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Britain Confirms Supplying Ukraine With Long-Range Missiles As Moscow Fumes

A Tornado GR4 aircraft is pictured fitted with the Storm Shadow cruise missile directly under the fuselage.
A Tornado GR4 aircraft is pictured fitted with the Storm Shadow cruise missile directly under the fuselage.

Britain says it is supplying long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, giving Kyiv the capability to hit Russian troops well behind front lines as it prepares for a long-expected counteroffensive against Russia’s occupying forces.

Defense Minister Ben Wallace on May 11 confirmed to British lawmakers that the U.K. will donate Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

"The use of Storm Shadow will allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based within Ukrainian sovereign territory," he added without specifying how many are being delivered.

Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of more than 250 kilometers, give Ukraine the capacity to strike well behind Russian front lines and as far as Moscow-occupied Crimea.

British media reports said Kyiv had promised not to use the missiles to strike inside Russia's territory.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov issued a tweet full of metaphors following Wallace's announcement.

"The weather forecast is predicting a cyclone moving from the U.K. towards Ukraine, bringing with it Storms," he said. "It is through the Shadow of the Storm that the sunshine of our liberty will break through and shed light on our Victory."

The Kremlin regarded the announcement on the Storm Shadow missiles "quite negatively," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"It will demand an appropriate response from our military that will definitely make the decisions required in military terms," Peskov said.

The announcement from London came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview with European broadcasters that Kyiv is delaying the start of the counteroffensive because it lacks enough Western weapons to succeed without suffering too many casualties.

A Ukrainian counteroffensive has been expected since warmer weather improved battlefield conditions, and Zelenskiy said it's possible that "we can go forward and be successful,” the BBC reported.

“But we’d lose a lot of people. I think that’s unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying. “So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time.... In terms of equipment, not everything has arrived yet.”

The Kremlin regarded the announcement on the Storm Shadow missiles "quite negatively," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"It will demand an appropriate response from our military that will definitely make the decisions required in military terms," Peskov said.

Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on May 11 claimed that Ukraine's counteroffensive was already under way, citing fighting around Bakhmut, the city in the eastern Donetsk region that has been an epicenter of heavy fighting for months.

In the area of Bakhmut, he said Ukrainian armed forces "are hitting our flanks and, unfortunately, in some places they are being successful."

Ukraine claimed a small but significant battlefield victory outside Bakhmut, reportedly inflicting major losses on a Russian brigade.

The Ukrainian ground commander overseeing the 10-month battle for Bakhmut claimed that Russian forces had been forced to retreat.

“We are effectively counterattacking,” Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy said in a post on Telegram.

“On some sections of the front, the enemy could not withstand pressure from Ukrainian defenders and had to retreat up to 2 kilometers.”

Prigozhin complained that territory captured over the course of many months was being "thrown away" by those who should be guarding the flanks. In his view this responsibility belongs to regular Russian troops.

The Russian Defense Ministry denied reports of Ukrainian military breakthroughs along parts of the front line, saying the "overall situation in the area of the special military operation is under control."

With reporting by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, Reuters, AFP, BBC, and dpa

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Jury Selection In Alec Baldwin's Trial Over Death of Ukrainian-Born Cinematographer To Begin

Actor Alec Baldwin (center) participates in a pretrial hearing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on July 8.
Actor Alec Baldwin (center) participates in a pretrial hearing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on July 8.

Jury selection was set to begin on July 9 nearly three years after actor Alec Baldwin was directed to point his gun at Ukrainian-born cinematographer Halyna Hutchins as she set up a camera shot inside a movie-set church about 30 klometers southwest of Santa Fe. The death of the 42-year-old Hutchins in 2021 was Hollywood's first on-set shooting fatality in three decades and momentarily sparked calls to end the widespread use of real firearms on movie sets. Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial in a modern, brown-stucco courthouse in downtown Santa Fe is expected to last eight days and run to July 19.

Jailed Son Of Former Would-Be Belarusian Presidential Candidate On Trial Again

Eduard Babaryka was a member of his father's election campaign staff when the two were arrested two months before the August 2020 presidential vote. (file photo)
Eduard Babaryka was a member of his father's election campaign staff when the two were arrested two months before the August 2020 presidential vote. (file photo)

Eduard Babaryka, the imprisoned son of jailed Belarusian presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka, has gone on trial for "malicious disobedience" of prison guard commands.

The 35-year-old, whose trial began in the eastern city of Babruysk on July 9, was handed an eight-year prison term in early July 2023 on charges of "organizing mass riots" and "inciting hatred."

Eduard Babaryka has rejected the charges as politically motivated and human rights organizations in Belarus have recognized him as a political prisoner.

Eduard Babaryka was a member of his father's election campaign staff when the two were arrested two months before the August 2020 presidential vote. Viktar Babaryka was unable to officially register as a presidential candidate.

If found guilty in the new case, Eduard Babaryka may face an additional two years in prison.

Viktar Babaryka, the former head of the Russian-owned Belgazprombank, was sentenced in July 2021 to 14 years in prison on charges of bribe-taking and money laundering that he and his supporters have called political retribution for challenging authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

The Crisis In Belarus

Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.

Lukashenka was declared the victor of the August 2020 election, triggering massive protests by Belarusians who say the balloting was rigged. The demonstrations lasted for months as Belarusians demanded Lukashenka, in power since 1994, step down and hold fresh elections.

The August 2020 vote was rejected as fraudulent by the opposition and the West, and the country, at Lukashenka's direction, began to crack down on demonstrators, arresting thousands and pushing most leading opposition figures out of the country.

Several protesters have been killed in the violence and rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used against some of those detained.

Lukashenka denies vote fraud and has refused to negotiate with the opposition led by Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who supporters say actually won the August 2020 election.

The European Union, United States, Canada, and other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka, 69, as the legitimate leader of Belarus and have slapped him and senior Belarusian officials with sanctions in response to the "falsification" of the vote and postelection crackdown.

All Eyes On Biden, Ukraine At Summit Marking NATO's 75th Birthday

Washington is preparing to host a NATO summit on the military alliance's 75th anniversary.
Washington is preparing to host a NATO summit on the military alliance's 75th anniversary.

WASHINGTON -- Leaders of NATO countries will open their annual summit on July 9 in Washington to discuss ways to bolster the alliance's defense capabilities and support Ukraine against the backdrop of political uncertainty in the host country and Russia's intense bombing of Ukraine.

NATO is expected to announce plans for European members to boost spending on weapons and ammunition procurement following years of underinvestment as well as a 40 billion-euro ($43 billion) aid package for Ukraine.

