WATCH: NATO-led peacekeepers fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Serbs as KFOR troops began dismantling roadblocks in Kosovo near a disputed border crossing point with Serbia.

NATO-led peacekeepers have confronted angry ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo as Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops began dismantling barricades erected near a disputed border crossing with Serbia.

For more than a month, Kosovo Serbs have been completely blocking roads leading to two border points -- Brnjak and Jarinje -- to stop the country's leadership from extending its control over the part of the country populated mostly by ethnic Serbs.

Ethnic Serbs in the region do not recognize Pristina's authority or the independence that majority-ethnic-Albanian Kosovo declared from Serbia in 2008.

RFE/RL Kosovo Unit correspondent Albana Isufi said that KFOR troops had managed to remove some of the barricades to allow them free access to soldiers based in the northern part of Kosovo.

They had been denied such access since September 16, preventing supplies from getting to those NATO-led troops.


Lone Trouble Spot?

Peacekeepers in riot gear moved at dawn against some 150 demonstrators at roadblocks erected on a road to the Brnjak border crossing. Protesters chanted, "Serbia! Serbia! Serbia!"

KFOR troops used tear gas against the demonstrators near the village of Jagnjenica as the crowds refused to disperse.

They used trucks and armored vehicles to remove the makeshift barriers consisting of parked trucks, rocks, tires, and logs.

KFOR said eight soldiers had been slightly injured, but a spokesman for the force told RFE/RL that the operation was "successful."

Meanwhile, Isufi said the situation at the road leading to the Jarinje border point was peaceful.

"The barricades on the Jarinje [road] remain there still, [but] KFOR has emphasized that they will no [longer] tolerate barricades on the road," Isufi said.

In Belgrade, Serbian President Boris Tadic urged NATO to refrain from the use of force and called on Kosovo Serbs not to resort to violence, saying it "would lead to an abyss."

Tadic's statement came after Serb leaders from northern Kosovo on October 19 defied NATO calls to remove roadblocks, saying they could only offer to allow the supply convoys for KFOR troops to pass on condition they maintain the roadblocks and check the KFOR transports.

Defending 'Freedom Of Movement'

Serb leaders in northern Kosovo had called for Belgrade to send in Serbian troops and police, while KFOR announced that it was "ready and resolved to take action on behalf of freedom of movement."


In July, Pristina authorities deployed security forces to the two border checkpoints to enforce a trade ban with Serbia.

Serbs reacted by blocking roads and triggering clashes with Kosovo police that left one police officer dead.

Around 40,000 Serbs live in northern Kosovo, making up the majority in a number of towns.

compiled from RFE/RL and agency reports

US President Donald Trump said the United States will hold high-level "direct" talks with Iran at a "very big meeting" this week while warning Tehran it would be in “great danger” if the talks on its nuclear program don’t succeed.

Iran's foreign minister confirmed that a meeting was set to take place on April 12, but the talks would be "indirect."

"Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X on April 7 shortly after Trump commented on the talks.

"It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America's court."

Iran has insisted on indirect negotiations, saying it would not hold direct talks as long as Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran is in effect.

Araghchi later told Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency that US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff would be at the talks, but the two would speak only through a mediator.

Trump told reporters at the White House that talks were taking place "on a very high level, almost the highest level," and emphasized that no intermediaries were involved.

He did not say who would represent the United States. Witkoff has not commented publicly on whether he would attend the talks.

"We have a very big meeting, and we'll see what can happen. I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable," Trump said in an impromptu press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"If talks with Iran aren't successful, I think Iran will be in great danger," Trump said, insisting that the Islamic republic must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

Netanyahu briefly weighed in, expressing support for a Libya-style deal with Iran --a reference to a 2003 agreement in which the African nation agreed to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction programs.

Iran maintains its nuclear program is for civilian purposes and has previously rejected the possibility of a Libya-style agreement.

Trump earlier this month called for "direct talks" with Tehran, saying they were "faster" and offered a better understanding than using intermediaries. Trump suggested then that a new agreement with Iran could be "different and maybe a lot stronger" than the 2015 nuclear deal.

He had previously sent a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for negotiations and warning of military action if diplomacy failed.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian on April 5 said that Tehran was willing to engage in dialogue on an "equal footing." The following day Araghchi said in a statement that Tehran was prepared to hold indirect talks.

After abrogating the nuclear deal in 2018 during his first term as president, Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the agreement. Iran retaliated by accelerating its nuclear program and is currently enriching uranium at 60 percent purity, which is described as near weapons-grade.

The 2015 deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has a snapback mechanism that allows for the return of UN sanctions on Iran. But once the deal expires in October, world powers lose the ability to trigger the mechanism.

Trump has threatened to bomb Iran if there is no agreement on Tehran's nuclear program. Iran has warned that it will deliver a "strong" response to any aggression and has suggested that it will develop a bomb if attacked.

Washington has been sending mixed messages about whether it wants to restrict Iran's uranium enrichment or fully dismantle Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran has not commented on Trump's assertion that direct talks have already started.

Nour News, a website affiliated with Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, described Trump's remarks as "a calculated effort to shape public opinion" aimed at portraying Washington as the party taking diplomatic initiative and Tehran as the side opposed to dialogue.

Russian hockey star Alex Ovechkin made history when he overtook Wayne Gretzky as the National Hockey League’s (NHL) all-time goal scorer, but he also served up a win for the Kremlin’s propaganda machine.

In a congratulatory telegram posted on April 7 by the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the sports star, saying Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal “has become not only your personal success, but also a real celebration for fans in Russia and abroad.”

