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Protesters Opposed To Lithium Mining Hold Large Demonstration In Belgrade, Block Rail Traffic
Tens of thousands of protesters opposed to lithium mining in Serbia packed the streets of Belgrade on August 10 and marched to two railway stations where some of them blocked train traffic.
The protest started at the center of the Serbian capital and then split into two groups that separated and headed to Prokop station and Novi Beograd station. Some of the protesters forced the trains to stop by lying or sitting on the tracks.
The protesters demanded a halt to Anglo-Australian metals and mining giant Rio Tinto's lithium project in western Serbia over fears it could pollute nearby land and water. They carried the banners saying "No to the mine, exploitation, eviction" and "Rio Tinto march from Serbia" and chanted, "You will not dig" and "Treason, betrayal!"
"There is no turning back, we are defending Serbia," said Zlatko Kokanovic, an environmental activist who called on the protesters to continue their action peacefully.
The protest took place at the invitation of the Alliance of Environmental Organizations of Serbia after the government failed to meet a deadline that opponents to mining set to ban the mining of lithium and the opening of mine in Jadar in the west of the country.
"It seems that we have been victimized as a future mining colony and landfill. We will not allow that. That is why we are here today to raise our voices, to disagree and to defend survival in our country," actress and environmental activist Svetlana Bojkovic told the gathering.
The Serbian government on July 16 reinstated a plan for a lithium mine in the Jadar region operated by Rio Tinto.
The Serbian government rejected the project in 2022 after massive environmental protests, but reinstated the plan days after the Balkan state's Constitutional Court said the government had acted unconstitutionally when it withdrew permits for Rio Tinto.
Three days after the decision a Critical Raw Materials Summit was held in Belgrade, where a memorandum of understanding between the European Union and the Serbian government on a "strategic partnership" on sustainable raw materials, battery supply chains, and electric vehicles was signed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the mining of lithium, a key component in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile devices, is necessary for Europe "to remain sovereign in a changing world and not be dependent on others."
Scholz pledged that mining would be carried out "in compliance with the highest standards of environmental protection, and Germany will help in this."
With reporting by Reuters
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U.S. Gymnast Must Return Olympic Bronze After Court Ruling, IOC Says
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles must return an Olympic bronze medal after sport's highest court annulled an inquiry filed by her coach that vaulted Chiles to third. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said on August 10 that the inquiry came outside the 1-minute time limit allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation. The IOC said it would respect the court’s ruling and reallocate the bronze from the August 5 women's floor exercise final to Romanian Ana Barbosu. To read the full story by RFE/RL Romanian Service, click here.
Serbian Police Disperse Protesters Opposed To Lithium Mining
BELGRADE -- Serbian police have removed protesters opposed to lithium mining from two railway stations in the capital, Belgrade, where they were blocking train traffic.
Riot police used shields to disperse the protesters at the Prokop and Novi Beograd railway stations at around 5.30 a.m. on August 11, the Beta news agency reported, citing one of the demonstrators.
The Internal Affairs Ministry said the railway traffic disrupted by the protests had been restored. The ministry warned that criminal charges will be brought against those who caused the traffic disruption and endangered public safety.
On August 10, tens of thousands of protesters rallied in the Belgrade city center and then split into two groups that separated and headed to the railway stations. Some of the protesters forced the trains to stop by lying or sitting on the tracks.
The protesters demanded a halt to Anglo-Australian metals and mining giant Rio Tinto's lithium project in Jadar in western Serbia over fears it could pollute nearby land and water.
Zlatko Kokanović, an activist and one of the protest organizers, said on August 10 that more rallies would take place in other cities across Serbia.
In 2022, the Serbian government had rejected the project in the wake of massive public protests amid concerns over its impact on the environment.
But it reinstated the plan on July 16 this year, days after the Balkan state's Constitutional Court said the government had acted unconstitutionally when it withdrew permits for Rio Tinto.
Three days after the court ruling, a Critical Raw Materials Summit was held in Belgrade, where a memorandum of understanding between the European Union and the Serbian government on a "strategic partnership" on sustainable raw materials, battery supply chains, and electric vehicles was signed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the mining of lithium, a key component in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile devices, is necessary for Europe "to remain sovereign in a changing world and not be dependent on others."
Scholz pledged that mining would be carried out "in compliance with the highest standards of environmental protection, and Germany will help in this."
With reporting by Reuters
- By Reuters
Iranian President Nominates Abbas Araghchi As Foreign Minister
Abbas Araghchi was nominated on August 11 as Iran's foreign minister by President Masud Pezeshkian, Iran's parliamentary speaker announced live on the Student News Network. Abbas Araghchi was the chief negotiator in nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers from 2013 to 2021. He has served as Iran's ambassador to Turkey and Japan and held the role of deputy foreign minister for Asia-Pacific for two years before becoming spokesman of the ministry in 2013 for a short period. When Muhammad Javad Zarif was foreign minister, Araghchi was the second-most influential official at the Foreign Ministry.
Russian Missiles Target Kyiv Overnight, Killing At Least 2
KYIV -- Russian forces launched missile attacks overnight on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, killing at least two people, Ukrainian authorities said on August 11.
The State Emergency Service said that a 35-year-old man and his 4-year-old son were found dead in the rubble of a building during search-and-rescue operations. Three others, including a 13-year-old child, were seriously wounded in the attack, it added.
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Fragments of a missile fell on residential buildings in the Brovary district, neighboring the capital. Kyiv's military administration said the city's air-defense systems had been activated.
Five other regions were being attacked by Russian drones, according to Ukraine's air force.
Cities across Ukraine have been regularly hit by Russian air strikes from missiles and drones. There has been growing concern among many Ukrainians in recent days that Moscow might intensify its air raids in response to Kyiv's recent incursion into Russian territory in the border region of Kursk.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged its Western allies to provide it with more air-defense system.
