The Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the exclusion zone around it has been captured by Russian forces, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said on February 24. "Unfortunately, I have to say that, as of now, the Chernobyl zone, the so-called exclusion zone, and all Chernobyl facilities have been taken under control by Russian armed groups," Shmygal told a news briefing after an extraordinary cabinet meeting in Kyiv. "According to the leadership of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, there are no victims at the moment," he said, adding the further information will released after clarification.
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Russian forces captured the power plant, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, after a "fierce" battle on the first day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an adviser to the head of the president's office said. "After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe. This is one of the most serious threats to Europe today," said the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak.
The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had been told of the takeover by Ukraine. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi called for “maximum restraint” to avoid actions that could put Ukraine's nuclear facilities at risk. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRCU) informed the (IAEA) that all Chernobyl facilities, including storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel, in the exclusion zone were taken under armed control. The military unit that had been assigned to guard the facilities has been disarmed, the SNRCU said. There were no deaths or injuries, and no changes in the radiation situation have been observed, the regulator said. It also said the integrity of the protective barriers of nuclear facilities was not violated. Some Russian military massed in the Chernobyl exclusion zone before crossing into Ukraine early on February 24, a Russian security source said, according to Reuters. Russia wants to control the Chernobyl nuclear reactor to signal to NATO not to interfere militarily, the source told the agency. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced earlier that Russian forces were trying to seize the Chernobyl nuclear plant. "Russian occupying forces are trying to take over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Our soldiers are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 does not happen again," Zelenskiy said on Twitter.
He said Kyiv's forces are fighting off Russian troops for control of the Chernobyl plant, which spewed radioactive waste across Europe when one of its nuclear reactors exploded in April 1986.
Fighting in the exclusion zone raised fears it could trigger a large-scale environmental disaster, Ukrainian officials said.
The plant, which lies 130 kilometers north of Kyiv, has been decommissioned, and the reactor that exploded has been covered by a protective shelter to prevent radiation from leaking. Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said earlier that Russian troops entered the zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant from Belarus. “If as a result of the occupiers' artillery strikes the nuclear waste storage facility is destroyed, the radioactive dust may cover the territories of Ukraine, Belarus and the EU countries,” he said.
The Defense Ministry in Minsk announced that almost 9,000 Russian troops will be stationed in Belarus as part of a "regional grouping" of forces it claims are needed to protect its borders.
"The first troop trains with Russian servicemen who are part of the (regional grouping) began to arrive in Belarus," Valery Revenko, head of the Defense Ministry's international military cooperation department, wrote on Twitter.
He said the "the relocation will take several days," and involve "a little less than 9,000 people."
More information would be provided at a briefing for military attachés, he added.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the de facto leader of Belarus, said last week that his troops would deploy with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border, citing, without providing any proof, what he said were threats from Ukraine and the West.
France has announced it will provide air-defense systems to Ukraine and expand a training program for Ukrainian soldiers.
Up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers will be embedded with military units in France, rotating through for several weeks of combat training, more specialized training in logistics and other needs, and training on equipment being supplied by France, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in an interview published in Le Parisien.
"We are noting the fact that the war, alas, will last," the newspaper quoted the minister as saying. "A new generation of soldiers must also be trained, to last the distance."
France had previously trained Ukrainian artillery troops to use Caesar self-propelled howitzers it has supplied.
The minister said the Crotale air-defense missile batteries that France is preparing to send to Ukraine "will be particularly useful in the fight against drones and against aerial bombardments."
France has 12 of the batteries, the minister said. He didn't specify how many of them will go to Ukraine but said "it will be significant to enable them to defend their skies."
France has supplied 18 Caesar artillery pieces and is in discussions to provide six more. Lecornu said France is also studying a Ukrainian request for rocket-launched ground-strike weaponry.
France also has set up a fund of 100 million euros ($97 million), "which the Ukrainians can use to buy what they want, on condition that the supplier is French," the minster said.
Four people were killed in a blaze at a notorious prison in the Iranian capital that houses political prisoners and anti-government protesters, the Iranian judiciary said on October 16.
The news comes after Iran criticized U.S. President Joe Biden for voicing support for the protests that have rocked Iran since a young woman was killed in police custody.
Flames and smoke rising from Tehran's Evin prison were widely visible in the evening on October 15 as nationwide anti-government protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini entered a fifth week. In online videos, gunshots and explosions could be heard in the area of the prison.
State media originally reported nine people were injured but the judiciary website Mizan.news on October 16 said four inmates died of smoke inhalation and 61 others were injured. It said all four who died were in prison on robbery convictions.
A reporter from Radio Farda was told a riot began on October 15 in Ward 7 of the prison, which is famous for holding political prisoners and was blacklisted by the U.S. government in 2018 for being a place with "serious rights abuses." The ward is next to another area where those detained during the unrest over the death of Amini are being held.
On October 16, state-run TV aired video of what it said was the fire's aftermath, showing scorched walls and ceilings in a room it said was the upper floor of a sewing workshop at the prison.
Prominent filmmaker Jafar Panahi on October 16 managed to call his wife from Evin to let her know and he and fellow filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof were fine and that authorities had used tear gas during the unrest, Radio Farda reported.
According to AP, families of inmates gathered October 16 near the prison hoping for news of their loved ones inside.
Speaking in the western U.S. state of Oregon on October 15, Biden said he was surprised by the courage of the people taking to the streets in protest in Iran.
