Moldova's parliament on May 30 denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "genocide" in connection with Moscow's treatment of children in occupied areas, but the assembly's Moscow-friendly opposition parties refused to take part in the vote. Sixty deputies in the 101-seat assembly backed the declaration, joining several national parliaments in adopting similar documents and also offering to continue extending assistance to Ukrainians fleeing the conflict. The more than 2-year-old invasion, denounced by pro-European President Maia Sandu, has buffeted the country, with a large number of drone and missile fragments falling on its territory. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.

U.S. President Joe Biden has given Ukraine the go-ahead to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending the eastern city of Kharkiv, according to media reports quoting unidentified sources.

The move comes amid pleas from Ukraine to allow its forces to defend the country against attacks originating from Russian territory.

Pressure has been growing on the United States to allow the strikes as a number of other NATO countries signaled they were open to the possibility and as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking earlier on May 30 at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Prague, said that allies should consider lifting restrictions on the use of NATO weapons by Ukraine to hit targets on Russian territory.

According to Politico, which first reported Biden’s policy change, the president “recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use U.S. weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv so Ukraine can hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them.”

Politico cited an unidentified U.S. official who added that the policy of allowing long-range strikes inside Russia “has not changed.”

There’s been no official comment from the White House or reaction from Ukraine. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said late on May 29 that there was “no change to our policy."

The decision would be a reversal of the U.S. refusal to let Ukraine use American weapons to hit targets inside Russia over fears that it would cause an escalation in the conflict. Germany also had expressed its opposition to allowing the use of NATO-provided weapons to strike inside Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised a response, warning of "serious consequences," especially for what he called "small countries" in Europe.

With reporting by Politico, AP, Reuters, BBC, Nerw York Times, and Washington Post

Russia will not be invited to events marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings next week given its war of aggression against Ukraine, the French Presidency said on May 30. Organizers had said in April that President Vladimir Putin would not be invited but that some Russian representatives would be welcome in recognition of the country's sacrifices during World War II. The commemorations will be attended by dozens of heads of state and government, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Joe Biden. In a briefing with reporters, a French Presidency official confirmed Russia's absence and said that Zelenskiy had been invited given his country's "just fight" in the war against Russia.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on two Central African Republic companies on May 30 for their alleged involvement with Russia's Wagner private military company. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the companies -- Mining Industries SARLU and Logistique Economique Etrangere SARLU -- play a vital role in Wagner security operations and illicit mining endeavors in C.A.R. Mining Industries. SARLU leases aircraft to Wagner and Logistique Economique Etrangere supplies Wagner-linked illicit mining equipment, according to a Treasury press release. The U.S. Treasury previously sanctioned three other Wagner-related C.A.R. companies. To read the full statement from the U.S. Treasury Department, click here.

Andrew Tate, the divisive social media influencer awaiting trial in Romania on charges of human trafficking and rape, lost an appeal on May 30 to have the Bucharest Court of Appeal relax geographical restrictions preventing him from traveling outside the Eastern European country. Tate challenged the May 10 decision that extended restrictions by 60 days, stipulating he may not leave the country. Tate had requested that he be able to leave Romania provided he stay within Europe’s visa-free Schengen zone, which Romania partially joined in March. Tate will face additional charges in the United Kingdom after legal proceedings in Romania conclude.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on May 30 announced a new German arms package worth 500 million euros ($542 million) to support Ukraine. Pistorius made the announcement during a visit to the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and after meeting with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to discuss Kyiv's military needs. The package contains a large number of missiles for medium-range IRIS-T SLM air-defense systems and a smaller number of SLS missiles with shorter ranges. It also includes drones for reconnaissance and combat in the Black Sea as well as urgently needed spare parts such as replacement barrels for artillery systems supplied by Germany and replacement engines for Leopard battle tanks.

Iranian border guards opened fire on a vehicle carrying Pakistani citizens near the border village of Mashkel in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan Province, killing four people and injuring two others.

Omar Jamali, the deputy commissioner of Pakistan’s Washuk district, confirmed the shooting in the Washuk region, close to the border where violence often erupts.

Sahibzada Asfand, a government administrator, said the circumstances that prompted the gunfire remain unclear.

Neither Tehran nor the Pakistani Foreign Ministry have commented on the incident.

