Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed Sweden's entry into the NATO military alliance, largely viewed as a reaction to Russia's invasion of his country in 2022, saying the Scandinavian country was a "strong ally and a country that can be trusted."

Zelenskiy, who seeks eventual NATO membership for Ukraine, added that "there will be a day when Sweden will be able to congratulate Ukraine on joining the alliance as well. Together, we are always stronger."

Sweden joined NATO in Washington on March 7, two years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced it to rethink its national security policy and conclude that support for the alliance was the nation's best safety guarantee.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson handed over final documentation to the U.S. government, the last step in a long process to secure the backing of all members to join the alliance.

"Good things come to those who wait," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

"Today is a truly historic day," Kristersson said. "Sweden is now a member of NATO. We will defend freedom together with the countries closest to us -- both in terms of geography, culture and values."

With reporting by Reuters

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said in an interview with the Turkish Anadolu news agency that Yerevan was maintaining regular contacts with Ankara, as the two historic rivals and neighbors seek a path to normalization of relations. He said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan had held "ongoing" phone calls to "ensure positive dynamics." Anadolu said the interview took place during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, held on March 1-3. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, click here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has appointed Valeriy Zaluzhniy to be Kyiv's ambassador to the United Kingdom, about a month after the general was removed from his position as commander in chief of the military. The 50-year-old Zaluzhniy's removal from his military post was part of Zelenskiy's announced "reboot" of Ukraine's government and military, his most consequential shake-up since Russia's February 2022 invasion. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Jailed Iranian dissident rapper Saman Yasin, who was detained during the nationwide protests in 2022 and has since detailed harrowing accounts of physical and psychological torture he has endured, has once again been moved from prison to a psychiatric institution.

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported Yasin's transfer to the Aminabad Psychiatric Hospital in Rey on March 7, adding he was moved from the Qezelhesar prison in Karaj earlier this week.

The move has again put a spotlight on the treatment of political prisoners in Iran, where the judiciary sends offenders to psychiatric centers as part of their punishment. Prominent psychiatry boards in Iran have called the practice an abuse of judicial authority.

Yasin recently made a plea from prison to the judiciary to "issue my death sentence" rather than continue holding him indefinitely without a trial. He has been detained without trial for 18 months, with multiple court dates set and then subsequently delayed.

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Initial reports suggest Yasin was first taken to a local police station during nationwide protests in September 2022 before being transferred to Evin prison and subsequently to the Greater Tehran prison.

The judiciary's news agency has reported that Yasin was accused of "waging war against God," a charge that led to a death sentence from the Tehran Revolutionary Court. However, the Supreme Court accepted Yasin's appeal for a retrial and referred his case back to the Revolutionary Court. A retrial has yet to take place.

Yasin has described enduring a "mock execution" set up by prison officials before being moved to prison in Karaj.

He has consistently maintained his innocence, releasing multiple audio recordings to publicize his claims. He has also reportedly launched at least one hunger strike in protest.

It's not Yasin's first transfer to Aminabad, where he previously reported adverse reactions to an unidentified medication, raising serious health concerns. The incident mirrors the case of Behnam Mahjoubi, a Gonabadi Dervish activist who died in 2021 following similar transfers and medical neglect.

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Human rights lawyer Saeed Dehghan has criticized the use of psychiatric facilities like Aminabad for political prisoners, indicating a punitive approach by the judiciary and prison authorities.

Since the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in custody after she was detained for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly, Iranians have taken to the streets across the country to protest a lack of rights, with women and schoolgirls making unprecedented shows of support in the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.

The judiciary, at the urging of lawmakers, has instituted harsh penalties, including the death sentence, for offenders.

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

Afghan lawyer Benafsha Yaqoobi has been chosen as one of the winners of the U.S. State Department's 2024 International Women of Courage Award.

Yaqoobi, who is visually impaired, has advocated for human and women's rights from exile since Taliban militants seized power and forced her to flee Afghanistan in August 2021.

"I am happy to have this prize because it gives me another platform to raise my voice for the world's most marginalized community," she told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi while alluding to the plight of Afghan women under Taliban rule.

