Ukraine Sends over 30 drones into Russia after bombing of Kharkiv

Firefighters work at a site of a household item shopping mall hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 25, 2024. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak
Firefighters work at a site of a household item shopping mall hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 25, 2024. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak
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Ukraine Sends over 30 drones into Russia after bombing of Kharkiv

Firefighters work at a site of a household item shopping mall hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 25, 2024. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak
Firefighters work at a site of a household item shopping mall hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 25, 2024. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak

Russian authorities said more than 30 drones were shot down over the country’s western regions overnight into Sunday, just hours after a Russian bomb attack on Ukraine's second largest city of Kharkiv killed three people and left dozens in hospitals.
One of the four aerial bombs hit a five-story residential building on Saturday afternoon, officials said. Regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said 41 people were still being treated for injuries, The Associated Press said.
In a video address following the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s partners to bolster its air defenses.
“Modern air defense systems for Ukraine — such as Patriots, accelerated training of our pilots for F-16s, and most importantly, sufficient range for our weapons — are truly necessary,” he said.
Two people were wounded by falling debris when two Russian missiles were shot down over the Kyiv region overnight, Ukraine’s air force commander Mykola Oleschuk said.
In Russia, air defense forces shot down 33 Ukrainian drones over the country’s western Bryansk, Smolensk, Lipetsk and Tula regions, the Russian Ministry of Defense said. No casualties or damage were reported.
Regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin of Ukraine’s partly occupied Donetsk region said that Russian attacks on Saturday killed two people and wounded four.



Prince William, Kate 'Deeply Concerned' by Latest Epstein Revelations

Britain's Prince William (R), Prince of Wales and Catherine (C), Princess of Wales arrive to meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally at Lambeth Palace in London on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP)
Britain's Prince William (R), Prince of Wales and Catherine (C), Princess of Wales arrive to meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally at Lambeth Palace in London on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP)
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Prince William, Kate 'Deeply Concerned' by Latest Epstein Revelations

Britain's Prince William (R), Prince of Wales and Catherine (C), Princess of Wales arrive to meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally at Lambeth Palace in London on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP)
Britain's Prince William (R), Prince of Wales and Catherine (C), Princess of Wales arrive to meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally at Lambeth Palace in London on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP)

Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine have been "deeply concerned" by the latest revelations linking William's uncle Prince Andrew to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Kensington Palace said Monday.

"I can confirm that the Prince and Princess of Wales have been deeply concerned by the continued revelations," the palace said in a statement.

The statement -- first public comments from the heir to the throne and his wife on the scandal since the latest release of Epstein files more than a week ago -- added that "their thoughts remain focused on the victims" of Epstein, who died in prison awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.

King Charles III’s 65-year-old brother is now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

The king last week forced Mountbatten-Windsor to leave his longtime home at Royal Lodge near Windsor Castle, accelerating a move that was first announced in October but wasn’t expected to be completed until later this year.

Mountbatten-Windsor is now living on the king’s Sandringham estate in eastern England. He will live temporarily at Wood Farm Cottage while his permanent home on the estate undergoes repairs.


Russian Strikes Kill 4 in Ukraine, Including Child

A general view on a damaged building at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Odesa, Ukraine, 04 February 2026. (EPA)
A general view on a damaged building at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Odesa, Ukraine, 04 February 2026. (EPA)
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Russian Strikes Kill 4 in Ukraine, Including Child

A general view on a damaged building at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Odesa, Ukraine, 04 February 2026. (EPA)
A general view on a damaged building at the site of a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Odesa, Ukraine, 04 February 2026. (EPA)

A barrage of Russian drones and missiles on Ukraine overnight killed at least four people in cities across the country, including a 10-year-old boy, regional officials said Monday.

AFP journalists at the scene of one strike on the southern city of Odesa saw gutted buildings and fire and emergency services working by lamplight to perform CPR on one of the victims.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 11 ballistic missiles and 149 drones -- including Iranian-designed Shaheds -- at the country from Sunday evening into the early hours of Monday.

