Ruling in the case Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea), the European Court of Human Rights unanimously found June 25 that Russia is guilty of a pattern of human rights violations since 2014 in Crimea, as codified under the European Convention on Human Rights and international humanitarian law. These violations include ill-treatment, intimidation, disappearances, forced Russian citizenship, and suppression of Ukrainian media and press.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on June 18 said that Russian authorities have violated human rights obligations by suppressing the Ukrainian language and injecting propaganda into educational curricula in occupied Ukrainian territories. Changes to the school curriculum include an array of disinformation aimed at justifying Russia's invasion and portraying Ukraine as a "neo-Nazi state." According to HRW, Russian authorities have also introduced military training in school, mirroring the resurgence of youth-military training in Russia, and have required secondary schools to send lists of all students aged 18 and up for conscription into the Russian military. International law prohibits the forced enlistment of an occupied population into the occupier's military.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a mutual defense assistance pact on June 19 during Putin's first visit to Pyongyang since 2000. According to a statement from the Russian government, the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership stipulates "mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties thereto." Putin characterized the deal as a "breakthrough document," reflecting the desire to elevate relations to a "new qualitative level."

Sweden's armed forces on June 15 issued a statement charging that a Russian military aircraft violated the country's airspace the previous day, calling the act "unacceptable."  The Russian SU-24 fighter plane reportedly entered Swedish airspace just east of the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, approximately 150 miles south of Stockholm. A Swedish JAS-39 Gripen jet was sent to intercept the Russian plane after a verbal call to retreat by the Swedish air command was ignored. The Swedish military said that the last violations of the Nordic country's airspace airspace by Russia were in 2022, when two Russian SU-27s and two SU-24s simiarly approached Gotland.

Russian citizens' groups campaigning for "demobilization"—returning conscripts and reservists from the front in Ukraine—are increasingly finding themselves in the crosshairs of the authorities. On May 31, The Way Home, the most prominent organization campaigning to bring Russia's mobilized reservists home, was branded a "foreign agent" by the Justice Ministry, as was one of its most prominent leaders.  The label, reminiscent of the "enemy of the people" designation of the Soviet era, imposes harsh constraints on activities and requires sources of funding to be disclosed.

The US has agreed to withdraw its troops from Niger, the two countries announced in a joint statement on May 19. "The US Department of Defense and the Ministry of National Defense of Niger have reached a disengagement agreement to effect the withdrawal of US forces, which has already begun,” the statement said, adding that the disengagement will end no later than Sept. 15. The statement comes after representatives from the two countries met in the capital Niamey as part of a Joint Disengagement Commission. Both delegations guaranteed the protection and security of the US forces during their disengagement.

The US Department of Energy on April 25 released its preliminary estimate for the nation's carbon emissions in the previous year. While falling far short of the kind of drop needed to meet the Paris Agreement goals, a dip in emissions was recorded—almost entirely due to changes in the electric power sector. US carbon emissions have been trending downward since 2007, when they peaked at about six gigatonnes. The COVID-19 pandemic produced a dramatic drop in emissions in 2020, bringing the yearly total to below five gigatonnes for the first time since before 1990, when DoE monitoring began. Carbon dioxide releases rose after the return to "normalcy"; 2023 marked the first post-pandemic decline, with emissions again below five gigatonnes.

Russia on April 24 vetoed a UN Security Council resolution sponsored by the US and Japan which called on all nations to contribute to the peaceful use of outer space and to prevent a dangerous arms race in space-based weapons. The resolution urged nations "to refrain from actions contrary to that objective and to the relevant existing treaties in the interest of maintaining international peace and security."