While just about every part of Afghan society has seen an erosion of fundamental freedoms and rights under the militants, women and girls have been the main targets of mounting Taliban bans and restrictions.

Hard-line Taliban leaders have used their interpretation of Islamic Shari'a law to justify banning teenage Afghan girls and women from education, work in most sectors, and draconian restrictions on their mobility and how they can appear in public.

The Taliban has banned women from recreation by outlawing their visits to parks and public baths.

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Women's rights activists who have spoken out, have ended up in jail.

"Every day after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, we are witnessing new restrictions being imposed on Afghan women," Yaqoobi said.

"No one in the world today can beat the oppression that the women suffer in Afghanistan," she added.

The rights campaigner served as a commissioner for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission before the Taliban's return to power.

Yaqoobi advocated disability rights by hosting a daily television show. She is still engaged in advocating for the rights of Afghan girls with disabilities.

"The Taliban cannot rule Afghanistan without the consent of the Afghan people because they are the real owners of that land," she said, adding that all Afghans deserve to live in a broad-based and inclusive country.

She called on the Taliban government to immediately release all women rights campaigners who are languishing in its prisons because they spoke out for their rights.

"I am optimistic that Afghan women will get their rights back one day," she said. "We are effective and successful and will one day reach our goals."

Since 2007 the International Women of Courage Award honors activists and practitioners from around the world for demonstrating "exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in order to bring about positive change to their communities."

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So far, the State Department has recognized more than 190 women in 90 countries with the award.

For 2024, winners came from 12 countries, ranging from Europe to Asia to Africa, the Caribbean Sea and South America.

European Union lawmakers approved on March 7 granting Ukrainian food producers tariff-free access to EU markets for another year, rejecting amendments that could have increased restrictions. The European Commission has proposed that the suspension of duties and quotas should continue until June 2025, which the European Parliament's Trade Committee approved by 26 for to 10 against, with one abstention. In response to EU farmer protests, the proposal also introduces an "emergency brake" for poultry, eggs, and sugar, meaning tariffs would be allowed if imports exceed the average levels of 2022 and 2023.

Financing for the purchase of 800,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukraine has been secured, Czech media quoted Czech President Petr Pavel as saying on March 7. CTK said 18 countries had joined the Czech-led initiative. Norway said earlier on March 7 it would donate up to 1.6 billion Norwegian crowns ($153 million) for the plan. That followed pledges by Germany and France this week. Pavel flagged the plan to source ammunition for Ukraine from third countries last month, saying the Czech Republic had found 500,000 rounds of 155-mm ammunition and 300,000 rounds of 122-mm that could be delivered in weeks if funding was secured.

BAKU -- A court in Baku has extended the pretrial detention of two independent journalists arrested last year on smuggling charges they and their supporters vehemently reject.

The Xatai district court ruled on March 7 that Elnara Qasimova and Hafiz Babali must stay in pretrial detention until at least June 13. The journalists' lawyers called the court's ruling baseless and vowed to appeal it.

Qasimova, a correspondent for the Abzas Media investigative website, was arrested in January. Babali, the chief of the economic news department at the Turan news agency, was arrested in December.

Investigators say the arrests were part of a probe against four other journalists and editors of Abzas Media -- Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinc Vaqifqizi, Mahammad Kekalov, and Nargiz Absalamova -- who were arrested in November last year after police claimed they found 40,000 euros ($43,500) in cash in the offices of the media outlet.

The journalists were charged with illegally smuggling foreign currency. They insist the case against them is trumped-up and in retaliation for their reports about official corruption.

On March 6, Baku police detained about a dozen journalists from the Toplum TV online television channel after searching its offices in the Azerbaijani capital. The majority of the journalists were released hours later. However, three journalists -- Musfiq Cabbar, Elmir Abbasov, and Farid Ismayilov -- were not released and charged with smuggling.

Also on March 6, police detained a founding member of the Third Republican Platform opposition group -- Akif Qurbanov.

SEE ALSO:

Azerbaijani TV Station's Journalists Detained; U.S. 'Deeply Troubled'

Toplum TV's editor in chief is Khadija Ismayilova, a former bureau chief in Baku for RFE/RL's Radio Azadliq and one of the country's most renowned investigative journalists.

