Azerbaijan has officially applied to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies. Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizadeh announced the move on August 20, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the South Caucasus country. For over a decade, the bloc included just five nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. But it has recently seen a major expansion. Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates joined in January. Saudi Arabia has said it's considering joining as well. Azerbaijan initially expressed its desire to join BRICS in July, and China welcomed it. To read the original story on RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.

EU officials on August 20 again firmly rejected Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's claim that Western countries were behind recent protests against his government's lithium mining plans.

"The European Union absolutely rejects any allegations that it would be involved in any kind of illegal or illegitimate activities linked to foreign interference. This is not what the European Union is doing," Peter Stano, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said at a European Commission news briefing.

The protests oppose a lithium mining project set to be launched by the Anglo-Australian metals and mining giant Rio Tinto in Jadar in western Serbia over fears that it will pollute water and land resources in a country that already suffers from significant environmental degradation, a legacy of communist rule.

The protests took place after the European Union and the Serbian government last month signed a memorandum of understanding on a "strategic partnership" on sustainable raw materials, battery supply chains, and electric vehicles.

SEE ALSO:

Germany's Scholz Praises Lithium-Mining Deal With Serbia, Says Environment Will Be Protected

The mining of lithium is necessary for Europe "to remain sovereign in a changing world and not be dependent on others," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on July 19 as he attended a Critical Raw Materials Summit in Belgrade, where the memorandum was signed.

Germany is seeking to secure lithium for the manufacture of electric vehicles as the EU aims to reduce its dependence on imports from China of the critical substance, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles.

Ana Pisonero, EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi's spokeswoman, stressed on August 20 that the EU “remains fully committed to developing -- jointly with Serbia and stakeholders -- concrete actions to put into practice the strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains, and electric vehicles.”

Stano and Pisonero, who joined the press briefing via video link, made the comments in response to a question about Vucic’s unsubstantiated accusation that recent demonstrations in opposition to the multibillion-dollar lithium-mining project were part of Western-backed "hybrid" warfare against his government.

SEE ALSO:

Protests Flare Up In Serbian Towns Over Reversal On Huge Lithium Mine

Moscow has also accused the West of being behind the protests, which demand a halt to Anglo-Australian metals and mining giant Rio Tinto's $2.4 billion lithium project in Jadar in western Serbia over fears it could pollute nearby land and water.

The project has the capacity to supply 90 percent of Europe's current lithium needs and make Rio Tinto one of the world's leading lithium producers. It could also play a critical role in Western electric vehicle supply chains as Washington and Brussels seek to reduce dependency on rival China.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After the Wagner Group reconstituted itself earlier this year, including renaming itself the Africa Corps, Kremlin officials seem unsure of the group’s next steps and its role within Russia’s international strategy, experts speaking on August 20 at a Washington think tank said.

While major restructuring did take place, the newly formed Africa Corps appears to be different in name only. The war in Ukraine has continued to be the number one priority for the group, comprising heavy cooperation with Russian officials. Within Africa, however, both the group’s sovereignty and their exact role in the region come into question, the experts said.

With the one-year anniversary of the plane crash that took the lives of multiple key figures of the then-Wagner Group approaching on August 23, Moscow officials have yet to fill the void that was left by the death of charismatic leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

After the dramatic crash in the Tver region northwest of Moscow -- an accident according to Russian authorities but widely believed to have been an intentional act carried out at the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin -- Russia's GRU military intelligence agency took control of all operations of the group.

SEE ALSO:

Russia In Africa: Coups, Anti-Western Messaging Offset Setbacks From Ukraine War, Prigozhin's Demise 

But even with this takeover, political analyst Mark Galeotti argued at the Brookings Institution on August 20 that the GRU “is trying to run a blended diplomatic, commercial, and military structure, while they only have the skill set to run the latter.”

With the GRU still getting a foothold on the operations of the previous group, Africa Corps has large shoes to fill if it wishes to continue the Wagner Group’s influence across several African countries.

In Libya, the Central African Republic (C.A.R.), and Mali, the Africa Corps has continued the same operations that were conducted by Wagner Group in years prior. But in the past year, Africa Corps’ leadership has begun to test its power in both Burkina Faso and Niger with expansions of personnel that bring its presence in each country to more than 100, according to Christopher Faulkner, professor at the U.S. Naval War College.

“Africa Corps is still in its elementary phase…. We’re just waiting to see what’s going to transpire and whether or not Moscow will actually invest in real genuine security in those states,” Faulkner said.

SEE ALSO:

Wagner's Bloody Mali Debacle Shows Cracks In Russia's Sahel Strategy

With the Wagner’s Group previous reputation for brutality in Ukraine, it is surprising that its counterinsurgency operations have largely been unspectacular in Africa, according to Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

In C.A.R., Wagner’s success was underpinned by the fact that its adversary consisted of relatively weak local groups. Even in a case such as Mozambique, where it was fighting a weak Al-Shabab, its operation was largely considered a failure, Felbab-Brown said.

