A single-engine Cessna 172 airplane crashed in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan on July 10, killing three of the four people on board. Media reports quoted witnesses as saying the aircraft fell from the sky near the town of Kamskoye Ustye and started burning on impact. Witnesses said they managed to rescue one person from the wreckage. Rescue teams continue to work at the site. Local authorities have launched a probe into "violations of safety requirements for pilots that led to death." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.

Kurdish activist Ecevit Piroglu, who has been detained in Serbia since June 2021 on a Turkish Interpol warrant, was released July 9 from a foreigner detention center in Belgrade, his lawyer Milan Vukovic told RFE/RL. Turkey accuses Piroglu of terrorism and weapons possession, but his defense and human rights groups say the charges are politically motivated. A Belgrade court ordered his extradition to Turkey three times, but the rulings were overturned by an appeals court each time. Piroglu, whose health has been harmed by two hunger strikes and is in a wheelchair, has 30 days to leave Serbia, Vukovic said. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.

Some 23,500 Ukrainian men have entered Moldova illegally since the start of Russia's unprovoked invasion in February 2022, according to data seen by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service.

While some 15,000 men aged 18-59 arrived illegally in Moldova from February 2022 until the end of last year, the trend accelerated substantially after Ukrainian authorities in April lowered the mobilization age from 27 to 25 years amid an increasingly acute shortage of military personnel caused by battlefield losses.

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.

Moldovan frontier police data show that more than 7,700 Ukrainian men crossed illegally into Moldova in the first five months of this year.

Moldova and Ukraine share a 1,222-kilometer-long border and Chisinau, under pro-Western President Maia Sandu, has offered shelter to thousands of Ukrainian refugees, mostly women and children, but also men, on its territory.

Ukrainian authorities have admitted that the high number of losses and the frontline impasse have dampened the patriotic enthusiasm of the first months of the war, which saw the Ukrainian Army grow from 260,000 people to 700,000.

Mobilization efforts are running into obstacles, as many able-bodied men go into hiding to avoid increasingly frequent checkups on the streets and on the public transport of Ukraine's cities.

Moldovan legislation provides for four types of protection for foreigners: refugee status, humanitarian protection, political asylum, and temporary protection, introduced in March last year.

In the first 14 months since the introduction of the temporary protection status, official data shows, nearly 12,800 Ukrainians have benefited from it.

Moldovan Frontier Police chief Ruslan Galusca, in a reply to RFE/RL, said that Ukrainians who are detained immediately after illegally crossing the border with Moldova or who officially ask for international protection at a police precinct "are not sanctioned for illegal entry."

In February, Moldova's western neighbor, EU member Romania, which shares a 600-kilometer-long border with Ukraine, reported that some 9,000 Ukrainians crossed its border illegally in the first two years of war.

Many of the Ukrainians crossing illegally into Moldova do so with the intention of continuing their journey to European Union countries. Neither Moldova nor Ukraine is a member of the bloc, although both of them have started accession negotiations with Brussels.

Moldovan police, increasingly concerned by the proliferation of human trafficking networks, have been making efforts to debrief the runaways about who helped them cross the border.

Vasyl, a Ukrainian man who arrived in Moldova in April and is heading to Poland, told RFE/RL that he paid $10,000 to traffickers who brought him across the Dniester River into Moldova aboard a speedboat.

"I am not fleeing because I do not love Ukraine. I am fleeing from death. It hurts to see people dying in my country, and I do not want to be next," he said.

Russian authorities have launched a probe against the chief of the International Anti-Corruption Foundation, Maria Pevchikh, who resides out of Russia, on a charge of failure to fulfill the duties of a "foreign agent." Information about the case appeared on the Moscow City Court's website on July 10. Pevchikh was added to the "foreign agent" registry in May. The punishment for violating "foreign agent" duties is a fine. In January, a Moscow court issued an arrest warrant for Pevchikh on charges of distributing false information about Russia's military, organizing an extremist group, and vandalism. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

The Bishkek City Court on July 10 rejected an appeal filed by the leader of the United Kyrgyzstan opposition party, Adakhan Madumarov, against his conviction on charges he calls "ungrounded." In late March, the Birinchi May district court in Bishkek found Madumarov guilty of financial fraud and of ignoring Kyrgyzstan's interests while signing a Kyrgyz-Tajik border deal in 2009 when he led the country's Security Council. The court did not sentence Madumarov due to the statute of limitations. Madumarov was released on April 26 after the court's decision took force. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, click here.

The UN's high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, has commended Pakistan for suspending its forced deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants and called for increased efforts toward long-term solutions for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said.

