Russian attack on Kyiv kills at least 28, including U.S. citizen
June 18 (UPI) -- An American citizen was among at least 28 people killed in a deadly and huge Russian strike on Kyiv overnight Tuesday.
In a Telegram post Kyiv military administration head Tymur Tkachenko said, "This night in Kyiv and its surroundings, the enemy used 175 drones, more than 14 cruise missiles, at least two ballistic missiles. The nature of the damage is direct hit on residential buildings. Rockets - from the upper floors to the basement."
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the American was killed as more than 40 apartments were destroyed by the Russian attacks.
The U.S. State Department confirmed what spokesperson Tammy Bruce called the "tragic death" of a 62-year-old American citizen in Kyiv's Solomyanski district.
A Russian ballistic missile hit a 9-story apartment building. First responders continued to recover bodies Wednesday.
Across Ukraine Russia hit 27 targets using almost 500 missiles and drones.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said the Russian attacks between June 16 and 17 "appears to be the deadliest on Kyiv in almost a year."
In a Tuesday statement, mission head Danielle Bell said, "In a countrywide assault last night, Kyiv bore the brunt. With at least 14 civilians reportedly killed and more than 100 injured, this is the deadliest attack in Kyiv in nearly a year."
According to monitors Ukrainian authorities reported at least 3,340 long-range drones and 135 missiles were launched into Ukraine in June.
Against that deadly backdrop the G7 nations summit wrapped up without a joint statement on Ukraine and without discussion about increasing sanctions on Russia.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney instead issued a unilateral statement of the chair that said Russian sanctions and other options to pressure Russia are being explored. That statement also said the G7 supports U.S. efforts "to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Smartmatic Court Filing Describes Fox's Actions as a "Campaign of Knowing Lies"
BOCA RATON, Fla., June 18, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Smartmatic today presented overwhelming evidence that Fox not only defamed the company, but did so knowingly and deliberately, at the direction of Rupert Murdoch and senior leadership, in a desperate attempt to retain angry viewers. A legal filing submitted in New York highlights that Fox's reckless actions not only inflicted damage on Smartmatic, but undermined Americans' faith in free and fair elections. "Fox lies again. Internal communications reveal that they knew there was no credible evidence of Smartmatic participating in election fraud, yet they deliberately chose to promote false narratives against the company anyway. These communications show contempt against their viewers, the country and the President," Smartmatic stated. Smartmatic's filing stems from the defamation lawsuit against Fox over its promotion of false claims about the company's role in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. "This is not a case about freedom of the press," said Erik Connolly, external legal counsel for Smartmatic. "This is about a media empire choosing to lie for ratings and profit, no matter the consequences and no matter the damage done." Fox's Campaign of Deception The opposition brief details how, despite evidence proving that they knew the accusations were baseless, Fox executives and hosts internally described Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell as "crazy," "nuts," "bonkers," and "comic book stuff." Yet, they promoted their outlandish conspiracy theories against Smartmatic. Internal Fox communications confirm that no one at the network had any evidence implicating Smartmatic. Yet, across 66 broadcasts and publications, Fox mentioned Smartmatic more than 100 times — part of what the brief calls "one of the most destructive disinformation campaigns in American history." Both sides have filed motions asking the court to rule in its favor. However, most of the important information in the motions is currently redacted. Smartmatic has told the court that it supports transparency and believes most, if not all, of the information should be unredacted and available to the public. Fox has not. The New York Times recently filed a motion to gain access to the filings, a motion Smartmatic supports. Separately, the Court is considering a motion to hold Fox accountable for knowingly destroying evidence in the case. Manufactured Villain, Real-World Harm The brief further explains how the Murdochs orchestrated a calculated campaign of lies, and how Fox embraced a xenophobic effort to portray Smartmatic as a foreign villain — using labels such as "Venezuelan," "Chinese," and "Cuban" — while omitting facts that contradicted this narrative. The result was death threats against employees and their families, lost contracts, and a global erosion of trust in election technology. "Before Fox's campaign, Smartmatic had a perfect record: 6 billion votes, zero security breaches," Connolly noted. "They were trusted worldwide — from the largest U.S. County to elections praised by international election observers. Fox destroyed that trust in a month." The Stakes Fox not only caused Smartmatic significant reputational and financial farm, it also damaged public confidence in democratic elections. The broader casualties of these lies include American democratic institutions. "The evidence shows this was a top-down strategy, not rogue behavior," said Connolly. "Fox can't hide behind legal technicalities or recycled defenses. It told lies. It knew they were lies. Now it must face the consequences." View source version on Contacts Media: Mrs. Samira Saba, +1-561-862-0747Integrated Communications DirectorCommunications@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Says Iran Missed Chance of Deal, Stays Vague on US Strike
