logo
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv accuses Moscow of executing more than 150 prisoners of war

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv accuses Moscow of executing more than 150 prisoners of war

Independent24-05-2025

Buildings damaged and residents left in 'distress' after latest drone attack
In the early hours of the morning, Reuters witnesses saw and heard successive waves of drones flying over Kyiv, and a series of explosions jolted the city. The capital also reverberated with the sound of anti-aircraft batteries trying to bring down the drones.
Pictures posted online showed smoke billowing from the top of one block of flats and flames leaping from part of another as emergency crews trained water on it. An orange-red glow lit up the city as plumes of smoke wafted across the horizon. By morning, the Kyiv city military administration reported damage in six districts of the Ukrainian capital, and a total so far of 14 people wounded.
As dawn broke on Saturday, residents at an apartment building just outside the centre of Kyiv were surveying the damage caused by drones.
Dozens of windows had been shattered, and balconies on one side of the building were smashed.
"I wish they'd agree to a ceasefire. To bomb people like this," said Olha Chyrukha, a 64-year-old resident. "The poor children! My three-year-old granddaughter was screaming scared."

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ukraine war briefing: Deaths in Kharkiv as Russia continues strikes on civilian targets
Ukraine war briefing: Deaths in Kharkiv as Russia continues strikes on civilian targets

The Guardian

time42 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Ukraine war briefing: Deaths in Kharkiv as Russia continues strikes on civilian targets

At least two people were killed and 28 injured in an overnight Russian drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday morning. 'Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs were carried out in two districts of the city this night,' said the Kharkiv mayor, Igor Terekhov. More than 15 apartments were on fire in a five-storey building and several houses were hit. Terekhov added 'there may be people trapped under the rubble'. Separately the death toll rose to at least three with 13 wounded after Russia attacked Kyiv and Odesa with waves of drones and missiles early on Tuesday. The civilian targets hit included a maternity ward and a cathedral. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's president, voiced his frustration with Donald Trump by calling for 'concrete actions' rather than 'silence' after seven of the Ukrainian capital's 10 districts were hit, writes Daniel Boffey from Kyiv. Another exchange of prisoners of war took place on Tuesday, after a swap on Monday, pursuant to the only tangible deal struck at the most recent Ukraine-Russia talks in Turkey. Among them were soldiers captured in the battle for Mariupol over three years ago, said Ukrainian authorities. All of those freed had severe injuries and illnesses, including amputated limbs and vision problems. Russia's defence ministry said it also received a group of soldiers. Amina Ivanchenko was reunited on Monday with her husband, a PoW for 18 months, in the initial release. She said was grateful to Ukrainian officials for supporting her. 'My struggle was much easier thanks to them. Our country will definitely return everyone. Glory to Ukraine! Thank you!' The European Commission proposed on Tuesday an 18th package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, aimed at Moscow's energy revenues, its banks and its military industry. Among the measures, Jennifer Rankin writes from Brussels, the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has proposed that western countries reduce the price at which Russian oil can be sold to $45 (£30) a barrel, down from $60. Oil exports, she added, represented one-third of Russian government revenues. 'We need to cut this source of revenues.' The EU executive also wants to impose restrictions on doing business with the companies involved in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, to prevent them being revived; impose restrictions on doing business with 22 banks, cutting them off from the Swift financial messaging system; and add more ships to the banned 'shadow fleet' list as well as sanctioning oil trading companies. The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said shadow fleet sanctions were having a marked impact. 'When sanctioned, Russia's shadow fleet tankers cannot dock in ports and Russia has to find new vessels. This costs some more and runs down their profits.'

Austria school shooting: 11 dead, including suspect, and 12 hurt in Graz
Austria school shooting: 11 dead, including suspect, and 12 hurt in Graz

