- The peace talks, which focus on the Russia-Ukraine conflict which started in February 2022, are due to take place at the Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland on June 15-16.

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, said that Russia is using Chinese influence in Asia to disrupt the summit.

- The Chinese Foreign Ministry has previously indicated that it will not attend the peace conference because it does not meet its expectations.

- Moscow, meanwhile, has not been invited, and has dismissed the conference.--

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday accused China of helping Russia to disrupt an upcoming peace summit by pressuring other countries not to attend.

The peace talks, which focus on the Russia-Ukraine conflict which started in February 2022, are due to take place at the Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland on June 15-16.

Zelenskyy, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, said that Russia is using Chinese influence in Asia to disrupt the summit.

“Unfortunately, regrettably, Russia, using Chinese influence on the region, using Chinese diplomats, does everything to disrupt the peace summit,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks, without giving specific examples.

“Regrettably, it is unfortunate that such a big, independent, powerful country as China is an instrument in [the] hands of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” he added. CNBC has reached out to the Chinese embassy in Singapore for comment.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has previously indicated that it will not attend the peace conference because it does not meet its expectations. Moscow, meanwhile, has not been invited has dismissed the conference.

Zelenskyy also accused Russia of threatening other nations with blockades of goods such as agricultural exports, chemical products and high energy prices. CNBC has reached out to the Russian foreign ministry for comment.

Call for Asian nations

In his plenary speech, the Ukrainian president said the Switzerland summit would focus on three points of Ukraine’s 10-point peace plan, which was first announced in November 2022.

The summit, he said, would focus on nuclear security, food security, and the return of abducted Ukrainian children from Russia.

“Time is running out,” he said. “The children are growing up in Putin’s land, where they are taught to hate their homeland, and are being told they have no families, while their loved ones wait for them at home.”

While Zelenskyy said that 106 nations would send at least senior level representatives to the summit, he did express disappointment that some world leaders would not be participating.

Most notably, the U.S. has not confirmed if President Joe Biden will attend, although Zelenskyy said the U.S. has confirmed their participation “at a high level.”

Speaking at a press conference after his speech, the Ukrainian president reiterated that he would want the the support of Asian countries. “It is much needed ... Each of the countries in your region, we want Asia to know what is going on in Ukraine. We want Asia to support the end of the war.”

For Singapore specifically, Zelenskyy said that he will meet both Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and expressed his desire for the leader of Singapore to support Ukraine by personally participating in the summit.

He said that Ukraine had never demanded that Asian countries support Ukraine militarily, but he asked for political and humanitarian support, as well as support for Ukraine’s civilians.

“All these have become the basis of our peace formula and has grown into the global peace summit. So every leader and every country can show their commitment to peace,” he said.

“The global majority can ensure with their involvement, that what is agreed upon is truly implemented. And so that Russia, who started this cruel war, cannot push us off the path to ending the war.”

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This article is available in Georgian and in Russian.

An orchestrated campaign of intimidation against opposition politicians, media, civil society organizations and critics of the foreign agents law has resumed on May 31, several days after the final passage of the infamous law. This time, [the pro-Russia] Georgian Dream representatives don’t hide their involvement in this campaign, on the contrary, they openly announce the repressions and even share the lists of potential targets.

Threatening calls

Several opposition politicians said they again received threatening phone calls. Tina Bokuchava of the largest oppossition party United National Movement (UNM) said that she and dozens of people around her, including her family members, received the calls around midnight. According to Bokuchava, the fact that her family members and close associates all received the calls indicates that the state structures are involved and that callers illegally obtained personal information, which she plans to appeal to a court, as well as to mobile operators and the Personal Data Protection Service.

The same thing happened to another UNM member, Ani Tsitlidze’s mother, as well as “For Georgia” member Ana Buchukuri’s mother. The mother of Tata Khundaze, a member of the opposition Droa party, also received a phone call in which an unknown man cursed her daughter and warned her to be careful with her grandson. The threatening calls were placed also to family members of the Girchi-More Freedom party.

The Deputy Mayor of Tsalenjikha, Tamar Belkania, reported that her child received the threatening call when a woman told the child that her mother was a “traitor to the country.”