Putin is famously a fan of ice hockey. And his admiration for Ovechkin is mutual: The NHL star’s official Instagram page features a profile picture of the sportsman standing next to Putin.

But Ovechkin’s achievement -- his 895th NHL goal put him past Greztky's 894 -- is about more than national sporting pride. It comes at a moment when the Kremlin is seeking to project confidence in a high-stakes negotiation with Washington about a possible cease-fire in Ukraine.

Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian government’s emissary to Washington for Ukraine talks, posted a video on X of Ovechkin greeting fans after his record-breaking goal, with the hockey star saying, “For all the world, Russia…we did it boys, we did it! It’s history!”

Dmitriev had just wrapped a visit to the US as part of a bid to advance a series of negotiations to bring a halt to fighting in Ukraine, a trip he called “productive.” But he was also on something of a charm offensive, making appearances on CNN and Fox News to talk up the prospects for US-Russia relations.

“There is no question that President Trump team not only stopped World War III from happening, but also had already achieved sizeable progress on Ukraine resolution,” Dmitriev told Fox News’s Brett Baier.

The messaging is not so subtle: Dmitriev and others are pushing the narrative that the United States and Russia are natural allies, at the same time that the Europeans are shoring up support for Ukraine.

For instance, both Dmitriev and Russian media boss Margarita Simonyan approvingly posted a clip of American movie director Oliver Stone, who told Fox News that he applauded the Trump administration for parting ways with what he called “vituperative dialogue” around Russia.

“The whole thing with hating Russia is so negative, it’s so un-American,” he said.

“They are potentially our best partners, as are the Chinese, actually. That’s all been inculcated by propaganda.”

It’s hard to square the messages of US-Russian friendship (complete with flag emojis) with Russia’s continuing bombardment of Ukraine, particularly following a weekend of particularly lethal strikes on civilian areas of Kryviy Rih and Kyiv.

On the same day Ovechkin scored the record-breaking goal, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry posted a somber note about the number of Ukrainian athletes who have been killed in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“As of March 2025, 591 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed by Russia, 22 are held in captivity, and 11 are missing,” the statement read. “725 sports facilities have been damaged or destroyed by Russian attacks, including 17 Olympic, Paralympic, and Deaflympic training bases. For decades, Russia has been using sport for propaganda. 10 out of 15 Russian athletes who competed under a neutral flag at the 2024 Olympics in Paris either publicly supported the war or were affiliated with the military. Russian sport is not separate from the state -– it is one of the tools used to justify and promote aggression. Those who say sport should be outside politics must also acknowledge that Russia uses sport as a political weapon.”

Sport is definitely an element of Russia’s soft power in the ongoing diplomatic dance between Washington and Moscow.

Following a phone call between Putin and Trump last month, the Kremlin readout said the US president "supported Vladimir Putin's idea to organize hockey matches in the United States and Russia between Russian and American players playing in the NHL and KHL,” a reference to the top Russian hockey league, the Kontinental Hockey League.

Russia has been banned from international ice hockey tournaments since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. That ban remains. But Ovechkin’s headline-grabbing goal may have further cracked open Moscow’s window for diplomatic engagement with Washington.

Several vigils were held in the Ukrainian city of Kryviy Rih for some of the 20 people -- nine of whom were children -- killed over the weekend at a playground and restaurant that were struck by an air strike as Russia again denied firing on civilian infrastructure despite evidence to the contrary.

Three days of mourning began on April 7 in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown, with Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul calling the strike the deadliest on Kryviy Rih, an industrial center with a population of around 600,000 before Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

Eyewitness accounts, official statements, public records, and other open-source materials reviewed by Systema, RFE/RL's Russian-language investigative unit, show that the restaurant the Russian military says it targeted because it was hosting a meeting of military units and foreign advisers was actually the site of a beauty industry forum and a birthday party.

As memorials popped up by swing sets and climbers throughout the blood-spattered playground, officials from around the world expressed their horror at the attack, which Ukrainian officials said involved the usage of a cluster munition.

"The use of an explosive weapon with wide area effects by the Russian Federation in a densely populated area -- and without any apparent military presence -- demonstrates a reckless disregard for civilian life," UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement late on April 7.

Victims of the attack ranged from a 3-year-old to a 79-year-old.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a briefing on April 7 that "no strikes are carried out on social facilities and social infrastructure," reiterating Moscow's response to allegations from Ukrainian officials that the attack constituted a war crime.

"Even if the Russian authorities had information that military personnel could be present, the mode and circumstances of attack may constitute an indiscriminate attack," the UN rights office said.

Separately, in the face of the relentless air strikes on civilian areas, French President Emmanuel Macron called for "strong measures" should Moscow continue to block efforts to negotiate a peace deal.

"While Ukraine accepted [US[] President [Donald] Trump's proposal for a full and unconditional 30-day cease-fire nearly a month ago, and as we work with all our partners to secure peace, Russia continues its war with renewed intensity, showing no regard for civilians," Macron wrote on X.

"These Russian strikes must stop. A cease-fire must be reached as soon as possible. And strong action must follow if Russia continues to stall and reject peace," he added.

Still, Russia again overnight continued its series of deadly air strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Kyiv officials said one person was killed and at least three others wounded when a missile hit an industrial district in the capital, sparking fires and damaging a warehouse and other buildings.

The casualties appeared to be limited because the districts are home mainly to industrial businesses and storage warehouses.