Ismayilova told journalists that her media outlet "has not been involved in any illegal activities," stressing that the authorities most likely "want to fully liquidate independent media in the country to leave no platform for critical opinions."

Western governments and international human rights groups have urged Azerbaijani authorities to drop all charges against the journalists and release them.

On March 7, British Ambassador to Azerbaijan Fergus Auld expressed concerns about the March 6 arrests.

"Britain is deeply troubled by the arrest of journalists from 'Toplum TV' and the representative of the '3rd Republic' political movement. We call on Azerbaijan to protect freedom of expression and the fundamental human rights, including those of all recently arrested media representatives," Auld said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

Critics of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges.

Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan with an iron fist since 2003, taking over from his father, Heydar Aliyev, who served as president for a decade.

Moscow-born ballet dancer Ilze Liepa and Russian businessman Yury Kudimov have lost their Lithuanian citizenship after being identified by the Baltic country as persons that "pose a threat to Lithuania's national security," the Lithuanian news site Delfi reported. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda signed a decree annulling their citizenship on March 7. The Commission of Citizenship Issues recommended the move last month. The commission at the time said Liepa, who received Lithuanian citizenship in 2000, openly supported Russia and its policies, including its invasion of Ukraine. Kudimov, a former KGB officer who received Lithuanian citizenship in 1997, continues to have links with top Russian officials, the commission said. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on March 7 that Congress's inaction in approving new U.S. aid to Ukraine is "nothing short of a gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iran, and other adversaries as Ukrainian forces run short of ammunition to fight Russia's invasion. In remarks at the start of a meeting with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck in Washington, Yellen urged House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson again to swiftly pass a $61 billion military and economic aid package for Ukraine.

Officials from Iran's Baha'i community say Iranian security forces have destroyed more than 30 graves at the Golestan Javid, a cemetery dedicated to Baha'is in Tehran, in what they characterized as an attempt to erase the existence of the deceased because of their religious beliefs.

According to a statement from the Baha'i International Community group, the targeted graves were located in the Khavaran mass grave site and the demolition was done with the aim of completely obscuring the presence of the burial sites.

Simin Fahandej, the spokeswoman for the Worldwide Baha’i Community in Geneva, said the actions of the Islamic republic's authorities not only inflicted severe and fresh pain on these families, but also underscored the "inhumanity of their conduct" toward believers.

Since the Islamic Republic of Iran was established in 1979, hundreds of Baha'is have been arrested and jailed for their beliefs. At least 200 have been executed or were arrested and never heard from again.

Thousands more have been banned from receiving higher education or had their property confiscated, while Baha'i cemeteries are often desecrated in what Baha'is say is the systematic targeting of the group.

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The Khavaran cemetery in the east of the capital was traditionally a final resting place for members of religious minorities who were interred there to keep them separate from the graves of Muslims.

But decades of forced disappearances and secret extrajudicial executions have made Khavaran best-known as a secret burial ground for some of the thousands killed.

The graves at Khavaran are unmarked, and Tehran has for decades barred families of the dead from mourning there and punished those who left flowers and mementos.

In April 2023, Baha'i believers Shadi Shahidzadeh, Mansour Amini, Vahid Qadamian, and Ataollah Zafar were arrested in connection with activities related to the cemetery. Three months later, Tehran's Revolutionary Court sentenced each to five years in prison.

Iran accuses Baha'is of having links to Israel, where the city of Haifa hosts a center of the Baha'i faith. Baha'i leaders reject the allegations and say they are used as a pretext to persecute members.

There are some 300,000 Baha'i adherents in Iran and an estimated 5 million worldwide.

In Iran, where their faith is not officially recognized in the constitution, its leaders say they face systematic persecution.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has on several occasions called the Baha'i faith a cult and, in a religious fatwa issued in 2018, he forbade contact, including business dealings, with followers of the faith.

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

Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy and delivered a stern warning for Washington to stay out of Russia's internal affairs ahead of a presidential election widely expected to hand incumbent Vladimir Putin another term in office given the absence of opposition candidates on the ballot.

