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.

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Death Toll Rises From Wave Of Russian Missiles As Kyiv Children's Hospital Scrambles

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.

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Zelenskiy Arrives To Press Needs As NATO Summit Awaits Biden Speech

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 wellbeing.

"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 check-up.' 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.

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.

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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."

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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.

Jury selection was set to begin on July 9 nearly three years after actor Alec Baldwin was directed to point his gun at Ukrainian-born cinematographer Halyna Hutchins as she set up a camera shot inside a movie-set church about 30 kilometers southwest of Santa Fe. The death of the 42-year-old Hutchins in 2021 was Hollywood's first on-set shooting fatality in three decades and momentarily sparked calls to end the widespread use of real firearms on movie sets. Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial in a modern, brown-stucco courthouse in downtown Santa Fe is expected to last eight days and run to July 19.

Eduard Babaryka, the imprisoned son of jailed Belarusian presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka, has gone on trial for "malicious disobedience" of prison guard commands.

The 35-year-old, whose trial began in the eastern city of Babruysk on July 9, was handed an eight-year prison term in early July 2023 on charges of "organizing mass riots" and "inciting hatred."

Eduard Babaryka has rejected the charges as politically motivated and human rights organizations in Belarus have recognized him as a political prisoner.

Eduard Babaryka was a member of his father's election campaign staff when the two were arrested two months before the August 2020 presidential vote. Viktar Babaryka was unable to officially register as a presidential candidate.

If found guilty in the new case, Eduard Babaryka may face an additional two years in prison.

Viktar Babaryka, the former head of the Russian-owned Belgazprombank, was sentenced in July 2021 to 14 years in prison on charges of bribe-taking and money laundering that he and his supporters have called political retribution for challenging authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

The Crisis In Belarus

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

Lukashenka was declared the victor of the August 2020 election, triggering massive protests by Belarusians who say the balloting was rigged. The demonstrations lasted for months as Belarusians demanded Lukashenka, in power since 1994, step down and hold fresh elections.

The August 2020 vote was rejected as fraudulent by the opposition and the West, and the country, at Lukashenka's direction, began to crack down on demonstrators, arresting thousands and pushing most leading opposition figures out of the country.

Several protesters have been killed in the violence and rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used against some of those detained.

Lukashenka denies vote fraud and has refused to negotiate with the opposition led by Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who supporters say actually won the August 2020 election.

The European Union, United States, Canada, and other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka, 69, as the legitimate leader of Belarus and have slapped him and senior Belarusian officials with sanctions in response to the "falsification" of the vote and postelection crackdown.

WASHINGTON -- Leaders of NATO countries gathered on July 9 in Washington for a summit to discuss ways to bolster the alliance's defense capabilities and support Ukraine against the backdrop of political uncertainty in the host country and Russia's intense bombing of Ukraine, whose leader arrived at midday to press Kyiv's needs.

NATO is expected to announce plans for European members to boost spending on weapons and ammunition procurement following years of underinvestment as well as a 40 billion-euro ($43 billion) aid package for Ukraine.

The agenda of the three-day summit, which will mark NATO's 75th anniversary, will be partially overshadowed by concerns about U.S. President Joe Biden's age and ability to lead after his chances of winning reelection this November took a hit following his dismal debate performance against Republican contender Donald Trump last month.

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Wider Europe Briefing: Five Things To Know About The Upcoming NATO Summit

Support and aid to Ukraine is likely to take on even greater immediacy at the summit following 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 41 people in total and injuring scores more in what Biden called a "horrific reminder of Russia's brutality."

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Death Toll Rises From Wave Of Russian Missiles As Kyiv Children's Hospital Scrambles

Michael Carpenter, senior director for NATO at the National Security Council, told reporters on July 8 that the allies will announce new measures to bolster Ukraine's security, including air defense and F-16 fighter jets, but he did not give any details.

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.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has for months pleaded with NATO members for more air defense, especially the U.S.-made Patriot missile system, to defend its troops, cities, and infrastructure against large-scale Russian bombing campaigns.