In Kupyansk, a city east of Kharkiv, Russian forces dropped a glide bomb on a residential district, causing widespread damage and wounding two people.

Much of the city, which is close to the front lines, has been evacuated as Russian forces creep closer from the north.

Glide bombs are heavy munitions that are retrofitted with guidance systems and dropped from aircraft behind the front lines. The weapons are hard to defend against, and Russian forces have used them to devastating effect against Ukrainian defenses across the front lines.

Overall, Russia fired nearly two dozen missiles at Ukrainian targets and more than 100 drones, authorities said. Half the missiles and nearly half the drones were shot down, officials claimed.

Ukraine, for its part, fired 11 drones at Russian targets, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

In February, the Kremlin and the White House, as well as Ukrainian authorities, announced the framework for a limited cease-fire that would restrict attacks on energy infrastructure such as power plants, transmission lines, and substations.

Moscow and Washington also announced a deal to limit military activity in the Black Sea region.

However, Ukrainian and Russian forces have continued to fire drones and missiles at one another, almost nightly.

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Dozens of Serbian cyclists are traveling some 1,300 kilometers to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to draw attention to their country's ongoing anti-corruption campaign.

The pedaling protesters were welcomed in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, on April 5 after setting off from the Serbian city of Novi Sad two days earlier.

The deadly collapse of a railway station cement canopy in Novi Sad last November killed 16 people and triggered nationwide demonstrations in Serbia, with protesters blaming the government for corruption and poor oversight.

The protesters are now trying to get support from outside Serbia and from EU lawmakers.

"We hope for change; we hope for a better country, and we hope for the best," said Stefan, who was among the student protesters who biked in Budapest.

Budapest's mayor, Gergely Karacsony, voiced his support for the Serbian cyclists as did some Serbian students who are studying in the Hungarian capital.

"I’m here to support my friends, family, and everyone who is trying to change something in Serbia," said one female student, "to make Serbia a better place to live for all of us."

Students in Serbia have been a driving force behind the anti-government protests in their country and have called on the government to release all documents related to construction work at Novi Sad's railway station.

The authorities claim they have made public all “available documents,” but protesters reject that claim.

The students plan to cycle through four countries -- Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany -- before reaching France in about two weeks and the EU Parliament in Strasbourg.

Meanwhile, back in Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic on April 6 named Djuro Macut, a little-known medical professor, as prime minister-designate amid the political crisis.

Vucic, one of the founders of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, which has been in power since 2012, presented it as a "movement of great change."

On January 28, Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned following weeks of mass protests demanding accountability for the deadly accident. Vucic said he accepted the resignation reluctantly because, he insisted, Vucevic “did nothing wrong.

Iran's foreign minister rejected US proposals for direct negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, days after US President Donald Trump called for face-to-face talks.

In a statement released on April 6 by the Foreign Ministry, Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was prepared to hold indirect talks with Washington.

"Iran keeps itself prepared for all possible or probable events, and just as it is serious in diplomacy and negotiations, it will also be decisive and serious in defending its national interests and sovereignty," he was quoted saying.

Araghchi's comments came three days after Trump called for "direct talks" with Tehran, saying they were "faster" and offered a better understanding than using intermediaries.

Last month, Trump sent a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for negotiations and warning of military action if diplomacy failed.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, said on April 5 that Tehran was willing to engage in dialogue on an "equal footing."

In 2015, Iran reached a landmark deal with United States, France, China, Russia, and Britain, as well as Germany, to curtail its nuclear activities.

The 2015 agreement -- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- eased punishing sanctions that had restricted Iran's economy.

During Trump's first term in office, however, the United States withdrew from the agreement and reinstated punitive sanctions.

Iran rejects Western allegation that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, insisting its programs are only aimed at civilian purposes like electricity generation.

With reporting by AFP

Russia hit the Ukrainian capital with a ballistic missile and dropped a powerful "glide" bomb on a city east of Kharkiv, further undermining efforts to cement a cease-fire between Moscow and Kyiv.

The newsroom for Freedom TV was badly damaged in the April 6 attack -- the second time the state-funded broadcaster has been targeted by Russian strikes.

Kyiv officials said one person was killed and at least three people wounded when the missile hit an industrial district, sparking fires and damaging a warehouse and other buildings.

The casualties appeared to be minimal since the districts are home mainly to industrial businesses and storage warehouses.

In a statement, Freedom TV, which was established prior to Russia's all-out invasion in February 2022, said its editorial offices were badly damaged but no employees were injured. It's the second time since February that the offices were hit.

In Kupyansk, a city east of Kharkiv, Russian forces dropped a glide bomb on a residential district, causing widespread damage and wounding two people.

Much of the city, which is close to the front lines, has been evacuated as Russian forces are crept closer from the north.

Glide bombs are heavy munitions that are retrofitted with guidance systems and dropped from aircraft behind the front lines. The weapons are hard to defend against, and Russian forces have used them to devastating effect against Ukrainian defenses across the front lines.

Overall, Russia fired nearly two dozens missiles at Ukrainian targets and more than 100 drones, authorities said. Half the missiles and nearly half the drones were shot down, officials claimed.

Ukraine, for its part, fired at 11 drones at Russian targets, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

In February, the Kremlin and the White House, as well as Ukrainian authorities, announced the framework for a limited cease-fire that would restrict attacks on energy infrastructure such as power plants, transmission lines, and substations. Moscow and Washington also announced a deal to limit military activity in the Black Sea region.

However, Ukrainian and Russian forces have continued to fire drones and missiles at one another, almost nightly.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones, and more than various 30 missiles over the past week.

