Ukraine Strikes Bridge Used for Russian Supplies in Occupied South

 A picture taken on July 21, 2022 shows craters on Kherson's Antonovsky bridge across the Dnipro river caused by a Ukrainian rocket strike, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. (AFP)
A picture taken on July 21, 2022 shows craters on Kherson's Antonovsky bridge across the Dnipro river caused by a Ukrainian rocket strike, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. (AFP)
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Ukraine Strikes Bridge Used for Russian Supplies in Occupied South

 A picture taken on July 21, 2022 shows craters on Kherson's Antonovsky bridge across the Dnipro river caused by a Ukrainian rocket strike, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. (AFP)
A picture taken on July 21, 2022 shows craters on Kherson's Antonovsky bridge across the Dnipro river caused by a Ukrainian rocket strike, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. (AFP)

Ukraine struck a bridge in the occupied Black Sea region of Kherson on Saturday, targeting a Russian supply route as Kyiv prepares for a major counter-offensive, a Ukrainian regional official said.

The strike hit the Daryivskyi bridge across the Ingulets river used for supplies by Russian troops, days after a key bridge over the nearby Dnieper was hit, said an adviser to the region's governor who is on Ukrainian-held territory.

"Every bridge is a weak point for logistics and our armed forces are skillfully destroying the enemy system. This is not yet the liberation of Kherson, but a serious preparatory step in that direction," the official, Serhiy Khlan, wrote on Facebook.

The deputy head of the Russian-installed regional authority said the bridge had been hit by seven rockets from Western-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), but that the bridge still worked, Russia's TASS news agency said.

The assertions from both sides could not be independently verified by Reuters.

Ukraine has been using western-supplied long-range weapons to hit Russian supply lines and ammunition dumps in an effort to turn the tide in the war and prepare a counter-offensive in Kherson region.

Russia has captured swathes of southern and eastern Ukraine since it invaded on Feb. 24.



EU Aviation Agency Tells Operators to Avoid Iran, Iraq and Lebanon Airspaces Until August 31

Motorbikes and cars pass through an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2026. (AP)
Motorbikes and cars pass through an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2026. (AP)
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EU Aviation Agency Tells Operators to Avoid Iran, Iraq and Lebanon Airspaces Until August 31

Motorbikes and cars pass through an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2026. (AP)
Motorbikes and cars pass through an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2026. (AP)

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said on Wednesday that airlines should not operate within the airspace of Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, amid ongoing tensions and the potential for further military action, as the US and Iran exchanged fresh attacks.

The EASA said its bulletin for the airspaces of ‌Iran, Iraq ‌and Lebanon was valid until ‌August ⁠31.

The ‌agency's latest advisory comes after Iran's Revolutionary Guards ‌said they targeted US military sites ‌in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday.

Those attacks followed a wave of US military strikes on Iran after tankers were hit in the Strait ‌of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump had said on Monday that the US ⁠would either ⁠reach a deal with Iran or "finish the job," renewing his threat of military action.

EASA said the implementation of the US-Iran ceasefire remained fragile, and its advisory decision was based on "ongoing high level of tensions and the potential for further military action."

The European agency also added that should the existing truce break down, Iranian airspace was likely to be exposed to "imminent threats".


New Attacks Complicate Talks to End Iran War, EU’s Kallas Says

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrives at the NATO Defense Industry Forum in Ankara, Türkiye , 07 July 2026. (EPA)
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrives at the NATO Defense Industry Forum in Ankara, Türkiye , 07 July 2026. (EPA)
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New Attacks Complicate Talks to End Iran War, EU’s Kallas Says

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrives at the NATO Defense Industry Forum in Ankara, Türkiye , 07 July 2026. (EPA)
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrives at the NATO Defense Industry Forum in Ankara, Türkiye , 07 July 2026. (EPA)

The new attacks by Iran and the United States in the Middle East have complicated talks to end the war, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday.

"The exchanges of ‌fire between ‌the US and ‌Iran ⁠further complicate already fraught ⁠talks to end the war. Iran's attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait are unacceptable," Kallas said in a post on ⁠X.

"Next Monday, EU Foreign ‌Ministers ‌will meet with their ‌Gulf counterparts to discuss how ‌we can work together to support the implementation of the agreement and preserve freedom ‌of navigation in the Strait as well as ⁠the ⁠Red Sea."

The US military unleashed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a license allowing Iran to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump said an interim agreement to end the ‌war with ‌Iran was "over" on Wednesday after ‌Tehran ⁠carried out new attacks.

Asked before a NATO summit in Türkiye ⁠whether the ⁠memorandum of understanding reached last month was over, Trump said: "It's a very interesting question. To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them."⁠


New US Attacks on Iran Were Absolutely Necessary, NATO Chief Says

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks upon arrival at the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, 08 July 2026. (EPA)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks upon arrival at the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, 08 July 2026. (EPA)
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New US Attacks on Iran Were Absolutely Necessary, NATO Chief Says

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks upon arrival at the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, 08 July 2026. (EPA)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks upon arrival at the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, 08 July 2026. (EPA)

The new attacks by the US on Iran were "absolutely necessary," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.

The US military unleashed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a license allowing Tehran to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait ‌of Hormuz, putting pressure ‌on an already fragile ‌ceasefire.

"When ⁠you have a ⁠ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the US forcefully react," Rutte told reporters before a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara.

At their summit, European ⁠leaders aim to convince Donald Trump ‌to re-commit ‌to the military alliance, after the US president revived ‌his disputes with them over the ‌Iran war and Greenland.

Rutte said there could be no doubt over the "complete commitment of the United States to NATO," which he said ‌also works to protect the United States.

"But there's also the expectation ⁠that ⁠the Europeans and the Canadians will equalize their spending with the United States, which I think is completely fair," he added.

"The good news is that this is the big win today. It's the loss for Putin, it is a win for President Trump that the Europeans and the Canadians are doing exactly that."