The main coalition of reformists in Iran on June 8 said it would only participate in this month's presidential election if at least one of its candidates is approved to run, according to the reformist newspaper Etemad. "The Guardians Council cannot nominate a candidate for the reformist movement," the Fars news agency quoted Azar Mansuri, leader of the Reform Front, as saying. "We must have our own candidates." The June 28 presidential election seeks to replace ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a May 19 helicopter crash. The 80 hopefuls who submitted their candidacies will learn on June 13 whether they are approved by the Guardians Council, an unelected body dominated by conservatives that vets candidates for public office.

Iran’s Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence handed to Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, arrested over his alleged involvement in the 2019 antiestablishment protests.

Babak Paknia, Vafaei Sani’s lawyer, said on June 8 that the Supreme Court had struck down his client’s death sentence “for a second time.” He did not say when the first death sentence had been overturned.

Paknia said the case would now go to a lower court.

Vafaei Sani was arrested in 2020 and convicted of “corruption on Earth” for allegedly “intentionally damaging” government buildings during the protests. “Corruption on Earth” is the most serious charge under Iran’s Islamic penal code and is punishable by death.

Last July, dozens of human rights activists appealed to Volker Turk, the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights, to intervene and help stop Vafaei Sani’s execution.

The unrest in November 2019 was sparked by a sudden rise in fuel prices but quickly turned into nationwide protests against the Islamic republic.

The authorities clamped down on the protests and imposed a weeklong total shutdown of the Internet. According to Amnesty International, at least 321 people were killed by Iranian security forces during the protests.

Last month, Amnesty said Iran had carried out at least 853 executions in 2023 -- a 48 percent rise from the previous year.

Agnes Callamard, the rights group’s chief, said the spike in recorded executions worldwide was “primarily down to Iran,” where she said the ruling establishment sought "to instill fear in the population and tighten their grip on power."

“The Iranian authorities showed complete disregard for human life and ramped up executions for drug-related offenses, further highlighting the discriminatory impact of the death penalty on Iran's most marginalized and impoverished communities," she said.

Ukraine and Russia exchanged drone attacks overnight into June 8, with both sides shooting down the majority of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Ukrainian air defenses shot down nine out of 13 Russian drones in the early hours of June 8, Air Force commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk said in a statement.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses had intercepted 27 Ukrainian drones, including over North Ossetia, marking the first drone attack on the region since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine’s Air Force chief said air defenses downed nine Iranian-made Shahed-type UAVs over the central Poltava region, the southeastern Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk regions, and the Kharkiv region in the northeast.

An X-59 Russian missile launched from the Kursk region was also shot down, Oleschuk said.

Russian forces, meanwhile, said they shot down Ukrainian drones over Krasnodar, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Rostov, Tula, and North Ossetia. Drones were also intercepted over the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula, the ministry said.

North Ossetia’s governor, Sergei Menyailo, said a military airfield in Mozdok was the target.

No casualties were reported by the Russian authorities, but the downing of the drones caused some damage in several regions, including North Ossetia and Belgorod.

The AFP news agency and the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper quoted a military intelligence source in Kyiv as saying the "drone attack on the airfield in North Ossetia is a special operation of the GUR," referring to Ukraine's military intelligence service.

A day earlier, Vladimir Saldo, the head of Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, claimed 22 people were killed and 15 were injured in the town of Sadove in shelling by Ukrainian forces.

On June 8, Leonid Pasechnik, the Russia-installed governor in Ukraine’s partially occupied Luhansk region, that two more bodies had been pulled from the rubble following Ukrainian missile attacks on the regional capital on June 7, bringing the death toll in the region to five.

Ukraine has not commented on either attack.

On the diplomatic front, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden in Paris on June 8 for a state visit that is expected to focus on Ukraine, trade, NATO, and Gaza.

With reporting by AP

U.S. President Joe Biden, in Paris on June 8 to meet with French leader Emmanuel Macron, restated his “strong” support for Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion and warned that the Kremlin will not stop at Ukraine should it succeed with its aggression there.

Russian President Vladimir "Putin is not going to stop at Ukraine.... All of Europe will be threatened. We are not going to let that happen," Biden said, standing alongside Macron. "The United States is standing strong with Ukraine. We will not -- I say it again -- walk away."

Macron on June 8 hosted Biden in a state visit meant to highlight their strong partnership on global security issues.

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Macron told Biden in front of reporters: "I thank you, Mr. President, for being the president of the world's No. 1 power but doing it with the loyalty of a partner who likes and respects the Europeans."