Upon arriving at the summit and ahead of his expected speech later on July 9, 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 alliance will also announce a new NATO military command in Germany to coordinate the training and equipping of Ukrainian troops and station a senior NATO representative in Kyiv.

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Investigation: EU Shell-Production Capacity, Supplies To Ukraine Fall Far Short Of Promises

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.

The NATO communique is expected to say that Ukraine belongs in the alliance without giving a time frame for when it will join.

NATO members also couldn't agree on a multiyear military aid package for Ukraine that outgoing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had proposed. Instead, NATO will announce a one-year, 40 billion-euro package.

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.

The expected announcements have disappointed some Western supporters of Ukraine who want greater aid and a clearer path into NATO.

"I don't see this summit doing much for Ukraine at all," Kurt Volker, who served as U.S. ambassador to NATO in 2008-09 and former special envoy to Ukraine in 2017-19, told the Center for a New American Security earlier this month.

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

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But Carpenter said the commitments made to Ukraine during the summit will show that Russian President Vladimir Putin's strategy of outlasting the alliance won't work.

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 without informing the bloc ahead of time to discuss an end to the war with Putin. The trip was denounced by Zelenskiy, the EU, and the Biden administration.

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Zelenskiy Says Orban Cannot Be Mediator As Hungarian Leader's 'Peace Mission' Wraps Up In Beijing

NATO Spending

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.

"One of the things you'll see at the summit, certainly behind closed doors, is that there'll be a lot of allies holding each other's feet to the fire in terms of defense spending commitments," Carpenter said.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican-Louisiana), a Trump ally, said on July 8 that Republicans "celebrate the peace and stability that NATO has secured...but we also believe that NATO needs to be doing more."

“Everyone cannot ride along on the coattails of America. And Donald Trump says this as bluntly as anyone. It’s just right and fair for us to demand that others do their part,” he said.

The United States accounts for 68 percent of NATO defense spending.

Some Western officials say 2 percent should be a floor, not a ceiling, and that NATO members should be spending 2.5 percent or more amid growing threats from Russia, China, and Iran.

"If we look into the future, and we look into fully resourcing our defense plans and preparing for all possible contingency, this will require for a number of countries to go beyond 2 percent," Benedetta Berti, head of policy planning in the office of the NATO secretary-general.

Johnson, who spoke at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank, said Republicans were pushing for a "self-reliant European defense industrial base."

Trump harangued NATO allies when he was president for not meeting their spending commitments, threatening at one point to withdraw the United States from the alliance.

Biden's poor debate performance and the specter of another Trump presidency has many European allies worried. But National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the White House had not picked up any signed from allies that they need to "be reassured of American leadership and President Biden's commitments."

Strengthening ties with Asian partners to contain China will be another topic at the summit.

NATO allies will be joined by the leaders of four Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. NATO members have criticized China for supplying Russia with electronics used in weapons production.

"The global threats and challenges we face, including from authoritarian actors and terrorist organizations, are all inextricably linked," Carpenter said.

SEE ALSO:

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

For Stoltenberg, the summit is expected to be his last major event before he departs the alliance on October 1. He will be replaced by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

With reporting by Erin Osborne

TBILISI -- The European Union says it has halted Georgia's accession process and frozen 30 million euros in assistance to its Defense Ministry after the country's lawmakers approved controversial legislation seen as a measure to crack down on dissent.

European Union Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski told reporters in Tbilisi during an event on July 9 that the bloc was considering further measures if the situation in the country "further deteriorates."

Herczynski described the move as a response of the controversial "foreign agents" law, known as the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, and recent anti-democratic steps taken by the former Soviet republic's government.

"The Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence is a clear backslide on nine steps, and the anti-Western, anti-European rhetoric is fully incompatible with the stated aim of joining the European Union," Herczynski said, adding that the decision to halt Georgia's EU accession process had been made on June 27.

Herczynski said he hopes Tbilisi will reconsider some of its recent decisions after a new government is formed following parliamentary elections in October.

"I sincerely hope that on October 26, Georgians will make the right choice and the future government, whoever wins the elections, will return very quickly and resume hard work towards Georgia's accession to the European Union," Herczynski stressed.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called the EU's move "a response" to the "anti-European and anti-Western rhetoric and actions" by the government and the ruling Georgian Dream party.

