Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

A recent Russian police raid targeting migrant workers at a top retailer's warehouse near Moscow for military recruitment could hardly have gone unnoticed. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-migrants-raids-attacks-pressure-fight-ukraine/32703657.html

Do the Ukrainian government’s media restrictions run counter to the country’s EU membership ambitions? Some Ukrainian politicians think so. By @cxemu https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-parliament-press-restrictions-censorship-journalists/32701375.html

“My great-grandfather didn’t participate in World War II for four years so that Russia would become a fascist state and attack Ukraine.” https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-artist-skochilenko-sentenced-final-words-court-prison/32687860.html

Ukrainian troops continue to hold out in Avdiyivka as Russian forces attack the industrial city in the Donetsk region. Moscow launched an offensive on the area in early October in an effort to seize the frontline territory. Russian forces have suffered heavy losses during the onslaught, according to Ukrainian officials. Despite the daily fighting, some 1,500 residents continue to live among the ruins of their once peaceful neighborhoods.

After more than five months, Ukraine’s counteroffensive may be faltering. An audacious effort to set up bridgeheads across the Dnieper River could change that narrative. https://www.rferl.org/a/bridgehead-dnieper-russia-ukraine-counteroffensive/32684589.html

When Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kazakhstan last week, he was greeted by his counterpart, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, and accorded the full pomp befitting a strategic ally. But there was a change in emphasis that was difficult to ignore. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-central-asia-diplomatic-activitiy-surge-ukraine-war/32683831.html

When Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kazakhstan last week, he was greeted by his counterpart, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, and accorded the full pomp befitting a strategic ally. But there was a change in emphasis that was difficult to ignore. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-central-asia-diplomatic-activitiy-surge-ukraine-war/32683831.html

An Iranian woman tells her story of defiance and coping. She joined the protest after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died just days after her detention by the morality police for allegedly wearing her head scarf incorrectly. In another incident more than a year later, 17-year-old Armita Garavand died after she was allegedly attacked on the Tehran subway for not wearing a hijab.

When they refused to renew their contracts, at least two volunteer soldiers ended up in a “pit” -- a detention cellar or hole in the ground where food, water, and medicine are denied. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-systema-investigation-contract-soldiers-pay-pardons-promises-broken/32676712.html?fbclid=IwAR3F9UUdq02Hk8ZzGC0dUQRltPB94PtxEHid9jxeorz4sRcBF7TejDKuwck

Serbian companies are exporting dual-use goods to Russia that have been targeted by Western sanctions due to their use in Russian armaments deployed in Ukraine -- despite a pledge by President Aleksandar Vucic that his country would not serve as a conduit for circumventing U.S. and EU sanctions. https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-russia-sanctions-dual-use-technology/32676159.html?fbclid=IwAR1d8ceNW14-7QnNugpt0oGtDr0baWPvrl2i_F7I9yYRC08hLrVka0PBXYY

"There is nothing we want to happen more than to get Alsu back. My children need her, I need my wife back." Pavel Butorin, the husband of detained RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, says his wife is a "political prisoner" as she remains behind bars in Russia.

A native of China’s Hebei Province, a 26-year-old man completed the so-called Balkan Route for migrants, joining tens of thousands of asylum seekers from around the world who are fleeing war, poverty, and repression. https://www.rferl.org/a/balkans-route-chinese-asylum-seeker/32673586.html

In Photos: Soviet flags as well as imagery of Marx, Lenin, and Stalin now appear to be a rallying point for Russian troops in Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-invasion-russia-soviet-symbols/32667534.html

Finnish investigators say a Chinese vessel, which is currently making its way to China through Russian waters, damaged the Balticconnector pipeline that brings gas between Finland and Estonia. Was it an accident or another example of sabotage in the Baltic Sea? https://www.rferl.org/a/china-baltic-pipeline-damaged-russia-newnew-polar-bear/32667867.html

An analysis of satellite images by @cxemu, @svoboda_radio's Ukrainian investigative unit, indicates that Russia is actively building up its production capacity for military equipment and developing new factories as it continues to reorient its economy toward its war against Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ramping-up-war-production/32658857.html

Now that UN sanctions related to Iran's ballistic-missile program have expired, would Tehran export advanced weaponry to Moscow? https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-russia-missile-technology-trade/32667412.html

“The situation in Daghestan did not appear overnight,” one Russian analyst told RFE/RL. “The steam should have been allowed to get out.” https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-daghestan-anti-semitic-tensions/32660373.html

Today's 🇺🇦 updates: ⚡🇷🇺 troops launched another air strike overnight against 🇺🇦 with 12 Shahed attack drones, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on October 30. ⚡🇷🇺 missile attack on Odesa shipyard injured 2. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-crisis-crosshairs-live-briefing/31668477.html