Biden was received in Paris with pomp, and the two presidents laid wreaths at a monument honoring unknown fallen soldiers. They also met with World War II veterans.

The welcome ceremony kicked off at Paris’s landmark Arc de Triomphe. The presidents and first ladies then headed toward Elysee Palace in a parade procession, where they will have a working lunch.

Biden has been in France since June 5 and, along with Macron, attended the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6 in Normandy, before meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy the following day.

In his D-Day address on June 7, Biden sought to rally for the defense of democracy at home and abroad.

“As we gather here today, it’s not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery that day June 6, 1944,” Biden said. “It’s to listen to the echo of their voices. To hear them. Because they are summoning us. They’re asking us what will we do. They’re not asking us to scale these cliffs. They’re asking us to stay true to what America stands for.”

In Biden’s meeting with Zelenskiy -- their first since he signed legislation authorizing $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine -- the U.S. president announced a new $225 million package of ammunition shipments, including rockets, mortars, artillery rounds, and air-defense missiles.

Meanwhile, Macron told a joint news conference with Zelenskiy on June 7 that he was finalizing what he described as the “largest possible coalition” of military instructors for Ukraine.

Macron said Ukrainian pilots would start receiving training in the summer to use French-made Mirage 2000 fighter jets, which Paris has vowed to transfer to Kyiv.

Ukraine’s top commander said last week that he had signed paperwork allowing French military instructors to soon access Ukrainian training centers. Russia responded by saying they would be a “legitimate target” for Russian armed forces.

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Kyiv has been pushing Europe to increase military support in recent weeks after Russia began gaining ground on the battlefield, particularly in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region.

However, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a conference call on June 7 that because of a recent infusion of U.S. aid, the Ukrainians have been able to “thwart Russian advances,” particularly around Kharkiv.

Putin said earlier on June 7 in St. Petersburg that Russia is “ready for talks” with conditions, including taking into account the “realities of today” -- an apparent reference to Russia's illegal annexation of four regions in southeastern Ukraine and Crimea.

The Kremlin leader claimed, however, that Europe is “defenseless” due to a lack of an early warning system.

He said Russia has “many more” tactical nuclear weapons than there are on the European continent, “even if the United States brings theirs over.”

With reporting by AFP and the BBC

A dual U.S.-Russian citizen pleaded guilty in a Virginia court on June 7 to conspiracy to export firearm parts, components, and ammunition to Russia without the required authorization. Dimitry Timashev, 58, coordinated with an associate in Russia to send weapon parts from the United States to Russia starting in July 2020, the U.S. Justice Department said. In exchange, the associate paid tuition for Timashev’s daughter and rent for an apartment in Yekaterinburg, Russia, the department said. Timashev pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 8 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. To read the full news release from the U.S. Justice Department, click here.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants to finalize the creation of a coalition of military instructors for Ukraine and begin Kyiv's EU accession talks by the end of the month.

Speaking on June 7 at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Macron said several of France’s partners had already agreed to take part in the coalition of instructors.

"We will use the days to come to finalize the largest possible coalition to implement Ukraine's demand," Macron said.

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.

Ukraine’s top commander said last week he had signed paperwork allowing French military instructors to soon access Ukrainian training centers. Russia responded by saying they would be a “legitimate target” for Russian armed forces.

Kyiv has been pushing Europe to increase military support in recent weeks after Russia began gaining ground on the battlefield, particularly in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region.

However, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a conference call on June 7 that because of a recent infusion of U.S. aid, the Ukrainians have been able to “thwart Russian advances,” particularly around Kharkiv.

“The Russians really have kind of stalled out up there, basically," Kirby said. “Their advance on Kharkiv is all but over because they ran into the first line of defenses of the Ukrainian armed forces and basically stopped, if not pulled back some units.”

In his joint news conference with Zelenskiy, Macron also addressed EU accession talks, saying France “continues to support Ukraine in all areas, including on the European level by seeking to have the effective launch of membership negotiations by the end of the month.”

He added that France also wants an "irreversible path" to NATO membership for Ukraine.

Macron also said that France is on the side of peace but said it would not come through surrender.

“We are for peace, according to international law, which allows the people who are attacked to defend themselves," he said in response to questions about possible concessions by Russia and whether it is time to start negotiations with Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier on June 7 in St. Petersburg that Russia is “ready for talks” with conditions, including taking into account the “realities of today” -- an apparent reference to Russia's illegal annexation of four regions in southeastern Ukraine and Crimea.

Putin also again claimed that Ukraine’s leaders “have lost their legitimacy,” referring to the postponement of Ukrainian elections.

