Russia's latest drone strikes hit Kyiv, maternity ward in Odesa, Ukraine says
'Throughout the night, the enemy relentlessly terrorised Kyiv with attack drones. They targeted civilian infrastructure and peaceful residents of the city.'
The attack sparked fires in residential and non-residential neighbourhoods and open space areas, city officials said. Reuters' witnesses heard and saw countless loud explosions shaking the city and lighting the night sky.
Photos and videos posted on Telegram channels showed heavy smoke rising in the darkness in different parts of Kyiv. The scale of the attack was not immediately known.
Moscow has dramatically increased the pace of its attacks on Ukraine after Kyiv's strikes on strategic bombers at airbases inside Russia on June 1. Moscow also blamed Kyiv for bridge explosions on the same day that killed seven and injured scores.
The attacks come despite pressure from US President Donald Trump on the two sides to move towards a resolution on the war. Moscow and Kyiv returned to negotiations for the first time in more than three years, but outside an agreement on the exchange of war prisoners, there has been no tangible progress.
In addition to swarms of drones and missiles launched in recent days, Russia has also been advancing further on the ground along the frontline in eastern Ukraine, claiming on Tuesday to take more territory there.
In the southern port of Odesa, a 'massive' overnight drone attack targeted an emergency medical building and a maternity ward and residential buildings, Oleh Kiper, governor of the broader Odesa region, said on Telegram.
A 59-year-old man was killed in the attack on a residential area, and four people were injured, but patients and staff were safely evacuated from the maternity hospital, Kiper said.
He posted photos of broken windows in what looked like a medical facility and of damage to the façade of several buildings.
The two sides have denied targeting civilians in the war, but thousands of civilians have been killed in the conflict, most of them Ukrainian.
Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
an hour ago
- TimesLIVE
Iran will not compromise right to enrichment, says official
Iran will not abandon its right to uranium enrichment because of mounting frictions in the region, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, adding that a 'friendly' regional country had alerted Tehran over a potential military strike. The official said the tensions were intended to 'influence Tehran to change its position about its nuclear rights' during talks with the US on Sunday in Oman. The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks will be held in Muscat, the Omani foreign minister said on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump reiterated that Tehran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Trump said on Wednesday that US personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because 'it could be a dangerous place'. Iran's nuclear programme is spread over many locations. While the threat of Israeli air strikes has loomed for decades, only some of the sites have been built underground. The US and the UN nuclear watchdog believe Iran had a co-ordinated, secret nuclear weapons programme that it halted in 2003. The Islamic Republic denies ever having had one or planning to have one. Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions under a 2015 deal with world powers. That pact fell apart after Trump — then serving his first term as president — pulled the US out of it in 2018 and Iran started abandoning the restrictions in the following year. Iran has been expanding its uranium enrichment programme ever since the pact broke down, reducing the so-called 'breakout time' it would need to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb to days or little more than a week from at least a year under the 2015 deal. Actually making a bomb with that material would take longer. How long is less clear and the subject of debate. Iran is now enriching uranium to up to 60% fissile purity, close to the 90% of weapons-grade, at two sites, and in theory it has enough material enriched to that level, if enriched further, for six bombs, according to a yardstick of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN watchdog. WHERE ARE IRAN'S NUCLEAR FACILITIES? NATANZ A complex at the heart of Iran's enrichment programme on a plain abutting mountains outside the Shiite Muslim holy city of Qom, south of Tehran. Natanz houses facilities including two enrichment plants: the vast, underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) and the above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP). An exiled Iranian opposition group revealed in 2002 that Iran was secretly building Natanz, igniting a diplomatic standoff between the West and Iran over its nuclear intentions that continues today. The FEP was built for enrichment on a commercial scale, able to house 50,000 centrifuges. About 16,000 centrifuges are installed there, roughly 13,000 of which are in operation, refining uranium to up to 5% purity. Diplomats with knowledge of Natanz describe the FEP as being about three floors below ground. There has long been debate about how much damage Israeli air strikes could do to it. Damage has been done to centrifuges at the FEP by other means, including an explosion and power cut in April 2021 that Iran said was an attack by Israel. The above-ground PFEP houses only hundreds of centrifuges but Iran is enriching to up to 60% purity there. FORDOW On the opposite side of Qom, Fordow is an enrichment site dug into a mountain and therefore probably better protected from potential bombardment than the FEP. The 2015 deal with major powers did not allow Iran to enrich at Fordow at all. It now has about 2,000 centrifuges operating there, most of them advanced IR-6 machines, of which up to 350 are enriching to up to 60%. The US, Britain and France announced in 2009 that Iran had been secretly building Fordow for years and had failed to inform the IAEA. US President Barack Obama said then: 'The size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful programme.' ISFAHAN Iran has a large nuclear technology centre on the outskirts of Isfahan, its second largest city. It includes the Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant (FPFP) and the uranium conversion facility (UCF) that can process uranium into the uranium hexafluoride that is fed into centrifuges. Iran also stores enriched uranium at Isfahan, diplomats say. There is equipment at Isfahan to make uranium metal, a process that is particularly proliferation-sensitive since it can be used to devise the core of a nuclear bomb. The IAEA has said there are machines for making centrifuge parts at Isfahan, describing it in 2022 as a 'new location'. KHONDAB Iran has a partially built heavy-water research reactor originally called Arak and now Khondab. Heavy-water reactors pose a nuclear proliferation risk because they can easily produce plutonium which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make the core of an atom bomb. Under the 2015 deal, construction was halted, the reactor's core was removed and filled with concrete to make it unusable. The reactor was to be redesigned 'to minimise the production of plutonium and not to produce weapon-grade plutonium in normal operation'. Iran has informed the IAEA that it plans to start operating the reactor in 2026. TEHRAN RESEARCH CENTRE Iran's nuclear research facilities in Tehran include a research reactor.