Biden said the Iranian "government is so oppressive" and that he had an "enormous amount of respect for people marching in the streets."
Tehran said the remarks amounted to interference in Iran's internal affairs.
"On Saturday...Biden interfered in Iran's state matters by supporting the riots.... In recent days, the U.S. administration [has] tried desperately to inflame unrest in Iran under various excuses," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said, the Iranian Students News Agency reported on October 16.
Iran has been rocked by nationwide protests -- one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution -- sparked by Mahsa Amini's death on September 16.
The 22-year-old Amini was detained by morality police for "inappropriate attire" with regard to her headscarf, or hijab. Eyewitnesses say Amini, who comes from the country's Kurdish region, was beaten while in custody, but the authorities gave the official cause of death as "underlying diseases."
On October 16, Iran's parliament published a statement claiming that Amini did not die from any physical blow but that she fell and police waited too long to get treatment for her. It urged police to offer an apology and provide more training to its staff. It suggested police wear cameras on their uniforms and install them in cars used to transfer detainees.
Human rights organizations have said at least 201 people have been killed in the crackdown by security forces.
The unrest has continued despite what Amnesty International called an "unrelenting brutal crackdown" that included an "all-out attack on child protesters" -- leading to the deaths of at least 23 minors.
The Iranian authorities’ repressive response to the protesters has drawn international condemnation and sanctions on Iran from Britain, Canada and the United States.
Russian forces continue to target civilian infrastructure in towns and villages across Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian troops are fending off repeated Russian attacks on the strategic eastern town of Bakhmut and after reports of a deadly Russian military range shooting.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said early on October 16 that Russian forces had targeted more than 30 towns and villages across Ukraine, launching five missile and 23 air strikes and up to 60 rocket attacks in the past 24 hours.
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In response, Ukraine's air forces carried out 32 strikes, hitting 24 Russian targets, it said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on October 16 its forces had repelled efforts by Ukrainian troops to advance in the Donetsk region in the east and Kherson and Mykolayiv regions in the south.
Russia was also continuing air strikes on military and energy targets in Ukraine, using long-range precision-guided weapons, the ministry said.
RFE/RL cannot independently verify claims by either side in areas of intense fighting.
Russia has lost ground in the nearly seven weeks since Ukraine's armed forces opened their counteroffensive in the northeast, east, and south.
This week, the Kremlin launched what are believed to be its largest coordinated air and missile raids since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The intensified Russian air strikes came after the Crimea Bridge, which holds important strategic and symbolic value to Russia in its faltering war in Ukraine, was hit on October 8 by what Moscow says was a truck bomb.
The positions of Ukraine's southern forces were attacked several times on October 15 and a small "shooting battle" took place near the village of Tryfonivka (in Kherson), Ukraine's Armed Forces southern command said on October 16.
Russian forces also fired nearly 20 Russian-made Grad rockets on the right bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region, it said.
An administration building used by Russia-backed separatists in the city of Donetsk was damaged on October 16 in what the Russia-backed separatist said was Ukrainian shelling.
Photos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke swirling around the building, rows of blown-out windows and a partially collapsed ceiling. RIA Novosti and local media also reported that three cars parked nearby had burnt out as a result of the strike.
Kyiv didn’t immediately claim responsibility or comment on the attack.
In his evening address on October 15, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian troops were still holding the strategic eastern town of Bakhmut despite repeated Russian attacks while the situation in the larger Donbas region remained very difficult.
Russian forces have repeatedly tried to seize Bakhmut, which sits on a main road leading to the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk. Both are located in the Donetsk region.
Zelenskiy also said Russian missiles and drones had continued to hit Ukrainian cities, causing destruction and casualties.
"We hold our positions," Zelenskiy said. "In general, in the east and south, we do everything to make the occupiers feel that they have no prospects. No matter who they send to fight against us, it will only end in defeat for them."
Zelenskiy said almost 65,000 Russians had been killed so far since the February 24 invasion, a figure far higher than Moscow's official September 21 estimate of 5,937 dead. In August the Pentagon said Russia has suffered between 70,000 and 80,000 casualties, either killed or wounded.
Ben Hodges, the former commanding general of U.S. Army Europe, said he believes Ukraine can retake the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula by next summer.
"When I look at the situation, I see that the situation of the Russians is getting worse with every week. They say war is a test of will and logistics -- and on both counts Ukraine is far superior," the former commander told the FAZ newspaper.
The reports of increased fighting came as two men fired at soldiers on a Russian military firing range near Ukraine on October 15, killing 11 and wounding 15 before being slain themselves, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said in a statement that the shooting took place in the Belgorod region in southwestern Russia that borders Ukraine. It said two men from an unnamed former Soviet republic fired on volunteer soldiers during target practice and were killed by return fire.
The ministry called the incident a terrorist attack.
"A terrible event happened on our territory, on the territory of one of the military units," the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said early on October 16.
"Many soldiers were killed and wounded.... There are no residents of the Belgorod region among the wounded and killed," Gladkov said in a video post on the Telegram messaging app.
The shooting comes amid a hasty mobilization ordered by President Vladimir Putin to beef up Russian forces in Ukraine -- a move that has triggered protests and an exodus from Russia of hundreds of thousands, mainly to neighboring countries.
