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- By RFE/RL
U.S. To Send $300 Million In Military Aid To Ukraine, First New Package In Months
The Biden administration said it will send $300 million in military aid to Ukraine, the first new package in months, as its massive aid bill for the embattled country remains stuck in Congress.
The White House has been scrambling to find ways to send more military assistance to Ukraine after Congressionally approved funding dried up in December.
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U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on March 12 that the funding would come from the Pentagon, which had saved money on contracts. The $300 million represents a rounding error in the Pentagon's roughly $840 billion budget.
Sullivan said the funding would be used to send artillery rounds and munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to Ukraine. He said the aid would suffice for only a few weeks.
Russia has stepped up its attacks along the front this year as Ukraine's armed forces suffer from a lack of munitions and rockets.
Prior to today, the United States -- Ukraine’s biggest source of military aid over the past two years -- had been unable to approve new weapon shipments to the country amid Congressional gridlock.
Republicans in the House of Representatives have been holding up a spending bill that would allocate $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, the majority of which consists of military support.
U.S. intelligence officials told Congress yesterday that if the United States does not send aid soon to Ukraine, its forces will struggle to stop Russia's advances.
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- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- AP
Iran Election Runoff Puts Hard-Liners Firmly In Charge Of Parliament
Iran's hard-liners won most of the remaining seats in an election runoff to give them full control over the country's parliament, authorities said on May 11, while not sharing any details on turnout and as some media reported extremely low turnout. The result, and that of the previous vote in March, gives hard-liners 233 of the 290 seats in Iran's parliament, according to an AP count. The Farhikhtegan news site reported that turnout in Tehran's major constituency was "only 8 percent.” Since protests in recent years -- especially after the mass demonstrations that began after the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody -- participation in Iranian elections has declined dramatically. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, click here.
Dozens Detained In Yerevan Amid Protest To Oust Pashinian Over Land Deal
YEREVAN -- At least 48 people have been detained in Yerevan for disobeying police orders as protests calling for the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian continue following word of a land deal last month with arch foe Azerbaijan.
The Interior Ministry confirmed the detentions as police tried to clear streets in the capital clogged with demonstrators.
Armenian Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, the leader of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has urged students and others to embark on "civil disobedience actions" to ratchet up pressure on Pashinian to step down following the loss of Azerbaijani territories held for decades by ethnic Armenians.
Yerevan and Baku preliminarily agreed on a protocol signed on April 19 in which Armenia cedes control of four villages controlled by Yerevan since the 1990s.
Pashinian has said unilateral concessions are necessary to prevent Azerbaijani military aggression against Armenia.
A rally led by Galstanian on May 9 drew tens of thousands of people, and many returned the next evening to continue their challenge to Pashinian's legitimacy.
Police urged people to clear several main roadways in downtown Yerevan, including Azatutyun Avenue and Tigran Mets Avenue, before beginning the arrests on May 11.
Opposition lawmakers have vowed to try to impeach Pashinian.
Some Pashinian allies in parliament have accused his opponents of organizing a coup and have tried to link the movement to former President Robert Kocharian or Russian interests. They have also accused the 52-year-old Galstanian of being a Russian spy, without providing evidence.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars in the last three decades over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been a majority ethnic Armenian enclave since the Soviet collapse and is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.
In 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of Nagorno-Karabakh along with seven surrounding districts that Armenian forces had claimed during the earlier conflict.
After Baku took full control over the region as the result of a one-day military operation in September, nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
Azerbaijan's and Armenia's foreign ministers are in the Kazakh capital for negotiations aimed at a lasting peace treaty between the longtime South Caucasus rivals.
Siljanovska-Davkova's Presidential Win Certified In North Macedonia
North Macedonia's State Election Commission (SEC) on May 11 certified challenger Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova's victory over center-left incumbent Stevo Pendarovski in this week's second-round presidential runoff, clearing the way for the longtime law professor to be sworn in as the Balkan nation's first female president on May 12. Siljanovska-Davkova, who turned 71 on May 11, received 561,000 votes to Pendarovski's 252,000 votes. She was supported by the nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party that won the simultaneous parliamentary elections on May 8, and she is widely expected to pursue a more skeptical line on the country's long-standing efforts to join the European Union. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.
- By RFE/RL and
- RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Report: EU Said To Agree On Security Assurances For Ukraine
Germany's Welt am Sonntag reports that the European Union is currently discussing with Kyiv possible security assurances with the aim of providing what the outlet says are "extensive security commitments" by the beginning of July.
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In a May 11 report, the news outlet cites a draft document it has seen in which Brussels also grapples with the question of whether soldiers from EU countries may be deployed to Ukraine.
It says envoys from the EU's 27 member states "recently agreed" on the 11-page "confidential" text.
The outlet quotes the text as, in Welt's words, "exclud[ing] the direct participation of EU soldiers alongside Ukrainian soldiers in combat operations against Russia."
But the draft reportedly pledges weapons and nonlethal supplies and training and other assistance.
While an overwhelming majority of the bloc agrees with providing military supplies to Ukraine, questions of degree have persisted between even staunch hawks to help that country beat back the full-scale Russian invasion that began in February 2022.
For months now, French President Emmanuel Macron has declined to rule out the possibility of troops from among Kyiv's Western allies being sent to Ukraine. Asked directly in mid-March, he said that "all these options are possible."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to paint the military supply of Ukraine as an indication that NATO and the West are already de facto involved in the conflict.
The United States and other supporters of Kyiv reject that characterization.
And NATO and the United States have cautiously limited their involvement to avoid giving Moscow the upper hand in what they regard as a war of conquest in Ukraine that threatens the international order and sovereignty.
Zelenskiy Calls Frontline Situation 'Especially Tense' As Russian Attacks Intensify
KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy raised alarms about frontline conditions in the war against Russia, labeling the situation in the eastern Donetsk region as "especially tense" and as hundreds of residents were forced to flee parts of the Kharkiv area in the face of relentless air assaults by the Kremlin's forces.
"Today, the focus is primarily on the front line – on the situation in our regions where the risks of the Russian offensive actions are the highest," he said in his nightly video address on May 11.
Zelenskiy stated that "defensive operations" are under way in the Kharkiv region, naming several villages near the border with Russia, and saying his forces were "bravely defending their positions."
