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A Russian glide bomb struck a village in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday as residents queued to collect their monthly pensions, killing at least 24 people and injuring 19 others, Ukrainian officials said. The attack hit Yarova village in Donetsk region around 11 a.m., less than 10 kilometers from the front line. Regional head Vadym Filashkin said 23 of those killed were elderly pensioners. “It was beyond words,” said resident Hennadii Trush, who lost his wife in the blast as she waited to collect her bedridden mother’s pension. He fled the village with his elderly mother after the attack. “Before, strikes landed on the outskirts. This time it was right in the center of the village,” he told the Associated Press, weeping with soot still on his face. The strike destroyed homes and set the village ablaze. “The whole village is on fire,” said Pavlo Diachenko, head of communications for the regional police, who rushed to the scene. “Private houses were burning, and people tried to put out the flames with their own hands.” The explosion tore through a mobile post office vehicle where pensions were being distributed, according to Ukrposhta, Ukraine’s postal service. The local post office had shut down a week earlier after staff evacuated. “Apparently, someone gave away the coordinates,” said Ukrposhta head Ihor Smilianskyi, noting that the car had been parked under trees to avoid detection. At the morgue, victims showed severe blast wounds and burns. “They were all lying in one heap,” said Zinaida Hrymailo, who came to identify her 75-year-old cousin. She said her cousin had been preparing to leave Yarova after collecting her pension but died before she could flee. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as “frankly brutal,” urging the world to impose tougher sanctions on Russia. “The world should not remain silent,” he wrote on Telegram. “The United States needs a reaction. Europe needs a reaction. Strong action is needed so that Russia stops bringing death.” The UN says more than 12,000 civilians have been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The latest strike came two days after Russia launched its largest aerial barrage of Kyiv since the war began. Poland on alert The assault also raised tensions in neighboring Poland, whose military said it went on the highest state of air defense alert overnight Tuesday. “To ensure the security of Polish airspace, the operational commander of the Polish armed forces has activated all necessary procedures,” the Operational Command said. Polish and allied aircraft, along with radar systems, were fully deployed in what officials called “preventative” actions to secure areas adjacent to Ukraine. European Council President Antonio Costa denounced the attack, asking: “Is this what Russia means when it talks about peace? When will President Putin accept to start peace talks already accepted by President Zelenskyy?” Meanwhile, US and European officials held talks in Washington on new sanctions and tariffs targeting Russian oil revenues, as fears mount that Ukraine’s air defenses are being depleted faster than they can be replaced. Glide bombs — retrofitted Soviet-era weapons that can weigh up to 3,000 pounds — have devastated eastern Ukraine in recent months.  

At least four people were killed—two in Ukraine and two in Russia—as both countries launched overnight aerial attacks, targeting multiple regions, officials said Friday. In Ukraine, the southern Dnipro and northeastern Sumy regions came under combined rocket and drone strikes. Serhii Lysak, head of the Dnipro regional administration, confirmed that two people were killed and five others injured in the attacks. A multi-story building and a business establishment in the city of Dnipro were damaged, while a fire engulfed a shopping center in the region. In Sumy, three people were reported injured by local military authorities. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, endured heavy bombardment. Local officials said the city was struck by four guided aerial bombs, two ballistic missiles, and 15 drones in a span of three hours. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said high-rise buildings, businesses, roads, and communication networks were damaged. Five people were injured, including three emergency workers caught in a “double tap” strike—where rescuers are targeted after the initial attack. Plane with 49 aboard vanishes from Radar in Russia's Far East Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched 208 drones and 27 missiles overnight. Air defense systems intercepted or shot down 183 drones and 17 missiles, while 10 missiles and 25 drones struck nine locations. Meanwhile, in Russia, Ukrainian drones targeted several regions. In Rostov, a border region, a drone strike killed two people, according to acting governor Yuri Slyusar. In the nearby Stavropol region, drones hit an industrial facility, sparking a fire and prompting temporary internet restrictions. Additional drones targeted Moscow, Penza, Crimea, the Azov and Black Seas, and several other Russian regions, with 54 drones intercepted in total, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. Civil aviation authorities briefly halted flights in Kaluga, Vladikavkaz, and Grozny following the attacks.