Putin said on October 14 that over 220,000 reservists already had been called up as part of an effort to recruit 300,000. He promised the mobilization would be wrapped up in two weeks.
The Polish operator of the Druzhba oil pipeline said it had fixed a leak that had caused part of the pipeline from Russia to Germany to be shut.
The operator, PERN, said in a statement on October 15 its technical services "restored the full functionality of the damaged line of the pipeline, which supplies crude oil to the company's German customers."
"An investigation into the cause of the leak is ongoing," it added.
The leak was detected on October 11 near the village of Zurawice in central Poland.
The company had said earlier that preliminary checks indicated the leak was probably accidental.
The German government said on October 12 that oil deliveries were continuing to two key refineries despite the leak.
The discovery of the leak came amid security concerns over Europe's energy supplies after the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea recently sprang leaks that officials both in the West and Russia say were caused by sabotage.
Europe also faces a severe energy crisis as a result of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which has cut supplies to many countries.
The Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline network pumps oil from the Urals to Europe through a northern branch that runs through Poland and a southern branch that runs through Ukraine.
Officials say calm has been restored at Tehran's notorious Evin prison after a fire broke out and shooting was heard amid weeks of protests and nationwide unrest over the death of a 22-year-old woman while in police custody for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly.
A reporter from RFE/RL's Radio Farda was told a riot began on October 15 in Ward 7 of the prison, which is famous for holding political prisoners and was blacklisted by the U.S. government in 2018 for being a place with "serious rights abuses." The ward is next to another area where those detained during the unrest over the death of Mahsa Amini are being held.
Video and photos on social media showed smoke rising above the prison. State media quoted a security official as saying "criminal elements" caused the disturbance but that the situation had been brought under control, even though some social media reports said gunshots could still be heard in the area.
Officials in Tehran have yet to comment on the situation.
Iran has been rocked by nationwide protests -- one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution -- sparked by Amini's death on September 16.
Amini was detained by morality police for "inappropriate attire" with regard to her head scarf, or hijab. Eyewitnesses say Amini, who comes from the country's Kurdish region, was beaten while in custody, but the authorities gave the official cause of death as "underlying diseases."
Human rights organizations have said at least 201 people have been killed in a crackdown by security forces.
The unrest has continued despite what Amnesty International called an "unrelenting brutal crackdown" that included an "all-out attack on child protesters" -- leading to the deaths of at least 23 minors.
The crackdown has drawn international condemnation and sanctions on Iran from Britain, Canada, and the United States.
At least 11 people were killed and 15 wounded on October 15 at a military training ground in the Belgorod region of Russia when two attackers opened fire on a group of volunteers, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said two volunteer soldiers fired at other troops at the training ground, described as a Russian military firing range.
The ministry said in a statement that the shooting occurred as volunteers trained to fight in Ukraine. It called the incident a terrorist attack. "During a firearms training session with individuals who voluntarily expressed a desire to participate in the special military operation (against Ukraine), the terrorists opened fire with small arms on the personnel of the unit," Russian media cited a Defense Ministry statement as saying. It said the two volunteers who fired on the other soldiers were shot dead by return fire. It was unclear whether their deaths are included among the 11 confirmed dead. The two were nationals from a former Soviet republic, the ministry said, but did not give any other details. The Moscow-based Baza news website reported that the shooting took place at about 10 a.m., but it only became known in the evening. The motive for the attack is unclear. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a mobilization on September 21, sparking protests, attacks on recruitment offices, and the flight of huge numbers of men out of the country. Putin said on October 14 that Russia should be finished calling up reservists in two weeks, promising to end the mobilization after the conscription of more than 200,000 men to fight in Ukraine.
The websites of the Bulgarian presidency and several other government ministries were the target of a large-scale cyberattack, the Prosecutor-General’s Office said on October 15, blaming Russian hackers.
Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev described it as a "serious problem," calling it "an attack on the Bulgarian state."
In addition to the president’s office, the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack paralyzed the websites of the Defense Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Justice Ministry, and the Constitutional Court, Geshev said.
The attack came from the Russian city of Magnitogorsk, he added.
A DDoS attack sends an excessive number of requests that overwhelm the targeted websites. The attack renders the websites inaccessible or makes them run slowly.
Measures were taken to reduce the impact of the attack on the Bulgarian government websites and there was no breach of content, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said, adding that the attacks had been halted.
As part of the European Union, Bulgaria defends European values, Geshev said, adding that it is expected that this attack would have consequences.
Bulgaria is providing Ukraine with humanitarian support as Russia continues its ongoing full-scale invasion of the country. Bulgaria is also taking in Ukrainians who are fleeing the war.
Broadcaster Dnevnik reported that the Russian hacking group KillNet claimed responsibility. The group announced the attack on its Telegram channel. The members of KillNet describe themselves as pro-Kremlin patriots.
The purpose of their attacks is to attract attention and spread disinformation.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk now says that his company will continue to pay for the Starlink satellite Internet service for Ukraine, a day after suggesting SpaceX could no longer afford it.
"The hell with it," Musk said on Twitter. "Even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we'll just keep funding ukraine govt for free."
Musk activated Starlink, a network of more than 2,000 satellites orbiting the Earth and thousands of terminals on the ground, in late February after Internet services were disrupted because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Starlink has cost SpaceX $80 million thus far and the cost will exceed $100 million by end of year, Musk said on Twitter on October 7.