The agenda of the three-day summit, which will mark NATO's 75th anniversary, will be partially overshadowed by concerns about U.S. President Joe Biden's age and ability to lead after his chances of winning reelection this November took a hit following his dismal debate performance against Republican contender Donald Trump last month.

Support and aid to Ukraine is likely to take on even greater immediacy at the summit following one of the worst Russian air attacks on the country since the Kremlin launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The barrage of missiles fired across Ukraine on July 8 struck several civilian facilities, including Kyiv's Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, killing at least 41 people in total and injuring scores more in what Biden called a "horrific reminder of Russia's brutality."

Michael Carpenter, senior director for NATO at the National Security Council, told reporters on July 8 that the allies will announce new measures to bolster Ukraine's security, including air defense and F-16 fighter jets, but he did not give any details.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has for months pleaded with NATO members for more air defense, especially the U.S.-made Patriot missile system, to defend its troops, cities, and infrastructure against large-scale Russian bombing campaigns.

The alliance will also announce a new NATO military command in Germany to coordinate the training and equipping of Ukrainian troops and station a senior NATO representative in Kyiv.

However, the summit will not extend an invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance. Carpenter said there was still no consensus on the issue among the 32 allies.

The NATO communique is expected to say that Ukraine belongs in the alliance without giving a time frame for when it will join.

NATO members also couldn't agree on a multiyear military aid package for Ukraine that outgoing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had proposed. Instead, NATO will announce a one-year, 40 billion-euro package.

Biden and Zelenskiy will meet on July 11 and be joined by the leaders of about two dozen other countries that have signed bilateral security agreements with Ukraine.

Biden last month signed a 10-year agreement that calls on the United States, among other things, to help bolster Ukraine's military-industrial complex through co-production and joint ventures with U.S. industry.

The expected announcements have disappointed some Western supporters of Ukraine who want greater aid and a clearer path into NATO.

"I don't see this summit doing much for Ukraine at all," Kurt Volker, who served as U.S. ambassador to NATO in 2008-09 and former special envoy to Ukraine in 2017-19, told the Center for a New American Security earlier this month.

NATO Leaders Gather For Summit In Washington With Eyes On Ukraine War, U.S. Politics
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But Carpenter said the commitments made to Ukraine during the summit will show that Russian President Vladimir Putin's strategy of outlasting the alliance won't work.

NATO unity on Ukraine, however, will be challenged at the summit by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose pro-Russian views have irked the alliance.

Orban, who just took over the rotating presidency of the EU, flew to Moscow last week without informing the bloc ahead of time to discuss an end to the war with Putin. The trip was denounced by Zelenskiy, the EU, and the Biden administration.

NATO Spending

Defense spending by NATO members will be another hot topic at the summit. NATO members committed a decade ago to reach a defense spending target of at least 2 percent of gross national product by 2024. Stoltenberg said that 23 of the alliance's 32 members will meet that target this year.

"One of the things you'll see at the summit, certainly behind closed doors, is that there'll be a lot of allies holding each other's feet to the fire in terms of defense spending commitments," Carpenter said.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican-Louisiana), a Trump ally, said on July 8 that Republicans "celebrate the peace and stability that NATO has secured...but we also believe that NATO needs to be doing more."

Some Western officials say 2 percent should be a floor, not a ceiling, and that NATO members should be spending 2.5 percent or more amid growing threats from Russia, China, and Iran.

"If we look into the future, and we look into fully resourcing our defense plans and preparing for all possible contingency, this will require for a number of countries to go beyond 2 percent," Benedetta Berti, head of policy planning in the office of the NATO secretary-general.

Johnson, who spoke at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank, said Republicans were pushing for a "self-reliant European defense industrial base."

Trump harangued NATO allies when he was president for not meeting their spending commitments, threatening at one point to withdraw the United States from the alliance.

Biden's poor debate performance and the specter of another Trump presidency has many European allies worried. But National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the White House had not picked up any signed from allies that they need to "be reassured of American leadership and President Biden's commitments."

Strengthening ties with Asian partners to contain China will be another topic at the summit.

NATO allies will be joined by the leaders of four Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. NATO members have criticized China for supplying Russia with electronics used in weapons production.

"The global threats and challenges we face, including from authoritarian actors and terrorist organizations, are all inextricably linked," Carpenter said.

For Stoltenberg, the summit is expected to be his last major event before he departs the alliance on October 1. He will be replaced by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

With reporting by Erin Osborne

EU Halts Georgia's Accession, Freezes Financial Assistance

Pawel Herczynski, EU ambassador to Georgia, described the move as a response of the controversial "foreign agents" law. (file photo)
Pawel Herczynski, EU ambassador to Georgia, described the move as a response of the controversial "foreign agents" law. (file photo)

TBILISI -- The European Union says it has halted Georgia's accession process and frozen 30 million euros in assistance to its Defense Ministry after the country's lawmakers approved controversial legislation seen as a measure to crack down on dissent.

European Union Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski told reporters in Tbilisi during an event on July 9 that the bloc was considering further measures if the situation in the country "further deteriorates."

Herczynski described the move as a response of the controversial "foreign agents" law, known as the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, and recent anti-democratic steps taken by the former Soviet republic's government.

"The Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence is a clear backslide on nine steps, and the anti-Western, anti-European rhetoric is fully incompatible with the stated aim of joining the European Union," Herczynski said, adding that the decision to halt Georgia's EU accession process had been made on June 27.

Herczynski said he hopes Tbilisi will reconsider some of its recent decisions after a new government is formed following parliamentary elections in October.

"I sincerely hope that on October 26, Georgians will make the right choice and the future government, whoever wins the elections, will return very quickly and resume hard work towards Georgia's accession to the European Union," Herczynski stressed.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called the EU's move "a response" to the "anti-European and anti-Western rhetoric and actions" by the government and the ruling Georgian Dream party.

"While this is a response to the ruling party's foolish and hostile policy towards [the EU], at the same time it is a warning to the public: our partners tell us that 'the choice is yours' -- either Georgia gets a secure European future or moves into an isolated Russian orbit," Zurabishvili said.

Georgian Civil Activist Bruised And Bloodied, Opposition's Homes, Offices Vandalized
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On May 28, lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party overrode Zurabishvili's veto, further propelling the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence toward enactment.

Dubbed "the Russian law" by Georgian protesters for its similarities to a law in Russia that has helped the Kremlin jail, fine, and marginalize dissent, EU officials have warned it will "negatively impact Georgia's EU path."

Meanwhile, Washington has announced visa bans and a "comprehensive review" of bilateral relations, and other international critics have decried the law as "weaponized transparency."

Last week, the U.S. State Department said in a statement that it had indefinitely postponed the planned Noble Partner military exercises with Georgia, which Tbilisi has been hosting since 2016, as part of the review of the policy of relations with Georgia.