"While this is a response to the ruling party's foolish and hostile policy towards [the EU], at the same time it is a warning to the public: our partners tell us that 'the choice is yours' -- either Georgia gets a secure European future or moves into an isolated Russian orbit," Zurabishvili said.

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Georgian Civil Activist Bruised And Bloodied, Opposition's Homes, Offices Vandalized

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On May 28, lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party overrode Zurabishvili's veto, further propelling the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence toward enactment.

Dubbed "the Russian law" by Georgian protesters for its similarities to a law in Russia that has helped the Kremlin jail, fine, and marginalize dissent, EU officials have warned it will "negatively impact Georgia's EU path."

Meanwhile, Washington has announced visa bans and a "comprehensive review" of bilateral relations, and other international critics have decried the law as "weaponized transparency."

Last week, the U.S. State Department said in a statement that it had indefinitely postponed the planned Noble Partner military exercises with Georgia, which Tbilisi has been hosting since 2016, as part of the review of the policy of relations with Georgia.

The U.S. Defense Department said the decision was made, due "to the Georgian government's false accusations against the United States and other western entities, to pressure Georgia to open a second front against Russia to alleviate pressure on Ukraine, and of participating in two coup attempts against the ruling party."

A former fighter of the Wagner mercenary group who was reportedly recruited from prison has been sentenced to seven years in prison for murdering a mother of three after returning home to the Far East region of Primorye from the war in Ukraine.

The press service of the region's courts said on July 9 that the Anuchino district court had taken into account "attenuating circumstances" when deciding what some have called a lenient punishment for the man.

The defendant, whose identity was not disclosed, was found guilty of murdering the 32-year-old woman, leaving her in a car, and setting the vehicle on fire near the village of Anuchino in October 2023.

Local media reported at the time that the man was recruited by Wagner in December 2022 from a prison where he was serving a term of 10 years and 10 months for murder, theft, and robbery.

After fighting for Russia in Ukraine, he returned to his native Primorye with three medals in July 2023.

It is not the first instance of former Wagner mercenaries recruited from jails and prisons across Russia to be accused of committing serious crimes after completing tours of duty in Ukraine.

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Former Wagner Fighter Jailed For Murder After Return From Ukraine War

In a recent report, the Agentstvo Telegram channel said that as of October 4, 2023, 27 people had been killed by former military personnel who returned home from the war in Ukraine, in 20 incidents.

According to the Agentstvo report, 12 of the registered deadly incidents, with 19 victims, involved former Wagner mercenaries.

Courts in Russia tend to hand mitigated sentences to such persons, citing their "patriotism" and "contributions" they made to Russia's war against Ukraine.

Wagner's late leader and founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in late June 2023 that 32,000 former inmates recruited by his group from penitentiaries had returned home after being granted clemency as part of their remuneration for fighting in Ukraine.

NDTV television in India reported on July 9 that about 20 Indian nationals who are fighting with Russia's armed forces in Ukraine will return home soon. NDTV quoted sources as saying the issue was discussed at talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the ongoing visit by the Indian leader to Moscow. In March, seven Indian citizens issued a video, saying they came to Russia as tourists in December but were tricked by a Russian guide into traveling to Belarus, where they were arrested for not having visas and deported to Russia, where they were forced to fight in Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ani Badalyan has told RFE/RL that "no agreement" had been reached for a meeting between the top diplomats of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ceyhun Bayramov, have both left for the United States to attend an event on the sidelines of a NATO summit scheduled for July 9-11. The neighbors have been negotiating a peace treaty since Azerbaijan retook control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September 2023, following a lightning offensive. To read the original report by RFE/RL's Armenian Service, click here.

A child's body was recovered from the rubble of an apartment block in Kyiv as rescue workers continued to remove rubble from a children's hospital hit during massive Russian air strikes and Ukraine observed a day of mourning following attacks U.S. President Joe Biden called a "horrific reminder of Russia's brutality."