The shooting comes amid already strained relations between Iran and Pakistan, which have seen a significant escalation in incidents between the two countries.

In January, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) launched an attack in Pakistan's Balochistan Province, killing two children.

Tehran claimed it was targeting the Sunni Baluch militant group Jaish al-Adl, which is designated as a terrorist entity by both Iran and the United States.

In a retaliatory move, Pakistani warplanes conducted air strikes on alleged militant targets in Iran on January 18, resulting in at least nine deaths, including six children and two women. This marked a severe escalation in the conflict between the two nations.

In an effort to de-escalate the situation, the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Pakistan in early May.

His visit was aimed at mending relations through diplomatic engagements, described as critical for normalizing ties between Tehran and Islamabad.

Raisi died on May 19 in a helicopter accident.

The military actions in January targeted separatist factions. Islamabad attacked bases of the Baluch Liberation Front and the Baluchistan Liberation Army, while Tehran focused on the militant group Jaish al-Adl.

These groups operate in the mineral-rich, underdeveloped provinces of Balochistan in Pakistan and Sistan-Baluchistan in Iran, regions long plagued by instability.

The porous, 900-kilometer border between Iran and Pakistan has been difficult to control, allowing various militant groups, particularly those with Baluch nationalist ideologies, to operate in the area.

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

The United States will not send representatives to a UN memorial ceremony for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a State Department spokesperson told RFE/RL. The United Nations on May 29 announced plans to hold the memorial ceremony on May 30, and UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis said member states were encouraged to deliver statements paying tribute to Raisi. The announcement sparked criticism from rights activists, who decried a move to honor a man they refer to as the "Butcher of Tehran" over his alleged role in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988. Raisi died in a helicopter crash on May 19 along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several other officials.

SOFIA -- Leaked documents of a back-and-forth between Sofia and its UN envoy have sparked accusations that caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev succumbed to “external pressure” over a widely followed UN vote in an effort to appease neighboring Serbia or Russia.

The correspondence between Glavchev and Bulgarian Ambassador to the United Nations Lachezara Stoeva suggests that Glavchev instructed Stoeva hours before the May 23 vote to abstain on a resolution to declare an international day of remembrance for the Srebrenica genocide.

Opposition or abstention would have marked a sharp departure in policy by Bulgaria, which co-sponsored the resolution, which was co-authored by Stoeva.

Stoeva voted for the measure on Bulgaria’s behalf, along with 83 other countries, versus 19 nays and 68 abstentions on a resolution that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called “highly politicized.”

Documents published on May 29 by the Bureau of Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD), which is run by a French NGO founded by a Bulgarian investigative journalist, included a purported letter to Stoeva moments before the planned vote telling her to abstain because of the “tense situation” around it.

They also include a four-page response purportedly from Stoeva arguing such a move would be an “extreme act that could only be explained by external pressure and would wreak heavy damage to Bulgaria’s image within the international community.” The author goes on to say such an action is “contrary to the Euro-Atlantic values we uphold” and suggests “the only possible conclusion” would be that Russia or Serbia pressured Bulgaria into the about-face.

Glavchev, who is now an independent, became caretaker prime minister in April for the run-up to voting on June 9, Bulgaria’s sixth parliamentary elections since April 2021.

The Bulgarian government issued a statement on May 30 saying the leaked documents were “only part of the decision-making process and do not represent its entirety.” The letter circulated to the UN envoy it included was authentic, it said, but “does not contain the final instructions to Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva.”

It called the leak “an element of a hybrid attack” in the context of an election campaign and said it “harms the interests of Bulgaria.”

SEE ALSO:

UN Approves Srebrenica Genocide Resolution, As Some Serbs Remain Defiant

BIRD suggested Glavchev was influenced by a conversation between Vucic and former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who heads the GERB party that used to include Glavchev.

Having unsuccessfully argued against adoption of the resolution in the UN hall in New York on May 23, Vucic said after passage that “I was hoping for a surprise from Bulgaria. Five minutes before the meeting, I was convinced that Bulgaria would vote ‘abstain.’”

Passage of the resolution created International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, where more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb forces in what is now a mainly Serb region of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The resolution makes no mention of the Bosnian Serbs who committed the massacre after UN peacekeepers abandoned a declared “safe area” amid a bloody conflict further marred by widespread ethnic cleansing, or of Serbia.