On April 4, a Russian missile that Ukrainian officials said was armed with a cluster munition hit a district in the city of Kryviy Rih, southeast of Kyiv, killing 20 people. A children's playground was struck as well, killing at least nine children. Dozens of people were injured.

Moscow claimed the strike had targeted a Ukrainian military gathering.

Ukrainian authorities declared a day of mourning on April 6 for those killed in the attack.

"We must put pressure on Russia, which chooses to kill children instead of a cease-fire," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "We must introduce additional sanctions against those who cannot exist without ballistic strikes on neighboring people."

Zelenskyy also criticized a statement by the US ambassador, Bridget Brink, who said she was horrified by the strike but did not call out Russia by name.

"Unfortunately, the response from the US Embassy is surprisingly disappointing -- such a strong country, such a strong people, and yet such a weak reaction," he wrote in a post to Telegram.

There was no immediate reaction from the US Embassy to Zelenskyy's criticism.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service

Iran's national currency, the rial, tumbled to a record low against the US dollar, as US President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" strategy against the Islamic republic's economy continued to take its toll.

As of April 5, a dollar cost more than 1 million rials on exchange markets, as currency shops reopened for the day following closings for the Persian New Year, Nowruz.

AP reported that on Ferdowsi Street in Tehran, the heart of Iran's currency markets, some traders had turned off their shops' electronic signs displaying current rates as anticipation grew that the rial would likely drop further.

"We turned it off since we are not sure about the successive changes of the rate," Reza Sharifi, a worker at one exchange, told AP.

Trump has reinstated the "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran's economy that he initiated during his first term as Washington seeks to pressure Tehran to negotiate over its nuclear program.

Tehran claims its nuclear sector is intended solely for civilian purposes, while the United States accuses Iran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons.

"The maximum pressure campaign devastated Iran's economy and denied it critical resources. A nuclear Iran is not an option," US lawmaker Mike Lawler (Republican-New York) said on April 1.

Democratic lawmakers have also acknowledged the threat posed by Iran but stressed the importance of diplomacy.Trump in 2018 withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal signed with world powers and reinstated sanctions that had been lifted in return for restrictions on Tehran's nuclear program.

When the deal went into effect, the rial traded at 32,000 to the dollar.

Trump has threatened to bomb Iran if it fails to reach a deal with Washington. Tehran has dismissed the threat, describing it as an "affront" to peace and security.

Iran in late March delivered a formal response to a letter sent by Trump letter proposing direct talks to reach a new nuclear deal.

Iran has dismissed direct negotiations as long as the "maximum pressure" campaign is in effect, but conflicting remarks out of Tehran have led some experts to speculate that such talks could resume.

Public outrage is mounting in Iran as the country's struggling economy worsens under the crippling US sanctions, placing pressure on reformist President Masud Pezeshkian, who was elected in 2024, an outcome that raised hopes of better relations with the West.

"This [the economic downturn] will make the prospects of change in the [Iran] impossible in the eyes of the people…. An angry and hungry society can take to the streets at any moment," Saeed Peyvandi, a professor of sociology at Paris 13 University, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda in February.

A pensioner who gave only his first name, Saeed, because of fears of reprisal, told AP that if Iran ceased its hostile policy toward the outside world, financial relief could be possible.

"If we want to live a comfortable life, we should maintain good ties with our neighbors. We shouldn't bare our teeth at them. They will do the same," he said.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda and AP

KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed "tangible progress" on a potential peacekeeping force after meeting with French and British military chiefs, shortly after he called out Washington for what he termed a "weak" response to the latest Russian air strike that killed nine children.

"There is tangible progress and the first details on how the security contingent of partners can be deployed," Zelenskyy said on social media on April 5 without providing specifics.

The remarks came after Ukrainian military commander Oleksandr Syrskiy and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with British defense chief of staff Tony Radakin and French counterpart Thierry Burkhard in Kyiv.

The comments also came ahead of a reported Russian air strike on the capital, Kyiv, in the early morning hours of April 6. "Explosions in the capital. Air defenses are working," Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram. There was no immediate word on casualties or damage.

In early March, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the formation of a "coalition of the willing" to establish a military mission to Ukraine, although progress has been slow and many questions remain.

French President Emmanuel Macron also has taken a leading role in the effort to create what he calls a "reassurance force" to Ukraine after any end to the war that has turned increasingly deadly following Russia’s full-scale invasion of February 2022.

"Together with the Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine, we continue our discussions on long-term support for the Ukrainian people," Macron wrote on X on April 5.

"First, for their army, which is -- and will remain -- their first line of defense; and second, on a possible reassurance force, deployed behind the line of contact to deter any renewed Russian aggression," Macron added.

British Defense Secretary John Healey is set to host EU defense ministers in Brussels on April 10 to discuss Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in London said. Healey will then lead the Ukraine Defense Contact Group with his Germany counterpart the following day.

Earlier, Zelenskyy sharply criticized what he called a "weak" US response to a Russian air attack that hit a playground, killing at least 20 people, half of whom were children.

Moscow claimed the attack, late on April 4 -- which Kyiv said involved the usage of a cluster munition -- was on a military gathering.

Verified photos and video from the scene, however, showed destruction at a playground in a residential neighborhood in the city of Kryviy Rih, Zelenskyy's hometown.

US Ambassador to Kyiv Bridget Brink said in a social media post that she was "horrified" by the strike that also injured at least 74 others, saying "this is why the war must end."

