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Tag: capital city
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Large Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv kills 4 and wounds at least 10
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Russia unleashed a barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine overnight into Sunday, killing at least four people, with the capital city of Kyiv suffering the heaviest assault.This is the first major bombardment since an air attack on Kyiv left at least 21 people dead last month.Kyiv bears the brunt of the attackTymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration, confirmed Sunday’s casualties via Telegram and said 10 others were wounded in the attack that targeted civilian areas across the city. A 12-year-old girl was among the dead. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from a blast near the city center.“The Russians have restarted the child death counter,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.Russia fired a total of 595 exploding drones and decoys and 48 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday. Of those, air defenses shot down or jammed 566 drones and 45 missiles.Besides Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the bombardment targeted the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa. Zelenskyy wrote on X that at least 40 people were wounded across the country. Later, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry stated the number of the wounded rose to 70, with over a hundred civilian objects damaged.Zaporizhzhia’s regional head, Ivan Fedorov, said three children were among the 27 wounded in the region, adding that over two dozen buildings were damaged in the capital that bears the same name.“This vile attack came virtually (at) the close of UN General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position. Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world,” Zelenskyy wrote.Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted to world leaders Saturday that his nation doesn’t intend to attack Europe but will mount a “decisive response” to any aggression.Residents shakenThe strikes that began overnight and continued after dawn on Sunday also targeted residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, a medical facility and a kindergarten, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who also said damage was reported at more than 20 locations across the capital.At Kyiv’s central train station, passengers arrived to the crackle of anti-aircraft gunfire and the low buzz of attack drones. Mostly women, they waited quietly in a platform underpass until the air raid alert ended. Parents checked the news on their phones while children played online games.“The sky has turned black again,” said one woman at the station, who gave only her first name, Erika. “It’s happening a lot.”Ilona Kovalenko, a 38-year-old resident of a five-story building struck in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, told The Associated Press she woke up because of the explosion, which shattered windows.“A neighbor kept knocking on our door. She was completely covered in blood and shouting, ‘help, save my daughter,’” said Kovalenko, who fled the building with her grandmother after the strike.Oleksandra, the neighbor’s daughter, was the 12-year-old killed in the attack.“Sadly, she died on the spot,” Kovalenko said. “We are in shock, to be honest.”Another multi-story residential building was heavily damaged by the attack. Emergency services personnel used power saws to clear the debris. Piles of glass littered nearby sidewalks as building residents, some looking shaken, sat on benches.Russian officials did not immediately comment on the attacks.Polish military responses triggeredThe assault also triggered military responses in neighboring Poland, where fighter jets were deployed early Sunday morning as Russia struck targets in western Ukraine, according to the Polish armed forces.Polish military officials characterized these defensive measures as “preventative.”International concerns have mounted recently that the fighting could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders as European countries rebuked Russia for what they said were provocations. The incidents have included Russian drones landing on Polish soil and Russian fighter aircraft entering Estonian airspace.Russia denied its planes entered Estonian airspace and said none of its drones targeted Poland.The latest bombardment follows President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s announcement Saturday of what he called a “mega deal” for weapons purchases from the United States. The $90 billion package includes both the major arms agreement and a separate “drone deal” for Ukrainian-made drones that the U.S. will purchase directly.Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday. Morton reported from London.
KYIV —Russia unleashed a barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine overnight into Sunday, killing at least four people, with the capital city of Kyiv suffering the heaviest assault.
This is the first major bombardment since an air attack on Kyiv left at least 21 people dead last month.
Kyiv bears the brunt of the attack
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration, confirmed Sunday’s casualties via Telegram and said 10 others were wounded in the attack that targeted civilian areas across the city. A 12-year-old girl was among the dead. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from a blast near the city center.
“The Russians have restarted the child death counter,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.
Russia fired a total of 595 exploding drones and decoys and 48 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday. Of those, air defenses shot down or jammed 566 drones and 45 missiles.
Besides Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the bombardment targeted the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa. Zelenskyy wrote on X that at least 40 people were wounded across the country. Later, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry stated the number of the wounded rose to 70, with over a hundred civilian objects damaged.