Vucic has called what happened at Srebrenica a “tragedy” but says lives were lost on both sides and rejects the characterization of a genocide, a position shared by Moscow.

The appeals chamber for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as the International Court of Justice (ICJ), have called the mass killings at Srebrenica a genocide.

A May 22 report in the independent news website Dnevnik asserted that Serbia was using unofficial channels to seek a change in Bulgaria’s position on the resolution.

Former Bulgarian envoy to the UN Stefan Tafrov, who is running on the We Continue The Change-Democratic Bulgaria ticket for the European Parliament, warned later the same day on social media that “Glavchev should not give in to Serbian pressure.”

Sri Lanka will tighten controls to try to stop its men from being lured to Russia to fight in Ukraine with often false promises of salaries and benefits. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya told reporters on May 30 that Colombo will also send a delegation to Moscow in June to bring back dozens of Sri Lankans already fighting on the front line who want to come home. Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Levan S. Dzhagaryan told the press conference his embassy would cooperate with efforts to stop Sri Lankans from traveling illegally to Russia. He said his government was not involved in the recruitment offers.

Several Georgian NGOs say they will challenge domestically and internationally the so-called "foreign agent" law pushed through parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream party despite a presidential veto and weeks of protests against the law, seen as mirroring a repressive Russian measure and jeopardizing the country's hopes to join the European Union.

The group of NGOs announced on May 30 that they were going to file a lawsuit with Georgia's Constitutional Court to contest the legality of the measure, while at the same time lodging a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

After the Georgian Dream-dominated parliament on May 28 overrode President Salome Zurabishvili's veto with an 84-4 vote in the 150-seat parliament, the law is now expected to land back on the president's desk within three days.

Once she receives it, Zurabishvili has five days to sign it. But the-pro-Western president, who has been at odds with Georgian Dream over the bill and sided with the protesters, has given no indication she intends to do so.

However, if she refuses as expected, the speaker of parliament, Georgian Dream member Shalva Papuashvili, can sign the law and publish it.

SEE ALSO:

What's Next For Georgia's 'Foreign Agent' Law?

"Georgian NGOs continue their legal struggle against the 'Russian law.' We will not live by the norms of the 'Russian law' and will use all domestic and international mechanisms to impede its operation until the law is unconditionally repealed," the group of NGOs said in a statement read out at a joint news conference in Tbilisi on May 30.

"The Constitutional Court can act with the powers granted by the constitution and suspend the operation of the relevant articles of the law," the NGOs continued.

"We do not consider the Constitutional Court the only way of our legal struggle. If it does not act in a timely manner and within the constitutional framework, we will use an alternative legal mechanism," they added. "We are preparing to file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.”

The authors of the statement note that "all nongovernmental and media organizations can become participants in this fight.”

Georgia's civil society has for years sought to move the country away from the influence of Russia, which still maintains thousands of troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway Georgian regions that Moscow recognized as independent states following a five-day war with Tbilisi in 2008.

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

SEE ALSO:

Interview: Georgian Dream Is 'Isolated' And The 'Foreign Agent' Law Is Just 'A Way To Maintain Power'

The law requires civil-society and media organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources to submit to oversight that could encompass sanctions for as-yet-undefined criminal offenses.

Both the United States and the European Union have warned Georgian Dream that ignoring criticism and cracking down violently on protesters will have negative consequences.

Georgia obtained the coveted EU candidate status in December, but it has yet to start actual accession talks, which could last for years. There had been hope such talks could start later this year, but Brussels has warned that the "foreign agent" law could endanger the path toward Europe.

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

But Western governments and organizations have issued stark statements, warning the Georgian Dream government that the Tbilisi's EU path will be blocked if the law comes into force.

German Ambassador to Tbilisi did not mince words in an interview with Georgian media on May 29.

"Georgia is a [EU] candidate country. This was a huge historic step for both the EU and Georgia. The next step should have been to open accession negotiations, all countries are ready to start negotiations, however, the Georgian government passed a law that does not meet EU standards. As long as this law is in force, we will not open negotiations with Georgia."

European Council President Charles Michel also warned that overriding Zurabishvili's veto was a "step backward" for Georgia's European aspirations.