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• Reuters

President Joe Biden apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the monthslong delay in approving military aid as Zelenskiy continues to press Western leaders for more assistance during his visit to France.

“It seems like we are dealing with the usurpation of power," Putin said, speaking to business leaders at an economic forum.

Putin has previously questioned whether Zelenskiy has the legitimacy to negotiate on Ukraine's behalf because his five-year term in office was supposed to end on May 20.

An election was to have taken place on March 31 but was postponed because the country is still under martial law. Under the Ukrainian Constitution, Zelenskiy must continue to perform his duties until a new head of state is elected.

Zelenskiy responded to Putin during the joint news conference, saying his legitimacy is recognized and determined by the Ukrainian people, adding that Putin's legitimacy “is recognized only by comrade Putin."

Imprisoned Kazakh activist Aigerim Tileuzhanova has suffered a minor stroke, her lawyer said on June 7. Ainara Aidarkhanova said her client needs medical assistance in a regular clinic after suffering the "mini stroke," which is medically known as a transient ischemic attack. Tileuzhanova is currently being treated in a correctional facility. Earlier this year, Tileuzhanova held a hunger strike protesting her incarceration. Tileuzhanova was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2023 on a charge of "organizing mass unrest at Almaty airport" during unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022 that turned deadly. She pleaded not guilty. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

A court in Moscow has sent French citizen Laurent Vinatier to pretrial detention until at least August 5 on a charge of violating Russia's "foreign agent" law.

The Zamoskvorechye district court announced its decision on June 7, a day after the 48-year-old expert on Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, who works for a Geneva-based conflict mediation organization, was detained by Investigative Committee officers in a restaurant in the Russian capital.

The Investigative Committee said then that a French citizen was detained on suspicion of gathering information about the military and failing to register as a foreign agent.

The committee released a video showing a man with a blurred face being approached by masked officers in a Moscow restaurant and led to a police vehicle.

According to the Investigative Committee, the man had allegedly "collected data related to military and military-technical activities of the Russian Federation."

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed in a televised interview late on June 6 that Vinatier was detained in Russia, stressing that he had never worked for French government structures.

The French Embassy has yet to comment on the arrest.

The arrest of Vinatier came as Macron hosted ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy during World War II.

Earlier on June 6, French media reports said a 26-year-old native of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region with dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship was detained in France after a handmade explosive device detonated in his hotel room.

The man sustained burns and is currently being treated in a hospital. He is suspected of planning a terrorist attack in France that would have targeted military aid that Paris has been sending to Ukraine.

Relations between Russia and France have sunk to their the lowest point in history over Moscow’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service, TASS, Interfax, and Le Journal du Dimanche

The Supreme Court of Russia on June 7 banned what it called the Anti-Russia Separatist Movement, a group that does not appear to exist. The move was made at the Justice Ministry's request and comes about seven months after the Supreme Court banned another nonexistent group -- the International Public LGBT Movement. Also last year, the Prosecutor-General's Office designated two movements registered abroad as undesirable organizations -- the League of Free Nations and the Forum of Post-Russia's Free Peoples, which advocate self-determination for ethnic republics within the Russian Federation. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, recommended opening accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, saying they are sufficiently prepared for the formal opening of the process, which would eventually lead to their becoming members of the European Union.

The commission told EU ambassadors that both Kyiv and Chisinau have fully fulfilled the outstanding reform steps needed to start official talks.

"We consider that all the steps have been met by the two countries," a commission spokeswoman told reporters on June 7.

"Now the decision is in the hands of the member states."

In Ukraine's case, the reform steps included the fight against corruption, de-oligarchization, and the protection of national minorities, officials told RFE/RL.

Moldova meanwhile has fulfilled criteria on judicial reform, de-oligarchization, and the fight against corruption, the officials added.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal hailed the commission's move.

"Thank you for the positive assessment of our European integration progress. The announced conclusion of the EC states that Ukraine continues systematic efforts to join the EU and has completed all additional reform steps," Shmyhal said.

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Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine

He added that Kyiv is now waiting for the next step from its European partners -- the actual start of membership negotiations this month.

"The Ukrainian people are choosing every day the right to be part of the European family in the war against the Russian aggressor," he added.

Brussels appears to be encouraging the two countries to continue on their path to Europe ahead of a transition period in the bloc, which will acquire a new European Parliament in voting this weekend.

