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Tensions Rise As U.S. Officials Question Bin Laden's Hiding In Pakistan
The Al-Qaeda leader and founder was shot dead on May 2 when U.S. Special Forces stormed his compound north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
The world's most-wanted man had been hiding, possibly for as long as five years, in the compound, located close to Pakistan's military academy in Abbottabad.
In an interview with National Public Radio on May 3, White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan questioned how the Pakistani authorities could not have known bin Laden was living in the sprawling compound "for so many years."
"I think it would be premature to rule out the possibility that there were some individuals inside of Pakistan, including within the official Pakistani establishment, who might have been aware of this," Brennan said. "But we're not accusing anybody at this point, but we want to make sure we get to the bottom of this."
Reflecting the extent of mistrust between the two supposed allies, CIA Director Leon Panetta told "Time" magazine that no intelligence was shared with Islamabad about the raid, fearing Pakistani officials might "alert the targets" and jeopardize the mission.
Top Pakistani officials have welcomed bin Laden's death, while hitting back at statements suggesting the country's security agencies were too incompetent to catch the Al-Qaeda leader or knew where he was hiding.
Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir told the BBC today that Panetta's view was "disquieting" and that his country had a "pivotal role" in tackling terrorism.
Bashir echoed a statement by his ministry that said the CIA had "exploited the intelligence leads given by us to identify and reach" bin Laden.
It also expressed "deep concerns and reservations" about the U.S. operation, saying "unauthorized unilateral action" should not become the norm.
In "The Washington Post," President Asif Ali Zardari had earlier denied as "baseless" U.S. speculation that Islamabad "protected the terrorists we claimed to be pursuing."
Speaking in Paris, where he met with French business leaders today, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Islamabad shared the "intelligence failure" with the rest of the world, including the United States.
Gilani also called for the "support of the entire world," adding that "security and the fight against extremism or terrorism is not the job of only one nation."
Bin Laden's ability to elude a long manhunt in Pakistan has also raised questions among U.S. legislators and leaders in other countries.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said: "I find it hard to believe that the presence of a person or individual such as bin Laden in a large compound in a relatively small town...could go completely unnoticed."
And British Prime Minister David Cameron demanded that Pakistani leaders explain how bin Laden had lived undetected in Abbottabad.
But Cameron added that having a "massive row" with Islamabad over the issue would not be in Britain's interest.
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner agreed, saying, "Sunday's action in many ways was a result of some of that cooperation over the years. We believe it's not only in Pakistan's long-term interest but in our national security interest that that cooperation continue."
As Islamabad faced intense international scrutiny over bin Laden's hiding in Pakistan, the White House released more details about the U.S. raid that differed in some respects from the initial accounts given by U.S. officials.
The White House said bin Laden was unarmed when he was shot in the head after resisting capture -- apparently contradicting an earlier account from a U.S. security official that bin Laden had "participated" in a firefight with the elite U.S. forces.
Two couriers and one woman died in the assault, while one of bin Laden's wives was injured -- again, different from the initial account that said the wife was killed while acting as a human shield. A fifth person killed in the raid was believed to be one of the Al-Qaeda leader's sons.
The United States has not commented on anyone it captured, other than saying it had taken bin Laden's body and buried it at sea.
U.S. officials are now discussing how and when to release pictures of his body.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the "gruesome" image could inflame sensitivities, but Panetta said the government is likely to release a photograph.
compiled from agency reports
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- By Reuters
Pope Says Countries Should Not 'Play Games' With Ukraine On Arms Aid
Pope Francis suggested on September 23 that some countries were "playing games" with Ukraine by first providing weapons and then considering backing out of their commitments. Francis was responding to a reporter's question about whether he was frustrated that his efforts to bring about peace had not succeeded. He has sent an envoy to Kyiv, Moscow, Washington, and Beijing to meet with leaders. "We should not play games with the martyrdom of this people," he said. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said later the pope was not taking a stand on whether countries should continue to send weapons to Ukraine. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.
- By AFP
Tracking Sites Show Second Ukraine Wheat Shipment Reaches Turkey
A second shipment of Ukrainian wheat reached Turkey via the Black Sea on September 24, according to maritime traffic monitoring sites, despite Russian threats to attack boats heading to or from its neighbor and enemy. The Palau-flagged bulk carrier Aroyat -- laden with 17,600 tons of wheat -- left the port city of Chornomorsk on September 22 bound for Egypt. Ukraine is testing a new sea route that avoids using international waters and follows those controlled by NATO members Bulgaria and Romania, following Russia's withdrawal from a UN-backed grain export deal.
Pashinian Laments Security As Separatists Say Ethnic Armenians To Leave Nagorno-Karabakh
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has told his Caucasus nation on the heels of a bruising defeat for allies in a breakaway region of Azerbaijan that while Baku and Russian peacekeepers bear responsibility for protecting ethnic Armenians there, if necessary his government "will welcome our brothers and sisters of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia with all care."
In a televised address to his nation of around 3 million, Pashinian also seemingly delivered a barb to Russia and Moscow-led efforts at regional security.
"The attacks carried out by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Armenia in recent years lead to an obvious conclusion that the external security systems in which we are involved are not effective from the point of view of the state interests and security of the Republic of Armenia," Pashinian said.
