Russia unleashes largest air assault yet with 500+ drones and missiles, says Ukraine
Russia fired over 500 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, its largest aerial attack since the war began, as being claimed by Ukraine, says an AP report. Ukraine's air force reported 537 weapons launched, including 477 drones and 60 missiles. Air defenses shot down 249 targets, while signal disruption likely disabled 226 others. Strikes hit western regions far from the frontline fighting, killing at least 10 civilians across Kherson, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia. In Lviv, drones ignited a major industrial fire and cut power. Tragically, a Ukrainian F-16 jet crashed during defense operations, killing its pilot. Poland and allies scrambled jets to protect their airspace as explosions echoed near their border.
The assault came despite Putin's Friday offer of new peace talks, a proposal Ukraine dismissed, given ongoing attacks. Russia claimed minor territorial gains, announcing control of Donetsk's Novoukrainka village after costly ground advances. Meanwhile, Moscow reported downing 12 Ukrainian drones overnight, with two people injured in Bryansk. The attack underscores Russia's evolving tactics: improved drone technology and concentrated barrages are increasingly overwhelming Ukraine's defenses. Civilian infrastructure suffered heavily, including a nine-story building reduced to rubble in Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian officials confirmed that at least four separate regions faced simultaneous missile and drone waves.
Responding to battlefield pressures, President Zelenskyy withdrew Ukraine from the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning landmines.Lawmaker Roman Kostenko defended the move, saying, 'Russia isn't part of this treaty and uses mines indiscriminately against our people.'
The decision follows similar steps by Poland and Baltic states. Separately, Russia's spy chief revealed a phone call with CIA director William Burns, keeping rare communication channels open.
As Ukraine buries its dead and clears rubble, analysts warn Russia may intensify attacks before anticipated Western F-16 reinforcements arrive. The overnight barrage marks a grim escalation as the war nears its 29th month with no diplomatic breakthrough in sight.
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Business Standard
28 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Iran nuclear programme set back years with strikes: CIA chief to lawmakers
Ratcliffe also told lawmakers that the intelligence community assessed the vast majority of Iran's amassed enriched uranium likely remains buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordow AP Washington CIA Director John Ratcliffe told skeptical US lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran's lone metal conversion facility and in the process delivered a monumental setback to Tehran's nuclear programme that would take years to overcome, a US official said on Sunday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence, said Ratcliffe laid out the importance of the strikes on the metal conversion facility during a classified hearing for US lawmakers last week. Details about the private briefings surfaced as President Donald Trump and his administration keep pushing back on questions from Democratic lawmakers and others about how far Iran was set back by the strikes before last Tuesday's ceasefire with Israel took hold. It was obliterating like nobody's ever seen before, Trump said in an interview on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures". "And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time. Ratcliffe also told lawmakers that the intelligence community assessed the vast majority of Iran's amassed enriched uranium likely remains buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordow, two of the three key nuclear facilities targeted by US strikes. But even if the uranium remains intact, the loss of its metal conversion facility effectively has taken away Tehran's ability to build a bomb for years to come, the official said. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation that the three Iranian sites with capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree". But, he added, some is still standing and that because capabilities remain, if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again". He said assessing the full damage comes down to Iran allowing in inspectors. "Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared, and there is nothing there," Grossi said. Trump has insisted from just hours after three key targets were struck by US bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles that Iran's nuclear program was obliterated. His defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said they were destroyed". A preliminary report issued by the US Defence Intelligence Agency, meanwhile, said the strikes did significant damage to the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not totally destroy the facilities. As a result of Israeli and US strikes, Grossi said that it is clear that there has been severe damage, but it's not total damage". Israel claims it has set back Iran's nuclear program by many years". The metal conversion facility that Ratcliffe said was destroyed was located at the Isfahan nuclear facility. The process of transforming enriched uranium gas into dense metal, or metallisation, is a key step in building the explosive core of a bomb. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in comments at the NATO summit last week also suggested that it was likely the US strikes had destroyed the metal conversion facility. You can't do a nuclear weapon without a conversion facility," Rubio said. "We can't even find where it is, where it used to be on the map. You can't even find where it used to be because the whole thing is just blackened out. It's gone. It's wiped out. The CIA director also stressed to lawmakers during the congressional briefing that Iran's air defence was shattered during the 12-day assault. As a result, any attempt by Iran to rebuild its nuclear programme could now easily be thwarted by Israeli strikes that Iran currently has little wherewithal to defend against, the official said. Ratcliffe's briefing to lawmakers on the US findings appeared to mesh with some of Israeli officials' battle damage assessments. Israeli officials have determined that Iran's ability to enrich uranium to a weapons-grade level was neutralised for a prolonged period, according to a senior Israeli military official who was not authorized to talk publicly about the matter. Tehran's nuclear programme was also significantly damaged by the strikes killing key scientists, damage to Iran's missile production industry and the battering of Iran's aerial defence system, according to the Israeli's assessment. Grossi, and some Democrats, note that Iran still has the know-how. You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have, Grossi said, emphasising the need to come to a diplomatic deal on the country's nuclear programme. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
US strikes cripple Iran's bomb-making facility, CIA chief tells lawmakers