Damage to Private Property

On May 31, the walls of the offices of NGOs, critical media and opposition parties were again covered with obscenities, writings calling the people working there “foreign agents,” and inappropriate pictures.

On the night of May 31 to June 1, around 2:30 am, 30-40 “Titushky” (government-paid thugs) vandalized the central office of the United National Movement. The leader of the UNM, Levan Khabeishvili, shared the video of the destroyed office on Facebook Live. The night guards had to shoot in air several times to deter and scare off intruders. According to Khabeishvili, the men were in coordination with the police and the State Security Service of Georgia.

Propagandist TV Involvement in Intimidation

Natia Beridze, a journalist for the pro-government PosTV channel, showed up with a crew at the home of Vitali Guguchia in the village in Samegrelo (west Georgia) while he was attending the funeral of a relative. A few days earlier, Guguchia’s encounter with a Georgian Dream MP Viktor Japaridze, which became a viral video on social media platforms, whereby he had given a well-reasoned explanation the MP to as to why the law on foreign agents was a “Russian law”. Guguchia became the target of an intense smear campaign by pro-government media, which accused him of clandestine operations under the United National Movement government. The accusations were repeated by the PosTV journalist, and the encounter escalated into a physical altercation between Guguchia and the cameraman.

Notably, the Special Investigation Service said it has already begun investigation under article 154 of Criminal Code – obstructing journalistic activities.

Announcement of Repressions

Government officials have openly announced that they are organizing the intimidation campaign. On May 28, Zviad Kharazishvili, the infamous Head of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a.k.a. “Khareba,” admitted to battering protesters during peaceful demonstrations against the Foreign Agents Law and said he had a special “list” of people to be targeted by riot police. “I don’t beat young people, I beat scoundrels… We have a list, I’ll show it to you. Get out, don’t film,” – Kharazishvili told a camera crew from TV Pirveli.

GD MP Dimitri (Dito) Samkharadze posted on his Facebook page a video of man leaving writings on the wall of offices of demonstrators against the law. He stated that this is a response to citizens – “Neo-fascists”, as Samkharadze calls them – in response to the writings by the citizens who have left them on some of GD MPs houses’ walls, calling them “slaves” and “traitors”. In his post, Samkaharadze stated: “You are very agitated, we know your identities one by one, your patrons cannot save you if you do something bad to any member of the Georgian Dream team!”

He also shared the list of the prospective targets. NGOs: Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA); Tbilisi Pride; Sapari; Movement “Step”; “Shame” movement; Courtwatch; Mtis Ambebi; Studio Monitor; Movement “Talga”; Civil Society Foundation; International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED); Transparency International – Batumi; Green Sector. Opposition parties: Lelo For Georgia; Girchi – More Freedom; Droa; Lelo For Georgia – youth wing; United National Movement – central office; Ahali; UNM – Batumi; Lelo – Batumi; Ahali – Batumi.

The GD MPs have also openly supported repressions. Guram Macharashvili, “People’s Power”, told journalists: “All those who protest against the adoption of the law, engage in bullying and insults, attempt psychological violence against the adopters and supporters of the law, as well as their parents, children and other family members, must be tried under the charge of espionage… They must present evidence in court that the authorities have adopted a “Russian law” and if they fail to do so, they should be tried for espionage. In addition, they must provide the court with information about whom they served, for what amount of money and with what tasks. I think there is no alternative to holding such a trial on live television after the parliamentary elections.”

Another GD MP, Davit Kacharava stated: “I am sure that this aggression will not go unanswered, you will see that a short period of time will pass and some of them will get such a response that they will hide in their homes altogether.”

Earlier, during the first wave of the intimidation campaign, the Speaker of the Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili announced that the Political Council of Georgian Dream has decided to create a database containing information on all individuals “who are involved in violence, blackmail, threats and other illegal acts”, or “who publicly endorse these actions.”

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The move comes as Hungary has continuously opposed Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the EU, sanctions on Russia, and has hindered Western aid efforts for Ukraine while maintaining close ties with Moscow.