Pashinian and many Armenians blame Russia -- which traditionally has served as Armenia's protector in the region -- for failing to use its peacekeeping force to protect ethnic Armenians in Karabakh.
Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which Russia has tried to position as a counterweight to NATO, although as recently as this month its armed forces were conducting exercises with U.S. forces.
Pashinian has been on rocky political footing since overwhelming Azerbaijani forces retook much of the territory in and around Nagorno-Karabakh held for decades by ethnic Armenians in a six-week war in late 2020 that led to a Russian-brokered cease-fire.
Then this week the breakaway leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh was thrashed by a lightning Azerbaijani offensive that led Baku to declare victory in returning its sovereignty to the territory.
Around the time Pashinian was addressing the nation on September 24, an adviser to the defeated leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh said virtually all of the territory's ethnic Armenians will leave for Armenia in a bitter exodus from "our historic lands."
Davit Babayan, an adviser for foreign policy to the separatist government’s de facto leader Samvel Shahramanian, told Reuters on September 24 that "Our people do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan. Ninety-nine point nine percent prefer to leave our historic lands."
He said nothing of a time frame and there was otherwise no official position on a possible mass exodus.
Calls have increased in urgency for humanitarian help from the United Nations and the international community since the ethnic Armenian separatists agreed to a Russian-brokered cease-fire after a 24-hour blitz by Azerbaijani military forces on September 19-20.
Baku has repeatedly vowed to ensure the rights of what ethnic Armenians say is around 120,000 locals but the Azerbaijani side says is around half that figure.
"The fate of our poor people will go down in history as a disgrace and a shame for the Armenian people and for the whole civilized world," Babayan said. "Those responsible for our fate will one day have to answer before God for their sins."
Azerbaijan again signaled victory in Nagorno-Karabakh while Armenia urged international help to ensure the safety of the local ethnic Armenian population in competing speeches before the United Nations General Assembly, as evacuation and disarmament efforts continue.
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile used his UN appearance to say the two post-Soviet foes have "put things in order" and now it's time to build "mutual trust."
The trio of September 23 speeches came as the Yerevan-backed separatists said they were implementing the terms of the days-old cease-fire but concerns continued over the safety of tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians in the territory and with evacuations of the wounded under way.
Azerbaijan and Armenia's foreign ministers struck opposing tones in their speeches to the UN forum.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov hailed the success of his country's September 19-20 military campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, as achieving the "goals of anti-terrorist measures."
"Armenia and its subordinate illegal regime were forced to agree to disarmament, liquidation of all so-called structures and withdrawal of forces from Azerbaijan," Bayramov said.
In his speech to the UN General Assembly several hours later, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan lamented Yerevan's repeated calls for greater UN activity to break a nine-month-long de facto Azerbaijani blockade of the region before the latest offensive.
Armenia's government has distanced itself from the latest cease-fire mediated by Russia's peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 20, with daily protests targeting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his government.
Mirzoyan accused much larger neighbor Azerbaijan of pursuing a "path of war" and disregarding accepted international principles.
He said the message from Azerbaijan has been that "you can talk about peace, but we can go on the path of war, and you will not be able to change anything."
Mirzoyan said the latest casualty toll of this week's Azerbaijani actions were "more than 200 confirmed dead and 400 wounded, including civilians, women, and children." He said the fates of hundreds more remained "uncertain."
He also repeated Yerevan's "imperative" call for a UN mission in Nagorno-Karabakh "to monitor and assess the human rights, humanitarian and security situation on the ground, "with "unhindered access."
Armenia's Health Ministry announced on September 24 that ambulances were transporting 23 seriously injured individuals from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenian territory.
In his speech to the General Assembly on September 23, Lavrov said "the time has come for confidence-building measures between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh."
He said Russia's peacekeepers would assist, and he accused Western governments of inserting themselves unnecessarily in the Caucasus.
Lavrov said that "Yerevan and Baku actually put the situation in order."
Nagorno-Karabakh‘s ethnic Armenian separatist leaders said on September 23 said they were implementing the cease-fire, including evacuations of injured civilians to Armenia with the help of Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The separatists said that, as part of the September 20 agreement, aid was to be delivered from Armenia to Stepanakert -- the de facto capital of the breakaway region under ethnic Armenian control -- through the Lachin Corridor, for decades the main link between Karabakh and Armenia.
Also as part of the agreement, separatists said, talks would take place on “the political future” of the region, which is suffering from shortages of food, fuel, and electricity.
Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh reported that Karabakh separatists had already handed over more than 800 firearms, grenades, mortars, anti-tank guided missiles, and anti-tank missile systems, and the disarmament process would continue over the weekend.
U.S. Democratic Senator Gary Peters, who is leading a congressional delegation to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, called for international observers needed to monitor the situation and said people in Karabakh were "very fearful."
"I am certainly very concerned about what’s happening in Nagorno-Karabakh right now. I think there needs to be some visibility," Peters told reporters.
Azerbaijan has vowed to protect the rights of civilians there.
The offensive was halted on September 20 after Karabakh's ethnic Armenian leadership accepted a proposal by the Russian peacekeeping mission, although sporadic fighting has been reported.
