US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Russia's war against Ukraine is at a stalemate but could escalate into a broader regional conflict if the deadlock pushes either side toward increasingly dangerous actions.

As Ukraine prepares for its fifth winter since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, a document obtained by RFE/RL sets out a blueprint for a campaign by Moscow to inflict enormous suffering on civilians with attacks aimed at sharply cutting supplies of power, heat, and water.

More than 30 people were killed and several dozen others injured after a Russian attack on two passenger buses in Kramatorsk, according to Ukrainian authorities. Two buses were destroyed in the strike and public transportation was suspended.

Moldova saw more Russian drones crash on its territory in August than it did over all of 2025. Moldovan authorities are increasingly rattled—but there’s little a cash-strapped government can do beyond complaining diplomatically.

Dozens of people were killed in a Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk on October 8, according to local authorities, a day after another deadly barrage killed at least 25 people across Ukraine.

Mikhail Klimaryov fled Russia to escape political persecution and now lives in Germany, but says he is still not safe. The constant pressure from Kremlin agents has, he says, driven him to "a kind of paranoia" about his security.

Authoritarian states such as Russia and Iran are increasingly pursuing their opponents even after they find shelter in apparently safe Western countries. RFE/RL talks to some of those affected.

Belarus’s Minsk Automobile Plant is under Western sanctions, limiting who can buy the vehicles produced there. That may be the reason trucks branded with the previously unknown “HAL” badge have been spotted amid strengthening trade relations between Belarus and Indonesia.

The European Union has expressed “deep concern” over Kosovo’s adoption of legislation that seeks to narrow the jurisdiction of a Hague-based war crimes court, saying the changes violate the country’s international obligations toward the bloc.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran will never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon, declaring that preventing Tehran from doing so is a red line for President Donald Trump. 

Russia launched a massive overnight missile and drone attack across Ukraine, killing at least 22 people. Strikes severely damaged a 5-story apartment building in the northeastern city of Pryluky and caused extensive damage to homes and infrastructure in Kremenchuk in the central Poltava region.

Two decades after the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a tenacious investigative reporter who exposed the brutality of Russia's war in Chechnya and documented how President Vladimir Putin curtailed democracy in Russia, her daughter Vera says little has changed in the country's political climate.

A Liberian-flagged oil tanker caught fire off the Russian resort city of Sochi after an apparent drone attack, Russian authorities said on October 6. The 23 crew members, all Indian, were rescued. A Ukrainian monitoring site said the vessel as part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet.

Rescuers frantically picked through rubble and debris of a destroyed apartment building in northern Ukraine as they search for survivors of a Russian missile attack that killed at least 22 people.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signaled a renewed American push to strengthen security in the Arctic, warning that US adversaries and competitors are already acting in a region of growing strategic importance. 

October 7 marks the 20th anniversary of the murder of prominent Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya, a tenacious investigative reporter who exposed the brutality of Russia's war in Chechnya and documented how President Vladimir Putin curtailed democracy in Russia.

Parliament elected Justina Shiroka Pula as Kosovo's new president late on October 6 following a last-minute political deal that secured lawmakers' approval of legal changes restricting the powers of a Hague-based war crimes court.

A prominent lawmaker has sparked controversy by saying Ukraine is losing the war and should consider making controversial compromises with Moscow. An opposition party ejected Oleksiy Honcharenko from its parliamentary faction, but his remarks may fuel further debate amid relentless Russian attacks.

Iran’s worsening medicine shortages are driving patients to a booming black market, where essential drugs can cost several times official prices. Cancer and chronic disease patients face soaring costs, while authorities struggle with imports, currency shortages, and supply disruptions.

A suspected case of pneumonic plague killing a laboratory technician in Russia has sparked global alarm about the possibility of wider transmission. RFE/RL spoke to Brendan Wren, a professor of microbial pathogenesis, about the situation and Russia's moves to deal with it.