A day after at least 42 people -- including two staff members at the children's hospital -- were killed in the deadliest wave of attacks in recent months, the Kremlin on July 9 denied it had targeted civilian targets and blamed anti-missile fire for the destruction of the hospital, but analysts and several officials rejected Moscow's denial.

Ukrainian military expert Oleksandr Musiyenko told Current Time on July 9 that there was "sufficient evidence" showing the children's hospital was "directly and deliberately" hit by a Russian Kh-101 subsonic cruise missile.

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 see that Russia, if we talk about massive missile attacks on Ukraine, usually takes a pause -- one or 1 1/2 months, then accumulates the missiles, and after that resumes the shelling before another pause," he said of the rare attack in broad daylight.

"The Russian side often uses drones accompanying the missiles to video record the moment of the hitting the target and the aftermath for propaganda purposes.... Also, in daytime, residents of the [Ukrainian] capital are at workplaces and other public sites and the psychological impact on them is bigger," he added.

Hospital Director Volodymyr Zhovnir told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that doctors had "done everything" to ensure the treatment of critical patients as they seek temporary spaces for departments that are key to helping children with serious illnesses.

"The most important thing is that we have saved our people and specialists. Unfortunately, one of our best specialists was killed, who took the children to the bomb shelter and returned to check whether there were children in the empty room or not,".

"The team has survived, and these teams are now with these children, they are working in other locations, in other areas and doing everything possible to ensure that the assistance does not stop."

Ukraine's cabinet approved 100 million hryvnyas from a state budget reserve fund to help rebuild the hospital, Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal said.

Ukraine appeared to follow through on President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's vow to retaliate, launching over three dozen drones overnight on July 9 and shelling several areas that killed several people inside Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on July 9 that a total of 38 drones in five regions had been intercepted, including 21 in Rostov, seven in Kursk, five in Astrakhan, three in Belgorod, and two in Voronezh.

Local media reported that airports in the southern Astrakhan and Volgograd regions had restricted flights following the drone attacks.

Ukrainian shelling in Russia's Belgorod region in the early hours of July 9 killed four people and wounded 20, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. He added that the attack caused power outages and damaged 60 houses and 160 apartments.

In Volgograd, an oil depot and an electrical substation caught fire as a result of falling drone debris, according to regional Governor Andrei Bocharov.

The Russian attack was widely condemned by the West and the UN's humanitarian coordinator, with the UN Security Council scheduled to meet on July 9 to discuss the situation.

The UN's human rights monitoring mission said its assessment of the strike in Kyiv "indicates a high likelihood that the children's hospital suffered a direct hit rather than receiving damage due to an intercepted weapon system."

"Russia’s missile strikes that...killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians and caused damage and casualties at Kyiv's largest children’s hospital are a horrific reminder of Russia's brutality," Biden wrote on X.

"It is critical that the world continues to stand with Ukraine at this important moment and that we not ignore Russian aggression," he said, adding that during this week's NATO summit in Washington, he will meet with Zelenskiy "to make clear our support for Ukraine is unshakeable."

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UN Security Council To Discuss 'Massive' Russian Attack That Killed Dozens In Ukraine

Moscow has routinely denied targeting residences, schools, hospitals, and other civilian structures despite frequent bombings that suggest otherwise.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air attacks near Kyiv were aimed at "Ukrainian military industry facilities and Ukrainian air force bases," adding that "the strike's objectives were achieved."

The Washington-based nonprofit Institute for the Study Of War (ISW) countered Moscow's claims, saying video evidence "clearly shows a single missile flying at a sharp downward trajectory before making contact with the hospital building."

Kyiv's Civil Defense Department said on July 9 that the body of a missing boy had been retrieved from an apartment building hit during the missile attacks, which also partially destroyed another hospital and hit a business center in the capital as well.

RFE/RL cannot independently confirm reports by either side of battlefield developments in areas of the heaviest fighting.

With reporting by Current Time's Aleksei Aleksandrov

A court in Moscow on July 8 convicted theater director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriichuk of "justifying terrorism" and sentenced each to six years in prison. They were arrested last year following a production of the play Finist -- The Brave Falcon. The play is about Russian women who married Muslim men and moved to Syria. Both have maintained their innocence. A lawyer representing Berkovich and Petriichuk said they would appeal the ruling. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.