Baku has said it envisages an amnesty for Karabakh Armenian fighters who give up their arms and seeks to reintegrate the territory's ethnic Armenian population. Some separatist fighters have vowed to continue to resist Azerbaijani control.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Pashinian in a phone call on September 23 that Washington continues to support Armenia's "sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity" and that it has "deep concern for the ethnic Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh."
During a special meeting of the UN Security Council after this week's cease-fire, council members including the United States and Russia called for peace, while Armenian and Azerbaijani officials traded barbs.
During a short but bloody war in 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured much of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as seven surrounding districts that had been controlled since the 1990s by ethnic Armenians with Yerevan's support.
Top Kosovo Officials Condemn Deadly Attack On Police In Mostly Serb Region; Checkpoint To Serbia Closed
Sounds of gunfire continued to echo on September 24 near the scene in northern Kosovo where Prime Minister Albin Kurti said one police officer was killed and another was wounded overnight, again escalating tensions again in a mostly Serb region of a Balkan hot spot.
Kurti said the incident was a "criminal and terrorist act."
The Kosovar Interior Ministry said authorities closed the nearby Brnjak border crossing with Serbia.
Police have closed the main road from Pristina and an RFE/RL team was prevented from approaching the scene in Banjska.
RFE/RL correspondents said later in the morning that the sound of occasional gunfire could still be heard in the area.
Kosovo's main hospital network said it had raised preparedness levels in at least two area facilities.
Kosovo's president, Vjosa Osmani, called the incident "an attack on law and order in the north of the country" and "an attack against Kosovo."
"These attacks testify once again to the destabilizing power of criminal gangs organized by Serbia, which have long since, as evidenced by attacks on KFOR members, journalists and citizens, have been aiming to destabilize Kosovo and the region," Osmani said.
The U.S. envoy to Pristina strongly condemned the violence and urged that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
There was no immediate response from Belgrade to the incident or the suggestions from Pristina of indirect or indirect involvement by Serbia.
Kurti said a gunbattle had begun around 3 a.m. local time in Banjska, in the Zvecan municipality, between police and "professionals with masks and armed with heavy weapons."
Kurti blamed "organized crime with political, financial, and logistical support from official Belgrade," saying it was "attacking our state."
A Kosovar Police statement later confirmed the officer's death and said the other had been transferred to a hospital in Pristina with non-life-threatening injuries.
A physician at a local medical facility told RFE/RL's Balkan Service that doctors had removed grenade shrapnel from the chest and arm of the injured policemen.
Police say their officers are occasionally targeted in attacks by organized armed groups in the area.
Serbia does not recognize the 2008 declaration of independence of its mostly ethnic Albanian former province, with many Kosovo Serbs following suit while remaining dependent on so-called parallel structures that Pristina regards as illegal.
Zvecan is one of four mostly Serb municipalities where unrest erupted in May after boycotted elections and attempts by Pristina to forcibly seat ethnic Albanian local officials.
Local Serbs sometimes block roads and carry out other acts of defiance against Kosovar authorities in the northern areas.
In a statement, the Kosovo Police said three rapid-response units "encountered resistance from several different positions" while responding to the discovery at around 2:30 a.m. local time of two unmarked heavy trucks that were blocking a bridge that leads to Banjska. It said they were fired on "with an arsenal of firearms, including hand grenades."
Western officials mediating talks with Serbia and Kosovo have signaled frustration since negotiations this month, which also involved Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, failed to achieve a breakthrough on normalization.
Those talks are part of a decade-long U.S. and EU diplomatic push toward formalized relations and to repair some of the wounds from bloody internecine wars in the 1990s, after the breakup of Yugoslavia.
In May and June, Kurti ignored outside warnings and tried to forcibly install four mayors in mostly Serb northern municipalities following boycotted by-elections to fill posts vacated by protesting Serbs.
The resulting tensions erupted into violence that injured dozens of NATO KFOR peacekeepers and some ethnic Serb protesters.
The U.S. ambassador to Kosovo, Jeff Hovenier, said on social media that he "strongly condemn[s] the orchestrated, violent attacks on the Kosovo Police" and stressed the Kosovo Police's "full & legitimate responsibility for enforcing the rule of law in Kosovo."
He added that "the perpetrators must & will be held accountable and brought to justice."
Russian Foreign Minister Says Ukraine Peace Plan, UN Bid To Revive Grain Deal 'Not Realistic'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on September 23 that Ukraine's proposed peace plan as well as the latest UN proposals to revive the Black Sea grain initiative were both "not realistic."
"It is completely not feasible," Lavrov said of Kyiv's 10-point peace blueprint. "It's not realistic...but at the same time, they say this is the only basis for negotiations."
Lavrov added during a news conference at the UN' headquarters in New York that Moscow left the Black Sea grain initiative because promises made to it -- including removing sanctions on a Russian bank and reconnecting it to the global SWIFT system -- hadn't been met.
In his speech to the UN General Assembly earlier on September 23, Lavrov didn't discuss his country's war in Ukraine, but accused the West of "doing everything they can to prevent the formation of a genuine multipolar world order" and of "trying to force the world to play according to their own self-centered rules."
Lavrov also recapped some historical complaints and alluded to Western aid for Ukraine., but he didn't delve into the current fighting while addressing the assembly.