He told his more than 108 million Twitter followers on October 14 that SpaceX cannot fund the network “indefinitely” amid reports that he has asked the Pentagon to step in.
He issued the statement after CNN reported that SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon last month saying it could not continue to fund the Starlink service in Ukraine and that it may have to stop funding it unless the U.S. military gives the company tens of millions of dollars a month.
The Defense Department later confirmed that it received a request from Musk to take over funding for the satellite network. The official said the issue has been discussed in meetings and senior leaders are weighing the matter.
A video of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon complaining to Russian President Vladimir Putin about his lack of respect for the countries of Central Asia that were once part of the Soviet Union has struck a nerve on social media, where it has been viewed millions of times.
Rahmon, addressing Putin directly, said that Tajikistan and other countries in the vast region have been treated like outsiders and indicates that the region deserves more investment from Moscow.
Rahmon made the comments on October 14 at a summit of leaders from the former Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.
Putin appears uncomfortable in the seven-minute video posted on YouTube, where it has been viewed around 4 million times. The video also also shows the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan looking on silently.
“We have always respected the interests of our main strategic partner,” Rahmon said, referring to Russia. “We want respect, too."
At one point, Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev asks him to stop, but Rahmon refuses, saying, "We came to talk."
Touching on a subject that Putin himself has cited, Rahmon said both he and Putin witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
“I was there in those meetings in the room when the Soviet Union collapsed,” he said. “Then like now -- and you have to forgive me for saying this -- not enough attention was paid to the small republics, the small nations.”
Putin has called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century."
Rahmon said the neglect of Tajikistan and the other countries of Central Asia, which he said were only used for their raw materials during the Soviet era, was one of the reasons for the collapse.
Putin’s response, according to TASS, was that during the Soviet era books were published in national languages, theaters were opened, and culture and the economy were developed.
Rahmon said Central Asian countries are not asking for many investments, adding that Russia should invest and that even billions invested “can be recouped in a very short period.” He suggested this would be reasonable in light of the Central Asians who travel to Russia to work.
Some of the YouTube users who commented on Rahmon’s statement congratulated him for speaking the truth to Putin. But others criticized Rahmon, who has ruled the tightly controlled former Soviet republic for three decades. Many said if he had provided decent living and working conditions for Tajiks, his relationship with his people would be different and Tajiks would not have to leave the country to find work.
Rahmon is one of Putin’s main allies, and Putin in June made his first public foreign trip since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine to Dushanbe for talks with Rahmon.
A missile attack seriously damaged a key energy facility in Ukraine's capital region, the country's power system operator said on October 15.
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Kyiv region Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said the strike did not kill or injure anyone. Electricity transmission company Ukrenergo said repair crews were working to restore power but warned residents about possible outages. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, urged Kyiv area residents and people in three neighboring regions to reduce their energy consumption during evening hours of peak demand. "All that is necessary today is to approach electricity consumption as rationally as possible,” Tymosheko said.
After a truck bomb explosion a week ago damaged a key bridge linking Russia to the occupied Crimean Peninsula, the Kremlin launched what is believed to be its largest coordinated missile attacks since the invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the bridge bombing. Authorities reported shelling in several regions overnight. Infrastructure was hit in the southern city of Zaporizhzhya, close to the front, and fires were reported. Governor Oleh Staruch called on people to seek safety in shelters.
Scattered protests are being reported in several cities across Iran where protesters have taken to the streets while chanting antiestablishment slogans, according to amateur videos posted online.
The protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest in Tehran by the morality police enter a fifth week despite a violent state crackdown and severe Internet cuts. “Support! Support!” chanted a group of protesters in Rasht in northern Iran, calling on citizens to join them, according to a video published by the activist Twitter account @1500tavir.
RFE/RL could not independently verify the footage. The BBC published a video in which a group of women chanted “Death to Khamenei!” in Shahin Shahr in the central province of Isfahan.
Protests were also reported in Hamedan and Ardebil amid a heavy security presence.
Students also reportedly staged protests actions in Tehran, Karaj, and Isfahan. Online monitor NetBlocks on October 15 reported a "new major disruption" to Internet traffic in Iran.
Earlier, activists issued an online appeal for a huge turnout for protests on October 15. They called on people across Iran to show up at spots where the security forces are not present and to chant "Death to the dictator.” Human rights organizations have said at least 201 people have been killed in a crackdown by security forces.
The unrest has continued despite what Amnesty International called an "unrelenting brutal crackdown" that included an "all-out attack on child protesters" -- leading to the deaths of at least 23 minors. The crackdown has drawn international condemnation and sanctions on Iran from Britain, Canada, and the United States. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused the country's enemies, including the United States and Israel, of fomenting the "riots.”
Iran has once again rejected allegations that it has supplied Russia with weapons to be used in the war in Ukraine, its Foreign Ministry said on October 15.
