Drones
At least four killed in Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia
What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' At least four people have been killed after Ukraine launched large-scale drone attacks on several Russian regions, including Moscow, in what officials described as the biggest drone assault in more than a year. Russian authorities said on Sunday three people were killed in the Moscow region and another person died in Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border. Rescue workers were searching the rubble for another possible victim. Two other men were killed in the village of Pogorelki in the Mytishchi district, he said. Vorobyov added that apartment buildings and infrastructure sites were damaged in the attacks.
Mass Ukraine drone barrage kills four in Russia
Russian rescuers work in a heavily damaged house following an air attack at an undisclosed location in the Moscow region. Moscow - A huge wave of almost 600 Ukrainian drones attacked Russia overnight, killing three people in the Moscow region and one in the Belgorod region, authorities said on Sunday. Air defenses shot down 556 drones overnight across the country, Russia's defence ministry said, with another 30 drones neutralized after dawn in one of the largest Ukrainian barrages of the conflict so far. These interceptions -- far above the few dozen more often reported -- took place across 14 Russian regions, as well as the Crimean Peninsula annexed from Ukraine and the Black and Azov seas, the ministry added, with the region around the capital among the worst-hit. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
Large-scale Ukrainian drone attack kills three in Moscow region, says Russia
Three people were killed overnight in a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow region, Russian officials have said. A woman died in a house in Khimki, north of the capital, where a person was trapped under rubble, regional governor Andrei Vorobiev said. A man and a woman were killed in the village of Pogorelki. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 12 people were injured in strikes on a city oil refinery. Russia's military said 556 drones were intercepted.
British jets to get new anti-drone missile systems
British fighter jets in the Middle East will be equipped with new missile systems to make it cheaper to intercept Iranian drones. Royal Air Force Typhoon jets will be fitted with an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) to destroy targets more precisely and at a fraction of the price of missiles currently in use, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced. Gulf countries and allies in the region have been grappling with how to counter Iran's Shahed drones, which are relatively cheap to make and have been causing considerable damage. During the 2024 conflict between Israel and Iran, the UK was reported to have shot down some drones with missiles worth around ยฃ200,000 each. Defence experts have estimated APKWS rockets used by other countries cost around $30,000 (ยฃ22,377) each.
Lights, camera, Bangaranga: Highlights from Eurovision
Eurovision 2026 has come to a close, with Bulgaria crowned winner and Israel in second place after a nail-biting public vote. The UK finished last after receiving no points in the public vote, and history was made by Ukraine's entry for holding the contest's longest ever note. Russia launched one of the biggest air strikes on Kyiv since the start of the war with several apartment blocks hit. Why is the Princess of Wales in Italy this week? The Princess of Wales received an enthusiastic welcome from Italian crowds, on her return to overseas visits following her treatment for cancer.
Hezbollah drone strike videos show evolving tactics against Israel
Hezbollah has increased its use of small first-person view (FPV) drones to attack Israel, including systems controlled by fibre-optic cables to evade sophisticated defences. BBC Verify has geolocated 35 videos shared by the Lebanese armed group since 26 March which show strikes on Israeli soldiers, armoured vehicles and air defence systems in southern Lebanon and northern Israel. Experts told BBC Verify the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has so far been unable to develop any effective countermeasures, as the small drones can easily bypass detection systems. The drones can also be made from commercially available and 3D-printed components - and are cheap compared to the high-value targets they can destroy, experts also said. The use of cheap FPV drones became widespread during the Russia-Ukraine war and has changed modern warfare.
Latvia's president asks opposition leader to form new government
What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' Latvia's president asks opposition leader to form new government Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has backed opposition lawmaker Andris Kulbergs to replace Evika Silina for the top job after the prime minister resigned over an incident involving Ukrainian drones. Kulbergs, leader of the United List of smaller parties, which forms the largest opposition bloc in parliament, will take office if lawmakers approve him and his cabinet. "Considering recent events, I think the new prime minister should come from opposition parties," President Rinkevics told a news conference on Saturday. Last weekend, the former Prime Minister Silina fired her defence minister, Andris Spruds, after two Ukrainian drones strayed into Latvia from Russia and exploded at an oil storage facility. The incident is only the latest in a series of such events in NATO members Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.
Sci-fi or battlefield reality? Ukraine's bet on drone swarms.
Ukraine's bet on drone swarms. Lyiv, Ukraine - Hundreds of AI-controlled robots operating in unison, talking to each other to autonomously attack targets -- a dystopian vision of the future of war that Ukraine's defense industry wants to make a reality. Four years into the Russian invasion, the idea -- known as drone swarms -- is one of the hottest topics in military tech in a country that describes itself as the world-leader in drone warfare. There is a huge interest, military expert Yury Fedorenko told a recent Drone Autonomy conference, held in an undisclosed location in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
Prisoner swap goes ahead as Kyiv mourns 24 killed in Russian strike on flats
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 205 prisoners of war on Friday, hours after rescue workers ended their search of a destroyed block of flats in Kyiv in which 24 people were killed, including three girls. Most of the Ukrainian prisoners had been held since 2022, said President Zelensky. The swap was part of a short-lived ceasefire ending this week with the launch of massive Russian strikes across Ukraine, including a missile attack that reduced 18 flats to rubble. Among the victims was 12-year-old Lyubava Yakovleva, whose father was killed during the war. Meanwhile, Russian officials said four people, including a child, were killed when Ukrainian drones hit the city of Ryazan, south-east of Moscow.