Click on the links to read the original stories by Reuters and AP.
About 90 Russian Men Seeking To Avoid Conscription Back Home Granted Asylum In Germany
About 90 Russian men have been granted asylum in Germany in their bids to avoid military conscription back home, the Interior Ministry in Berlin said on September 23. Some 3,500 men have applied for such status, with 1,500 applications having so far been decided upon with either acceptance or rejection, officials said. German courts decide on refugee status based on whether a person would face particularly severe penalties at home because they are members of a group of people who are discriminated against, and not solely on the desire to avoid conscription. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.
- By dpa
German Politician Warns Against Rise Of Right-Wing Populism In EU, Citing Hungary, Poland, Italy
European Parliament Vice President Katarina Barley warned on September 23 against the rise of antidemocratic movements in Europe. "Democracy and the rule of law can no longer be taken for granted in the European Union," Barley said at a party conference for Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) in Berlin. She is an SPD member. Hungary, she said, was already no longer a democracy. "We see a similar development in Poland," she said. Democratic rights were also being curtailed in Italy, she added. The European Commission, she noted, was in danger of tilting to the right.
Polish PM Tells Ukraine's Zelenskiy 'Never To Insult Poles Again'
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy not to "insult" Poles, maintaining harsh rhetoric toward Kyiv after the Polish president had sought to defuse a row over grain imports. Poland last week extended a ban on Ukrainian grain imports, shaking Kyiv's relationship with a neighbor that has been one of its staunchest allies since Russia invaded Ukraine. Zelenskiy angered Poland when he told the UN General Assembly that "political theater" around grain imports was only helping Moscow. "I...want to tell President Zelenskiy never to insult Poles again, as he did during his UN speech," Morawiecki told an election rally late on September 22. (Reuters)
To read the original story by Reuters, click here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/polish-president-says-ukrainian-grain-row-wont-significantly-affect-relations-2023-09-22/
- By Reuters
Zelenskiy Meets Sudanese Leader, Discusses Russian Paramilitaries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on September 23 that he held an impromptu meeting in Ireland's Shannon Airport with the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and that they discussed Russian-funded armed groups. "We discussed our common security challenges, namely the activities of illegal armed groups financed by Russia," Zelenskiy said. He thanked Sudan, which is in the midst of a deadly civil war, for its support of Ukraine's territorial integrity. Russia's Wagner mercenary group has operated in Ukraine throughout Moscow's invasion. Western diplomats have said the group is also present in Sudan.
U.S. Senator Leads Delegation To Armenian-Azerbaijan Border, Calls For International Monitors In Karabakh
U.S. Democratic Senator Gary Peters, who is leading a congressional delegation to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, called on September 23 for international monitors to be sent to observe conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh, the mostly ethnic-Armenian breakaway region captured by Baku after a lightning military strike. "I am certainly very concerned about what’s happening in Nagorno-Karabakh right now. I think there needs to be some visibility," Peters told reporters. The U.S. Embassy said the group will meet Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and other officials "to discuss U.S.-Armenian relations and the impact of Azerbaijan's recent military actions on the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh." To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, click here.
- By Reuters
Blinken Suggests Iran Is Not A Responsible Actor In Its Nuclear Program
Iran's decision to bar some UN nuclear inspectors suggests it is not interested in being a responsible actor when it comes to its atomic program, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on September 22. "We tried to work indirectly with Iran as well as with European partners and even Russia and China to see if we can get a return to compliance with the Iran nuclear deal ... But Iran couldn't or wouldn't do that," Blinken told reporters. On September 23, the head of the International Atomic Energy (IAEA) condemned Tehran's move to bar multiple inspectors assigned to the country. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.
Former Wagner Fighter Reportedly Detained In Norway Near Russian Border
Norwegian police on September 22 detained a former fighter for Russia's private mercenary force, the Wagner group, along the Scandinavian country's border with Russia, according to the Barents Observer. Andrei Medvedev fled to Norway from Russia after fighting with Wagner in Ukraine and had stated his willingness to provide testimony related to war crimes he said had been committed by the now-deceased Wagner head, Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Norwegian authorities had not yet made a decision on Medvedev's asylum request. Just hours before his detention, Medvedev reportedly told a journalist he feared being extradited to Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
- By AP
Pakistani PM Claims Possibility Of Coming Elections Being Manipulated By Military Is 'Absolutely Absurd'
Pakistan’s interim prime minister said he expects parliamentary elections to take place in the new year, dismissing the possibility that the country’s powerful military would manipulate the results to ensure that jailed former premier Imran Khan’s party doesn’t win. In an interview with the Associated Press on September 22, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said it was the Election Commission that is going to conduct the vote, not the military, and Khan appointed the commission’s chief at the time. The commission has announced that the elections will take place during the last week in January, delaying the vote that was to be held in November. To read the original story by AP, click here.
Ukrainian Military Claims Russian Navy Commanders Killed In Sevastopol Attack; De Facto Crimean Authorities Say Fresh Attack Thwarted
The Ukrainian military says that a missile attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula on September 22 targeted "a meeting of the Russian Navy's leadership" and resulted in high casualties, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stopped in Poland on his way back home after his major diplomatic push in the West.