Sources say that there is 'reluctance' to allow Hungarian officials to maintain influential positions in the European Commission. Among otbers, Oliver Varhelyi, the Hungarian European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, sparked controversy after allegedly threatening the Georgian Prime Minister.--

EU members are considering limiting Hungary’s role in the next European Commission in response to their obstruction of collective support for Ukraine. Hungary has continuously opposed Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the EU, sanctions on Russia, and has hindered Western aid efforts for Ukraine while maintaining close ties with Moscow. The EU is frustrated with the need for unanimity on support for Ukraine due to Hungary’s obstructionism, and sources indicate that there is reluctance to allow Oliver Varhelyi, the Hungarian European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, to maintain his position in the upcoming composition of the commission. Varhelyi recently sparked controversy after allegedly threatening the Georgian Prime Minister, which has further fueled doubts about his suitability for the role.

Hungary is currently obstructing $7 billion in military assistance for Ukraine, including three separate tranches under the European Peace Facility (EFF) fund and 5 billion euros allocated for the Ukraine Assistance Fund. This obstructionism has caused frustration among EU ministers as Hungary’s actions are preventing crucial support for Ukraine in the midst of ongoing conflicts. With Hungary’s continued opposition to collective aid efforts for Ukraine and their close relations with Moscow, there is growing concern within the EU about the country’s role in decision-making processes regarding Ukraine’s accession to the bloc.

The ongoing conflict between Hungary and the EU regarding support for Ukraine has escalated due to Budapest’s refusal to cooperate on important initiatives. The EU’s efforts to provide military aid and support for Ukraine are being hindered by Hungary’s actions, causing further strain on relations within the bloc. The reluctance to allow Hungarian officials to maintain influential positions in the European Commission reflects the EU’s frustration with Hungary’s obstructionism and their alignment with Moscow’s interests, complicating efforts to collectively support Ukraine in its aspirations for NATO and EU membership.

The role of Oliver Varhelyi, the Hungarian European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, is crucial in ongoing discussions about Ukraine’s accession to the EU. However, Varhelyi’s recent controversy regarding his alleged threat to the Georgian Prime Minister has raised doubts about his ability to effectively represent EU interests in relation to Ukraine. With growing skepticism about Hungary’s commitment to supporting Ukraine and its alignment with Moscow, EU members are considering limiting Hungary’s role in the next European Commission to ensure a more unified approach towards aiding Ukraine in its conflicts with Russia and pursuit of EU membership.

Despite efforts by the EU to collectively support Ukraine through initiatives like the European Peace Facility (EFF) and the Ukraine Assistance Fund, Hungary’s obstructionism is causing rifts within the bloc. The frustration among EU ministers over Hungary’s hindrance of crucial military aid for Ukraine reflects broader concerns about Hungary’s alignment with Moscow and opposition to Western sanctions and support for Ukraine. The EU’s reluctance to allow Hungarian officials to maintain influential roles in the commission highlights the growing dissatisfaction with Budapest’s actions and the need for a more cohesive approach to supporting Ukraine in its aspirations for NATO and EU membership.

In conclusion, the ongoing conflict between Hungary and the EU regarding support for Ukraine reflects broader tensions within the bloc over Hungary’s obstructionism and alignment with Moscow. The reluctance to allow Hungarian officials to maintain influential positions in the European Commission signals a shift towards a more unified approach to supporting Ukraine in its conflicts with Russia and pursuit of EU membership. As the EU grapples with Hungary’s hindrance of military aid initiatives for Ukraine, the need for solidarity and collective action in aiding Ukraine becomes increasingly pressing in the face of ongoing conflicts and tensions in the region.

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Ahead of the 35th anniversary of the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Massacre, Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) urges the Chinese government to release 27 individuals involved in the pro-democracy movement as participants, supporters, or advocates for accountability. The 27 are currently in detention or prison on the mainland or in Hong Kong.

For 35 years, all top Chinese leaders, from Li Peng to Xi Jinping, have been fixated on erasing memories of June 4 by persecuting those who peacefully seek accountability. Everyone who cares about justice should publicly call on Chinese authorities to end decades of brutal enforcement of amnesia,” said Renee Xia, CHRD director.

CHRD urges all democracies to mark this June 4 by calling on Beijing to immediately and unconditionally release these and all other prisoners of conscience in China.