Grandi expressed appreciation that the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan had been suspended and sought assurances that it would "remain on hold," the UNHCR said in a statement on July 9.

Islamabad suspended the deportation of Afghan refugees following talks between Grandi and top Pakistani officials during the former's three-day visit to Pakistan.

Grandi met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, and Minister for States and Frontier Regions Amir Muqam, along with senior officials from the ministries of the interior and foreign affairs.

The commissioner called for a permanent solution to the problem of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the statement said, adding that he also called for "the timely extension of the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards."

PoR cards are a crucial identity document for the more than 1.3 million legal Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

The number of undocumented Afghans who sought refuge in neighboring Pakistan rose steeply following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in August 2022 following the departure of the U.S.-led international forces.

There is no accurate figure for the total number of Afghans in Pakistan, but UN estimates put the number in October last year at nearly 3.7 million. Pakistani authorities, however, put the number at 4.4 million.

Last year, Pakistan's interim government decided to deport 1.7 million undocumented Afghan refugees from the country and send them back to Afghanistan.

Since the decision in November last year, an estimated 500,000 Afghan refugees have been returned to Afghanistan.

“We need to seize this opportunity to accelerate solutions and have a bigger, broader vision for the Afghan people in Pakistan,” Grandi was quoted as saying in the statement.

A group of female Iranian prisoners has warned of a possible wave of executions, pointing to the recent "shameless and disgraceful" death sentence handed down to labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi.

The group of 16 women said in a letter that prior to last week's presidential election, authorities had slowed down the pace of executions "to the maximum extent possible before the electoral show."

"However, it will now accelerate the issuance and execution of death sentences and will suppress the families of the victims more than before," the letter, which demands the canceling of Mohammadi's punishment, added.

Earlier this month, the Revolutionary Court in the northern city of Rasht said Mohammadi had been convicted on charges of "armed rebellion against the state" and included as evidence her membership in an independent labor organization.

She was also accused of being a member of the banned Komala Kurdish separatist party, which her family denied.

"[The authorities] want to suppress the voice of protest and demands...of women who are louder now than before in the arena of justice," the letter says.

Mohammadi’s cousin, Vida Mohammadi, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that her niece was tortured in prison following her arrest on December 5 and that she had spent several months in solitary confinement.*

Vida Mohammadi said Sharifeh Mohammadi was not affiliated with any political organization inside or outside the country.

The Hengaw rights watchdog has said Mohammadi "endured mental and physical torture at the hands of Iranian Intelligence interrogators...who sought to extract a forced confession from her."

The U.S.-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, which focuses on Iranian issues, said the death sentence was linked to "her involvement with an independent labor union."

"This extreme ruling highlights the harsh crackdown on dissent within Iran, particularly against labor activists amid economic turmoil," it said.

Major protests erupted in Gilan Province and throughout the country in 2022 following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish-Iranian woman who had been detained for allegedly flouting Iran's strict dress code for women.

More than 500 protesters were killed nationwide and thousands arrested during months of unrest.

Domestic and international rights activists have accused Tehran of using the death penalty to intimidate protesters and others following the mass demonstrations.

*CORRECTION: A previous version of this story identified Vida Mohammadi as Sharifeh Mohammadi's aunt. She is a cousin.

WASHINGTON -- NATO leaders gathered in Washington for a landmark summit are set to look into ways to bolster support for Ukraine in its war against Russia's aggression as U.S. President Joe Biden strongly reaffirmed the 32-member alliance's "full support" for Kyiv.

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.

NATO leaders on July 10 are to discuss a proposal by outgoing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to provide Ukraine with 40 billion euros ($43 billion) in military aid for next year, after member states couldn't agree on a multiyear military aid package for Ukraine that Stoltenberg had proposed.

In an opening address to the summit on July 9 marking NATO's 75th anniversary, Biden said Russia is seeking "nothing less" than to "wipe Ukraine off the map," but he forcefully insisted that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not prevail and announced that Washington and its allies will provide Ukraine with further weapons, including additional air-defense systems.

"Ukraine can and will stop Putin, especially with our full collective support. They have our full support," Biden said as he announced Western donations of additional Patriot missiles systems and interceptors to Ukraine.

The United States and partners intend to provide Ukraine with dozens of additional tactical air-defense systems in the coming months, Biden said. Ukraine will also receive hundreds of NASAMS interceptors over the next year, he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late on July 9 that U.S. leaders must be "strong" and "uncompromising" in helping to defend his country's democracy against Putin's aggression.