The goal of the newly formed Africa Corps, considered a terrorist group by Britain and a transnational criminal group by the United States, is to create regime dependency on Russia through the security it provides. It has systemically driven up polarization in the countries where it operates in Africa, provoked violence, economic infiltration, and made use of organized crime groups, Felbab-Brown said.

Africa Corps’ entry into Burkina Faso, which came after Prigozhin’s death, was an attempt to further this influence, while simultaneously the GRU began assessing its role on the continent. As this assessment continues, Africa Corps appears to be preparing to enter the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C) as well. According to Felbab-Brown, the Russian government has already signed military deals with the government of the D.R.C.

In addition, the government of the tiny island country of Sao Tome and Principe off Africa’s western coast, is cozying up to Russia. It has been signaling that it is keen on sending forces to a Russian training academy in Chechnya designed specifically for proxy actors. Similarly, Russia has begun canceling and restructuring large portions of debt owed to it by Guinea Bissau.

Russian influence in Guinea Bissau, one of the world’s least developed countries, will put Moscow within arms reach of Guinea Bissau’s massive cocaine trade, where many organized crime groups from both Africa and Latin America convene, according to Felbab-Brown. This would allow Russian intelligence groups to further link themselves to transnational criminal organizations.

While Africa Corps is slowly attempting to further cement itself on the continent, Moscow officials must first learn how to properly use the group to their advantage. In considering the reach the group already has, as well as the speed at which Moscow was able to reconstitute Wagner into Africa Corps, Felbab-Brown said it is easy to understand why “Russia is playing for influence, much as the U.S.A. is trying to counter this influence.”

Russia’s Supreme Court on August 20 extended the pretrial detention of three lawyers who once represented slain Russian opposition politician, Aleksei Navalny, and are now facing charges of extremism. Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Aleksei Liptser were arrested in October in a case widely seen as a means to ramp up pressure on Navalny. According to his allies, authorities accused the lawyers of using their status to pass letters from the imprisoned opposition politician to his team, thus serving as intermediaries between Navalny and what they called his “extremist group.” The Supreme Court also denied a request to transfer the case away from a court in Russia’s western Vladimir region.

A court in Kazakhstan has fined three activists over their participation in a rally in late May demanding the official registration of the opposition Algha, Qazaqstan (Forward, Kazakhstan) party. Aizhan Zholdasova and Ermek Qonyshbai were ordered on August 19 to pay 110,740 tenges ($230) each, while Azia Abieva was fined 77, 532 tenges ($161). All three pleaded not guilty before the court in the southern city of Shymkent, saying they have a right to express their political demands. In November, a court in Astana sentenced the chairman of Algha, Qazaqstan, Marat Zhylanbaev, to seven years in prison on extremism charges, which he also rejects as politically motivated. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on August 20 that it had summoned the U.S. Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Stephanie Holmes to protest what it called "provocative" reports by U.S. journalists from the Kyiv-controlled part of Russia's Kursk region who "illegally" crossed the Russian border. The ministry also claimed that "evidence" showed the presence of unspecified U.S. private military groups' involvement in Ukraine's ongoing incursion into the region, adding that "necessary investigative actions to bring them to justice" will be carried out.

SARAJEVO -- CIA Director William Burns was in Sarajevo on August 20 to discuss the “worrying secessionist rhetoric and actions” of the pro-Russian president and government of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Serb entity, a U.S. government official told RFE/RL.

Burns, who arrived from a diplomatic mission to Israel as part of the U.S. effort to negotiate a cease-fire in Gaza, held meetings at the Bosnian presidency with colleagues in the intelligence community, members of the presidency, and the foreign minister, the U.S. official said.

“They discussed issues of mutual interest, which include the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia-Herzegovina,” according to the official, who asked not to be named.

Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russia president of the Serb entity of Bosnia, has raised concerns among Bosnia’s Western allies because of his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Dodik reaffirmed in February after meeting Putin in the Russian republic of Tatarstan that Republika Srpska would not join Western sanctions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

SEE ALSO:

Dodik Doubles Down On Refusal To Join Sanctions Against Moscow In Meeting With Putin

Dodik’s statements have been one of the main stumbling blocks in Bosnia's progress toward EU membership since it became a candidate in 2022.

Almir Dzuvo, the chief of Bosnia's Intelligence and Security Agency, confirmed earlier to RFE/RL that Burns was in Sarajevo. Burns “voiced his support for the cooperation of U.S. and Bosnian intelligence agencies" during his meeting with Dzuvo, the Bosnian intelligence chief told RFE/RL.

Bosnia’s head of diplomacy Elmedin Konakovic, who also met with Burns, said Bosnia “once again received confirmation of full support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and condemnation of secessionist messages and moves.”

Konakovic told RFE/RL that while he could not comment on some parts of the discussion, a universal message was sent that the American administration is “very clear that Bosnia’s foreign policy partner is still firmly with Bosnia-Herzegovina."