Zaporizhzhia’s regional head, Ivan Fedorov, said three children were among the 27 wounded in the region, adding that over two dozen buildings were damaged in the capital that bears the same name.
“This vile attack came virtually (at) the close of UN General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position. Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted to world leaders Saturday that his nation doesn’t intend to attack Europe but will mount a “decisive response” to any aggression.
Residents shaken
The strikes that began overnight and continued after dawn on Sunday also targeted residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, a medical facility and a kindergarten, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who also said damage was reported at more than 20 locations across the capital.
At Kyiv’s central train station, passengers arrived to the crackle of anti-aircraft gunfire and the low buzz of attack drones. Mostly women, they waited quietly in a platform underpass until the air raid alert ended. Parents checked the news on their phones while children played online games.
“The sky has turned black again,” said one woman at the station, who gave only her first name, Erika. “It’s happening a lot.”
Ilona Kovalenko, a 38-year-old resident of a five-story building struck in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, told The Associated Press she woke up because of the explosion, which shattered windows.
“A neighbor kept knocking on our door. She was completely covered in blood and shouting, ‘help, save my daughter,’” said Kovalenko, who fled the building with her grandmother after the strike.
Oleksandra, the neighbor’s daughter, was the 12-year-old killed in the attack.
“Sadly, she died on the spot,” Kovalenko said. “We are in shock, to be honest.”
Another multi-story residential building was heavily damaged by the attack. Emergency services personnel used power saws to clear the debris. Piles of glass littered nearby sidewalks as building residents, some looking shaken, sat on benches.
Russian officials did not immediately comment on the attacks.
Polish military responses triggered
The assault also triggered military responses in neighboring Poland, where fighter jets were deployed early Sunday morning as Russia struck targets in western Ukraine, according to the Polish armed forces.
Polish military officials characterized these defensive measures as “preventative.”
International concerns have mounted recently that the fighting could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders as European countries rebuked Russia for what they said were provocations. The incidents have included Russian drones landing on Polish soil and Russian fighter aircraft entering Estonian airspace.
Russia denied its planes entered Estonian airspace and said none of its drones targeted Poland.
The latest bombardment follows President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s announcement Saturday of what he called a “mega deal” for weapons purchases from the United States. The $90 billion package includes both the major arms agreement and a separate “drone deal” for Ukrainian-made drones that the U.S. will purchase directly.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday.
Morton reported from London.
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GOP-led House committee approves bills targeting DC autonomy
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Republicans are looking to expand the federal government’s power over the nation’s capital city — and use the District of Columbia as a testing ground for tough-on-crime policies the GOP could seek to implement around the country.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advanced about a dozen bills Wednesday designed to chip away at Washington’s autonomy, including its ability to control its own law enforcement activities.
The more than 10-hour markup of the measures, which Democrats nearly uniformly opposed, came the same day President Donald Trump’s 30-day emergency order assuming control of the city’s police department was due to expire.
“This is an assault on the self-determination of the residents of Washington, D.C., and they deserve better than this,” said Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.). “It is one thing to have the burden of living here without active representation. It is quite another to have Congress intervene on the basic functions of daily life that the people of D.C. endure.”
The bills on the committee agenda Wednesday would, among other things, expand the universe of city laws Congress can formally veto; allow Washington’s locally elected attorney general to be replaced with an official selected by the president; and invalidate legislation passed by the Council of the District of Columbia.
In an apparent response to the Trump administration’s desire to combat Washington’s leniency for younger offenders, one bill would limit individuals who qualify as “youth” to those 18 years old or younger. Another measure would allow those 14 years of age and older to be tried as adults for certain offenses.
“You are living in a city filled with crime,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to her colleagues. “And we have witnessed it as members of Congress.”
House GOP leadership plans to bring at least some of the bills for a vote on the floor in the coming weeks, but it’s unlikely that any of them will become law: Even if passed by the House, each measure would face an uphill battle in the Senate to gain the necessary Democratic support to overcome a filibuster.
Still, any further action on the bills would likely further inflame the ongoing partisan clash around Washington’s right to self-governance. This tension is also likely to be on display next week when a trio of top Washington elected officials — Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council Chair Phil Mendelson and Attorney General Brian Schwalb — is scheduled to testify before the Oversight committee.