"Strong decisions are needed and we are waiting for them,” Zelenskiy said during a discussion he headlined at the Reagan Institute in Washington.

White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan also said on July 9 that the alliance will announce in the coming days a new NATO military command in Germany, led by a three-star general, to coordinate the training and equipping of Ukrainian troops. It will also station a senior NATO representative in Kyiv.

The summit takes place against the backdrop of U.S. political uncertainty and Russia's intensification of its bombing of Ukraine.

Embed share

Biden Says NATO Is 'Stronger Than Ever' As Alliance Marks 75th Anniversary

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:36 0:00

Outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking just before Biden, said that should Russia be victorious in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it would embolden Iran, China, and North Korea and shape the global-security environment for decades to come.

"There are no risk-free options with an aggressive Russia as a neighbor," Stoltenberg said. "There are no risk-free options in a war. And remember, the biggest cost and the greatest risk will be if Russia wins in Ukraine. We cannot let that happen."

The summit also comes after one of the worst Russian air attacks on the country since the Kremlin launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The barrage of missiles fired across Ukraine on July 8 struck several civilian facilities, including Kyiv's Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, killing at least 43 people in total and injuring scores more in what Biden called a "horrific reminder of Russia's brutality."

Zelenskiy said at the Reagan Institute that Ukraine needs at least 128 F-16 fighter jets to be able to fend off Russia's overwhelming air power.

A senior NATO official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said that despite dwindling resources, Russia would likely be able to maintain its war economy for three to four years.

However, the official added that the Kremlin lacked the munitions and troops to launch a major offensive against Ukraine in the near term.

Zelenskiy has also pressed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion for a pathway to Ukraine’s eventual membership in the alliance, which so far has been received coolly by some countries who say such a move is unthinkable while the war is under way.

Embed share

NATO Leaders Gather For Summit In Washington With Eyes On Ukraine War, U.S. Politics

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:26 0:00

A senior NATO official said the alliance would unveil a "bridge to membership" plan for Kyiv at the summit along with the pledges of additional military aid for Ukraine.

NATO sources said alliance members are, at Kyiv's request, considering including in the summit's communique that Ukraine's path to eventual membership is "irreversible" -- wording that would be a direct challenge to Putin's demands for peace, which include Ukraine's exclusion from NATO.

However, the summit will not extend an invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance. Carpenter said there was still no consensus on the issue among the 32 allies.

SEE ALSO:

NATO At 75: A Journey From Cold War 'Bulwark' To Global Security Force

Biden and Zelenskiy will meet on July 11 and be joined by the leaders of about two dozen other countries that have signed bilateral security agreements with Ukraine.

Biden last month signed a 10-year agreement that calls on the United States, among other things, to help bolster Ukraine's military-industrial complex through co-production and joint ventures with U.S. industry.

NATO unity on Ukraine, however, will be challenged at the summit by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose pro-Russian views have irked the alliance.

Orban, who just took over the rotating presidency of the EU, flew to Moscow last week and then to China without informing the bloc ahead of time to discuss an end to the war with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Defense spending by NATO members will be another hot topic at the summit. NATO members committed a decade ago to reach a defense spending target of at least 2 percent of gross national product by 2024. Stoltenberg said that 23 of the alliance's 32 members will meet that target this year.

Biden's performance at the summit will also be closely watched amid concerns about his age and ability to lead after a dismal showing in a debate with Republican rival Donald Trump as Americans prepare to vote in a presidential election on November 5.

A growing number of fellow Democrats have called for Biden to end his reelection campaign since the debate on June 26.

Biden's poor debate performance and the specter of another Trump presidency has many European allies worried.

The boyfriend of a niece of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has been sent to pretrial detention on a charge of production of illegal drugs. The decision to hold Aftandil Sabyrbekov in pretrial detention at least until August 3 was made three days earlier, the Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek said on July 10. Sabyrbekov is the boyfriend of Lazzat Nurgojoeva, who is a daughter of President Sadyr Japarov's younger brother Davletbek. Last month, Japarov publicly apologized for his niece after a video showing Sabyrbekov proposing to Nurgojoeva in a lavish ceremony circulated on the Internet and sparked a public outcry. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.

Russia on July 10 attacked infrastructure targets in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa and seven other Ukrainian regions, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Ukrainian air-defense systems shot down three of the five missiles and 14 of 20 drones launched by Russia at targets in the Odesa, Mykolayiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskiy, Cherkasy, Vinnytsya, and Rivne regions, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a message on Telegram. Three cruise missiles and three drones were downed over the port of Odesa, Oleshchuk added. Odesa, a critical port for Ukraine's grain exports, has been repeatedly targeted by Russia. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

The Supreme Court of Russian's North Caucasus region of Daghestan said on July 9 that the former governor of the Sergokala district, Magomed Omarov, who was fired last month after a deadly terrorist attack in which his son and nephew were implicated, has been sent to pretrial detention until at least September 5.