"The situation in the Donetsk region also remains especially tense, particularly in the Pokrovsk direction," where "it’s extremely difficult."
Hundreds of civilians were forced to evacuate their homes in Kharkiv region in the northeast on May 11 as Russian shelling continued and the Ukrainian military declared an air alert over most of the country.
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Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov was quoted as saying at least three people had been killed as artillery and other fire struck dozens of towns and villages.
Officials said around 1,700 people were being evacuated.
The Ukrainian General Staff early on May 11 cited more than 100 areas of fighting in the past 24 hours, in addition to overnight missile and drone attacks, hinting at the intensity of the Russian campaign 27 months into the full-scale invasion.
On May 10, Russian troops attempted to open a new front by breaking through Ukrainian lines in the northeastern Kharkiv region, a move Kyiv said its forces repelled, though fighting was reported to be continuing.
Ukraine's military was reportedly speeding reinforcements to the area.
Residents of the Ukrainian town of Vovchansk near the Russian border expressed shock over what they said were overnight air strikes by Russian forces and resulting shortages of food, water, and fuel. Vovchansk, with a prewar population of about 17,500 people, is northeast of Kharkiv and about 6 kilometers from the border.
"It has already become really scary. All life is here: my grandchildren, children,” Antonina Kornuta told RFE/RL. “I don't want to evacuate."
Valeriy Dubskiy told RFE/RL that “water sources are far away and people must wait in long lines. You cannot get water after such bombardment. We are running away from the shelling, from the bombardment, from death -- from the Russian death."
Another female resident said that "planes dropped a lot of bombs on the town during the night. It looked as if the sky had exploded. It was very scary, very noisy."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on May 10 that “it is critical that partners support our warriors and Ukrainian resilience with timely deliveries. Truly timely ones."
Pledges of U.S. and other Western aid have recently accelerated dramatically after a slowdown over months of political differences.
Russia's Defense Ministry on May 11 claimed to have captured six border communities around Kharkiv -- Pletenivka, Ohirtseve, Borysivka, Pylna, and Strilecha -- and the village of Keramik in the Donetsk region.
But the Ukrainian side did not confirm such losses and RFE/RL could not independently verify the Russian assertion.
The Ukrainian Air Force announced an air alert over most of the country before noon on May 11, citing a "threat of ballistic weapons" in many areas.
Citizens were urged to seek shelter in civil-defense sites or find other relative safety.
Russia has expanded its use of advanced rockets and missiles in addition to barrages from unmanned attack drones and recently has specifically targeted power infrastructure even far from the front lines.
Moscow denies targeting civilians, but Russian air strikes have frequently hit hospitals, schools, and residential areas with devastating effect.
WATCH: Two villagers in the Donetsk region chose to escape the Russian occupation of their village by walking across the front line in April. Ivan Vivsyanyk, 88, had no interest in the Russian passport he was told to accept, and Lidia Stepanivna, 98, felt the same. Each decided to take their chances, heading off onto a highly hazardous 10-kilometer walk west to free Ukrainian territory.
The head of the regional military administration in the southern port city of Kherson said Russian shelling had killed at least one man there.
Russia-backed officials in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk on May 11 said three people were killed and eight others injured in a missile strike on Donetsk city, which has been under control of Moscow-backed separatist forces since 2014.
Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-appointed head of the occupied Donetsk region, claimed in a Telegram posting that a Ukrainian missile struck a restaurant.
Earlier, Kremlin-installed officials in Luhansk, also mostly occupied by Russian forces, said an attack by Ukrainian forces on an oil depot in the town of Rovenky late on May 10 killed three people and injured seven more and set off a large fire.
RFE/RL could not independently confirm the Russian reports on Luhansk, which quoted separatist regional leader Natalia Pashchenko and Moscow-installed Governor Leonid Pasechnik.
It was the second reported attack on a Luhansk oil storage facility in three days that Pasechnik has blamed on U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), without providing evidence. The earlier attack, in the city of Luhansk, injured five people.
Meanwhile, the governor of Russia's southwestern region of Belgorod said on May 11 that several villages had come under Ukrainian fire that damaged dozens of houses and caused eight casualties.
Vyacheslav Gladkov said five people were hospitalized. Five villages were reportedly left without electricity.
The Kursk region's governor, Roman Starovoit, said two drones were intercepted over that region.
Russia's Defense Ministry said nine drones and 21 missiles had been downed over Belgorod and seven more drones intercepted over the Kursk and Volgograd regions.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
Aid Workers Say Death Toll Over 300 From Flooding In Northern Afghanistan
The latest wave of flooding in northern Afghanistan from heavy seasonal rains has left more than 300 people dead and many more injured and more than 1,000 homes destroyed, according to UN World Food Program (WFP) officials.
The WFP figure is twice the death toll reported hours earlier on May 11 by a spokesman for the Taliban-led government's Interior Ministry.
Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qaniee told Reuters that at least 135 people were injured.
Baghlan Province was initially said to be among the hardest-hit areas, but officials added Badakhshan, Ghor, and Herat provinces to that list.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid expressed "profound sorrow" and cited a "grievous toll" in those four regions.
He also cited "extensive devastation” and “significant financial losses.”
The Taliban Defense Ministry said on May 11 that air forces were evacuating stranded residents in Baghlan and had transported some to military hospitals.
The Taliban-led government is recognized only by China, although a number of countries work with those authorities in many cases to help alleviate the humanitarian hardships that have continued since the Taliban captured most of the country in mid-2021 as U.S.-led international troops withdrew and the UN-backed government fled.
With reporting by Reuters
'Differences' Remain As Azerbaijan, Armenia Conclude Peace Talks In Kazakhstan
Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiators continue to disagree on key provisions of a bilateral peace treaty, officials in Yerevan and Baku said on May 11 after the foreign ministers of the two nations ended two days of fresh negotiations in Kazakhstan.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers were meeting in the Kazakh capital, Almaty, in talks aimed at reaching a lasting peace treaty between the longtime South Caucasus rivals.
“The parties agreed to continue negotiations on open issues where there are still differences,” both ministries said in nearly identical statements.
The statements did not specify the differences. Nor did they indicate whether Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, had made any progress toward a peace deal.