"The European Council decided in December to grant Georgia candidate status on the understanding that Georgia undertakes the relevant steps and necessary democratic reforms," Michel wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on May 28.

"The adoption of the transparency law in the parliament is a step backward and takes Georgia further away from its EU path. The Georgian people have clearly chosen a future in the EU and we will do everything to support their ambitions," Michel said, adding that the issue will be on the agenda of the next European Council meeting.

A day before the vote, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc had started weighing options should Georgia enact the law. He said a decision will be made next month.

A State Department spokesman said the United States condemns the parliament's decision and told reporters that the party's actions and anti-Western rhetoric threaten Georgia's democratic trajectory.

SEE ALSO:

New U.S. Legislation Aims To Dissuade Democratic Backsliding In Georgia

Senator Ben Cardin (Democrat-Maryland), chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Georgian Dream vote was a "sad day for Georgia," and reaffirmed Washington's determination to back the aspirations of the Georgian people.

"The people have demonstrated that they will not allow Ivanishvili to destroy their democracy & take away their European future. We stand with them," Cardin said on X.

Zurabishvili, meanwhile, has urged Georgians to gear up for the upcoming parliamentary elections later this year.

"We must now do everything we can to prepare for October 26, which will be our answer to today. Are you angry today? Get angry, but let's get down to business," she said, calling for a campaign to collect signatures for an EU referendum.

Iran's judiciary has filed new charges against Fatemeh Sepehri, a prominent opponent of the Islamic republic, and her two brothers, who are also imprisoned, for "insulting" current and former leaders of the Islamic republic.

Asghar Sepehri, Fatemeh's brother, revealed the charges on social media, saying they were added to their case files by Ali Soleymani Marshk, an investigating judge in Mashhad, after a court session on May 6.

Details of the charges were not immediately available.

The charges for being critical of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini follow the arrest of the siblings in October 2023, just a day before Fatemeh Sepehri was scheduled for surgery at Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad.

In September 2023, her brothers Mohamad-Hossein Sepehri and Hossein Sepehri were detained.

Fatemeh Sepehri, a vocal critic of the Iranian regime, has been detained for more than 20 months.

Her family has reported that her communications from prison are heavily monitored.

Fatemeh Sepehri is one of 14 activists in Iran who have publicly called for Khamenei to step down. She has been arrested and interrogated several times in recent years.

Sepehri and the other activists have also called for a new political system within the framework of a new constitution that would secure dignity and equal rights for women.

Criticism of Khamenei, who has the last say on almost every decision in Iran, is considered a red line in Iran, and his critics often land in prison, where political prisoners are routinely held in solitary confinement and subjected to various forms of torture.

Sepehri was arrested in September 2022 as protests erupted across the country over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was taken into custody by the morality police for allegedly violating the country's hijab law and died while in detention.

In March 2023, a Mashhad Revolutionary Court sentenced her to 18 years in prison on various charges, including "collaboration with hostile states" and "propaganda against the regime."

The sentence was upheld on appeal, but according to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, only 10 years of her sentence are enforceable.

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

Eleven women's rights activists cumulatively sentenced to more than 60 years in prison have lost their appeal, a lawyer for one of the campaigners said on May 29.

Ramin Safarnia said an appeals court in the northern city of Rasht on May 28 had upheld the preliminary verdicts handed to each activist. He vowed to take the case to the Supreme Court.

In a post on Instagram, activist collective Bidarzani accused the judge, Mohammad Sadeq Iran-Aqideh, of issuing the ruling "without holding a court session."

Based in the northern province of Gilan, all 11 activists were detained in August 2023 on various security-related charges, including "assembly and collusion to disrupt national security," "propaganda against the establishment," and "membership in an illegal group."

Speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Farda, a source close to the activists said the Islamic republic had increased the pressure on independent women's rights groups in the wake of the Women, Life, Freedom movement.

The movement was born out of the nationwide antiestablishment protests in 2022 following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who had been detained for allegedly flouting Iran's strict dress code for women. More than 500 protesters were killed and thousands arrested during the months of unrest.

"They try to suppress [the groups] as much as they can, and they have had some success, but the resistance continues," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Zohreh Dadras was sentenced to more than nine years in prison on two separate charges.