The U.S. Defense Department said the decision was made, due "to the Georgian government's false accusations against the United States and other western entities, to pressure Georgia to open a second front against Russia to alleviate pressure on Ukraine, and of participating in two coup attempts against the ruling party."

Former Wagner Mercenary Recruited From Russian Prison Gets 7 Years For Murder

It's not the first instance of former Wagner mercenaries recruited from prison being accused of committing serious crimes after completing tours of duty in Ukraine. (file photo)
It's not the first instance of former Wagner mercenaries recruited from prison being accused of committing serious crimes after completing tours of duty in Ukraine. (file photo)

A former fighter of the Wagner mercenary group who was reportedly recruited from prison has been sentenced to seven years in prison for murdering a mother of three after returning home to the Far East region of Primorye from the war in Ukraine.

The press service of the region's courts said on July 9 that the Anuchino district court had taken into account "attenuating circumstances" when deciding what some have called a lenient punishment for the man.

The defendant, whose identity was not disclosed, was found guilty of murdering the 32-year-old woman, leaving her in a car, and setting the vehicle on fire near the village of Anuchino in October 2023.

Local media reported at the time that the man was recruited by Wagner in December 2022 from a prison where he was serving a term of 10 years and 10 months for murder, theft, and robbery.

After fighting for Russia in Ukraine, he returned to his native Primorye with three medals in July 2023.

It is not the first instance of former Wagner mercenaries recruited from jails and prisons across Russia to be accused of committing serious crimes after completing tours of duty in Ukraine.

In a recent report, the Agentstvo Telegram channel said that as of October 4, 2023, 27 people had been killed by former military personnel who returned home from the war in Ukraine, in 20 incidents.

According to the Agentstvo report, 12 of the registered deadly incidents, with 19 victims, involved former Wagner mercenaries.

Courts in Russia tend to hand mitigated sentences to such persons, citing their "patriotism" and "contributions" they made to Russia's war against Ukraine.

Wagner's late leader and founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in late June 2023 that 32,000 former inmates recruited by his group from penitentiaries had returned home after being granted clemency as part of their remuneration for fighting in Ukraine.

Indians Fighting In Ukraine Alongside Russian Troops To Return Home, Report Says

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 7.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 7.

NDTV television in India reported on July 9 that about 20 Indian nationals who are fighting with Russia's armed forces in Ukraine will return home soon. NDTV quoted sources as saying the issue was discussed at talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the ongoing visit by the Indian leader to Moscow. In March, seven Indian citizens issued a video, saying they came to Russia as tourists in December but were tricked by a Russian guide into traveling to Belarus, where they were arrested for not having visas and deported to Russia, where they were forced to fight in Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Armenia Says 'No Agreement' On Ministerial Meeting With Azerbaijan In U.S.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov (left) and Armenia's chief diplomat meet in Berlin on February 28.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov (left) and Armenia's chief diplomat meet in Berlin on February 28.

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ani Badalyan has told RFE/RL that "no agreement" had been reached for a meeting between the top diplomats of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ceyhun Bayramov, have both left for the United States to attend an event on the sidelines of a NATO summit scheduled for July 9-11. The neighbors have been negotiating a peace treaty since Azerbaijan retook control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September 2023, following a lightning offensive. To read the original report by RFE/RL's Armenian Service, click here.

Ukraine Mourns After Deadly Russian Attacks Hit Children's Hospital, Other Civilian Targets

Ukrainians work at the site of a rocket strike on the children's hospital in Kyiv on July 8.
Ukrainians work at the site of a rocket strike on the children's hospital in Kyiv on July 8.

A child's body was recovered from the rubble of an apartment block in Kyiv as rescue workers continued to remove rubble from a children's hospital hit during massive Russian air strikes and Ukraine observed a day of mourning following attacks U.S. President Joe Biden called a "horrific reminder of Russia's brutality."

A day after at least 38 people -- including two staff members at the children's hospital -- were killed in the deadliest wave of attacks in recent months, the Kremlin on July 9 denied it had targeted civilian targets and blamed anti-missile fire for the destruction of the hospital, but analysts and several officials rejected Moscow's denial.

Ukrainian military expert Oleksandr Musiyenko told Current Time on July 9 that there was "sufficient evidence" showing the children's hospital was "directly and deliberately" hit by a Russian Kh-101 subsonic cruise missile.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

"We see that Russia, if we talk about massive missile attacks on Ukraine, usually takes a pause -- one or 1 1/2 months, then accumulates the missiles, and after that resumes the shelling before another pause," he said of the rare attack in broad daylight.

"The Russian side often uses drones accompanying the missiles to video record the moment of the hitting the target and the aftermath for propaganda purposes.... Also, in daytime, residents of the [Ukrainian] capital are at workplaces and other public sites and the psychological impact on them is bigger," he added.

Ukraine appeared to follow through on President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's vow to retaliate, launching over three dozen drones overnight on July 9 and shelling several areas that killed several people inside Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on July 9 that a total of 38 drones in five regions had been intercepted, including 21 in Rostov, seven in Kursk, five in Astrakhan, three in Belgorod, and two in Voronezh.

Local media reported that airports in the southern Astrakhan and Volgograd regions had restricted flights following the drone attacks.

Ukrainian shelling in Russia's Belgorod region in the early hours of July 9 killed four people and wounded 20, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. He added that the attack caused power outages and damaged 60 houses and 160 apartments.

In Volgograd, an oil depot and an electrical substation caught fire as a result of falling drone debris, according to regional Governor Andrei Bocharov.

The Russian attack was widely condemned by the West and the UN's humanitarian coordinator, with the UN Security Council scheduled to meet on July 9 to discuss the situation.

The UN's human rights monitoring mission said its assessment of the strike in Kyiv "indicates a high likelihood that the children's hospital suffered a direct hit rather than receiving damage due to an intercepted weapon system."

"Russia’s missile strikes that...killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians and caused damage and casualties at Kyiv's largest children’s hospital are a horrific reminder of Russia's brutality," Biden wrote on X.

"It is critical that the world continues to stand with Ukraine at this important moment and that we not ignore Russian aggression," he said, adding that during this week's NATO summit in Washington, he will meet with Zelenskiy "to make clear our support for Ukraine is unshakeable."

Moscow has routinely denied targeting residences, schools, hospitals, and other civilian structures despite frequent bombings that suggest otherwise.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air attacks near Kyiv were aimed at "Ukrainian military industry facilities and Ukrainian air force bases," adding that "the strike's objectives were achieved."

The Washington-based nonprofit Institute for the Study Of War (ISW) countered Moscow's claims, saying video evidence "clearly shows a single missile flying at a sharp downward trajectory before making contact with the hospital building."