In Russia, Kursk regional Governor Aleksei Smirnov said 13 people had been injured by debris from a downed Ukrainian missile that fell on a residential building during the night. Two of the injured were in serious condition, Smirnov said on August 11.
Residents of the nine-story building were to be evacuated to temporary accommodations, according to Igor Kutsak, mayor of the regional capital, Kursk city.
The whole city was under an air-raid alert, the official said on Telegram. He posted a photo that showed an apartment building with blown out windows and damaged balconies.
In the neighboring Voronezh region, Russian authorities claimed that debris from a downed Ukraine-launched drone damaged an administrative building and a utility facility in the provincial capital of the same name. There were no injuries, they added.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on August 11 that its air-defense units destroyed 16 Ukrainian-lunched drones over the Voronezh region, while 14 drones and four Tochka-U tactical ballistic missiles were downed over the Kursk region.
Three drones were downed over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, and one drone each was destroyed over the Bryansk and Orlov regions, the ministry said on Telegram.
The claims cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine’s surprise cross-border incursion in Kursk on August 6 has been described as the biggest attack on Russian soil since Moscow launched its unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia on August 10 announced that it had imposed what it called anti-terror measures in the Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions.
The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said in a statement that the measures included the possible evacuation of residents, limits on transport, beefed-up security around sensitive sites, and wire taps.
More than 76,000 people have been evacuated from border areas in the Kursk region in recent days, according to Russian media reports.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
Belarusian Journalist Under House Arrest In Serbia Removed From Interpol Wanted List
Belarusian journalist and political activist Andrey Hnyot, who is under house arrest in Belgrade awaiting a final decision on his extradition to Belarus, has been removed from the Interpol wanted list.
The international police agency's warrant for Hnyot’s arrest was issued at the request of Belarus, which accuses him of tax evasion. Hnyot has denied Minsk's accusations and called them politically motivated.
"Andrey Hnyot is no longer the subject of Interpol's notification," according to a decision of the General Secretariat of Interpol. The decision was forwarded to the media on August 10 by his lawyer, Vadim Drozdov.
Hnyot said in a statement to RFE/RL that Interpol informed representatives of the European Union in Serbia that the warrant "was suspended and the data deleted due to the violation of Articles 2 and 3 of the Interpol Statute."
He said that those provisions refer to politically motivated criminal prosecution.
"As far as I know, representatives of the EU brought this important information to the attention of the government of Serbia and the judiciary. However, this did not result in my release," said Hnyot.
Hnyot pointed out that the process of his extradition is ongoing and he is under house arrest until the final decision.
"That will be my only and last chance to challenge the illegality of my extradition," he said, adding that he has not been able to receive adequate medical care and has no source of income to pay rent or buy food and medicine.
Hnyot was arrested in October 2023 at the Belgrade airport after arriving from Thailand, where he was in exile.
He spent seven months in Belgrade Central Prison before being transferred to house arrest on June 5.
The High Court in Belgrade on June 13 issued a ruling on the extradition that would send him back to Belarus, but it is not yet final.
Drozdov said that Interpol responded to his request to delete Hnyot from its information system with a decision made on August 5.
"This means that no country will be able to detain him at the request of Belarus," said Drozdov in a statement.
Hnyot fled Belarus for Thailand in 2020 after criticizing the regime and participating in massive protests that occurred after the presidential election in which authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka declared victory.
Western countries do not recognize the results of those elections, and after violence against demonstrators, the European Union imposed sanctions on Minsk.
Brussels called for Hnyot’s release on June 13 a blistering warning for authorities in EU candidate Serbia, and several media and nongovernmental organizations did the same.
Hnyot 's lawyer has informed the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg about the case.
According to his statements, the court sent a letter to the authorities in Serbia that it expects that Hnyot will not be immediately extradited after a final decision by the High Court, allowing time for him to address the European Court.
Hnyot currently wears an ankle-bracelet monitor and is confinement to a modest, 20-square-meter apartment in Belgrade.
The prospect of a forced return to a regime that Hnyot describes as "torture, blood, nightmare" is motivating.
He told RFE/RL’s Balkan Service in mid-June in his first interview after his transfer to house arrest that he works "from morning to night" on his defense.
Court Rules In Favor Of Romanian Gymnasts On Olympics Inquiry
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has voided the inquiry that led to an Olympic bronze medal for American gymnast Jordan Chiles in the women’s floor exercise.
The ruling by the CAS on August 10 said the inquiry filed on behalf of Chiles after the final in the event on August 5 came outside the 1-minute time limit allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
Chiles was awarded the bronze medal after her inquiry was filed, but the CAS agreed with an appeal filed by the Romanian Gymnastics Federation on behalf of gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, who were bumped into fourth and fifth place, respectively, by the judge's decision.
"The inquiry submitted on behalf of…Chiles in the Final of the women’s Floor exercise was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline…and is determined to be without effect," the ruling said.
It also said the initial score given to Chiles, which initially put her in fifth place, "shall be reinstated."
The CAS said the final ranking was up to the FIG but said it should “assign the medal(s) in accordance with the above decision.”
The decision means Barbosu, 18, will receive her country's only medal in the gymnastics competition.
"I can barely express my emotions. I can't believe it," Barbosu told Romanian media. "When I heard the news, I was afraid it wasn't true, and once I was sure, I hugged my parents and called everyone who had helped me."
It has been an emotional roller coaster for Barbosu, who thought she won bronze on the night of the competition and began celebrating only to leave the floor in tears with Maneca-Voinea after the revision of the scores.
Chiles initially was given a score of 13.666 that put her in fifth place behind Maneca-Voinea. U.S. coach Cecile Landi called for an inquiry, and after a review, judges boosted Chiles’s total by 0.1. That was enough to leapfrog Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea for bronze.