The 27-nation bloc will also have a new commission, and will be led from next month for the rest of 2024 by Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban is on friendly terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has systematically opposed or undermined the EU's moves to sanction Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine and Moldova submitted their candidacies shortly after the start of the invasion and obtained candidate status in June 2022, gaining the conditional green-light for the start of negotiations in December.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Rikard Jozwiak

BISHKEK -- Eleven former and current reporters for the Temirov Live investigative group in Kyrgyzstan have gone on trial in Bishkek on a charge of "calling for mass riots," which the journalists and rights groups have rejected as politically motivated.

Judge Kylychbek Istamkulov of the Lenin district court started the trial behind closed doors on June 7.

Four of the journalists on trial -- Makhabat Tajibek-kyzy, Azamat Ishenbekov, Aktilek Kaparov, and Aike Beishekeeva -- have been held in pretrial detention since January 16.

The other seven journalists were transferred to house arrest amid an outcry by domestic and international human rights groups over the case. The arrests were made after police searched the journalists’ homes and offices.

In April, the Kyrgyz Ombudsman's Institute said guards physically attacked Tajibek-kyzy and two of her cellmates in detention center No.1 in Bishkek.

Prosecutors said at the time that they had launched a preliminary investigation into Tajibek-kyzy's complaint.

Tajibek-kyzy is the wife of prominent investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, the founder of Temirov Live who was deported to Moscow in November 2022 after a court ruled that he illegally obtained Kyrgyz citizenship.

Temirov, who held Kyrgyz and Russian passports, rejected the accusation and insisted that the probe against him was launched after he published the results of an investigation suggesting corruption among top Kyrgyz officials.

Kyrgyz-based and international human rights groups have urged the former Soviet republic’s government to immediately release Temirov Live’s journalists and drop all charges against them.

Kyrgyzstan's free press and civil society have traditionally been the most vibrant in Central Asia, but that has changed amid a deepening government crackdown.

In early April, President Sadyr Japarov signed into law a controversial bill that allows authorities to register organizations as "foreign representatives," which critics say mirrors a repressive Russian law on "foreign agents" that Moscow uses to muzzle free press and NGOs.

Uzbek authorities labeled a Karakalpak group as extremist and banned it in February, the Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said citing Moscow-based human rights defender Vitaly Ponomaryov.

According to a statement from Ponomaryov, the Alga Qaraqalpaqstan (Forward Karakalpakstan) group was banned on February 22.

The group is an unregistered political party with thousands of members that promotes the independence of Karakalpakstan from Uzbekistan.

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.

The fact that the group was banned became known during the trial of Karakalpak activist Parahat Musapbarov, who was sentenced to 6 years in prison in late May on a number of charges, including taking part in the activities of the banned group.

Karakalpak activists have been under pressure in Uzbekistan since mass rallies in Karakalpakstan's capital, Nukus, in July 2022. Thousands of people protested Tashkent's plans to change the constitution in a way that would have undermined the republic's right to self-determination.

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The Kazakh-Uzbek 'Tandem': Good For Central Asia, Not So Good For Karakalpak Activists

The protests were violently dispersed. Uzbek authorities said at the time that 21 people died during the protests, but the Austrian-based Freedom for Eurasia human rights group said at least 70 people were killed during the unrest.

In January last year, an Uzbek court sentenced 22 Karakalpak activists to prison terms on charges that included undermining the constitutional order for taking part in the protests.

In March 2023, another 39 Karakalpak activists accused of taking part in the protests in Nukus were convicted, with 28 of them sentenced to prison terms of between 5 and 11 years. Eleven defendants were handed parole-like sentences.

The violence forced Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev to make a rare about-face and scrap the proposal to change the constitution.

The Iranian government has issued strict guidelines for media conduct in the run-up to Iran's presidential election, which was called after the recent death of former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

According to the newly published regulations, any content deemed to be aimed at discouraging voter turnout or promoting election boycotts, as well as organizing any form of unlicensed protest gatherings, strikes, or sit-ins, is now classified as "criminal."

The rules mimic previous mandates and carry severe punishments, including the potential for as many as 74 lashes, for those found in violation.

The initiative is part of the intense effort by the Iranian government to control the political narrative and suppress dissent amid historically low election enthusiasm due to the widespread disqualifications of candidates and aggressive suppression by authorities of any opposition.

Under Clause 74 of Iran’s presidential election law, all media outlets --including print, broadcast, and online platforms -- are prohibited from publishing anything deemed to be negative content about election candidates or suggesting that any group or individual withdraw from the race.

Violations can lead to severe repercussions, including the temporary shutdown of the offender's media operations and physical punishment for its managers and possibly the authors of such articles.

The guidelines also extend to social media, where the publication of any content deemed as insulting or slanderous against the regime, or that which stirs public discord or spreads false information, is forbidden.

