Russia Says Ukraine Killed 11 in Tourist Camp; Ukraine Strikes Russian Refinery

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
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Russia Says Ukraine Killed 11 in Tourist Camp; Ukraine Strikes Russian Refinery

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russian authorities said 11 people including four children had been killed by Ukraine in an overnight attack on a holiday camp in a Russian-held part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, accusing Kyiv on Saturday of deliberately attacking civilians. 

Ukraine did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the war launched by Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. 

Russian-appointed governor Yevgeny Balitsky said another 16 people had been wounded in the attack on the resort area of Kyrylivka, which lies on the coast of the Azov Sea near the town of Melitopol. 

"The enemy ‌saw and ‌understood who it was targeting," he said on the Telegram ‌messaging ⁠app. 

UKRAINE SAYS IT ⁠HIT RUSSIAN REFINERY AND OIL PLATFORM  

Ukraine said on Saturday its drones had hit a Russian oil platform in the Caspian Sea and an oil refinery in Siberia, while both Kyiv and Moscow said they had struck ships carrying military cargo.  

The energy targets lie over 700 km and 2,000 km (430 miles and 1,250 miles) from Ukrainian territory, underscoring the increasing reach of Kyiv's campaign to use long-range drones to undermine Russia's war effort and pressure ⁠the Kremlin to make peace. 

Ukraine struck the Filanovsky oil platform ‌belonging to Russia's Lukoil, its SBU security service said. ‌Lukoil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

The platform is part of Russia's ‌largest Caspian oil field.  

Local authorities in the Siberian region of Tyumen confirmed that a ‌Ukrainian drone had caused a fire at the region's refinery. They did not say if output had been disrupted. 

Both sides have increasingly targeted shipping as they seek to derail military logistics and supply lines far from the battlefield. 

UKRAINE AND RUSSIA BOTH ATTACK SHIPS  

Elsewhere in the Caspian, ‌Ukrainian drones attacked two cargo vessels - Port Olya 2 and Begey - believed to be involved in military cargo shipments between Russia ⁠and Iran, the ⁠SBU said.  

Russia's transport ministry did not respond to a request for comment. 

Russia and Iran have deepened military cooperation since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Tehran supplying drones and drone technology that Russia has used extensively in the war, according to Western governments and Kyiv.  

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers this week that Russia and China were supporting Iran in its war against the US in ways he would not specify.  

However, President Donald Trump said he trusted both countries not to help Iran.  

In the Black Sea, Russia's Defense Ministry said its drones had hit a bulk carrier delivering military cargo for the Ukrainian army. 

In a separate daily report, the ministry said it had targeted Ukrainian logistics centers, production and storage sites for long-range drones, as well as energy, transport, and port infrastructure. It did not give further details. 



France Apologizes for UN Diplomatic Spat with Washington

11 September 2026, US, New York: France's Permanent Representative to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and examining the evolving global terrorist threat and international efforts to counter terrorism. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
11 September 2026, US, New York: France's Permanent Representative to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and examining the evolving global terrorist threat and international efforts to counter terrorism. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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France Apologizes for UN Diplomatic Spat with Washington

11 September 2026, US, New York: France's Permanent Representative to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and examining the evolving global terrorist threat and international efforts to counter terrorism. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
11 September 2026, US, New York: France's Permanent Representative to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and examining the evolving global terrorist threat and international efforts to counter terrorism. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The French UN mission said it regretted an online post criticizing how the United States voted during a UN General Assembly meeting, with US officials telling AFP on Saturday that Washington appreciated the statement.

France's permanent mission to the UN published the apology Friday, saying it regretted a post on X criticizing the United States' commitment to human rights.

"France and the United States recently took different positions on a vote at the United Nations General Assembly. This difference concerned one vote, and not the defense of human rights," the mission said in an English statement on its website.

"Public differences of opinion on one vote do not stand in the way of close dialogue with the United States, and do not call into question our historical alliance, nor our ability to work together to advance peace, stability and prosperity, including within multilateral forums," the statement continued.

