NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said Ukraine should be allowed to use Western-supplied weapons in strikes against targets inside Russia. In an interview with The Economist published on May 24, the NATO head called on members to “consider whether they should lift” their current restrictions, saying they make it “very hard” for Ukraine to defend itself.

Israel continued bombing in the Gaza Strip, including the city of Rafah, on May 25, one day after a top UN court ordered it to halt military operations against the southern city.

Israel gave no indication that the ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had affected its planning.

“Israel has not and will not carry out military operations in the Rafah area that ‘create living conditions that could cause the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population, in whole or in part,’” Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in a statement, echoing wording found in the ICJ ruling.

Early on May 25, hours after the court ruling, Israel carried out strikes on the Gaza Strip as fighting between Israeli troops and fighters for Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, continued.

Air strikes were reported in Rafah and the central city of Deir al-Balah.

In its May 24 ruling, the ICJ said Israel must “immediately halt” its offensive against Rafah and take urgent measures to address the humanitarian crisis in the entire region. Measures should include reopening the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to allow aid to flow into Gaza.

The order is part of a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide and asking the court to rule that Israel must stop its offensive in the southern Gaza city.

In a ruling on January 26, the 15-judge panel ruled that Israel must do everything to prevent genocide during its offensive in response to an attack in October by Hamas -- which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU -- but stopped short of ordering a cease-fire.
On March 28, it ordered Israel to take all necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies to Gaza’s Palestinian population.

Though the court's rulings are legally binding, it has no way to enforce them.
Still, the 13-2 vote ordering Israel to halt its Rafah offensive, and to report on its progress in easing the humanitarian crisis within one month, increases pressure on Israel and further isolates it.

The ruling stepped up pressure against Israel just days after Norway, Ireland, and Spain announced they would recognize a Palestinian state and after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he would seek arrest warrants on war crimes charges for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and several top Hamas leaders.

Israel and Hamas have been fighting since October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters launched a massive cross-border attack on Israel. Some 1,200 Israeli citizens were killed in the attack, while another 240 were taken hostage, some of whom are still being held by Hamas in Gaza.

(with reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters)

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Moldova and the Czech Republic next week in a show of support for the two countries and to participate in a gathering of NATO foreign ministers.

Blinken will arrive on May 29 in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau, where he will meet with President Maia Sandu, Prime Minister Dorin Recean, as well as other senior officials.

He will travel to Prague later that evening for meetings with senior Czech officials before taking part in an informal NATO ministerial meeting on the evening of May 30, James O'Brien, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told reporters.

In Chisinau, Blinken will announce a "package of support" that includes assistance for Moldova's transition away from dependence on Russian energy, O'Brien said.

He'll participate in an informal meeting of foreign ministers in preparation for the NATO summit in July and will "have an opportunity to highlight Moldova's progress in its path toward European integration, its solidifying its democracy, and the threat posed by the Russian interference in its internal processes."

In Prague, Blinken will meet with a number of senior officials and highlight the Czech Republic's support for Ukraine, including its efforts to provide much-needed munitions.

During the NATO ministerial meeting, the foreign ministers will focus on Ukraine and prepare for the annual NATO summit, which will be held in Washington in July.

O'Brien said the United States does not anticipate the ministers will announce an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO at the conclusion of their meeting but said there will be "a substantial show of support" for the country.

"This will include ongoing NATO support in building Ukraine’s future force and efforts to help Ukraine as it makes the reforms needed so that it’s able to join the EU and run across the bridge to NATO as quickly as it's able," he said without giving specifics.

Blinken, who visited Kyiv last week, is pushing the Biden administration to end a ban that forbids Ukraine from striking inside Russia with U.S. weapons, according to The New York Times.

"Ukraine uses its own weapons very effectively in attacking targets in Russia, but I’m not going to comment...further than that," he said.

Several NATO members, including the Baltic states, support the idea.