Leaders of democracies engaging with the Chinese government should publicly condemn that government for its ongoing punishment of participants and supporters of the 1989 prodemocracy movement. That repression aimed at stamping out activists’ peaceful actions promoting human rights, rule of law and democracy.

We ask allies in the global struggle for human rights and democracy to commemorate and demand justice for victims of the Tiananmen Massacre, and in particular, for three 1989 prodemocracy leaders who were subsequently persecuted to death after being subjected to arbitrary imprisonment and inhumane punishment: Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波), Yang Tongyan (杨同彦), Li Wangyang (李旺阳).

Some of the 27 individuals highlighted in this statement played leadership roles or participated in the protests in 1989 as young students; others were labor organizers acting in solidarity with the students. Some had previously served wrongful prison terms for their role in 1989 and resumed their activities after they were released.

Others who became activists after 1989 have been pivotal in sustaining the memory of Tiananmen across China and in Hong Kong. They too have been targeted with harsh reprisal as the Chinese Communist Party state seeks to whitewash its history of atrocities.

The following list of 27 cases is far from being complete, yet it is a window to the severity, scale, and persistence of reprisals by the Chinese government over the past 35 years.

1. 1989 participants serving prison sentences or in pre-trial detention for continuing activism:

• Zhou Guoqiang (周国强) served prison time for organizing a labor strike in support of student protests in Beijing in 1989. He also served 4 years in a re-education-through-labor camp from 1994 to 1998, also for labor organizing work. He was arrested for online comments in October 2023. His whereabouts and the charge against him remain unknown.

• Guangdong activist Guo Feixiong (郭飞雄) has been serving a six-year sentence since 2015 for his human rights activism. Guo took part in the 1989 movement as a student in Shanghai.

• China Democracy Party member Chen Shuqing (陈树庆) of Hangzhou has been serving a 10.5-year since 2016 for his pro-democracy advocacy. In 1989, Chen participated in the movement as a university student.

• China Democracy Party member Lü Gengsong (吕耿松) has been serving an 11-year sentence since 2016 for his pro-democracy advocacy. Lü was a teacher in Hangzhou who was dismissed in 1993 for supporting the democracy movement.

• Beijing-based lawyer Xia Lin (夏霖) has been serving a 11-year sentence since 2016 for his professional work as a lawyer. Xia participated in the 1989 movement as a student at the Southwest Institute of Political Science and Law in Chongqing.

• Xinjiang activist Zhao Haitong (赵海通) has been serving a 14-year sentence since 2014 for his activities as a human rights defender. He was jailed in the aftermath of the 1989 massacre.

• Xu Na (许那) participated in the student protests, including a hunger strike, on Tiananmen Square in 1989. She was arrested in 2020 and sentenced to 8 years in jail for “using an evil cult to disrupt law enforcement”.

• Sichuan activist Chen Yunfei (陈云飞) served a four-year sentence from 2015-2019, in part for organizing a memorial to June Fourth victims. Chen participated in the 1989 movement as a student at the China Agricultural University in Beijing.

• Xu Guang (徐光), participated in student pro-democracy movements in 1986 and 1989, was arrested in 2022, and is now serving a 4-year sentence on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

• Huang Xiaomin (黄晓敏), a student participant in the 1989 movement, was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to four years on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in Sichuan province.

• Cao Peizhi (曹培植), a participant in the 1989 prodemocracy movement and eyewitness to the Tiananmen massacre, was detained in 2022 and is now serving a 2.2-year prison sentence after his conviction for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in Henan province.

• Zhang Zhongshun (张忠顺), a student participant in the 1989 protests; later, as a professor, he talked about June 4th in his class in 2007 and was reported to the police. He was subsequently jailed for three years, and is now detained for continuing to support activism, and faces a charge of subversion, in Shandong province.

• Wang Yifei (王一飞), has disappeared into police custody since his detention in 2021. He was jailed for two years in 2018-19 on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Before his arrest in 2018, he had for several years been calling for justice for 1989 victims, urging people to remember those who died in the June 4th massacre.