Margarita Assenova, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, said Serbia has been stirring up trouble in Bosnia for some time and it’s become “more visible and more dangerous.”

Burns's visit is a “very good message” to Serbia that the United States will not tolerate its actions, Assenova said.

Trouble in the Balkans would play into the Kremlin’s hands as it could distract the United States and Europe from Russia’s war in Ukraine, she added, noting that President Joe Biden played an active role in U.S. foreign policy toward the Balkans while in the Senate and serving in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

A visit from one of the top people of the U.S. government shows the commitment of the United States and that Bosnia “is at the very top of the priorities of American foreign policy, which is very important for us," he added.

The last CIA director to visit Bosnia-Herzegovina was John Brennan in 2016.

Sources told RFE/RL that Zeljka Cvijanovic, who has been designated for sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department due to threats to the Dayton accords, was at the meeting at the Bosnian presidency. She is a member of Dodik’s Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) and a member of State Presidency of Bosnia.

Ukrainian lawmaker Roman Kostenko told RFE/RL on August 20 that no evacuation of local residents from parts of Russia's Kursk region that is controlled by Kyiv's armed forces to Ukraine is under way at the moment. Kostenko added that the Ukraine-installed commandant's office is ensuring the protection of local residents in Russian territories under Kyiv's control, in accordance with the Geneva conventions. Kostenko added that, if some Russian citizens from the Kursk region have appeared on the Ukrainian side of the border, that must have been done through their own initiative and efforts. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

Iranian police have shut down Germany’s Das Deutsche Sprachinstitut Teheran (DSIT) -- the German Language Institute Tehran -- for allegedly “violating the country’s laws,” prompting Berlin to summon Iran's ambassador.

In a post on X, the Mizan news agency of Iran’s judiciary said on August 20 that two branches of “illegal centers affiliated with the German government” had been shut down for “committing several illegal actions and extensive financial violations.”

It added that the judiciary had "received reports of violations by other centers linked to Germany" without elaborating.

Formerly called the Goethe Institute, the cultural center is managed by the Germany Embassy in the Iranian capital.

"We condemn Iranian security authorities' treatment of that German language institute in Tehran," the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said, noting that the Iranian ambassador had been summoned.

Prior to Mizan’s post, an informed source told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that police officers had shuttered the institute’s branches in uptown Tehran on August 20, confirming earlier claims on social media.

The move comes after Germany last month banned the Islamic Center Hamburg, or IZH, an Iran-linked organization that it said "promotes an Islamist-extremist, totalitarian ideology in Germany."

The German authorities also shut down five IZH suborganizations, saying that they "also support the terrorists of Hizballah and spread aggressive antisemitism,” referring to Iran’s Lebanon-based ally that has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

Speaking to Radio Farda, a former DSIT student said the closure was a “sad” development because the institute served as a “second home” for people who wanted to learn German in an environment “more open” than Iranian universities.

They said most people who studied at the institute sought to migrate to continue their studies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Now, those looking to learn German have to pay more to study at less reputable institutes and travel abroad to take an accredited German language exam.

Many people immediately expressed concerns about what the shuttering of the institute would mean for their scheduled language exams.

Photos shared on the social media platform showed several police cars parked outside premises of the cultural institute. Police officers were also seen standing under the institute’s torn-down signboard.

The Goethe Institute opened its first branch in Iran in 1958 but its cultural activities were severely restricted following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, resulting in its closure in 1987.

The institute resumed operations in 1995 under a new name -- DSIT -- but it continued to be referred to locally as Goethe Institute.

Kazakh anti-nuclear activist Meiirkhan Abdimanapov was fined 129,000 tenges ($270) after he was detained in Almaty on August 19 on his way to Astana, where he planned to take part in public debates on government's plans to construct a nuclear power station in Kazakhstan. Abdimanapov spent several hours in police custody and was released late in the night after a court fined him for taking part in rallies held six months ago to support incarcerated independent journalist Duman Mukhammedkarim. Abdimanapov says the goal of his detention was to prevent him from taking part in debates in Astana over the nuclear plant. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

Ukrainian lawmakers on August 20 approved a bill banning religious organizations linked to the Russian Orthodox Church, which Kyiv has criticized for being supportive of Moscow's full-scale invasion.

Lawmaker Oleksandr Honcharenko said 265 members in parliament (Verkhovna Rada) approved the bill that once signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will pave the way to banning the branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC),which is associated with the Moscow Patriarchate.

The legislation bans the activities of religious organizations affiliated with centers of influence "in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine." It says a court of law would be empowered to terminate such activities.

Zelenskiy thanked lawmakers and called the legislation "the law on our spiritual independence."

"This is what we have been talking about with members of the Council of Churches and Religious Organizations. And in the coming days I will talk about it with representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. We will continue to strengthen our Ukraine, our society," Zelenskiy said in a video statement.