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"The details of the attack will be revealed as soon as possible and the result is dozens of dead and wounded occupants, including senior fleet commanders," the Ukrainian military said on September 23.
In comments to Voice Of America, Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov claimed the attack, in which at least one cruise missile struck the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters, killed "at least nine people" and that 16 were injured, including high-ranking officers.
"Among the wounded is the commander of the group, Colonel-General [Oleksandr] Romanchuk, in very serious condition. The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General [Oleg] Tsekov, is unconscious. The number of casual military servicemen who are not employees of the headquarters is still being determined," Budanov was quoted as saying in VOA's September 23 report.
Romanchuk commands frontline forces defending Russian-occupied parts of southeastern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region and was promoted to the rank of colonel-general in 2023, according to VOA. Tsekov was identified as the commander of coastal forces of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet.
RFE/RL was not able to verify Budanov's or the Ukrainian military's casualty claims.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram on September 22 that five cruise missiles involved in that day's attack had been shot down. The ministry claimed that one Russian soldier was missing, after having earlier reported the death of one soldier.
Moscow has not issued updated information regarding casualties or commented on the Ukrainian military's claims that a meeting of Russian naval commanders was targeted.
RFE/RL's Crimea.Realities, a regional outlet of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, reported early on September 23 that a powerful explosion was heard in Sevastopol, prompting air-raid warnings.
On the morning of September 23, Russian authorities in Crimea confirmed that Sevastopol had again come under attack.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of the Ukrainian peninsula seized by Moscow in 2014, said that preliminary information indicated that Russian air defense forces had shot down a missile and that debris had fallen along the shore of Sevastopol Bay.
In a follow-up Telegram post, Razvozhayev declared that the "missile danger is clear."
On September 22, following the attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, Razvozhayev had denied reports by multiple Telegram channels that thermal power plants near Sevastopol had been struck in a Ukrainian missile attack.
Razvozhayev alleged that Ukrainian media were "trying to sow panic among citizens" by reporting the attacks.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted naval facilities in Crimea as its counteroffensive in the east and south of the country grinds on.
As Kyiv continues to defend its military strategy amid Western criticism, a commander of Ukraine's Tavria force fighting in the Zaporizhzhya region told CNN on September 22 that Ukraine had made a breakthrough near the rural settlement of Verbove.
“On the left flank [near Verbove] we have a breakthrough and we continue to advance further,” Oleksandr Tarnavsky said.
"Not as fast as it was expected, not like in the movies about the Second World War,” he said, but “the main thing is not to lose this initiative [that we have]."
Verbove is part of the Surovikin Lines -- triple-layered defenses named for the Russian general who ordered their construction last year to thwart any Ukrainian effort to breach and try to outmaneuver Russian forces along a 1,200-kilometer front line.
On September 23, the Ukrainian military said Russia had launched 15 Iranian-made Shahed drones against Ukraine's frontline forces in the Zaporizhzhya region and in the neighboring Dnitropetrovsk region to the north.
In the southeastern Kherson region, officials said on September 23 that at least one person had died and three were injured due to Russian shelling, which hit residential, medical, and educational buildings over the previous day.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy stopped in Poland on his way back to Ukraine on September 23 amid a simmering feud with Warsaw, which has been a major diplomatic ally in the war with Russia, taking in refugees and providing arms to Kyiv.
Tensions have risen between the two nations after Kyiv sharply criticized Warsaw when it extended its ban on Ukrainian grain products to protect Polish farmers from falling prices.
At the UN General Assembly in New York, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that "I want to tell President Zelenskiy that he must never insult Poles again, as he did the other day during his appearance at the United Nations."
Zelenskiy attempted to ease tensions when he made a stopover in Poland after his trip to the United States and Canada.
"I believe that all the challenges on our common path are nothing compared to the strength that exists between our peoples," Zelenskiy said in a video posted on his Telegram channel.
Zelenskiy handed out awards to a journalist who helped transport wounded children to Polish hospitals and to a man who had assembled a medical team to help wounded soldiers near the front line, according to Reuters.
He did not appear to meet with Polish officials.
With reporting by Reuters
- By AP
Cracks In Western Wall Of Support For Ukraine Emerge As Eastern Europe And U.S. Head Toward Elections
Once rock-solid, the support that Ukraine has gotten from its biggest backers for its fight against Russia is showing cracks. Political posturing in places like Poland and Slovakia, where a trade dispute with Ukraine has stirred tensions, and Republican reticence in the United States about Washington’s big spending to prop up Ukraine’s military have raised new uncertainties about the West’s commitment to its efforts to expel Russian invaders more than 18 months into the war. Still, from Washington to Warsaw, where the military cost and capabilities of helping Ukraine are at issue, officials are playing down talk of a rift. To read the original story by AP, click here.
- By dpa
Woman In Iran Arrested After Head Scarf Protest
An Iranian woman has been arrested after protesting against the compulsory wearing of head scarves, the Norway-based human rights group Hengaw reported on September 22. The engineer, Zeinab Kazemi, was reportedly taken from her home by security forces a few days ago. She had previously received a suspended sentence of 74 lashes on probation. In February Kazemi threw her head scarf on the floor at an event in order to protest against the decision of an engineering association not to admit her to the board because of an ill-fitting head scarf. Members of parliament introduced a new head scarf bill just this week.