• Shi Tingfu (史庭福) provided support to the student protesters in 1989. He was detained for staging a public vigil and delivering a passionate speech about remembering the victims of the Tiananmen massacre in Nanjing on June 4, 2017. He was arrested in January 2024, and is awaiting trial on several charges including spreading false information, and inciting terrorism and extremism in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

2. Detainees and prisoners punished for, among other actions, commemorating Tiananmen, and seeking justice:

• Zhang Haitao (张海涛) serving a 19-year prison sentence in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region since 2015 upon conviction of “inciting subversion of state power” & “providing intelligence overseas.” Among other things, he was punished for trying to commemorate June 4th on the 25th anniversary of the massacre.

• Qin Yongmin (秦永敏) openly called for justice for victims of Tiananmen Massacre and release of all political prisoners in 1993, for which he was sent to a re-education labor camp for two years. He was arrested in 2015, and sentenced to 13 years in jail on the charge of subversion in Hubei province.

• Huang Qi (黄琦), founder of an organization with a website named “6.4 Tianwang” to report on human rights news in the spirit of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, was imprisoned for the second time in 2016 on charges of “leaking” and “providing” “state secrets” overseas,and is currently serving a 12-year term in prison.

• Yang Shaozheng (杨绍政), a professor, who was arrested in 2021, and sentenced to 4.5 years for inciting subversion in Guizhou province. He posted information online about the number of student protesters killed in 1989 in a WeChat group in June 2019. He was summoned by police and interrogated, during which, he was subjected to tortured.

• Zeng Yuxuan (曾雨璇), jailed for six months in Hong Kong for planning to commemorate June 4th on the eve of June 4, 2023. was After being forcibly deported to the mainland in October 2023, she has since disappeared.

• Tong Hao (仝浩), born in 1987, a doctor, was jailed for 1.5 years for posting about June 4th to mark the anniversary in 2020. He was arrested in August 2023 and has since been disappeared into police custody in Jiangsu province.

• Yu Qian (余钱) held a vigil and hunger strike to mark the anniversary of June 4th in 2010 and police summoned him for questioning. In October 2022, he was arrested by police in Hubei province after he posted online “Speaking out on 6.4 is not guilty of any crime, eavesdropping on citizens’ communication is” and challenged the government’s harsh COVID-19 policies. He has since been forcibly disappeared.

• Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人), an organizer of Hong Kong mass demonstration in support of Tiananmen protests in 1989, who also organized a donation drive in HK and delivered the donations to students on Tiananmen Square, is a leading figure in the annual June 4th candlelight vigils in HK since 1989, is now detained waiting for trial in HK on national security charges.

• Jimmy Lai (黎智英), a longtime supporter of the 1989 movement and exile student leaders from Hong Kong; now detained, convicted of some charges, and waiting for trial for organizing candlelight vigils on the anniversary of Tiananmen in HK in 2020.

• Albert Ho (何俊仁), a longtime supporter of the 1989 movement, lawyer and advocate for protection of rights lawyers on the mainland, was arrested by Hong Kong’s national security police in March 2023 while he was out on bail, since August 2022for “illegal 6.4 assembly” to hold a candlelight vigil on the anniversary of Tiananmen in 2020, in Hong Kong.

• Chow Hang-Tung(邹幸彤), jailed for 1 year and 3 months in Hong Kong for “inciting others to participate in assembly to commemorate June 4th” to mark the anniversaries in 2020 and 2021, has recently been arrested again (while already in prison) on “seditious intent” charges under Hong Kong’s new national security law allegedly relating to June 4. She is also awaiting trial on an earlier charge of “inciting subversion” in Hong Kong.

• Joshua Wong (黄之锋), jailed for 10 months in HK for “illegal gathering” to hold a candlelight vigil for the June 4th anniversary in 2021, is now detained and awaiting trial on the charge of “inciting subversion” in Hong Kong.

• Claudia Mo (毛孟静), a journalist who reported in Beijing on the student protests and the massacre in 1989, is now detained in Hong Kong waiting for trial on the charge of “inciting subversion.”

3. Prominent figures in the 1989 prodemocracy movement: Persecuted to death

• Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) died in police control in July 2017 from liver cancer. Liu had been serving an 11-year sentence since 2009 for his leading role in the “Charter 08” campaign. A university lecturer in 1989, he was jailed for 18 months for taking part in the 1989 movement.