The bill has been a hot issue for lawmakers. In July, senior legislators refused to put it to a vote, after which, deputies representing several parties blocked the podium armed with a banner reading "The Moscow church kills."

SEE ALSO:

Internal Rifts And U.S. Politics In Play As Ukraine Considers Banning Long Russian-Linked Church

Zelenskiy's Servant of the People party split over the fate of the legislation targeting the UOC, whose controversial role in Ukraine has drawn further scrutiny since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukrainian lawmakers gave their initial approval to the bill in October 2023.

The UOC is a branch of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church that previously was under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox patriarch in Moscow. It officially cut ties with Moscow last year over Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, but officials linked to the church have been accused of maintaining links with Russia.

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said in October that 68 criminal cases, including accusations of treason, had been initiated against UOC representatives since Russia's invasion.

The UOC has insisted the legislation would not comply with the Ukrainian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, accusing Kyiv of trying to portray its Ukrainian clergymen and believers as "agents of the Russian Federation."

On August 20, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, who is an adviser to the Russian Orthodox Church's leader, Patriarch Kirill, condemned the Ukrainian lawmakers' approval of the bill, saying it violates the religious rights of the Ukrainian people.

"The law adopted by the [Verkhovna] Rada violates internationally recognized norms related to the protection of religious freedom and provides the possibility of a further wider deployment of anti-church persecution by the Kyiv regime," Balashov said.

The Russian Orthodox Church has staunchly backed President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s invasion.

Pakistan's military says five suspected militants and three troops were killed in a firefight in the Bajaur tribal district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The public relations department of Pakistan's Army said the clash occurred early on August 19 in Bajaur's Mamondo area. The military said four other suspected militants were wounded. It did not say which militant group the suspects, who were attempting to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan, belonged to. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has seen an increase in deadly attacks that mostly remained unclaimed while some of them were claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan.

The Committee to Protect Journalists on August 19 called on Tajik authorities to drop bribery charges against noted journalist Ahmad Ibrohim, who was arrested a week earlier.

"Following the wave of lengthy convictions against journalists in Tajikistan since 2022, the arrest of Ahmad Ibrohim is yet another reminder of how dangerous any form of critical journalism is in the country's deeply repressive media environment," CPJ Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Gulnoza Said emphasized in the statement.

"Tajik authorities should release Ibrohim, along with seven other journalists currently incarcerated in retaliation for their work, and allow the media to operate freely," Said added.

Several sources close to law enforcement in Tajikistan told RFE/RL over the weekend that police in the Central Asian nation's southern city of Kulob had arrested the 62-year-old editor-in-chief of the Paik (Message) independent newspaper after he allegedly offered a bribe to an official in exchange for re-registration of his media outlet.

According to some sources, Ibrohim’s arrest appeared to have been a setup.

Authorities in Kulob have refused to extend Paik's license to operate since March, the sources said, and a state security services officer who had spent several months cultivating a relationship with Ibrohim said he could help obtain a license for 2500 somoni ($235). After Ibrohim handed over the money, he was arrested.

If convicted, Ibrohim could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

Tajik officials have yet to announce the arrest officially.

In recent years, several Tajik journalists, rights activists, and opposition politicians have been handed lengthy prison terms on charges seen by rights groups as trumped-up and politically motivated.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, who has run the Central Asian nation for almost 30 years, has been criticized by international human rights groups over his administration's alleged disregard for independent media, religious freedoms, civil society, and political pluralism.

Kyiv says it is continuing its two-week-old incursion into Russia's border region of Kursk with the aim of creating a buffer zone to protect civilians along the border, but Moscow is pressing unabated its offensive farther south in Donetsk region, where it claims to have captured a key logistics hub on August 20.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine now controls 1,250 kilometers and 92 settlements in Kursk since it launched its surprise cross-border operation on August 6, and Russia acknowledged that three key bridges over the Seym River were destroyed, cutting important supply lines for Moscow forces.

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.

However, Kyiv's aim is not territorial gain and has a clear scope -- ensuring the safety against incessant Russian shelling and strikes from across the border, one of Zelenskiy's senior advisers, Mykhaylo Podolyak, told Current Time, adding that Ukraine's operation is adhering to international legislation and protects the civilian population.

"Ukraine does not intend to seize populated areas or occupy this territory," Podolyak said on August 19.

"This is a different type of war, a war that is clearly spelled out in international law and in conventions that regulate behavior toward combatants and especially toward noncombatants, toward the civilian population on this territory."

Podolyak told Current Time that Moscow has been using border areas to strike civilian infrastructure up to 70-80 kilometers inside Ukraine.

"Along the border, including in the Kursk region, artillery is deployed 1 or 2 kilometers from the state border, ballistic launchers are deployed, multiple-launch rocket systems are deployed," he said.

"Take [Ukraine's] Sumy region, located just opposite Kursk region. About 500-600 shellings were carried out daily targeting the territory of the Sumy region. Squeezing out Russian weapons to a depth of 100 kilometers will already make it possible to protect the civilian population in the Ukrainian border area, for example in the Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions."

