Ukraine Concerned at Reports of Iranian Ballistic Missiles to Russia

Honor guards shoot into the air during the funeral ceremony of six Ukrainian servicemen killed in a Russian rocket attack at a Ukrainian military academy, during their funeral ceremony in Poltava, Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Honor guards shoot into the air during the funeral ceremony of six Ukrainian servicemen killed in a Russian rocket attack at a Ukrainian military academy, during their funeral ceremony in Poltava, Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
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Ukraine Concerned at Reports of Iranian Ballistic Missiles to Russia

Honor guards shoot into the air during the funeral ceremony of six Ukrainian servicemen killed in a Russian rocket attack at a Ukrainian military academy, during their funeral ceremony in Poltava, Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Honor guards shoot into the air during the funeral ceremony of six Ukrainian servicemen killed in a Russian rocket attack at a Ukrainian military academy, during their funeral ceremony in Poltava, Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Saturday it was deeply concerned by reports about a possible impending transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia.
In a statement emailed to reporters, the ministry said the deepening military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow was a threat to Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East, and called on the international community to increase pressure on Iran and Russia.
CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, citing unidentified sources.
Reuters reported in August that Russia was expecting the imminent delivery of hundreds of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles from Iran and that dozens of Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran on the satellite-guided weapons for eventual use in the war in Ukraine.
On Friday, the United States, a key ally of Ukraine, also voiced concern about the potential transfer of missiles.
"Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran's support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine," White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said.
Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York said on Friday that Tehran's position on the Ukraine conflict was unchanged.
"Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict - which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations - to be inhumane," it said.
"Thus, not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict."



Typhoon Yagi Leaves at Least 4 Dead in Vietnam

Water is whipped up by high winds onto the shore of Phuong Luu lake as Super Typhoon Yagi hits Hai Phong on September 7, 2024. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Water is whipped up by high winds onto the shore of Phuong Luu lake as Super Typhoon Yagi hits Hai Phong on September 7, 2024. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
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Typhoon Yagi Leaves at Least 4 Dead in Vietnam

Water is whipped up by high winds onto the shore of Phuong Luu lake as Super Typhoon Yagi hits Hai Phong on September 7, 2024. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Water is whipped up by high winds onto the shore of Phuong Luu lake as Super Typhoon Yagi hits Hai Phong on September 7, 2024. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Vietnamese authorities say Typhoon Yagi has killed at least four people and injured 78 others after making landfall Saturday afternoon in the north of the country.
Yagi, described by Vietnamese meteorological officials as “one of the most powerful typhoons in the region over the past decade,” made its way to the Southeast Asian country after it left three people dead and nearly a hundred others injured in the Chinese province of Hainan.
The typhoon landed at Vietnam's coastal provinces of Quang Ninh and Haiphong with wind speeds of up to 149 kilometers per hour (92 miles per hour), state media reported. Before landing, strong winds felled a tree, killing a woman in the capital, Hanoi, local media said Saturday.
Quang Ninh is home to the UNESCO World Heritage site Ha Long Bay, known for its many towering limestone islands. Hundreds of cruises were canceled at the popular site before the typhoon landed, according to local media. Haiphong is an industrial hub, home to large factories, including EV maker VinFast and Apple supplier Pegatron.
The typhoon has also triggered power outages in large parts of Quang Ninh and Thai Binh provinces.
Earlier, the government issued several alerts, and those vulnerable to floods or landslides were evacuated. Four airports were shuttered, including in Hanoi, and Haiphong.
Authorities pruned trees in Hanoi to make them less susceptible to falling, but wind and rain knocked over several along with billboards in northern cities. Local media reported that many moored boats were swept out to sea.
On Friday afternoon, Yagi struck the Chinese city of Wenchang in Hainan province with wind speeds of up to about 245 kph (152 mph) near its center. Authorities said the typhoon left three people dead and nearly a hundred others injured in the province. It has affected over 1.2 million people as of noon Saturday, according to the local Global Times newspaper.
Some 420,000 Hainan residents were relocated before the typhoon's landfall. Another half a million people in Guangdong province were evacuated before Yagi made a second landfall in the province's Xuwen County on Friday night.
Meanwhile, the meteorological observatory of the city of Haikou downgraded its typhoon signal from red to orange on Saturday, as it moved further away.
Before leaving Hong Kong, Yagi forced more than 270 people to seek refuge at temporary government shelters on Friday, and over 100 flights in the city were canceled due to the typhoon. Heavy rain and strong winds felled dozens of trees, and trading on the stock market, bank services and schools were halted.
Yagi was still a storm when it blew out of the northwestern Philippines into the South China Sea on Wednesday, leaving at least 20 people dead and 26 others missing mostly in landslides and widespread flooding and affecting more than 2.3 million people in northern and central provinces.
More than 82,200 people were displaced from their homes in Philippine provinces, and classes, work, inter-island ferry services and domestic flights were disrupted for days, including in the densely populated capital region, metropolitan Manila.

Typhoons are becoming stronger, fueled by warmer oceans, amid climate change, scientists say.
Last week, Typhoon Shanshan slammed into southwestern Japan, the strongest storm to hit the country in decades.
Yagi is named after the Japanese word for goat and the constellation of Capricornus.