https://www.rferl.org/z/23310 The main story of the day from RFE/RL Central Newsroom. https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org/z/23310 en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Sat, 18 Jul 2026 15:31:45 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL EU diplomats hoped Viktor Orban's departure would ease approval of new Russia sanctions. Instead, the bloc's latest package has been steadily stripped back as member states clashed over Russian fish, travel visas, and an oil price cap, among other issues. https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-watered-down-emmental-russia-sanctions-package/33806031.html https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-watered-down-emmental-russia-sanctions-package/33806031.html Sat, 18 Jul 2026 12:45:58 +0200 News AnalysisFeaturesRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline The man nominated to be Ukraine’s new defense minister is steeped in experience with special forces, drone technology, and the new ways of warfare. But Yevhen Khmara has stepped into a role where he’ll need political skills to manage potentially tense relations with the Ukrainian military. https://www.rferl.org/a/who-is-yevhen-khmara-ukraine-defense-minister-fedorov/33805925.html https://www.rferl.org/a/who-is-yevhen-khmara-ukraine-defense-minister-fedorov/33805925.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:06:05 +0200 News AnalysisUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Ukrainians reacted with fury to the abrupt ouster of Mykhaylo Fedorov, the tech-minded defense minister whose embrace of drone warfare innovation for many signaled a break from old-school military thinking and shady business interests. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-military-fedorov-zelenskyy-firing-ouster-defense-ministry/33804946.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-military-fedorov-zelenskyy-firing-ouster-defense-ministry/33804946.html Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:16:10 +0200 NewsUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline US President Donald Trump has walked back his plan to charge a 20 percent fee on cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, replacing it with proposed trade and investment agreements with Persian Gulf states while maintaining a blockade on Iranian shipping. https://www.rferl.org/a/33802915.html https://www.rferl.org/a/33802915.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 01:00:10 +0200 NewsIranThe Rundown Headline Zelenskyy gave no explanation for the unexpected shuffle of his Cabinet. But the popularity of Ukraine’s one-and-only wartime president is slipping, as war-weary voters tire of political scandals, as well as the unrelenting Russian invasion. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-zelenskyy-politics-government-cabinet-shuffle-svyrydenko/33802810.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-zelenskyy-politics-government-cabinet-shuffle-svyrydenko/33802810.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:42:51 +0200 FeaturesUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline US Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the Republican Party's most influential voices on foreign policy and among Ukraine's strongest supporters in Washington, died on July 11 after what his office described as a "brief and sudden illness." https://www.rferl.org/a/south-carolina-senator-lindsey-graham-dies-at-71/33801981.html https://www.rferl.org/a/south-carolina-senator-lindsey-graham-dies-at-71/33801981.html Sun, 12 Jul 2026 09:40:08 +0200 NewsThe Rundown Headline With bridges cut and a drone blitz on shipping, Russian-occupied Crimea is reeling from a relentless Ukrainian campaign of targeted drone strikes. Vladimir Putin has said the peninsula he seized in 2014 has a “sacred meaning” – but life there is becoming increasingly intolerable. https://www.rferl.org/a/no-gas-no-lights-no-comms-no-tourists-ukraine-s-crimea-blockade-starts-to-bite/33801579.html https://www.rferl.org/a/no-gas-no-lights-no-comms-no-tourists-ukraine-s-crimea-blockade-starts-to-bite/33801579.html Sat, 11 Jul 2026 13:11:11 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, has identified a Russian prison doctor accused of subjecting Ukrainian inmates to physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-prison-sexual-abuse-ukraine-torture/33801065.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-prison-sexual-abuse-ukraine-torture/33801065.html Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:42:56 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline The US military said it had launched new strikes on targets in Iran just hours after President Donald Trump said a cease-fire accord with Tehran was "over" and threatened to "hit them [Iran] hard tonight." https://www.rferl.org/a/us-strikes-iran-trump-threat/33799674.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-strikes-iran-trump-threat/33799674.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 23:36:42 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Headline The NATO summit in Turkey got off to a rocky start, with US President Donald Trump slamming Spain for failing to spend on defense and other alliance members for refusing to pitch in during the Iran war. But by the end of the day, unity was the key word from leaders, including the US president. https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-unity-takeaways-summit-turkey-rutte-trump/33799567.html https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-unity-takeaways-summit-turkey-rutte-trump/33799567.