Kyiv's Civil Defense Department said on July 9 that the body of a missing boy had been retrieved from an apartment building hit during the missile attacks, which also partially destroyed another hospital and hit a business center in the capital as well.

RFE/RL cannot independently confirm reports by either side of battlefield developments in areas of the heaviest fighting.

With reporting by Current Time's Aleksei Aleksandrov

Russian Theater Director, Playwright Jailed For 6 Years On Terror Charges

Yevgenia Berkovich (left) and Svetlana Petriichuk deny justifying terrorism in their play, The Brave Falcon. (file photo)
Yevgenia Berkovich (left) and Svetlana Petriichuk deny justifying terrorism in their play, The Brave Falcon. (file photo)

A court in Moscow on July 8 convicted theater director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriichuk of "justifying terrorism" and sentenced each to six years in prison. They were arrested last year following a production of the play Finist -- The Brave Falcon. The play is about Russian women who married Muslim men and moved to Syria. Both have maintained their innocence. A lawyer representing Berkovich and Petriichuk said they would appeal the ruling. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.

Dodon Says He Won't Run In Moldovan Presidential Election, Backs Ex-Prosecutor-General

Alexandru Stoianoglo (left) and former Moldovan President Igor Dodon
Alexandru Stoianoglo (left) and former Moldovan President Igor Dodon

The leader of Moldova’s Socialist Party, Igor Dodon, announced on July 8 that he will not run in the presidential election later this year and threw his support behind former Prosecutor-General Alexandru Stoianoglo.

Dodon served one term as Moldovan president before being defeated by the current pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu in an election in November 2020. Since then Moldova has tried to distance itself from Russia while making steps toward integration with the EU.

Dodon said that he has renounced "narrow party interests" and does not want Moldova to have "a politically affiliated president" rather one "from the people."

He urged other opposition parties to support Stoianoglo's candidacy and said he believes Stoianoglo will be supported "by many opinion leaders."

Stoianoglo declared that he is "not a politician" but criticized the current government for the way it promotes European integration and for what he called the "militarization" of Moldova.

"The constitutional order is being violated every day by the authorities and various political scoundrels," Stoianoglo told a news conference.

Stoianoglo said he favored EU membership but finds it "insulting" that European integration is "used as a truncheon and not as a means to modernize the country and unite its people."

The former prosecutor-general also said he was running to end injustices under Sandu's administration.

Sandu sacked Stoianoglo last year, citing violations of the Criminal Code on exceeding his authority and a failure to tackle corruption. He denies wrongdoing and has not been convicted in a court. The European Court for Human Rights has ruled that his dismissal violated principles of due process.

Sandu, who has made joining the European Union one of her main policies, will be seeking a second term in the election, which will include a referendum on joining the 27-nation bloc.

Dodon previously said that the Socialists wanted to put forward a joint candidate capable of competing with Sandu and her Action and Solidarity Party. But one by one other opposition leaders decided to run separately.

Dodon met in May with several opposition leaders to reportedly discuss a joint strategy and tried to identify a common candidate. Even though several opposition leaders later told RFE/RL that they had attended the meeting only to exchange views and not to find a common candidate, Dodon continued to say that the Socialists were talking with opposition leaders to form a common front in the elections.

Former Moldovan President Challenged Over Pro-Russian Stance
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Dodon said that anyone who opposes Sandu is a potential ally, including fugitive businessman Ilan Şhor. However, he told RFE/RL that he "does not intend to have any discussions" with Şhor regarding the nomination of a joint presidential candidate but said the opposition will have a joint strategy if Sandu wins the election. The strategy includes an agreement among opposition parties to refrain from attacking each other in the first round of voting.

If a new head of state is not elected in the first round, then "everyone must unite around that opposition candidate who will enter the second round of the presidential elections," Dodon told RFE/RL.

Others politicians who have announced that they will run or that they intend to run include former Foreign Minister Tudor Ulianovschi; the leader of Our Party, controversial businessman Renato Usatii; the founder of the Dignity and Truth Platform (DA), Andrei Nastase; the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), Vlad Filat; and former Prime Minister Ion Chicu.

With reporting by Reuters

Zelenskiy Says Orban Cannot Be Mediator As Hungarian Leader's 'Peace Mission' Wraps Up In Beijing

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on July 8 that Viktor Orban could not mediate between Russia and Ukraine to end Moscow’s full-scale invasion as the Hungarian prime minister traveled to Beijing on a continuation of what he calls "peace mission 3.0."

Orban's meetings in Beijing followed visits to Kyiv and Moscow last week following Hungary's assumption of the EU Council presidency on July 1, but EU and U.S. officials have emphasized that Orban is not representing the bloc.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

In a letter to European Council President Charles Michel dated July 5 and seen by RFE/RL, Orban said, based on his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he believes there is now a “greater chance for a positive reception on all possible proposals for a cease-fire and for a road map to peace talks.”

But Mike Carpenter, senior adviser for Europe with the White House National Security Council, said Orban’s meeting with Putin was not helpful.

“I don’t think [Orban’s visit to Moscow] is going to support Ukraine and its efforts at finding peace or Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity, Carpenter said on July 8 at a briefing as United States prepares for the opening of a NATO summit on July 9.

Michel said last week that the EU's rotating presidency "has no mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU" and reiterated the EU's position that Russia is the aggressor in the war in Ukraine.

Orban claimed in his letter that leadership by the United States “is limited” due to the ongoing presidential election campaign. Therefore, he said the EU can expect no proposals from the United States in the coming months and Brussels should consider launching a European initiative.

Speaking at a news conference in Poland, Zelenskiy said only powerful countries with armed forces much stronger than Russia's could manage to arrange peace talks.

"Are there many such countries around the world? Not many. I believe the U.S., and China are such countries. And the EU, not one country, but the whole EU. This could really be an intermediary mission," Zelenskiy said.

He added that Kyiv remains open to proposals from other countries on how to shape the path to peace, but they should align with the Ukrainian vision, in particular a 10-point peace plan, Zelenskiy added.

Zelenskiy has insisted that Ukraine's territorial integrity -- backed in multiple UN votes and a Ukrainian-initiated Global Peace Summit in Switzerland last month -- must be the foundation of any peace deal.

Putin has said conditions for ending the war include Kyiv renouncing its desire to join NATO and ceding Crimea and four other occupied regions of Ukraine.

Orban told Michel in his letter that he did not put forth any proposal “and did not articulate any opinion on behalf of the European Council or the European Union.”

He said that, with regard to the peace formula presented by Zelenskiy, Putin again pointed out that Russia still considers relevant the document handed over during peace talks in April 2022 in Turkey, especially the part that specifies international security guarantees to be granted to Ukraine.