The negotiations come against a backdrop of mounting street protests in Yerevan against a demarcation deal last month, as Baku tries to consolidate its gains from a lightning offensive last year to retake areas long held by ethnic Armenians.
Mirzoyan said on May 10 that his country is prepared not just for a peace treaty but also to move forward to unblock transport routes.
Mirzoyan and Bayramov last negotiated directly with each other in Berlin in February.
Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu hosted the talks in Almaty.
Yerevan and Baku preliminarily agreed in a protocol signed on April 19 on separate sections of the border line to align it with a Soviet-era border between the respective republics. In it, Armenia cedes control of four villages controlled by Yerevan since the 1990s.
The deal has been staunchly opposed by an outspoken Armenian archbishop who has attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators in Yerevan with calls for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's resignation and a civil disobedience campaign.
The border agreement has been hailed by the United States and the European Union, as well as by Pashinian, who has been accused by opposition politicians of giving up territory with no guarantees.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, the leader of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, led a march on May 10 at which he called for university students to ratchet up pressure for Pashinian's resignation.
"We must continue our civil disobedience actions," he said.
- By AP
U.S. Announces $400 Million Package Of Weapons For Ukraine
The United States announced a new $400 million package of military aid for Ukraine on May 10, as Kyiv struggles to hold off advances by Russian troops in the northeast Kharkiv region. This is the third tranche of aid for Ukraine since Congress passed supplemental funding in late April after months of gridlock. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had warned a day earlier that his country was facing “a really difficult situation” in the east but said a new supply of U.S. weapons was coming and “we will be able to stop them.” To read the original story by AP, click here.
- By Current Time
Partner Of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Bought Austrian Villas Worth $28 Million
The 50-year-old partner of Russian oligarch and sanctioned former Rosneft CEO Eduard Khudainatov is the mystery buyer of four chalets in the Austrian Alpine resort of Kitzbuehel worth a combined 26 million euros ($28 million), according to a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and media partners. The woman, Svetlana Eliseeva, is reportedly the mother of at least two of Khudainatov's children. The purchases reportedly began in 2017. Khudainatov, who has been sanctioned by the European Union but not the United States, has claimed ownership of two superyachts seized by U.S. and Italian officials, respectively. To read the original article by Current Time, click here.
Georgians Begin Gathering For Night Of Protests As U.S. Sets High-Level Visit
TBILISI – Thousands of Georgians returned to the streets of the capital in protests against a so-called "foreign agent" bill that has alarmed the country's Western partners for its perceived chilling effect on media and civil society and following an announcement that the United States will send a top official to Tbilisi to discuss the situation.
People gathered around 7 p.m. on May 11 in three locations in the capital – in Republic and Marjanishvili squares and near the 300 Aragveli metro station – chanting "Yes Europe!" and "No to 'the Russian law.'"
Organizers said the three groups and other rally participants plan to link up in Tbilisi’s Europe Square for what could be another mass demonstration of the type seen in the capital over recent days.
There were no immediate reports of arrests or moves by security forces.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Embassy announced that Jim O'Brien, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, will visit the Georgian capital, along with the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, between May 14 and May 17.
"In Georgia, he will meet with representatives from government, civil society, and the private sector to express the United States’ enduring commitment to the Georgian people and to Georgia’s desire for a peaceful, prosperous, and secure Euro-Atlantic future," the embassy statement said.
The announcement came after dozens of members of the U.S. House of Representatives issued an open letter to Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze expressing "grave concern" and "strongly" urging his government to withdraw the bill.
The bill's sponsors from the ruling Georgian Dream party have said it could be approved in a final reading as soon as May 13.
The 29 U.S. lawmakers call it a "harmful bill" that would "undermine the will of the Georgian people who seek a future in the West," and they reject comparisons to decades-old U.S. legislation.
They say "in no uncertain terms" that its passage and further moves toward "Russian-style authoritarianism...would cause the United States to fundamentally reassess the nature of our relationship."
Their concerns are amplified by the Georgian Dream government's "response to peaceful protests," they say in the May 10 letter.
Weeks of protests against what critics call "the Russian law" -- legislation pushed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, despite widespread anger from much of the country and criticism abroad -- have led to strong police actions, while roving bands of thugs have targeted demonstrators.
Riot police have used tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators, and protesters and journalists have shown injuries consistent with the use of rubber bullets, despite officials' denials.
WATCH: At a Europe Day celebration in Tbilisi, EU Ambassador Pawel Herczynski told a crowd of Georgians to "keep the course toward the EU."
The bill's backers appear to control sufficient votes for passage and possibly to override a veto that has been promised by President Salome Zurabishvili.
In a joint letter issued on May 10, the 18 media and rights organizations, including the International Press Institute, said the proposed legislation, which recently passed in its second reading in parliament, "provides the authorities with a powerful tool to discredit, pressure, and eventually silence independent voices, thereby threatening press freedom and freedom of expression."
In an indication of dissent inside the Georgian government, the country's ambassador to France, Gotcha Javakhishvili, resigned in protest against the so-called “foreign agent” bill, becoming the first senior official to do so.
"I no longer see my role and resources in this direction: the move towards Europe," Javakhishvili said on social media.
The controversial bill says media outlets, NGOs, and other nonprofits must register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.
EU officials have said the bill could be a significant setback to Tbilisi's membership bid.
An earlier version of the bill was introduced by Georgian Dream allies last year but withdrawn amid public outcry.
Critics say it is modeled after decade-old "foreign agent" legislation that Russian President Vladimir Putin has used to crush dissent and punish independent institutions.
Kobakhidze's government insists the law is in line with EU standards and is only intended to increase "transparency" and prevent "harmful foreign influence" in the country's political scene.
The 29 members of the U.S. Congress complain in their letter to Kobakhidze of "the proposed bill's similarities to a law against 'foreign agents' enacted in Russia by Vladimir Putin in 2012, which was also justified under the guise of 'transparency.'"
"The situation in Georgia is clear," they warn. "The government can choose to listen to the voices of the Georgian people or continue down a dark road to Russian-style authoritarianism."
Iranian Rappers Detained As Government Continues To Squelch Dissent
Iranian rappers Vafa Ahmadpor and Danial Maghaddam were arrested after the release of a music video titled "Standby," which is critical of the authoritarian measures in place in Iran.
