VISUAL REPORTS
LIVE STREAM: Protests In Minsk, Belarus
Belarus opposition leader Mikola Statkevich has called for a rally on Minsk’s October Square on July 3 to mark the country’s Independence Day and to protest planned, joint military exercises with Russia. (Belarus Service)
Overnight Shelling In Mariyinka, Eastern Ukraine
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service published this video from the frontline town of Mariyinka during heavy shelling overnight on June 30-July 1.
Aerial Video Shows Chernobyl Forest Fires
Ukrainian emergency services have released striking video shot by aircrews battling forest fires near the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
VOX POP: Are Donetsk Residents Interested In Yanukovych’s Fate?
Respondents to an informal poll in occupied Donetsk had little sympathy for, or interest in, ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. One called him a traitor, one said his fate is “the past,” one said he’d like to see him “in a coffin.” One wondered when he’d come back, and one said she only hopes for the war to end. (Ukrainian Service Facebook)
OTHER NEWS
Investors Move Record $1.6 Billion Out Of Russia
The Russian newspaper Kommersant reports that foreign investors moved a record $1.6 billion out of Russia between February and June, the country’s highest outflow of capital in the last three and a half years. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
Kaspersky Chief To Allow U.S. Officials To Examine Products' Source Code
The chief executive of Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab says he is willing to have his company's source code examined by U.S. officials to ease concerns about its cybersecurity products.
Putin Signs Bill Authorizing Demolition of 4,500 Moscow Apartment Buildings
Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 1 signed a controversial law authorizing the demolition of thousands of Soviet-era Moscow apartment buildings, forcing the relocation of hundreds of thousands of residents.
Putin Extends Russia’s Countersanctions On Western Food
President Vladimir Putin has extended the embargo on food products from the West until the end of 2018, continuing Moscow's policy of retaliation for Western sanctions against Russia.
In U.S. Court, Yukos Shareholders Go After Lawyers
Shareholders of defunct Russian oil giant Yukos, which was dismantled and absorbed by a state-owned rival in contentious legal actions, are taking a new tack in their multibillion-dollar fight with the Russian government.
Russia Beats U.S. In Number Of Nuclear Missiles
Russia tops the list of nine countries possessing nuclear arsenals, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s latest report, with 1,950 deployed warheads and 5,050 other warheads. The United States has 1,800 deployed warheads and 5,000 other warheads. North Korea is at the bottom of the list with 10-20 other warheads.
Azerbaijani Journalist’s Wife Has ‘No Hope For Fair Trial’
In an interview with RFE/RL, Leyla Mustafaeva, the wife of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, who was abducted in Georgia and is currently being detained in Baku, says her husband’s kidnappers “were wearing uniforms of the Georgian police, spoke in Georgian and constantly reported to the top.” She says he was handed over to the Azerbaijani intelligence services in the Lagodekhi region of Georgia. (Russian Service)
Newly Proposed Monument Stirs Srebrenica Controversy
A Bosnian Serb group has filed a request to unveil a monument in Srebrenica to the former Russian ambassador to the United Nations for his role two years ago in blocking a UN initiative condemning the 1995 massacres that took place there as genocide.
PODCAST: THE POWER VERTICAL: The Hot And Cold War
What does the renewed fighting in the Donbas mean?
PODCAST: World Bank Linked To Forced Labor In Uzbekistan