The law specifies that no private complainant is required for the prosecution of these offenses, suggesting a proactive approach by the state in monitoring and regulating election-related discourse.

These developments occur amid a backdrop of increasing control over media and public opinion by the Iranian authorities, who have long used broad and vaguely defined charges to crack down on political activists and civil society.

The recent guidelines also underscore the government's intent to tighten its grip on all forms of expression and ensure a controlled electoral environment, sparking concerns among international observers about the state of freedom of speech and fair electoral practices in Iran.

In recent elections, the authorities severely limited the playing field by disqualifying most moderate and reformist candidates, which may have contributed to the low voter participation seen in recent balloting.

Rights groups have complained of an intensified clampdown on public expressions of discontent since Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several others died in the helicopter crash in a mountainous region of northwestern Iran in mid-May while returning from an official visit to Azerbaijan.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan have signed an agreement on a new railway project to connect the three nations that Chinese President Xi Jinping called "strategic" for his country and Central Asia. Officials from the three countries signed the agreement in Beijing on June 6. In a sign of the importance of the project, Xi, and his Kyrgyz and Uzbek counterparts, Sadyr Japarov and Shavkat Mirziyoev, took part in the signing ceremony via video link. They stressed the project’s importance for the China-initiated Belt and Road initiative, which aims to connect Chinese markets with Europe. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.

The head of Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine's southern Kherson region said 22 people were killed and 15 were injured in the town of Sadove in shelling by Ukrainian forces.

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The claim by Vladimir Saldo, which could not be independently verified, came after the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces had fired five missiles and dozens of drones over nine regions of Ukraine in an overnight attack. All the missiles and nearly all the drones were shot down, the Ukrainian military said on June 7.

Saldo said a shop packed with customers and employees was hit in Sadove, a town south of the city of Kherson. Residents of nearby houses ran to help the injured and within a short time a missile fired from a high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) supplied by the United States struck, TASS quoted Saldo as saying. Two children were among the dead, according to Saldo.

He said Ukrainian forces had "deliberately made a repeat strike to create greater numbers of casualties.”

The same so-called “double tap” tactic has been used by Russian forces against Ukraine, including in April in Kharkiv, killing three rescue workers who responded to the first attack.

The Russian Defense Ministry on June 7 also accused Ukrainian forces of firing five missiles from a U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, at the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, which is under Russian control. The ministry said 20 people were wounded, including children. This claim also could not be independently verified.

Russian media reports citing Russian-installed officials said earlier that 22 people, including an 8-year-old child, were injured, while an unknown number of people were trapped under the rubble of a building.

Leonid Pasechnik, the top Russian-installed figure in Luhansk, said late on June 7 that the number of casualties had risen to 57, and four of the wounded had died.

Pasechnik said 33 buildings had been damaged, including two schools, three kindergartens, and the Luhansk College of Information Technologies and Entrepreneurship.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement that four of five missiles fired had been shot down. The missile that got through damaged two residential apartment blocks, the statement said, adding that there were still people under the rubble of a five-story building.

There has been no comment from Ukraine on the claims made by the Russian side. Its military said earlier that its forces shot down all five missiles and 48 out of 53 drones over nine regions during Russia’s overnight attack.

Drones and missiles were destroyed over the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kirovohrad, Mykolayiv, Kherson, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskiy, Air Force Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk said in a statment.

In the Kyiv region, the attack caused a fire at an industrial facility, regional Governor Ruslan Kravchenko said, adding that there had been no casualties.

Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov said the attack on the city of Kharkiv caused damage to at least three residential buildings, a store, a post office, and local infrastructure.

With reporting by Reuters

A court in Russia’s Far Eastern region of Primorye has sentenced a Jehovah's Witness to 6 years and 2 months in prison amid a continued crackdown on the religious group. The press service for the region's courts said on June 7 that a court in the town of Luchegorsk sentenced the believer, whose identity was not disclosed, on a charge of organizing an extremist group. Russia banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017 and designated the religion an extremist organization. Rights watchdogs and Western governments have condemned Russia's crackdown on religious minorities. To read the original story from RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

Russia's Investigative Committee said on June 7 that two people have been detained over the collision of two trams that killed one person and injured more than 140 others in the Siberian city of Kemerovo. One of the detained, Pavel Maltsev, is a former deputy mayor of the city and current director of the Kemerovo Electric Transportation Company. The second suspect is a company technician. The two are accused of allowing a disabled tram to operate. On June 6, a video circulated on the Internet showing a tram moving at an extremely high speed, its doors falling off and several people falling out onto a highway. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

U.S. President Joe Biden drew on the heroism of U.S. soldiers who scaled the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc in the D-Day invasion 80 years ago to rally for the defense of democracy at home and abroad and "stay true to what America stands for."