Rights groups said the two men were arrested in the city of Shiraz on May 9 and that their current whereabouts are unknown. Iranian officials have not commented.
The pair’s video highlights issues such as repression by security forces, economic hardships, and the activities of the morality police while proclaiming that "we, the people of Iran, remain united and will take over this country."
On May 5 they also posted a video of them paying respects at the grave of slain street protester Arman Emadi.
In the video, Maghaddam says, “We’re one nation. Do you want to kill us all?” Maghaddam said in a post on his Instagram account on May 8 that security agents had appeared outside his residence.
He mentioned that Ahmadpor was with him at the time of the incident.
It’s not the first run-in with law enforcement for Ahmadpor, who had been previously detained in February at his home.
Maghaddam has collaborated with figures like Gholam Koveitipor, Sahar Zakaria, and Saba Kamali to address social issues such as violence against women.
In December, he disclosed that a legal case had been initiated against him, Zakaria, and Kamali in the Culture and Media Court for supposedly "inviting corruption and indecency."
Many Iranian artists and public figures have faced Iran’s judiciary for expressing their support of nationwide protests following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini while in custody for an alleged hijab violation.
Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance has taken a hard-line stance against protesting artists, repeatedly threatening them with a work ban.
Thousands of people, including protesters, journalists, lawyers, athletes, and artists have been arrested and at least 500 people have been killed in Iran's brutal crackdown on the protests.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Woman Fined In Russia's Tatarstan For Calls To Learn The Local Language
A court in Russia's autonomous republic of Tatarstan has fined a 63-year-old woman for violating Russia's “territorial integrity” after she made an appeal on social media for people to learn the Tatar language. Ruzilya Sharafutdinova, who denied the charges, was ordered to pay 80,000 rubles ($865) for audio messages left in a chat group on Telegram that was dedicated to discussing Tatarstan and the state of learning of the Tatar language. In one audio clip, Sharafutdinova is reported to have said that the Tatar language needed to be studied at home. In court, Sharafutudinova denied calling for Tatarstan's independence or supporting secession. To read the original story from RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service, click here.
Armenian, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Meet For Latest Round Of Peace Talks
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan began two days of fresh negotiations in Kazakhstan on May 10, focusing on a peace treaty between the two South Caucasus states. They were joined by their Kazakh counterpart Murat Nurtleu at the opening session of the talks held in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty. In his opening remarks, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov expressed confidence that he and Armenia’s Ararat Mirzoyan “will work productively in the next two days to find solutions to outstanding issues.” To read the original report from RFE/RL's Armenian Service, click here.
- By Kian Sharifi
U.S. Seeks Shift In Iranian 'Decision-Making Calculus' Through Saudi-Israeli Normalization
The United States wants to force a gradual shift in Iran’s “decision-making calculus” by signing a defense deal with Saudi Arabia and securing the normalization of relations between Riyadh and Israel.
“We continue to work with allies and partners to enhance their capabilities to deter and counter the threats Iran poses, impose costs on Iran for its actions, and seek to shift Iran’s decision-making calculus over time,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL.
The security package has several components, including a bilateral U.S.-Saudi defense pact aimed at enhancing the Sunni kingdom’s deterrence capabilities. But Washington is adamant that regardless of how close the Americans and the Saudis are to a bilateral agreement, the security package cannot materialize without Saudi-Israeli normalization.
Saudi Arabia has conditioned the normalization of ties with Israel on the establishment of a cease-fire in Gaza and a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden sees a three-way deal key to ensuring a sustainable peace in the Middle East, which includes isolating Iran and making it costly for the Islamic republic to maintain its current regional policies.
“Iran’s isolation in the region and in the international community is a result of its own policies,” the spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement to RFE/RL.
A calculus shift will “definitely” happen, but not in the way that the United States wants, according to Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
“Any sort of coalition-building would result in Iran going for counter-coalitions,” he added.
But analysts maintain that for Saudi Arabia, isolating Iran is not the core objective of a security pact with the United States.
The Saudis see normalizing relations with Israel as a strategic leverage to help them extract substantial security commitments from Washington, “thereby balancing against Iranian influence without overtly antagonizing Tehran," Azizi said.
Meanwhile, securing a path toward Palestinian statehood could help Saudi Arabia assert its leadership within the Muslim world and effectively end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Iran has long opposed Arab normalization with Israel and is a staunch critic of the Abraham Accords, which saw Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) establish diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020.
On May 1, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei implicitly criticized Saudi Arabia for looking to normalize relations with Israel in the hopes of resolving the Palestinian question.
Anna Jacobs, a senior Gulf analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, argued that the U.A.E. model of balancing relations with Iran and Israel suggests that Saudi Arabia can do the same.
“Riyadh seems confident that normalization with Israel wouldn’t have a major impact on its relationship with Tehran,” she said. “The Saudi strategy with Iran right now is both containment and engagement.”
U.S. Expresses Confidence Ukraine Will Repel Any Fresh Russian Offensive
Washington says it expects Russia to intensify a new offensive in Ukraine but expressed confidence in Kyiv and doubted that Moscow will make major territorial gains.
"It is possible that Russia will make further advances in the coming weeks, but we do not anticipate any major breakthroughs, and over time, the influx of U.S. assistance will enable Ukraine to withstand these attacks over the course of 2024," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington on May 10.
His comments came hours after Russian troops attempted to open a new front by breaking through Ukrainian lines in the Kharkiv region, a move Kyiv said its forces repelled, though fighting was reported to be continuing.
Kirby also spoke after the White House announced that the United States is preparing a $400 million military aid package for Ukraine, as the country returns to a regular pace of supplying weapons to Kyiv after lawmakers passed a bill that includes $61 billion in assistance for Ukraine.
Earlier in Kyiv at a press conference, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that the attack early in the morning on May 10 failed to catch Ukrainian troops by surprise.
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.
"Ukraine met them there with troops: brigades and artillery," Zelenskiy said, warning that Moscow could send more forces to back its attempted push that military sources said was aimed at establishing a "buffer zone" to prevent Ukrainian forces from shelling Russian territory.
The northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv borders Russia, with the outskirts of its homonymous capital, Kharkiv, only 25 kilometers from the frontier.
Russian troops attacked after hours of heavy artillery fire, the press service of Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported.