The Romanian Gymnastics Federation welcomed the decision and congratulated its two gymnasts.
"We laugh with one eye, we cry with one," it said on Facebook. "Following this decision, Ana Maria Barbosu gets the bronze medal while Sabrina Maneca-Voinea ends the competition on the 4th place."
USA Gymnastics said in a statement it is “devastated” by the ruling.
"The inquiry into the Difficulty Value of Jordan Chiles' floor exercise routine was filed in good faith and, we believed, in accordance with FIG rules to ensure accurate scoring," the organization said.
More Bodies Identified At Site Of Supermarket Strike That Killed 14 In Ukraine's Donetsk
Work crews have finished dismantling the remains of a shopping center in Kostyantynivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where a Russian missile struck on August 9, killing 14 people and injuring 44. State Emergency Service personnel dismantled 76 tons of building structures at the work site, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on August 10 on Telegram. He added that police forensic specialists identified five of eight bodies that had not been positively identified on the day of the attack. They belong to three women and two girls born in 2012 and 2014. Three bodies have yet to be identified, Klymenko said. To read the full story on RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.
Ukrainian Forces Attack Black Sea Gas Platform Used By Russia For GPS 'Spoofing,' Navy Says
Ukrainian naval and and military intelligence forces have attacked and damaged a former offshore gas platform used by Russian forces in the Black Sea, the navy's spokesman said on August 10. Dmytro Pletenchuk said Russian forces used the platform for GPS spoofing to make civilian navigation dangerous. "We cannot allow this," Pletenchuk said on Facebook. A half a day before the attack Russian forces "threw equipment and military personnel onto the platform," he said, adding that there were no civilians on it. Pletenchuk said the attack on the platform "was an operation of the Naval Forces of Ukraine and the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Defense Ministry." The information could not be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from Moscow. To read the full story on RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.
- By AP
Iran's President Reappoints UN-Sanctioned Official As Head Of National Nuclear Agency
Iran’s newly elected president reappointed a U.S.-educated official who came under United Nations sanctions 16 years ago as head of the country’s nuclear department, Iranian state TV reported on August 10. Mohammad Eslami, 67, will continue his work as chief of Iran's civilian nuclear program and serve as one of several vice presidents. Eslami's reappointment by President Masud Pezeshkian comes as Iran remains under heavy sanctions by the West following the collapse of the 2015 deal that curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Pezeshkian had said during his presidential campaign that he would try to revive the nuclear deal.
- By AP
Afghan Refugee Breaker Disqualified For Wearing 'Free Afghan Women' Cape At Olympics
Refugee breaker Manizha Talash, or "b-girl Talash," was disqualified from the first-ever Olympic breaking competition on August 9 after she wore a cape that said "Free Afghan Women" during her pre-qualifier battle against India Sardjoe, known as “b-girl India." The 21-year-old, originally from Afghanistan and representing the Olympic Refugee Team, lost in the pre-qualifier battle against Sardjoe and would not have advanced even if she hadn't been disqualified. Political statements and slogans are banned on the field of play and on podiums at the Olympics.
Belarus Summons Ukraine Envoy Over Alleged Drone Airspace Violations
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry on August 10 summoned the Ukrainian charge d'affaires over alleged airspace violations after authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed Ukrainian drones had flown over the country's border with Ukraine.
"The Belarusian side demanded that comprehensive measures be taken to rule out any such future incidents in the future which could lead to further escalation of the situation in the region," TASS quoted the ministry's press service as saying.
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Lukashenka ordered the country's borders with Ukraine to be beefed up after accusing Ukraine of flying drones into the country's airspace.
Lukashenka claimed earlier that Belarusian air-defense forces had destroyed several targets over that country's territory.
Cited by the Belarusian news agency Belta, Lukashenka, without providing evidence, claimed they were launched from Ukraine and that they were most likely drones.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said the incident was a "dangerous attempt to expand the current conflict zone" in the region, according to the state-run BelTA news agency.
Belarus is an ally of Russia in its war with Ukraine. Ukraine and Belarus share a nearly 1,100-kilometer border.
Lukashenka's remarks come amid a Ukrainian incursion inside Russia. The cross-border action in Russia's Kursk region has been described as the biggest attack on Russian soil since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his country's unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine has so far not commented on Lukashenka's remarks.
Lukashenka said "about a dozen" drones had violated Belarusian airspace in the eastern Mogilev region bordering Russia on August 9.
Lukashenka said others were later destroyed near the Russian city of Yaroslavl. Earlier on August 10, the Russian Defense Ministry said Russian forces had intercepted six drones in the Yaroslavl region.
Later, Viktar Khrenin, Belarus's defense minister, said Lukashenka had ordered him to reinforce Belarus's border with Ukraine.
"Considering the situation in Ukraine and in the Kursk region of Russia, the commander in chief of the armed forces has given orders to reinforce troops in the Gomel and Mazyr tactical areas in order to respond to such provocations," Khrenin said.
"Special operations forces, ground troops, and rocket forces, including Polonez and Iskander systems, have been tasked with deploying to the designated areas."
He said Belarus regarded the violation of its airspace as a provocation and "was ready to respond."
Putin 'In The Dock': Freed Activist Pivovarov Says Russian Opposition, Ukrainians Share Goal
During his entire imprisonment in Russia, Andrei Pivovarov yearned for one thing: freedom.
"To be released. You always count the days, hours, months. The only [desire] is to break free. Any person, politically oriented or not, sitting in prison, wants to be free," Pivovarov told Current Time.
Pivovarov, 42, was part of the biggest prisoner exchange between the West and Russia since the Cold War.