The former chairman of the Chechen parliament, Magomed Daudov, a close associate of Ramzan Kadyrov, has been appointed head of Chechnya's government. Kadyrov said on Telegram on May 24 that he introduced Daudov as the new prime minister during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers. He said that "taking into account the experience and professionalism" of Daudov, "the deputies will support his candidacy." Kadyrov added that Daudov would take the post according to the "procedure provided for by law" but at the same time congratulated him on his new position. Daudov's resignation as chairman of parliament was announced on May 15. He had headed the parliament since 2015. To read the original story by RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, click here.

The United States on May 24 announced an additional $275 million in military aid for Ukraine that Secretary of State Antony Blinken said was part of the United States' efforts to help repel Russia's assault near Kharkiv. Blinken announced the aid in a statement, saying the United States "will move this new assistance as quickly as possible so the Ukrainian military can use it to defend their territory and protect the Ukrainian people." The package includes High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), artillery rounds, anti-tank systems, anti-tank mines, tactical vehicles, small arms, and ammunition for those weapons, Blinken said.

TBILISI -- Opponents of Georgia's controversial "foreign agent" bill marched in Tbilisi on March 24, expressing their opposition to the legislation and the Interior Ministry’s handling of earlier protests that turned violent.

Thousands of participants took part in the march, which started at Freedom Square and headed to the building of the Interior Ministry.

They unfurled a large banner with the words "Serve Georgia" and carried Georgian, EU, and U.S. flags.

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Earlier demonstrations against the legislation ended in clashes, with riot police using water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets against protesters, but there was no indication of any clashes during the march on May 24.

The demonstration took place as Georgia's parliament announced that the procedure to override a presidential veto of the "foreign agent" bill would begin on May 27.

The legislature had been widely expected to announce that it would move to override President Salome Zurabishvili's veto of the legislation, which targets media and NGOs that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.

The ruling Georgian Dream has a majority in parliament sufficient to override Zurabishvili's veto and is expected to do so in a vote during the plenary session scheduled to take place on May 28.

Georgian Dream has insisted that it remains committed to joining Western institutions and the law was only meant to increase transparency on NGO funding.

Zurabishvili vetoed the bill on May 18 following weeks of mass protests by Georgians who see the legislation as a way for the government to stifle civil society and believe it endangers the country's path toward EU integration.

The legislation -- formally called the Law On Transparency Of Foreign Influence -- is also seen as mirroring a similar repressive measure introduced by the Kremlin in Russia.

European Council President Charles Michel said on May 19 that Zurabishvili's veto "offers a moment for further reflection" on the legislation and called on Georgia’s politicians and leaders "to make good use of this window of opportunity and ensure Georgia stays on the European course the population supports."

SEE ALSO:

Georgian PM Says Threatened By EU Commissioner, Who Says His Comments Taken Out Of Context

The United States has also criticized the law and said it would implement visa restrictions on Georgian government officials and undertake a comprehensive review of bilateral relations with Georgia.

SEE ALSO:

U.S. To Review Relations With Georgia, Slaps Visa Bans On Officials Over 'Foreign Agent' Law

The top U.S. diplomat for Europe, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien, told reporters on May 24 in a conference call that Georgia must play by the rules if it expects to gain membership in the European Union.

“If you say you want to join a football match, you don't get to say that our side will play with 15 people and you will play with seven or we will play with an extra ball,” he said.

"You play by the rules of the club you are trying to join, and the point is that the actions being taken [by Georgia] are incompatible with the both the pursuit of membership and actually getting to membership."

Georgia was given EU candidate status on December 14 but has yet to start the accession negotiations, which can last for years.

Lithuania said on May 24 that the Baltic state and five other NATO members neighboring Russia had agreed to build a "drone wall" to defend their borders from "provocations." The plan to use unmanned aerial vehicles for protection was agreed because of security concerns in the region amid Russia's war in Ukraine. Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite announced the plan after talks with her counterparts from fellow Baltic states Estonia and Latvia, as well as Finland, Norway, and Poland. "This is a completely new thing -- a drone wall stretching from Norway to Poland, and the goal is to use drones and other technologies to protect our borders," she told the BNS news agency.

President Vladimir Putin said on May 24 that Russia is willing to hold talks about the war in Ukraine, but questioned whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has the legitimacy to negotiate on Ukraine's behalf.

Putin, who spoke in Minsk after meeting with authoritarian Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka, said that Zelenskiy's five-year term in office was supposed to end on May 20.