"After dark, Russian occupiers stepped up the fire pressure on our defense line with the support of artillery. At approximately 5 a.m., the enemy attempted to break through our defense line under the cover of armored vehicles," the ministry said.
Reserve units have been deployed to strengthen the defense lines, and Ukrainian forces continue to hold back the enemy's offensive, the ministry said, adding that clashes of various intensity are still under way.
Earlier, Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, reported that the town of Vovchansk, some 70 kilometers northeast of Kharkiv and only four kilometers from the Russian border, was coming under heavy Russian shelling.
"All night long, shelling from antiaircraft guns and artillery continued. There were unsuccessful [Russian] attempts...to break through the border," Synyehubov wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said fighting against Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups had continued into the afternoon.
With a prewar population of 1.4 million, Kharkiv is Ukraine's second-largest city and one of its most important economic and industrial powerhouses and was one of the initial targets of Russia's invasion, experiencing heavy fighting in the spring of 2022.
A successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in September 2022 liberated most of the Kharkiv region, throwing Russian forces back and allowing the return of a large part of the city's population.
But Russian artillery, drone, and missile strikes on the region and its capital have intensified massively over the past several months as the Ukrainian forces' shortage of ammunition and air defense systems became more and more acute while a desperately needed U.S. military aid package was being held up by political bickering in the House of Representatives.
Many civilians have been killed and infrastructure has been seriously damaged in the region. A day before the May 10 Russian attacks, 21 settlements were hit by Russian artillery and mortar strikes, authorities reported.
Synyehubov said one person had been killed and at least three people had been wounded in that series of attacks.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, three civilians were killed.
One woman was killed in a Russian strike on Sumy region, local authorities reported.
Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said two people were killed in Nikopol and eight were wounded. In Donetsk, one person was wounded, regional head Vadym Filashkin said. Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of Kherson, said one person was wounded in his region.
Separately, an oil refinery caught fire in Russia's Kaluga region after an alleged Ukrainian drone strike.
Kaluga Governor Vladislav Shapsha said the fire has been quickly localized and put out.
Ukraine has not commented on the claim, which could not be independently confirmed.
The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses downed seven Ukrainian drones early on May 10 in the Moscow, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions.
Late on May 10, a suspected Ukrainian strike is reported to have triggered a large fire at an oil storage depot in Ukraine's occupied Luhansk region.
Russia-installed officials in the region said three people had been killed and seven wounded.
Romania Says 11,000 Ukrainian Men Have Illegally Entered To Evade Draft
Some 11,000 Ukrainian men have illegally crossed the border into northern Romania to avoid being drafted since the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, Romanian border police said. After crossing, the men, aged 18-60, usually request protection from Romanian authorities, said Florin Coman, the border police chief in Sighetu Marmatiei, a northern city near Romania's border with Ukraine. Coman said 19 men have died trying to cross the border -- 11 drowned in the Tisa River separating the two countries, while the rest died while trying to cross the Carpathian Mountains into Romania without proper equipment. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service, click here.
Senior Iranian Official Threatens Change In Nuclear Doctrine
A senior Iranian official has issued a stark warning that Tehran might change its nuclear doctrine and begin to build nuclear bombs if the nation's existence is threatened.
Kamal Kharrazi, head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in an interview aired on Al-Jazeera Arabic that Iran "has the capacity to produce a bomb," though the country has not taken the actual step of making one.
"Two years ago in an interview with Al-Jazeera, I announced that Iran has the capacity to produce a nuclear bomb. That capacity still exists today, but we have no intention of producing a nuclear bomb. However, if the existence of Iran is threatened, we will have to change our nuclear doctrine," he said.
The comments come at a time of escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, further complicated by the international community's concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions. The Islamic republic has repeatedly claimed that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, despite possessing the technical capabilities for weaponization.
A nuclear deal in 2015 lifted U.S. sanctions against Tehran, but in 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump left the agreement and Washington has since ratcheted up measures against Iran that have choked the country's economy.
Efforts to revive the deal have failed, and Tehran has violated terms of the pact by producing uranium with a higher enrichment threshold.
In March, Bloomberg News quoted a senior U.S. Defense Department official as saying Iran was less than 12 days away from obtaining the fissile material necessary to produce an atomic bomb.
The threat of a shift in doctrine follows an incident last month when Israel is said to have targeted a radar system at a base near the city of Isfahan.
The attack followed an incident on April 13, when Iran retaliated against an Israeli attack on its consulate in Damascus that claimed the lives of seven senior officers from the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles at Israel, though almost all failed to hit targets inside Israel.
After Khamenei issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, against nuclear weapons in 2005, officials were adamant that Tehran’s nuclear program was strictly for civilian purposes. But the rhetoric has shifted in recent years.
In the interview, Kharrazi also made reference to potential reactions to any attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
"If they want to strike at Iran's nuclear capabilities, it could naturally lead to a change in Iran's nuclear doctrine," he said.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned earlier this month that Iran is only weeks away from having enough enriched uranium to produce a nuclear bomb. Grossi has criticized Tehran’s cooperation with the agency as "unacceptable" and called for a significant shift in Iran's nuclear policy.
Kharrazi also hinted at the possibility of Iran withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and potentially moving toward developing nuclear weapons. Iran had previously warned it would leave the NPT if its regime felt threatened.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Putin Reappoints Mishustin As Russian PM
Russian lawmakers approved Mikhail Mishustin as prime minister on May 10, hours after President Vladimir Putin nominated him for reappointment. Of the 432 deputies present in the State Duma, 375 cast ballots in favor of Mishustin, while 57 abstained. The vote was seen as a formality as the Kremlin is firmly in control of both houses of parliament. Mishustin was first appointed premier in January 2020. Putin officially started his fifth term as president on May 7. The government resigned after his inauguration, in line with procedure. Mishustin has one week to present a new government. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Students Join Protests In Armenia As Pressure Builds On Pashinian
YEREVAN -- Students have joined opposition groups in marches led by an outspoken Armenian archbishop, blocking streets in Yerevan as part of a "day of disobedience" to protest a land deal negotiated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his government with rival Azerbaijan.
A day after tens of thousands of Armenians packed the capital’s central square, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, the leader of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, led the march on May 10, where he called for university students to ratchet up pressure on Pashinian to resign.