• Jiangsu writer Yang Tongyan (杨同彦) died in November 2017 from brain cancer. He had only been granted medical parole in August 2017, weeks before his death, despite his family’s years-long efforts to secure his release for medical treatment. Yang had been serving a 12-year sentence handed down in 2006 for his political activism. He was jailed for 10 years for participating in the 1989 movement.

• Labor activist Li Wangyang (李旺阳) died under suspicious circumstances on June 6, 2012 while in a hospital under police surveillance in Shaoyang, Hunan province. Li, a labor leader in the 1989 democracy movement, was sentenced to a total of 23 years in prison. Chinese authorities claimed that Li committed suicide by hanging himself in his hospital room, a claim his family disputed as Li was blind and deaf from torture and would not have been physically capable of hanging himself. Against the wishes of Li’s family, Hunan authorities conducted their own autopsy and then cremated his body.

In the immediate aftermath of the massacre, many democratic governments called on Beijing to end its repression and account for its actions, especially the killings of peaceful protestors. But as time passed and Beijing grew into an economic powerhouse and resisted that pressure, many democracies muted their concerns about the 1989 massacre, the impunity, and reprisals against its participants.

“Accountability for June 4th atrocities three decades ago might have prevented subsequent crimes against humanity by the Chinese state, and saved lives. To keep any hopes alive, anyone concerned about justice should stand with the courageous activists as long as they suffer reprisals for seeking justice,” said Xia.

Pro-Palestinian students staged the walkout as school withheld degrees of four seniors pending disciplinary review over protests

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Tens of thousands of LGBTQ South Koreans and their supporters gathered in central Seoul for annual Pride celebrations Saturday, despite the event's traditional venue being banned by authorities for the second consecutive year.

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Extreme hunger is unfolding" and funding is slow to arrive, several UN agencies warned.

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The targeting of children and their parents or carers for opposing Russia’s war of aggression is perpetrated via educational institutions and through repressive means including institutionalization, arbitrary arrests, searches, and the criminal prosecution of children

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Russia on Friday labeled a women's organization campaigning for the return of mobilized men from Ukraine and a former pro-peace presidential candidate "foreign agents."

Moscow uses the label, heavy in Soviet-era connotations, on Kremlin critics to silence dissent.

Russia's Justice Ministry included the Put’ Domoi (Way Home) movement, which has organized women-led protests in Moscow to bring mobilized men back from Ukraine, in its list of "foreign agents."

Put’ Domoi has been made up of wives of Russian men mobilized to fight in Ukraine.

The Justice Ministry said it had worked to create a "negative image" of Russia and the Russian army and called for illegal protests.

It also labeled one of the movement's leaders, Maria Andreyeva, as a "foreign agent."

She had become the face of the grassroots movement, which became increasingly uncomfortable for the Kremlin.

"I do not agree with this," she told AFP of the label, adding: "I will protest this."

Russian authorities had previously appeared unwilling to target the movement in an apparent bid not to anger relatives and wives of soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

The women had earlier this year staged rare protests in central Moscow.

Moscow also included Yekaterina Duntsova, who had tried to run against President Vladimir Putin in a March presidential election, as a "foreign agent."

Duntsova, who had filed documents to register in the race as an independent candidate, had campaigned on a platform of ending the war in Ukraine.

She was slapped with the "foreign agent" tag more than two months after the vote, which saw Putin cruise to a fifth term in office unchallenged by any meaningful opposition.

Duntsova told independent media SOTA — also labeled a "foreign agent" Friday — that the move was "expected" but that the timing was odd.

"It could have been done during the presidential campaign," she said.

Duntsova said she will not give up efforts to create a political party but that "it will become a bit harder with self-expression."

As a "foreign agent," she now cannot run for any office.

Russia also labeled the media project SOTA, one of the few independent media reporting from Russia, a "foreign agent."

It said the media had criticized the war in Ukraine and that its employees included "foreign agents" living abroad.

Marina Litvinovich, a rights campaigner, was also included in the "foreign agent" list.

Russia has hugely cracked down on dissent since sending troops to Ukraine in February 2022.

The southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have been inundated, causing dam bursts and prompting dramatic rescues. States of emergency have been declared in several areas with more heavy rain expected.

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