"Of course, we are aware that the legitimacy of the current head of state has ended," Putin said at a joint news conference with Lukashenka. "We must be completely sure that we are dealing with legitimate authorities."

Zelenskiy was inauguraged for a five-year term on May 20, 2019. An election was to have taken place on March 31 of this year 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.

Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and would have to amend the law in order to hold elections during a state of war.

When the question of Zelenskiy's legitimacy was raised earlier this week, an EU spokesman said that the European Union had no doubt about Zelenskiy's status as leader of Ukraine, and the spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Zelenskiy "remains...the person with whom the secretary-general communicates when he needs to contact the Ukrainian leader."

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.

In his comments at the joint news conference, Putin, who was reelected to a fifth term in March in an election that the United States and other Western countries did not consider free and fair, failed to acknowledge the limitations on Ukraine holding an election while the country is regularly under Russian attack.

Putin reiterated that Russia "is for negotiations on Ukraine," but said it would be possible to return to talks "only based on today's realities in the special operations zone."

Zelenskiy has rejected Moscow's preconditions, including allowing Russia to retain the territory its forces have taken thus far in the war.

An international peace conference on Ukraine is to be held in Switzerland in June to discuss Zelenskiy's peace plan, but Russia has not been not invited. Putin has dismissed the conference's importance.

A U.S. diplomat, asked on May 24 about potential routes for peace in Ukraine, said Ukraine's allies don't view Putin as interested in peace right now.

"He has chosen a path of war, and it’s important that Ukraine have the opportunity to stabilize on the battlefield," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien said in a call with reporters.

"We are always interested in seeing that when Ukraine is prepared to make peace that it’s able to do so on terms that are a success for Ukraine."

Russia and Belarus, meanwhile, have increased their ties and continue to foresee eventually forming a so-called union state.

Lukashenka and Putin held one-on-one talks before the news conference for about 45 minutes.

Putin said that he and Lukashenka discussed "issues of formation of a unified defense space," noting that a "joint regional grouping of troops, Russian defense complexes, and tactical nuclear weapons are deployed on Belarusian territory."

He said Russia regularly conducted exercises of nuclear forces and "now they are conducted with Belarusian allies."

SEE ALSO:

Lukashenka Says Dozens Of Russian Nukes Deployed in Belarus

Lukashenka has given Moscow permission to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons and troops to in Belarus, which shares a border more than 1,000 kilometera long with Ukraine.

Lukashenka said there was nothing special about the joint training, which he said was necessary because the because the world is “unstable” and “dangerous.”

"Despite everything, Minsk and Moscow maintain the course of strengthening integration. We support each other and will support each other in all directions," he said.

Putin arrived in Minsk on a two-day visit on the evening of May 23. It is his second foreign visit since his inauguration on May 7. His first visit to a foreign country after his inauguration was to China.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Russia recalled its ambassador to Armenia for consultations on May 24 amid a continuing deterioration of relations between the two longtime allies.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that Ambassador Sergei Kopyrkin was "summoned to Moscow for consultations" but gave no reason for the move.

The Armenian government did not immediately react to the decision, which came two days after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian claimed that two member states of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) helped Azerbaijan prepare for the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

It is believed that Pashinian was referring to Russia and Belarus.

Zakharova on May 23 challenged Pashinian to name the countries.

She also said that Russia repeatedly tried to stop the 2020 war, pointing to Pashinian's rejection in October 2020 of a cease-fire agreement brokered by Moscow and accepted by Azerbaijan. Armenia suffered more territorial losses before Pashinian agreed to another Russian-brokered truce two weeks later.

Russian-Armenian relations have worsened significantly since then, with Yerevan seeking closer ties with the West and accusing Moscow of not honoring its security commitments to Armenia.

SEE ALSO:

Armenia Stops Financial Contributions To Russian-Led Military Alliance

Pashinian has repeatedly threatened to pull his country out of the CSTO, prompting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to charge that Pashinian’s administration was "leading things to the collapse of Russian-Armenian relations" at the behest of the West.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pashinian discussed the rift when they met on May 8 after a Eurasian Economic Union summit in Moscow.

