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.
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.
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.
Police fired tear gas at protesters outside the parliament building in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, on October 5. The protesters were demanding that lawmakers pass legislation that would limit the decisions of a special war crimes tribunal by imposing caps on prison terms for convicted criminals.
RFE/RL joined Ukrainian soldiers on a dangerous journey toward Druzhkivka in eastern Ukraine, where Russian drones make roads nearly impassable. Around 2,000 civilians reportedly remain in the city as Russian attacks intensify.
Pakistani air strikes hit targets in Afghanistan's Kunar and Helmand provinces overnight on October 1. Pakistani authorities said they were targeting militants operating near the border, but Afghan witnesses said civilians were among the dead, including children.
In mid-September, Belarus released 25 prisoners held in politically linked cases after the United States agreed to ease sanctions. Now three US senators are calling on President Donald Trump's administration to pursue a similar approach to free political detainees in Azerbaijan.
Georgia has summoned Iran’s ambassador after his plans to publish a personal interpretation of Queen Ketevan’s history sparked criticism from ruling party lawmakers. Revered as a saint in Georgia, Ketevan was tortured and killed in Persia in the 17th century after refusing to renounce Christianity.
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.
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