The ministry informed Tracy on March 7 that three U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) -- American Councils for International Education, Cultural Perspectives, and the Institute of International Education -- had been labeled "undesirable organizations" and demanded the embassy "stop any collaboration" with them.

SEE ALSO:

'Undesirable' In Russia: What Does The Label Mean And What Are The Consequences?

The ministry accused the NGOs of running "anti-Russian programs and projects aimed at recruiting 'agents of influence' under the guise of educational and cultural exchanges" and any further cooperation with the embassy "would be considered a violation of Russian law."

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow blasted the Russian move, saying in a statement that it "marks a new low in the Russian government's crackdown on long-standing and entirely routine people-to-people programs."

"The idea that it would be 'undesirable' to connect Russians and Americans on a human level and facilitate travel for professional and educational development is a tragic illustration of the Kremlin's desire to isolate its own people, depriving them of the chance to network, expand their horizons, and contribute to building a more prosperous and peaceful world," it added.

Russian officials often show disdain for Western-backed NGOs and civil society groups, accusing them of trying to manipulate Russian public opinion in order to stir up popular discontent and advance the foreign policy interests of their home countries. Western governments routinely reject the claims.

"It is especially emphasized that attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation, including subversive actions and the spread of disinformation in the context of elections and a special military operation, will be harshly and decisively suppressed, up to and including the expulsion as 'persona non grata' of U.S. Embassy employees involved in such actions," the ministry said in a statement.

All three NGOs labelled say they conduct activities to strengthen international ties through academic, professional, and cultural exchanges and programs and that thousands of students have used the programs to further their education.

The activities of the three organizations will be prohibited in Russia, and anyone who cooperates with them may face criminal penalties, including up to six years in prison.

There was no immediate reaction from the embassy in Moscow or the three NGOs designated as "undesirable."

The "undesirable organization" law, adopted in 2015, was a Kremlin-backed regulation on NGOs that receive funding from foreign sources. The label has been applied to dozens of foreign groups since Moscow began using the classification and effectively bans an organization outright.

RFE/RL was declared an "undesirable organization" last month.

The ministry's move comes just over a week before Russians head to the polls in a presidential election the Kremlin hopes to use as a show of national unity in support of Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, which Russia refers to as a "special military operation."

Russian elections are tightly controlled by the Kremlin and are neither free nor fair but are viewed by the government as necessary to convey a sense of legitimacy.

The Kremlin's tight grip on politics, media, law enforcement, and other levers means Putin, who has ruled Russia as president or prime minister since 1999, is certain to win, barring a very big, unexpected development.

An explosion and fire at the Aftab oil refinery in Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas has caused casualties, state media reported on March 7. An initial report by state news agencies IRNA and ISNA said there were "several dead and injured" but gave no precise toll. IRNA said there had been no official statement about the incident. A public relations representative at the refinery later told the media there had been "no serious damage" and that only two employees suffered "minor injuries." No cause was given for the incident. The Aftab refinery is described on its webpage as "the largest private refinery in Iran." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.

Russia's Interior Ministry on March 6 added Washington-based British journalist Tom Rogan to its wanted list on unspecified criminal charges. In 2018, Rogan published an article headlined Ukraine Should Blow Up Putin's Crimea Bridge in the Washington Examiner. Rogan's article sparked outrage among Russian officials, who demanded an explanation. Last month, Russian authorities added Rogan and Washington Examiner editor Hugo Gurdon to its "terrorist" registry. In May 2018, Russia's Investigative Committee launched a probe against Rogan on a charge of making public calls for terrorism. In response, Rogan published another article titled Why Putin Wants To Send Me To The Black Dolphin [Prison]. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Russia's Federal Security Service said on March 7 that its officers had "neutralized" a 49-year-old Belarusian citizen who it accused of "supporting Ukraine's armed forces and plotting a terrorist attack" in Russia's northwestern region of Karelia after it said he resisted arrest and opened fire at officers. The Astra Telegram channel identified the man as activist Mikalay Alyakseyeu, who participated in 2020 rallies in Belarus protesting against the official results of the presidential election that handed authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth consecutive term. According to Astra, Alyakseyeu was killed on March 6. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

British actor Benedict Cumberbatch took to a stage in London on March 6 to read a letter from Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, who died last month while being held in an Arctic prison on a conviction he and his supporters say was politically motivated.