A Moscow court on May 24 rejected investigators' recommendation to transfer jailed Russian Major General Ivan Popov from pretrial detention to house arrest. The 49-year-old Popov, the former commander of Russia's 58th Army who once complained about his forces' lack of support from Moscow, was arrested recently on fraud charges. He is one of several top military officials and Defense Ministry officials who have been arrested on corruption charges before and after President Vladimir Putin dismissed close ally Sergei Shoigu as defense minister and appointed former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov to the post. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Prosecutors with Romania's anti-organized crime agency on May 24 announced the arrest of a Romanian man suspected of spying for Moscow since 2022.

The Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said the suspect had been monitoring Romanian or NATO military objectives near Tulcea, a town near the border with Ukraine.

The DIICOT did not identify the suspect, but the Bucharest court that isued the arrest warrant identified him as Dorin Alexandru Piscan of Ploiesti. RFE/RL confirmed the suspect's name with a source in the prosecutor's office.

He is suspected of "collecting military information and taking photographs of military combat equipment and the movement of personnel in the border area with Ukraine" and then passing the information to a diplomat at the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, DIICOT said.

Prosecutors with DIICOT searched the home of the suspect, where they collected several pieces of evidence, including images he allegedly took at military bases.

According to DIICOT, Piscan started his activity in 2022, the year that Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Piscan was accused of treason and confined to pretrial detention for 30 days. RFE/RL was unable to reach his lawyer for comment.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry subsequently said that a diplomat at the Russian Embassy had been declared persona non grata for activities in breach of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

The ministry did not identify the diplomat but said it had summoned the Russian charge d'affaires to provide notice about the decision.

The Russian Embassy in Bucharest said in a statement sent to RFE/RL that Romanian authorities had notified the embassy that the diplomat had been accused of "activities incompatible with diplomatic status."

The embassy rejected the accusations and said it "strictly follows" the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

It said the Russian side "reserves the right to take retaliatory measures."

The embassy's statement also indicated that the move was "aimed a further deterioration of bilateral relations between our countries" and that it "can only cause regret."

KHARKIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has challenged Central Asian leaders to put aside concerns of angering Russia, which considers the region part of its sphere of influence, and attend a summit in Switzerland next month aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine.

Speaking to Central Asian journalists during a visit on May 24 to Kharkiv, just a few kilometers away from raging front-line battles with Russian troops, Zelenskiy said fear of Moscow's wrath should not deter Central Asian leaders from attending the June 15-16 summit.

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"I think they are mostly choosing the Russian side because of the fear of the Kremlin," Zelenskiy said, adding that he had invited all the Central Asian presidents to the summit in Switzerland and "wants to see them at the summit."

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.

"We are now on the most difficult path of fight for our independence.... I advise you to start moving on that path now so that not to fight for it as painfully as Ukrainians are doing it now.... If you were in our position, how would you feel about the countries that did not join [the peace process]? " he added.

The aim of the summit is to create a broad front to oblige Russia to agree to a peace settlement under the terms of the UN Charter.

Zelenskiy's peace plan calls for the withdrawal of all Russian forces and the restoration of Ukraine's 1991 borders. Russia, which rejects the plan, has not been invited to the summit and has dismissed any discussion of the conflict without its participation as pointless.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, all Central Asian leaders, excluding officials from Turkmenistan, have expressed a neutral stance to the ongoing invasion, calling on both sides to resolve "the conflict" via peaceful means.

Zelenskiy also told the Central Asian reporters at the meeting in Kharkiv that not even countries that are rich in mineral resources and energy supplies need to avoid being dependent on other countries.

The Kharkiv region has been a point of intense fighting in recent weeks, with Russia saying it is trying to establish a "buffer zone" to prevent Ukrainian cross-border attacks.

A day before Zelenskiy arrived in Kharkiv, at least eight people were killed in a wave of Russian strikes that he called "extremely brutal."

The United Nation's highest court has ruled that due to the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel must "immediately halt" its military offensive in the city of Rafah and take urgent steps to address the humanitarian crisis in the region.

Reading out a ruling by the International Court of Justice on May 24, the body's president, Nawaf Salam, said measures should include the reopening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to allow aid to flow into Gaza.