But Zelenskyy slammed the statement for failing to call out Russia by name, something that Brink -- who was appointed by former President Joe Biden -- regularly did in statements before President Donald Trump came to office.

In a social media post, he listed the names and ages -- which ranged from 3 to 17 -- of the nine children who died, while calling out Washington for Brink's statement.

"Unfortunately, the response from the US Embassy is surprisingly disappointing -- such a strong country, such a strong people, and yet such a weak reaction," he wrote.

"They are afraid to even say the word 'Russian' when speaking about the missile that murdered children."

A day of mourning has been declared for April 6 over the tragedy in Kryviy Rih, Ukrainian officials said.

The Russian strikes were one of the deadliest against civilians this year, Ukrainian officials said, and they've sparked a fresh outcry inside Ukraine that Moscow is not committed to ending the war amid ongoing US-led negotiations with both countries to broker a cease-fire.

"We must put pressure on Russia, which chooses to kill children instead of a cease-fire. We must introduce additional sanctions against those who cannot exist without ballistic strikes on neighboring people," Zelenskyy said.

Kyiv has accused Moscow of using cluster munitions on civilian targets before, but their use in the attack in Kryviy Rih adds new tensions to anger over the attacks amid efforts to strike a truce.

The weapons release smaller bomblets across a wide area to maximize an attack, with some of them detonating long after the attack, posing a continued danger to the local population.

The Ukrainian president said the attack was further evidence that additional pressure on Moscow is required to broker a cease-fire for the war.

He added that discussions have occurred with Washington about procuring more air-defense systems, saying the recent strike highlights the urgent need for them.

"We are counting on our agreements with the president of the United States, who promised to help with the search for additional 'patriots,'" he said, referring the US missile-defense system.

Trump Threatens Russia With Sanctions

US President Donald Trump has made ending the war a top foreign policy priority since taking office less than three months ago, putting pressure on both sides through various means.

Earlier this week, he reiterated threats to sanction Russian oil if Russian President Vladimir Putin was an obstacle to achieving peace.

Meanwhile, at a NATO summit of foreign ministers in Brussels this week, several of Europe's top diplomats called out Putin for failing to agree to a US-led peace proposal to end the war. Ukraine has already signed on to the deal.

The Kremlin said on April 4 that Putin and Trump had no plans to talk after a visit to Washington by the Russian president's investment envoy as wider negotiations over a Ukraine truce appeared to have slowed.

With reporting by Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to the United States on April 6 to meet with President Donald Trump for discussions on Iran and new US trade tariffs, the Israeli leader's office said.

"The two leaders will discuss tariffs, efforts to bring back Israeli hostages (from Gaza), Israel-Turkey relations, the Iranian threat, and the fight against the International Criminal Court," Netanyahu's office said, referring to The Hague-based court that has accused him of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Both Trump and Netanyahu have rejected the ICC allegations as "baseless."

The White House did not immediately comment on Nethanyahu's upcoming visit.

US media had quoted four Israeli officials and a White House official earlier in the day as saying Netanyahu was expected to visit the White House on April 7.

The right-wing Israeli leader is considered a close ally to Trump. Along with the ICC accusations, Netanyahu has come under international criticism for the conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Trump, other US officials, and Netanyahu have defended Israeli military actions in the territory, which came after a deadly incursion into Israel by the Hamas movement, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.

The trip will mark the second official visit to Washington by Netanyahu since Trump took office on January 20. He held meetings with the US leader in early February, making him the first foreign visitor to the White House during Trump's second term in office.

After that visit, Trump signed an order on February 4 to restore his "maximum pressure" policy on Iran aimed at hurting its oil exports and slowing its nuclear program.

US sanctions on Iran's energy sector have been in place since 2018, when Trump during his first term withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions that had been lifted under its terms. Iranian oil sales plummeted as a result.

Also during Netanyahu's visit, Trump announced a controversial proposal calling for the United States to take over control of the Gaza Strip and economically develop the war-torn Palestinian coastal area. Under the plan, the Palestinian civilian population was to be relocated to other countries in the region.

Israel, like most other nations, is facing a rise in tariffs under Trump's newly announced trade policy. The tariff rate against Israeli products is 17 percent, and Netanyahu will likely seek to strike a new agreement with the US leader.

Netanyahu's visit comes following of a day of protest on April 5 against Trump's policies throughout the United States. Demonstrations were held at some 1,200 sites in all 50 states, organized by more than 150 groups. The rallies appeared to go off peacefully, with one of the main organizers saying about 600,000 people took part.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

The European Union says it is entering a "new era" in its relationship with Central Asian nations following a summit aimed at making inroads in a region dominated by Russia and China.

Speaking on the last day of the summit, held in Uzbekistan's ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a deluge of global tariffs laid out by US President Donald Trump on April 3 showed the importance of building relations in a new era.

"We are at another turning point. New global barriers arise, investments are being redirected, powers around the world are carving up new spheres of influence," von der Leyen emphasized in a speech on April 4.

"Reliable partners have never been so important. We want to explore new avenues."

The two-day summit involving the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, comes as traditional ally Russia and neighboring China vie for influence, while the region also eyes deeper ties with the West.

Central Asia is interested in Europe's advanced industrial technology -- which Russia and China struggle to provide -- while Brussels eyes the region's precious natural resources.

Von der Leyen reaffirmed the EU's 10 billion euro investment in the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), a project that could potentially halve the travel time between Europe and Central Asia while bypassing Russia.