- By RFE/RL
Russian-Installed Leader Of Crimea Denies Strikes Hit Power Plants
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of the occupied Crimean Peninsula, denied on Telegram on September 22 that any thermal power plants had been struck in a Ukrainian missile attack. Multiple Telegram channels had reported that several explosions were heard in an area close to a thermal power plant in the city of Sevastopol in Ukraine’s Russia-annexed Crimea after the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet was struck earlier in the day. Razvozhayev alleged that Ukrainian media were "trying to sow panic among citizens."
Karabakh Separatists Say They Are Implementing Withdrawal Deal As Aid Arrives Through Lachin
Nagorno-Karabakh‘s ethnic Armenian separatist leaders on September 23 said they are implementing the terms of a cease-fire agreement made three days earlier with Azerbaijani officials, including evacuations of injured civilians to Armenia with the help of Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The separatists said that, as part of the September 20 agreement, aid was to be delivered from Armenia to Stepanakert -- the de facto capital of the breakaway region under ethnic Armenian control -- through the Lachin Corridor, for decades the main link between Karabakh and Armenian.
Also as part of the agreement, separatists said, talks would take place on “the political future” of the region, which has an estimated population 120,000 people, many of whom are now suffering from shortages of food, fuel, and electricity.
The separatists’ statement also said work was under way to restore power to the region, with a target date of September 24.
Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh reported that Karabakh separatists in the ethnic-Armenian populated territory have begun handing over their weapons as part of a deal worked out with Baku following Azerbaijan's lightning offensive this week.
Russian peacekeepers said that more than 800 firearms, grenades, mortars, anti-tank guided missiles, and anti-tank missile systems had been handed over, and the process would continue over the weekend.
The deal was worked out during a meeting between representatives of Karabakh's ethnic Armenian population and Azerbaijan held in the western Azerbaijani city of Yevlax on September 22.
The separatists had earlier said that they are in Russian-mediated talks with Baku to organize the withdrawal of their forces.
A witness told Reuters that an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) aid convoy was seen at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border early on September 23 for the first time since Baku seized the region.
The Red Cross said it was supplying fuel, blankets, and 28,000 diapers in the initial shipments to the territory.
AFP journalists and ICRC officials at the border confirmed on September 23 that Red Cross aid had entered the region along the Lachin Corridor.
The aid group’s vehicles "have passed through the Lachin Corridor to bring to the community around 70 metric tons of mainly humanitarian supplies and food supplies," ICRC spokeswoman Zara Amatuni told AFP, speaking in Kornidzor at the final checkpoint on the Armenian side of the border.
Armenian civilians have begun gathering at the Kornidzor checkpoint in hopes of receiving news of relatives in Karabakh, AFP reported.
U.S. Democratic Senator Gary Peters, who is leading a congressional delegation to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, called for international observers to monitor the situation and said people in Karabakh were "very fearful."
"I am certainly very concerned about what’s happening in Nagorno-Karabakh right now. I think there needs to be some visibility," Peters told reporters.
Peters had earlier condemned the Azerbaijani government’s “military aggression and violence toward the Armenian people.”
“The Azerbaijani government has made it clear, their goal is to erase the historic presence of Armenians in this region,” he said during his visit to the region.
Azerbaijan has claimed that the 24-hour offensive on September 19-20, which it describes as an "anti-terrorist operation," has brought the breakaway region back under its control.
The offensive was halted on September 20 after Karabakh's ethnic Armenian leadership accepted a proposal by the Russian peacekeeping mission, although sporadic fighting has been reported.
Baku has said it envisages an amnesty for Karabakh Armenian fighters who give up their arms and seeks to reintegrate the territory's ethnic Armenian population. Some separatist fighters have vowed to continue to resist Azerbaijani control.
"I wish to reiterate that Azerbaijan is determined to reintegrate ethnic Armenian residents of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan as equal citizens," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov said in a speech to the UN General Assembly on September 23.
Yerevan's response to the Azerbaijani offensive has led to protests in the Armenian capital, with opposition leaders seeking the ouster of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and accusing the government of inadequate support for Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic-Armenian population.
Pashinian has expressed hope that Karabakh Armenians will be allowed to return to their homes, while saying that Yerevan would accept an influx of ethnic Armenians if they chose to leave the territory.
Anti-government demonstrations in Yerevan and at least two other cities over the past two days have led to the detention of scores of people who expressed anger that Pashinian’s administration had not done more to prevent Azerbaijani forces from accomplishing their swift victory in the Karabakh region.
Authorities said more than 80 people were charged in the capital with disobeying police orders on September 22, and reports said at least a further 20 people were detained on September 23.
Armenian opposition groups, led by a so-called National Committee, claimed that more than 350 supporters had been detained. The group called for Pashinian to resign his office.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Pashinian in a phone call on September 23 that Washington continues to support Armenia's "sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity" and that it has "deep concern for the ethnic Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh."
Spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken "underscored the United States is calling on Azerbaijan to protect civilians and uphold its obligations to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh and to ensure its forces comply with international humanitarian law."