Kyiv and Washington have accused Tehran of supplying drones to Russia to use in its unprovoked war against its neighbor. The topic is expected to be discussed by European Union foreign ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg on October 17. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian "emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran has not and will not provide any weapon to be used in the war in Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "We believe that the arming of each side of the crisis will prolong the war," the Iranian foreign minister said in a call with his Portuguese counterpart, Joao Gomes Cravinho. "We have not considered and do not consider war to be the right path either in Ukraine or in Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen." Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Iranian drones were used in Russian attacks on energy infrastructure in several Ukrainian cities. Last month, Kyiv said it is significantly reducing its diplomatic relations with Tehran over arms deliveries to Russia. Iran said the decision was "driven by baseless information provided by foreign media propaganda.” In a separate phone call with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on October 14, Amir-Abdollahian reiterated Iran's official stance of neutrality over the war, which started nearly eight months ago. "We have defense cooperation with Russia, but our policy regarding the war in Ukraine is not sending weapons to the conflicting parties, stopping the war, and ending the displacement of people," he said. He also criticized the European Union for protests in Iran sparked by the death in custody of a 22-year-old woman. The EU reportedly plans to impose sanctions on Iran next week for suppressing the protests. For his part, Borrell said he had urged Iran to stop the repression of protesters and to release those that have been detained in recent weeks. “People in Iran have the right to peaceful protest and to defend fundamental rights," Borrell said on Twitter on October 14. "Violent repression must stop immediately. Protesters must be released. Internet access and accountability are needed."
An Iranian filmmaker said Iranian authorities barred him from traveling to the London Film Festival over his support for the protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. "I was prevented by the Iranian authorities from boarding my flight to London on [October 14]," Mani Haghighi said in a video message posted on Twitter by the British Film Institute (BFI). "They gave me no reasonable explanation for this actually rude behavior."
Outrage over Amini's death on September 16, three days after she was arrested by Tehran’s morality police, has triggered the biggest wave of street protests and violence seen in the country for years. In the past weeks, many Iranians have taken part in antiestablishment protests in Tehran and other cities, where protesters have chanted “Death to the dictator!” and, “Woman. Life. Freedom.” Security forces have responded with force, killing dozens of protesters, according to rights groups, while also arresting artists, dissidents, journalists and sports stars. The BFI said Haghighi had been due to attend the London Film Festival for his latest film Subtraction but that Iranian authorities had "confiscated his passport and he could not leave.” In the video message, the 53-year-old Iranian director, writer, and actor said he believed the authorities had prevented him from going abroad over his support for the protests. "A couple of weeks ago, I recorded an Instagram video in which I criticized Iran's mandatory hijab laws and the crackdown on the youth who are protesting it and so many other instances of injustice in their lives," he said. "Perhaps the authorities thought by keeping me here they could keep a closer eye on me, perhaps to threaten me and shut me up.
"Well, the very fact that I'm talking to you now in this video kind of undermines that plan," he added. Haghighi said, however, that he had no regrets about being forced to stay in Iran as a "prisoner" in his own country. "I cannot put into words the joy and the honor of being able to witness first-hand this great moment in history, and I would rather be here than anywhere else right now,” he said. "So, if this is a punishment for what I've done, then by all means, bring it on." With reporting by AFP
The U.S. government has announced further arms deliveries to Ukraine worth a total of $725 million.
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The package includes additional HIMARS mobile rocket-launch systems, ammunition, armored vehicles, and medical supplies, the U.S. State Department and Pentagon announced on October 14.
The aid comes "in the wake of Russia's brutal missile attacks on civilians across Ukraine" and "the mounting evidence of atrocities by Russia's forces," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
"We will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and independence with extraordinary courage and boundless determination,” Blinken said.
“The capabilities we are delivering are carefully calibrated to make the most difference on the battlefield for Ukraine," he added.
This brings the total U.S. military assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of President Joe Biden's tenure to more than $18.3 billion, Blinken said.
Most of the aid has been provided since Russia launched its unprovoked war against Ukraine on February 24.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on October 14 that Kazakh authorities should not extradite four Karakalpak diaspora activists to Uzbekistan, where they would face a serious risk of politically motivated prosecution and torture.
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The New York-based rights organization said all four activists – who emigrated to Kazakhstan a year ago – have advocated for protecting the sovereignty of Uzbekistan’s Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, where protests erupted earlier this year over proposed constitutional amendments.
“Uzbek authorities appear to be targeting diaspora Karakalpak activists as part of their heavy-handed response to the July protests in Karakalpakstan,” Mihra Rittmann, senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on October 14.
“There is no doubt these activists face a serious risk of torture and politically motivated prosecution if forcibly returned to Uzbekistan," she said, "and Kazakhstan is legally prohibited from sending them back in such circumstances.”
Rittman said Kazakh authorities should refuse the request and release the activists.
Acting on information that the activists were placed on an international wanted list by Uzbek authorities, Kazakh police detained the four activists from the Karakalpak diaspora in Almaty between September 13 and October 5, HRW said.
The four were identified as Koshkarbai Toremuratov, a dissident blogger; Zhangeldy Zhaksymbetov, an opposition figure; Raisa Khudaibergenova, a cardiologist; and activist Ziyuar Mirmanbetova.
The charges against them have not been made public. But a Karakalpak activist in Almaty, Akylbek Muratov, who has seen several documents pertaining to the charges, told HRW that the four are wanted by Uzbekistan for alleged offenses against the state.
Mass protests took place in Karakalpakstan in early July after changes initiated by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev were proposed to the Uzbek Constitution. The changes included the removal of an article that guaranteed the right of Karakalpakstan to seek independence should its citizens choose to do so in a referendum.
The European Union has called for an independent investigation into the violent events in Karakalpakstan that, according to Uzbek authorities, left 21 people dead.
