Russian and U.S. diplomats met in Istanbul on December 9 to discuss a number of technical issues in the bilateral relationship, Russian state media quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying. The TASS news agency said the two sides would discuss "difficult questions" including visas, embassy staffing levels, and the work of each side's institutions and agencies abroad, among other unspecified issues. Ryabkov said the meeting was between heads of department from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department. He said it was a technical meeting and not a sign that the two sides were ready to resume discussing "major issues." To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has permitted Kazakh banks to operate with Russia's Mir payment cards, which had been blocked due to international sanctions against Moscow for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The Kazakh Agency of Financial Market Regulation said on December 9 that the OFAC permission was received a day earlier and relates only to individuals, namely Russian citizens who moved to Kazakhstan. Many banks in several nations stopped operations with Mir in recent months amid warnings to adhere to international sanctions against Moscow. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

An officer with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) who fled to Kazakhstan to avoid Moscow's military mobilization for the war in Ukraine is in custody and faces deportation from the Central Asian nation.

According to Siberian journalist Yevgenia Baltatarova, who is currently based in Kazakhstan, 36-year-old Major Mikhail Zhilin managed to send his wife and children to Kazakhstan after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization in September to beef-up his armed forces as they suffered setbacks from the strong resistance being put up by Ukraine's military.

Zhilin had to cross the border illegally as he knew that, as an FSB officer, he would not be allowed to leave the country. He asked for political asylum, but his request was rejected by Kazakh authorities and he was arrested, Baltatarova added in a Telegram post on December 8.

Baltatarova said that Zhilin, who fled his country along with hundreds of thousands of other men who were worried about the mobilization, now faces possible extradition to Russia, where he is wanted on a charge of desertion.

"In Russia, Mikhail will face a lengthy prison term or service in the death battalions [of private Vagner mercenary group that recruits inmates for the war in Ukraine]," Baltatarova wrote.

Kazakhstan's Migration Service has refused to give any information on Zhilin's case to RFE/RL. It has requested that written questions be sent to it.

Many Russian men who fled Russia over the mobilization went to Kazakhstan and other neighboring countries.

Kazakh Interior Minister Marat Akhmetzhanov said at the time that the Central Asian nation would extradite only those Russian citizens who are added to Russia's wanted list.

With reporting by Reuters

American basketball star Brittney Griner returned to the United States early on December 9 after being freed in a high-profile prisoner exchange following nearly 10 months in detention in Russia. The deal, which saw her swapped for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, secured the release of the most prominent American detained abroad and achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden. But Washington failed to win freedom for another American, Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for nearly four years. Some have criticized Biden for making the deal without securing the release of Whelan, or any other Americans held in Russia. Bout arrived back in Russia earlier on December 9. To read the original story by AP, click here.

A Moscow court has sentenced opposition politician Ilya Yashin to 8 1/2 years in prison on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. A correspondent for the Meduza news website reported from the courtroom that the judge announced his ruling on December 9. Prosecutors had sought nine years in prison for the outspoken Kremlin critic. The charge against Yashin stems from his YouTube posts about alleged crimes committed by the Russian military in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

The United Kingdom has announced a new wave of sanctions that targets 30 individuals and entities -- including several Iranian and Russian officials -- it says are oppressing fundamental freedoms around the world.

This British Foreign Office said the announcement on December 9 to mark International Anti-Corruption Day and Global Human Rights Day includes 18 designations targeting individuals involved in violations and abuses of human rights, six perpetrators behind conflict-related sexual violence, and five individuals for their involvement in "serious corruption and illicit finance."

Among those sanctioned are Andrey Tishenin and Artur Shambazov, Moscow-installed officials in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and Valentin Oparin and Oleg Tkachenko, from the Rostov region of Russia that borders Crimea. All four are accused of using torture on prisoners or of obstructing complaints of torture.

Ten Iranian officials connected to Iran’s judicial and prison systems are on the list, including six individuals linked to courts that have been responsible for prosecuting protesters with "egregious sentences including the death penalty."

