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Ukraine's drone attack restricts traffic on Don River bridge in Russia's Volgograd

Ukraine's drone attack restricts traffic on Don River bridge in Russia's Volgograd

Straits Times5 hours ago

Traffic on the Don River in the Kalachevsky district of Russia's Volgograd region was temporarily restricted to eliminate wreckage from a "massive" Ukrainian drone attack, the regional governor's administration said on Friday.
"Sappers are at work," Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov was cited as saying in a post on the Telegram messaging app by the region's administration.
He added that there were no injuries as a result of the attack.
It was not immediately clear whether the bridge on the Don River, Europe's fifth-longest, was damaged.
The Russian defence ministry said in a post on Telegram that its air defence units destroyed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Russian territory and the Crimean Peninsula, including 13 over the Volgograd region.
Volgograd airport was closed for more than three hours before flights were restored just before 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Telegram. REUTERS
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Battling to survive, Hamas faces defiant clans and doubts over Iran
Battling to survive, Hamas faces defiant clans and doubts over Iran

Straits Times

time27 minutes ago

  • Straits Times

Battling to survive, Hamas faces defiant clans and doubts over Iran

FILE PHOTO: Palestinian Hamas militants keep guard on the day Hamas hands over deceased hostages, identified at the time by Palestinian militant groups as Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Palestinians from clans hold guns and melee weapons to secure aid trucks in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Hamas militants carry the coffin of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, February 7, 2025. 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Hamas extended condolences to Iran on Thursday, calling Izadi a friend who was directly responsible for ties with "the leadership of the Palestinian resistance". A source from an Iran-backed group in the region said Izadi helped develop Hamas capabilities, including how to carry out complex attacks, including rocket launches, infiltration operations, and drones. Asked about how the Israeli campaign against Iran might affect its support for Hamas, Abu Zuhri said Iran was a large and powerful country that would not be defeated. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Germany charges Syrian juvenile over Taylor Swift concert plot
Germany charges Syrian juvenile over Taylor Swift concert plot

Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • Straits Times

Germany charges Syrian juvenile over Taylor Swift concert plot

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Ukraine calls for EU sanctions on Bangladeshi entities for import of 'stolen grain'
Ukraine calls for EU sanctions on Bangladeshi entities for import of 'stolen grain'

Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • Straits Times

Ukraine calls for EU sanctions on Bangladeshi entities for import of 'stolen grain'

FILE PHOTO: A crane loads wheat grain into the cargo vessel Mezhdurechensk before its departure for the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the port of Mariupol, Russian-controlled Ukraine, October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo Ukraine calls for EU sanctions on Bangladeshi entities for import of 'stolen grain' NEW DELHI/DHAKA - Ukraine plans to ask the European Union to sanction Bangladeshi entities it says are importing wheat taken from Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, after its warnings to Dhaka failed to stop the trade, a top Ukrainian diplomat in South Asia said. Russian forces have occupied large parts of Ukraine's southern agricultural regions since 2014 and Kyiv has accused Russia of stealing its grain even before the 2022 invasion. Russian officials say there is no theft of grain involved as the territories previously considered part of Ukraine are now part of Russia and will remain so forever. 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The Bangladesh and Russian foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment. A Bangladeshi food ministry official said Dhaka bars imports from Russia if the origin of the grain is from occupied Ukrainian territory, adding that the country imports no stolen wheat. Amid the war with Russia, the agricultural sector remains one of the main sources of export earnings for Ukraine, supplying grain, vegetable oil and oilseeds to foreign markets. In April, Ukraine detained a foreign vessel in its territorial waters, alleging it was involved in the illegal trade of stolen grain, and last year seized a foreign cargo ship and detained its captain on similar suspicions. The EU has so far sanctioned 342 ships that are part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet, which the bloc says enable Moscow to circumvent Western restrictions to move oil, arms and grain. Russia says Western sanctions are illegal. 'NOT DIAMONDS OR GOLD' A Ukraine official told Reuters Ukrainian law prohibits any voluntary trade between Ukrainian producers, including grain farmers in the occupied territories, and Russian entities. The Ukraine Embassy has sent four letters to Bangladesh's government, reviewed by Reuters, in which it shared vessel names and their registration numbers involved in the alleged trade of moving the grain from the Crimean ports of Sevastopol and Kerch, occupied by Russia since 2014, and Berdiansk, which is under Moscow's control since 2022, to Kavkaz in Russia. The letters stated the departure and tentative arrival dates of the ships that left from Kavkaz for Bangladesh between November 2024 and June 2025. The June 11 letter said Bangladesh can face "serious consequences" of sanctions for taking deliveries of "stolen grain", and that such purchases fuel "humanitarian suffering." The sanctions "may extend beyond importing companies and could also target government officials and the leadership of ministries and agencies who knowingly facilitate or tolerate such violations," the letter added. In a statement to Reuters, Anitta Hipper, EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the vessels in question were not currently subject to any restrictive measures. The sanctions regime was designed to act against activities that undermine the food security of Ukraine including transportation of "stolen Ukrainian grain" and "any proven involvement of vessels in shipping stolen Ukrainian grain could provide the basis for future restrictive measures," she added. The Russia-controlled territories, excluding Crimea, accounted for about 3% of the total Russian grain harvest in 2024, according to Reuters' estimates based on official Russian data. Russian grain transporter Rusagrotrans says Bangladesh was the fourth largest buyer of Russian wheat in May. Ambassador Polishchuk told Reuters their intelligence shows Russia mixes its grain with that from occupied Ukrainian territories to avoid detection. A Russian trader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that when the grain is loaded for export at a Russian port, it is very difficult to track its origin. "These are not diamonds or gold. The composition of impurities does not allow for identification," the person said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

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