Israel must "immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part," Salam said.

The order is part of a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide and asking the court to rule that Israel must stop its offensive in the southern Gaza city.

In a ruling on January 26, the 15-judge panel ruled that Israel must do everything to prevent genocide during its offensive in response to an attack in October by Hamas -- which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU -- but stopped short of ordering a cease-fire.

WATCH: The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for Israel and Hamas leaders for war crimes. How likely is it to happen? What happens next? And what does it mean for the conflict in Gaza?

On March 28, it ordered Israel to take all necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies to Gaza’s Palestinian population.

Though the court's rulings are legally binding, it has no way to enforce them.

Still, the 13-2 vote ordering Israel to halt its Rafah offensive, and to report on its progress in easing the humanitarian crisis within one month, increases pressure on Israel and further isolates it.

Israel had denied the accusation it is committing genocide in Gaza in the hostilities, touched off by an attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 that killed some 1,200 people -- mainly civilians -- and saw around 240 more taken hostage.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the campaign, the majority of whom were women and children.

A proposal by the leaders of Republika Srpska to separate the Serbian entity from Bosnia-Herzegovina is "secession by another name" and "based upon a set of lies" that would mean the end of the entity, the U.S. envoy to Sarajevo has warned.

"Yesterday, Mr. Dodik (Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik) announced that the Republika Srpska government took a formal decision to propose Republika Srpska's 'disassociation' from Bosnia-Herzegovina," Murphy said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, on May 24.

SEE ALSO:

UN Approves Srebrenica Genocide Resolution, As Some Serbs Remain Defiant

"This is...secession by another name, and it is dangerous, irresponsible, anti-Dayton, and puts the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and multiethnic character of Bosnia at risk.... Republika Srpska can only exist inside Bosnia-Herzegovina. [It's] secession or 'disassociation' does not mean Republika Srpska's independence or the end of Bosnia-Herzegovina, it means the end of the Republika Srpska," Murphy wrote.

The government of Republika Srpska on May 23 announced that a document about what it called the "peaceful separation" from Bosnia would be sent to the other Bosnian entity -- the Bosniak-Croat federation -- in the next 30 days.

The announcement made by Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic came at a special government meeting chaired by Dodik and called ahead of the UN General Assembly's approval of a nonbinding resolution to commemorate the 1995 Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia over strong opposition from Serbs.

Russia-friendly Dodik, who has been sanctioned by the United States and Britain over his efforts to undermine the Dayton peace accords, has regularly reiterated his denial of the Srebrenica genocide.

He has repeatedly threatened that if the resolution is adopted, the entity "will withdraw from the decision-making process in Bosnia."

The vote on May 23 in the 193-member UN General Assembly was 84-19, with 68 abstentions, in favor of the resolution designating July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.

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The document, which has sparked protests and a lobbying campaign by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the Bosnian Serb leadership to block its adoption, establishes an annual day of commemoration for the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica at the height of the Bosnian War.

The war that pitched ethnic Serbs against Bosnian Muslims and Croats ended with the Dayton peace accords that established a Bosnian state made up of two entities -- Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat federation -- under a weak central government.

Murphy said Dodik and his government have "tried to justify this decision based upon a set of lies and disinformation designed to frighten the Republika Srpska public into following them down this dangerous path."

"The facts are simple and straightforward. There is no international conspiracy to abolish the Republika Srpska, and Mr. Dodik cannot point to a single statement by an American official calling for the abolition of the Republika Srpska," he said.

"As the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Bosnian Constitution explicitly state, Bosnia-Herzegovina is the successor state of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its constitution does not provide entities or any other sub-state unit with the right of secession or 'disassociation,'" Murphy added.

