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 Sun, 02 Aug 2026 04:46:15 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL Russia targeted the Ukrainian capital with ballistic missiles early on August 1 as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed for the Washington to grant licenses for Kyiv to produce its own Patriot air defense missiles amid apparent renewed reluctance by US President Donald Trump. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-kyiv-ballistic-missiles-trump-patriot-missiles/33819648.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-kyiv-ballistic-missiles-trump-patriot-missiles/33819648.html Sat, 01 Aug 2026 03:01:04 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline President Donald Trump said the United States should be "very careful" about granting Kyiv a license to produce Patriot missiles as Ukraine seeks greater air defense capabilities to protect itself against Russia's daily air attacks. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-drone-attack-wildberries-patriot-missile-license/33819054.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-drone-attack-wildberries-patriot-missile-license/33819054.html Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:07:03 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline KRYVIY RIH -- Russian ballistic missile strike hit a home in the village of Radushne in Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, killing almost an entire family, as local officials reported at least nine people dead and dozens of others injured across the country. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-missile-deadly-strike-ukraine/33818229.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-missile-deadly-strike-ukraine/33818229.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 10:46:18 +0200 NewsRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline In what appeared to be the first time Tehran initiated an attack against US targets since the war in the Persian Gulf began in late February, Iran fired ballistic missiles at American bases in Jordan late on July 28. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-jordan-jordan-trump-war/33817712.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-jordan-jordan-trump-war/33817712.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:14:48 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Headline Russia’s Iranian-designed drones have ravaged Ukrainian forces in Moscow’s all-out war. As far as Ukraine is concerned, that means cargo ships plying the Caspian Sea with Iranian military goods are fair game. Including this past weekend. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-iran-caspian-strikes-ships/33816728.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-iran-caspian-strikes-ships/33816728.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:31:36 +0200 FeaturesIranRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Sixteen people are facing charges connected to protests in the Iranian city of Isfahan in January, during which a colonel in Iran's Revolutionary Guard was killed. Sources in Iran told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that authorities used torture to extract confessions from the defendants. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-executions-irgc-protests/33815971.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-executions-irgc-protests/33815971.html Mon, 27 Jul 2026 17:39:53 +0200 IranFeaturesHuman RightsThe Rundown Headline Tehran said it had halted retaliatory attacks against US allies in the Middle East as Washington refrained from attacking Iran for the second night in a row. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-halts-retaliatory-attacks-us-allies-middle-east/33813331.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-halts-retaliatory-attacks-us-allies-middle-east/33813331.html Sun, 26 Jul 2026 14:29:33 +0200 NewsIranThe Rundown Headline President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Moscow wants to bring in thousands of North Korean soldiers again for its invasion of Ukraine, with preparations in Russia having been under way since early summer. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-claims-caspian-strike-russia-iran-military-route-kyiv-mourning/33812868.html https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-claims-caspian-strike-russia-iran-military-route-kyiv-mourning/33812868.html Sat, 25 Jul 2026 15:32:07 +0200 UkraineNewsRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Headline Iran's army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have said they struck multiple US bases in Kuwait, retaliating for fresh American strikes on Iranian targets following a 12th consecutive night of US bombing. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-houthis-saudi-tanker-hormuz-blockade/33810481.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-houthis-saudi-tanker-hormuz-blockade/33810481.html Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:00:35 +0200 IranNewsThe Rundown Headline Iran executed a man it accused of carrying out "operational actions" during nationwide protests at the start of the year as the country's leadership ratchets up its crackdown on dissent, sparking a hunger strike among hundreds of death row inmates. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-executions-protest-death-row-inmates/33810002.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-executions-protest-death-row-inmates/33810002.html Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:03:30 +0200 IranNewsHuman RightsThe Rundown Headline Some blame Tehran. Others blame Washington. But pretty much everyone on Iran's southern coast can agree on one thing: The renewal of air strikes between the United States and Iran is hitting hard, bringing a summer without electricity, fuel, or a way to make a living. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-south-war-voices-impact/33807475.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-south-war-voices-impact/33807475.html Tue, 21 Jul 2026 11:09:35 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown HeadlineMiddle East 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