During the event, part of the Letter Live project that highlights the power of literary correspondence, Cumberbatch read the letter Navalny penned to mark the third anniversary of his return to Russia in 2021 following a convalesence in Germany to recover from a poisoning he blamed on President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin denies involvement. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Bulgarian authorities to "immediately suspend" moves to deport human rights activist Abdulrahman al-Khalidi back to his native Saudi Arabia. HRW said in a statement on March 7 that if sent back, Khalidi faces "serious risk of arbitrary detention, torture, and an unfair trial." An advocate for Saudi prisoners' rights, Khalidi left the kingdom in 2013 and claimed asylum in Bulgaria in 2021, but Bulgarian authorities on February 7 ordered him deported. “Deporting Khalidi may violate Bulgaria’s international obligations," including the Convention Against Torture, HRW said.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu warned Moscow will not stop if it wins in Ukraine and will threaten the rest of Europe as she signed a key bilateral defense and cooperation pact with France on March 7.

"If the aggressor is not stopped, he will keep going, and the front line will keep moving closer. Closer to us. Closer to you," Sandu said after signing the deal in Paris with her French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron.

"Europe must therefore present a united front. Aggression must be repelled by a strong force," she added.

Macron in turn vowed France's "unwavering support'' for Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, in the face of Moscow's threat.

France and Moldova reached an initial agreement in September on training of military personnel, regular consultations on defense, and intelligence sharing.

Sandu has said Moscow plans to undermine Moldova's stability and throw the southeastern European nation off its path toward European integration ahead of a presidential election and a referendum on membership in the European Union.

A report by Moldova's Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) has issued a stark warning about Russia's plans to derail Moldova's efforts to shake off Moscow's decades-long influence and move closer to the West.\

Speaking before she left for Paris, Sandu said that "Moscow wants to destabilize the situation in Moldova, Moscow want to intimidate Moldova's citizens, especially since this year we may have a referendum on Moldova joining the EU -- at least that is my proposal and I hope Moldova's parliament will back it."

The pro-Western Sandu, under whom Moldova made an abrupt U-turn from Russia to Europe, is up for reelection later this year after handing an upset defeat to Moscow-backed incumbent Igor Dodon in 2020.

Sandu has previously indicated that she would prefer that the presidential election and the EU membership referendum be held together. Moldova received an invitation to open accession negotiations with the 27-member bloc in 2022.

She said that militarily, Moldova is being shielded from a potential Russian attack by its eastern neighbor, Ukraine, which has been fighting Russia's aggression for the past two years.

"Moscow has no way of reaching Moldova, first of all because Ukraine is our shield, and Ukraine is resisting [Russia's aggression] and will keep resisting. And secondly because Moldova has powerful friends and has chosen to be on the side of the free world," Sandu said.

Before the visit, the French presidency said in a statement, providing further details, that France will reiterate its support "for the independence, sovereignty and security of the Republic of Moldova, in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine."

Presenting his report on March 5, SIS chief Alexandru Musteata said his agency has come into possession of "certain data" about actions planned for this year and the next one that would compromise Moldova's accession to the EU and bring it back under Russia's sphere of influence.

"The details point to strategies for 2024 and 2025 that involve supporting pro-Russian political actors with ties to the intelligence services, organized crime groups, and the Kremlin leadership," Musteata said.

France on March 7 is also hosting an online meeting of EU defense and foreign ministers to discuss increasing support for Ukraine, but also for Moldova, which France said is facing "increasing destabilization moves" by Russia.

With Sandu at the helm, neutral Moldova also strongly condemned Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine, firmly aligning itself with Kyiv while tightening its ties with its other neighbor, EU and NATO member Romania, with whom Moldova shares a common language and history.

SIS chief Musteata said that his agency's intelligence suggests Moscow would use tools from its old playbook to sow instability in Moldova.