Forugh Sami'nia, Sara Jahani, Yasamin Hashdari, Shiva Shahsiah, Negin Rezai, Matin Yazdan, Azadeh Chavoshian, and Zahra Dadras were each handed a total of six years and three months in prison on two separate charges.

Jelveh Javaheri and Human Taheri each received a one-year sentence.

A source previously claimed to Radio Farda that the some of the activists had been "beaten and put under pressure during interrogation."

Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, concluded in his report in March that the actions of the Iranian authorities since the 2022 protests pointed to "the possible commission of international crimes, notably the crimes against humanity of murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual violence, and persecution."

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

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) has said its naval drones destroyed two Russian "Tunets" boats in Crimea. "On May 30, HUR's special unit Group 13, with the help of Ukrainian Magura V5 maritime attack drones, once again successfully attacked the ship depot of the aggressor state of Russia in the temporarily occupied Crimea," HUR said in a statement, adding that Russian troops used several attack helicopters to in an unsuccessful attempt to repel the attack. The Tunets is an 8.8-meter-long and 2.5-meter wide diesel boat mainly used by Russian border guards. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

The registration of candidates for the presidential election next month began on May 30 as Iran looks to fill the vacancy left by the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. The registration period runs for five days, with the election scheduled for June 28. The IRNA state news agency reported that around 25 potential candidates have already submitted their registration requests, but all have been rejected. A final list of approved candidates will be announced on June 11 by the Guardians Council, whose members are either appointed or approved by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.

A military court has sentenced a resident of the western Russian region of Chelyabinsk to 13 years in a maximum-security prison and fined him 200,000 rubles ($2,245) on a charge of high treason for calling on those mobilized to the military to surrender to Ukrainian forces. Investigators said the calls, posted on social media, had been made on instructions from "a representative of a foreign state." The man, whose name was not made public, was also charged with justifying terrorism for allegedly posting a comment on a social network in which he approved of the explosion on the Crimean Bridge that occurred in October 2022. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

City officials in The Hague have turned down a request by activists to rename a street in the Dutch city in honor of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who died in February under suspicious circumstances in an Arctic prison. Sergei Gorbunov, the representative of Navalny's team in the Netherlands, told The Insider that 85,000 signatures had been collected in favor of renaming the street where the Russian Embassy is located after Navalny. The Hague city council responded that renaming the street would cause difficulties, since not only the Russian Embassy is located there. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

PRAGUE -- Ukraine can prevail in its battle to repel Russian forces with the "robust support" of its allies, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, as foreign ministers from the military alliance's 32 member countries gathered in Prague to discuss a fresh military aid framework for Kyiv.

The NATO gathering in the Czech capital, which is being attended by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, will discuss an aid package for Ukraine that would be presented at NATO's summit in Washington in July.

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.

Speaking ahead of the meeting on May 30, Stoltenberg said it was time for the countries supplying military aid to Kyiv to discuss restrictions placed on Kyiv more than two years ago when Moscow first launched its full-scale invasion.

In recent months, Russia has launched withering air and ground assaults against Ukraine, which has struggled with ammunition shortages. Kyiv has pleaded for an acceleration of deliveries of ammunition and also has asked to be allowed to use longer-range weapons -- which came with restrictions on their usage into Russian territory -- to their full extent.

"Allies are delivering many different types of military support to Ukraine and some of them have imposed some restrictions on the use of these weapons.... These are national decisions," Stoltenberg said in a speech delivered in Prague.

"But I think that in light of how this war has evolved...the time has come to consider some of these restrictions, to enable the Ukrainians to really defend themselves."

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze told RFE/RL in an interview that Latvia has never imposed limitations on any of the weapons it has supplied to Ukraine and that Riga supports Ukraine's right to use weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory.

She emphasized that Kyiv needs a variety of weapons and should receive them from its allies more consistently, adding that there are "things that are being supplied without being spoken about publicly."

Blinken, who arrived in Prague after a trip to Moldova, immediately held talks with his Czech counterpart, Jan Liptovsky, on the issue of combating Russian disinformation as Moscow tries to drive a wedge between allies supporting Ukraine.

The top U.S. diplomat called Moscow's use of misinformation and disinformation “poison” and signed an agreement with the Czechs to combat it.