Omarov is accused of involvement in the illegal privatization of land and the fictitious employment of two local residents by a newspaper whose salaries Omarov allegedly was receiving himself.

Omarov was officially charged with money laundering and financial fraud. It is not clear how he pleaded.

Russian media reports said earlier that Omarov could face a terrorism charge over the fact that his son Osman allegedly led a deadly terrorist attack on a synagogue and an Orthodox church in the Daghestani capital in late June.

Omarov's nephew, Abdusamad Amadziyev, is also reported to have been one of the attackers.

Both Omarov's son and his nephew were killed by law enforcement during the attack.

At least 21 people were killed and 45 wounded in the attacks, which occurred on June 23 when gunmen opened fire on two Orthodox churches, two synagogues, and a police station in Makhachkala and the region's other major city, Derbent.

The head of Daghestan, Sergei Melikov, announced the decision to fire Omarov the following day.

Omarov was arrested at the time and sentenced to 10 days in prison on a hooliganism charge. He was rearrested last week after serving the 10-day term.

Mostly Muslim-populated Daghestan has a history of armed Islamic militancy. It borders another volatile, mostly Muslim-populated region in the North Caucasus, Chechnya, where Russian forces fought two wars against separatists in the mid-1990s and early 2000s.

The Second Western District Military Court in Moscow on July 9 sentenced a shoemaker, Nikolai Kolin, for sending 5,000 rubles ($57) to the so-called Russian Volunteers' Corps (RDK) that has fought alongside Ukraine's armed forces against occupying Russian troops. Kolin, who was arrested in April 2023, was found guilty of financing terrorism. In November, a Moscow court sentenced in absentia Denis Kapustin (aka Nikitin), a commander of the RDK, to life in prison on a high treason charge. The RDK has claimed several attacks on Russian military sites in the Belgorod region in recent months. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Media reports in Russia said on July 9 that a court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg sentenced five Tajik men to lengthy prison terms on terrorism charges. The reports said Abubakr Sangcharov, who holds Russian citizenship, and Saginmurod Musofirov were found guilty of the creation of a terrorist group and received 25 and 24 years in prison, respectively, while Anvarsho Avezov, Nurali Dustov, and Shahromjon Musofirov were convicted of taking part in a terrorist group's activities and sentenced to prison terms between 16 and 18 years. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

WASHINGTON -- Against the backdrop of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says NATO leaders must remember what's at stake as they celebrate the military alliance's 75th anniversary at a summit this week.

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.

Landsbergis, who spoke on July 9 at a Washington think tank as the summit got under way, said his team approached the gathering reflecting on the reality of what NATO faces in Ukraine, not the memory of the alliance’s inception in 1949.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “is making sure we do that, unfortunately, with a very brutal attack against civilian objects again in Ukraine -- with an attack on a children’s hospital,” Landsbergis said, referring to a deadly attack that occurred in Kyiv on the eve of the summit.

The attack was a clear message that Putin feels that if there’s no answer from NATO, then he can act with impunity, the Baltic country's top diplomat added.

“Therefore, we have to make sure that he doesn’t get away with this,” Landsbergis said, speaking at the Hudson Institute.

He noted that the war is taken seriously in Lithuania, which has increased its defense spending to just over 3 percent of economic output.

Lithuanians -- many of whom remember life under Moscow's rule before breaking free from the Soviet Union in 1991 to regain independence -- know what's at stake, he said, and recognize that the fight in the trenches of Kharkiv is a fight to defend Lithuania’s security as well.

Reflecting that reality, he said his country is ready to consider a proposal put forward earlier this year by French President Emmanuel Macron to provide military instructors and other noncombatant personnel to Kyiv.

Lithuania is “politically ready” to consider the steps that Macron laid out, he said, clarifying that the proposal was never about sending French troops but specialists who would handle policing, demining, and border patrol duties.

Landsbergis noted that this type of assistance was provided by Western countries before the war, and he believes it’s possible to plan for a return to this level of assistance.

It also would send a very strong signal to Putin that NATO doesn’t think he should be able to call the shots in Ukraine.

