Ukraine's top general says Ukraine stopped Russian advances in northern Sumy region
'The advance of Russian troops in the border areas of Sumy region has been halted, and the line of combat has stabilized,' Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement about the front visit.
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Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israeli military pounds Gaza City as offensive enters initial phase
In this episode of W News, presented by Leigh-Ann Gerrans, we bring you the latest global headlines, starting with Gaza, where Israel pounded Gaza City and surrounding areas overnight as the military announced it had begun the initial phase of its push to seize Hamas' last major stronghold.


Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Ukrainian man arrested over Nord Stream pipeline attacks
BERLIN/MILAN: A Ukrainian man was arrested at a holiday bungalow in Italy on Thursday on suspicion of coordinating attacks on three Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, marking a breakthrough in an episode that sharpened tensions between Russia and the West. Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of sabotage, the explosions largely severed Russian gas supplies to Europe, prompting a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict and squeezing energy supplies on the continent. No one has taken responsibility for the blasts and Ukraine has denied any role. The arrest comes just as Kyiv is engaged in fraught diplomatic discussions with the United States over how to end the war in Ukraine without giving away major concessions and swathes of its own territory to Russia. 'Politically we are firmly on Ukraine's side and will continue to do so,' said Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig when asked if the arrest would affect Berlin's ties to Kyiv. 'What is important for me is that Germany is a country of laws and crimes in our jurisdiction are fully investigated.' An official in the Ukrainian president's office said he could not comment as it was not clear who had been arrested. The official reiterated Ukraine's denial of any role in the blasts. The suspect, identified only as Serhii K. under German privacy laws, was part of a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, a statement from the prosecutor's office said. He and his accomplices had set off from Rostock on Germany's northeastern coast in a sailing yacht to carry out the attack, it said. The vessel had been rented from a German company with the help of forged identity documents via middlemen, it added. Authorities acted on a European arrest warrant for the suspect, who faces charges of collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of important structures. Carabinieri officers arrested him overnight in San Clemente in the province of Rimini on Italy's Adriatic coast, where he was supposed to spend a few days with his family. 'Once his presence had been verified, the Carabinieri surrounded the bungalow and launched a raid, during which the man surrendered without resistance,' a statement by the Carabinieri said, adding the suspect was 49 years old. A police official told Reuters the suspect was arrested because, when providing documents at a hotel check-in, an alert flagging he was wanted popped up at the police headquarters, which dispatched a Carabinieri police patrol. In September 2022, one of the two lines of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was damaged by mysterious blasts, along with both lines of Nord Stream 1 that carried Russian gas to Europe. Moscow, without providing evidence, blamed Western sabotage for the blasts, which cut off most Russian gas supplies to the lucrative European market. The US denied having anything to do with the attacks. Denmark and Sweden closed their investigations in February 2024, leaving Germany as the only country continuing to pursue the case. The Washington Post and Germany's Der Spiegel magazine have previously said the team that carried out the attack was put together by a former Ukrainian intelligence officer, who has denied involvement. In January 2023, Germany raided a ship that it said may have been used to transport explosives and told the United Nations it believed trained divers could have attached devices to the pipelines at about 70 to 80 meters deep. The boat, leased in Germany via a Poland-registered company, contained traces of octogen, the same explosive that was found at the underwater blast sites, according to the investigations by Germany, Denmark and Sweden. German media reported last year that Germany had issued a European arrest warrant against a Ukrainian diving instructor who allegedly was part of the team that blew up the pipelines. Citing unnamed sources, several outlets reported that German investigators believed the man, last known to have lived in Poland, was one of the divers who planted explosive devices on the pipelines. Successive Ukrainian governments had seen the pipelines as a symbol of, and vehicle for, Russia's hold over European energy supplies that Kyiv argued made it hard to act against Moscow ever since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering Europe's deadliest conflict in 80 years, in which analysts say more than 1 million people have been killed or injured.

Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Military options on Ukraine to be presented to national security advisers: US official
Military chiefs from the United States and a number of European countries have developed military options on Ukraine and will be presenting them to their respective national security advisers, a US official told Reuters on Thursday. Reuters has previously reported that US and European military planners have begun exploring post-conflict security guarantees for Ukraine, following President Donald Trump's pledge to help protect the country under any deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine. 'These options will be presented to each nation's respective national security advisers for appropriate consideration in ongoing diplomatic efforts,' the official said. The official said meetings between the chiefs of defense for the United States, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and Ukraine took place in Washington, D.C., between Tuesday and Thursday. Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Trump's promise during a summit on Monday of security guarantees for Kyiv, but many questions remain unanswered. Officials have cautioned that it would take time for US and European planners to determine what would be both militarily feasible and acceptable to the Kremlin. One option was sending European forces to Ukraine but putting the US in charge of their command and control, sources have told Reuters. Russia's Foreign Ministry has ruled out the deployment of troops from NATO countries to help secure a peace deal.