Referring to the civilian population that remains in the territory now under Ukrainian military's control, Podolyak said Kyiv is fulfilling all the requirements of international humanitarian legislation.

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"We keep a register of civilians. International law very strictly requires that you bear actual responsibility for residents, citizens, and noncombatants. International humanitarian law clearly spells out your responsibility in the zone of actual control if there is military action there. Of course, registers will be compiled, our guys are looking at who is there, who needs to be sent where, and so on."

Ukrainian lawmaker Roman Kostenko told RFE/RL on August 20 that no evacuation of local residents from Kursk areas controlled by Ukraine's armed forces to Ukraine is under way at the moment.

Kostenko added that the Kyiv-installed command office is ensuring the protection of local residents in Russian territories under Ukraine's control, in accordance with Geneva conventions.

On August 19, Zelenskiy again pushed for permission from Ukraine's allies to use long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia.

• Amos Chapple

Washington has reportedly indicated it is "open" to supplying Ukraine with longer-range cruise missiles that have the ability to significantly impact the war with Russia. But experts say their high cost will limit how the missiles are used.

"Ukraine is separated from halting the advance of the Russian Army on the front by only one decision we await from our partners: the decision on long-range capabilities," he said.

The United States and other allies of Ukraine have placed restrictions on the use of the weapons over concerns that it could escalate the war.

Podolyak, however, said such an escalation would only occur if Ukraine acted in a similar way to Russia and struck civilian areas, which would put Kyiv morally on the same footing as Moscow.

"There is definitely no point in striking big cities or populated areas as such. This will not solve any problem and would equalize Ukraine and Russia in the type of warfare, which is absolutely pointless," Podolyak said.

The United States, Ukraine's main ally and supplier of modern weapons systems, remains opposed for the time being to allowing Ukraine to use long-range western arms to strike deeper inside Russia.

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Ukraine Blasts Bridges In Kursk, Claims More Prisoners Taken

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"I will say that our policy has not changed. I just don't have anything to add to that," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in response to a question on the subject on August 19.

Meanwhile, Russia on August 20 claimed to have captured Nyu-York, an important logistics hub in Donetsk, as it continues its grinding advance toward the city of Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian authorities have ordered the mandatory evacuation of children.

"As a result of the actions of the units of the center group of forces, a large grouping of enemy troops was defeated and one of the largest settlements in Toretsk agglomeration, the strategically important logistics hub of [Nyu-York].. was liberated," the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram.

The capture of Nyu-York, which had a population of around 10,000 before the start of the war, could not be independently confirmed.

On August 19, Russia said it had captured the nearby town of Zalizne, also part of Toretsk urban agglomeration.

Ukrainian air-defense systems repelled a missile strike on Kyiv early on August 20, the fifth missile attack by Russia's military on the Ukrainian capital this month, the air force reported.

Elsewhere, a large fire broke out in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil, regional officials said, urging people to remain inside.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

U.S. intelligence officials said on August 19 that they were confident Iran was responsible for the hacking of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. They cast the cyber intrusion as part of a brazen and broader effort by Tehran to interfere in U.S. politics and potentially shape the outcome of the November election. Besides breaching the Trump campaign, officials also believe Iran tried to hack into the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris. Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied the allegations as "unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing," saying Iran had neither the motive nor intention to interfere with the election.

Ukrainian air-defense systems repelled a missile strike on Kyiv early on August 20, the fifth missile attack by Russia's military on the Ukrainian capital this month, the air force reported, adding that according to early assessments there were no casualties or damage. The military said the wave of Iskander K cruise missiles was preceded just hours earlier by drone strikes. Meanwhile, a large fire broke out in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil, regional officials said, urging people to remain inside. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

PRISTINA -- Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani says Kosovo is in consultations with the international community on opening the main bridge in Mitrovica that divides ethnic Albanian and Serbian communities.

Osmani told RFE/RL in an interview on August 19 that opening the bridge, which has been a point of contention in Mitrovica because of concerns that it would increase already high ethnic tensions, is a priority and could turn into a “symbol of normalization” in relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

The bridge divides the Albanian-majority southern side and a Serb-majority northern side of the city, Kosovar authorities have been seeking a way to open it in a way that does not provoke conflict with Kosovo's international partners.

“Of course, we need to ask for the bridge to open very soon because we are already eight years too late,” she said, adding that this doesn’t mean that Kosovo has told its allies in the Quint -- an informal decision-making group consisting of the United States, France, Germany, Italy, and Britain -- that Pristina would disregard security concerns or open the bridge without working with them.

Osmani said it would not make sense for Pristina to take the step without making sure that its security partners were on board because “it would backfire” and “that is not in the interest of Kosovo.”

Prime Minister Albin Kurti at the beginning of August announced plans to open the bridge to vehicle traffic despite opposition from members of both NATO and Quint. The announcement sparked protests by Serbs in northern Kosovo, who expressed concerns that the move would increase ethnic tensions and impact their safety.