"We must continue our civil disobedience actions," Galstanian, who called a new rally at Yerevan’s Republic Square for the evening of May 10, told reporters. "We cannot retreat and back down in any way."
The unrest was sparked by a controversial border-demarcation deal with Baku that cedes control of four villages that were part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet era but which have been controlled by Armenia since the 1990s.
The border agreement has been hailed by the United States and the European Union, as well as by Pashinian, who has been accused by opposition politicians of giving up territory with no guarantees.
"We spoke with the parliamentary deputies. They are ready to continue this process, to complete it legally, and then a candidate for prime minister will be required, and then probably a name will be announced," Galstanian said.
WATCH: Armenian Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian led a second day of mass protests in Yerevan on May 10, urging university students to boycott classes and join his movement.
On May 9, Galstanian said in a speech to supporters who gathered in Republic Square that Pashinian had one hour to announce his resignation. The deadline passed without any word from the beleaguered prime minister as chants of “Nikol! Traitor!” and “Resign!” emanated from the crowd.
Galstanian has called on his supporters to be patient for “two or three more days” while he explored the possibility of impeaching Pashinian in parliament.
The two opposition groups represented in the legislature have pledged to initiate a parliamentary vote of no confidence in the prime minister. But with the house controlled by Pashinian's Civil Contract party and senior lawmakers representing it insisting that neither they nor any of their pro-government colleagues will back such a motion, it remains unclear whether a vote will ever take place.
Pashinian's political allies and other supporters have verbally attacked Galstanian during protests, which have been peaceful, over the past two weeks.
During an April 30 session of the Armenian parliament, pro-government lawmakers branded Galstanian as a Russian spy, accused him of provoking another war with Azerbaijan, and even called on Armenian border guards to forcibly draft the 52-year-old archbishop.
Pashinian has said the unilateral concessions are necessary to prevent Azerbaijani military aggression against Armenia. The Armenian opposition maintains Pashinian is actually encouraging Baku to demand more territory from Armenia and to use force for that purpose.
Armenia agreed to the handover as the initial step in defining the frontier between the two rival South Caucasus countries.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, are scheduled to hold peace talks in the Kazakh city of Almaty on May 10.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars in the last three decades over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been a majority ethnic Armenian enclave since the Soviet collapse and is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.
The region initially came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by the Armenian military, in separatist fighting that ended in 1994.
In 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of Nagorno-Karabakh along with seven surrounding districts that Armenian forces had claimed during the earlier conflict.
After Baku took full control over the region as the result of a one-day military operation in September last year, nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
International Rights Groups Urge Georgia To Protect Freedom Of Speech
TBILISI -- International media and human rights organizations have appealed to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze to withdraw a draft law on "foreign agents" and to ensure the safety of journalists and protect the freedom of the press in Georgia.
Weeks of protests against what critics call "the Russian law" -- legislation pushed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, despite widespread anger from much of the country and criticism abroad -- have been met with tough police actions to disperse crowds, while roving bands of thugs have targeted demonstrators.
In a joint letter issued on May 10, the 18 media and rights organizations, including the International Press Institute, said the proposed legislation, which recently passed in its second reading in parliament, "provides the authorities with a powerful tool to discredit, pressure, and eventually silence independent voices, thereby threatening press freedom and freedom of expression."
The groups noted the proposed legislation would not only force independent media and NGOs to be labelled as “organizations pursuing the interests of foreign powers,” but would also empower the Georgian Justice Ministry to conduct probes of these organizations "solely on the basis of a written application alleging ties to a 'foreign power.'"
The appeal was issued after seven people were reportedly detained late on May 9 as they took part in a march on Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue in downtown Tbilisi after Ucha Abashidze, a military expert, blogger, and activist, was arrested at his home in the capital, accused of illegally purchasing and storing weapons.
One of the participants, Tina Vashakidze, told RFE/RL that at least seven people were detained. The Interior Ministry, despite numerous attempts by RFE/RL to obtain an official statement, did not reveal the number of detainees.
Vashakidze, who was detained and then released a few hours later, told RFE/RL she was physically abused during her arrest.
"An elderly man fell on Chavchavadze and my friend and I went to help him. He fell and the police grabbed him. As soon as we bent down, they threw us all to the ground, and seven police officers kicked us in the head and sides. My friend and I were shoved into a vehicle, where I was grabbed by the hair and kicked by their chief. When I asked for a doctor or an ambulance, they kicked me out of the vehicle, just with my phone and without money," Vashakidze said.
WATCH: Several Georgian opposition figures were severely beaten on May 8 amid a government crackdown on mass demonstrations over a controversial bill affecting organizations that receive international funding.
Other detainees were taken to the main building of the Interior Ministry, she said.
Separately, film critic and TV presenter Levan Abdushelishvili said he was released by the police and taken to a clinic for a medical examination.
"I'm fine, my friends, I'm in an ambulance and I'm being taken to the Ingoroqva clinic. I was hit in the head by a security guard," he wrote on Facebook after leaving the police station.
RFE/RL identified a third detainee as Niniko Shengelaya, a young woman who was treated brutally by police and was photographed by journalist Mari Nikuradze as she was detained.
According to reports by her friends, Shengelaya also left the police station a few hours after his arrest.
Separately, three members of Georgian opposition parties were attacked and beaten up by unidentified men. The three are Boris (Chele) Kurua, a member of the Girchi-More Freedom party; Nodar Chachanidze from the United National Movement (UNM); and Georgy Mumladze, also from UNM.
In another incident, a member of the Akhali political association, Georgiy Oniani, reported that unidentified people tried to break into his house, where his 14-year-old son was alone at the time.
The latest attacks came a day after Georgia's Interior Ministry said an investigation had been opened into the assault of three other protesters -- one of whom is an opposition politician -- during a rally against the law in Tbilisi late on May 8.
The three are international relations specialist Gia Japaridze, activist Lasha Gvinianidze, and UNM member Dimitri Chikovani.
On May 9, police also announced that six protesters had been detained for alleged public disturbance offenses.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the United States was deeply troubled by actions taken against those protesting the draft law.
"We are aware of increased reports of harassment and physical assault of civil society and opposition activists and journalists. We condemn this and we call for a full, independent, and timely investigation," Miller said May 9.
Miller said Washington had enjoyed a successful partnership with Georgia for more than 30 years and would like that to continue.