Orban’s letter also said Putin’s interpretation of the situation on the front line “differs substantially” from that of Zelenskiy’s.

The Russian leader believes that “time is not on the side” of Ukraine but on the side of the Russian forces. Putin made no reference to Russian casualties but said Russia estimates that Ukraine’s losses and casualties are between 40,000 and 50,000 soldiers per month, according to Orban.

Therefore, Putin was surprised that Zelenskiy rejected a temporary cease-fire, Orban said. Russia is “ready to consider any cease-fire proposal that does not serve the hidden relocation and reorganization of Ukrainian forces,” Orban’s letter said.

Ukraine does not release data on casualties, but Zelenskiy said on February 25 that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died in the war to that point and rejected Moscow's much higher estimates of Ukrainian losses.

Orban’s letter also referred to a Chinese-Brazilian peace proposal that is under consideration by the Russian side. China has been promoting the six-point peace plan, which proposes an international peace conference "at a proper time" and calls for equal participation by both Ukraine and Russia.

Moscow is “ready to exchange views on it, provided that the framework of the peace talks is appropriate,” he said.

The summit in Switzerland considered Ukraine’s proposal for peace, and Kyiv hopes to hold a second summit later this year. China did not attend the first meeting.

After Orban's meeting with Xi in Beijing, he wrote a separate letter to Michel in which he said the talks "confirmed that China’s peace policy that is based on the principles of no expansion, no escalation, and no provocation will remain in place for the foreseeable future."

Orban told Michel that Xi considers it highly likely that the next round of international peace talks will take place before the end of the year. He added that Beijing understands that the precondition for this is the participation of both sides and said the Chinese interpret a statement by Zelenskiy that the meeting will be organized with the participation of Russia "as an official commitment to this effect."

With reporting by Reuters

Strategist For Russian Opposition Politician Rushed To Hospital From Courtroom

Maksim Kruglov (file photo).
Maksim Kruglov (file photo).

A political campaign strategist for the Russian opposition Yabloko party’s deputy chairman was rushed to hospital on July 8 after an ambulance was called to a courtroom during his trial in Moscow on a charge of disobeying police. Lawyers for Vitaly Shushkevich said their client has an unspecified medical condition and constantly needs medicine, which police refused to supply him during two days of detention. He is a strategist for Maksim Kruglov, the only member of the Yabloko party who managed to collect enough signatures of supporters to be eligible to take part in municipal elections in the Russian capital in September. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Taliban Authorities Slash Government Salaries Of Afghan Women

The Taliban has severely curtailed women’s rights since seizing power in Afghanistan in 2021. (file photo)
The Taliban has severely curtailed women’s rights since seizing power in Afghanistan in 2021. (file photo)

Afghan authorities have slashed the salaries of women government workers who have been forced to stay at home since the Taliban seized power, the Taliban-led government's Finance Ministry said on July 8. After kicking out the foreign-backed government in 2021, the Taliban administration stopped most women employed in the public sector from attending their offices while continuing to pay them. "Women who are at home and do not go to the office... their salaries are 5,000 afghanis ($70) a month," Ahmad Wali Haqmal, the ministry spokesman, told AFP. Women who are permitted to work in segregated areas such as in government hospitals or schools would continue to get paid a salary according to their position.

Former Russian Governor Belykh Acquitted In Second Case

Former Kirov region Governor Nikita Belykh appears in court in 2018.
Former Kirov region Governor Nikita Belykh appears in court in 2018.

The Kirov regional court in Russia on July 8 acquitted Nikita Belykh, the region's former governor and an opponent of President Vladimir Putin, in a new case against him on charge of abuse of office.

Belykh was released from prison last month after serving an eight-year prison term on a bribe-taking charge that he has rejected.

Then, in December 2023, a court in the Kirov region sentenced Belykh to an additional 2 1/2 years in prison on a charge of abuse of power but spared him from serving the punishment, citing the statute of limitations.

Meanwhile, prosecutors sought an additional term for Belykh on two charges of abuse of power, but the judge acquitted Belykh of the more serious of the two charges due to a lack of evidence, handing him only a 2 1/2-year sentence on the lesser of the two charges. Statute-of-limitations deadlines also mean he won't serve prison time on that charge.

On July 8, the Kirov regional court cancelled the lower court's December decision, fully acquitting Belykh due to "the absence of any elements of a crime" in the case.

One of the highest-ranking officials to be arrested in office since Putin was first elected president in 2000, Belykh maintained his innocence in both cases against him, saying he was the victim of a provocation by law enforcement authorities.

Once a leader of a liberal opposition party, the Union of Rightist Forces, Belykh was one of the few provincial governors in Russia not closely allied with Putin.

Before serving as Kirov governor, Belykh was a deputy governor for the Perm region and a lawmaker in that region's Legislative Assembly.

He conducted several political campaigns in opposition to Putin's policies and was sharply criticized by liberals, such as former ally Boris Nemtsov -- who was assassinated in February 2015 -- when he accepted the appointment in 2009 by then-President Dmitry Medvedev.

Putin fired Belykh in July 2016, shortly after his arrest.

With reporting by TASS and Interfax

Central Asian States, Azerbaijan Start Military Maneuvers In Kazakhstan

Almost 4,000 military personnel from the five countries and 700 pieces of military equipment and vehicles are taking part in the exercises.
Almost 4,000 military personnel from the five countries and 700 pieces of military equipment and vehicles are taking part in the exercises.

The Kazakh Defense Ministry said on July 8 that its armed forces, along with those from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, had begun joint military maneuvers on the shores of the Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan. The Association-2024 drills, scheduled to run until July 17, are taking place at the Oimasha military test field and the Cape of Toqmaq in the Kazakh region of Manghystau. In all, up to 4,000 military personnel from the five countries and almost 700 pieces of military equipment and vehicles are taking part in the exercises. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

Crackdown On Dissent In Belarus Continues With New Trials, Sentences

Natallya Malets (file photo)
Natallya Malets (file photo)

A court in Belarus opened the trial of Natallya Malets on a charge of facilitating extremist activities as the government of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka shows no signs of letting up in its campaign to crush any perceived signs of dissent.

The Brest regional court in the country's west on July 8 launched the trial of the 63-year-old Malets, who is accused of wiring cash 125 times to political prisoners. If found guilty, she faces up to six years in prison.

Last year, Malets was handed an 18-month parole-like sentence on a charge of "insulting a representative of law enforcement." Human right groups have recognized her as a political prisoner.

Meanwhile, the Hrodna regional court on July 8 started the trial in absentia of journalist Ales Kirkevich on the same charge of facilitating extremist activities. It remains unclear what Kirkevich did to be charged with the offense.

The Crisis In Belarus

Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.

