عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Russia Attacks Ukraine's Energy Supplies with Dozens of Missiles and Drones

A Ukrainian serviceman passes by a residential building damaged by Russian military strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia
A Ukrainian serviceman passes by a residential building damaged by Russian military strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia
TT
TT

Russia Attacks Ukraine's Energy Supplies with Dozens of Missiles and Drones

A Ukrainian serviceman passes by a residential building damaged by Russian military strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia
A Ukrainian serviceman passes by a residential building damaged by Russian military strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia

Russia attacked Ukrainian energy facilities with dozens of missiles and drones during the night, officials said Friday, hobbling the country’s ability to deliver heat and light to its citizens and to power weapons factories vital to its defenses.
The overnight barrage — which also pounded residences and wounded at least 10 people — came days after the US suspended military aid and intelligence to Ukraine to pressure it into accepting a peace deal being pushed by the Trump administration. Without US intelligence, Ukraine’s ability to strike inside Russia and defend itself from bombardment is significantly diminished, The Associated Press aid.
Air-defense systems supplied by the West are crucial for Ukraine, but further US help is uncertain under President Donald Trump, who says he’s determined to end the war. European Union leaders, mindful they may need to shoulder more of the burden for arming Ukraine and strengthen their own defenses, agreed on a plan Thursday to significantly build up their military spending.
Ukraine is having a tough time on the battlefield. An onslaught by Russia’s bigger army is straining short-handed Ukrainian forces at places along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.
Officials from the US and Ukraine will meet in Saudi Arabia next week to discuss ending the war, which began more than three years ago when Russia launched a full-scale invasion. On Friday, President Trump said on social media he was “strongly considering” placing additional sanctions on Russia to force it into peace talks with Ukraine.
“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,” Trump said.
Ukraine came under a “massive missile and drone” attack overnight, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko wrote on Facebook.
“Russia is trying to hurt ordinary Ukrainians by striking energy and gas production facilities, without abandoning its goal of leaving us without light and heat, and causing the greatest harm to ordinary citizens,” Halushchenko wrote.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s power grid during the war. The attacks have depleted electricity generation capacity and disrupted critical heating and water supplies. Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of “weaponizing winter” in an effort to erode civilian morale.
Zelenskyy on Friday won the support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Ukraine's proposals to take some first steps toward stopping the war, including a halt on firing missiles, drones and bombs at energy and other civilian infrastructure. Zelenskyy has also proposed ceasing combat operations in the Black Sea to allow safe shipping.
Erdogan said that he also wants the shooting to stop without delay.
“We support the idea of an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of attacks in the air and at sea as a confidence-building measure between the parties,” he said in a video call with European leaders.
Zelenskyy first suggested those initial steps in a post on X on Tuesday, when he said that he was ready to work under President Trump’s “strong leadership” to get a lasting peace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the energy supply is a legitimate target in the war, because it's “linked with Ukraine’s military industrial complex and weapons production.”
Russian air defenses downed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Ukraine’s largest private gas producer, DTEK, said that the overnight bombardment in the Odesa region was Russia’s sixth attack in the past two and a half weeks on its facilities. Its plants in two other regions were also struck.
Russia fired 67 missiles from air, land and sea, and launched 194 strike and decoy drones, Ukraine’s air force said. Their primary target was Ukraine’s natural gas extraction facilities, it said.
For the first time, Ukraine deployed French Mirage-2000 warplanes delivered a month ago to help repel the attack, according to the air force. Ukraine also has Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets to shoot down Russian missiles.
Ukrainian defenses downed 34 missiles and 100 drones, the air force said, while up to 10 missiles didn’t reach their targets and 86 drones were lost from radars, presumably jammed by electronic warfare.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Transport Minister: Türkiye-operated Oil Tanker Attacked in Black Sea

Altura, a Turkish-owned crude oil tanker, transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
Altura, a Turkish-owned crude oil tanker, transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
TT
TT

Transport Minister: Türkiye-operated Oil Tanker Attacked in Black Sea

Altura, a Turkish-owned crude oil tanker, transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
Altura, a Turkish-owned crude oil tanker, transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik

A Turkish-operated oil tanker was attacked early Thursday in the Black Sea, possibly by an unmanned surface vehicle, Türkiye's transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said.

"I can say that a foreign-flagged ship operated by a Turkish company, which had loaded crude oil from Russia, reported an explosion in its engine room after midnight to our emergency call center," the minister said in a televised interview.

"We believe that the engine room was specifically targeted. We think the attack was not carried out by a drone, but by an unmanned surface vehicle at water level."

The minister would not specify if the attack on the Sierra Leone-flagged tanker happened in Turkish waters but local media reported that it took place less than 30 kilometers from the Bosphorus strait.

"It appears to be an externally caused explosion, particularly directed at the engine room, with the aim of completely disabling the ship," Uraloglu said.

"We have sent the necessary units to the scene and are monitoring the situation," he added.

In December, Türkiye witnessed a series of security incidents linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warning against the Black Sea becoming an "area of confrontation" between the warring parties.

Türkiye, whose northern shore faces Ukraine and annexed Crimea, has maintained close ties with both Kyiv and Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

World

Australia Bans Visitors from Iran

Commuters walk past Wynyard Station in Sydney, Australia, March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Commuters walk past Wynyard Station in Sydney, Australia, March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
TT
TT

Australia Bans Visitors from Iran

Commuters walk past Wynyard Station in Sydney, Australia, March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Commuters walk past Wynyard Station in Sydney, Australia, March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Australia banned visitors from Iran on Thursday, saying war in the Middle East increased the risk they would refuse to fly home once their short-term visas expired.

