and the protection of human and civil rights was killed by an explosive device that detonated in his car in the city of Luhansk.

Several Ukrainian nationals accused of collaborating with the occupying Russian authorities have been targeted in recent years, and some of them have been killed.

Most recently, a de facto lawmaker of the Russian-installed regional assembly in Luhansk, Mykhaylo Filiponenko, was killed last month in a car bombing. Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence claimed responsibility for that killing.

Russia has accused Ukrainian special services of organizing the assassinations. Kyiv rarely claims responsibility for the attacks.

Days before Russia launched the invasion, Kremlin-backed separatist leaders of parts of Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize their independence from Ukraine.

Russian lawmakers in mid-February 2022 also called on Putin to recognize separatist-controlled parts of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states and ratified corresponding documents after Putin signed them.

Moscow used the documents to justify its invasion.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on December 7 it detained a Belarusian national with permanent residence in Lithuania on suspicion of carrying out explosions on two trains on the Baikal-Amur Main Line last week. According to the FSB, the suspect, whose identity was not disclosed, confessed to the attacks, saying that Ukrainian intelligence organized them. The explosions occurred on November 29 and 30, hitting the main railway line connecting Russia with China. Ukrainian media, citing sources, have said that Ukrainian secret services were behind the attacks. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

Uzbek blogger Fozilxoja Orifxojaev, who was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison in January 2022 over a post on Facebook, was released from prison after his sentence was replaced with a parole-like sentence, relatives said on December 6. Orifxojaev, known for his articles criticizing the Uzbek government for its restrictive religious policies, was imprisoned on a charge of "distributing materials containing a threat to public security and public order." Human rights groups had urged Tashkent to release Orifxojaev, calling the case against him politically motivated. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, click here.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on December 7 that Canberra has imposed sanctions on three officers of Russia's Federal Security Service and 10 other Russian citizens over two near-fatal poisonings of opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza in 2015 and 2017. Wong also called on Moscow to immediately release Kara-Murza, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in April on charges including treason in a trial he said was politically motivated. Russian authorities deny any involvement in the poison attacks. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Japan has pledged $1 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on December 7. "I am grateful to Japan and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the decision to provide additional aid to Ukraine in the amount of $1 billion, as well as for the willingness to increase the total amount of Japanese aid to $4.5 billion," Zelenskiy said, adding that the extra money provides "significant support" to Ukraine's economy. "Japan firmly stands side by side with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. We continue to work together to bring our joint victory closer," he added. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

A prosecutor asked a court in Ufa, the capital of Russia's Bashkortostan region, on December 6 to sentence activist Ramila Saitova to five years in prison for her online posts protesting against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Saitova was arrested in May and charged with "public calls for actions aimed against national security." The charge stemmed from an online video address to men mobilized to fight in the war in Ukraine from Bashkortostan, calling on them "to be brave and openly say, 'I do not want to kill.'" Saitova rejects the charge. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, click here.

A court of appeals in Russia has cancelled the two-year prison term for the father of a teenage girl who drew pictures against Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The court in Saratov on December 6 sent Aleksei Moskalyov's case for retrial. Moskalyov was sentenced in April on a charge of "repeatedly discrediting Russia's armed forces" after police investigating his daughter's pictures discovered his online posts criticizing the war in Ukraine. While serving his term, Moskalyov was placed in punitive solitary confinement multiple times for minor "violations of the penitentiary's internal regulations," his lawyer has said. To read the original story by RFE/RL's North.Realities, click here.

A 14-year-old Russian girl from Bryansk, some 885 kilometers southwest of Moscow, opened fire with a shotgun on her classmates on December 7, killing a 13-year-old girl, before turning the gun on herself and committing suicide, the Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Bryansk Region said. Authorities have not disclosed the shooter's identity. Russia's Health Ministry reported that five other people were wounded in the attack, one of them seriously, and were hospitalized in moderate condition. Russia's Investigative Committee, which deals with serious crimes, has opened an investigation. The shooter's motives were not immediately clear. Bryansk is some 100 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree announcing an early presidential election in the country on February 7. Aliyev's decree, issued on December 7, instructed the Central Election Commission to start preparing the poll in accordance with the procedure specified in the Electoral Code of Azerbaijan. Aliyev has been the president of the oil-rich Caucasus country since 2003, when he succeeded his father, Heydar Aliyev, and has stayed in power ever since through a series of elections marred by irregularities and accusations of fraud. Under his authoritarian rule, political activity and human rights have been stifled. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.

Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, has set March 17 for a presidential election in which President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to run for another term, paving the way for him to stay in power until at least 2030.

The council adopted the decision during a session on December 7.

"In essence, this decision marks the start of the election campaign," said Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council.

Putin, 71, has yet to announce his intention to run in the election for another six-year term, though he is widely expected to and win a new six-year mandate and extend his tenure, already the longest of any Russian leader since Josef Stalin.

Though Putin has not officially announced he will run, the government in 2020 pushed through a massive raft of constitutional amendments, the most important of which allows Putin to seek two more six-year terms and possibly remain in office until 2036.

No serious challenger has emerged so far to run against Putin, while two of the country's best-known opposition voices, Aleksei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza, are serving lengthy prison sentences that they and their supporters say are politically motivated.

Navalny immediately responded to the setting of the election date, urging the country's 110 million eligible voters to cast ballots for "any other candidate" than Putin even though "the final results will be rigged."

"He [Putin] will destroy Russia. He has to leave," Navalny wrote in a blog post.

"For Putin, this election is a referendum on the approval of his actions. A referendum on the approval of war. Let us thwart his plans and make sure that on March 17 no one cares about the falsified result, but that all of Russia has seen and understood it: the will of the majority is that Putin has to leave."

In a separate action on December 7, Navalny's associates and supporters disguised statements calling on Russians not to vote for Putin on large billboards bearing New Year’s greetings in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and several other Russian cities.

The billboards carried QR codes that led to a website titled Russia Without Putin when people scanned them with their mobile phones.

The Federation Council decision also applies to what Russia calls its new territories: four regions of Ukraine that Moscow annexed last year after launching its full-scale invasion of that country in February 2022.

While Russia claims the regions -- Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhya -- it only partially controls them and Kyiv has pledged to retake the annexed territories.

Last month, Putin signed amendments to the law on presidential elections which restricts coverage of the poll, while also giving the Central Election Commission the right to change the election procedure on territories where martial law has been introduced.

The Kremlin has said the amendments were necessary due to "the special situation" in Russia's "new territories."