Since mass protests in 2020 challenged the official result of a presidential election where Lukashenka was announced the winner -- many in Belarus and abroad say the vote was rigged -- Belarusian authorities have launched a sometimes deadly crackdown on independent journalists, activists, opposition politicians, and democratic institutions.

Over the weekend, the Brest regional court sentenced Iryna Pahadayeva to three years in prison, saying the 55-yrear-old activist wired cash to jailed political prisoners 32 times.

Pahadayeva was arrested in May and her state of health has dramatically worsened while in custody, as she suffers from issues related to high blood pressure. Human right groups have recognized her as a political prisoner.

The same court is currently trying another activist, Iryna Bandarenka, on the same charge. Bandarenka is accused of sending cash to political prisoners and bringing parcels to them while they were held in a detention center in Brest.

The Vyasna human rights group said on July 8 that 18 political prisoners, including four women, had been released since last week after Lukashenka signed a law on mass amnesty.

According to Vyasna, some political prisoners refused to accept the amnesty after they were required to write a letter to Lukashenka asking him personally for clemency.

Lukashenka, 69, has been in power since 1994. He has tightened his grip on the country since the August 2020 election by arresting -- sometimes violently -- more than 35,000 people. Fearing for their safety, most opposition members have fled the country.

The West has refused to recognize the results of the election and does not consider Lukashenka to be the country's legitimate leader.

Many countries have imposed sanctions against Lukashenka's regime in response to the suppression of dissent in the country.

Updated

Orban Push Lands Right-Wing 'Patriots Of Europe' Alliance In European Parliament

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left) and French National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen attend a 2021 meeting in Warsaw.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left) and French National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen attend a 2021 meeting in Warsaw.

A new right-wing alliance announced recently by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been accredited in the European Parliament with French National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella as its chairman, a spokesman for the Hungarian leader said via social media on July 8.

The registration of the Patriots For Europe grouping followed posts earlier in the day by Orban spokesman Zoltan Kovacs saying Bardella and Marine Le Pen's RN and the Italian Lega party led by Matteo Salvini would join.

"PatriotsforEurope has been officially accredited as the new defining right-wing political group of the [European Parliament]," Kovacs tweeted under the phrase "historic moment."

"Our political group will start its journey with [Bardella] as chairman and [Fidesz] MEP Kinga Gal as the first vice-chairman," he added.

Such groupings require a minimum of 23 representatives from at least seven EU member states.

The additions of the French and Italians after commitments from Danes, Spaniards, Czechs, and Austrians, and others suggested they could have quickly become the third-largest faction in the European legislative chamber.

"With 84 representatives from 12 countries our alliance of European patriots will fight for the future and sovereignty of the European people!" Kovacs said.

Le Pen's party colleagues had reportedly signaled their intention to join the Orban-backed grouping ahead of her national-populist party's third-place finish in French national elections in which the political left and right teamed up to beat back the surging RN's hopes of a win.

"This new right-wing faction could become the third-largest in the European Parliament," Orban spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said earlier.

Kovacs also tweeted that the Patriots For Europe "continues to grow with the addition of Italy's Lega party" led by Matteo Salvini.

Salvini confirmed Lega's participation, saying on social media that "after a lot of work, the large Patriots group is born together with the Lega in Brussels, which will be decisive in changing the future of this Europe."

Orban announced the Patriots for Europe alliance in Vienna on June 30 alongside Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) President Herbert Kickl and billionaire former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who heads the Czech ANO party.

Orban vowed that it would "quickly" dominate the European political right.

Salvini estimated that the Patriots have attracted 80 members, which would outpace the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Party group led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Lega's domestic ally.

But Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party said it would not join the Patriots for Europe.

Orban's right-wing Fidesz party has been isolated in the European Parliament since quitting the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) group under threat of expulsion in 2021.

Elections in early June for the European Parliament showed big gains for Europe's far right, although Fidesz suffered a setback amid a challenge from party defector Peter Magyar and his center-right Tisza Party.

The Hungarian prime minister has talked openly about his plans to turn the country from a democracy into an "illiberal state," and the government has taken control of much of Hungary's print and broadcast media.

Orban has hammered Brussels as his government imposed controversial laws on LGBT speech and clashed with the bloc over perceived backsliding on democratic and media freedoms.

He has also cozied up to Moscow diplomatically and economically while resisting EU and other sanctions imposed on Russia to punish its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and refusing to join NATO and other Western efforts to help arm Kyiv.

His self-described "peace mission" since Hungary took up the rotating six-month EU Council presidency has angered EU leaders, who quickly spoke out to say Orban did not represent the bloc in any potential negotiations about Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Russian Anti-War Activist, 62, Placed In Stricter Prison Conditions

Natalya Filonova appears in court in Ulan-Ude in 2023.
Natalya Filonova appears in court in Ulan-Ude in 2023.

Russian human rights activist Svyatoslav Khromenkov said authorities at a prison in Siberia placed 62-year-old anti-war activist Natalya Filonova under stricter prison conditions. Filonova is now being held in a part of the facility where inmates are under stricter control, have limited access to other parts of the prison, and visits by friends and relatives are limited. Filonova is serving a 17-month prison term on a charge of attacking police officers at a rally in 2022 as a protest against the military mobilization to the war in Ukraine. Filonova rejects the charge as politically motivated. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

India's Modi In Russia To Meet With Putin

Indian President Narendra Modi (left) meets with Russian President Putin in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2022.
Indian President Narendra Modi (left) meets with Russian President Putin in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2022.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 8 in the South Asian leader's first visit to Russia since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.

Modi reportedly arrived earlier in the day on the first stop on a three-day tour that will also take him to Austria.

Modi tweeted in conjunction with the Russian visit and the subsequent stop planned for Austria that "These visits will be a wonderful opportunity to deepen ties with these nations, with whom India has time tested friendship."

He suggested he'd be meeting with the Indian communities in both countries.

The Kremlin said the talks would explore "prospects for the further development of traditionally friendly Russian-Indian relations, as well as current issues on the international and regional agenda."

India has emerged as a growing trade partner for Russia since international sanctions were imposed to punish Russia's aggression, particularly as a key customer along with China for Russian oil.

Unlike his Western partners, Modi has avoided squarely blaming Russia for the invasion or condemning Moscow's actions.

Instead, New Delhi has stressed its desire for a peaceful end to the conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Modi would meet "with a free agenda, one-on-one."

Reuters quoted a senior Indian official as saying last week that Modi's top priorities on the visit would be addressing the growing trade imbalance with Russia and pursuing the release of Indian nationals seemingly duped into fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

In March, the Indian Embassy in Moscow said Indian national Shri Mohammed Asfan "tragically died." Indian reports suggested Asfan had been tricked by recruiters offering money for "helpers" but forcing respondents into the fighting.