Biden spoke on June 7 at a monument honoring the U.S. Army Rangers who scaled the cliffs using ropes, ladders, and their bare hands while under fire after coming ashore in the invasion that began on June 6, 1944, and ultimately freed Europe from Nazi Germany's subjugation in World War II.

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“As we gather here today, it’s not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery that day June 6, 1944,” Biden said. “It’s to listen to the echo of their voices. To hear them. Because they are summoning us. They’re asking us what will we do. They’re not asking us to scale these cliffs. They’re asking us to stay true to what America stands for.”

Earlier on June 7, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Paris, where he stressed the U.S. commitment to Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion. He also announced a new $225 million package of ammunition shipments, including rockets, mortars, artillery rounds, and air-defense missiles.

It was their first meeting since Biden signed legislation authorizing $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine after months of delay prompted by Republican infighting. Biden publicly apologized to the Ukrainian people for the delay in American military assistance.

“I apologize for...those weeks of not knowing what’s going to happen in terms of funding,” Biden said, but insisted that the American people were standing by Ukraine for the long haul.

"I assure you the United States is going to stand with you," Biden said. "You are the bulwark against the aggression that’s taken place. We have an obligation to be there. We’re still in. Completely. Thoroughly.”

Zelenskiy said he and Biden discussed Ukraine's defense capabilities, the situation on the battlefield, and preparations for signing a bilateral security agreement. He said Ukraine must gain the ability to strike military targets on Russian territory to effectively defend itself.

"It is also important to strengthen the defense of our Kharkiv region and speed up the delivery of American weapons," he said on Telegram.

The White House said Zelenskiy and Biden discussed the state of the war, Ukraine's urgent need for aid, and the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland.

Zelenskiy, speaking earlier to the French parliament, said the peace Europe has enjoyed since the end of World War II has been erased by the aggression of Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, and is a threat to the entire continent.

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"We live in times when Europe again stopped being a continent of peace," Zelenskiy said. "We live in times when Nazism is returning again, unfortunately. Now in Europe again cities are being destroyed and villages are being burned to ashes. In Europe again we have filtration camps, deportations, and hatred that became a new cult in Russia."

Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor any other officials from Russia were invited to the commemoration.

While Biden and other Western leaders were in France, Putin spoke at an economic forum in St. Petersburg, telling business leaders that Russia “remains one of the key participants in world trade” despite sweeping sanctions imposed for sending its troops into Ukraine.

Putin said that he did not see that conditions for the use of nuclear weapons as set out in Russia's nuclear doctrine had been met, but he added that he could not rule out a change to the doctrine.

"We have a nuclear doctrine, which states that the use of nuclear arms is possible in an exceptional case: when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country is threatened," he said. "But the doctrine can be changed. The same applies to nuclear tests. We will carry out tests if needed, but so far there is no such need."

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President Joe Biden apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the monthslong delay in approving military aid as Zelenskiy continues to press Western leaders for more assistance during his visit to France.

He reiterated that Russia is ready for peace talks but only on the same conditions discussed first in Minsk and then in Istanbul. But he said the basis for any talks "must take into account the realities of today."

He also again warned that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

Following pleas from Ukraine to allow its forces to defend itself against attacks originating from Russian territory, and after pressure from some European leaders, Biden last week reversed Washington's position and gave Ukraine the go-ahead to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Germany, where Zelenskiy is scheduled to address lawmakers next week, announced a similar change in policy shortly afterward.

Ahead of Biden's meeting with Zelenskiy, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated NATO's position that Ukraine has the right to strike inside Russia in self-defense.

"This is a war of attack that Russia has begun against a peaceful, democratic neighboring country, Ukraine, that at no point has been a threat to Russia," Stoltenberg said after a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm on June 7.

"There is no question that Ukraine has the right to hit targets on Russian territory," Stoltenberg said.

Three members of a family were convicted in Belarus for participating in protests following an August 2020 presidential election that saw authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka handed victory despite opposition claims the vote was rigged.

Brothers Paval and Uladzimer Dzhezhora and Alena Nyadbalskaya were sentenced on May 17 to three years of what is known as "chemistry," under which a person is required to work at an assigned job in "open-type" correctional facilities, the rights group Vyasna said on June 7 when the news was made public.

The Crisis In Belarus

Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.

Separately, Vyasna said on June 7 that Hrazhyna Hetka, an independent election observer from 2020, was detained for a second time this year. No details were given.