Europe’s highest human rights court is set to issue a ruling Wednesday on cases against Russia concerning its actions during the conflict in Ukraine, including alleged human rights violations throughout the full-scale invasion and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg will decide on four cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia, marking the first time an international court will assess Russia’s responsibility for the broader Ukraine conflict dating back to 2014. While any decision will carry largely symbolic weight — as the court’s governing body expelled Moscow in 2022 following the full-scale invasion — families of MH17 victims view the ruling as a crucial milestone in their pursuit of justice. “It’s a real step in understanding who was really responsible,” said Thomas Schansman, who lost his 18-year-old son Quinn in the tragedy. The Boeing 777, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on July 17, 2014, by a Russian-made Buk missile launched from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels. All 298 people on board, including 196 Dutch citizens, were killed. In May, the United Nations’ aviation agency officially held Russia responsible for the disaster. The ECHR is a key institution within the Council of Europe, the continent’s premier human rights body. Russia was expelled from the council due to its invasion and ongoing war in Ukraine, but the court can still hear cases against Russia dating from before its expulsion. Russia fires over 100 drones at Ukraine as Kremlin dismisses transport chief after travel chaos Last year, the court ruled in favor of Ukraine and the Netherlands in a jurisdictional challenge, determining there was sufficient evidence to conclude that areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatists were “under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation,” given Moscow’s provision of weapons and political and economic support. Wednesday’s ruling will not be the last decision from the ECHR regarding the war. Kyiv has additional cases pending against Russia, and nearly 10,000 individual complaints have been filed against the Kremlin. These decisions are separate from a criminal trial in the Netherlands where two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel were convicted in absentia for multiple murders linked to the MH17 downing. Meanwhile, in 2022, the United Nations’ top court ordered Russia to cease military operations in Ukraine during ongoing proceedings—a directive Russia has ignored. Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally approved plans to establish a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the full-scale invasion. Schansman, who has also filed a personal case with the ECHR, said he intends to continue seeking justice more than a decade after his son’s death. “The worst thing we could do is stop fighting,” he told The Associated Press. “MH17 is not a case that will disappear for Russia.”

At least two people were killed and 17 others injured after Russian drones targeted the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday. Emergency services reported that a drone crashed into a residential high-rise, damaging three floors and trapping several residents. Regional Governor Oleh Kiper confirmed that the victims were a married couple, while three children were among the injured. Russian Missile and Drone Strike Injures 20 in Kyiv Russia has not yet commented on the incident. However, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses intercepted over 40 Ukrainian drones overnight and into Saturday morning across western Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea. Drone strikes have become a defining feature of the war, now entering its fourth year. Both Russia and Ukraine have accelerated efforts to develop advanced and more lethal drones, turning the conflict into a battleground for testing new military technologies.    