The leader of Moldova’s Socialist Party, Igor Dodon, announced on July 8 that he will not run in the presidential election later this year and threw his support behind former Prosecutor-General Alexandru Stoianoglo.

Dodon served one term as Moldovan president before being defeated by the current pro-Western incumbent Maia Sandu in an election in November 2020. Since then Moldova has tried to distance itself from Russia while making steps toward integration with the EU.

Dodon said that he has renounced "narrow party interests" and does not want Moldova to have "a politically affiliated president" rather one "from the people."

He urged other opposition parties to support Stoianoglo's candidacy and said he believes Stoianoglo will be supported "by many opinion leaders."

Stoianoglo declared that he is "not a politician" but criticized the current government for the way it promotes European integration and for what he called the "militarization" of Moldova.

"The constitutional order is being violated every day by the authorities and various political scoundrels," Stoianoglo told a news conference.

Stoianoglo said he favored EU membership but finds it "insulting" that European integration is "used as a truncheon and not as a means to modernize the country and unite its people."

The former prosecutor-general also said he was running to end injustices under Sandu's administration.

Sandu sacked Stoianoglo last year, citing violations of the Criminal Code on exceeding his authority and a failure to tackle corruption. He denies wrongdoing and has not been convicted in a court. The European Court for Human Rights has ruled that his dismissal violated principles of due process.

Sandu, who has made joining the European Union one of her main policies, will be seeking a second term in the election, which will include a referendum on joining the 27-nation bloc.

Dodon previously said that the Socialists wanted to put forward a joint candidate capable of competing with Sandu and her Action and Solidarity Party. But one by one other opposition leaders decided to run separately.

Dodon met in May with several opposition leaders to reportedly discuss a joint strategy and tried to identify a common candidate. Even though several opposition leaders later told RFE/RL that they had attended the meeting only to exchange views and not to find a common candidate, Dodon continued to say that the Socialists were talking with opposition leaders to form a common front in the elections.

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Former Moldovan President Challenged Over Pro-Russian Stance

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Dodon said that anyone who opposes Sandu is a potential ally, including fugitive businessman Ilan Şhor. However, he told RFE/RL that he "does not intend to have any discussions" with Şhor regarding the nomination of a joint presidential candidate but said the opposition will have a joint strategy if Sandu wins the election. The strategy includes an agreement among opposition parties to refrain from attacking each other in the first round of voting.

If a new head of state is not elected in the first round, then "everyone must unite around that opposition candidate who will enter the second round of the presidential elections," Dodon told RFE/RL.

Others politicians who have announced that they will run or that they intend to run include former Foreign Minister Tudor Ulianovschi; the leader of Our Party, controversial businessman Renato Usatii; the founder of the Dignity and Truth Platform (DA), Andrei Nastase; the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), Vlad Filat; and former Prime Minister Ion Chicu.

With reporting by Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on July 8 that Viktor Orban could not mediate between Russia and Ukraine to end Moscow’s full-scale invasion as the Hungarian prime minister traveled to Beijing on a continuation of what he calls "peace mission 3.0."

Orban's meetings in Beijing followed visits to Kyiv and Moscow last week following Hungary's assumption of the EU Council presidency on July 1, but EU and U.S. officials have emphasized that Orban is not representing the bloc.

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 a letter to European Council President Charles Michel dated July 5 and seen by RFE/RL, Orban said, based on his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he believes there is now a “greater chance for a positive reception on all possible proposals for a cease-fire and for a road map to peace talks.”

But Mike Carpenter, senior adviser for Europe with the White House National Security Council, said Orban’s meeting with Putin was not helpful.

“I don’t think [Orban’s visit to Moscow] is going to support Ukraine and its efforts at finding peace or Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity, Carpenter said on July 8 at a briefing as United States prepares for the opening of a NATO summit on July 9.

Michel said last week that the EU's rotating presidency "has no mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU" and reiterated the EU's position that Russia is the aggressor in the war in Ukraine.