"It is our duty to promote free and open societies around the world," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.

"Today our sanctions go further to expose those behind the heinous violations of our most fundamental rights to account. We are committed to using every lever at our disposal to secure a future of freedom over fear."

In total, the new sanctions include targets from 11 countries across seven sanctions regimes -- "the most that the U.K. has ever brought together in one package."

All of the individuals are subject to an asset freeze and travel ban, while all entities are subject to an asset freeze.

The statement said that five individuals, including Slobodan Tesic, "a significant arms dealer based in Serbia," Milan Radojcic, an ethnic Serb businessman from Kosovo, and Zvonko Veselinovic, a construction magnate in Kosovo, were on the list for corruption. The other two are Ilan Shor, a Moldovan politician, and Vladimir Plahotniuc, a businessman and a former politician who is a fugitive from Moldovan justice.

"Lining their pockets through corruption and theft, corrupt actors have a corrosive effect on the communities around them -- undermining democracy and depriving countries of vital resources for their own gain," the statement said.

"As a result, over 2 percent of global [gross domestic product] is lost to corruption every single year," it added.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on December 9 that he was determined to engage with Beijing over the findings of a report issued by his predecessor that said China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslims in its Xinjiang region may constitute crimes against humanity. Grappling with the human rights record of China has been one of the thorniest issues facing Turk since he started his job in October. Beijing pressured Turk's predecessor, Michelle Bachelet, not to publish the report, Reuters revealed, and she only did so a few minutes before the end of her term. To read the original Reuters story, click here.

Four days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law expanding a ban on the promotion of "LGBT propaganda," the popular VKontakte (VK) social network has started putting a special disclaimer on online groups that post materials about LGBT communities. The disclaimers, which began appearing on December 9, warn that some groups may post "materials that may be considered in violation of the laws of the Russian Federation," including the LGBT law. Human rights defenders and activists working with LGBT+ groups have said the new law will make it impossible for public organizations that help LGBT+ organizations function. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he will speak to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on December 11, and he will also speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in order to strengthen the UN-backed Black Sea grain deal. Erdogan was making a speech at a conference in Istanbul on December 9, which Zelenskiy also addressed via video link. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

Russian forces pounded the entire front line in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk and Luhansk, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military said on December 9, as U.S. officials said that Washington was preparing to send Ukraine a $275 million military aid package containing new capabilities to defeat drones and strengthen air defenses.

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.

Ukrainian forces repelled dozens of Russian attacks in the Bilohoryivka area in Luhansk as well as Klishchyivka and Maryinka in the Donetsk region, the General Staff said in its daily update.

"Over the past day, the enemy launched five missile strikes and three air strikes, as well as 54 salvoes from multiple rocket systems," it said, adding that the Russians continued to threaten Ukraine's already badly damaged energy infrastructure system as winter settles in.

The fiercest fighting continued near the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiyivka in Donetsk, regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a television interview. Artillery slammed into the town of Toretsk southwest of Bakhmut, killing one civilian and damaging 12 buildings, Kyrylenko said.

"The entire front line is being shelled," he said, adding that Russians were also trying to advance near Lyman, which was recaptured by Ukrainian forces last month in one of a number of setbacks suffered by Moscow since invading its neighbor in February.

In Bakhmut and other parts of the Donetsk region, Ukrainian forces countered with barrages from rocket launchers, witnesses said.

• 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.

The recently liberated city of Kherson sustained another wave of Russian bombardments targeting the energy and civilian infrastructure, according to Yuriy Sobolevskiy, the deputy head of the Kherson regional council.

"The night in Kherson was restless, with the sounds of explosions from enemy aircraft. The orcs were once again hitting civilian infrastructure," Sobolevskiy said on Telegram on December 9.

In Washington, officials said the United States is preparing to send Ukraine an additional $275 million in military aid, including large amounts of ammunition and high-tech systems that can be used to detect and counter drones.

Numerous waves of Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure over the past months have caused huge damage and left millions of people without electricity, heating, and water as freezing temperatures kicked in.