A Kazakh woman, Qalima Zhaparova, shouted "Glory to Ukraine!" in a courtroom on May 24 after a judge in Kazakhstan's southern city of Shymkent found her guilty of inciting ethnic hatred and handed her a two-year parole-like sentence. The 63-year-old was arrested in November after an ethnic Russian woman filed a complaint accusing Zhaparova of insulting her and her ethnicity while on public transport. Zhaparova rejected the accusation, saying she was reacting to the woman's viewpoint regarding the war in Ukraine when she openly condemned Russia's full-scale invasion. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

Activists in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan said on May 24 that police had detained Rafik Karimullin, the leader of the Azatliq (Liberty) youth organization, and the former leader of the banned All-Tatar Public Center (TIU), Zinnur Agliullin, after searching their homes. The two organizations are known for promoting the Tatar language and culture. The TIU was banned and labeled as extremist in 2022. Also on May 24, police in Tatarstan searched the homes of several other activists and relatives of self-exiled opposition politicians, Azatliq said. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, click here.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- A court in Kazakhstan on May 23 rejected a request for the early release of opposition activist Qairat Qylyshev, who was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2021 on extremism-related charges that he and his supporters have rejected.

Qairat Qylyshev's lawyer, Zhanar Balghabaeva, said on May 24 that she will appeal the decision by the Qapshaghai city court.

According to Balghabaeva, her client, who has seven months and six days remaining on his sentence, does not pose a danger to society and deserves an early release.

Qylyshev and three other opposition activists were sentenced to five years in prison after a court found them guilty of having links with the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement and the Koshe (Street) party.

During their trial, the defendants claimed they only participated in peaceful protests and exercised their constitutionally protected rights.

Many activists across the Central Asian nation have been handed lengthy prison terms or parole-like restricted freedom sentences in recent years for their involvement in the activities of DVK and Koshe and for taking part in the rallies organized by the two groups.

DVK is led by Mukhtar Ablyazov, the fugitive former head of Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank and an outspoken critic of the Kazakh government. Kazakh authorities labeled DVK extremist and banned the group in March 2018.

In spring 2022, Qylyshev was released on parole, but last year he was rearrested for what police called a "parole violation" and sent to a correctional colony again.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the Kazakh government for using anti-extremism laws as a tool to persecute critics and civic activists. In all, several hundred people have been prosecuted for membership in the Koshe party.

The Kazakh authorities have shrugged off the accusations, insisting that there are no political prisoners in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.

Russian Charge d'Affaires in Estonia Lenar Salimullin was summoned to the Estonian Foreign Ministry on May 24 over an incident a day earlier on the Narva River that divides the two nations. Estonian officials said the Russian border service “unilaterally removed light buoys installed by Estonia to demarcate the border with Russia on the Narva River.” Estonia's Foreign Ministry called the situation a “provocative border incident” that “fits well into a broader pattern of provocative behavior by Russia, including on its borders with its neighbors.” To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Ukraine's General Prosecutor's Office says 547 children have been confirmed killed and 1,348 wounded to various degrees of severity since the start of Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion. A 4-year-old girl who died on May 23 after being seriously wounded by Russian shelling in Odesa on April 29 is the latest confirmed victim, the office said on Telegram. On May 13, UNICEF, the UN children's fund, said at least 1,993 children in Ukraine have been killed or injured since the start of the invasion. UNICEF said the figure is of documented casualties, but the true number is likely much higher. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

Azerbaijan assumed control over four villages near the Armenian border on May 24 as part of a new agreement between the two nations on the delimitation and demarcation of the border. The villages of Baganis Ayrim, Asagi Askipara, Xeyrimli, and Qizilhacili were taken under control as part of Azerbaijan's Qazax district. Baku and Yerevan called the move a step toward the normalization of relations between the two South Caucasus nations. The deal on returning the villages to Baku's control was reached in April, with both sides calling it a landmark decision toward a peace agreement. However, the deal has been met with massive opposition rallies in Armenia, with protesters calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's resignation. To read the original stories by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani and Armenian services, click here and here.

Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-appointed head of Ukraine's occupied Crimea, says two people were killed on May 24 in a Ukrainian missile strike on the peninsula. "As a result of a missile attack by the enemy in the Simferopol region, two bystanders were killed," Aksyonov wrote, adding that a business facility was also hit in the city of Alushta, in the southeastern part of Crimea. Ukrainian Telegram channel Crimean Bridge published a video purportedly showing explosions near Alushta, while the Atesh channel said a Russian military communications center was hit near Alushta. The claims could not be independently verified immediately. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

The United States has announced visa restrictions on Georgian government officials and a comprehensive review of bilateral relations with Tbilisi over a "foreign agent" law recently pushed forward by the ruling Georgian Dream party despite weeks of mass protests.