Orban claimed in his letter that leadership by the United States “is limited” due to the ongoing presidential election campaign. Therefore, he said the EU can expect no proposals from the United States in the coming months and Brussels should consider launching a European initiative.

Speaking at a news conference in Poland, Zelenskiy said only powerful countries with armed forces much stronger than Russia's could manage to arrange peace talks.

"Are there many such countries around the world? Not many. I believe the U.S., and China are such countries. And the EU, not one country, but the whole EU. This could really be an intermediary mission," Zelenskiy said.

He added that Kyiv remains open to proposals from other countries on how to shape the path to peace, but they should align with the Ukrainian vision, in particular a 10-point peace plan, Zelenskiy added.

Zelenskiy has insisted that Ukraine's territorial integrity -- backed in multiple UN votes and a Ukrainian-initiated Global Peace Summit in Switzerland last month -- must be the foundation of any peace deal.

Putin has said conditions for ending the war include Kyiv renouncing its desire to join NATO and ceding Crimea and four other occupied regions of Ukraine.

Orban told Michel in his letter that he did not put forth any proposal “and did not articulate any opinion on behalf of the European Council or the European Union.”

He said that, with regard to the peace formula presented by Zelenskiy, Putin again pointed out that Russia still considers relevant the document handed over during peace talks in April 2022 in Turkey, especially the part that specifies international security guarantees to be granted to Ukraine.

Orban’s letter also said Putin’s interpretation of the situation on the front line “differs substantially” from that of Zelenskiy’s.

The Russian leader believes that “time is not on the side” of Ukraine but on the side of the Russian forces. Putin made no reference to Russian casualties but said Russia estimates that Ukraine’s losses and casualties are between 40,000 and 50,000 soldiers per month, according to Orban.

Therefore, Putin was surprised that Zelenskiy rejected a temporary cease-fire, Orban said. Russia is “ready to consider any cease-fire proposal that does not serve the hidden relocation and reorganization of Ukrainian forces,” Orban’s letter said.

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Ukraine does not release data on casualties, but Zelenskiy said on February 25 that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died in the war to that point and rejected Moscow's much higher estimates of Ukrainian losses.

Orban’s letter also referred to a Chinese-Brazilian peace proposal that is under consideration by the Russian side. China has been promoting the six-point peace plan, which proposes an international peace conference "at a proper time" and calls for equal participation by both Ukraine and Russia.

Moscow is “ready to exchange views on it, provided that the framework of the peace talks is appropriate,” he said.

The summit in Switzerland considered Ukraine’s proposal for peace, and Kyiv hopes to hold a second summit later this year. China did not attend the first meeting.

After Orban's meeting with Xi in Beijing, he wrote a separate letter to Michel in which he said the talks "confirmed that China’s peace policy that is based on the principles of no expansion, no escalation, and no provocation will remain in place for the foreseeable future."

Orban told Michel that Xi considers it highly likely that the next round of international peace talks will take place before the end of the year. He added that Beijing understands that the precondition for this is the participation of both sides and said the Chinese interpret a statement by Zelenskiy that the meeting will be organized with the participation of Russia "as an official commitment to this effect."

With reporting by Reuters

A political campaign strategist for the Russian opposition Yabloko party’s deputy chairman was rushed to hospital on July 8 after an ambulance was called to a courtroom during his trial in Moscow on a charge of disobeying police. Lawyers for Vitaly Shushkevich said their client has an unspecified medical condition and constantly needs medicine, which police refused to supply him during two days of detention. He is a strategist for Maksim Kruglov, the only member of the Yabloko party who managed to collect enough signatures of supporters to be eligible to take part in municipal elections in the Russian capital in September. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Afghan authorities have slashed the salaries of women government workers who have been forced to stay at home since the Taliban seized power, the Taliban-led government's Finance Ministry said on July 8. After kicking out the foreign-backed government in 2021, the Taliban administration stopped most women employed in the public sector from attending their offices while continuing to pay them. "Women who are at home and do not go to the office... their salaries are 5,000 afghanis ($70) a month," Ahmad Wali Haqmal, the ministry spokesman, told AFP. Women who are permitted to work in segregated areas such as in government hospitals or schools would continue to get paid a salary according to their position.

