Image caption, All metro and automobile traffic is now suspended across Kyiv's Pivdennyi bridge Intensified Russian drone and missile strikes are tearing Kyiv apart, the mayor of Ukraine's capital has warned. Vitaliy Klitschko said the city was now in a very dramatic situation as Moscow was battering its critical infrastructure, logistics, housing and other key facilities. He was speaking after Kyiv's defence council held a crisis meeting, following new Russian strikes on a key bridge that caused traffic chaos. The city's data centres have also been recently hit, resulting in internet outages. President Vladimir Putin earlier said Russia was acting in response to Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy facilities, despite the fact that it was Moscow that had first launched such attacks.

Is the war entering a new phase? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on allies to tighten sanctions against Russia after a wave of strikes triggered gridlock across Kyiv. Traffic chaos gripped the Ukrainian capital on Friday after Russian drone attacks overnight closed key bridges. Zelenskyy called for allies to act to prevent Moscow from sourcing components for its arsenal as Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine face attacks around the clock. The Metro Bridge was closed in the direction of Kyiv's right bank, the city administration said.

Is the war entering a new phase? Russia suffered its highest losses of 2026 in September, when 46,230 of its soldiers were killed or wounded, according to the Ukrainian military . The new record comes after Russian casualties of about 40,000 a month since June, and is close to the goal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set in January of 50,000 Russian casualties a month. Russia reportedly lost 2,090 troops on September 28 - its highest 24-hour casualty rate of the war. Al Jazeera cannot verify casualty claims from either side.

Western militaries are undermining Ukraine's defence, experts say Share Western militaries are undermining Ukraine's defence, experts say on social media Mundane regulatory problems in Kyiv and unimaginative institutional thinking in Europe's militaries are holding up joint weapons production. And that is undermining Ukraine's battlefield performance and leaving Europe's armed forces unprepared for modern warfare. Those are the conclusions of a new report from the Centre for Statecraft and National Security (CSNS) at King's College London, and experts who spoke to Al Jazeera. Kyiv receives weapons, Western partners receive know-how. That formula has led to at least 180 business-to-business partnerships between Ukrainian and foreign partners, but 22 percent of them are stalled, according to the report, Beyond Aid: Making Ukraine Defence Cooperation Work.

Two Russian drones have hit one of Kyiv's main bridges, bringing public transport in the Ukrainian capital to a halt and signalling a new stage in Moscow's attacks. The Pivdennyi or Southern bridge came under fire as a metro train was travelling across. Passengers described how dust from a blast wave entered their carriage through the ventilation system. The Pivdennyi bridge is one of the main arteries across the Dnipro river dividing western and eastern Kyiv. Kyiv's bridges had not been hit before Thursday's strikes - and despite a dramatic explosion close to a main support section, city authorities said preliminary checks did not find any critical damage to the structure.

Explosions have rung out in Addis Ababa as fighting between Ethiopia's federal forces and a coalition of armed opposition groups widens in the country's north. Three diplomatic sources told the Reuters news agency on Thursday that the blasts were heard overnight in the Ethiopian capital. The blasts came hours after Addis Ababa instituted a ban on drone-flying in the capital and surrounding areas. The alliance unites seven armed groups, including the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and groups from the Amhara, Afar, Somali and Benishangul-Gumuz regions. It says it wants to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government.

Is the war entering a new phase? Russian drone hits school in Ukraine's Kyiv as Moscow presses air assault Share Russian drone hits school in Ukraine's Kyiv as Moscow presses air assault on social media A Russian drone has struck a school in Kyiv, officials said, as the Ukrainian capital endured another day of bombardment. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said children and staff were hiding in shelters when the drone hit and there were no immediate reports of casualties during the attack on Thursday. In a statement on Thursday, Ukraine's nuclear safety watchdog said a Russian drone hit the grounds of a nuclear research facility in Kyiv on Wednesday, causing a fire but leaving the facility's test reactor undamaged. "The fire that resulted from the attack was quickly extinguished. There were no injuries," the regulator said in a statement, adding that the reactor was not damaged and had been shut down since 2022.

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Israeli passengers tell of the horror onboard the Flydubai flight that was diverted after the pilot stabbed his co-pilot in the cockpit. The plane dropped 17,000 feet during the fight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, but landed safely after being diverted to land in Saudi Arabia. Share Passengers tell of'nightmare' onboard diverted Flydubai flight on social media Trump amazed that an'Israeli plumber' helped land Flydubai flight It's the'closest thing to an HIV vaccine', but who gets access?