SEE ALSO:

Kurti Defends Plans To Open Mitrovica Bridge Despite International Criticism

NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) peacekeeping mission and the European Union have requested that the matter be taken up by Brussels, but Osmani said she opposes this given that Kosovo and Serbia already have an agreement and the two sides consider the issue closed.

Talks will continue, she said, but it will be crucial that the two sides fully coordinate with NATO.

Osmani said that she spoke about the opening of the bridge with Kurti about a month ago and they agreed that there must be coordination with NATO’s presence in Kosovo, which includes EU partners that are members of NATO and others that are not, along with the United States, which she described as “our main security partner.”

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The current security assessment regarding the bridge is critical and open to exploitation by Serbia, Osmani said.

“There is a constant threat, as we all know, and as we've said it publicly many times, from forces that are financed, instigated, as well as pushed politically and trained militarily by Serbia,” she told RFE/RL. “Of course, it is in Serbia's interest to always cause some sort of a tension in Kosovo.”

She noted that Milan Radoicic, a Kosovar Serb politician who has claimed he is the sole mastermind of an armed attack on the village of Banjska in September 2023 that left a Kosovo police officer and three attackers dead, is still free.

Serbia has refused to extradite him to face charges in Kosovo despite an arrest warrant issued by Interpol, but there has been no formal decision.

SEE ALSO:

Who Was Behind The Deadly Attack At The Orthodox Monastery In Kosovo?

She also claimed there are people in Kosovo who “still try to hide their weapons,” adding that even as recently as just a few days ago Kosovar police confiscated weapons “that are hidden by certain people in the north” who cooperate with “gangs” in Serbia.

She also repeated her claim that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is the “mastermind” behind the hiding of weapons and the deadly attack in September -- a charge that Vucic has vehemently denied.

“It's not a political assumption. I know for a fact that Aleksandar Vucic is directly involved in ordering the Banjska attack” she said, adding that Kosovo’s NATO partners and other Balkan countries know this as well.

“When you deal with minds like that, you need to gather around, regroup, reorganize, understand who your friends and partners are, and work with them to prevent such scenarios which are trying to bring our region back to the 1990s,” she said.

U.S. television talk show pioneer Phil Donahue, who hosted a groundbreaking television discussion series between U.S. and Soviet audiences in the 1980s, has died aged 88. Donahue, who died on August 18, was well known in the United States for launching the daytime television talk show genre. His Cold War programs were known as Citizen Summits and featured simultaneous broadcasts from a city within each country where studio audiences could ask questions of one another. Donahue and Soviet television journalist Vladimir Posner moderated each of their respective audiences. In the 1990s, the pair also co-hosted a weekly issues roundtable on U.S. business broadcaster CNBC. To read the full story by RFE/RL’s Russian service, click here.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has again pushed for permission from Ukraine's allies to use long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia.

"Ukraine is separated from halting the advance of the Russian Army on the front by only one decision we await from our partners: the decision on long-range capabilities," Zelenskiy said in a speech to Ukrainian ambassadors on August 19.

The United States and other allies of Ukraine have placed restrictions on the use of the weapons over concerns that it could escalate the war.

Zelenskiy also told the diplomats that Ukrainian forces have taken control of 92 settlements in the Kursk region of Russia and now control more than 1,250 square kilometers of enemy territory in the nearly two weeks since the start of the surprise cross-border incursion.

"Ukrainian soldiers continue the defensive operation in certain areas of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation," he said. "We are continuing to strengthen our positions, stabilize certain areas, and replenish the exchange fund," Zelenskiy said in an apparent reference to Russian troops taken prisoner by Ukraine.

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Ukraine Blasts Bridges In Kursk, Claims More Prisoners Taken

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The operation is "our biggest investment in the process of freeing Ukrainians from Russian captivity. "This is one of our goals," he said.

Zelenskiy said earlier on Telegram that Ukrainian forces were fulfilling their objectives while pressing their incursion into Kursk, while Moscow acknowledged that Ukraine has damaged a third bridge over the River Seym critical to Russian troop movements in the region.

A video statement from a representative of Russia's Investigative Committee was posted on the Telegram channel of Russian state TV anchor Vladimir Solovyov. In the video, the investigator said Ukrainian forces had struck the bridge a day earlier.

On August 18, Ukraine’s Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk said his troops had damaged a second strategic bridge over the Seym, limiting Russia’s supply capacity as it tries to prevent Ukraine from bolstering its positions.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Russian military bloggers previously posted an image of the first bridge that was hit near the village of Zvannoye in Kursk.

According to Russian security officials, the destruction of that bridge cut off part of the Glushkov district.

Analysts say taking out bridges over the Seym is crucial for Ukraine to ensure a secure flank to its offensive in Kursk by making it difficult for Moscow to supply its troops south of the river.