Karakalpaks are a Central Asian Turkic-speaking people. Their region used to be an autonomous area within Kazakhstan before becoming autonomous within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1930 and then part of Uzbekistan in 1936.
An oil depot in the Belgorod region of Russia bordering Ukraine caught fire after being shelled on October 15, the third consecutive day of strikes on strategic targets in the region.
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"We're getting bombed again. One of the shells hit the oil depot in the Belgorod region," regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.
Gladkov posted a photo showing flames and plumes of black smoke rising above a building near a communications tower.
Gladkov said later that the fire had been put out.
Local emergency services said the depot is in the village of Razumnoye-71, near the city of Belgorod, according to TASS. One of 10 tanks with residual diesel fuel was set alight, TASS reported.
Gladkov also said a customs checkpoint had been shelled for several days in a row and that 14 shells had landed there on October 15 but caused no injuries.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
Belgorod and other Russian border regions have accused Ukraine of attacking targets, including power lines and fuel storage facilities, since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February. Last week, Russia complained of an increase in artillery and missile strikes on its territory bordering Ukraine.
An electrical substation in the city of Belgorod, which lies across the border from Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, was set on fire by a Ukrainian strike on October 14, causing electricity outages, Gladkov said. He posted photos of the fire, which he said was brought under control in the late afternoon.
A rocket gutted the top floor of an apartment building in the city the day before, causing damage but no injuries, and a munition sdepot in the region was destroyed.
Ukrainian strikes earlier in the week knocked out power in the town of Shebekino. A 74-year-old woman died and several others were wounded.
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) steering committee failed to reach an agreement on a communiqué calling for Russia to end its war in Ukraine during IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington, where finance ministers and central bank chiefs are discussing a cap on the price of Russian oil.
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Nadia Calvino, Spain's economy minister, told a news conference on October 14 that Russia again blocked issuance of a joint communiqué during a meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee.
Calvino, chairwoman of the committee, instead issued a statement recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine were "weighing heavily on economic activity" with significant impact on livelihoods.
There has been a "very strong call" throughout the week of meetings for Russia to stop its war against Ukraine, said Calvino.
"The war is the single most important element slowing down growth and generating inflation, volatility, energy and food insecurity and uncertainty," she told a press conference.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen echoed her statement, telling reporters that many of the diverse and difficult challenges that face the global economy "stem from Russia’s terrible war in Ukraine and the continued recovery from the pandemic.”
Asked about progress on setting a price cap for Russian oil, she said no decision has been made but that a coalition of countries, including the G7, the European Union, and Australia, have committed to deciding what the price cap will be.
Once it’s adopted, the members of the coalition will make sure that the suppliers of insurance, financial, and other services can only be provided if the purchase of Russian oil occurs at a price below the cap.
Yellen called it “an innovative policy that aims to cut Putin’s revenue while keeping Russian oil flowing onto global markets at low prices.”
She also said a price cap will help stabilize global energy prices and provide developing countries with greater leverage to negotiate better prices for Russian oil.
The countries are now considering several benchmarks that are relevant in deciding what the price cap should be, including the cost for Russia to produce oil.
Also on October 14, countries that have imposed economic restrictions on Russia held a meeting to assess the impact of the measures.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said the restrictions on the Russian military-industrial complex have had a direct effect on the battlefield.
“Together, our collective actions have rendered the Russian military-industrial complex unable to produce and maintain critical equipment for operations in Ukraine,” Adeyemo said.
He said the collective impact of sanctions and other measures has left Russia unable to access advanced technology and international financial systems. This has hobbled the Russian defense industry’s ability to produce weapons, as well as replace those that have been destroyed in the war, he said.
He also said Russia is running out of microelectronics that are critical to their military-industrial complex, and Russian officials are concerned that they don’t have enough foreign components.
Two of Russia’s largest domestic microelectronics manufacturers have had to temporarily halt production due to a lack of critical, foreign technologies, he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden has called on Iranian leaders to end the violence against their own citizens who have taken part in antiestablishment protests in past weeks triggered by the death of a young woman following her arrest by the morality police in Tehran.
Women "should be able to wear in God’s name what they want to wear," he said on October 14 during a speech in California. "Iran has to end the violence against its own citizens simply exercising their fundamental rights."
Biden said he was "stunned" by the mass protests in Iran, which has seen its biggest wave of demonstrations in years following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Many have taken to the streets in the past four weeks, chanting, "Death to the dictator!" while calling for women's rights and freedom.
"I want you to know that we stand with the citizens, the brave women of Iran," Biden said.
"It stunned me what it awakened in Iran. It awakened something that I don't think will be quieted for a long, long time," Biden said in his remarks.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the courage of anti-government protesters in Iran as he met on October 14 in Washington with activists originally from the country.
The protesters have shown "remarkable displays of courage throughout Iran as women, young people, and many others continue to stand up for the fundamental rights that continue to be denied them by the Iranian regime,” Blinken said as he opened a meeting with activists at the State Department.
Participants in the meeting included the actress Nazanin Boniadi, writer Roya Hakakian, and gender equality activist Sherry Hakimi.
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"In the wake of Mahsa Amini's death and the spontaneous demonstration of outrage that this has produced, I think we are seeing something that is quite remarkable throughout the country, led primarily by women and young people," Blinken said.
Human rights organizations have said at least 201 people have been killed in a crackdown by security forces.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has accused the United States of whipping up the protests to destabilize Iran.