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said Iran squandered the chance to make a deal over its nuclear enrichment, but declined to say whether the US plans to join Israel's offensive aimed at destroying the program. Security Concerns Hit Some of the World's 'Most Livable Cities' JFK AirTrain Cuts Fares 50% This Summer to Lure Riders Off Roads How E-Scooters Conquered (Most of) Europe Taser-Maker Axon Triggers a NIMBY Backlash in its Hometown 'I may do it. I may not do it,' Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House when asked if he is moving closer to bombing Iran. 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' Iran had been in negotiations with the US over its nuclear program for weeks, and had a further meeting scheduled, when Israel attacked Friday. The two Mideast nations have since traded missile strikes and escalating rhetoric — Israeli leaders threatening to topple the Islamic Republic, and their Iranian counterparts vowing defiance and retaliation — while the Trump administration weighs how deeply to get involved in its ally's war. Trump's ambiguous comments add a new layer of tension to the deepening Israel-Iran clash. The president, who has campaigned for a decade in opposition to American wars in the Middle East, also faces a tense divide among his supporters over whether the US should enter the fray. America has so far limited its participation to helping Israel defend itself against Iranian missile and drone launches. Trump said he encouraged Benjamin Netanyahu in a call Tuesday to 'keep going' with his offensive operations, adding that he gave the Israeli premier no indication that US forces would participate in the attacks. But the US is seen as being able to provide military firepower necessary to destroy Iran's underground enrichment facility at Fordow, which analysts say Israel is unable to do alone. Iran has warned it can hit American bases across the region, where tens of thousands of troops are stationed, if the US joins the Israeli attack. Trump didn't close the door to a resumption of nuclear talks — he said Iran had sought a meeting, a claim Tehran disputed — but downplayed the likelihood they would bear fruit. 'I said it's very late to be talking,' the president said. 'There's a big difference between now and a week ago.' The comments were Trump's first substantive remarks since meeting Tuesday with his National Security Council, where the US's options were discussed. He spoke to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, where workers were installing a giant flagpole outside the executive mansion's diplomatic entrance. Hours earlier he'd demanded 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' from Iran in a social media post. Since Israel's strikes started, Iran has fired 400 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel, killing 24 people and injuring more than 800, according to the Israeli government. At least 224 Iranians have been killed by Israel's attacks. Iran has hit targets including a key oil refinery in the port of Haifa that was forced to shut down. 'The Americans should know that the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,' Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement published on his official website Wednesday. 'Any military incursion by the United States will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.' Out of Patience 'Good luck,' Trump said when asked for his response. 'We cannot let Iran get a nuclear weapon. I've been saying it for a long time. I mean it more now than I ever mentioned.' Dennis Ross, who served as President Bill Clinton's Middle East envoy and just returned from a trip to the region, said the Iranian regime is likely looking for an off-ramp from the current conflict despite the bellicose comments from Khamenei. Its top priority is survival, followed by avoiding a direct conflict with the US, said Ross, who's now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 'When they feel profoundly threatened, they will make concessions. They certainly feel vulnerable and threatened right now.' Iran's missile and drone launches against Israel appeared to be subsiding Wednesday evening, although the reason wasn't immediately clear. While the Israeli army earlier said it had destroyed around one-third of Iran's missile launchers, Tehran still possesses thousands of ballistic missiles that can reach Israel, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Monday. Trump said the Iranian government had contacted the US about the conflict and even proposed a White House meeting to settle the matter, yet he said his patience with the Islamic Republic had 'already run out.' Iran's mission to the United Nations denied that claim in an X post Wednesday, saying 'No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House.' The question of whether to strike Iran has the potential to cause domestic political headaches for Trump, whose base is split between isolationists and traditional conservative interventionists. Supporters of both political parties oppose the US joining Israel's attack on Iran by clear majorities, a YouGov survey found. Trump said his bottom line remains that 'Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon' and 'it's not a question of anything else.' During his first term, Trump withdrew from an agreement aimed at curtailing Iran's atomic program, which the US and other world powers had spent years negotiating. Republican hawks have been supportive of military action against Iran, but Trump has faced pressure from some of his isolationist supporters to take a more measured approach. 'We have all been very vocal for days now urging, 'Let's be America First. Let's stay out,' Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said Tuesday on CNN. During a breakfast Wednesday hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon said Trump's supporters want him to focus on issues most important to his base, like cracking down on immigration. But Bannon said that if the president has more information that backs the case for intervention 'and makes that case to the American people, the MAGA movement will support President Trump.' