Ukraine’s Military Says It Shot Down 18 Russian Drones Overnight

A view shows semi-trucks destroyed during a Russian drone strike near Ukraine-Romania border, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine October 2, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows semi-trucks destroyed during a Russian drone strike near Ukraine-Romania border, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine October 2, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ukraine’s Military Says It Shot Down 18 Russian Drones Overnight

A view shows semi-trucks destroyed during a Russian drone strike near Ukraine-Romania border, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine October 2, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows semi-trucks destroyed during a Russian drone strike near Ukraine-Romania border, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa region, Ukraine October 2, 2024. (Reuters)

Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 19 drones in an overnight attack, Ukraine's military said on Tuesday, but the air force shot down 18 drones, and the last returned to Russian territory.

Russian forces used drones and missiles in the attack on the southern region of Odesa, the air force said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said the drone attack on the city of Chornomorsk caused fires on three floors of an apartment building but there were no casualties.

It also set off a fire, now extinguished, at an administrative and production building in Odesa district, he added, while one drone fell in an open area without detonating.

A Russian missile also hit a Palau-flagged vessel in Odesa port on Monday, killing a Ukrainian national and injuring five crew members in the second such attack in as many days, officials said.



Turkish Lawmakers Discuss Mideast in Closed Session after Erdogan's Israel Claim

A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
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Turkish Lawmakers Discuss Mideast in Closed Session after Erdogan's Israel Claim

A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo
A Turkish flag flutters atop the Turkish embassy as an Israeli flag is seen nearby, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo

Türkiye's lawmakers held a closed-door session on Tuesday to discuss the spread of war in the Middle East, a week after President Tayyip Erdogan made an unsubstantiated claim that Israel eventually aimed to encroach on Turkish territory.

Israel has not publicly responded to Erdogan's claim, which analysts and opposition lawmakers say is far-fetched and is intended primarily to deflect public attention away from Türkiye's economic woes.

Israel has also not commented publicly on Tuesday's closed-door parliamentary session in Ankara, which is titled "Israel's occupation of Lebanon and developments in the region".

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus has said the foreign and defense ministers will make presentations at the closed-door session - which was requested by the opposition - on the risk of the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon widening further, Reuters reported.

NATO member Türkiye is among the world's sharpest critics of what it calls Israel's illegal and reckless wars with Hamas and Hezbollah. It halted trade with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against it at the World Court.

Last week Erdogan told parliament that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was acting out his dream of a "utopia" and "promised land" for Israel.

"After Lebanon, the next place on which Israel will set its eyes will be our homeland," he told parliament's opening session, attended by dozens of foreign ambassadors and his cabinet.