For the next six months people travelling on Iranian passports will be barred from visiting Australia for tourism or work, the Home Affairs department said.

"The conflict in Iran has increased the risk that some temporary visa holders may be unable or unlikely to depart Australia when their visas expire," it said in a statement.

Some exceptions would be made on a case-by-case basis, the department added, such as for the parents of Australian citizens.

"There are many visitor visas which were issued before the conflict in Iran which may not have been issued if they were applied for now," Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.

"Decisions about permanent stays in Australia should be deliberate decisions of the government, not a random consequence of who booked a holiday."

More than 85,000 Australian residents were born in Iran, according to government figures, with vibrant diaspora communities found in major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.

Australia angered Iran this month when it granted asylum to seven players and officials from the visiting women's football team.

The players were branded "traitors" at home after refusing to sing the national anthem before an Asian Cup match -- a gesture seen as an act of defiance against the Iranian republic.

Five of those seven later reversed their decisions to seek sanctuary in Australia, fueling suspicions their families had come under threat.

World

Iran and the US Harden their Positions as Tehran Keeps Its Grip on the Strait of Hormuz

FILE - A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
TT
TT

Iran and the US Harden their Positions as Tehran Keeps Its Grip on the Strait of Hormuz

FILE - A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Iran and the United States hardened their positions as diplomacy aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the war in the Middle East appeared to be faltering on Thursday. Tehran moved to formalize its control over the crucial Strait of Hormuz while Washington prepared for the arrival of US combat forces in the region that could be used on the ground in the Iranian Republic.

Iran is instituting a “de facto ‘toll booth’ regime,” industry experts say, with some ships paying in Chinese yuan to pass through the strait, where 20% of all traded oil and natural gas is transported in peacetime.

Meanwhile, a strike group anchored by the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli drew closer to the Mideast with some 2,500 Marines. Also, at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne have been ordered to the region, The Associated Press said.

The troop movements don’t guarantee US President Donald Trump will try to use force to compel Iran to open the strait and halt its attacks on Gulf Arab states.

Trump previously deployed a large force in the Caribbean before the American military captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January. In the current situation, the US is seen as focused on possibly seizing Iran’s oil terminal at Kharg Island or other sites near the strait.

US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, who commands the American military in the region, said his forces have hit more than 10,000 targets since Israel and the US started the war Feb. 28, destroying 92% of Iran's largest ships and more than two-thirds of the country's missile, drone and naval production facilities.

“We’re not done yet,” said Cooper, who heads the US Central Command, in a video message. “We are on a path to completely eliminate Iran’s wider military apparatus.”

Iran seen as operating Strait of Hormuz as ‘de facto toll booth’

With its stranglehold on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which leads from the Arabian Gulf toward the open ocean, Iran has been blocking ships it perceives as linked to the US and Israeli war effort, but letting through a trickle of others.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, quoted lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi as saying that parliament was working to formalize the process of charging fees to let ships pass.

“We provide its security, and it is natural that ships and oil tankers should pay such fees,” he was quoted as saying.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence called it a “de facto ‘toll booth’ regime.”

The shipping intelligence firm said vessels have to provide manifests, crew details and their destination to Iran’s Guard for sanctions screening, cargo alignment checks that currently prioritizes oil over all other commodities, and for what is described as ‘geopolitical vetting.’”

“While not all ships are paying a direct toll, at least two vessels have and the payment is settled in yuan,” Lloyd’s List said, referring to China’s currency.

Iran's grip on the strait and relentless attacks on Gulf regional energy infrastructure has sent oil prices skyrocketing and concerns of a global energy crisis surging. Brent crude, the international standard, traded at US$104 early Thursday, up more than 40% from the day the war started.

“To make it crystal clear, this war is a catastrophe for world's economies,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters during a visit to Australia.

US maintains negotiations are ongoing but Iran says there are no talks

Using Pakistan as an intermediary, Washington has delivered to Iran a 15-point ceasefire proposal, which includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump, speaking at a fundraiser Wednesday night in Washington, insisted that Iran still wants to cut a deal.

“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” Trump said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on state TV, however, that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, “and we do not plan on any negotiations.”

Araghchi said the US had tried to send messages to Iran through other nations, “but that is not a conversation nor a negotiation.”

Press TV, the English-language broadcaster on Iranian state television, said Iran has its own five-point proposal, which includes “sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”

A wave of Israeli airstrikes hits as Iran fires on Gulf neighbors

Israel said it carried out a wave of attacks early on Thursday targeting Iranian infrastructure, and air defenses were heard in Tehran, while heavy strikes were also reported around Isfahan, a city some 330 kilometers (205 miles) south of the Iranian capital.

Ifahan is home to a major Iranian air base and other military sites, as well as one of the nuclear sites bombed by the US during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.

Sirens sounded very early on Thursday morning in parts of Tel Aviv and cities in central Israel. Rescue workers said two people were injured in a blast in Kfar Qasim.

Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it intercepted multiple drones over its oil-rich Eastern Province, the United Arab Emirates' air defenses also worked to intercept incoming fire, and Bahrain reported extinguishing a blaze in a neighborhood that is home to the Bahrain International Airport.

Since the war began, more than 1,500 people have been killed in Iran, its Health Ministry says. Twenty people have been killed in Israel; two Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon. At least 13 US military members have been killed. More than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states have also died.

Nearly 1,100 people have died in Lebanon, authorities said. In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militant groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have been killed.