"We predict that attempts would be made to trigger several social and political crises, to spark clashes, and to incite interethnic hatred that would lead to security crises in the Gagauz autonomy or the Transdniester region," Musteata said.

Semiautonomous Gagauzia is populated mainly by ethnic Turkish Gagauz who speak Russian and have adopted Russian Orthodox Christianity.

Moscow-backed Transdniester declared independence from Moldova in 1990 and fought a war with Chisinau that was tilted in the separatists' favor by Russian troops who continue to be stationed in the region. It has recently "appealed" to Moscow for support to offset what it said was pro-Western Moldova's "unbearable pressure."

The appeal, which largely seemed orchestrated by the Kremlin itself, rang alarm bells in Western capitals as a prelude to a possible "unification" of the separatist region with Moscow.

"Moldova is facing increasingly aggressive attempts at destabilization," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said on February 29.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Ukrainian officials reported that a Russian missile strike on the northeastern city of Sumy caused an unknown number of civilian injuries and deaths in the latest in a series of intensified deadly Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure sites.

The attack came amid reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will continue his global push for support with a trip to meet Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on March 8.

The Turkish presidency said on X, formerly Twitter, that "the visit will encompass a detailed discussion of the course of the Ukraine-Russia war, the recent situation of contacts regarding the continuation of the Grain Corridor Agreement, and the efforts for lasting peace in the region."

NATO member Turkey has attempted to maintain good relations with both Ukraine and Russia and helped mediate an earlier Black Sea grain deal with Moscow that aided efforts to get Ukrainian exports to world markets.

Turkey has been pressing Moscow to return to the now-stalled grain initiative -- also brokered by the UN -- but Russia has said it isn't planning to revive it.

Details remain unclear about the Sumy attack, but Ukrainian media said a hospital and a school were damaged by Iranian-made Shaheed drones. Early reports said five people, including one child, were injured, but local media later said several people had been killed.

"Unfortunately, there are three strikes in different parts of the city. All emergency services are working on the ground. The victims are provided with the necessary medical care," the regional military command said in a statement.

Zelenskiy condemned the strike, saying, "The Russian state will definitely be held responsible for this evil.”

Russia continued to strike civilian areas of Ukraine indiscriminately, causing more casualties and material damage, the Ukrainian military and regional officials said on March 7.

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.

Shelling killed at least two people and wounded 16 in four Ukrainian regions, while the Black Sea port city of Odesa was targeted again by a Russian missile, regional officials said on March 7.

Kharkiv region Governor Oleh Synyehubov said a 70-year-old man was killed by a Russian Iskander-M missile in the village of Borova, where eight civilians, including five children, were also wounded.

Donetsk region Governor Vadym Filashkin said one person was killed by Russian shelling in Netailove and three more people were wounded. Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of the Kherson region, reported that four people were wounded by Russian shelling across the region.

Russian artillery fire wounded a man in the village of Bilenka in the southern region of Zaporizhzhya on March 6, according to the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov.

The Ukrainian military said that Russia launched a strike at Odesa, probably using a ballistic missile, hitting port infrastructure.

The strike came a day after several people were killed in a Russian missile attack that hit some 500 to 800 meters away from Zelenskiy and Greek Prime Minister Konstantin Mitsotakis, who were visiting Odesa.

Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram on March 7 that "people were killed and wounded" in the attack, without specifying how many.

In Russia's northwestern region of Vologda, the governor confirmed media reports on March 7 saying a drone hit a major metallurgical plant, Severstal, in the city of Cherepovets.

Georgy Filimonov said no casualties were reported in the attack and that the facility continued to operate "routinely."

Hours before, Severstal officials said "a technical incident" took place in the plant without mentioning any drone attack.

Since Russia launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many military objects and industrial facilities have been targeted by drones. Kyiv rarely comments on the attacks.

Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said it had destroyed six Ukrainian drones on March 7 over three Russian regions.

• RFE/RL
• Serhiy Nuzhnenko

RFE/RL photographer Serhiy Nuzhnenko ventured to the front lines near Bakhmut, where a small, outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian unit is causing mayhem in an effort to stall advancing Russian forces.