Pashinian and many Armenians blame Russia -- which traditionally has served as the Caucasus nation's protector in the region -- for failing to use its peacekeeping force to protect ethnic Armenians in Karabakh.
During a special meeting of the UN Security Council this week, council members including the United States and Russia called for peace, while Armenian and Azerbaijani officials traded barbs.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as Azerbaijan's but has had de-facto independence since breaking away in a war in the 1990s.
During a short but bloody war in 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured much of the territory as well as seven surrounding districts that had been controlled since the 1990s by ethnic Armenians with Yerevan's support.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, AP, Reuters, and AFP
Rights Group Says Iran's Security Forces 'Intentionally' Shot Protesters In The Eyes
The Iran Human Rights group (IHRNGO) said the Islamic nation's security forces “intentionally targeted” the eyes and faces of protesters during a violent crackdown on demonstrations last year sparkled by the death of a young woman in police custody for allegedly violating the country's hijab law.
In an analysis published on September 22, the Norway-based rights group said it was able to verify 138 cases of eye injuries sustained during the months-long, nationwide protests in Iran last year. Many of the victims lost vision in one eye, some in both.
“IHRNGO’s analysis shows that the brutal crimes committed during the protests by the Islamic republic were planned, coordinated and calculated,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, head of the rights group.
“The Islamic republic leader, Ali Khamenei, and all the perpetrators of such crimes must be held accountable.”
Reports of Iranian security forces shooting protesters in the eyes emerged in the first months of the demonstrations, which began immediately following the death of Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022. The victims say they were purposely singled out before being wounded.
The Iranian government and senior security officials have rejected the accusations.
WATCH: Amateur video shows the moment Erfan Ramizipour was shot in the eyes by Iranian security forces as he took part in mass anti-regime protests in 2022. The 24-year-old is just one of many protesters who have been shot in the eyes, in what appears to have been a deliberate tactic. Now in Germany, he is receiving medical care -- and continuing to battle for justice in his homeland.
The victims include eight children, the youngest a 5-year-old girl, Iran Human Rights said.
Women accounted for 28 percent of those with eye injuries but only 9 percent of deaths, implying the "repressive forces have chosen to intentionally target women’s eyes instead of fatally shooting them,” the group said in its report.
In a smaller sample collected from the city of Mahabad, northwestern Iran, women constitute 56 percent of those with eye injuries, the group said.
Most eye injuries were caused by pellets made of metal and plastic. In nine of the cases, the injuries were caused by projectiles fired from paintball guns.
The rights group’s data shows that Iran’s security forces started shooting protesters in the eyes from the first days of protests in September 2022, while the last documented cases are from December 2022.
The actual number of protesters who have been blinded by security forces after being shot in the face is unknown.
The New York Times has estimated some 500 young Iranians were treated in Tehran hospitals for eye injuries during the first three months of the protests.
Iranwire, which documents human rights abuses in Iran, said it had confirmed some 580 cases of blinding in Tehran and the province of Kurdistan alone, “but the actual numbers across the country are much higher.”
RFE/RL is unable to verify such reports.
Rights activists have reported several cases of protesters with eye injuries who were arrested in an apparent attempt to be silenced.
In addition to eye and other serious injuries, more than 500 people, including 71 children were killed during the demonstrations trigged by the death of Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating strict dress rules for women.
The widespread unrest represents the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.
Navalny Placed In Punitive Confinement One Day After Serving Previous Solitary Incarceration
Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, who is serving a total of 19 years in prison on extremism and other charges, has been placed in a punitive solitary confinement for the 20th time since August 2022. A post on Navalny's Instagram account said on September 21 that he was sent to solitary confinement until September 26 for unspecified reasons one day after he served his previous 13-day punitive incarceration. The post says the solitary confinement term was only four days this time because his appeal against his conviction is scheduled to be considered by a court on September 26. To read the original story from RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Russia Reportedly Plans To Ramp Up Military Spending in 2024
Russia plans to significantly ramp up military spending next year as its invasion of Ukraine falters and a presidential election looms, Bloomberg reported, citing a draft budget submitted to parliament on September 22.
Russia intends to allocate 10.8 trillion rubles ($112 billion) to military needs next year, a jump by two-thirds compared with 2023, Bloomberg reported.
If the plans materialize, military spending will account for 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Bloomberg calculated, making it the largest item in the budget.
Russia’s 19-month-long invasion of Ukraine is struggling, requiring the Kremlin to allocate ever more money to the military to prevent a rollback if not an outright defeat.
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’s Western-backed forces have been making minor gains since its latest counteroffensive began in June. Any major Ukrainian victories in the coming months would be a blow to President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to run for reelection in March 2024.
While there is little doubt Putin will win the tightly controlled election should he run, setbacks could nonetheless make the election more problematic for the Kremlin.
To appease the population ahead of the election, Putin will also boost social spending by 1 trillion rubles ($10 billion), Bloomberg reported, citing the draft budget.
Another 11 trillion rubles ($114 billion) in spending next year is classified. That budget line item is also up two-thirds from last year.
Russia anticipates budget revenues will jump by more than a fifth next year, keeping the budget deficit below 1 percent.
Russian budget revenue is highly dependent on oil prices, which have rallied more than a quarter over the past three months, surpassing $90 a barrel.
Analysts forecast oil prices to remain high in the near-term.