CIA Director John Ratcliffe told skeptical US lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran's lone metal conversion facility and in the process delivered a monumental setback to Tehran's nuclear programme that would take years to overcome, a US official said on official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence, said Ratcliffe laid out the importance of the strikes on the metal conversion facility during a classified hearing for US lawmakers last about the private briefings surfaced as President Donald Trump and his administration keep pushing back on questions from Democratic lawmakers and others about how far Iran was set back by the strikes before last Tuesday's ceasefire with Israel took hold. 'It was obliterating like nobody's ever seen before,' Trump said in an interview on Fox News Channel's 'Sunday Morning Futures.' 'And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time.'Ratcliffe also told lawmakers that the intelligence community assessed the vast majority of Iran's amassed enriched uranium likely remains buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordo, two of the three key nuclear facilities targeted by US even if the uranium remains intact, the loss of its metal conversion facility has effectively taken away Tehran's ability to build a bomb for years to come, the official Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Sunday on CBS' 'Face the Nation' that the three Iranian sites with 'capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree.'But, he added, 'some is still standing' and that because capabilities remain, 'if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.' He said assessing the full damage comes down to Iran allowing in inspectors."Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared, and there is nothing there," Grossi has insisted from just hours after three key targets were struck by U.S. bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles that Iran's nuclear program was 'obliterated.'His defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said they were 'destroyed.' A preliminary report issued by the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency, meanwhile, said the strikes did significant damage to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not totally destroy the a result of Israeli and U.S. strikes, Grossi says that 'it is clear that there has been severe damage, but it's not total damage." Israel claims it has set back Iran's nuclear program by 'many years.'The metal conversion facility that Ratcliffe said was destroyed was located at the Isfahan nuclear facility. The process of transforming enriched uranium gas into dense metal, or metallisation, is a key step in building the explosive core of a of State Marco Rubio in comments at the NATO summit last week, also suggested that it was likely the U.S. strikes had destroyed the metal conversion facility.'You can't do a nuclear weapon without a conversion facility," Rubio said. "We can't even find where it is, where it used to be on the map. You can't even find where it used to be because the whole thing is just blackened out. It's gone. It's wiped out.'The CIA director also stressed to lawmakers during the congressional briefing that Iran's air defence was shattered during the 12-day assault. As a result, any attempt by Iran to rebuild its nuclear program could now easily be thwarted by Israeli strikes that Iran currently has little wherewithal to defend against, the official briefing to lawmakers on the U.S. findings appeared to mesh with some of Israeli officials' battle damage officials have determined that Iran's ability to enrich uranium to a weapons-grade level was neutralised for a prolonged period, according to a senior Israeli military official who was not authorised to talk publicly about the nuclear program was also significantly damaged by the strikes, killing key scientists, damage to Iran's missile production industry and the battering of Iran's aerial defence system, according to the Israeli and some Democrats, note that Iran still has the know-how.'You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have,' Grossi said, emphasising the need to come to a diplomatic deal on the country's nuclear program.- Ends
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
CIA chief told lawmakers Iran nuclear programme set back years with strikes on metal conversion site
CIA Director John Ratcliffe told skeptical US lawmakers that American military strikes destroyed Iran's lone metal conversion facility and in the process delivered a monumental setback to Tehran's nuclear programme that would take years to overcome, a US official said on Sunday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence, said Ratcliffe laid out the importance of the strikes on the metal conversion facility during a classified hearing for US lawmakers last week. Details about the private briefings surfaced as President Donald Trump and his administration keep pushing back on questions from Democratic lawmakers and others about how far Iran was set back by the strikes before last Tuesday's ceasefire with Israel took hold. "It was obliterating like nobody's ever seen before," Trump said in an interview on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures". "And that meant the end to their nuclear ambitions, at least for a period of time." Live Events Ratcliffe also told lawmakers that the intelligence community assessed the vast majority of Iran's amassed enriched uranium likely remains buried under the rubble at Isfahan and Fordo, two of the three key nuclear facilities targeted by US strikes. But even if the uranium remains intact, the loss of its metal conversion facility effectively has taken away Tehran's ability to build a bomb for years to come, the official said. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" that the three Iranian sites with "capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree". But, he added, "some is still standing" and that because capabilities remain, "if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again". He said assessing the full damage comes down to Iran allowing in inspectors. "Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared, and there is nothing there," Grossi said. Trump has insisted from just hours after three key targets were struck by US bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles that Iran's nuclear program was "obliterated." His defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said they were "destroyed". A preliminary report issued by the US Defence Intelligence Agency, meanwhile, said the strikes did significant damage to the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites, but did not totally destroy the facilities. As a result of Israeli and US strikes, Grossi said that "it is clear that there has been severe damage, but it's not total damage". Israel claims it has set back Iran's nuclear program by "many years". The metal conversion facility that Ratcliffe said was destroyed was located at the Isfahan nuclear facility. The process of transforming enriched uranium gas into dense metal, or metallisation, is a key step in building the explosive core of a bomb. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in comments at the NATO summit last week also suggested that it was likely the US strikes had destroyed the metal conversion facility. "You can't do a nuclear weapon without a conversion facility," Rubio said. "We can't even find where it is, where it used to be on the map. You can't even find where it used to be because the whole thing is just blackened out. It's gone. It's wiped out." The CIA director also stressed to lawmakers during the congressional briefing that Iran's air defence was shattered during the 12-day assault. As a result, any attempt by Iran to rebuild its nuclear programme could now easily be thwarted by Israeli strikes that Iran currently has little wherewithal to defend against, the official said. Ratcliffe's briefing to lawmakers on the US findings appeared to mesh with some of Israeli officials' battle damage assessments. Israeli officials have determined that Iran's ability to enrich uranium to a weapons-grade level was neutralised for a prolonged period, according to a senior Israeli military official who was not authorized to talk publicly about the matter. Tehran's nuclear programme was also significantly damaged by the strikes killing key scientists, damage to Iran's missile production industry and the battering of Iran's aerial defence system, according to the Israeli's assessment. Grossi, and some Democrats, note that Iran still has the know-how. "You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have," Grossi said, emphasising the need to come to a diplomatic deal on the country's nuclear programme.