Russian forces launched a fresh drone assault across Ukraine overnight Wednesday, killing three people and wounding 64 more, Ukrainian officials said. One of the hardest-hit areas was the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, where 17 attack drones struck two residential districts, said Mayor Ihor Terekhov. Emergency crews, municipal workers and volunteers worked through the night to extinguish fires, rescue residents from burning homes, and restore gas, electricity and water services. “Those are ordinary sites of peaceful life — those that should never be targeted,” Terekhov wrote on Telegram. Three people were confirmed killed, according to Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov. In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 64 people had been injured and reiterated his calls for greater international pressure on Moscow. "Every new day now brings new vile Russian attacks, and almost every strike is telling," he said. “We must not be afraid or postpone new decisions that could make things more difficult for Russia. Without this, they will not engage in genuine diplomacy. And this depends primarily on the United States and other world leaders. Everyone who has called for an end to the killings and for diplomacy must act.” Kharkiv has been frequently targeted in recent months as Russia launched repeated large-scale drone and missile attacks on civilian infrastructure. Moscow's forces have deployed high numbers of drones and missiles in recent days, with a record bombardment of almost 500 drones on Monday and a wave of 315 drones and seven missiles overnight on Tuesday. Russian drone and missile attacks kill 2 in Ukraine The attacks come despite discussions of a potential ceasefire. The two sides traded memoranda at direct peace talks in Istanbul on June 2 that set out conditions. However, the inclusion of clauses that both sides see as nonstarters make any quick deal unlikely. Wednesday's strikes also caused widespread destruction in Kharkiv's Slobidskyi and Osnovianskyi districts, hitting apartment buildings, private homes, playgrounds, industrial sites and public transport. Images from the scene published by Ukraine’s Emergency Service on Telegram showed burning apartments, shattered windows and firefighters battling the blaze. “We stand strong. We help one another. And we will endure,” Terekhov said. “Kharkiv is Ukraine. And it cannot be broken.” Ukraine's airforce said that 85 attack and decoy drones were fired over the country overnight. Air defense systems intercepted 40 of the drones, while nine more failed to reach their targets without causing damage.

A Russian missile hit a front-line region in Ukraine on Saturday, killing a child and injuring another, a Ukrainian official said as uncertainty remains as to whether Kyiv diplomats will attend a new round of peace talks proposed by Moscow for early next week in Istanbul.  More than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died in Russian prisons Russian troops launched some 109 drones and five missiles across Ukraine overnight and into Saturday, the Ukrainian air force said. Three of the missiles and 42 drones were destroyed by air defenses, while another 30 drones failed to reach their targets without causing damage, it said. A 9-old girl was killed in a strike on the front-line village of Dolynka in the Zaporizhzhia region, and a 16-year-old was injured, Zaporizhzhia’s Gov. Ivan Fedorov said. “One house was destroyed. The shockwave from the blast also damaged several other houses, cars, and outbuildings,” Fedorov wrote on Telegram. Moscow did not comment on the latest attack. Meanwhile, 14 people were injured after Ukrainian drones struck apartment buildings on Saturday in the Russian town of Rylsk and the village of Artakovo in the western Kursk region, local acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein said. Four children were among those injured in the two attacks, which also sparked several fires, he said. On Friday, Andrii Yermak, a top adviser to Ukraine's president said Kyiv was ready to resume direct peace talks with Russia in Istanbul on Monday but that the Kremlin should provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the more than three-year war, before the two delegations sit down to negotiate. Speaking late Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia was “undermining diplomacy” by withholding the document. Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds more prisoners hours after a massive attack on Kyiv “For some reason, the Russians are concealing this document. This is an absolutely bizarre position. There is no clarity about the format,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. Moscow previously said it would share its memorandum during the talks.

Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, faced a large-scale Russian attack early Saturday, with both drones and missiles. Explosions and bursts of machine gun fire echoed across the city, prompting many residents to seek shelter in subway stations. The overnight attack coincided with a major prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine—the first phase of a deal reached in Istanbul last week—marking a rare instance of cooperation during the ongoing three-year conflict. According to Tymur Tkachenko, acting head of Kyiv's military administration, debris from intercepted drones and missiles fell across at least four districts of the city. Six people required medical treatment, and fires were reported in the Solomianskyi district. Greece deploys record firefighters and drones for wildfire season Local resident Yurii Bondarchuk recounted the experience, noting that the air raid siren began as usual, followed by the sound of drones overhead. A sudden explosion shattered glass in his apartment. “The balcony is totally wiped out, as well as the windows and the doors,” he said, standing outside in the darkness while firefighters worked nearby. To steady his nerves, he smoked a cigarette. The air raid alert lasted over seven hours through the night, with repeated warnings of incoming threats. Prior to the strike, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko warned that more than 20 Russian strike drones were en route. As the attack unfolded, he reported that drone debris struck a shopping mall and a residential building in Kyiv’s Obolon district, with emergency crews dispatched to the scene. The missile and drone attack came just hours after Ukraine and Russia began executing a prisoner exchange deal involving 1,000 captives from each side. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that 390 Ukrainians were returned in the initial phase, with more expected over the weekend—making it the largest exchange of the war to date. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it received an equal number of Russian nationals. A Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously, said the handover took place at the Belarus border in northern Ukraine. The Russian prisoners were transported to Belarus for medical care. At the medical facility, relatives of the released men gathered, holding signs and shouting names or brigade numbers in hopes of finding loved ones. “Vanya!” cried Nataliia Mosych, calling out for her husband. Despite the large-scale exchange, fighting has not abated along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have already died. Both sides continue their deep-strike operations. Following the May 16 meeting in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described the prisoner swap as a “confidence-building measure” and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Friday that no venue has been finalized for further negotiations. UK net migration expected to halve in 2024: ONS Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow plans to present Ukraine with a draft document detailing its terms for a “sustainable, long-term, comprehensive” peace agreement once the ongoing exchange concludes. Yet, significant gaps remain in the positions of both sides. One of Ukraine’s key demands—backed by Western allies—is the implementation of a temporary ceasefire as a starting point for peace talks. European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of stalling negotiations while seeking to gain more territory through military advances. In the days leading up to the latest attack, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported it had shot down 788 Ukrainian drones between May 20 and May 23. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said that Russia had launched 175 Shahed and decoy drones, along with a ballistic missile, since late Thursday.  

The Russian authorities on Monday outlawed Amnesty International as an “undesirable organization,” a label that under a 2015 law makes involvement with such organizations a criminal offense. The decision by the Russian Prosecutor General’s office, announced in an online statement, is the latest in the unrelenting crackdown on Kremlin critics, journalists and activists that intensified to unprecedented levels after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.  Russia launches biggest drone attack on Ukraine since start of war The designation means the international human rights group must stop any work in Russia, and it subjects those who cooperate with it or support it to prosecution, including if anyone shares Amnesty International’s reports on social media. Amnesty International did not immediately comment on the move. Russia's list of “undesirable organizations” currently covers 223 entities, including prominent independent news outlets and rights groups. Among those are prominent news organizations like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty or Russian independent outlet Meduza, think tanks like Chatham House, anti-corruption group Transparency International, and Open Russia, an opposition group founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled tycoon who became an opposition figure. After Open Russia was declared undesirable in 2021 and disbanded to protect its members, its leader, Andrei Pivovarov, was arrested and convicted on charges of carrying out activities of an undesirable organization. He was sentenced to four years in prison and released in 2024 in the largest prisoner exchange with the West since Soviet times.  Ukraine-Russia political theatrics underscore stark realities on the ground as war grinds on Amnesty International was launched in 1961. The group documents and reports human rights violations around the globe and campaigns for the release of those it deems unjustly imprisoned. It has released reports on Russia's war in Ukraine, accusing Moscow of crimes against humanity, and has spoken out against the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent that has swept up thousands of people in recent years. Amnesty International's recent statements on Russia included decrying a prison sentence handed to prominent election monitoring activists Grigory Melkonyants as a “brazen and politically motivated clampdown on peaceful activism.” It also spoke out against a series of arrests of publishing professionals in Russia last week over alleged “LGBTQ+ propaganda” in books. “This shameless heavy-handed use of state apparatus against literature is as absurd as it is terrifying,” said Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia director. In its statement, the Prosecutor General's office accused the group of running “Russophobic projects" and activities aimed at Russia's “political and economic isolation.”  