Von der Leyen also declared an additional 12 billion-euro investment in the Global Gateway to kick-start a new digital and infrastructural development project set.

The investment is aimed at enhancing connectivity and trade, tying the five Central Asian nations closer to European markets and opening a route to access the region's richness in critical raw materials such as uranium, copper, coal, zinc, titanium, manganese, lithium, graphite.

"We want to be partners not just in extraction but in building up local industries," von der Leyen said.

Central Asian leaders have been trying to maintain a balance with Moscow and Beijing while also developing ties with Europe.

But they've also been looking to open up borders among themselves following decades of underdeveloped relations.

"Seven or eight years ago, borders between states were closed. There was no trade, no transit, no business… Relations were frozen," Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev, who was chairing the summit, said.

"Nobody would have imagined that we could unite to represent the region at negotiations with European leaders," he said.

Mirziyoev has opened up Uzbekistan after he came to power in 2016 following decades of isolation under his predecessor Islam Karimov.

The US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) has terminated contracts with two satellite systems that carry Russian-language content produced by Current Time, a network run by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, amid a fight over winding down operations at a number of US-funded broadcasters.

Current Time said on April 4 that broadcasts on the Astra and Eutelsat satellite systems were no longer running after the move by the US government agency, which oversees the operations of RFE/RL and Voice Of America, though Current Time was still being carried on the Hotbird satellite system. The USAGM gave no explanation for its decision.

"We received a notice from USAGM that contracts for satellites distributing Current Time's Russian-language programming were being terminated. We hope this decision will be reversed in the future,” RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement.

Current Time, which has been designated an "undesireable organization" by Russia's Justice Ministry, said its audiences could use other digital means to access its programming, which continues to be produced. Current Time focuses on Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and other regions.

RFE/RL reaches almost 50 million people in countries including Belarus, China, Iran, and Russia as it seeks to present independent and unbiased news and information to the 23 countries it broadcasts to in 27 languages.

The USAGM move to terminate the satellite contracts comes three weeks after an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump called for the reduction of seven agencies -- including USAGM -- to "the maximum extent consistent with applicable law."

In the hours after the executive order was signed, the USAGM claimed to terminate RFE/RL's congressionally appropriated funding for the 2025 budget year that ends on September 30.

RFE/RL has called the move unlawful and is currently engaged in legal action against the USAGM over the move.

On March 25, a US court granted RFE/RL's request for a temporary restraining order (TRO), ruling that USAGM had acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" in terminating RFE/RL's grant. The next day, the USAGM wrote to RFE/RL saying it was reversing the announcement but that this was "without prejudice to USAGM's authority to terminate the grant."

RFE/RL, which on April 1 was forced to put many of its staff on reduced-pay leave, has said it continues to await official confirmation from USAGM that grant funding will resume.

Media rights advocates have called the move to gut the USAGM "outrageous," saying it hands a win to authoritarian regimes around the world.

The Committee to Protect Journalists warned on April 1 that it also puts many journalists who worked for broadcasters such as RFE/RL at risk.

"USAGM-affiliated journalists face serious threats, imprisonment, and persecution in their home countries due to their reporting on politically sensitive issues," it wrote in a letter also signed by PEN America, Reporters Without Borders, and others that urges US Congress to take "immediate action" to protect journalists who worked for publicly funded outlets.

"Protecting them...is a moral obligation and a vital stand for press freedom and democratic values."

The USAGM is an independent US government agency that oversees the broadcasting of news and information in almost 50 languages to some 361 million people each week.

The total budget request for the USAGM for fiscal year 2025 was $950 million to fund all of its operations and capital investments.

This includes media outlets such as RFE/RL, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio Marti), Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Open Technology Fund.

BRUSSELS -- Several of Europe's top diplomats called out Russian President Vladimir Putin for failing to agree to a US-led peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine amid signs Washington has grown wary of the Kremlin's intentions during several weeks of talks.

Several of Europe's top diplomats, commenting during the second day of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on April 4, urged allies to put more pressure on Moscow to come to an agreement.

British Foreign Minister David Lammy called out Putin, saying the Russian leader "continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet" instead of agreeing to a deal Ukraine has already signed off on.

"He could accept a cease-fire now, he continues to bombard Ukraine, its civilian population, its energy supplies. We see you, Vladimir Putin, we know what you are doing," Lammy said.

NATO allies have been determined to present a united front to counter Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but the European allies feel their efforts have been marginalized.

US President Donald Trump has made ending Russia's more than three-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine a top priority since taking office for a second term just over two months ago, quickly dispatching his top officials to Moscow and Kyiv and beyond to clinch a peace deal.

Last month, however, Moscow rejected the US proposal for a full 30-day cease-fire. And while Ukraine and Russia did agree to a limited halt in attacks on each other's energy infrastructure, both have since accused the other of breaching the agreement.

Several foreign ministers at the NATO meeting have called for timelines to pressure Russia to come to an agreement, while German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called out Putin for so far making "nothing but empty promises."

She added that the Russian leader was "playing for time by raising ever new demands."

Trump appears to be losing patience with Putin, lashing out at him last week while threatening Russia with new tariffs on oil products if Moscow blocks his cease-fire initiatives.

During a phone interview with NBC News on March 30, Trump said he was "very angry" and "pissed off" when Putin called for a transitional government to be put in place in Ukraine, which could effectively push out current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists in Brussels on April 4 that Washington should know in a matter of weeks, not months, if Russia is serious about making peace with Ukraine.