The fresh U.S. package, which could be announced as early as December 9, is also expected to include rockets for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers made by Lockheed Martin Corp, 155-millimeter ammunition, Humvee military vehicles, and generators, according to the officials familiar with the issue.

A National Security Council spokesperson declined to comment on the aid package, which is smaller than most of the recent ones that the United States has delivered, and it comes as some military officials and experts predict a reduction in military hostilities during the winter.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said Russia appears to be slowing its military activities to regroup and launch a new offensive when the weather warms.

SEE ALSO:

'Only The Dead Are Not Afraid': Civilians Evacuate As New Battle Lines Emerge In Ukraine's East, South

But Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on December 8 to continue the attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

"There's a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighboring country," Putin said at a military awards ceremony in the Kremlin. "This will not interfere with our combat missions," Putin added.

In yet another sign that Moscow was bent on keeping up the military pressure during the cold months, the Russian Defense Ministry said on December 8 that its soldiers were preparing for fighting in winter conditions by taking part in tactical training exercises in Belarus.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the Belarusian strongman who relied on Russian troops to help put down a popular revolt two years ago, has allowed his country to serve as a launch pad for Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

The U.S. House of Representatives has backed legislation paving the way for the defense budget to hit a record $858 billion next year, $45 billion more than proposed by President Joe Biden. The House approved the compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by 350 votes to 80, far exceeding the two-thirds majority required to pass the legislation and send it for a vote in the Senate. The fiscal 2023 NDAA authorizes $858 billion in military spending and includes a 4.6 percent pay increase for the troops, funding for purchases of weapons, ships and aircraft, and support for Taiwan as it faces aggression from China and Ukraine as it fights an invasion by Russia. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

Fire engulfed the Mega shopping center in Khimki near Moscow early on December 9, emergency services said, adding that the fire was apparently caused by a short circuit. The flames spread over an area of about 18,000 square meters, authorities said. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said that one person died, apparently a security guard who did not have time to get out of the fire. Mega had been home to a large number of Western retail chains before the companies' departure from Russia in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Russian forces have installed multiple rocket launchers at Ukraine's shut-down Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Ukrainian officials claimed on December 8, raising fears that Europe's largest atomic power station could be used as a base to fire on Ukrainian territory and heightening radiation dangers. Ukraine's nuclear company Enerhoatom said in a statement that Russian forces occupying the plant have placed several Grad multiple rocket launchers near one of its six nuclear reactors. The systems are located at new “protective structures,” which the Russians secretly built "violating all conditions for nuclear and radiation safety,” it said. The claim could not be independently verified. To read the original story by AP, click here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on December 8 that he believes "mine terror" will be one of the charges against Russia when it is held to account for its invasion of Ukraine.

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.

"I am sure this will be among the charges against Russia for aggression,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address after posthumously presenting state awards to four policemen who died on December 7 in the Kherson region when Russian mines blew up.

Zelenskiy signed decrees awarding the title of Hero of Ukraine to police Colonel Mykhaylo Kuratchenko and the Order of Courage to police captains Ihor Melnyk and Serhiy Nenada, and Corporal Vadym Perizhko.

“They did everything for the safety of Ukrainians,” he said.

They were killed when they “fell into a mine trap" after returning from collecting weapons and ammunition left in the Kherson region by Russians, he said in his video message.

Zelenskiy said the use of mines is even more cruel than the use of missiles because mines cannot be shot out of the air. He said Russian mines are a legacy of terror that Ukraine will have to contend with for years.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said last month that approximately one-third of the territory of Ukraine remains potentially dangerous due to explosive objects.

At the end of October, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy said that, in the territories recently liberated from the Russian Army, mining is twice as dense as in the previously deoccupied part of the Kyiv region or Chernihiv region.

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The head of the joint coordination press center of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine, Natalya Humenyuk, said Russian troops who retreated from the Kherson region used "insidious" methods of mining large areas.

The mines have slowed the work of Ukrainian specialists restoring power knocked out by Russian attacks on the country's infrastructure.

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