Embed share

Biden Says NATO Is 'Stronger Than Ever' As Alliance Marks 75th Anniversary

Embed share

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

---

width px height px

---

The URL has been copied to your clipboard

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:36 0:00

“If [Ukraine] wants this and if we have the means, it’s up to us to decide. It’s not [Putin] to set the rules,” Landsbergis said. “That’s the thinking, and we want to be part of it.”

Landsbergis said the proposal is still alive and he is waiting for a new coalition government to form in France following its elections on July 7. The leadership exists to drive the proposal once a coalition forms, he said.

Landsbergis said his expectations for the NATO summit are not high, however, and he believes the allies will not have the will to push the line beyond what was achieved last year when the summit was held in Lithuania.

The mood is different than it was when the leaders of the 32 NATO countries met in Vilnius, he said.

“A year ago, one might have had a sense that we are writing a new passage, at least for NATO and maybe for Ukraine. Now the expectations are really lower, meaning that the allies really want to stick to a consensus [and] avoid any political battle,” he said.

The communique for the summit is still being written, and the leaders are only looking to “bring a clean text” that everyone will be able to sign.

But it’s known that Putin’s aim is to test NATO, and the summit’s message must be one of deterrence, Landsbergis said, adding that it should say that NATO is united and strong and tell Putin that “you don’t want to test us.”

WASHINGTON -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said U.S. leaders must be "strong" and "uncompromising" in helping to defend his country's democracy against Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression and urged American lawmakers not to delay decisions because of the upcoming presidential election.

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.

"Everyone is waiting for November. Americans are waiting for November, in Europe, the Middle East, in the Pacific, the whole world is looking toward November and, truly speaking, Putin awaits November, too," said Zelenskiy, who was speaking in English at an event at the Reagan Institute as NATO began its 75th anniversary summit in the U.S. capital.

"It is time to step out of the shadows, to make strong decisions...to act and not to wait for November or any other month," he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has expressed strong support for Ukraine throughout his presidency. But Republican rival Donald Trump has opposed expanded aid to Ukraine and, according to critics, has expressed pro-Russia sentiments.

In a question-and-answer session conducted by conservative Fox News host Brett Baier, Zelenskiy tried to avoid wading into U.S. politics when asked about the November 5 presidential election, but he did say he did not know Trump well enough to know what he'd do if elected and hoped America's support to Kyiv would not change regardless of the outcome of the vote.

"Biden and Trump are very different," Zelenskiy said, noting he had "good meetings" when Trump was president, though that was before the war broke out.

"But [Biden and Trump] are supportive of democracy, and that's why I think Putin will hate them both."

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of February 2022, Zelenskiy has aggressively pressed for additional military aid and has at times expressed frustration with the sluggish pace of action by Western partners.

The U.S. House of Representatives, under pressure to vote on a major aid package for Ukraine that had been held up by Republicans in Congress for months, in April finally passed a bill providing more than $60 billion to Ukraine,

Zelenskiy lamented the long delay, saying it had allowed Russia to make substantial battlefield gains while costing Ukraine control of some villages near the Russian border.

Speaking ahead of Zelenskiy at the event, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, whose Republican colleagues in Congress were behind the delay in aid as they pushed for deep changes in domestic security policy, agreed, saying, "Slow walking aid to Ukraine didn't stave off further escalation, it only guaranteed that this terrible conflict would be longer and bloodier.”

The Ukrainian leader’s remarks came shortly after Biden said Russia is seeking "nothing less" than to "wipe Ukraine off the map" and announced that Washington and its allies would be sending Kyiv further weapons, including additional air-defense systems.

"Ukraine can and will stop Putin, especially with our full collective support. They have our full support," Biden said as the summit kicked off.

SEE ALSO:

Biden Tells NATO Summit Russia 'Will Not Prevail,' Promises Ukraine New Air-Defense Systems

Zelenskiy said such support needs to go beyond just putting more weapons on the ground in Ukraine.

“How much longer can Putin last? The answer to this question is right here in Washington: your leadership, your actions, your choice, the choice to act now…. Strong decisions are needed and we are waiting for them,” Zelenskiy said, referring to being given the right to strike deep inside Russian territory.

A White House statement said the United States, Germany, and Romania will donate modern Patriot missile batteries, while the Netherlands and other partners will provide Patriot components to enable the operation of an additional Patriot battery. Italy will donate an additional SAMP-T system, it said.

Patriot systems are capable of shooting down enemy planes and missiles from long distances, though analysts say Russia appears to be making gains in techniques to avoid the systems.

The pledge came a day after a barrage of Russian missiles slipped through defense systems across Ukraine, striking several civilian facilities, including Kyiv's Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital. At least 43 people died from the attacks, with scores more injured in what Biden called a "horrific reminder of Russia's brutality."