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that his country is committed to ending the war with Russia but he urged dozens of European leaders to ramp up sanctions if President Vladimir Putin continues to play for time in talks aimed at securing a truce. Russia and Ukraine were holding their first direct peace talks in three years, in the Turkish port city of Istanbul, but officials and observers expected them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war, AP reports.  Russia-Ukraine war is top of the agenda as European leaders meet in Albania on security concerns “Ukraine is ready to take all realistic steps to end this war,” Zelenskyy told leaders gathered for a summit of the European Political Community. But he warned: “If it turns out that the Russian delegation really is just theatrical and can’t deliver any results today, the world must respond.” That reaction, he said, should include "sanctions against Russia’s energy sector and banks.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed his call, saying in a summit speech that “Russia is dragging its feet and playing games.” “We must be prepared to follow through because if Russia won’t come to the negotiating table, Putin must pay the price,” he said, at the summit in the Albanian capital, Tirana. Zelenskyy's remarks came after Putin declined to attend face-to-face talks. “I think Putin made a mistake by sending a low level delegation,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said as he arrived for the summit under a steady drizzle. “The ball is clearly in his part of the field now, in his court. He has to play ball. He has to be serious about wanting peace," Rutte added. European Union foreign chief Kaja Kallas said Putin was “playing games, which shows that they are not serious about peace.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was clear that “President Zelenskyy was ready to meet but President Putin never showed up, and this shows his true belief. So we will increase the pressure.” Von der Leyen said the EU is preparing a new package of sanctions. She said that the measures will target the shadow fleet of aging cargo vessels that Russia is using to bypass international sanctions and the Nord Stream pipeline consortium. Russia’s financial sector would also be targeted, she said. EU envoys have been working on the new sanctions package for several weeks, and the bloc’s foreign ministers could enact them as soon as Tuesday.  Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first peace talks in 3 years Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni stressed that efforts to reach a deal on Ukraine must continue. “I think ... that we must not throw in the towel. I think we must insist, we must insist for an unconditional ceasefire and a serious peace agreement that includes guarantees of security for Ukraine,” she said.

Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first face-to-face peace talks in three years on Friday, convening in Istanbul under Turkish mediation. However, both officials and analysts anticipate little progress in halting the war, which has now stretched into its fourth year. Ukraine’s delegation, led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, is expected to meet a lower-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.  Russia launches smallest nighttime attack on Ukraine in months in run-up to possible peace talks The renewed attempt to revive peace talks began on a shaky note Thursday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin declined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer for direct talks. The two delegations also arrived in different Turkish cities and appeared mismatched in terms of diplomatic representation. While expectations were low for a possible Zelenskyy-Putin meeting, the sluggish momentum of the peace process dashed hopes of a breakthrough in Turkey. The two sides remain deeply divided on terms for ending the conflict. On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump, during a visit to the Middle East, said a meeting between him and Putin was essential to overcome the stalemate. Ukraine has accepted a 30-day comprehensive ceasefire proposal backed by the U.S. and Europe, but Putin has dismissed it, instead laying out broad preconditions. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials and Western military analysts report that Russia is preparing for a renewed military offensive. After Putin declined Zelenskyy’s invitation to meet in Ankara on Thursday, the Ukrainian president accused Moscow of not being genuinely interested in ending the war, criticizing Russia’s delegation as merely symbolic. Nonetheless, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would still send a delegation led by his defense minister to the Istanbul talks, as a signal to Trump that Kyiv remains committed to peace despite Russia’s apparent reluctance. According to the Kremlin, Russia’s delegation will include three additional senior officials, along with four junior “experts” assigned to the discussions. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated he would meet Friday in Istanbul with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the Ukrainian delegation. He also noted that members of the U.S. team would hold talks with the Russian side, expressing hope that all parties might eventually sit down together. “We’re not expecting major results tomorrow. Honestly, it’s clear by now that a real breakthrough would require a direct meeting between President Trump and President Putin,” Rubio told reporters Thursday in Antalya. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy traveled to Albania to participate in a summit of European political leaders scheduled for Friday.  Russian House in Dhaka celebrates the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War