The cases are emblematic of the fundamental changes that have been under way in Belarus since Lukashenka claimed a landslide victory and a sixth term in an August 2020 election that millions of Belarusians say he stole.

The harsh crackdown against pro-democracy protesters that began on election day has been institutionalized into a regime of constant intimidation and fear.

Vyasna has documented some 55,000 cases of repression since the start of the presidential election campaign in 2020. At least 4,500 people have received criminal convictions, and Vyasna has designated about 1,500 of them as political prisoners.

In January 2023, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe estimated that between 200,000 and 500,000 Belarusians have fled the country of 9.5 million since the election.

Lukashenka's regime appears to be reaching outside the country as well.

Belarusian rights defender Andrey Stryzhak wrote on Facebook on June 6 that an opposition activist, whose identity was not disclosed, said they have been stripped of their Belarusian citizenship for criticizing the government.

Stryzhak, the head of the Belarus Solidarity Foundation (BYSPOL), a group that aids victims of repression in Belarus, said it is the first case of citizenship being revoked since the beginning of the 2020 protests that he knows of.

He did not give the name of the person, but he told the Novaya Gazeta.Evropa newspaper that the activist is currently in “a safe place.”

The person, he said, received their Belarusian citizenship after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and that authorities had used technicalities to revoke it.

RFE/RL has not verified Stryzhak's account of the person losing their citizenship.

Belarus recently adopted a law allowing for the annulment of the citizenship of those convicted of extremist charges or residing abroad.

The announcement of the contested results of the August 2020 election sparked more than three months of nationwide pro-democracy protests, with hundreds of thousands of people demanding Lukashenka's resignation and a new election.

Many contended that opposition candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya was the actual winner.

The government responded with an often brutal crackdown. Several people were killed and by September 1, 2020, the United Nations had recorded 450 cases of "torture and ill-treatment," as well as reports of "sexual abuse and rape with rubber batons," as at least 6,700 people were detained.

Russia launched 50 drones and five cruise missiles on nine Ukrainian regions on June 7, but the large attack was almost completely repelled by Ukraine's air defenses, air force commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk said in a statement. "Forty-eight attack drones and five Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles were shot down in the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kirovohrad, Mykolayiv, Kherson, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskiy regions," Oleshchuk said. In the Kyiv region, the attack caused a fire at an industrial facility, regional Governor Ruslan Kravchenko said, adding that there had been no casualties. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

The United States has imposed visa restrictions against dozens of Georgian officials over the adoption of a "foreign agent law," which sparked weeks of mass protests and criticism that it mirrors similar repressive legislation used by the Kremlin to stifle dissent and derails Georgia's Euro-Atlantic path.

The move, announced by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on June 6, comes following the promulgation of the bill by Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on June 3 after lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party had overridden a veto of the legislation by President Salome Zurabishvili.

Hundreds of people have been arrested during weeks of protests against the piece of legislation. Some of the protesters who were detained during demonstrations, which were met with tear gas, water cannons, and allegedly rubber bullets that injured opponents and journalists, could face years in prison on criminal charges.

"This first tranche of visa restrictions comprises members of the Georgian Dream party, members of parliament, law enforcement, and private citizens," Miller told journalists.

"This includes individuals responsible for or complicit in, and immediate family members of those responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia, such as by undermining freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, violently attacking peaceful protesters, intimidating civil society representatives, and deliberately spreading disinformation at the direction of the Georgian government," Miller said.

SEE ALSO:

Opponents Of Georgia's 'Foreign Agent' Law Accuse Government Of Targeting Them In Campaign Of Intimidation

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken first warned that sanctions would be imposed after the lawmakers' initial approval of the bill last month, and announced a review of all U.S. assistance to Georgia.

Washington, which has been one of the main backers of Georgia's integration into Western institutions, gave Tbilisi $390 million in aid over the past several years.

“These actions risk derailing Georgia's European future and run counter to the Georgian Constitution and the wishes of its people,” said Miller, without identifying those targeted, due to visa confidentiality laws.

He said “a few dozen” people were sanctioned for their role in the pushing the law and the crackdown on protesters.

"It remains our hope that Georgia's leaders will reconsider their actions and take steps to move forward with their nation's long-stated democratic and Euro-Atlantic aspirations," Miller told reporters. "But if they do not, the United States is prepared to take additional actions."

Opposition lawmaker Levan Khabeishvili, the head of the leading opposition United National Movement (UNM) party, hailed the U.S. move and said the adoption of the law will also be followed by economic repercussions.