With reporting by Reuters

Daghestani Official Fired After Deadly Attacks Said To Be Back In Jail

The former head of Daghestan's Sergokala district, Magomed Omarov (file photo)
The former head of Daghestan's Sergokala district, Magomed Omarov (file photo)

An official in Russia's North Caucasus region of Daghestan has said that a former district governor who was fired last month after a deadly terrorist attack, in which his son and nephew were implicated, and jailed for 10 days for "hooliganism" was rearrested on July 5 on fraud charges.

Details of the new charges against the former governor of the Sergokala district, Magomed Omarov, are unclear.

Media reports say Omarov's arrest is linked to his alleged involvement in a fraud related to the employment of Sergokala residents by a local newspaper.

There was no official announcement of Omarov’s arrest.

Russian media reports said Omarov could face a terrorism charge over the fact that his son Osman allegedly led a terrorist attack on a synagogue and an Orthodox church in the Daghestani capital in late June.

Omarov's nephew, Abdusamad Amadziyev, is also reported to have been one of the members of the group that attacked the buildings and people inside them.

At least 21 people were killed and 45 wounded in the attacks, which occurred late on June 23 when gunmen opened fire at two Orthodox churches, two synagogues, and a police station in Makhachkala and the region's other major city, Derbent.

The head of Daghestan, Sergei Melikov, announced the decision to fire Omarov the following day.

Melikov also ordered a check of the backgrounds of all district governors and regional lawmakers after the deadly attacks.

Mostly Muslim-populated Daghestan has a history of armed Islamic militancy. It borders another volatile, mostly Muslim-populated region in the North Caucasus, Chechnya, where Russian forces fought two wars against separatists in the mid-1990s and early 2000s.

Updated

UN Security Council To Discuss 'Massive' Russian Attack That Killed Dozens In Ukraine

Rescuers clear rubble from the site of a missile attack on a children's hospital in Kyiv on July 8.
Rescuers clear rubble from the site of a missile attack on a children's hospital in Kyiv on July 8.

The UN Security Council will meet on July 9 to discuss a Russian missile attack on Kyiv's Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital that was part of a "massive" attack on July 8 that hit several cities across the country, killing at least 41 people and injuring at least 140, officials said.

The British mission to the United Nations announced the Security Council meeting, which had been requested earlier by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

"The UN Security Council will meet tomorrow at 10 a.m. to discuss Russia's missile attack on the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital," the mission said in a statement on X.

According to the Kyiv city military administration, 27 people were killed, including three children, in the attacks in the city. Serhiy Popko, the head of the capital's military administration, said 82 people were injured.

Unconscious Woman Saved From Rubble After Deadly Russian Attacks On Kyiv
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The U.K. ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, added separately on X that Britain "will call out Russia's cowardly and depraved attack on the hospital...in the Security Council."

The head of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, the former ambassador to the UN from Trinidad and Tobago, strongly condemned the attack, calling it "a gross violation of international law and the principles of the UN Charter."

The U.S. State Department denounced the strike on the hospital and said it believed it was deliberate.

"Russia unleashed another savage missile attack on civilians," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Ukrainian law enforcement officers believe that a Russian X-101 cruise missile hit the children's hospital. One law enforcement source told RFE/RL that a video of the attack shows a missile that "in terms of shape and proportions fully corresponds to a cruise missile."

Eyewitness Recounts Attack On Children's Hospital In Kyiv
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Zelenskiy vowed retaliation after the "massive" air attack on targets all over Ukraine and demanded that the West produce a "stronger response."

Earlier, he said that "more than 40 missiles of various types" had targeted Kyiv, Dnipro and Kryviy Rih in central Ukraine, and Kramatorsk and Slovyansk in the eastern Donetsk region. The Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down 30 of 38 Russian missiles in the attack.

The UN's humanitarian coordinator and the EU's top diplomat both quickly condemned the Russian air strikes, which left an unknown number of victims buried under the rubble of the hospital. Video taken by RFE/RL of the hospital showed lines of people helping to clear the debris as smoke billowed out of the facility.

Moscow has routinely denied targeting residences, schools, hospitals, and other civilian structures despite frequent bombings that suggest otherwise.

On July 8, the Russian Defense Ministry said its air attacks near Kyiv were aimed at "Ukrainian military industry facilities and Ukrainian Air Force bases," adding that "the strike's objectives were achieved."

It said "numerous published photos and video footage from Kyiv clearly confirm the fact of destruction as a result of the fall of a Ukrainian air-defense missile."

"Russia cannot claim ignorance of where its missiles are flying and must be held fully accountable for all its crimes. Against people, against children, against humanity in general," Zelenskiy said.

Falling rocket debris was reported in more than a half a dozen other areas around the capital.

UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown said that "dozens of people have been killed and injured" on July 8, adding, "It is unconscionable that children are killed and injured in this war."

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell accused Russia of "ruthlessly" targeting Ukrainian civilians and urged "air defense" for the war-ravaged country.

"Russia keeps ruthlessly targeting Ukrainian civilians," Borrell said on X.

Zelenskiy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Telegram that the shelling of Ukraine came at a time when there were the most people on the streets. He blamed "obsessed Russian terrorists."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

Daytime attacks on cities have been rare, even as Russia has stepped up aerial bombardments of Ukrainian population centers and power and other infrastructure over the past six months.

In Zelenskiy's hometown of Kryviy Rih, in central Ukraine, the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration head said at least 10 people had been killed and 30 injured in a "massive enemy attack from the air."

In northeast Ukraine, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said two women were hospitalized for injuries after Russian shelling struck three residential buildings there.

Kharkiv's governor said later on July 8 that a mine blast in the region had killed five people.

In fighting on the ground, the Ukrainian General Staff said Russia was continuing offensives in the Kharkiv region.

But it said the Russian focus appeared to be on an offensive in the Pokrovsk area of the eastern Donetsk region where Russian troops with air support are trying to dislodge Ukrainian forces. The regional governor said at least three people were killed in Pokrovsk in the July 8 missile attacks.

It said Ukrainian troops were trying to "stabilize" the situation to prevent Russian forces from "advancing deep into Ukrainian territory" there.

Outside analysts recently predicted that Russia will soon launch attacks across a canal in the strategic city and logistics hub of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk, where Kyiv recently acknowledged losing a district nearly three months into an intense battle focused on that city.

The Russian domestic intelligence service, the Federal Security Service (FSB), claimed on July 8 that it had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to bribe a Russian military pilot into hijacking a Tu-22M3 strategic bomber and flying it to Ukraine.

It was not possible to independently confirm the FSB's claim, which it said included a promise of Italian citizenship in exchange for landing the Russian bomber on Ukrainian territory.