In the exchange on August 1, Russia got back eight prisoners held in the West, including a member of its FSB security service convicted of murder in Germany, and 16 people were released from Russian and Belarusian jails. They included Pivovarov, dissidents Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin, and U.S. citizens Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
Pivovarov, the former executive director of the now-defunct pro-democracy Open Russia movement, was detained in May 2021 after being taken off a Warsaw-bound plane just before takeoff from St. Petersburg and sentenced to four years in prison in July 2022 on a charge of heading an "undesirable organization."
The "undesirable organization" law, adopted in 2015, was part of a series of regulations pushed by the Kremlin that squeezed many nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations that received funding from foreign sources, mainly from Europe and the United States.
After his trial in Krasnodar, the St. Petersburg native was convicted and sentenced in July 2022, when Russia's full-scale war and Russian President Vladimir Putin's intensified crackdown on dissent were in full swing.
From January 2023, Pivovarov was held in isolation at Penal Colony No. 7 in Russia's Karelia region.
Since his release and transfer to Germany, Pivovarov has given numerous interviews but is hoping to find time now to rest and spend time with his family.
"I would like to exhale. Plus, during all this time I was deprived of the opportunity to communicate with my son, so I would really like to meet him, spend time with him," Pivovarov told Current Time, adding he has no plans to abandon his "political work."
Pivovarov admitted that voicing opposition to Putin's regime is easier from abroad but with possible drawbacks.
"When you are in Russia, any unification, any coordination is automatically a criminal offense. At the same time, having a platform abroad, where we are now, on the one hand, to be honest, diminishes the weight of our words, because it is easy to say something while sitting outside in the sun and knowing that no policeman is coming for you," Pivovarov explained. "On the other hand, this allows us to say more than what people in Russia can afford."
Breathing life into Russia's opposition, largely silenced by Putin's repression and infighting, will be a formidable task, admitted Pivovarov, saying the goal should be "not to unite but to establish a dialogue, contact."
"Of course, there will still be disputes," he said.
Pivovarov was also asked about comments he made at a Bonn press conference on August 2, when he appeared to suggest that Western sanctions against Russia were unfairly impacting ordinary Russians, triggering some criticism, especially among Ukrainians.
"There was no phrase about the unfairness of sanctions. I don't remember all the words verbatim, but there was no phrase about the unfairness of sanctions. Sanctions are effective, and they work. I'm talking about, for example, a housewife -- a stupid example -- but it seems typical to me. And she has, let's say, a small child, and she cooks at home. So that she has the opportunity to buy at least some more or less normal products, so that her small everyday world becomes a little simpler," Pivovarov offered.
Pivovarov said Russian opponents of Putin shared common goals with Ukrainians.
"Our goals are the same. We want to work together to ensure that the war ends, that the regime in Russia changes, and that, ultimately, Putin ends up in the dock. This is our main goal," he said. "We just look at this from the perspective of Russian society, and in this regard we can be more useful."
Russia Imposes 'Anti-Terror' Measures In 3 Regions As Ukraine Continues Incursion
Russia has imposed what it called anti-terror measures in Kursk, the site of a Ukrainian military incursion, and two nearby regions as well as Bryansk and Belgorod.
The announcement was made early on August 10 by the National Anti-Terrorism Committee. In a statement, it said the decision had been made by Aleksandr Bortnikov, head of the FSB intelligence service, in response to Ukraine's "unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation in a series of regions."
The committee said the measures included the possible evacuation of residents, limits on transport, beefed-up security around sensitive sites, and wire taps.
Russian media reported on August 10 that more than 76,000 people have been evacuated from border areas in the Kursk region since Ukraine launched the surprise cross-border offensive on August 6. TASS quoted Artem Sharov, an official from the regional Emergencies Ministry, as saying that those evacuated "have been temporarily relocated to safe places."
Dozens of temporary accommodation facilities have been set up in Kursk and other regions, Sharov told journalists, according to TASS.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 10 that fighting was continuing region and that the army has conducted air strikes against Ukrainian forces.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
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On August 9, Russia declared what it described as a "federal-level" emergency in the Kursk region, hours after a Ukrainian military strike on an airfield there.
In response to the incursion, the Russian Defense Ministry said on August 9 that it was transferring extra forces to the region, including Grad multiple-launch rocket systems, artillery, and tanks, Interfax reported.
State-run media reported on troops and armor being redeployed to Kursk, including video of Russian military on the move, much of it reposted on social media.
Russian military bloggers claimed that "irregular Russian forces are already arriving in the Kursk region, including those that were previously deployed in other areas of the front."
But the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said late on August 9 that the Russian military command "appears to be relying on existing units deployed to the international border area and readily available forces in the rear, most of which are units staffed with conscripts and irregular forces, to address the ongoing Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast."
The cross-border action in Russia's Kursk region has been described as the biggest attack on Russian soil since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his country's unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Much remains unclear, including the number of Ukrainian soldiers taking part, although the Russian military has claimed it involves some 1,000 troops and more than two dozen armored vehicles and tanks.
Since the start of the incursion on August 6, Ukrainian troops have seized control of about 600 square kilometers of territory and more than two dozen settlements, according to local officials, pro-war bloggers, and open-source intelligence reports.
In the fresh announcement on August 10, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the measures included possible eviction of residents, limits on transport, beefed-up security around sensitive sites and wire taps.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on August 10 acknowledged the offensive, referring in his evening address to reports from commander in chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy about actions "pushing the war into the aggressor's territory."
"Thank you to each of our units of the defense forces who make this possible. Ukraine proves that it really knows how to restore justice and guarantees exactly the kind of pressure that is needed: pressure on the aggressor," Zelenskiy said without explicitly referring to the situation in the Kursk.
Ukrainian soldiers appeared in a video late on August 9 showing a Ukrainian flag against the backdrop of a Gazprom facility in Sudzha, about 10 kilometers from the border. In the video, which was posted on Ukrainian media, one of the soldiers says that Sudzha and the Gazprom facility is controlled by Ukrainian forces.