The legislation -- formally called the Law On Transparency Of Foreign Influence -- is seen as mirroring a similar repressive measure introduced by the Kremlin in Russia, endangering the country's path toward EU integration and bring it closer to Moscow.

It has been condemned by the United States and the European Union, which has said it is "incompatible" with Georgia's long-standing bid for membership.

"The Department of State is implementing a new visa restriction policy for Georgia that will apply to individuals who are responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia, as well as their family members," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

He added that the restrictions would also apply to those responsible for "suppressing civil society and freedom of peaceful assembly in Georgia through a campaign of violence or intimidation."

Georgia's ruling party responded to the announcement by saying the visa restrictions would be "nothing but a gross attempt to restrict Georgia's independence and sovereignty."

The reaction from Georgian Dream also accused the United States of pursuring a policy of "threats and blackmail" and "anti-Georgian rhetoric," adding that "no blackmail whatsoever can force us to go against our country."

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Georgian PM Says Threatened By EU Commissioner, Who Says His Comments Taken Out Of Context

Critics have said the legislation was introduced by Georgian Dream, founded by Russian-friendly Georgian tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, in order to cement the party's grip on power ahead of elections later this year seen as crucial for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic path.

"Anyone who undermines democratic processes or institutions in Georgia -- including in the lead-up to, during, and following Georgia’s October 2024 elections -- may be found ineligible for U.S. visas under this policy and precluded from travel to the United States. Immediate family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions," Blinken said.

The statement did not mention by name any individual who could be sanctioned under the new restrictions.

Washington has been a steady supporter of Georgia's Western integration, and Blinken said he was launching "a comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation between the United States and Georgia."

"U.S. support for Georgia’s democracy is longstanding and foundational to our bilateral relationship," Blinken said, warning that the United States will continue to monitor the Georgian government's moves.

"As we review the relationship between our two countries, we will take into account Georgia's actions in deciding our own," he said, adding, "It remains our hope that Georgia's leaders will reconsider the draft law and take steps to move forward with their nation’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic aspirations."

Under the measure that prompted weeks of protests violently repressed by authorities, media and NGOs will have to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.

Georgia was given EU candidate status on December 14, but has yet to start the accession negotiations, which can last for years. Georgians have also been given the green light for visa-free travel in the Schengen zone.

Georgian Dream has insisted that it remains committed to joining Western institutions and the law was only meant to increase transparency on NGO funding.

President Salome Zurabishvili, who has been at odds with the government, on May 18 vetoed the law but the Georgian Dream-controlled parliament has enough votes to override her veto.

Mohammad Movahedi Kermani, 93, has been elected the head of Iran's Assembly of Experts, marking a continuation of traditional conservative leadership in a key institution responsible for selecting the nation's supreme leader.

The decision came during the Assembly's first session of its sixth term and follows the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials in a helicopter crash last weekend.

The Assembly of Experts is a clerical body with significant power within the Islamic republic’s constitution.

Comprising 88 members, all of whom are male Islamic scholars, the Assembly not only elects the supreme leader but also theoretically oversees and could dismiss him, although this power has never been exercised.

Members are elected to eight-year terms from a list approved by the Guardian Council, ensuring that all candidates align closely with the conservative religious and political establishment.

Movahedi Kermani won the leadership with 55 votes out of 83 present members. His election underlines the notable age gap between the assembly's members and the general population, a point of frequent criticism by reformist opponents who argue there is a disconnect between Iran’s leadership and the issues that contemporary society are concerned about.

In addition to Movahedi Kermani’s election, Hashem Hosseini Bushehri and Alireza Arafi were elected as first and second vice-presidents, respectively.

The leadership election comes at a critical time for Iran.

With Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, 85, facing questions about his health and the future direction of the country, the role of the Assembly of Experts is poised to take a more prominent role.

Speculation has been rife about potential successors for Khamenei, with some expecting that the assembly might soon need to undertake its constitutional duty to appoint a new leader.