"If the Ukrainians can make it impossible for the Russians to supply troops south of the Seym, they will at a minimum provide a secure flank to their offensive," said Philips P. O'Brien, a professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. "The Russian military is ponderous and needs heavy logistical supply to undertake operations. Without bridges, its hard to see the Russians supplying the needed forces to keep that area effectively militarized," O'Brien wrote in a blog post on August 18.

Ukraine launched its surprise counteroffensive into Russia's Kursk region on August 6, altering the dynamics of the 2 1/2-year war and causing 120,000 people to flee.

Zelenskiy on August 18 said Ukraine's main task is "to destroy as much Russian potential as possible and conduct maximum counterattack work," with the aim of creating a "buffer zone."

Meanwhile, intense fighting continued in the eastern region of Donetsk, Zelenskiy said, as Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have captured the village of Zalizne.

"Heavy fighting continues in the Pokrovsk direction, and the defense of Toretsk," Zelenskiy said in his message on Telegram, while regional Governor Vadym Filashkin said, "We are starting the forced evacuation of families with children from the Pokrovsk community."

Earlier on August 19, Russian shelling in Donetsk killed three and injured nine people, according to Filashkin. He also said casualties were reported in Myrnograd, Toretsk, and Rozliva.

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Ukrainian Forces Near Donetsk Hope For Tide To Turn After Kursk Incursion

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Governor Vasily Golubev of Russia's Rostov region that borders Ukraine said on August 19 that a state of emergency was introduced in the town of Proletarsk. The day before, 18 firefighters were injured while trying to extinguish a massive fire caused by drone attacks.

Golubev also said four firefighters are in serious condition, adding that despite all efforts to extinguish the fire, the situation remains "the same."

Local authorities said on August 18 that Ukrainian forces staged two drone strikes at the oil depot.

Kyiv said the attacks were organized by the Ukrainian armed forces and Ukraine's HUR military intelligence service.

Russia also launched 11 Shahed-type drones toward Donetsk and several other regions, including Kyiv, but the Ukrainian Air Force said they had all been intercepted.

With reporting by Reuters

A court in Kazakhstan's eastern city of Oskemen has replaced a six-year prison sentence given to a nephew of Kazakhstan's former strongman President Nursultan Nazarbaev with a suspended sentence.

Court No. 2 in the capital of the East Kazakhstan region ruled on August 16 that Qairat Satybaldy, 52, must be released with a suspended 40-month sentence, stressing that the once extremely powerful businessman and politician had returned all the money he was accused of embezzling to the State Treasury.

At a hearing prior to the ruling, Satybaldy offered his apologies to the Kazakh government and people for his crimes.

The court's ruling came less than two years after Satybaldy was sentenced to six years in prison by a court in Astana after he pleaded guilty to all charges following indictments for fraud and embezzlement.

Satybaldy was arrested in March 2022 while trying to board a plane heading to Turkey. The probe launched against him was one of a series of investigations targeting relatives and allies of Nazarbaev.

Kazakhstan’s Anti-Corruption Agency accused Satybaldy of embezzling tens of millions of dollars from state companies Kazakhtelecom and Transport Service Center.

The agency said at the time that $500 million had been returned to the State Treasury and that 29 percent of Kazakhtelecom's shares that had been controlled by Satybaldy were placed back under state control.

After unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022, the Kazakh regime began to quietly target Nazarbaev, his family, and other allies -- many of whom held powerful or influential posts in government, security agencies, and profitable energy companies.

SEE ALSO:

Will A Nazarbaev Relative Stand Trial Over Kazakhstan's 'Bloody January'?

President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, whom Nazarbaev handpicked as his successor after stepping down in 2019, distanced himself from the former leader after the January unrest, which was fueled by Kazakhs’ pent up frustration with cronyism and corruption.

Toqaev stripped Nazarbaev of the sweeping powers he had retained as the head of the Security Council after resigning.

Just days after the protests, two of Nazarbaev’s sons-in-law were pushed out of top jobs at two major oil and gas companies.

Another son-in-law, Timur Kulibaev, resigned as chairman of the country’s main business lobby group, while Nazarbaev's eldest daughter, Darigha, was apparently forced to give up her parliamentary seat.

Authorities also launched probes against leaders of a company linked to Nazarbaev's youngest daughter, Aliya.

BAKU -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on August 19 that Moscow is ready to get involved in the process of signing a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the basis of trilateral agreements reached after the 44-day war between the two South Caucasus nations in 2020.

"We also are ready to facilitate the delimitation and demarcation of the [Azerbaijani-Armenian] border, as we have possessed corresponding documents since the Soviet times; unblocking transborder routes; establishing humanitarian contacts," Putin said, stressing that "stable peace in the South Caucasus corresponds to the deep interests of all the nations in the region."

Aliyev said in turn that he was “very satisfied” with the current state of Russian-Azerbaijani relations.

