A Ukrainian journalist is released from Russian custody in occupied Crimea
The top Moscow-controlled court in Crimea later reduced Yesypenko's sentence to five years. During his trial, he testified that he was tortured with electric shocks to extract a false confession.
Advertisement
'For more than four years, Vlad was arbitrarily punished for a crime he did not commit. He paid too high of a price for reporting the truth about what was taking place inside Russia-occupied Crimea,' RFE/RL chief executive Stephen Capus said, adding that Yesypenko had been 'tortured, physically and psychologically.'
Capus thanked the U.S. and Ukrainian governments for 'working with us to ensure that Vlad's unjust detention was not prolonged.'
In a post on Telegram, Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak thanked everyone who helped secure Yesypenko's release.
He was freed shortly after longtime RFE/RL correspondent Ihar Karnei was released from prison in Belarus, following a rare visit by a senior U.S. official.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
an hour ago
- News24
Billionaire baby daddy promises to split his $14 billion fortune among his 106 kids
Last year Russian-born billionaire Pavel Durov made headlines when he announced on Telegram, the messaging platform he co-created, that he's the biological father of no fewer than 106 children. Pavel (40), who says he is unmarried and prefers to live alone, has six of his children who were fathered naturally with three different partners, and 100 who were conceived through his prolific sperm donations and live in 12 different countries. The tech tycoon recently told French political magazine Le Point that he is going to leave his fortune, estimated at almost $14bn (R256bn) to all of his children. 'They are all my children and will all have the same rights. I don't want them to tear each other apart after my death,' he told Le Point. He sees no difference whether his children came 'naturally' or 'from my sperm donations'. Each child is set to receive $1.3bn (R23.9bn) when they gain access to their inheritance. However, there's a slight catch – 'I decided my children wouldn't have access to my fortune until a period of 30 years has elapsed, starting from today,' he said last week. He told the publication he wants his offspring to 'live like normal people, to build themselves up alone, to learn to trust themselves, to be able to create, not to be dependent on a bank account'. Pavel first donated his sperm 15 years ago to help out a friend and then decided to donate more widely after learning there was 'a lack of high-quality donor material'. 'The clinic, where I started donating sperm 15 years ago to help a friend, told me more than 100 babies had been conceived this way in 12 countries,' he told Le Point. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pavel Durov (@durov) He decided to allocate his estate now because his 'work involves risks,' he said, apparently referring to the legal issues he faces over Telegram. Last year French authorities charged him with allegedly being complicit in running a platform in which illegal activity – such as child sex abuse material, drug trade and fraud – could thrive. He has denied the allegations, calling them 'absurd'. 'Just because criminals use our messaging service among many others doesn't make those who run it criminals,' he told the magazine.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Zelensky Assassination Plot Foiled: What to Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was the target of an assassination plot to be carried out by a Polish military pensioner who had first been recruited by Soviet Russia decades ago, the head of the country's internal security agency said. Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, head of Ukraine's SBU, detailed the alleged plot in a closed briefing with Ukrainian media. Malyuk said the Polish man was activated by Russia with a plan to take out Zelensky at Poland's Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport using either a first-person view drone or a sniper rifle, TSN reported. The would-be assassin was captivated by the Soviet idea, RBC reported, and held his beliefs for years. But the plot was foiled by a joint effort between the SBU and Polish security services. This is a developing article. Updates to follow.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Russia claims US strikes on Iran have opened a ‘Pandora's box' and could lead to global ‘nuclear catastrophe'
Print Close By Greg Norman Published June 23, 2025 Russia's United Nations ambassador is claiming the Trump administration's devastating airstrikes on Iran have opened a "Pandora's box" and could lead to a global "nuclear catastrophe." Vassily Nebenzia, speaking during an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Sunday, said Russia "vehemently condemns the irresponsible, dangerous, and provocative actions taken by the USA against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is a sovereign country and a U.N. member state." "Through its actions, the U.S. has opened Pandora's box, and no one knows what new consequences this may lead to," Nebenzia said. "I think it is obvious to everyone in this chamber that unless we stop the escalation, the Middle East will find itself on the brink of a large-scale conflict, which is fraught with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security architecture. And the whole world could find itself on the verge of a nuclear catastrophe," he added. IRAN'S FORDOW NUCLEAR SITE STRUCK SECOND TIME AS IDF TARGETS ACCESS ROUTES Nebenzia also accused the Trump administration of being "completely unconcerned about either the radiological consequences or the threat to the lives and health of a huge number of civilians, including women and children, in the region and beyond" following the airstrikes Saturday on Iran's Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer. "We have persistently offered our American colleagues our mediation services so as to find a peaceful and mutually agreeable solution to the contradictions surrounding the Iranian nuclear program. But it appears that diplomacy is not what our U.S. colleagues currently need. Responsibility for all this falls squarely on the shoulders of the American leadership," Nebenzia said, calling for "all parties to exercise restraint and return into the fold of international diplomacy and negotiations." TRUMP'S WEEK AHEAD WILL INCLUDE A TRIP TO THE HAGUE TO MEET WITH NATO LEADERS AS IRAN CRISIS GROWS LARGER International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi also said Monday, "Given the explosive payload utilized, and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred" at Fordow. "At the Isfahan nuclear site, additional buildings were hit, with the U.S. confirming their use of cruise missiles," he added. "Affected buildings include some related to the uranium conversion process. Also at this site, entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit. "At the Natanz enrichment site, the Fuel Enrichment Plant was hit, with the U.S. confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions," Grossi said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "Iran has informed the IAEA that there was no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites," he added. Print Close URL
