Russian Drone Attacks Kill Three in Northeast Ukraine

23 June 2025, Ukraine, Kyiv: Rescue workers move a dead body from a destroyed residential building following a Russian air strike. Photo: Aleksandr Gusev/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
23 June 2025, Ukraine, Kyiv: Rescue workers move a dead body from a destroyed residential building following a Russian air strike. Photo: Aleksandr Gusev/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Russian Drone Attacks Kill Three in Northeast Ukraine

23 June 2025, Ukraine, Kyiv: Rescue workers move a dead body from a destroyed residential building following a Russian air strike. Photo: Aleksandr Gusev/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
23 June 2025, Ukraine, Kyiv: Rescue workers move a dead body from a destroyed residential building following a Russian air strike. Photo: Aleksandr Gusev/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Russian drone attacks killed three people in Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy, including a child, local authorities said on Tuesday.

It came a day after Ukraine said Russia carried out dozens of drone and missile strikes on its territory, killing 10 people in the capital Kyiv.

Diplomatic efforts to end the three-year war have stalled, with the last direct meeting between Kyiv and Moscow almost three weeks ago and no follow-up talks scheduled, said AFP.

"We have information about three dead. Among them is an eight-year-old boy," said Oleg Grygorov, head of the Sumy region's military administration.

The boy's body was pulled from the rubble of a destroyed house, he added.

"The strike took the lives of people from different families. They all lived on the same street. They went to sleep in their homes but the Russian drones interrupted their sleep -- forever."

Russian drone strikes also left five people wounded in Kharkiv, as well as four others in the Dnipropetrovsk region, authorities said on Telegram.

Drone attack on Moscow

Russia said a drone had targeted a residential building in Moscow overnight, wounding two people, including a pregnant woman.

"About 100 people were evacuated from the building, including 30 children," according to the region's governor, Andrei Vorobyov, who added that two more drones were shot down.

Russia had fired dozens of drones and missiles at Ukraine a day earlier, ripping open a housing block in Kyiv, killing 10 civilians and burying others beneath the rubble.

Separate Russian attacks on Monday in the southern Odesa region left two people dead and another dozen wounded, local authorities said.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said a school was hit.

"Sadly, some people may still be trapped under the rubble," he added.

Zelensky met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a surprise visit to London on Monday.

Zelensky is due to attend a two-day NATO summit in The Hague starting on Tuesday.

Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and claims to have annexed four Ukrainian regions as its own since launching its invasion in 2022 -- in addition to Crimea, which it captured in 2014.

Kyiv has accused Moscow of deliberately sabotaging a peace deal in order to prolong its full-scale offensive and to seize more territory.



Top Trump Iran Negotiator Says Visits US Aircraft Carrier in Middle East

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026. (Reuters)
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026. (Reuters)
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Top Trump Iran Negotiator Says Visits US Aircraft Carrier in Middle East

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026. (Reuters)
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump's lead Iran negotiator Steve Witkoff on Saturday said he visited the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier currently in the Arabian Sea, with Washington and Tehran due to hold further talks soon.

"Today, Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, Jared Kushner, and I met with the brave sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, her strike group, and Carrier Air Wing 9 who are keeping us safe and upholding President Trump's message of peace through strength," said Witkoff in a social media post.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday he hoped talks with the United States would resume soon, while reiterating Tehran's red lines and warning against any American attack.


Israel’s Netanyahu Expected to Meet Trump in US on Wednesday and Discuss Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a special session to mark the 77th anniversary of the Knesset's establishment and the 60th anniversary of the dedication of the current building at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 02 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a special session to mark the 77th anniversary of the Knesset's establishment and the 60th anniversary of the dedication of the current building at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 02 February 2026. (EPA)
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Israel’s Netanyahu Expected to Meet Trump in US on Wednesday and Discuss Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a special session to mark the 77th anniversary of the Knesset's establishment and the 60th anniversary of the dedication of the current building at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 02 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a special session to mark the 77th anniversary of the Knesset's establishment and the 60th anniversary of the dedication of the current building at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 02 February 2026. (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Washington, where they will discuss negotiations with Iran, Netanyahu's office said on Saturday.

Iranian and US officials held indirect nuclear ‌talks in the ‌Omani capital ‌Muscat ⁠on Friday. ‌Both sides said more talks were expected to be held again soon.

A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran on the talks told Reuters Iran insisted ⁠on its "right to enrich uranium" ‌during the negotiations with ‍the US, ‍and that Tehran's missile capabilities ‍were not raised in the discussions.

Iranian officials have ruled out putting Iran's missiles - one of the largest such arsenals in the region - up ⁠for discussion, and have said Tehran wants recognition of its right to enrich uranium.

"The Prime Minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and halting support for the Iranian axis," Netanyahu's office said in a ‌statement.


Italy FM Rules Out Joining Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’

Italy's Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the press during the EPP Leaders’ meeting, in Zagreb, Croatia, 30 January 2026. (EPA)
Italy's Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the press during the EPP Leaders’ meeting, in Zagreb, Croatia, 30 January 2026. (EPA)
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Italy FM Rules Out Joining Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’

Italy's Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the press during the EPP Leaders’ meeting, in Zagreb, Croatia, 30 January 2026. (EPA)
Italy's Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the press during the EPP Leaders’ meeting, in Zagreb, Croatia, 30 January 2026. (EPA)

Italy will not take part in US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Saturday, citing "insurmountable" constitutional issues.

Trump launched his "Board of Peace" at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January and some 19 countries have signed its founding charter.

But Italy's constitution bars the country from joining an organization led by a single foreign leader.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a Trump ally, last month noted "constitutional problems" with joining, but suggested Trump could perhaps reopen the framework "to meet the needs not only of Italy, but also of other European countries".

Tajani appeared Saturday to rule that out.

"We cannot participate in the Board of Peace because there is a constitutional limit," he told the ANSA news agency.

"This is insurmountable from a legal standpoint," he said, the day after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Vice President JD Vance at the Olympics in Milan.

Although originally meant to oversee Gaza's rebuilding, the board's charter does not limit its role to the Palestinian territory and appears to want to rival the United Nations.