The Kirov regional court in Russia on July 8 acquitted Nikita Belykh, the region's former governor and an opponent of President Vladimir Putin, in a new case against him on charge of abuse of office.

Belykh was released from prison last month after serving an eight-year prison term on a bribe-taking charge that he has rejected.

Then, in December 2023, a court in the Kirov region sentenced Belykh to an additional 2 1/2 years in prison on a charge of abuse of power but spared him from serving the punishment, citing the statute of limitations.

Meanwhile, prosecutors sought an additional term for Belykh on two charges of abuse of power, but the judge acquitted Belykh of the more serious of the two charges due to a lack of evidence, handing him only a 2 1/2-year sentence on the lesser of the two charges. Statute-of-limitations deadlines also mean he won't serve prison time on that charge.

On July 8, the Kirov regional court cancelled the lower court's December decision, fully acquitting Belykh due to "the absence of any elements of a crime" in the case.

One of the highest-ranking officials to be arrested in office since Putin was first elected president in 2000, Belykh maintained his innocence in both cases against him, saying he was the victim of a provocation by law enforcement authorities.

Once a leader of a liberal opposition party, the Union of Rightist Forces, Belykh was one of the few provincial governors in Russia not closely allied with Putin.

Before serving as Kirov governor, Belykh was a deputy governor for the Perm region and a lawmaker in that region's Legislative Assembly.

He conducted several political campaigns in opposition to Putin's policies and was sharply criticized by liberals, such as former ally Boris Nemtsov -- who was assassinated in February 2015 -- when he accepted the appointment in 2009 by then-President Dmitry Medvedev.

Putin fired Belykh in July 2016, shortly after his arrest.

With reporting by TASS and Interfax

The Kazakh Defense Ministry said on July 8 that its armed forces, along with those from Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, had begun joint military maneuvers on the shores of the Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan. The Association-2024 drills, scheduled to run until July 17, are taking place at the Oimasha military test field and the Cape of Toqmaq in the Kazakh region of Manghystau. In all, up to 4,000 military personnel from the five countries and almost 700 pieces of military equipment and vehicles are taking part in the exercises. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

A court in Belarus opened the trial of Natallya Malets on a charge of facilitating extremist activities as the government of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka shows no signs of letting up in its campaign to crush any perceived signs of dissent.

The Brest regional court in the country's west on July 8 launched the trial of the 63-year-old Malets, who is accused of wiring cash 125 times to political prisoners. If found guilty, she faces up to six years in prison.

Last year, Malets was handed an 18-month parole-like sentence on a charge of "insulting a representative of law enforcement." Human right groups have recognized her as a political prisoner.

Meanwhile, the Hrodna regional court on July 8 started the trial in absentia of journalist Ales Kirkevich on the same charge of facilitating extremist activities. It remains unclear what Kirkevich did to be charged with the offense.

The Crisis In Belarus

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

Since mass protests in 2020 challenged the official result of a presidential election where Lukashenka was announced the winner -- many in Belarus and abroad say the vote was rigged -- Belarusian authorities have launched a sometimes deadly crackdown on independent journalists, activists, opposition politicians, and democratic institutions.

Over the weekend, the Brest regional court sentenced Iryna Pahadayeva to three years in prison, saying the 55-yrear-old activist wired cash to jailed political prisoners 32 times.

Pahadayeva was arrested in May and her state of health has dramatically worsened while in custody, as she suffers from issues related to high blood pressure. Human right groups have recognized her as a political prisoner.

The same court is currently trying another activist, Iryna Bandarenka, on the same charge. Bandarenka is accused of sending cash to political prisoners and bringing parcels to them while they were held in a detention center in Brest.

The Vyasna human rights group said on July 8 that 18 political prisoners, including four women, had been released since last week after Lukashenka signed a law on mass amnesty.

According to Vyasna, some political prisoners refused to accept the amnesty after they were required to write a letter to Lukashenka asking him personally for clemency.