Times

time4 hours ago

  • Times

Austria school shooting: 11 dead, including suspect, and 12 hurt in Graz

Austria was in shock after ten people were shot dead and 12 were injured in the deadliest school shooting in its modern history. The suspected gunman was also found dead inside a bathroom cubicle on the campus of the Borg Dreierschützengasse secondary school in Graz, Austria's second-largest city, bringing the overall death toll to 11. Authorities believe the gunman shot himself after carrying out the attack. The incident, which unfolded within minutes, has raised questions about gun access in one of Europe's most heavily armed countries. At about 10am local time emergency services began receiving calls reporting gunfire and screams coming from the school a short distance from the city's main railway station. One father, who spoke to local television, recounted how his son, who had been in one of the classrooms where the gunman opened fire, survived by playing dead. 'Out of fear, he lay down to pretend that he was killed so that he wouldn't be targeted anymore,' the father who gave his name as Farag, said, holding back tears. He said that at first he couldn't reach his son: 'I was afraid of what had happened,' Farag said, recalling his relief when after half an hour of waiting he got a call from him saying he was OK. Another parent said her son called her 'while it was happening'. 'He said he had to run and hide in the garden', she told public broadcaster ORF. According to the interior ministry, the first police officers arrived 'within three minutes', followed by special forces from the elite Cobra unit alongside paramedics and emergency physicians. Within 17 minutes the situation was under control, emergency services reported. Local officials confirmed there were seven female and three male victims. Map: Where Graz school shooting took place The suspect, identified by the Austrian tabloid Kronen Zeitung as Austrian national Artur A, was found dead inside a bathroom cubicle. The newspaper also reported that a raid of the suspect's house carried out in the afternoon revealed a handwritten suicide note, though its contents have not yet been made public. Austrian media reported that the suspect had 'felt bullied', but police refused to confirm any details at a press conference held in the afternoon. Authorities said that the suspect was a 21-year-old former student of the Borg, who had not graduated, but also had no prior criminal record. 'We can only speculate about the background at present,' said Gerhard Karner, the interior minister. 'This is a dark day for Austria,' said Christian Stocker, the chancellor. 'A national tragedy that deeply shakes us.' He declared a three-day state of mourning, with flags at half-mast and all public events across the region of Styria cancelled. A nationwide minute of silence will be held at 10am on Wednesday. The tragedy rippled through the local community as it grappled with the extent of the shooting. Outside the Helmut List gym, where uninjured students were taken for care and reunification with family, anguished parents waited for word of their children. In all, 220 emergency workers and crisis counsellors responded to the scene. Peter Hansak, commander of Styria's emergency services, confirmed that more than 300 students required psychological support. Students fleeing the scene of the attack The school, which has about 400 students and 43 teachers, will remain closed indefinitely. A local sports hall has been converted into a space for mourning and counselling. 'A school must be a safe place where children can develop freely,' Christoph Wiederkehr, the education minister, said. 'There are no words to describe this.' Elke Kahr, the mayor of Graz, called the day'terrible and deeply sad'. The city council will meet to discuss next steps, and has cancelled all scheduled municipal events for the coming week. Gun laws in Austria Austria is unaccustomed to mass school shootings, but the country has a relatively high rate of civilian gun ownership, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey, an independent research project by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. With a rate of 30 firearms per 100 people, the survey ranks Austria as one of the European countries with the highest per capita gun ownership, behind Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to official figures from the interior ministry, some 1.5 million registered firearms are spread across just under 375,000 individuals. But that marks a marked rise compared with 2018, when the number of registered privately owned weapons edged above 1 million. Though carrying permits are more tightly regulated, critics have previously argued that Austria's laws make it easy to procure firearms, particularly through private sales of weapons, which do not require background checks. Authorities said that the suspect legally owned both the gun and the shotgun that were secured at the crime scene. Austria's gun policies, though stricter than those in the US, are still more lenient than in countries such as the UK or Australia, where mass shootings led to sweeping legislative reforms. In the UK, private ownership of most handguns was banned after the 1996 Dunblane school massacre. Germany toughened its laws after school shootings in Erfurt (2002) and Winnenden (2009), introducing psychological evaluations for young applicants and tightening rules around gun storage. Serbia, which has among the highest gun ownership rates in Europe, recently carried out a national disarmament campaign after a primary school shooting last year. Despite five recorded school shootings in Austria since the mid-1990s, the country had largely avoided mass-casualty events until now. Police officers outside the school REUTERS/BORUT ZIVULOVIC But there was a little appetite for a debate on political consequences on Tuesday. 'There won't be a political discussion today,' said Mario Kunasek, Styria's regional head of government, at the press conference in the afternoon. 'Today is about mourning and about jointly coming to terms with these dramatic scenes and this situation.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store