According to a Reuters report dated May 20, the assembly recently had removed Raisi, who died in a May 19 helicopter crash in northwestern Iran, from the list of potential successors to Ali Khamenei six months prior.

The report quoted two sources familiar with the matter as saying the Assembly of Experts had taken Raisi off the list about six months ago “because of his sagging popularity, reflecting economic hardship caused by U.S. sanctions and mismanagement."

However, the sources also indicated that there had since been significant lobbying by influential clerics and Raisi's supporters to get him back on the list.

For years, there also has been ongoing speculation regarding the potential selection of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the future leader of the Islamic republic.

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

Iran’s judiciary has sentenced Mashallah Karami, the father of executed protester Mohammad Mehdi Karami, to six years in prison on charges of endangering national security and "propaganda against the regime."

The human rights groups HRANA and Hengaw reported the verdict, which was handed down by the Karaj Revolutionary Court.

His lawyer, Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani, said Karami has yet to receive the court's decision officially.

Additionally, he rejected accusations of fraud against his client on social media platforms, noting that related charges of money laundering and acquiring illicit wealth are still under review with no verdicts rendered so far.

Mohammad Mehdi Karami was one of nine individuals executed by the Islamic republic in relation to the protests of 2022, which saw widespread unrest over governmental policies.

His execution in January 2023, which was tied to the alleged murder of a Basij militia member during the nationwide upheaval, drew international condemnation and highlighted the Iranian government's strict crackdown on dissent.

The sentence handed to Mashallah Karami also appears to be part of a pressure campaign on families of executed protesters.

Mashallah Karami has been a vocal figure in the protest movement, often seen at his son's grave in acts of remembrance that have symbolized the broader struggle for justice in Iran.

The government has been accused of stepping up the pressure on the victims' families through collective arrests and the summoning of grieving families by security agencies with the aim of keeping them from commemorating the lives of their loved ones, which the government fears will trigger further unrest.

Karami's arrest and subsequent sentencing also underline the risks faced by those who continue to oppose the regime.

Many Iranians took to the streets in 2022 to protest against declining living standards and a lack of freedoms.

The unrest grew after the death of Mahsa Amini in September of that year. The 22-year-old died under mysterious circumstances while she was in police custody for an alleged head-scarf violation.

The clampdown has resulted in the deaths of approximately 600 demonstrators, as reported by human rights groups, and thousands of arrests.

The Iranian judiciary has also executed several protesters, further inflaming public outcry against the regime's harsh tactics.

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

Amirhossein Maghsoudloo, a popular Iranian rapper known by his stage name Tataloo, has been sentenced to prison, his lawyer and Iranian judiciary media reported, although specific details about the length of his sentence remain undisclosed.

Tataloo's attorney, Elham Rahimifar, informed the semiofficial ISNA news agency that the rapper faces both short and long-term imprisonment based on a recent verdict, which is still subject to appeal.

The charges and the details of the conviction have not been disclosed by the judiciary media or his lawyer.

The proceedings against Tataloo were overseen by Judge Iman Afshari and took place over three sessions.

According to the Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with Iran's judiciary, the rapper was sentenced to three years in jail in relation to an older case of "insulting the sacred," a charge that can encompass a range of perceived offenses, from blasphemy to disrespecting Iran's Islamic values.

Mizan also noted that no private individuals have filed complaints against Tataloo in this particular case, although the agency had earlier claimed that there were "multiple complaints" against him, including from minors and their families.

Tataloo's trial began in March on charges of promoting "obscenity," publishing "propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran," and disseminating "obscene content."

In a statement last month, the case investigator mentioned Tataloo's expression of "regret," stating that the rapper had written a repentance letter while also expressing his desire to marry, start a family, and pursue music in a more accepted manner.

The rapper, known for blending rap, pop, and R&B, and for his distinctive tattoos, has been a polarizing figure in Iran.

He previously released a song in support of Iran's nuclear rights, which coincided with the breakdown of a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

Tataloo, 36, had been living in Istanbul since 2018 but was extradited to Iran by Turkish authorities in December 2024. He has been detained in Iran since his extradition.

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