Lukashenka, 69, has been in power since 1994. He has tightened his grip on the country since the August 2020 election by arresting -- sometimes violently -- more than 35,000 people. Fearing for their safety, most opposition members have fled the country.

The West has refused to recognize the results of the election and does not consider Lukashenka to be the country's legitimate leader.

Many countries have imposed sanctions against Lukashenka's regime in response to the suppression of dissent in the country.

A new right-wing alliance announced recently by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been accredited in the European Parliament with French National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella as its chairman, a spokesman for the Hungarian leader said via social media on July 8.

The registration of the Patriots For Europe grouping followed posts earlier in the day by Orban spokesman Zoltan Kovacs saying Bardella and Marine Le Pen's RN and the Italian Lega party led by Matteo Salvini would join.

"PatriotsforEurope has been officially accredited as the new defining right-wing political group of the [European Parliament]," Kovacs tweeted under the phrase "historic moment."

"Our political group will start its journey with [Bardella] as chairman and [Fidesz] MEP Kinga Gal as the first vice-chairman," he added.

Such groupings require a minimum of 23 representatives from at least seven EU member states.

The additions of the French and Italians after commitments from Danes, Spaniards, Czechs, and Austrians, and others suggested they could have quickly become the third-largest faction in the European legislative chamber.

"With 84 representatives from 12 countries our alliance of European patriots will fight for the future and sovereignty of the European people!" Kovacs said.

Le Pen's party colleagues had reportedly signaled their intention to join the Orban-backed grouping ahead of her national-populist party's third-place finish in French national elections in which the political left and right teamed up to beat back the surging RN's hopes of a win.

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Far-Right National Front Falls Short In Elections, But France Remains Polarized

"This new right-wing faction could become the third-largest in the European Parliament," Orban spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said earlier.

Kovacs also tweeted that the Patriots For Europe "continues to grow with the addition of Italy's Lega party" led by Matteo Salvini.

Salvini confirmed Lega's participation, saying on social media that "after a lot of work, the large Patriots group is born together with the Lega in Brussels, which will be decisive in changing the future of this Europe."

Orban announced the Patriots for Europe alliance in Vienna on June 30 alongside Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) President Herbert Kickl and billionaire former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who heads the Czech ANO party.

Orban vowed that it would "quickly" dominate the European political right.

Salvini estimated that the Patriots have attracted 80 members, which would outpace the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Party group led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Lega's domestic ally.

But Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party said it would not join the Patriots for Europe.

Orban's right-wing Fidesz party has been isolated in the European Parliament since quitting the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) group under threat of expulsion in 2021.

Elections in early June for the European Parliament showed big gains for Europe's far right, although Fidesz suffered a setback amid a challenge from party defector Peter Magyar and his center-right Tisza Party.

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Orban Challenger Says Strong Election Showing Marks Breakthrough For Hungary

The Hungarian prime minister has talked openly about his plans to turn the country from a democracy into an "illiberal state," and the government has taken control of much of Hungary's print and broadcast media.

Orban has hammered Brussels as his government imposed controversial laws on LGBT speech and clashed with the bloc over perceived backsliding on democratic and media freedoms.

He has also cozied up to Moscow diplomatically and economically while resisting EU and other sanctions imposed on Russia to punish its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and refusing to join NATO and other Western efforts to help arm Kyiv.

His self-described "peace mission" since Hungary took up the rotating six-month EU Council presidency has angered EU leaders, who quickly spoke out to say Orban did not represent the bloc in any potential negotiations about Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

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Orban Meets In Beijing With Xi As Solo 'Peace Mission' Continues

Russian human rights activist Svyatoslav Khromenkov said authorities at a prison in Siberia placed 62-year-old anti-war activist Natalya Filonova under stricter prison conditions. Filonova is now being held in a part of the facility where inmates are under stricter control, have limited access to other parts of the prison, and visits by friends and relatives are limited. Filonova is serving a 17-month prison term on a charge of attacking police officers at a rally in 2022 as a protest against the military mobilization to the war in Ukraine. Filonova rejects the charge as politically motivated. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.