"There is still time to work collaboratively with Georgia, but the Georgian government needs to change course for that to be the case," he said.
In an indication of dissent inside the Georgian government, the country's ambassador to France, Gotcha Javakhishvili, resigned in protest against the so-called “foreign agent” bill, becoming the first senior official to do so.
In a posting on Facebook on May 9, Javakhishvili said the proposed legislation, which has passed on two readings in parliament already, would steer Georgia away from further integration within Europe.
"I no longer see my role and resources in this direction: the move towards Europe," Javakhishvili said.
The legislation is expected to face a third and final reading that could come as early as May 13, with Georgian Dream and its allies seemingly in control of enough votes to carry the bill and potentially override a veto that has been promised by President Salome Zurabishvili.
The controversial bill says media outlets, NGOs, and other nonprofits must register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.
The government insists the law is in line with EU standards and is only intended to increase "transparency" and prevent "harmful foreign influence" in the country's political scene.
Human Rights Watch rejected that stance on May 9, saying it threatens fundamental rights in the country.
“Georgian parliamentarians and government officials formally defend the bill as providing transparency, but they make no secret of its intended purpose,” said Hugh Williamson, the rights watchdog's Europe and Central Asia director.
“By labeling independent groups and media as serving foreign interests, they intend to marginalize and stifle critical voices in the country that are fundamental for any functioning democracy.”
Germany Says Allies Will Deliver 3 HIMARS Systems To Ukraine
Three more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, will be delivered to Ukraine by its Western allies, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced on May 9. "They come from U.S. armed forces' stocks and will be paid by us," he said after meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, in Washington. HIMARS is a missile launcher mounted on a truck that can fire multiple guided missiles in quick succession. Missiles supplied to Ukraine have a range of up to 80 kilometers. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.
Zelenskiy Dismisses Head Of State Guards Amid Alleged Assassination Plot
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismissed the head of the state guards on May 9, two days after two of its members were accused of plotting to assassinate him. Zelenskiy issued a decree dismissing Serhiy Rud. No successor was identified. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said this week that it had caught two men -- colonels in the state guard service -- accused of plotting the assassination of Zelenskiy and other top officials. It said the men were recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) who leaked classified information to Moscow. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.
Orban Meets With Xi, Calls China 'One Of The Pillars Of New World Order'
China and Hungary will expand cooperation in several areas, including in the nuclear power industry, Hungarian Prime Minister Vitkor Orban announced in Budapest on May 9 after talks with visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"China is one of the pillars of the new world order," Orban told a press conference in the Hungarian capital.
Xi arrived in the Hungarian capital late on May 8 after meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade. His European tour started on May 5 in France where President Emmanuel Macron and EU leaders urged him to ease Chinese trade restrictions and to use his influence to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his invasion of Ukraine.
Orban said bilateral trade had quadrupled in the past 20 years, transforming relations between Beijing and Hungary into "a strategic partnership."
Orban said Chinese investment was so small in Hungary 20 years ago that a "magnifying glass" was needed to find it. Last year, however, three-quarters of all foreign investment in Hungary was by China, Orban said, adding it provided jobs for tens of thousands of Hungarians.
Orban also said Hungary would support China's peace plan for Ukraine.
Beijing put forward a 12-point paper more than a year ago that set out general principles for ending Russia's war on Ukraine but did not get into specifics. It received a lukewarm reception at the time in both Russia and Ukraine, while the United States said China was presenting itself as a peacemaker but reflecting Russia's "false narrative" and failing to condemn its full-scale invasion.
Speaking alongside Orban at the Budapest press conference, Xi said China will deepen economic, trade, investment, and financial cooperation with Hungary.
Xi, making his third and final stop on a European tour, promised to advance key construction projections, including a high-speed rail link between Budapest and Belgrade.
Xi called Hungary "the No. 1 target in the Central [and] Eastern European region for Chinese investment" in an article he wrote for the pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet.
Hungarian and Chinese officials were expected to sign 16 to 18 new cooperation agreements, one of which could be a large-scale infrastructure project within China's huge Belt and Road project, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said earlier this week.
Xi's first trip to Europe in five years is seen as part of his drive to increase Beijing’s influence on the continent’s economic and political affairs.
Orban has forged close relations with China and Russia, while angering Brussels for refusing to join EU sanctions against Moscow or to allow, like other NATO countries, arms shipments to Ukraine.
In Belgrade, the two countries said a Sino-Serbian agreement signed by Xi and Vucic raises the level of their cooperation from strategic partnership to "building the community of Serbia and China with a common future in the new era."
After a series of bilateral meetings, Vucic called it "the highest form of cooperation between the two countries."
Xi said their countries will "jointly oppose hegemony and power politics" in the interest of "fundamental and long-term interests."
Like Moscow, Beijing has supported Belgrade diplomatically in its refusal to recognize former province Kosovo's independence, while Belgrade has supported China's claims to Taiwan. "Taiwan is China," Vucic said on May 8, citing the UN Charter.
Xi's visit was seemingly timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of NATO's bombing of the former Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999, a deadly incident that has united Beijing and Belgrade in their criticism of Western intervention in the Balkans and around the world.
China has invested some $6 billion in Serbia in the past decade, putting the money into copper mines and a steel mill as well as major highway and infrastructure projects, which have been criticized by some as nontransparent and overly risky deals between governments.
Georgian Ambassador To France Quits In Protest Over 'Foreign Agent' Bill
Georgia’s ambassador to France has resigned in protest against the so-called “foreign agent” bill, becoming the first senior official to do so amid ongoing demonstrations in the capital, Tbilisi.
In a posting on Facebook on May 9, Gotcha Javakhishvili said the proposed legislation, which has passed on two readings in parliament already, would steer Georgia away from further integration within Europe.
"The current tensions and climate generated by the revived draft law in our relations with our foreign friends and partners make my mission...extremely difficult," wrote Javakhishvili, who was appointed Georgian ambassador to France in 2022.
He said that while he did not personally know any Georgian officials or diplomats who were "openly pro-Russian," he believed the draft law "may be a kind of tactic to achieve a certain goal."
"I no longer see my role and resources in this direction: the move towards Europe," Javakhishvili said.