Blinken also visited a Czech military base, where armored vehicles that Prague is sending to Kyiv were on display, and was informed about Prague's drive to supply Ukraine with 1 million rounds of ammunition by the end of the year.

“We know that a major front in the competition that we have, the adversarial relationship that we have, notably with Russia, is on the information front,” Blinken said.

During the ministers' meeting, talks are scheduled on a plan presented by Stoltenberg in April on a framework that would transfer responsibility for military and civilian aid for Ukraine from an informal, U.S.-led group to the formal structures of the alliance.

SEE ALSO:

Russia Has Taken Steps To Protect Its Oil Refineries. Ukraine Is Still Hitting Them.

NATO is currently not officially offering lethal military supplies to Kyiv. Individual NATO member states have been channeling supplies through the Ukraine Contact Group (UCG), an initiative chaired by the United States known informally as the Ramstein Group.

The ministers are also likely debate whether to allow Kyiv to use Western-provided weapons to strike targets inside Russia. The United States and Germany have been opposed to allowing such a move, while Britain and France have been in favor.

Stoltenberg and the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, have also voiced their approval of allowing Ukraine to use Western arms to hit military objectives on Russian territory under certain conditions.

As the two-day informal meeting of the alliance is set to kick off in Prague, Russia launched a large-scale attack early on May 30 that targeted military and civilian infrastructure in nine Ukrainian regions, causing casualties and damage.

In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Russian missiles struck two locations, wounding seven people, six of them women, regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov reported.

"A two-story administrative building was hit, resulting in partial destruction, followed by a fire. Six women and one man received minor injuries," Synyehubov said.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is located just 35 kilometers from the Russian border and has been repeatedly pounded by Moscow's artillery and air strikes over the past several weeks as Ukraine's depleted air defenses and ammunition face increasing difficulties in repelling such attacks.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov earlier said critical infrastructure, including a gas pipeline, was damaged in the strikes, which also triggered a fire.

Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down all 32 drones and seven of the 19 cruise missiles launched by Russia.

The missiles and drones were shot down over the Khmelnytskiy, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhya, Odesa, Kherson, Kyiv, and Vinnytsya regions, it said.

Separately, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said its naval drones sank two Russian "Tunets" boats in Crimea.

"On May 30, HUR's special unit Group 13, with the help of Ukrainian Magura V5 maritime attack drones, once again successfully attacked the ship depot of the aggressor state of Russia in the temporarily occupied Crimea," HUR said in a statement, adding that Russian troops used several attack helicopters in an unsuccessful attempt to repel the attack.

The Tunets is an 8.8-meter-long and 2.5-meter-wide diesel boat mainly used by Russian border guards.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak in Prague

A large fire broke out early on May 30 in the eastern part of Moscow in a production building and a warehouse, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said on Telegram. The fire that broke out on Martenovskaya Street has engulfed an area of about 22,000 square meters, the ministry said, and 120 firefighters and 40 fire engines were working to contain the fire. Efforts to extinguish the fire are being complicated by the existence of containers with flammable liquid inside the building, it said. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. To read the original story by Curent Time, click here.

The U.S. Army inaugurated its new Universal Artillery Projectile Lines facility in Mesquite, Texas, on May 29, marking a significant step in producing more 155mm artillery and modernizing domestic munitions production capabilities. The plant is part of a broader effort by the army to update its industrial base and achieve a goal of making 155mm artillery shells at a rate of 100,000 a month. Demand for 155mm artillery rounds has soared in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and as allies' own supplies have depleted as they have rushed shells to Kyiv. The more than $500 million facility features advanced manufacturing technologies and automation for producing large-caliber metal parts.

Hungary's top diplomat visited Belarus on May 29 for talks on expanding ties despite the European Union's sanctions against the country. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto declared that "our position is clear: The fewer sanctions, the more cooperation." Belarusian and Hungarian officials signed an agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy that envisages training personnel and handling radioactive waste. Hungary is working with Russia on adding a new reactor to its Paks nuclear facility, which is expected to go online by the end of the decade. Belarus also has a Russian-built nuclear power plant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on May 29 that Ukraine continues to counter Russia's attempts to "weaken" a peace summit that is set to take place in Switzerland in two weeks.

Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that Russia is putting pressure on leaders and "openly threatens various countries with destabilization."