One drone was intercepted over the Kursk region, three were destroyed over the Bryansk region, and two more were destroyed in the Tula region. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

A day earlier, a Ukrainian drone struck the Mikhailovsky Mining and Processing Plant in Zheleznogorsk, in the Kursk region, sparking a fire after hitting a fuel tank. Ukraine has not commented on the news, which could not be independently confirmed.

In Oslo, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Haar Store said in a statement on March 7 that his government will allocate $153 million to an initiative launched by the Czech Republic to purchase ammunition for Ukrainian troops, who have been suffering from a shortage of weapons and ammunition needed to stave off the assault of the vastly better armed and equipped Russian forces on the eastern front.

Iran should immediately release the Advantage Sweet tanker, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on March 6, after the semiofficial Fars news agency reported that Iran will unload about $50 million worth of crude from the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker seized last year. Miller added that Iran's continued harassment of vessels and interference in navigational rights and freedoms is a threat to maritime security, regional stability, and the global economy.

A program that resettles in the United States Afghans who worked with the U.S. government could grind to a halt later this year, stranding thousands at risk of Taliban retribution following the 2021 U.S. troop pullout from Afghanistan. The congressionally authorized limit of 38,500 Special Immigration Visas (SIVs), which offer a path to U.S. citizenship, is expected to be reached around August, and it looks unlikely that the divided U.S. Congress will approve a U.S. administration request for 20,000 more. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told a briefing that the U.S. administration has "urged Congress to raise the cap."

BELGRADE -- Several hundred Serbian LGBT activists and their supporters protested in central Belgrade against alleged police brutality on March 6 following reports of abuse against two LGBT persons and what demonstrators say was official inaction in the incident.

Participants in the protest -- dubbed We Will Not Be Silent! -- called for the criminal prosecution of police officers for what they say was abuse, torture, and sexual harassment in the February 26 incident, as well as quicker sanctioning of police officers who commit violence.

Organizers from the Da se zna! (To Be Clear!) rights group also called on authorities in Serbia to condemn violence against the LGBT community.

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Several leaders from Serbian opposition parties joined the protest.

Activists charge that police officers abused two LGBT persons during a search of an apartment in Belgrade that was suspected of having drugs in it.

They said it was the most severe case they have seen so far, adding that the two people affected suffered physical injuries and psychological trauma.

Following the incident, police officials said they were investigating a complaint regarding the police officers' work and were "determining the truthfulness of the allegation."

They said the police officers "will be sanctioned in accordance with the law, if it is determined that they had exceeded their powers."

However, Da se zna! said they had been informed that police authorities had rejected the complaint against the officers.

The independent Ombudsman’s Office announced that it, too, has initiated an investigation over suspicions that police officers had exceeded their powers.

The Serbian Interior Ministry did not respond to RFE/RL's inquiry about allegations that the complaint against the officers had been rejected.

The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch warned, in its report published at the beginning of the year, that LGBT people in Serbia face intolerance, threats, and violence.

The Da se zna! group, which provides legal and psychological support to LGBT people in Serbia, documented more than 80 cases of violence and discrimination against members of that community during 2023.

It said that most cases are not reported to police because of distrust of official institutions.

Aleksei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in prison last month, predicted in previously unpublished testimony in 2020 and released on March 6 that his death would change "nothing" and other people would stand in his place. "If they would kill me it changes nothing," Navalny told Jacques Maire, then a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in December 2020, speaking in English. In the testimony released by the French daily Liberation and broadcaster LCI, Navalny said his team knew what to do without him, although he admitted things would be more "difficult."

The Czech government said on March 6 that it would not hold joint meetings with the Slovak cabinet in the coming months as their views on aid to Ukraine diverged. Both EU and NATO members, which formed a single country until 1993 and whose cabinets have met regularly since 2012, provided Ukraine with substantial humanitarian and military aid following the Russian invasion in February 2022. But Slovakia stopped military aid after Robert Fico became prime minister in October 2023. In recent months, Fico has also made a string of remarks that have soured ties with Ukraine, questioning its sovereignty and calling for peace with Russia.