Russian Missile Strikes Injure 17 in Central Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Police experts work at a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Andrii Gorb/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Police experts work at a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Andrii Gorb/File Photo
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Russian Missile Strikes Injure 17 in Central Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Police experts work at a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Andrii Gorb/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Police experts work at a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Andrii Gorb/File Photo

Russian missile strikes on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih wounded 17 people, authorities said on Sunday, following an overnight attack on the country that included dozens of drones.

A police officer and rescue worker were among those injured in the strikes that damaged sites including an administrative building, a hotel and an educational facility, the National Police said on social media.

Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said in a later update that only 15 apartment buildings, stores, a cafe, a church, office spaces, a bank branch and a gas pipeline had been damaged in the city, which is President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's hometown, Reuters reported.

Kyiv's military said Russia had fired two ballistic missiles, and also reported that Ukraine had shot down 31 out of 49 Russian drones across the country.

Around 10 drones were destroyed near the capital Kyiv, the city's military administration said on the Telegram messaging app. There were no reports of destruction or injuries, it added.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

Russia has denied targeting civilians in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, but has regularly fired missiles and drones at towns and cities far behind the front lines.



France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
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France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)

France accused Iran on Monday of "repression and intimidation" after a court handed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi a new six-year prison sentence on charges of harming national security.

Mohammadi, sentenced Saturday, was also handed a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for "propaganda" against Iran's system, according to her foundation.

"With this sentence, the Iranian regime has, once again, chosen repression and intimidation," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, describing the 53-year-old as a "tireless defender" of human rights.

Paris is calling for the release of the activist, who was arrested before protests erupted nationwide in December after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony.

The movement peaked in January as authorities launched a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead.

Over the past quarter-century, Mohammadi has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran's use of capital punishment and the mandatory dress code for women.

Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade behind bars and has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015.

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).


Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
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Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday called on his compatriots to show "resolve" ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution this week.

Since the revolution, "foreign powers have always sought to restore the previous situation", Ali Khamenei said, referring to the period when Iran was under the rule of shah Reza Pahlavi and dependent on the United States, AFP reported.

"National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and steadfastness of the people," the leader said, adding: "Show it again and frustrate the enemy."


UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
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UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan resigned on Monday, a day after Starmer's top aide Morgan McSweeney quit over his role in backing Peter Mandelson over his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The loss of two senior aides ⁠in quick succession comes as Starmer tries to draw a line under the crisis in his government resulting from his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the ⁠US.

"I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," Allan said in a statement on Monday.

Allan served as an adviser to Tony Blair from ⁠1992 to 1998 and went on to found and lead one of the country’s foremost public affairs consultancies in 2001. In September 2025, he was appointed executive director of communications at Downing Street.