"If that's the case, if they genuinely believe that, they fundamentally -- fundamentally -- do not understand their own people," Blinken said.
Blinken was joined by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Rob Malley, the U.S. envoy to Iran who has led months of talks in a bid to restore a 2015 nuclear accord.
Hakakian said the group urged the United States to halt the talks.
"Our suggestion unanimously was to stop the nuclear talks until the violence stops. And I think everybody heard us loud and clear," she told National Public Radio after the meeting.
Women in Bosnia-Herzegovina held demonstrations on October 14 in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and many other cities and towns to draw attention to femicide and call for the legislature to pass laws against it.
The demonstrations came amid outrage over the strangulation death of a 32-year-old woman on October 11, allegedly at the hands of her husband, in the town of Bihac in northwestern Bosnia. Police said the woman’s husband was found hanged on October 13 and cited suicide as the cause of his death.
Dozens of demonstrators, mostly women, turned out in Sarajevo, asking authorities to introduce femicide -- defined as a hate crime against women motivated by the victim's gender and a sense of superiority -- into legislation, making it a criminal offense.
The demonstrators also urged the government to harmonize criminal laws with the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, known as the Istanbul Convention.
The nongovernmental organization Women's Network of BiH took part in the demonstration in Sarajevo, demanding action from the government.
"We women must be loud and speak on behalf of all those murdered women,” said Selma Hadzihalilovic of the Women's Network of BiH. “We owe them at least that, and we also owe it to all women who are exposed to any risk of being killed. We want to scream [away] that silence, so the cry would be as loud as possible."
Enisa Rakovic of the NGO Women's Voice stressed that women in Bosnia will no longer remain silent.
"We, the women of Bosnia and Herzegovina, have united to raise our voices and ask the decision-makers to change the legislation, to include femicide in the law and to apply the Istanbul Convention, which has been signed but is not being applied," Rakovic said at the Sarajevo demonstration.
According to data from the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina, more than 60 women have been killed by their husbands since 2015. But the cases have been prosecuted as murders because femicide is not recognized in Bosnian law.
The agency also says that every third woman in Bosnia is a victim of violence, and half of women over the age of 15 have experienced some form of psychological, economic, or physical abuse.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak says Ukraine will find a solution to keep the Starlink Internet service working after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said his company could not indefinitely fund it.
Podolyak wrote on Twitter on October 14 that, like it or not, Musk “helped us survive the most critical moments of war.”
He told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that Ukraine should be thankful and also acknowledged that Musk is a businessman running a private business, not a state business, and "his business development strategy says that it is not profitable for him to lose [money]."
That's why Ukraine "will take care of how to conduct negotiations so that Starlink works," but added in his tweet that Ukraine expects the company to provide stable connections until the end of negotiations.
Musk activated Starlink, a network of more than 2,000 satellites orbiting the Earth and thousands of terminals on the ground, in late February after Internet services were disrupted because of Russia's invasion.
Podolyak made the statement after Musk tweeted that SpaceX cannot fund the network “indefinitely” amid reports that he has asked the Pentagon to step in.
Starlink has cost SpaceX $80 million thus far and the cost will exceed $100 million by end of year, Musk said on Twitter on October 7.
Musk also asked whether the United States owes protection to a commercial vendor that is targeted while assisting the United States.
"We’ve also had to defend against cyberattacks & jamming, which are getting harder," said the billionaire, who is also CEO of Tesla.
CNN reported on October 13 that SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon last month saying it could not continue to fund the Starlink service in Ukraine and that it may have to stop funding it unless the U.S. military gives the company tens of millions of dollars a month.
An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity was quoted on October 14 by AP as saying the Defense Department has received a request from Musk to take over funding for the satellite network. The official said the issue has been discussed in meetings and senior leaders are weighing the matter.
A senior defense official later told reporters that the Defense Department would not confirm that ongoing talks were related to payment. But the official said the Pentagon was "continuing to talk to SpaceX and other companies about SATCOM capabilities."
The discussion about Starlink comes after Musk came under criticism for asking his 107 million Twitter followers to weigh in on his proposal to end the war in Ukraine under which Ukraine would cede Crimea, which it seized in 2014.
Musk also suggested that four regions Russia illegally annexed following Kremlin-orchestrated referendums should hold repeat votes under UN supervision and Ukraine should adopt a neutral status, dropping a bid to join NATO.
As part of his proposal, Musk launched a Twitter poll asking whether “the will of the people" should decide if seized regions remain part of Ukraine or become part of Russia.
That prompted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has pledged to recover all the territory captured by Russia in the war and reclaim Crimea, to post his own poll asking his followers which Musk they like more: “One who supports Ukraine” or “One who supports Russia”?
Musk replied to Zelenskiy that he “still very much” supports Ukraine but is “convinced that massive escalation of the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and possibly the world.”
A senior Belarusian Defense Ministry official says Russian troops are expected to start entering the country soon to create "a regional military group" of the Russia-Belarus Union State.
The deputy chief of the Belarusian Armed Forces General Staff, Viktar Tumar, said in a statement on October 14 that "in the coming days," Russian troops that are part of the group will start arriving.
"To ensure a parity of military security and to support peace in the Republic of Belarus, a decision was made to create a regional military group on our territory. The armed forces of the Republic of Belarus and some military units of the Russian Federation will be the group's backbone," Tumar's statement says, without giving any details on the number of Russian troops expected to arrive in Belarus.