Zelenskiy welcomed the news of new air-defense systems, saying, "They will help," but he cautioned that "it is not enough. It is never enough."

He said Ukraine needs up to 130 F-16 fighter jets to achieve parity with Russia in the skies.

"Russia uses 300 warplanes against Ukraine every day. It was decided we get about 10 to 20. However, even if it were 50 planes, it is still nothing. To [efficiently] defend ourselves, we need 128 F-16s," Zelenskiy said.

NATO leaders will also discuss a proposal by outgoing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to provide Ukraine with 40 billion euros ($43 billion) in military aid next year.

Upon arriving at the summit and ahead of the speech, Zelenskiy said he would also press for NATO commitments on additional warplanes and to provide enhanced security guarantees.

In a video posted on his Telegram account, Zelenskiy said: "We are fighting for additional security guarantees for Ukraine. And these consist of weapons and finances, political support."

"We are doing, and will always do everything, to make the Russian terrorist lose," he added.

The White House accused Tehran on July 9 of trying to take advantage of Gaza-related protests in the United States and described such behavior as unacceptable, following a warning by a top U.S. intelligence official that Iran was trying to stoke discord in American society. The warning, issued by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, said actors tied to Iran's government had posed as activists online, sought to encourage protests regarding Gaza, and even provided demonstrators with financial support. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: "Americans across the political spectrum, acting in good faith, have sought to express their own independent views on the conflict in Gaza. The freedom to express diverse views when done peacefully is essential to our democracy."

The United States hasn't seen a shift from previous U.S. elections in Russia's preference for the winner of the 2024 presidential vote, a U.S. intelligence official said on July 9, indicating that Moscow favors Republican Donald Trump. The official, briefing reporters about U.S. election security on condition of anonymity, didn't name the former president and presumptive nominee when asked if Moscow preferred Trump, as the U.S. intelligence community had assessed it did for the 2016 and 2020 elections. But the official indicated that Russia favored Trump over President Joe Biden. "We have not observed a shift in Russia's preferences for the presidential race from past elections, given the role the U.S. is playing with regard to Ukraine and broader policy toward Russia," said the official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

WASHINGTON -- Two members of the U.S. Congress who visited Ukraine in April said the United States should provide Ukraine with the military equipment it needs to win the war against Moscow, including the means to strike inside Russia.

Senator Joni Ernst (Republican-Iowa) and Representative Tom Suozzi (Democrat-New York), speaking in Washington as the NATO summit opened in the U.S. capital, said Congress should step up its pledges to provide weapons to ensure that Ukraine defeats Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“We need to give them what they need,” Ernst said on July 9 at an event sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank. “I do believe that we should provide them what they need to strike inside of Russia.”

Ernst added that the Ukrainians should be able to be as aggressive as they need to be to win the war and not left in a defensive situation with their hands tied.

Ernst and Suozzi traveled to Ukraine in early April as part of a bipartisan delegation that looked into the military situation in the country. The delegation met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, his military advisers, journalists, and prosecutors.

SEE ALSO:

Biden Tells NATO Summit Russia 'Will Not Prevail,' Promises Ukraine New Air-Defense Systems

At the time, the U.S. House of Representatives was under pressure to vote on a major aid package for Ukraine that had been held up in Congress for months. It passed later in April, providing more than $60 billion to Ukraine, but during the delay Russian forces made gains on the battlefield as Zelenskiy became more and more frustrated over the stalled aid.

Ernst, a former military officer and combat veteran, supported the aid, but she criticized President Joe Biden’s administration, which she said had not “clearly articulated a strategy for what is needed to win.”

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.

Suozzi said the NATO summit this week is an important opportunity to show Russian President Vladimir Putin that his aggression will not be tolerated, particularly after Russia carried out strikes on July 8 -- including on a children’s hospital in Kyiv -- that killed dozens across the country.

“I don’t think we can tie the hands of the Ukrainians,” Suozzi said. “What [the Russians] are doing is merciless,” he added, referring to the strike that hit the hospital.

“We have got to send a message to Putin that this is not going to be tolerated,” he said, advocating for more potent weapons from the United States.

“Sometimes you have to punch a bully in the nose,” Suozzi said.

He noted that Russia has been able to retrofit older bombs with fins to create glide bombs that have been used to hit Ukrainian cities. He agreed with Ernst that he wants more restrictions lifted so that Ukraine can use U.S.-supplied weapons more broadly.

Suozzi cited a Russian airfield from which planes that launch the glide bombs take off, suggesting that if Ukraine could hit that airfield, it could wipe out a huge number of Russian planes.

