Strikes Kill at Least 7 in Ukraine and Russia

TOPSHOT - This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on July 21, 2026, shows firefighters working to extinguish a fire at the site of a drone strike on a shopping center in Sumy, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENSY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)
TOPSHOT - This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on July 21, 2026, shows firefighters working to extinguish a fire at the site of a drone strike on a shopping center in Sumy, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENSY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)
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Strikes Kill at Least 7 in Ukraine and Russia

TOPSHOT - This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on July 21, 2026, shows firefighters working to extinguish a fire at the site of a drone strike on a shopping center in Sumy, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENSY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)
TOPSHOT - This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on July 21, 2026, shows firefighters working to extinguish a fire at the site of a drone strike on a shopping center in Sumy, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENSY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)

A Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Pavlograd on Thursday killed three people, as Kyiv's counter-strikes on Russia and Moscow-annexed Crimea killed four others, including a three-year-old.

Civilian deaths in the more than four-year war have spiked this summer, with the United Nations saying last month was the deadliest since the first year of Russia's invasion in 2022, reported AFP.

Diplomatic talks to end fighting are at a deadlock.

"Three people were killed," said Oleksandr Ganzha, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk region.

"Nineteen people were wounded... Among the casualties is a two-year-old girl," he later added, saying all the wounded were in hospital.

Pavlograd, which lies in east-central Ukraine and had a pre-war population of some 100,000 people, has come under Russian attack throughout the conflict.

In Russia, officials said a three-year-old boy was killed on the outskirts of the city of Voronezh when a Ukrainian drone hit his house and set it on fire.

Located 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Moscow, Voronezh has frequently been targeted by Ukrainian drones, with Kyiv pushing its retaliatory strikes further into Russia.

Regional governor Alexander Gusev said the boy's parents sustained "various wounds".

Ukrainian night-time attacks on Crimea, under Russian occupation since 2014, killed two people, Kremlin-installed officials said.

One more man was killed by a Ukrainian drone in Russia's Belgorod region, according to local authorities. The Belgorod region borders Ukraine and is regularly hit.

The Kremlin has refused to back down from its maximalist demands of seizing the whole of eastern Ukraine, while US-led talks on resolving the conflict have stalled.

The UN said Wednesday that there had been a 37 percent rise in civilian casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war in the first half of this year.



Military Helicopter Crashes in Southern Türkiye, Killing 4

Rescuers and security officers examine the wreckage of an ambulance helicopter after it collided with a hospital building and crashed into the ground, in Mugla, Türkiye, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz Purchase
Rescuers and security officers examine the wreckage of an ambulance helicopter after it collided with a hospital building and crashed into the ground, in Mugla, Türkiye, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz Purchase
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Military Helicopter Crashes in Southern Türkiye, Killing 4

Rescuers and security officers examine the wreckage of an ambulance helicopter after it collided with a hospital building and crashed into the ground, in Mugla, Türkiye, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz Purchase
Rescuers and security officers examine the wreckage of an ambulance helicopter after it collided with a hospital building and crashed into the ground, in Mugla, Türkiye, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz Purchase

A military helicopter crashed in southern Türkiye on Thursday, killing four personnel, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

The aircraft crashed for unknown reasons in Samankoy, a neighborhood on the southern outskirts of the provincial capital Malatya in the early evening.

“As a result of an accident involving our S-70 helicopter in Malatya, for a reason not yet determined, 4 of our heroic comrades-in-arms aboard the helicopter were martyred,” the ministry said in a social media post.

“We pray that God will have mercy on our martyrs and offer our condolences and prayers for strength to their grieving families, our Turkish Armed Forces, and our noble nation.”

According to The Associated Press, TV images showed the wreckage of the helicopter burning near a cluster of buildings in an otherwise open area of land. The Demiroren News Agency reported that flames had spread to a nearby house but reported no casualties on the ground.

Police, firefighters and medical teams were dispatched to the crash.


Trump Says US Does Not Need Iran Deal

US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance look on during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance look on during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
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Trump Says US Does Not Need Iran Deal

US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance look on during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance look on during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

President Donald Trump said on Thursday the US does not need a deal with Iran and directed Vice President JD Vance, who has played a role in efforts to resolve the war, to focus "his complete and total attention" on alleged crime and corruption in Democratic-run cities and states.

Trump's directive came a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Vance was considering face-to-face peace talks with a hard-line Iranian security official and a week after the vice president blamed the costly war with Iran for Republicans' midterm elections drubbing.

Trump's comments marked a shift in tone after he had suggested ⁠in recent weeks ⁠that Iran would be more willing to strike a deal in the eight-month conflict after the US elections.

"We don’t need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We’ve got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we’ve got their Strait!" Trump wrote on social media, referring to the Strait of Hormuz, the critical ⁠shipping route near Iran where the US military has been working to secure safe passage for international shipping.

Trump said he asked Vance to focus instead on a domestic issue the president previously put in his portfolio: leading an effort targeting alleged fraud in Democratic-run cities and states throughout the US.

"Our Budget could be quickly BALANCED with the correction of this large-scale criminal activity. CORRUPTION is in the Democrat Leadership’s blood!" Trump wrote on Thursday.

Vance's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that ⁠Vance was considering ⁠meeting with a senior Iranian security official, a move that would have put Vance at the center of peace negotiations. Reuters has not confirmed the potential talks.

Vance, who is viewed as a leading contender for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, distanced himself from the war last week after Republicans' midterm election rout by Democrats.

The vice president blamed the costs of the Iran war in part for the party's losses. He also said an earlier recommendation to end the war was "sound advice."

Trump responded to Vance's position by defending the war as necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.


Iran: Four Tankers Struck by Explosions in Strait of Hormuz

Iran: Four Tankers Struck by Explosions in Strait of Hormuz
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Iran: Four Tankers Struck by Explosions in Strait of Hormuz

Iran: Four Tankers Struck by Explosions in Strait of Hormuz

Four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's military said on Thursday, adding that the vessels had ignored warnings and entered what it considers restricted areas of the strategic waterway.

Tankers are still facing attacks across the strait, despite a rebound in traffic and expectations of a de-escalation in the war between the United States and Iran that have been reflected in falling oil prices.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said two supertankers were disabled by explosions on Wednesday after they ignored ⁠warnings against using what ⁠it said was an "unauthorized route".

Reuters could not immediately verify the Iranian account.

The two vessels "exploded after hitting naval mines", Iranian state media reported, broadcasting what it said was video footage of the incidents.

Iran's army later said two other tankers had hit mines on Thursday afternoon while sailing through the eastern Strait of Hormuz after ignoring ⁠warnings and disabling their radar systems, state TV reported. The tankers entered a restricted area and subsequently caught fire, it reported.

Earlier in the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began in February, the IRGC Navy announced its attacks on tankers. More recently, however, it has instead reported that vessels have caught fire after hitting naval mines while traversing the southern part of the strait, which it has declared an unauthorized route.

In several of those cases, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) has said vessels had been struck by unknown projectiles.

The ⁠UKMTO said ⁠in reports on Thursday that a vessel was hit by an unidentified projectile about 14 nautical miles northwest of the UAE emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah on Wednesday while exiting the strait, causing a fire in its engine room.
Firefighting efforts were under way and all crew had been evacuated, it added.

At least 10 ships were hit in the first 10 days of November, after 37 attacks in October, which was the highest monthly tally since the conflict began in late February, according to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.