He added that the regional military group's goal is "purely of a defensive character."
Earlier in the day, Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka said that 70,000 Belarusian troops will be involved in the regional military group, adding that "10,000 to 15,000 Russian troops" will join the group.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey said his country is ready for "strict measures" in case Poland or any other nations bordering Belarus place nuclear weapons on their territories.
Earlier in October, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Warsaw had spoken to Washington about sharing nuclear weapons as Western nations confront Russia over its invasion of Ukraine that was launched in late February.
Russian forces have used Belarus as a staging post, sending troops and equipment into northern Ukraine from bases inside Belarus.
A video appearing to show an Iranian riot police officer groping a woman as he and others try to force her on a motorcycle has sparked further outrage as protesters across the country demonstrate against a lack of women's rights highlighted by the death of a young woman while in police custody for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly.
The video, which has not been independently verified, appears to show a man grabbing a woman's buttocks as a group of security agents try to force her on to a motorcycle.
After resisting, she falls off and the security agents ride away.
Two days have passed since the release of the video, but authorities in the Islamic republic have yet to publicly comment on it.
Anti-government protests have erupted throughout Iran over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini on September 16.
Young women have been on the front lines of the unrest, shouting anti-government slogans, removing their head scarves, and facing off with security forces in the streets. On October 13, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, a group that monitors Kurdish-inhabited areas of western Iran, announced the arrest of 19 protesters by security forces in the cities of Sanandaj, Marivan, Ilam, and Saghez.
“At least 37 other protesters were injured in different cities,” the group added. Iran's Children's Rights Protection Society says at least 28 children have been killed in a crackdown by security agents on the protesters, including many from the underprivileged province of Sistan-Baluchestan and Kurdistan, where Amini was from. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei once again lashed out at the protesters on October 14, comparing the Islamic republic to an unshakable tree.
"The Islamic republic has become a stout tree that makes it wrong for anyone to even think of cutting it," Khamenei said. Despite the crackdown and threats of even harsher reactions by security forces, activists continue to call for people to take to the streets in what has been the biggest wave of unrest and violence seen in the country for years.
The family of Iranian activist Hossein Ronaghi is concerned over the civil rights leader's health condition after he was arrested during the recent protests rocking the country over the death of a 22-year-old woman while in police custody.
Hassan Ronaghi wrote in a tweet on October 14 that officials have kept his brother "in prison without his medicine, with broken legs and a sick body while he is vomiting blood.”
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Ronaghi had his leg broken by prison officers, according to journalist Masoud Kazemi, while Ronaghi's mother has said her son told her he had been injured by guards. Security agents stormed Ronaghi's house and arrested him on September 22 as he was giving an interview to the London-based Iran International TV. Hours later, Ronaghi announced in a video message that he had managed to escape the security agents and would turn himself in to the prosecutor's office of Evin prison in Tehran on September 24. "If I am arrested after going to the prosecutor's office, I will go on a hunger strike from that moment," Ronaghi said in his video message. Ronaghi followed through with his promise and went to the Evin prison prosecutor's office, where he was violently apprehended, even though he showed up on his own volition. The arrest came amid anti-government protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was taken into custody by morality police for allegedly improperly wearing a head scarf. Many high-profile activists, rights advocates, and intellectuals -- including Majid Tavakoli, Fatemeh Sepehri, and Arash Sadeghi -- have been arrested during the protests amid a harsh police crackdown that rights groups say has seen more than 200 people killed.
Nearly eight months into his war against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be striking a softer tone, saying he sees no need for continued massive air strikes and that a mobilization of troops to support his military operation will end in two weeks.
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Speaking to journalists in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on October 14, Putin said that Russia was willing to hold talks on ending the war, although they would need to be held with an international mediator if Ukraine comes to the table as well.
Putin -- who has said he would be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia's "territorial integrity" -- also warned of a "global catastrophe" in the event of a direct clash between NATO troops and Russia. Still, he said he sees no need for talks with U.S. President Joe Biden at the present time.
There is "no need for massive strikes" now because most of the designated targets have been hit and "we have not set ourselves the task of destroying Ukraine," Putin said after attending a summit of leaders from the former Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the Kazakh capital.
Putin's comments come during a week when Russia has launched a barrage of missiles and rockets across Ukraine, battering major cities, including the capital, Kyiv.
They also come as Ukraine regains control of major swathes of territory with Russian troops in retreat.
Despite Russia's faltering invasion, launched in late February, Putin said he had no regrets over the "unpleasant" conflict that calls a "special military operation."
“What is happening today is unpleasant, to put it mildly,” he said after attending a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States. “But we would have had all this a little later, only under worse conditions for us, that’s all. So my actions are correct and timely.”
Putin said that of 300,000 conscripts mobilized in the Kremlin's latest military call-up, 222,000 are currently in units that form troops, while 16,000 are "currently carrying out military tasks."
"I think, in about two weeks, all mobilization measures will be over," Putin said.
Putin ordered the mobilization three weeks ago after Russian defeats on the battlefield escalated.
Vyacheslav Gimadi, an attorney for jailed Russian politician Aleksei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, expressed skepticism over Putin's statement.
“Do not believe Putin about ‘two weeks.’ Mobilization can only be canceled by his decree. No decree -- no cancellation,” he said on Facebook.
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