The United States has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the Group of 20 summit in Miami in December, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on September 23, as the Trump administration is seeking steps to reduce fighting in Ukraine.

The Kremlin-linked ruling party, United Russia, just won big in the country's parliamentary elections. The data, however, tells a different story.

Five years of war. Another winter closing in. Today, the Security Council once again debates a path to peace – though any resolution still runs up against the veto of Russia, one of its own permanent members, whose objections have repeatedly stalled any consensus. As world leaders take the floor, the gap between diplomatic process and battlefield reality appears to be stark.

Kyiv came under a massive daytime Russian drone attack on September 23, with strikes reported across several districts. At least two people were killed and 22 injured, local officials said. Several strikes were also reported near the capital’s central railway station.

An Afghan migrant has told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that his stepmother and four sisters died of thirst and hunger while attempting a dangerous journey to Iran after economic hardship forced the family to leave Afghanistan again.

In the wake of intelligence reports that Russia may be planning an attack on NATO, questions have arisen over whether European officials have contingency plans ready to deal with such an event.

At least 17 Afghans died of extreme dehydration in mid-September after crossing Iran through Pakistan, according to a human rights organization. Among them were a mother and her four daughters.

The United States is set to unveil the next stage of TRIPP, a planned transport corridor through southern Armenia that Washington says could open new trade routes linking the South Caucasus and Central Asia with Western markets.

The United Kingdom will fight disinformation at home and abroad, and work to ensure global safety standards for artificial intelligence (AI), new Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday evening in his first address to the United Nations General Assembly. 

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met in New York on September 22 following days of signals that US-Iranian talks would take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The meeting sparked a backlash from Iranian hard-liners.

Russia’s efforts to cultivate clout in Africa’s Sahel have been a mixed bag of successes and setbacks. Across the continent, however, on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, Moscow is making another quiet push for influence.

L'Azerbaïdjan a gracié le Français emprisonné Martin Ryan, selon un décret présidentiel publié mercredi. Cet homme d'affaires âgé de 38 ans avait été condamné en mars à dix ans de prison pour "espionnage", dans un contexte de tensions entre Bakou et Paris.

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.

US President Donald Trump has said a “massive deal” is being discussed with Belarus, under which it would provide cheaper potash supplies than Canada. But questions since the announcement have swirled over whether Belarus can replace the world's largest potash producer to meet US needs.

The crises in the Middle East are creating a growing challenge for Saudi Arabia: how it gets its oil to global markets. Shipping costs are rising, oil has topped $105 a barrel, and global inventories are being rapidly drained.

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.

The US and Ukrainian presidents have each expressed cautious optimism regarding a potential timeline for the end of the Russia-Ukraine war.

In this week's Wider Europe, RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak drills down on two issues: sanctioning Russia's military industry and Canada’s "associate membership" of the EU.

Reza Valizadeh, a dual US-Iranian citizen and former journalist for RFE/RL's Radio Farda, is marking two years behind bars in Iran.

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.