Committee ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) maligned Republicans on Wednesday for “pushing a blatant power grab by hijacking authority from local Washington, D.C., leaders and residents.”
“Quite frankly,” Garcia added, “if the president is so obsessed with governing D.C., he should step down as president and run for mayor.”
At the center of this debate is a belief among Republicans that Washington officials are all too soft on crime. Although the city reported a 30-year low in violent offenses last year, Trump claimed Washington was rife with crime to justify his monthlong takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department. He also deployed the National Guard, which will remain in Washington indefinitely.
Congressional Republicans, in turn, have pointed to a number of high-profile violent episodes in Washington, including the recent killing of a congressional intern and the assault of a prominent Trump administration staffer.
“You should be able to walk down any street in America with your little girl or little boy and be safe,” said Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.) during the markup. “Bottom line is, people are dying. So this is not extreme. This is required. We must keep the American people safe.”
In their approach to Washington, Republicans are also modeling what tough-on-crime policies they could seek to enforce on other urban cities run by Democrats. The seemingly random murder last month of a Ukrainian refugee on transit in Charlotte, North Carolina, is being leveraged by Republicans as the latest evidence of Democrats’ inability to conduct proper law enforcement.
The Trump administration has also begun discussions with congressional Republicans about crafting a legislative package to target crime nationwide. Subsequently, the bills approved by the Oversight Committee on Wednesday offer a blueprint for those broader, GOP-championed policies.
Republicans, for instance, have targeted so-called cashless bail policies in Democratic-led jurisdictions that allow individuals to be released from custody without a monetary payment. One measure considered by the Oversight panel would require mandatory cash bail for individuals charged with certain offenses and mandate pretrial or post-conviction detention for some offenders.
“What you all are attempting to do in D.C. right now is just a forecast for what they actually want for the entire country,” said Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Summer Lee.
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
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Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital targeting Iran-backed rebels, local TV station says
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Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, early on Sunday, just days after the country’s Iran-backed rebels fired cluster munitions toward Israel, according to a local media report.The rebel Houthi-run al-Masirah channel reported the strikes, the first to hit the rebel-held Sanaa since Aug. 17, when Israel said it targeted energy infrastructure it believed was used by the rebels. Israel has not confirmed Sunday’s attack.The Iran-backed Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea for more than 22 months. They say they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in the Gaza Strip.They are usually intercepted before landing in Israel.An Israeli Air Force official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the projectile fired from Yemen towards Israel on Friday night marked a new threat. The missile was a cluster munition — a projectile that is supposed to detonate into multiple explosives.It was the first time the Houthis had launched a cluster bomb at Israel since the militant group began launching rockets towards Israel in 2023, the official said. The use of cluster bombs makes it harder for Israel to intercept and also represents additional technology provided to the Houthis by Iran, the official said.The Houthi attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passes each year.From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones. The rebels stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war and later became the target of an intense, weekslong airstrike campaign ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.In May, the United States announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to shipping attacks, although the rebel group said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.
CAIRO —Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, early on Sunday, just days after the country’s Iran-backed rebels fired cluster munitions toward Israel, according to a local media report.
The rebel Houthi-run al-Masirah channel reported the strikes, the first to hit the rebel-held Sanaa since Aug. 17, when Israel said it targeted energy infrastructure it believed was used by the rebels. Israel has not confirmed Sunday’s attack.
The Iran-backed Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea for more than 22 months. They say they are carrying out the attacks in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in the Gaza Strip.
They are usually intercepted before landing in Israel.
An Israeli Air Force official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the projectile fired from Yemen towards Israel on Friday night marked a new threat. The missile was a cluster munition — a projectile that is supposed to detonate into multiple explosives.
It was the first time the Houthis had launched a cluster bomb at Israel since the militant group began launching rockets towards Israel in 2023, the official said. The use of cluster bombs makes it harder for Israel to intercept and also represents additional technology provided to the Houthis by Iran, the official said.
The Houthi attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passes each year.
From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones. The rebels stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war and later became the target of an intense, weekslong airstrike campaign ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In May, the United States announced a deal with the Houthis to end the airstrikes in return for an end to shipping attacks, although the rebel group said the agreement did not include halting attacks on targets it believed were aligned with Israel.
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