"The news is as follows. The city is controlled by the armed forces of Ukraine. The strategic object of Gazprom in Sudzha is controlled by the 99th Mechanized Battalion," the fighters say in the video, which could not be immediately verified.
Sudzha Mayor Vitaly Slashchev denied the claim in a comment to TASS but said an evacuation of the city was under way.
A Ukrainian member of parliament who spoke with RFE/RL on August 9 said the Ukrainian military was "advancing and making an impression on the enemy" and inflicting damage on Russian forces in the Kursk region.
"And the most important thing is that they are advancing quite professionally," lawmaker Roman Kostenko said, adding that they had managed to surprise the enemy at a place where the Russian forces were the weakest.
Earlier on August 9 the Ukrainian military said it had hit the airfield in Russia's southern Lipetsk region overnight, damaging guided-bomb stockpiles.
"Several sources of ignition were recorded, a large fire broke out and multiple detonations were observed," Kyiv's military said on the Telegram messaging app.
It said Russian Su-34, Su-35 and MiG-31 aircraft were based at the airfield.
Satellite images made available to RFE/RL by Planet Labs show the consequences of Ukrainian strikes on the Lipetsk airfield. The unverified images show completely destroyed buildings and evidence of a large fire. Two craters -- possibly the result of missile or drone strikes -- are also visible.
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, has urged Ukraine and Russia to show restraint in the fighting in the Kursk region, the site of one of Russia's largest nuclear power stations.
"At this juncture, I would like to appeal to all sides to exercise maximum restraint in order to avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences," Grossi said in a statement.
Russia's diplomatic mission in Vienna, quoted by Russian news agencies, said it had told the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA) that fragments had been found at the station, possibly from downed missiles, but there was no evidence of any direct attack on the facility.
Elsewhere, unconfirmed reports spoke of a Russian column having been destroyed in the Kursk region with many casualties. Video circulating on social media showed what appeared to be many burned-out military transport vehicles on the side of a road in or near the town of Rylsk.
Two ethnic Armenians in Kursk who spoke with RFE/RL's Armenian Service by phone said the Russian authorities had banned large gatherings and mass events in the region through August 11.
"It can be said that we are at war now," said one of the men, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
He said Ukrainian troops had captured two towns that are 60 to 70 kilometers away from the city of Kursk in addition to the Gazprom facility.
Ukraine Raids Russian Forces On Occupied Sliver Of Land In Black Sea
Ukrainian special forces conducted an amphibious raid on the Russian-occupied Kinburn Spit in the Black Sea, killing about 30 Russian soldiers and destroying six armored vehicles, Ukraine's military intelligence said on August 9.
Russian forces have occupied the Kinburn Spit, which juts into the Black Sea northwest of Crimea, since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Moscow's military vantage point on the spit is seen as one of the reasons why Ukraine cannot reopen its ports of Mykolayiv and Kherson and export goods from them via its Black Sea shipping corridor.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
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"As a result of a raid on the Kinburn Spit occupied by the Russians, six units of enemy armored vehicles were destroyed and about three dozen invaders were eliminated," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said in a statement.
The HUR noted that during the operation Russian fortifications were attacked at the positions of the Kinburn fortress, sea terminal, and Suvorov monument. A military intelligence flag was installed in the area of the latter, the statement said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the raid was repelled, Interfax reported.
"Saboteurs numbering up to 16 militants on two high-speed boats, under the cover of two fire-support boats, attempted to land troops on the coast," the ministry said.
The group suffered its first losses near the shore when they were blown up by mines, the ministry said, adding that the rest were destroyed by small-arms fire.
The ministry said 12 Ukrainian troops were lost and both boats were destroyed by artillery fire and anti-tank guided missiles.
With reporting by Reuters
- By RFE/RL
Dual Russian-German Citizen Held In U.S. For Operating Alleged 'Tech-Trafficking Syndicate'
A dual Russian-German citizen has been ordered held without bail in New York City on charges that he conspired to smuggle U.S. microelectronics to military manufacturers in Russia to aid its war in Ukraine.
Arthur Petrov, 33, made a brief appearance in federal court on August 9, the U.S. Justice Department said in a news release. The department said the charges against him included export-control violations, smuggling, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Petrov's lawyer declined to comment on the numerous charges brought against his client, which collectively carry a potential penalty of over 150 years in prison, according to AP.
Petrov was arrested in Cyprus at the request of the United States and was extradited on August 8.
"Our charges allege that, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the defendant and his co-conspirators formed an elaborate tech-trafficking syndicate to supply microelectronics to Russia's military-industrial complex," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams added in the statement that Petrov concealed where he was sending the electronics and knew that shipping them violated U.S. export controls relating to Russia.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the extradition reflected the Justice Department's determination to cut Russia off from the Western technologies that fuel the Russian military.
Court documents quoted in the statement say Petrov worked for LLC Electrocom VPK, a Russia-based supplier of critical electronics components for manufacturers supplying weaponry and other equipment to the Russian military. Petrov and two co-conspirators, who are identified only as Russian nationals also working for Electrocom, operated an illicit procurement network in Russia and elsewhere overseas.
"They fraudulently procured from U.S. distributors large quantities of microelectronics subject to U.S. export controls on behalf of Electrocom," the Justice Department said.
They used shell companies and other deceptive means to conceal that the electronics components were destined for Russia, the department said. The technology they procured has significant military applications, including in Russian guided missiles, drones, and electronic-warfare and communications devices, it added.
Authorities said Petrov falsely claimed that he was purchasing the items for fire-security systems and other commercial uses for companies in Cyprus and countries other than Russia.