The mea culpa was well-received by Washington, which has been holding up the appointment of France's next US ambassador as a result of the dispute.

"We note and appreciate France's statement and look forward to working together to further shared values and interests," a US State Department official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The US State Department has held up the approval of Aurelien Lechevallier, French President Emmanuel Macron's choice as France's next envoy to Washington, replacing Laurent Bili.

Lechevallier is currently French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot's chief of staff.

US approval of a choice of French envoy is usually a formality but has remained in limbo since the dispute.

On July 24, the United States was one of 10 countries to vote in the UN General Assembly against extending Volker Turk's term as UN human rights chief, joining the ranks of North Korea, Russia and Nicaragua, among others.

"The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore," the French mission wrote in a post on X after the United States strongly opposed another term by Turk, who has repeatedly questioned US policies under President Donald Trump.

The criticism was met with immediate backlash from Washington, with the US representative walking out of a UN Security Council meeting days later when France's ambassador took the floor, in protest of the comments.


Kremlin Not Ruling Out Return to Talks with Ukraine in October

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov waits before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam (both not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 09 September 2026. To Lam is on a three-day state visit to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov waits before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam (both not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 09 September 2026. To Lam is on a three-day state visit to Russia.
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Kremlin Not Ruling Out Return to Talks with Ukraine in October

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov waits before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam (both not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 09 September 2026. To Lam is on a three-day state visit to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov waits before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam (both not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 09 September 2026. To Lam is on a three-day state visit to Russia.

Three-way negotiations with Ukraine and the United States on ending Europe's worst conflict since World War II could take place in October, the Kremlin said on Sunday, according to Russian agencies.

"We do not rule out such a possibility; we are talking about the foreseeable future," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, cited by Russia's Ria and Tass news agencies.


Macron, Carney to Visit French Islands After Trump’s Map Post

French President Emmanuel Macron looks on prior to welcoming Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (not pictured) upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 11 September 2026. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron looks on prior to welcoming Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (not pictured) upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 11 September 2026. (EPA)
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Macron, Carney to Visit French Islands After Trump’s Map Post

French President Emmanuel Macron looks on prior to welcoming Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (not pictured) upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 11 September 2026. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron looks on prior to welcoming Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (not pictured) upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 11 September 2026. (EPA)

The leaders of France and Canada will next week visit France's North Atlantic territory of Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon to underscore their support for national borders in the face of Donald Trump's territorial ambitions, Paris said Sunday.

The US president on Monday posted an image to social media with a map of North America in which Canada, Greenland and Mexico, much of central America and the Caribbean, as well as Iceland, were colored in with the US flag.

The image also encompassed several French overseas territories, such as Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, Guadeloupe and Martinique.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will make a symbolic visit to Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon to underscore that their countries share "the same values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for the sovereignty of nations", the Elysee said.

Macron was set to visit the territory on September 19-21, with Carney joining the French leader on September 20.

"In a world marked by the return of power politics, geopolitical tensions and new forms of dependency, France and Canada share a common ambition: to work together, and with all countries that share these values, to strengthen their capacity to make decisions and act independently," the Elysee said.

The three islands of the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) off Canada's Atlantic coast, is home to around 6,000 people.

Macron will stop there on his way to New York, where he is due to attend the UN General Assembly.

It would be the first official visit by a Canadian prime minister to the archipelago, the French presidency said.

The territory has previously been the scene of tensions with the United States during World War II, when France was under German occupation.

In 1941, General Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces seized Saint-Pierre and Miquelon from the collaborationist Vichy regime, despite opposition from US President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, which had sought to maintain existing arrangements with Marshal Philippe Petain's government.

The last visit by a French president to the strategically located islands, some 4,300 kilometers from mainland France, was by Francois Hollande in 2014.

Macron is also set to address climate change affecting the territory.

The village of Miquelon has started moving inland to escape the growing threat of sea-level rise, in what is widely regarded as France's first climate-driven community relocation.