Weeks of protests against what critics call "the Russian law" -- legislation pushed by the ruling Georgian Dream party despite widespread anger from much of the country -- have been met with tough police actions to disperse crowds, while roving bands of thugs have targeted demonstrators.
In Washington on May 9, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the United States was deeply troubled by actions taken against those protesting the draft law.
"We are aware of increased reports of harassment and physical assault of civil society and opposition activists and journalists. We condemn this and we call for a full, independent, and timely investigation," Miller said.
Miller said Washington had enjoyed a successful partnership with Georgia for more than 30 years and would like that to continue.
"There is still time to work collaboratively with Georgia, but the Georgian government needs to change course for that to be the case," he said.
The comments came as reports emerged that Ucha Abashidze, a military expert, blogger, and activist, was arrested at his home in Tbilisi, accused of illegally purchasing and storing weapons.
As police searched Abashidze's home, a crowd gathered outside to protest. An unspecified number of arrests were reported.
Earlier, Georgia's Interior Ministry said an investigation has been opened into the assault of three protesters -- one of whom is an opposition politician -- during a rally against the law in Tbilisi late on May 8.
Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said on May 9 that the attacks by unidentified assailants on international relations specialist Gia Japaridze, activist Lasha Gvinianidze, and Dimitri Chikovani, a member of the National Movement opposition party, would be investigated fully and that he condemns "all kinds of attacks."
Separately, police announced that six protesters who took part in rallies against the "foreign agent" bill have been detained for alleged public disturbance offenses, police announced at a briefing on May 9.
The six are accused of attacking a police officer and damaging private property, Tbilisi police chief Sulkhan Tamazashvili told the briefing.
The tens of thousands of Georgians who have taken to the streets in Tbilisi and other cities faced violent reprisals by riot police, which included chemical spray and tear gas, water cannons, and the alleged use of rubber bullets on protesters and journalists.
The government has denied the use of rubber bullets, but several protesters have shown wounds consistent with those inflicted by such projectiles.
Tamazashvili told the media on May 9 that one of those detained allegedly threw a blunt object at a law enforcement officer during a protest on April 16, which caused an eye injury. He added that, during the same April 16 protest, one participant allegedly damaged a police vehicle.
Three other people are accused of damaging surveillance cameras during rallies on May 1 and May 2, while another person allegedly damaged the entrance door into parliament and threw a stone into the the parliament's courtyard, injuring a firefighter and a member of the rescue services.
Three more incidents are under investigation, Tamazashvili said, adding that there have been no arrests yet in connection with them.
In the latest protests, Georgians demonstrated in cities across the country on May 8. Following the harsh police crackdown on earlier protests in Tbilisi, smaller rallies in Zugdidi, Kutaisi, and Gori took place without incident.
One protest organizer, Zviad Tsetskhladze, said opponents of the bill had created a group that will try to provide financial support to individuals who are dismissed from their public-service jobs over their opposition to it.
The controversial bill says media outlets, NGOs, and other nonprofits must register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.
The government insists the law is in line with EU standards and is only intended to increase "transparency" and prevent "harmful foreign influence" in the country's political scene.
Human Rights Watch rejected that stance on May 9, saying it threatens fundamental rights in the country.
“Georgian parliamentarians and government officials formally defend the bill as providing transparency, but they make no secret of its intended purpose,” said Hugh Williamson, the rights watchdog's Europe and Central Asia director.
“By labeling independent groups and media as serving foreign interests, they intend to marginalize and stifle critical voices in the country that are fundamental for any functioning democracy.”
The legislation is expected to face a third and final reading that could come as early as May 13, with Georgian Dream and its allies seemingly in control of enough votes to carry the bill and potentially override a veto that has been promised by President Salome Zurabishvili.
European Union leaders say implementation of the law would adversely affect Georgia's hopes of eventual EU membership, and condemnation has also come from the United States -- the former Soviet republic's biggest backer in recent years.
With reporting by Reuters
Tens Of Thousands Rally In Yerevan, Demanding Pashinian Step Down Over Border Deal With Baku
Tens of thousands of Armenians rallied in the center of Yerevan on May 9 amid calls by an outspoken Armenian archbishop for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his government to resign over a land deal with rival Azerbaijan.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, the leader of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, led the protest in the Armenian capital’s central square against the controversial border-demarcation deal with Baku that cedes control of four villages that were part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet era but which have been controlled by Armenia since the 1990s.
The border agreement has been hailed by the United States and the European Union, as well as by Pashinian, who has been accused by opposition politicians of giving up territory with no guarantees.
Addressing thousands of supporters who gathered in Yerevan’s Republic Square, Galstanian gave Pashinian one hour -- until 7:40 p.m. Yerevan time -- to announce his resignation.
“You no longer have any kind of power in the Republic of Armenia,” Galstanian said, using the same phrase that Pashinian addressed to his predecessor, then Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, when he successfully challenged him in large-scale streets protests six years earlier.
The archbishop said he was ready, within the next hour, to meet with Pashinian to discuss “all terms of his resignation,” sparking cheers from the crowd and chants of “Nikol Traitor!” and “Resign!”
When the deadline passed with no apparent response from Pashinian, Galstanian said he would spend the night in the square and urged his supporters to again gather at the same place tomorrow.
Galstanian asked his supporters to be patient for “two or three more days” while he explored the possibility of impeaching Pashinian in parliament.
Pashinian's political allies and other supporters have verbally attacked Galstanian during protests over the past two weeks.
During an April 30 session of the Armenian parliament, pro-government lawmakers branded Galstanian a Russian spy, accused him of provoking another war with Azerbaijan, and even called on Armenian border guards to forcibly draft the 52-year-old archbishop.
Pashinian has said the unilateral concessions are necessary to prevent Azerbaijani military aggression against Armenia. The Armenian opposition maintains he is actually encouraging Baku to demand more territory from Armenia and to use force for that purpose.
Armenia agreed to the handover as the initial step in defining the frontier between the two rival South Caucasus countries.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars in the last three decades over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been a majority ethnic Armenian enclave since the Soviet collapse and is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.
The region initially came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by the Armenian military, in separatist fighting that ended in 1994.
In 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of Nagorno-Karabakh along with seven surrounding districts that Armenian forces had claimed during the earlier conflict.
After Baku took full control over the region as the result of a one-day military operation in September last year, nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
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