With reporting by AP
- By AP
Attack On Pakistani Army Posts Leaves 3 Soldiers, 4 Insurgents Dead
Militants attacked three army posts in northwest Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, triggering intense shoot-outs that killed three soldiers and four insurgents. The attacks happened on August 9 in the Tirah Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the military said in a statement. It said a search operation was under way in the area to eliminate any other insurgents and security forces were "determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism." The military gave no further details. The Gul Bahadur group, a breakaway faction of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attacks.
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Announces $125 Million In New Military Aid For Ukraine
The United States on August 9 announced $125 million in new military aid for Kyiv as Ukrainian forces push ahead with a surprise offensive inside Russian territory. The aid package underscores "our unwavering commitment to [Ukraine] as they continue to battle back against Russian aggression," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the aid would be drawn from stockpiles and "includes air-defense interceptors, munitions for rocket systems, artillery, multimission radars, and anti-tank weapons." He said the equipment "will help Ukraine protect its troops, its people and its cities from Russian attacks and reinforce its capabilities across the front lines."
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Winner Among Several Women Injured In Prison Protest Against Executions, Family Says
Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi and other women inmates in Tehran's Evin prison were injured earlier this week in clashes that erupted after a spate of executions, Mohammadi’s family says.
Mohammadi’s husband, Taghi Rahmani, said Mohammadi suffered breathing problems and severe chest pain after being punched in the chest and was transferred to the prison's clinic.
Rahmani, who spoke by phone to RFE/RL from Paris, said several women came under attack by guards during the clashes on August 6. Mohammadi was hit in her chest, and her arm was bruised, he said.
The injured women were later taken to the prison clinic for treatment and were returned to their ward.
Rahmani said the news agency of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps claimed the clash was a riot, but he said it should be made clear that it was a protest in which the women in Evin prison chanted in the prison yard against the death penalty.
He added that he and the rest of Mohammadi’s family were worried about her health especially because she was hit in the chest. Mohammadi had surgery for blocked arteries in 2022.
Rahmani added that Mohammadi, who is renowned as a staunch advocate for the Women, Life, Freedom movement, cannot contact her sister in Iran and she hasn’t been allowed to contact her children for 2 1/2 years. She also has had no contact with her lawyer.
"These restrictions make all of us worried about her situation in that ward where other women are also facing difficult conditions," Rahmani told RFE/RL.
Before Rahmani spoke with RFE/RL, Mohammadi's family issued a statement about the clash on August 8. It said several women who stood in front of the security forces were severely beaten.
It said the women in Evin prison had been actively protesting against executions in Iran, and following the execution of Reza Rasaei, several prisoners gathered in the prison yard to voice their dissent, chanting slogans against the death penalty.
One woman suffered a nervous breakdown and passed out and another prisoner also fainted from the emotional strain, the statement said, adding that Mohammadi and several other prisoners protested against the locked doors that were preventing the critically ill inmates from being taken to the prison clinic.
Iranian authorities acknowledged a confrontation took place on August 6 but blamed Mohammadi for a "provocation" and denied any of the prisoners had been beaten.
Two prisoners "had heart palpitations due to the stress," but medical examinations determined that their general condition "is favorable," Iran's prison administration said in a statement, according to the Tasnim news agency.
Mohammadi, 52, has been campaigning for human rights in Iran for decades and has been in and out of prison for the last 20 years. She has been convicted five times since March 2021 and is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for "spreading propaganda" against the Islamic republic.
The executions that took place this week drew outrage from rights groups. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said 29 people were executed at two prisons in the Tehran satellite city of Karaj on August 7 alone.
Rasaei, 34, was the 10th man executed by Iran in connection with the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests that erupted after the death of a woman in police custody. The Iranian judiciary said Rasaei was executed on August 6.
With reporting by AFP
- By RFE/RL
Astana Hosts 6th Consultative Meeting Of Central Asian Leaders
The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan convened in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on August 9 to hold the sixth consultative meeting of the leaders of Central Asian states, the Kazakh president's office said.
Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev greeted his counterparts and stressed that the regular meetings of the regional leaders indicate the Central Asian states' commitment to strengthen "centuries-long ties of friendship and further develop cooperation between the neighboring nations."
Toqaev said thanks to the five countries' joint efforts "enormous progress has been achieved" in developing the meetings since the first such gathering was held in 2018 in Astana.
"The results of the previous five meetings, at which important agreements were concluded, clearly demonstrate that," he said.
Toqaev also called on his colleagues to take into account global challenges when reaching mutual agreements on the Central Asian region's further development.
Presidents Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Serdar Berdymukhammedov of Turkmenistan, and Shavkat Mirziyoev of Uzbekistan arrived in Astana on August 8.
The presidents signed several documents, including a joint statement on the results and the Central Asia -- 2040 development concept, outlining the priorities for regional convergence, primarily aimed at expanding five-party interaction and strengthening Central Asia's international subjectivity.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Kakha Imnadze, head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, attended the meeting as guests.
Kazakh Businessman Convicted In Banker's Murder Case Gets Early Release
The Qonaev City Court in Kazakhstan's southeast said on August 9 that businessman Muratkhan Toqmadi, who was sentenced in 2018 to a lengthy prison term for his alleged involvement in the killing of a banker, has been granted early release.
Kazakh media reports quoted sources on August 9 as saying that Toqmadi was expected to be released on August 10 -- the day a court decision made in late July will come into force.
The announcement came almost 2 1/2 years after Toqmadi called on President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev to review his case after he retracted his testimony against Mukhtar Ablyazov, a fugitive outspoken critic of Kazakhstan's government and former banker.
In a letter made public in March 2022, Toqmadi said he confessed to the killing of Erzhan Tatishev on a hunting trip in 2004 and falsely testified in 2018 that he killed Tatishev at the behest of Ablyazov because he was tortured and faced psychological pressure imposed on him by the National Security Committee.
Tatishev at the time was the head of TuranAlem bank, which was later renamed BTA. After Tatishev's death, which was ruled an accident at the time, Ablyazov became the bank's chief. He has been living abroad since 2009.