He said this was a consequence of the world giving Russia too much time.

"Unfortunately, evil knows how to adapt and is now using all its resources to divide the world and prevent the world from forcing Russia to make peace," Zelenskiy said.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

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

Despite these efforts, nearly 100 states and international organizations are associated with "global efforts" to resolve the conflict, he said.

Zelenskiy wants the summit, scheduled for June 15-16 in Switzerland, to produce an international front to exert pressure on Russia and advance his "peace formula," which calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine's 1991 borders.

Moscow has dismissed Zelenskiy's plan as unworkable and Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that Russia is prepared to negotiate an end to the conflict but said it would be possible to return to talks "only based on today's realities in the special operations zone."

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

Switzerland has not invited Russia to the summit, and Moscow dismisses the meeting as pointless without its participation. Ninety countries have agreed to attend, according to Zelenskiy.

Earlier this week Zelenskiy played down potential peace talks with Russia after a report that the European Union plans to organize a meeting in Saudi Arabia later this year with Russia's participation.

The meeting would come after the peace summit in Switzerland.

"There is no faith in Putin," Zelenskiy said on May 27 during a press conference in Spain.

The Ukrainian president said his country had held around 200 rounds of talks with the Kremlin and there were "no results." Many of the sessions took place long before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

One year after an attack on Kosovo Force (KFOR) peacekeepers in northern Kosovo there are renewed calls for Pristina and Belgrade to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.

On May 29, 2023, members of the NATO-led mission were attacked in Serb-majority Zvecan during violent protests by Serbs who opposed the new ethnic Albanian mayor taking office in the municipal building. The new mayor had been elected weeks before in an election boycotted by ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo.

Some of the 93 KFOR officers who were attacked suffered life-altering injuries.

"We take very seriously the attacks carried out on KFOR peacekeepers in Zvecan. These were unacceptable and perpetrators must be held accountable," a NATO official said in a written statement to RFE/RL.

Major General Ozkan Ulutas, commander of KFOR, said in a separate news release that the peacekeepers' courage helped to stabilize the situation in the area and prevented a further escalation of violence.

However, little has been achieved in reaching justice.

The Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo, which is conducting the investigation, and the Basic Court in Pristina did not respond to RFE/RL's question about how far the criminal prosecution of the suspected perpetrators has gone. The High Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade also did not respond to questions by RFE/RL.

What is known is that about 10 people were arrested, most of whom were released. Four were charged, but two were acquitted. In addition, two citizens of Serbia were expelled from Kosovo after their six-month prison sentence was replaced by a fine.

RFE/RL asked the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade if it is investigating the attack and whether it has started proceedings against the individuals who participated in the attack who are now in Serbia. However, the office did not respond.

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Ehat Miftaraj of the Kosovo Institute for Justice said the Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo has taken appropriate and effective actions to prosecute the attackers of the KFOR members and the journalists who also were attacked while reporting on the crisis.

However, there is a lack of cooperation with Serbia for the arrest and extradition of those who have committed criminal offenses in the territory of Kosovo and are not available to the responsible institutions, he said.

"Unfortunately, Serbia has turned into a safe haven for criminals who have committed crimes in Kosovo, providing them with complete institutional impunity," Miftaraj told RFE/RL.

He added that Kosovo's institutions should increase cooperation with KFOR and international partners when it comes to actions in northern Kosovo and thus build trust among the Serbian majority population there.

"In addition, KFOR and the international community must exert greater pressure on Serbia to extradite to Kosovo all those who participated in the aggression against Kosovo so that such actions are not repeated," Miftaraj said.

Last year's crisis in northern Kosovo culminated on September 24 when an armed group of Serbs attacked the Kosovo police in the town of Banjska near Zvecan, killing Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku. Three Serbs also were killed.

Kosovo blamed Serbia for the attack, which Belgrade denied. The responsibility was claimed by the former vice president of the Serbian List political party, Milan Radoicic. It is believed that he and other members of the armed group that took part in the attack are in Serbia.

NATO has sent around 1,000 additional troops and heavy armored equipment to Kosovo since the attack. This was the biggest reinforcement of KFOR troops in Kosovo in a decade. Currently, there are more than 4,500 KFOR troops in Kosovo. The security situation continues to be fragile, according to KFOR's assessment.

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