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Ukraine says missiles hit military plant deep inside Russia

BBC News

Ukrainian forces have carried out a missile attack deep inside Russia, hitting a major military plant overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. He said FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles struck the drone and missile plant in the city of Cheboksary, in the Chuvash Republic, more than 900km (560 miles) from the front line. Local officials said three people were injured in a missile attack on the city. Ukraine also said it had hit the Moscow-occupied port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, a Russian oil refinery in Samara and a shadow fleet oil tanker in the Black Sea. In recent months, Ukraine's military has intensified its drone strikes on key facilities across Russia.


Baltic states fear Russia-Ukraine war spillover after drone incursions

Al Jazeera

Recent incidents heighten anxieties that hybrid warfare tactics could trigger military confrontation with Russia. Lithuanian armed special forces and members of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union take part in a military exercise in central Lithuania [File: Nils Adler/Al Jazeera] A member of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union joins in military exercises in central Lithuania [File: Nils Adler/Al Jazeera] Along the forests and marshlands that separate the Baltic states from Russia and Belarus, workers are digging anti-tank ditches, pouring concrete bunkers and erecting rows of dragon's teeth - jagged concrete obstacles designed to slow and channel advancing armour - to buy precious time in the event of an attack. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 reignited old fears in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where memories of Soviet rule remain close to the surface. In the years since, those fears have been channelled into preparation. Defence budgets have surged, military exercises have intensified, and new fortifications have emerged even as daily life largely continues as normal.


Ukrainian drones strike Sevastopol museum and key Russian oil refineries

Al Jazeera

Ukrainian drones have struck a historic museum in Russia-annexed Sevastopol in Crimea, igniting a roof fire, as Russian authorities slashed nighttime train schedules amid intensifying air attacks across the peninsula and deep into Russia. Sevastopol's Russian-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, announced the damage on Telegram early on Wednesday. "This building is not just a museum, it is a symbol of resilience, which has repeatedly taken the blows of the enemy." Razvozhayev said that during World War II's Siege of Sevastopol, "the Panorama building was subjected to massed bombing by German aviation". He declared: "The enemy will pay for this sacrilege!"


Israeli air strikes hit Lebanese city of Tyre despite Iranian warning to stop attacks

BBC News

Israel has carried out strikes across southern Lebanon, despite a warning from Iran not to continue attacks in the country. The Lebanese health ministry said eight people were killed in Tyre, where the Israeli military issued a new order for residents to leave the southern city, including its Christian quarter for the first time. Israel and Iran paused hostilities on Monday, after an Israeli strike on Beirut targeting the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah triggered their first exchange of fire since a truce in April. Iran warned that it could hit Israel again if it did not stop attacks in Lebanon. But Israel vowed to continue its campaign against Hezbollah.


Video captures Russian attack in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia

Al Jazeera

Surveillance camera video captured the moment a Russian drone strike caused a blast in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. The strike killed two people and wounded at least 23, according to officials. Trump says Iran deal in'final throes'


Russian attacks kill 5 in Ukraine as Zelenskyy hails talks with US envoys

Al Jazeera

A pregnant woman and two others were killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, while two people were killed in Donetsk, Ukrainian officials have said. The overnight missile attacks on the town of Chuhuiv also injured six people and caused damage to residential buildings and shops, the regional prosecutor's office said on Tuesday. Photos shared online by officials show a burning building and burnt-out cars. Two people were killed in Bilozerske and Druzhkivka on Monday, Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk state administration, said on Facebook, with 11 others injured in Sloviansk and Shabelkivka. The strikes come after Ukraine intensified its long-range drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, prompting fuel shortages, while Russia conducted large air attacks on the country.


Ukrainian drone attacks hit multiple Russian targets, including refinery

Al Jazeera

Ukrainian drones have struck energy and industrial targets across several Russian regions, Russian authorities say, in an escalating campaign of strikes against infrastructure. In Saratov, a region on the Volga River with several oil refineries that has come under regular Ukrainian attack in recent years, Governor Roman Busargin said on Sunday on Telegram that "civil infrastructure" had been damaged in the overnight strikes. In the Kirov region, northeast of Moscow and about 1,300km (800 miles) from Ukraine, Governor Alexander Sokolov said drones had hit a facility in the Urzhumsky district. The Ukrainian army confirmed the attack, saying it had also hit the Lazarevo oil-pumping station in the region. Governors in the Rostov, Voronezh and Belgorod regions, all of which border Ukraine, also reported strikes, and three civilians were injured in Belgorod.


Tokyo rally urges return of all Japanese abductees held in North Korea

The Japan Times

Sakie Yokota (center, back), mother of North Korean abductee Megumi Yokota, and others attend a rally held in Tokyo on Saturday that called for the immediate return of Japanese people abducted by North Korea. A large-scale rally was held in Tokyo on Saturday to seek the immediate return home of all Japanese abductees in North Korea. Relatives of those abducted to North Korea decades ago expressed hopes for the return of abductees immediately and while their parents are still alive. The event, organized by the association of families of abduction victims and other entities, was attended by about 800 people, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. "We will never give up," said Takuya Yokota, 57, head of the association and the younger brother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted in 1977 at the age of 13. He called on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to release all abductees to "chart a bright future for both countries."


How Putin became master of the image

BBC News

Throughout his time as Russian President, Vladimir Putin has been alert to the power of visual imagery. The first time I interviewed him in 2001, an aide swooped in just before the cameras went live and snatched away the small water glasses on the table in front of us. Why did you do that? We wouldn't want anyone to think they were for vodka, came the reply. And anyway, we can't risk a glass spilling live on TV.


Is the war in Ukraine entering a new phase?

Al Jazeera

Inside Story Is the war in Ukraine entering a new phase? NATO says it is ready to defend allied territory against Russian attacks. The war in Ukraine has received less media attention in recent months. That changed this week when a drone hit a building in the Romanian city of Galati, a major port city on the Danube River near the Ukrainian border. Romanian President Nicusor Dan blamed Russia for the incident.