Reporting by Bloomberg
Three Kazakh Civil Rights Activists Detained On Unspecified Charges
Police in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, have detained three civil rights activists on unspecified charges. Abzal Dostiyarov, Marat Turymbetov, and Maira Gabdullina were detained separately on September 22. Dostiyarov's lawyer Zhanar Balghabaeva told RFE/RL that her client is suspected of violating a law on mass gatherings. Police gave no more details, the lawyer said. Human rights activist Rinat Rafqat said the trio's detainments were linked to their participation in a rally in front of a court on September 19, demanding the release of imprisoned activist Aigerim Tileuzhan. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
Government Reportedly Ratcheting Up Pressure On Families Of Dead Iranian Protesters
Iranian security forces are reported to have escalated their actions against the families of protesters killed during widespread protests last year as the government continues to try and put a lid on unrest triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, the biggest challenge to the Islamic regime since the 1979 revolution.
Social media posts from the affected families, corroborated by videos, appear to show that memorial ceremonies in at least 19 cities, including Tehran, have been thwarted by Iran's security apparatus, including the western city of Ilam, where the tomb of Mohsen Ghaisari became a focal point of tension when his brother and several others were apprehended.
Ghaisari, a 32-year-old Kurdish Iranian, was fatally shot in the chest and head by a special unit officer during the 2022 nationwide protests after the death of Amini.
Meanwhile, in Qazvin, the family home of slain protester Javad Heydari was raided, leading to the arrest of his elderly father and two siblings, according to Fateme Heydari, Javad's sister.
Despite video showing the incident, Abbas Kazemi, the deputy governor of Qazvin for political, security, and social affairs, denied any official presence at the Heydari residence, framing the incident as a move to "protect local residents."
"The judiciary, the police, the security apparatus, all have collaborated to intimidate us bereaved families," said Farzaneh Barzekar, whose 21-year-old son was killed by security forces a year ago.
Barzekar herself was arrested earlier in September after attending a memorial ceremony for Javad Rouhi, a protester who recently died in prison.
Human rights groups highlighted similar incidents across the country, including the Human Rights Network of Kurdistan, which reported disruptions to memorial ceremonies in several cities, including Kermanshah and Quchan.
At least 500 people have been killed around the country since authorities began the current crackdown on her sympathizers, with thousands more detained or harassed.
Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Dozens Of Children In Uzbekistan Hospitalized With Poisoning Symptoms
Uzbekistan's Health Ministry said on September 22 it has taken under "strict control" the hospitalization of more than 70 children with symptoms of being poisoned in the eastern region of Namangan earlier this week. The statement said 10 children were released from the hospital after their health improved, but did not reveal what caused the illness, saying lab tests continue. The ministry said earlier that children from nine kindergartens and two secondary schools in the Chust district had been rushed to hospitals with poisoning symptoms. The Prosecutor-General's Office has launched a probe into the situation. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, click here.
Russia Calls Bulgaria's Decision To Expel Cleric 'Blasphemous,' Summons Ambassador
Moscow has reacted angrily to Bulgaria’s decision to expel the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia, calling the move “blasphemous” and an “unfriendly” act as it closed the Russian Church in the Bulgarian capital in response.
The Russian state news agency TASS reported on September 22 that the Bulgarian ambassador to Moscow Atanas Krastin would be summoned for talks at the Russian Foreign Ministry over the expulsion of Archimandrite Vassian and two other clerics, both Belarusian citizens, for carrying out “activities directed against” the country's national security and interests.
Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security (DANS) said the three had worked to “purposefully influence the social and political processes in Bulgaria in favor of Russian geopolitical interests.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the clerics were summoned to Bulgaria’s immigration service on September 21 and were handed a notice to leave the country within 24 hours.
It added that the three were transported “like criminals in a vehicle with barred windows” back to the church to pack their belongings and added that they would be transported to the Serbian border.
Bulgarian authorities have not given any details on the whereabouts of the clerics.
“We are outraged and shocked by what happened,” the ministry’s spokeswoman Mariya Zaharova said in the statement, adding that the responsibility for the “rapid deterioration of Russian-Bulgarian relations lies entirely with the Bulgarian side.”
Russia's ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, added in an interview on state television that Russia would not take action directly against the Bulgarian Church in Moscow.
Archimandrite Vassian, whose secular name is Nikolai Zmeyev, was appointed by the Moscow Patriarchate as head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia in 2018 -- days after the Russian Patriarch Kirill visited Bulgaria.
Questions over Archimandrite Vassian have swirled around Bulgaria for several months.
Earlier this month, lawmaker Atanas Atanasov called the cleric “a representative of Russian intelligence in a robe.”
In December 2022, the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia faced protests against the visit of a high-ranking representative of the Moscow Patriarchate, invited by Archimandrite Vassian.
The decision to expel the three clerics comes amid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which the Russian Orthodox Church has supported.
The European Union imposed sanctions as a response to Moscow’s war, and Russia added the EU member states, including Bulgaria, to its list of “unfriendly countries.”
In 2022, Bulgaria, a member of NATO and the European Union, expelled 70 Russian diplomatic staff in a move that severely strained diplomatic ties between the two countries, which were close allies during communist times.
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