The Democrat was more positive than Ernst on how he viewed the administration’s relationship with NATO. He praised Biden's efforts to hold the alliance together and said the NATO summit would “cement” that.

“The greatest strength we have right now is that we have held together this Western alliance,” Suozzi said, adding that in his opinion the Europeans “stepped up” when the U.S. aid was stalled. “The Europeans have been doing their part,” he said.

SEE ALSO:

NATO At 75: A Journey From Cold War 'Bulwark' To Global Security Force

A former Trump administration official whose views contrasted with those of the two lawmakers also spoke during the first day of the NATO summit.

Elbridge Colby, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development under President Donald Trump, said Europe should do more to help Ukraine, while the United States should “calibrate” its support.

The United States is “over invested” in Ukraine, Colby said, suggesting that the Europeans can do more.

“The degree of support has been inconsistent with our own needs,” he said, speaking at a separate event on July 9 at the Heritage Institute, a conservative Washington think tank.

He agreed that Russia is a threat, but said “the biggest obstacle is the perception of need on the part of the Europeans. We need to focus on the practicalities.”

WASHINGTON -- Europe has been “too naive” about Russia and must do more to support Ukraine militarily, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on July 9.

“We work and we move too slowly. I think we have been too naive on Russia, too naive on China. We have to speed up, scale up as Europeans,” Frederiksen told a Council of Foreign Relations conference in Washington, where she is attending the July 9-11 NATO Summit.

“We have not been able to give Ukraine what they need to defend themselves,” she said, highlighting air-defense systems in particular.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pleaded with NATO to give his country more air-defense systems, particularly Patriots, to defend against Russia’s persistent missile and drone attacks.

SEE ALSO:

Condemnation Of Russia Mounts As Ukraine Counts Toll Of Attack On Children's Hospital

Russia killed at least 41 people in Ukraine on the eve of the NATO summit in one of its largest bombing campaigns since it launched its invasion in February 2024.

During the summit, NATO allies are expected to announce new military aid to Ukraine, including air defense and F-16 fighter jets.

Denmark last year announced it would transfer some of its F-16s to Ukraine and Frederiksen said they would soon arrive in the country.

Denmark is now focused on helping Ukraine develop its domestic defense industry so it can produce weapons and ammunition locally and cut its dependence on foreign aid.

“They work much faster than the rest of Europe,” she said, referring to Ukraine.

'No Red Lines'

The Biden administration and some European allies, including Germany, have been cautious about giving Ukraine what it needs to defend itself, slow-rolling weapon systems amid fear of Russian escalation.

The Biden administration had refused to give Ukraine tanks, fighter jets, and long-range missiles only to acquiesce months or years later. It still does not allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia with U.S. weapons. Germany has refused to give Ukraine its powerful Taurus cruise missile.

SEE ALSO:

Biden Tells NATO Summit Russia 'Will Not Prevail,' Promises Ukraine New Air-Defense Systems

Frederiksen said Ukraine should not face such restrictions as it seeks to drive Russia from its territory.

“I think we have been reacting too slowly. I am not working with any red lines. The red line I have is that Russia cannot decide on the future of Europe,” she said.

Frederiksen said Russia has imperial ambitions and will not stop at Ukraine if it is victorious.

She said she agreed with Washington that Europe must boost its defense spending amid such threats.

Only 23 of 32 NATO members are expected to meet the spending target of 2 percent of gross domestic product this year, up from three a decade ago.

Denmark will reach 2.4 percent this year, up from 1.3 percent a few years ago, she said.

“The sense of urgency [among European nations] is growing but it's not strong enough,” she said.

Russia's Reach

Frederiksen said Russia is trying to destabilize the world, noting its hybrid activities in Western Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans.

“They are acting in an extremely aggressive manner every day and we have accepted this for too long,” she said.

However, she said that NATO is in a much stronger position today to deal with threats from Russia than prior to the war, highlighting the addition of Sweden and Finland and greater military spending by European states.

She said she hoped the United States would continue its prominent role in the alliance regardless of who wins the 2024 presidential election.

The U.S. Justice Department says it disrupted a Kremlin-led operation to use fake social media profiles enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) to spread Russian disinformation. It said a “social media bot farm” used elements of AI to create fake social media profiles, “which the operators then used to promote messages in support of Russian government objectives.” The statement said Russia’s state-run RT News network developed the bot farm, which the Federal Security Service (FSB) operated to “sow discord” in the United States and elsewhere. U.S. authorities worked with their counterparts in Canada and the Netherlands in the action, it said.