It remains unclear if Toqmadi was granted an early release because he had served a significant part of his term and used his right to apply for early release or because his case was revised.
Toqmadi’s letter to Toqaev came after deadly unrest in January that resulted in the removal of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev and his clan from the political scene.
In February 2018, Toqmadi, who was initially sentenced in 2017 to three years in prison for extortion and illegal firearms possession, entered a guilty plea at the murder trial, which ended with him being sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison.
In November that year, Ablyazov was tried in absentia, convicted of murder based on Toqmadi's testimony, and sentenced to life in prison.
In a separate trial in absentia that ended in 2017, Ablyazov was convicted of embezzlement, abuse of office, and organizing a criminal group and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ablyazov has denied all the charges, saying they are politically motivated.
With reporting by KazTAG, Tengrinews, and Aq Zhaiyq
- By Reuters
U.S. Joins Britain, Other Countries In Issuing New Sanctions On Belarus On Anniversary Of 2020 Election
The United States and Britain unveiled new sanctions against Belarus on August 9 to mark the fourth anniversary of the country's disputed presidential election that returned authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka to power.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 19 people and 14 companies involved in supporting Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine by producing resources used by the military, shipping goods to Russia, evading sanctions, and generating revenue for Belarusian oligarchs in Lukashenka’s inner circle.
It also took aim at Lukashenka’s “luxury airliner,” a Boeing-767-300 owned by the Belarusian government that the Treasury Department said he uses “professionally and for his personal leisure.”
Paval Latushka, head of the People's Anti-Crisis Directorate, said the sanctions meant the plane is barred from maintenance by authorized Boeing service providers, and this will create problems if it tries to land at airports outside Belarus.
Bradley Smith, the Treasury Department’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement that the sanctions were in response to the regime's "blatantly corrupt, destabilizing, and anti-democratic acts -- along with its continued support for Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine."
The U.S. designations followed fresh sanctions announced earlier on August 9 by Britain against four individuals and three businesses "in response to human rights violations and ongoing facilitation of Russia's illegal invasion in Ukraine."
The Foreign Office noted that it issued the sanctions on the anniversary of "the deeply flawed 2020 presidential elections in Belarus." It also noted that the action was taken in coordination with international partners and took the total number of sanctions imposed by Britain against Belarus to more than 200.
All four people sanctioned by Britain are present or former commanding officers of Belarusian prisons. The businesses sanctioned are involved in the country's defense and military sector.
The European Union targeted Belarusian authorities involved in human rights abuses earlier this week, and Canada on August 9 also announced additional sanctions on the Lukashenka regime.
The U.S. Treasury Department said that since the 2020 election, Lukashenka’s actions “have eroded Belarusian civil society and enabled Lukashenka, his family, and his inner circle to enrich themselves at the expense of Belarus’s citizens and sovereignty.”
It said the regime continues to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by hosting Russian military bases and allowing Russian forces to use Belarus as a staging point for military operations, the department said.
Among the 14 entities designated by the U.S. is Laboratory of Additive Technologies, which the department said provides Russia with components for satellite communications systems and optical equipment.
Three other entities -- AlYurTekh, Diskoms, MOT, Grosver Grup, and Tochnaya Mekhanika -- were hit with sanctions for supporting what Washington said was a sanctions-evasion network supported by Peleng JSC, one of Russia’s most important industrial partners. Peleng was designated by for U.S. sanctions in December 2021.
Among the other entities are Aviakompania Rada and UE RubiStar, which the Treasury Department said are two private Belarusian cargo airline companies that have provided support to Russian defense activities, including transporting Wagner Group personnel to and from Africa.
The sanctions freeze any U.S.-based assets owned or controlled by the individuals and organizations. They also block financial transactions with those designated and prohibit the contribution of funds, goods, and services to them.
The U.S. State Department also took steps to impose visa restrictions on 19 regime officials and their affiliates for their involvement in undermining democracy in Belarus, the Treasury Department said.
Russian City Plans Military Parade To Mark Victory Over Japan In 1945
The acting governor of Russia's Far Eastern region of Khabarovsk, Dmitry Demeshin, said on August 9 that a military parade will be held next month in the region's capital, also called Khabarovsk, to mark the victory over Japan in 1945. It will be the first event of its kind to mark the date on September 3. Last year, Russia adopted a law on mentioning the victory over Japan at events related to the end of the World War II. The move came after Japan imposed sanctions on top Russian officials, their relatives, as well as on Russian banks and companies, over Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Death Toll In Ukraine Supermarket Strike Rises To 14 As Rescue Effort Suspended
The death toll from a Russian strike on a supermarket in Kostyantynivka, a town in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, has gone up to 14, the head of the regional military administration said, and that 43 people were injured.
Vadym Filashkin said it was believed there are three children among the dead and one of the injured is in serious condition.
He said earlier that a Kh-38 missile had been used in the strike.
"This is another targeted strike on a place of gathering of people, another act of terror by the Russians," Filashkin said on Telegram.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the strike amounted to a terrorist attack.
"Russian terrorists hit an ordinary supermarket and a post office. There are people under the rubble. A rescue operation is under way, and everything will be done to save them," Zelenskiy said on X.
A search-and-rescue operation had been temporarily stopped around dusk due to concerns about security, officials said.
Images from the scene showed black smoke rising over the smoldering remains of the supermarket.
Moscow's forces hold large areas of the Donetsk region. Ukrainian-held areas regularly come under Russian shelling and air strikes.
The region is one of the hottest areas of fighting as Russia targets places in the direction of the strategic eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Meanwhile, in Kherson, the Russian military attacked a civilian car with a drone, the press service of the regional military administration reported.
"Russian troops attacked a civilian car from a drone in the Dnipro district of Kherson. As a result of an enemy attack, a 29-year-old woman received an explosive injury and a shrapnel wound on her forearm," the press service said.