“Lawmakers who voted for the 'Russian Law' and police officers who dispersed peaceful demonstrators came under sanctions, and this is just the beginning. What kind of investor will enter or stay in such a country?! Under [Georgian Dream founder Bidzina] Ivanishvili, economic collapse is inevitable! The destructiveness of Ivanishvili’s team is hitting the pockets of Georgian citizens. Thank you to the United States of America for supporting the Georgian people!”

Politician and entrepreneur Mamuka Khazaradze, the leader of Lelo for Georgia, a centrist political party, said that, by sanctioning the "treacherous" Georgian Dream politicians, the United States was backing the Georgians' Western aspirations.

SEE ALSO:

The Next Front In The Battle Over Georgia's 'Foreign Agent' Law 

“America has once again reaffirmed its unwavering support for the Georgian people," Khakaradze wrote on social media, urging his compatriots to use their vote at upcoming parliamentary elections in October to bring in change.

"The United States of America has taken action. The first wave of sanctions against the treacherous government is approaching. However, we must remember that the more the [Georgian] Dream government moves away from democracy and closer to Russia, the more it will damage the country and our international interests. This is not allowed! This is a betrayal of the future! So now it’s our turn again -- we need to put in even more effort to finally secure the victory in October!”

In a first government reaction to the sanctions, Culture Minister Thea Tsulukiani called Washington's move a "mistake" and called for it to rescind it.

“We can say with confidence that this is another mistake that, unfortunately for them and for us, the United States is making in relations with its strategic partner...the U.S. desperately needs to reset this relationship,” Tsulukiani said.

Papuashvili said on June 3 that the Justice Ministry will work out the tools for the implementation of the law in 60 days after which all NGOs and media groups that receive financial support from abroad will be obliged to register and report their finances for 2023.

French President Emmanuel Macron says France will provide Ukraine with Mirage combat aircraft to help the country defend against Russia's aggression. Macron told France's public broadcaster on June 6 that a new cooperation with Ukraine to be announced on June 7 will include the sale of the French-made Mirage 2005, which will "allow Ukraine to protect its soil, its airspace" against Russian attacks. France will also start training Ukrainian pilots, Macron said. His comments came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy joined world leaders in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

The United States is urging China to attend a planned summit on Ukraine this month in Switzerland, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told reporters on June 6. The spokesperson said China has attended previous summits and "their presence was helpful. We think their presence would be helpful here." Beijing, which has close ties with Moscow, has so far said it will stay away from the June 15-16 summit, saying the attendance of both sides is a prerequisite for any substantive peace conference. Russia has not been invited. Kyiv says more than 100 countries have accepted its invitation to the summit, which Moscow has said will be meaningless without Russia.

The family of Hossein Shanbehzadeh said they do not know where the Iranian literary editor and activist is after security officers arrested him for unknown reasons in the northwestern city of Ardabil.

The case highlights the tightening grip on freedom of expression in Iran by hard-line Islamists.

Shanbehzadeh’s detention on June 4 followed a viral response to a tweet by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in which the activist simply posted a period. The reply garnered more attention than Khamenei’s original tweet, which featured a photo with the Iranian national volleyball team.

In a statement released on June 6, Shanbehzadeh’s family said they were concerned for his well-being amid the severe accusations being leveled against him.

“Our primary concern is for Hossein's health, as we are unaware of the arresting authority and his place of detention," the family said while criticizing Iranian authorities for denying him basic legal rights, such as access to a lawyer and family contact.

The family’s statement came after the prosecutor of Ardabil reported the arrest of a "fugitive and a suspect sought by the Intelligence Ministry" whom it labeled as an "Israeli spy."

While the prosecutor did not directly name Shanbehzadeh, the Tasnim News Agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), identified him as the detainee.

Shanbehzadeh, known for his sharp criticism of the Iranian regime, has been a well-known activist in the digital realm. Operating under a pseudonym on social media platform X, he has been a vocal advocate for free expression. He has also edited influential literary works, including Naguib Mahfouz's Heritage And Life With Him.

In 2019, Shanbehzadeh faced imprisonment for "insulting the sanctities and the leader of the Islamic republic" due to his critical comments about Iran’s leadership on social media.

A Russian nuclear-powered submarine will visit Havana next week, Cuba's communist authorities said on June 6. The nuclear submarine Kazan, which will not be carrying nuclear weapons, and three other Russian naval vessels -- the missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov, an oil tanker, and a salvage tug -- will dock in the Cuban capital from June 12-17, Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces Ministry said. The unusual deployment of the powerful Russian submarine so close to the United States comes amid major tensions over the war in Ukraine. During the Cold War, the deployment of Soviet nuclear missile sites on the island triggered the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.