The head of the Baku-based Institute of Political Management, Azer Qasimli, told RFE/RL that major issues discussed between Putin and Aliyev were related to Baku’s regaining control over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in September last year, which led to the dissolution of the region’s separatist ethnic Armenian government.

Qasimli added that Putin is looking for ways to sell Russian gas to Europe via Azerbaijan amid Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

"Russia has tried to topple [Armenian Prime Minister Nikol] Pashinian and bring pro-Russian politicians to power. It failed to work and Pashinian’s government got stronger and chose the course of getting closer to the West,” Qasimli said, adding that the tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia remains very high and could lead to "a new wave of clashes.”

Putin arrived in Baku for a two-day official visit on August 18.

His visit comes as Azerbaijan and Armenia have been in talks over a peace treaty.

SEE ALSO:

A Constitutional Amendment That Could Lead To Peace Between Armenia And Azerbaijan

Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but was mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, used to be under ethnic Armenians' control for three decades.

Since Baku regained control over the breakaway region, ties between Russia and Armenia have been tense. Yerevan has accused Moscow of failing to meet its obligations after Russian troops stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a November 2020 cease-fire agreement avoided any involvement in Baku's victorious lightning offensive in September.

The authorities in Yerevan did not immediately react to Putin’s comments in Baku, while Gagik Melkonian, an outspoken lawmaker representing the ruling Civil Contract party, dismissed them. He claimed that the Russian leader travelled to Baku to discuss further anti-Armenian moves with Aliyev.

“They handed over Karabakh to Baku and are now reminding them that Baku is in debt to them for that,” Melkonian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “So, I personally don’t expect anything good from that [Baku] meeting.”

Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections, which were scheduled for October 20, have been indefinitely postponed after President Rumen Radev refused to sign a decree approving the formation of a caretaker government. Radev is said to have a problem with the decision by his own nominee for caretaker prime minister, Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva, to retain Kalin Stoyanov as interior minister. Radev’s refusal to approve Grancharova-Kozhareva’s proposed cabinet means the current caretaker government of Dimitar Glavchev will remain in power until the parliament presents a new shortlist of potential prime ministers. To read the full story by RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service, click here.

A government spokesman on August 19 insisted that Germany would continue to supply necessary aid to support Ukraine against Russia's invasion, despite plans to halve its budget for helping Kyiv in 2025. "Reporting that insinuates we are cutting back on aid is simply inaccurate," spokesman Wolfgang Buechner told reporters, adding that Germany was "fully committed" to supporting Ukraine "for as long as necessary." The latest budget draft includes around 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) set aside for Ukraine in next year's budget, compared with around 8 billion euros in 2024.

The trial started in Minsk on August 19 of 12 people over a drone attack at the Machulishchy Air Base near the Belarusian capital in late February 2023 that damaged a Russian military plane.

The Vyasna human rights center said the defendants, many of whom are being tried in absentia, were charged with high treason, terrorism, facilitating extremist activities, financing terrorist activities, organizing and preparing of activities that blatantly disrupt public order, premeditated damage of vehicles, illegal operations with weapons and explosives, participation in terrorism training, etc.

The defendants include Maksim Lapatsin, Andrey Stsyapurka, Aleh Sychou, Dzyanis Sakalou, Anastasia Pilko, and six other defendants who are not in Belarus -- Alyaksandr Azarau, Yauhenia Tachytskaya, Mikhail Dzyomin, Syarhey Laparau, Vital Yakutsik, Ala Yatsuta, and Ukrainian national Mykola Shvets.

The leader of the Belarusian antigovernment group ByPol, Alyaksandr Azarau, said in July last year that the attack at the Machulishchy Air Base that damaged Russia's A-50 early warning and control plane was a joint operation by ByPol and Ukraine's Security Service (SBU).

Russia used the Machulishchy Air Base near the Belarusian capital for aircraft involved in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022.

Although the invasion was partly organized in Moscow-allied Belarus, authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka has sought to downplay his regime's role in the conflict.

Belarusian authorities said at the time they arrested more than 20 men and women suspected of involvement in the high-profile attack.

Belarusian investigators claimed the Ukrainian national, Shvets, was an SBU agent. Shvets and several other Ukrainians were released and returned to Ukraine in a prisoner swap in June, but despite that Shvets is among the Belarusians being tried in absentia.

In March this year, Ukrainian officials confirmed the SBU's involvement into the attack at the Belarusian airbase.

Mudslides and floods caused by heavy rains damaged hundreds of houses in towns and villages around Kyrgyzstan’s resort region of Issyk-Kul on August 18. Bekmamat Abdyrakhmanov of the Emergencies Ministry told RFE/RL on August 19 that dozens of buildings in spa complexes near the Lake of Issyk-Kul were also damaged. A state of emergency was introduced in the Issyk-Kul and Ton districts. Rescue teams are working on cleaning up roads and areas affected by the mass mudslides and floods. Since spring this year, mudslides and floods caused by heavy rains have killed 25 people in the Central Asian nation. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.