Earlier, local Ukrainian officials reported that six people had been killed in Russian attacks on four regions over the past 24 hours.
With reporting by Reuters
Russia Declares 'Federal-Level' Emergency In Kursk Amid Ukrainian Incursion
Russia declared what it described as a "federal-level" emergency on August 9 in the Kursk region, the site of a four-day incursion by Ukrainian forces. The announcement came hours after a Ukrainian military strike on an airfield there.
In response to the incursion, the Russian Defense Ministry said on August 9 that it was transferring extra forces to the region, including Grad multiple-launch rocket systems, artillery, and tanks, Interfax reported.
State-run media reported on troops and armor being redeployed to Kursk, including video of Russian military on the move, much of it reposted on social media.
The cross-border action in Russia's Kursk region has been described as the biggest attack on Russian soil since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his country's unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
WATCH: Scenes of destruction in Russia's Kursk region continue to be shared online following a surprise cross-border incursion. Residents of the region shared videos that appear to show dead Russian soldiers among destroyed military vehicles scattered along a local road.
Much remains unclear, including the number of Ukrainian soldiers taking part, although the Russian military has claimed it involves some 1,000 troops and more than two dozen armored vehicles and tanks.
Since the start of the incursion on August 6, Ukrainian troops have seized control of about 600 square kilometers of territory, and more than two dozen settlements, according to local officials, pro-war bloggers, and open-source intelligence reports.
Ukrainian officials have not officially confirmed the operation, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his evening address on August 8 that Russia needed to "feel" the consequences of its invasion.
"Russia brought the war to our land and should feel what it has done," Zelenskiy said, without directly referring to the offensive.
Ukrainian soldiers appeared in a video late on August 9 showing a Ukrainian flag against the backdrop of a Gazprom facility in Sudzha, a town just over the border in the Kursk region. In the video, which was posted on Ukrainian media, one of the soldiers says that Sudzha and the Gazprom facility is controlled by Ukrainian forces.
"The news is as follows. The city is controlled by the armed forces of Ukraine. The strategic object of Gazprom in Sudzha is controlled by the 99th Mechanized Battalion," the fighters say in the video, which could not be immediately verified.
Sudzha Mayor Vitaly Slashchev denied the claim in a comment to TASS but said an evacuation of the city was under way.
A Ukrainian member of parliament who spoke with RFE/RL on August 9 said the Ukrainian military was "advancing and making an impression on the enemy" and inflicting damage on Russian forces in the Kursk region.
"And the most important thing is that they are advancing quite professionally," lawmaker Roman Kostenko said, adding that they had managed to surprise the enemy at a place where the Russian forces were the weakest.
Earlier on August 9 the Ukrainian military said it had hit the airfield in Russia's southern Lipetsk region overnight, damaging guided-bomb stockpiles.
"Several sources of ignition were recorded, a large fire broke out and multiple detonations were observed," Kyiv's military said on the Telegram messaging app.
It said Russian Su-34, Su-35 and MiG-31 aircraft were based at the airfield.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
Russian media, including TASS, reported a fire at the military airfield in the Lipetsk region, which is west of the Kursk region, the site of the ongoing incursion. The reports gave no cause for the blaze.
Those reports came hours after regional Governor Igor Artamonov said on social media that Lipetsk had hit by a massive drone attack. He later added that a local power installation had been damaged and six people had been wounded.
Artamonov first urged residents to ignore calls on social media to evacuate, saying they were being “spread by the enemy in order to sow panic.” Hours later, he said a state of emergency had been declared in the Lipetsk district and that four outlying settlements of Lipetsk city had been ordered to evacuate.
Satellite images made available to RFE/RL by Planet Labs show the consequences of Ukrainian strikes on the Lipetsk airfield. The unverified images show completely destroyed buildings and evidence of a large fire. Two craters -- possibly the result of missile or drone strikes -- are also visible.
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, has urged Ukraine and Russia to show restraint in the fighting in the Kursk region, site of one of Russia's largest nuclear power stations.
"At this juncture, I would like to appeal to all sides to exercise maximum restraint in order to avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences," Grossi said in a statement.
Russia's diplomatic mission in Vienna, quoted by Russian news agencies, said it had told the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA) that fragments had been found at the station, possibly from downed missiles, but there was no evidence of any direct attack on the facility.
Elsewhere, unconfirmed reports spoke of a Russian column having been destroyed in the Kursk region with many casualties. Video circulating on social media showed what appeared to be many burned-out military transport vehicles on the side of a road in or near the town of Rylsk.
Two ethnic Armenians in Kursk who spoke with RFE/RL's Armenian Service by phone said the Russian authorities had banned large gatherings and mass events in the region through August 11.
"It can be said that we are at war now," said one of the men, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
He said Ukrainian troops had captured two towns that are 60 to 70 kilometers away from the city of Kursk in addition to the Gazprom facility.
"The main fighting now is around the towns of Sudzha, Lgov, and Korenevo. People have been evacuated from these areas. We are inside Kursk. And there is always a risk of missile attacks here. This is how we live."
He said that there had been no evacuation from the city of Kursk yet, but noted that air-raid alerts were frequent, entertainment venues were closed, and public transportation had been disrupted by missile and drone strikes.
"Warplanes, missiles are flying overhead. Air-raid alerts are issued every half-hour. But we are kind of used to it, given what has been going on for the past year or two. No one takes cover because every half-hour missiles or drones strike," he added.
Separately, the governor of the Russian-held city of Sevastopol on Ukraine's occupied Crimea Peninsula, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said on Telegram that Russian forces destroyed three drones and three drone boats near the city.
The Russian Defense Ministry said a total of 75 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over Russia overnight, according to the RIA Novosti news agency, most of them over the Belgorod and Lipetsk regions.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
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