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, declined to answer directly whether Trump had asked the Pentagon to provide options for striking Iran. Hegseth said that 'maximum force protection at all times is being maintained' for US troops stationed in the region, and said that 'the president has options and is informed of what those options might be, and what the ramifications of those options might be.' The US has continued building its military presence in the region. The USS Ford carrier strike group is set to depart next week on a regularly scheduled deployment, initially in the European theater, according to a US official. Meanwhile, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said the location of Iran's near-bomb-grade stockpile of enriched uranium cannot currently be verified. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Wednesday the whereabouts of the material are now unclear, given Tehran warned him the stockpile could be moved in the event of an Israeli attack. The agency continues to see no indication of significant damage to Iran's Fordow nuclear site, he added. --With assistance from Skylar Woodhouse, Akayla Gardner, Courtney McBride and Eric Martin. (Updates with further details throughout.) Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros Is Mark Cuban the Loudmouth Billionaire that Democrats Need for 2028? How a Tiny Middleman Could Access Two-Factor Login Codes From Tech Giants American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Nobody knows': Trump won't say whether he will move forward with US strikes on Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump would not say Wednesday whether he has decided to order a U.S. strike on Iran, a move that Tehran warned anew would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it happens. 'I may do it, I may not do it," Trump said in an exchange with reporters at the White House . 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' Trump added that it's not 'too late' for Iran to give up its nuclear program as he continues to weigh direct U.S. involvement in Israel's military operations aimed at crushing Tehran's nuclear program. 'Nothing's too late,' Trump said. 'I can tell you this. Iran's got a lot of trouble." 'Nothing is finished until it is finished,' Trump added. But 'the next week is going to be very big— maybe less than a week." Trump also offered a terse response to Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's refusal to heed to his call for Iran to submit to an unconditional surrender. 'I say good luck,' Trump said. Khamenei earlier Wednesday warned that any United States strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will 'result in irreparable damage for them' and that his country would not bow to Trump's call for surrender. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Wednesday that the Pentagon was providing possible options to Trump as he decides next steps on Iran. Trump said Tuesday the U.S. knows where Khamenei is hiding but doesn't want him killed — 'for now.' 'He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now," Trump said. Trump's increasingly muscular comments toward the Iranian government follow him urging Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his participation in an international summit earlier this week to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team. Trump said that the Iranian officials continue to reach out to the White House as they're 'getting the hell beaten out of them' by Israel. But he added there's a 'big difference between now and a week ago" in Tehran's negotiating position. 'They've suggested that they come to the White House— that's, you know, courageous,' Trump said. Iran's mission to the United Nations refuted Trump's claim in a statement on social media. 'No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to 'take out' Iran's Supreme Leader. ' The U.S. president said earlier this week Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to serve as a mediator with Iran. But Trump said he told Putin to keep focused on finding an endgame to his own conflict with Ukraine. 'I said, 'Do me a favor, mediate your own,'' Trump said he told Putin. 'I said, 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later.'' The comments were a shift from Trump who earlier this week said he was 'open' to Putin's offer to mediate. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said earlier Wednesday that Moscow has cautioned Washington against offering direct military assistance to Israel. 'We are warning Washington against even speculative, hypothetical considerations of the sort,' Ryabkov said, according to the Interfax news agency. 'That would be a step drastically destabilizing the situation as a whole.' The Russia-Iran relationship has deepened since Putin launched a war on Ukraine in February 2022, with Tehran providing Moscow with drones, ballistic missiles, and other support, according to U.S. intelligence findings. Trump is also facing deep skepticism about deepening U.S. involvement in the Mideast crisis from some of his most ardent supporters. Trump during his 2024 run for the White House promised voters he would quickly end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and keep the U.S. out of costly conflicts. Steve Bannon, who served as a senior adviser to Trump during his first administration, on Wednesday said the administration should tread carefully. 'This is one of the most ancient civilizations in the world, ok?" Bannon told reporters at an event sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. "With 92 million people. This is not something you play around with. You have to think this through. And the American people have to be on board. You can't just dump it on them.' Bannon and other Trump allies, including Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, have raised concerns that direct U.S. involvement in the conflict could be seen as a betrayal to some members of Trump's coalition and potentially cause a schism in MAGA world. Trump pushed back at the notion that deepening U.S. involvement could impact his standing with bis base. 'My supporters are more in love with me today, and I'm in love with them more than they were even at election time when we had a total landslide,' Trump said. — Associated Press writers Tara Copp, David Klepper and Chris Megerian contributed reporting.