The Interior Ministry in Russia's North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria said on July 9 that 10 residents of the city of Tyrnyauz had been detained for being members of a so-called "Shari'a patrol." They are accused of allegedly beating people with sticks because their "behavior and lifestyle did not correspond to the attackers' religious and extremist beliefs." One suspect was charged with the creation of an extremist group, while the other nine men were charged with taking part in an extremist group's activities. Kabardino-Balkaria, along with Chechnya, Daghestan, Ingushetia, and Karachai-Cherkessia, is part of Russia's mostly Muslim populated, volatile North Caucasus region. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities, click here.

Bulgaria's state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz said on July 9 that it was taking Gazprom to court, seeking more than 400 million euros ($432 million) in damages because the Russian company cut off of supplies after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Bulgaria, which was almost totally dependent on Russia for its gas, and Poland were the first EU countries that saw their supplies halted after refusing to pay for the gas in rubles as demanded by Moscow in response to Western sanctions. Two months ago, Bulgargaz invited Gazprom to settle the dispute out of court. "As the Russian side did not take any action to resolve the issue out of court, Bulgargaz took the necessary steps to protect the company's interests," the group said, adding that it had launched legal proceedings before the Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.

Moscow authorities said on July 9 that the Basmanny district court has issued an arrest warrant for Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, on a charge of taking part in an extremist group’s activities. Navalnaya was also added to Russia's wanted list. The move comes less than two weeks after Navalnaya was elected to head the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). Navalnaya replaced Garry Kasparov, another Russian opposition member living abroad. HRF is a New York-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights around the world. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Lawyers for imprisoned outspoken Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who suffers from a nerve disorder, say they have been barred from seeing him for a fourth time while his wife says he has been held incommunicado for a week, raising fears over his well-being.

"They did not allow the lawyers to get in once again. We have not heard anything from Vladimir Kara-Murza since July 2. His lawyers were told on July 4 that Volodya was transferred to a prison hospital for 'a checkup.' But the lawyers have not been allowed to enter the hospital since last Thursday," Yevgenia Kara-Murza wrote on the X social network on July 9.

Sunna Aevarsdottir, the general rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), said: "It is absolutely unacceptable to deliberately prevent a family from knowing why their loved one is in hospital and what his current state of health is."

"Following the death of Aleksei Navalny in prison earlier this year, there are widespread fears that the Russian regime is arranging for its most prominent critics to die behind bars,” she said.

Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny died in an Arctic prison in February under mysterious circumstances.

The Free Russia Foundation also issued a statement demanding "immediate and unrestricted access for Kara-Murza's lawyers to evaluate his condition and ensure that he is receiving necessary medical care."

"We urgently call upon the international community to join us in applying intense pressure on the Russian government to respect Kara-Murza's fundamental rights and to provide full transparency regarding his situation," the foundation said in the statement.

SEE ALSO:

Who Is Vladimir Kara-Murza, The Russian Activist Jailed For Condemning The Ukraine War?

In April 2023, Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of discrediting the Russian military and treason over remarks he made about Kremlin policies.

The 42-year-old's current medical condition appeared after he suddenly fell deathly ill on two separate occasions in Moscow -- in 2015 and 2017-- with symptoms consistent with poisoning.

Tissue samples smuggled from Russia to the United States by his relatives were turned over to the FBI, which investigated the case as one of "intentional poisoning."

SEE ALSO:

New FBI Documents Shed Light On Probe Into Russian Activist's Near-Fatal Illnesses

U.S. government laboratories also conducted extensive tests on the samples, but documents released by the Justice Department suggest they were unable to reach a conclusive finding.

Kara-Murza holds Russian and British passports. He was initially arrested in April 2022 after returning to Russia from abroad and charged with disobeying a police officer.

He was later charged with discrediting the Russian military, a charge stemming from Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and a Kremlin push to stamp out criticism of the subject. He was later additionally charged with treason over remarks he made in speeches outside Russia that criticized Kremlin policies.

Kara-Murza and his supporters reject the charges as politically motivated.

Kazakh penitentiary service officials on July 9 rejected a statement by the imprisoned leader of the unregistered Algha Qazaqstan (Forward Kazakhstan) political party about his treatment by prison administrators. Marat Zhylanbaev said he launched a hunger strike protesting against his being placed in solitary confinement over an alleged brawl with other inmates. Zhylanbaev was sentenced to seven years in prison in November on a charge of taking part in the activities of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement and its financing. International and domestic human rights organizations have urged Astana to release Zhylanbaev. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.