"We will know from their answers very soon whether they are serious about proceeding with real peace or whether it's a delay tactic. [If] it's a delay tactic, the president's not interested in that," he said.

In what may be a bid to smooth the recent bumps that have emerged, Putin sent envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Washington this week to seek ways to improve bilateral relations that Trump has sought to reestablish after they broke down during the Biden administration over the invasion of Ukraine.

But European diplomats said pressure needs to be ratcheted up on Russia as they seek to convince Trump to harden his stance on Putin.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, standing next to Lammy in Brussels, said on April 4 that Russia "owes an answer to the United States" over its failure to agree to the US cease-fire proposal.

"Russia has been flip-flopping, continuing its strikes on energy infrastructure, continuing its war crimes," Barrot said.

"It has to be 'yes.' It has to be 'no.' It has to be a quick answer."

The NATO foreign ministers meeting also looked at how to support Ukraine through the end of the war and afterward.

Answering a question from RFE/RL on the alliance's stance toward Ukraine's position at the bargaining table, NATO chief Mark Rutte said pledges of financial support for Kyiv are key to solidifying Ukraine's standing.

"Let me reconfirm that they [Ukraine] have to be in the strongest possible position," Rutte said.

While Ukraine's membership in NATO is off the table for now, most European allies are keen to at least get assurances that US weapons will continue to go to Ukraine and that NATO's training mission for Ukrainian soldiers continues to operate.

However, the United States is no longer chairing the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, known as the Ramstein group, which coordinates military support for Kyiv. The United Kingdom chaired the last meeting of the group in February, and the next one tentatively scheduled for April 11 could be co-chaired by the United Kingdom and France.

A Pentagon spokesman declined to confirm that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth would not attend the meeting but told RFE/RL that the US would not be playing the central role at the gathering.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sharply criticized a "weak" US response to a Russian air attack that hit a playground, killing at least 20 people, half of whom were children.

Moscow claimed the attack late on April 4 -- which Kyiv said involved the usage of a cluster munition -- was on a military gathering.

Verified photos and video from the scene, however, showed destruction at a playground in a residential neighborhood in the city of Kryviy Rih, Zelenskyy's home town.

US Ambassador to Kyiv Bridget Brink said in a social media post that she was "horrified" by the strike that also injured at least 74 others, saying "this is why the war must end."

But Zelenskyy slammed the statement for failing to call out Russia by name, something which Brink -- who was appointed by former President Joe Biden -- regularly did in statements before President Donald Trump came to office.

In a social media post, he listed the names and ages -- which ranged from three to 17 -- of the nine children who died, while calling out Washington for Brink's statement.

"Unfortunately, the response from the US Embassy is surprisingly disappointing – such a strong country, such a strong people, and yet such a weak reaction," he wrote.

"They are afraid to even say the word 'Russian' when speaking about the missile that murdered children."

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had targeted a meeting of military officials in Kryviy Rih and described it as a "high-precision strike" that targeted "a meeting of unit commanders and Western instructors" in a city restaurant. Kyiv, however, rejected the claim and warned against the spread of Russian "lies."

The Russian strikes are one of the deadliest against civilians this year, Ukrainian officials said, and they've sparked fresh outcry inside Ukraine that Moscow is not committed to ending the war amid ongoing US-led negotiations with both countries to broker a cease-fire.

"We must put pressure on Russia, which chooses to kill children instead of a cease-fire. We must introduce additional sanctions against those who cannot exist without ballistic strikes on neighboring people," Zelenskyy.

Kyiv has accused Moscow of using cluster munitions on civilian targets before, but their use in the attack in Kryviy Rih adds new tensions to anger over the attacks amid efforts to strike a truce.

The weapons release smaller bomblets across a wide area to maximize an attack, with some of them detonating long after the attack, posing a continued danger to the local population.

The Ukrainian president said the attack was further evidence that additional pressure on Moscow is required to broker a cease-fire for the war.

He added that discussions have occurred with Washington about procuring more air defense systems, saying that the recent strike highlights the urgent need for them.

"We are counting on our agreements with the president of the United States, who promised to help with the search for additional "patriots," he said, referring to the US missile-defense system.

US President Donald Trump has made ending the war a top foreign policy priority since taking office less than three months ago.

Earlier this week, he reiterated threats to sanction Russian oil if Russian President Vladimir Putin was an obstacle to achieving peace.

Meanwhile, at a NATO summit of foreign ministers in Brussels this week, several of Europe's top diplomats called out Russian President Vladimir Putin for failing to agree to a US-led peace proposal to end the war. Ukraine has already signed on to the deal.

The Kremlin said on April 4 that Putin and Trump had no plans to talk after a visit to Washington by the Russian president's investment envoy as wider negotiations over a Ukraine truce appeared to have slowed.

More Attacks Across Ukraine

Eyewitness accounts, official statements, and public records and other open-source materials reviewed by Systema, RFE/RL's Russian investigative unit, show that the restaurant the Russian military says it targeted because it was hosting a meeting of military units and foreign advisers was actually the site of a beauty industry forum and a birthday party.

People attending these events are among the injured from the strike, according to social media posts. No evidence of a military presence was found by Systema.

Ukraine and Russia also accused each other of fresh attacks on energy infrastructure, in breach of a US-brokered moratorium in March.

The Kryviy Rih attack came on the heels of an overnight drone attack on the eastern city of Kharkiv that killed at least five people, including an entire family, and injured more than 30 others.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on April 5 that Ukraine had increased its attacks on energy infrastructure, hitting targets 14 times in the last 24 hours.