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 18:53:34 +0200 News AnalysisNewsIranUkraineThe Rundown HeadlineEurope Iran's clerical establishment has shown time and again it has few rivals at staging a mass funeral. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's was a spectacle built to be seen as a referendum on the Islamic republic's popularity. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khameneu-funeral-referendum-human-rights/33798717.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khameneu-funeral-referendum-human-rights/33798717.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:16:13 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Headline Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region early on July 6, striking residential buildings and killing at least 27 people while injuring nearly 100, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an impending Russian strike. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-zelenskyy-russia-attack-nato-putin/33797564.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-zelenskyy-russia-attack-nato-putin/33797564.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 03:01:26 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was absent as funeral prayers for his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were held early on July 5, more than four months after he was killed during US-Israeli strikes at the outset of the war in the Middle East. https://www.rferl.org/a/mojtaba-khamenei-absent-ali-khamenei-funeral/33797118.html https://www.rferl.org/a/mojtaba-khamenei-absent-ali-khamenei-funeral/33797118.html Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:48:20 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Headline The first day of the multiday funeral for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei passed without any sighting of his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded him. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khamenei-funeral-mojtaba-absence/33796666.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khamenei-funeral-mojtaba-absence/33796666.html Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:45:19 +0200 News AnalysisFeaturesIranThe Rundown Headline The body of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was laid in state in Tehran on July 3 as authorities began a week of funeral processions for the slain cleric. https://www.rferl.org/a/mixed-feelings-iranians-khamenei-iran-funeral/33795536.html https://www.rferl.org/a/mixed-feelings-iranians-khamenei-iran-funeral/33795536.html Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:35:53 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Headline The morning after Russia's deadly overnight strikes on the Ukrainian capital, local resident Maryna stood in shock on the damaged street, watching her apartment engulfed in flames after leaving the shelter. https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-missile-and-drone-strike-ukraine/33794481.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-missile-and-drone-strike-ukraine/33794481.html Thu, 02 Jul 2026 07:09:26 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineThe Rundown Headline A rogue statement from top clerics and a censored prime-time broadcast: two bizarre incidents that have exposed deep, unprecedented fractures inside Iran’s elite establishment. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-division-us-deal-khamenei/33793970.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-division-us-deal-khamenei/33793970.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:47:50 +0200 News AnalysisIranNuclear TalksThe Rundown Headline Once-feared patrols that enforced Iran’s compulsory hijab rules have largely vanished from the streets, and uncovered hair is now commonplace. But the law remains, and the change is uneven, uncertain, and still contested. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-hijab-police-women-rights/33792781.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-hijab-police-women-rights/33792781.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 19:54:35 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Headline The disruptions to Russia's energy sector due to its war with Ukraine are having a ripple effect in Central Asia, with fuel prices rising across the region and governments scrambling to find alternative sources to meet demand. https://www.rferl.org/a/central-asia-gas-fuel-prices-russia-war/33791115.html https://www.rferl.org/a/central-asia-gas-fuel-prices-russia-war/33791115.html Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:47:44 +0200 FeaturesKazakhstanKyrgyzstanRussiaTajikistanRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline A fragile truce between Iran and the United States appeared increasingly shaky early on June 28 as both sides accused one another of violating an interim agreement meant to halt months of fighting, amid renewed missile, drone, and air strikes across the Gulf region. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-hormuz-cease-fire-violation-kuwait-bahrain-trump/33790546.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-hormuz-cease-fire-violation-kuwait-bahrain-trump/33790546.html Sun, 28 Jun 2026 11:17:20 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown HeadlineMiddle East