The South African
an hour ago
- The South African
Newspaper headlines from around the world - Thursday, 12 June 2025
Here are the stories that made headlines on the front pages of newspapers worldwide on Thursday, 12 June 2025. The New York Times front page reported that Trump could deploy troops to more cities as protests expand. The Wall Street Journal front page reported that the EPA is seeking to roll back rules on pollution at power plants. The Jerusalem Post's front page reported that the vote to dissolve the Knesset is going down to the wire, as parties confer. China Daily's front page reported that Xi and Sassou Nguesso greeted the FACAC ministerial meeting. Daily Mail's front page reported on a reckless splurge that we and our children will be paying off for years. The Guardian front page reported that Reeves is gambling on renewing Britain to win the trust of voters. If you wish to stay up-to-date – for FREE – on the latest international and South African news, then bookmark The South African website for all that plus the latest in the world of finance, sport, lifestyle – and more. Did we mention it was 100% free to read …?
Daily Maverick
4 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Trump met with cheers, boos at Kennedy Center as he attends ‘Les Miserables'
The mixed reception for Trump and his wife Melania as they arrived in the presidential box before a performance of 'Les Miserables' reflected the heightened emotions that have been unleashed by his overhaul of the cultural center. Trump has pushed out its former chairman, fired its longtime president and pledged to overhaul an institution that he criticized as too liberal. The center, a leading U.S. arts facility, had long enjoyed bipartisan support. Ticket sales have fallen since and some shows, including the hit 'Hamilton,' have canceled their appearances at the 2,300-capacity theater. At Wednesday's performance, several drag queens in full regalia sat in the audience, likely in response to Trump's criticism of the venue for hosting drag shows. One person shouted 'Viva Los Angeles' as Trump stepped out of the presidential box at the intermission. Trump has sent military troops to quell protests against his immigration raids in that city. Trump's appearance was meant to boost fundraising for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and he said donors raised over $10 million. 'We're going to make it incredible. We have all the funding. We raised a lot tonight, and we'll put in a lot of money to bring it back to the highest level,' a tuxedo-clad Trump told reporters after other administration officials arrived on the red carpet. SUBSCRIPTIONS DOWN Still, overall year-on-year subscription revenue was down 36% to $2.8 million as of early June for next season, which begins in the autumn, according to a person briefed on the data. Theater subscriptions, normally a major revenue driver for the center, were down 82%. A Kennedy Center official said the comparisons reflected in those subscription sales were not accurate because the center had launched its subscription renewal campaign later in 2025 than 2024. 'Our renewal campaign is just kicking off,' Kim Cooper, senior vice president of marketing, said in a statement. Cooper also noted the center had launched a new subscription option that allowed customers to 'mix and match' genres and said more announcements of shows were coming. The Kennedy Center depends on revenue from tickets and subscriptions as well as donations to operate. Ticket sales for 'Les Miserables' have been robust, according to another Kennedy Center official. Donors who pay $100,000 to $2 million got to attend a reception before the show, receive a photo with the president and be seated in good locations in the theater. 'We've raised a little more than $10 million for tonight, which is pretty remarkable, and it's an organization that needs the money right now,' said Ric Grenell, a close Trump ally and former ambassador to Germany who now heads the Kennedy Center. Under his leadership, the center has sought to add more conservative-leaning programming, including a show that Grenell has described as a celebration of the birth of Christ. Trump said he particularly enjoyed 'Les Miserables,' a musical about citizens rising up against their government. 'I've seen it many times, it's one of my favorites,' he said. Along with the first lady, Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also attended. Vance was likewise met with boos when he attended a Kennedy Center show with his wife earlier this year. Trump has zeroed in on drag shows to argue that the Kennedy Center had lost its way before he took office. But multiple upcoming musicals on the Kennedy Center's agenda include characters dressed in drag, such as 'Mrs. Doubtfire' and 'Chicago.' Other musicals have pulled out, according to a former Kennedy Center official.