Air defense units downed more than one hundred drones and several of the missiles, they added without elaborating.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago, has bombarded its neighbor while joining recent rounds of US-brokered talks to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Mykhailo, a 32-year-old resident of the port city of Odesa who lives on the fourth floor of a residential building damaged overnight, told AFP that his apartment windows had been blown out and his car was damaged.

"First we heard the buzzing of a Shahed, and then the hit -- and then another hit," the postal worker said.

A seventeen-year-old student, also named Mykhailo, told AFP when he stepped out onto his balcony he saw the doorframe had been dislodged by the blast.

Local officials in the city said that a 35-year-old man was killed and that two more were wounded, including a 19-year-old woman.

Farther north in the Kharkiv region, state emergency services said they had recovered the bodies of a woman and a 10-year-old boy after a drone attack.

And a 71-year-old man was killed by Russian drones in his bed in the settlement of Novgorod-Siversky in the northern Chernigiv region, local authorities said.

Though Washington wants to see the war end by mid-year, Kyiv and Moscow remain at odds over territorial divisions, with Russia pushing for full control of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region as part of any deal.

Russia occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine's land.


Thousands Protest Israeli President Herzog’s Visit to Australia

 Demonstrators gather at Town Hall Square to protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog's state visit to Australia following a deadly mass shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, February 9, 2026. (Reuters)
Demonstrators gather at Town Hall Square to protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog's state visit to Australia following a deadly mass shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, February 9, 2026. (Reuters)
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Thousands Protest Israeli President Herzog’s Visit to Australia

 Demonstrators gather at Town Hall Square to protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog's state visit to Australia following a deadly mass shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, February 9, 2026. (Reuters)
Demonstrators gather at Town Hall Square to protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog's state visit to Australia following a deadly mass shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, February 9, 2026. (Reuters)

Thousands gathered across Australia on Monday to protest the arrival of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is on a multi-city trip aimed at expressing solidarity with Australia's Jewish community following a deadly mass shooting last year.

Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi Beach that killed 15.

The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Pro-Palestine groups have organized protests ‌in cities and ‌towns across the country on Monday evening.

In Sydney, thousands gathered ‌in ⁠a square ‌in the city's central business district, listening to speeches and shouting pro-Palestine slogans.

"The Bondi massacre was terrible but from our Australian leadership there’s been no acknowledgment of the Palestinian people and the Gazans," said Jackson Elliott, a 30-year-old protestor from Sydney.

"Herzog has dodged all the questions about the occupation and says this visit is about Australia and Israeli relations but he is complicit."

There was a heavy police presence with a helicopter circling overhead and officers patrolling on horseback.

About 3,000 police personnel ⁠will be deployed across Sydney during Herzog's visit to the city.

PRESIDENT COMMEMORATES LIVES LOST

Herzog began his visit at Bondi ‌Beach, where he laid a wreath at a memorial for ‍the victims of the attack. He ‍also met survivors and the families of 15 people killed in the shooting.

"This was ‍also an attack on all Australians. They attacked the values that our democracies treasure, the sanctity of human life, the freedom of religion, tolerance, dignity and respect," Herzog said in remarks at the site.

In a statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-Chief Executive Alex Ryvchin said Herzog's visit "will lift the spirits of a pained community."

Some Jews oppose the visit.

The Jewish Council of Australia, a vocal critic of the Israeli government, released an open letter ⁠on Monday signed by over 1,000 Jewish Australian academics and community leaders, urging Albanese to rescind Herzog's invitation.

POLICE DEPLOY SPECIAL POWERS

Authorities in Sydney have declared Herzog's visit a major event and have been authorized to use rarely invoked powers during the visit, including the ability to separate and move crowds, restrict their entry to certain areas, direct people to leave and search vehicles.

The Palestine Action Group organizing the protest failed in a legal challenge in a Sydney court on Monday against restrictions placed on the expected demonstration.

"We're hoping we won't have to use any powers, because we've been liaising very closely with the protest organizers," New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told Nine News on Monday.

"Overall, it is all of the community that we ‌want to keep safe ... we'll be there in significant numbers just to make sure that the community is safe."