In a statement published on Telegram, the ministry said Ukraine "multiplied the number of unilateral attacks using drones and artillery shells on the energy infrastructure of Russian regions."

Kyiv denied the charge saying that it only strikes military targets, with Ukraine's military calling it "fake" and "disinformation."

Kyiv has previously said it halted strikes on Russian energy facilities on March 18 after the two sides agreed to a US proposal for a 30-day moratorium on striking each other's energy infrastructure, as well as a partial truce for strikes on the Black Sea.

Both sides have since repeatedly accused each other of violating the deal.

With reporting by Reuters

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev said on April 3 that he saw a "positive dynamic" in relations between Moscow and Washington, but differences remain, and several more meetings are needed to resolve them.

"I think [with] the Trump administration, we are now in [a] realm of thinking about what is possible, what can really work, and how we can find a long-term solution," Dmitriev told CNN following talks with members of President Donald Trump's administration in Washington.

"Without doubt, we note a positive dynamic in our relations," Russian news agencies quoted Dmitriev as telling journalists in Washington earlier on April 3 after the meeting.

"Of course, there are disagreements on various points, but there is a process, there is a dialogue, which in our understanding will help to overcome these disagreements," Dmitriev told journalists.

"A series of meetings will still be needed for us to resolve all our differences. But the main thing we see a positive, creative attitude," he was quoted as saying.

Dmitriev said on Telegram that restoring dialogue “is a difficult and gradual process. But each meeting, each frank conversation allows us to move forward."

He did not name the Trump administration officials he met with, but said they conducted themselves “with great respect, ask a lot of questions, find compromises.”

Dmitriev said he "invited colleagues from the United States to visit Russia."

Dmitriev said among the topics discussed were cooperation on rare metals production and the Arctic. He also said work was under way on restoring direct flights between Russia and the United States, and told US broadcaster Newsmax that Russia would like to work with Elon Musk, head of SpaceX and a close adviser to Trump, on a Mars mission.

Efforts by Trump to restore Russia-U.S. ties have stirred fears in Ukraine and Europe that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could cut a deal to end the war in Ukraine without their participation.

Dmitriev claimed after meeting with the Trump administration officials that unidentified forces were trying to sow tension between Russia and the United States and distort Russia's position.

"Opponents of the rapprochement are afraid that Russia and the United States will find common ground, begin to understand each other better, and build cooperation both in international affairs and in the economy," he said.

Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, arrived on April 2 and met with presidential envoy Steve Witkoff at the White House, US media reported. Witkoff, a former investment banker who has taken the lead on the administration's contacts with the Kremlin, invited Dmitriev to the United States last week, US officials quoted by Reuters said.

Trump confirmed on April 3 that a Russian envoy was in the United States for talks, but the White House has not released a statement on the visit.

Dmitriev is the most senior Russian official to visit Washington since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He was recently appointed Putin's special envoy on economic cooperation with foreign countries.

The visit comes after Trump expressed frustration with the pace of cease-fire talks. Putin last month rejected a US-Ukrainian cease-fire proposal and has demanded the lifting of some sanctions a condition of a US-proposed truce in the Black Sea.

Dmitriev may be key in repairing relations between Moscow and Washington, which have sunk to the lowest level since the depths of the Cold War. The Russian envoy played a role in early contacts with the United States when Trump was elected president the first time in 2016.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Russian law enforcement officers raided the Yekaterinburg residence of Mikhail Volkov, the father of prominent opposition politician Leonid Volkov, a key ally of late Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny.

Leonid Volkov said the April 3 search was conducted under the guise of an investigation into the alleged financing of an extremist organization, namely the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), an organization founded by Navalny that was classified as extremist by the Russian government in 2021.

Authorities allege that 69-year-old Mikhail Volkov, a renowned mathematics professor, gave money to the FBK, known for its investigations into high-level corruption in what appears to be the latest escalation in the Russian government’s crackdown on dissent.

Leonid Volkov, who now lives in exile in an undisclosed European country, said officers from the FSB security service confiscated electronic devices from his father’s home.

The searches are "revenge for the work I have been doing, am doing, and do not intend to stop," he said.

Hours later, Volkov said on Telegram that his father was detained for interrogation and released later but ordered not to leave the city as a criminal case was officially launched against him.

The younger Volkov said earlier that his father, a distinguished mathematics professor, was dismissed from his position at the Ural Federal University in February 2025.

No reason was given for the dismissal, which Leonid Volkov said was an attempt to pile pressure on his family.

The April 3 raid and interrogation are the latest of several similar actions by Russian authorities on the families of opposition leaders who have fled the country.

In 2021, the father of Ivan Zhdanov, another prominent associate of Navalny and a former director of the FBK, was convicted of corruption, charges which he denies and his supporters call politically motivated.

Like Leonid Volkov, Zhdanov went into self-imposed exile to escape persecution from Russian authorities.

The Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded in 2011 by Aleksei Navalny, has been at the forefront of investigating corruption within Russia’s political elite.

The organization’s detailed reports have not only uncovered vast wealth amassed by high-ranking officials but also drawn significant attention and concern both domestically and internationally.

The Russian government designation of the FBK as an extremist organization meant its activities were banned and anyone connected to it -- including journalists who covered his court hearings -- could face criminal charges.

Human rights organizations have widely condemned this designation as an attempt to stifle one of the country’s most vocal anti-corruption movements.

Navalny died in February last year in a remote Russian prison while serving a 19-year prison term on charges many said were retribution for his pursuit of corruption around President Vladimir Putin.