RFE/RL cannot independently confirm reports by either side of battlefield developments in areas of the heaviest fighting.

With reporting by Reuters

Dozens Of Tajiks Return Home After Stranding At Moscow Airport

Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow
Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow

Dozens of Tajik migrant workers returned to Tajikistan on July 8 after Russian authorities refused them entry to the country five days earlier amid a wave of anti-Tajik sentiment. The workers told RFE/RL that they had been stranded in Moscow since July 3, while Russian authorities have not explained the reason for the ban. Tajik nationals trying to enter Russia as migrant workers have faced difficulties since 11 Tajik men were arrested in March and April for their alleged involvement in an attack on a concert hall near Moscow in March that left 144 people dead. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tajik Service, click here.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy Makes Surprise Visit To Poland For Talks With Tusk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (right) meets in January with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (right) meets in January with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will meet with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on July 8, the prime minister's office said in a statement on X. The statement said the meeting will take place at 1:10 p.m. local time. It gave no further details. The meeting comes as Ukraine's air force put the entire country on air alert over a suspected threat of airborne attacks, while air defenses fought to repel a midmorning Russian missile attack on Kyiv.

Updated

Orban Meets In Beijing With Xi As Solo 'Peace Mission' Continues

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) welcomes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 8.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) welcomes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 8.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing as a continuation of what he calls "Peace mission 3.0" but Hungary's Western partners have angrily called strictly bilateral initiatives centering around the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The meetings have followed Hungary's assumption of the EU Council presidency on July 1, and EU officials have emphasized that Orban is not representing the bloc.

Orban defended his unannounced visit to China to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict by saying, "#China is a key power in creating the conditions for #peace in the #RussiaUkraineWar," adding, "This is why I came to meet with President Xi in Beijing, just two months after his official visit to Budapest."

Orban's China trip follows a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 5 and a trip to present a mysterious peace proposal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on July 2.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

The Beijing stopover also comes one day before NATO leaders including Orban gather in Washington for a summit marking the transatlantic military alliance's 75th anniversary with the Western response to Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine high on the agenda.

Xi emerged from the meeting with Orban saying of the Ukrainian war that "The international community should create conditions and provide assistance for the two sides to resume direct dialogue and negotiations."

The Chinese leader has condemned the conflict but diplomatically backed Putin, with whom Xi formed a "no-limits" partnership in the weeks before the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022.

"Only when all major powers exert positive energy rather than negative energy can the dawn of a cease-fire in this conflict appear as soon as possible," Xi said.

Chinese state television said in a readout of the meeting with Orban that "The current focus is to abide by the three principles of 'no spillover of the battlefield, no escalation of the war, and no fueling of the flames by all parties' to cool down the situation as soon as possible."

Like both of his previous trips, Orban's China visit has come as a surprise.

Hungary's EU partners have reacted furiously to the seemingly uncoordinated shuttle diplomacy, which Orban on landing in Beijing referred to on social platform X as "Peace mission 3.0."

A day earlier, Germany's Foreign Ministry said it was "astonished" by Hungary's cancellation of a planned foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for Budapest on July 8. It said on July 5 that Brussels and Budapest needed a "serious and honest" discussion following the Putin meeting.

Budapest cited "an unforeseen change" in Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto's calendar in postponing the meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

After Orban arrived in Moscow on July 5, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said that "Prime Minister Orban has not received any mandate from the EU Council to visit Moscow." He said the visit "takes place, exclusively, in the framework of the bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia."

Orban has acknowledged that the rotating, six-month EU Presidency that Hungary now holds has no authority to represent the bloc in talks or negotiations.

"Even if the rotating EU-Presidency has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the EU, we cannot sit back and wait for the war to miraculously end," Orban tweeted. "We will serve as an important tool in making the first steps towards #peace. This is what our peace mission is about."

Orban has whipped up fears of an escalating conflict in recent Hungarian elections, seemingly adopted Kremlin talking points, and accused many in the West of warmongering in response to Russia's invasion.

In Kyiv on July 2, Orban presented Zelenskiy with a cease-fire proposal he said was aimed at pausing the fighting. He declined to give details but said he asked Zelenskiy "whether it was possible to take a break, to stop the firing, and then continue the negotiations."

Zelenskiy did not express his opinion on the proposal during the briefing with reporters, but a spokesman for the president said later on July 2 that Zelenskiy gave Orban an opportunity to air his thoughts.

Chinese President Xi visited Hungary in May in the latest sign of growing diplomatic and economic ties between Beijing and Budapest.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

New U.K. Defense Chief Visits Odesa, Vows To 'Fast-Track' Ukraine Aid

U.K. defense chief John Healey (left) speaks with his Ukranian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, in Odesa.
U.K. defense chief John Healey (left) speaks with his Ukranian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, in Odesa.

Britain’s newly appointed Labour Party defense secretary traveled to the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa on July 7 for his first official foreign journey, vowing his country’s continued support for Kyiv.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

"There may have been a change in government, but the U.K. is united for Ukraine," John Healey said, according to a statement released by the Defense Ministry.

Healey's visit to Odesa came on the same day that the foreign and defense chiefs of the Netherlands' new far-right government visited Kyiv and also vowed strong support for Ukraine's war effort.

Following meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, the British defense chief “announced that the U.K. would provide a new package of support to the country, including more artillery guns, a quarter of a million ammunition rounds, and nearly 100 precision Brimstone missiles,” the statement said.

He also pledged to “fast-track” military support committed for Ukraine in April by the previous Conservative government to arrive within the next 100 days.

Those promises included 400 vehicles, 1,600 strike and air-defense missiles, 4 million rounds of ammunition, and 60 boats, the statement said.

“Our commitment to stand with the Ukrainian people is absolute, as is our resolve to confront Russian aggression and pursue [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for his war crimes,” Healey said.

Also in Odesa, British Admiral Tony Radakin, chief of the defense staff, said that "the recent milestone of 500,000 Russians killed or wounded is a reminder of how badly this war has gone for Russia."

"Over the past year, with British help, Ukraine has driven the Russian fleet from Crimea and reopened the Black Sea for exports," he added, according to the statement. “By continuing to support Ukraine, and by helping to ensure Russia loses, Britain and Europe will be stronger and safer over the long term.”

The comments come on the heels of strong remarks by new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy in support of Ukraine in its war against Ukraine.

Lammy, who traveled over the weekend to Germany, Sweden, and Poland, wrote in the Local Europe publication that “European security will be this government’s foreign and defense priority.”

“Russia’s barbaric invasion has made clear the need for us to do more to strengthen our own defenses," he said.

Britain, under the previous Conservative-led government, has provided nearly $10 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

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