Oleshky, a Ukrainian city occupied by Russian forces 9 kilometers from Kherson, is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. Since 2023, the city has been without electricity, gas, or drinking water. Now, Ukrainian teams are airlifting food supplies into the embattled area.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador and assistant secretary of state, said that the new sanctions law gives Washington leverage by exerting pressure on buyers of Russian oil and gas -- if the Trump administration is serious about implementing it.
A wave of Russian attacks hit civilian sites in several Ukrainian cities on September 28. In Kyiv, fire broke out after strikes on the National Academy of Sciences and a major medical clinic. An office building in Dnipro and an apartment block in Kharkiv also came under attack.
Ukrainian troops trek nearly 20 kilometers to reach Bilozerske in the embattled Donetsk region. Russian drone and aerial attacks have laid waste to the city that used to house 15,000 inhabitants. Speaking with RFE/RL, one soldier said that "everything is bad" near Dobropillia.
RFE/RL takes apart a Russian Geran-4 drone to uncover what makes the jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) faster, harder to intercept, and capable of operating deep inside Ukraine -- from its turbojet engine and advanced camera to foreign-made communications and navigation components.
Russia hit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, with ballistic missiles and drones early on September 24, killing at least two people, according to authorities. In recent months, Russian has ramped up its aerial assault on Ukraine, hitting it with more jet-powered drones and missile barrages.
US President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Trump said he believes that both sides "want to see the war end." Zelenskyy said Ukraine is pushing for an agreement with Russia on halting attacks on energy infrastructure.
An RFE/RL investigation links Russian sniper Artem Dementyev to killings and shootings of civilians during the 2022 occupation of Bucha. Ukrainian investigators say ballistic evidence, surveillance footage, and witness testimony point to his involvement in at least five killings and torture.
Reza Valizadeh, a former journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Farda, has been incarcerated in Tehran's Evin prison for two years. The dual US-Iranian citizen is serving a 10-year sentence for “collaborating with a hostile government,” a conviction his supporters and press-freedom groups reject.
Hundreds of drones targeted Moscow and its surrounding region on the final day of Russia's parliamentary elections, killing at least two people and damaging a major oil refinery, according to Russian authorities.
At least 16 people were reported dead and dozens were injured after an attacker drove a vehicle packed with explosives into a police complex in Pakistan. Officials said several other attackers died in a shootout with police after the blast in the city of Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker has warned that global demand for missiles for Patriot air defense systems is “outpacing supply” in an interview with RFE/RL.
Jeanne Shaheen, the senior senator from New Hampshire, spoke to RFE/RL shortly after the passage of sanctions legislation intended to target Russia’s energy revenues. Shaheen said the sanctions will force other countries, notably China, to wean themselves off of Russian oil and gas.
John Coale, the US special envoy to Belarus, spoke to Current Time shortly after the release of 25 Belarusian political prisoners in exchange for the easing of sanctions. Coale said his negotiation efforts are also meant to eventually help Belarus normalize its relations with other countries.
Billions of dollars in oil revenue are missing from Iran’s coffers. At the center of the scandal are shadowy middlemen known as "trustees" who help Tehran sell oil, steel, petrochemicals, and other goods abroad while bypassing international sanctions.
A military airfield in Russia's Rostov-on-Don and the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl were reportedly hit during a major overnight drone attack. Ukraine’s Security Service says three military transport planes and three helicopters were hit.
Twenty-five freed political prisoners arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, on September 16 after they were released by Belarusian authorities. The US special envoy to Belarus, John Coale, said their release was secured in exchange for Washington's agreement to lift sanctions on two Belarusian companies.
Russian drones hit a passenger train in southern Ukraine on September 16, setting a train ablaze. No causalities were reported. Another Russian drone strike killed five people on a bus near Nikopol, according to officials. The strikes follow an uptick in attacks on civilian transport in recent days.
Four years after Mahsa Amini died following her detention over Iran’s mandatory hijab law, increasing numbers of Iranian women are not wearing head scarves. Amini's death sparked the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom movement. The defiance has grown amid mounting political and economic pressures.
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