Mass Drone Attack on Moscow as Russian Strikes Kill Three in Ukraine

Ukrainian rescuers use a water hose as they work to extinguish a fire at the site of a Russian strike in Kyiv on August 16, 2026. (AFP)
Ukrainian rescuers use a water hose as they work to extinguish a fire at the site of a Russian strike in Kyiv on August 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Mass Drone Attack on Moscow as Russian Strikes Kill Three in Ukraine

Ukrainian rescuers use a water hose as they work to extinguish a fire at the site of a Russian strike in Kyiv on August 16, 2026. (AFP)
Ukrainian rescuers use a water hose as they work to extinguish a fire at the site of a Russian strike in Kyiv on August 16, 2026. (AFP)

Hundreds of drones targeted Moscow on Sunday as Russia launched missile strikes that killed three people and wounded more than a dozen in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, officials on the two sides said. 

Amid the intense hostilities, three people were also killed in the Russian city of Rostov, while a Spanish NATO fighter jet shot down a drone that crossed into Romanian territory -- the second time in two days that the war has spilled over into eastern Europe. 

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported a sustained overnight drone assault on the capital, issuing a string of updates over several hours. 

Air defenses intercepted more than 600 drones headed towards Moscow, with around 200 which were shot down in the region, according to his statements on the state-backed MAX platform. 

Moscow regional governor Andrey Vorobyov described the assault as "one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory", adding that six people were wounded in the region. 

"In Podolsk, a UAV hit caused a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in the Koledino Industrial Park," Vorobyov added. 

Ukraine has increasingly targeted warehouses linked to the Wildberries online retailer, arguing its strikes are a response to Moscow's bombardment of Ukrainian towns and infrastructure. 

- Kyiv explosions - 

Since mid-July, Ukraine has struck around 20 Wildberries warehouses and buildings. 

Russia's missile strikes killed two people in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region with another fatality in Kryvyi Rig, President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown. More than 20 people were wounded across Kyiv, Brovary, Kryvyi Rig, Odesa, and Dnipetrovsk. 

Russian forces hit two industrial sites in Kryvyi Rig, local defense council head Oleksandr Vilkul said on Telegram. 

In Kyiv, authorities issued an air raid alert just before 2:00 am (2300 GMT) and several explosions were heard shortly after. 

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Kyiv was "under ballistic missile attack" and urged residents to remain in shelters. 

The strikes sparked fires in the Obolonsky and Holosiivskyi districts of the capital. 

Kremenchuk in the central Poltava region also came under attack, local officials said, without providing details of damage or casualties. 

Russia has maintained near-daily missile and drone strikes across Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion in early 2022. Zelensky has said Ukraine's increasing attacks deep inside Russia, on refineries, as well as the warehouses, aim to undermine Russia's war economy. 

Romania's defense ministry said that a Spanish F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that breached its airspace near the border with Ukraine and Moldova.  

Debris fell in an unpopulated area of the Galati region, near the Ukrainian border, it added, though it was not known where the drone came from. 

Countries bordering the conflict have faced increasing spillovers from the drone war between Ukraine and Russia.  

NATO said Friday its fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace. It was the second time in a week that a drone had been shot down in Latvian airspace, the country's defense ministry said. 

In July, Romania expelled a Russian embassy employee in what it called "a firm response" to drones repeatedly breaching the country's airspace. 

Romania shot down three drones on three consecutive days before the expulsion. 



Seoul: North Korean DMZ Landmine Blasts 'Violation of Armistice'

North Korean propaganda village "Gijungdong" is seen from a South Korea's observation post inside the JSA during a media tour at the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, 03 March 2023. (Reuters)
North Korean propaganda village "Gijungdong" is seen from a South Korea's observation post inside the JSA during a media tour at the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, 03 March 2023. (Reuters)
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Seoul: North Korean DMZ Landmine Blasts 'Violation of Armistice'

North Korean propaganda village "Gijungdong" is seen from a South Korea's observation post inside the JSA during a media tour at the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, 03 March 2023. (Reuters)
North Korean propaganda village "Gijungdong" is seen from a South Korea's observation post inside the JSA during a media tour at the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, 03 March 2023. (Reuters)

The blasts that wounded three South Korean soldiers last week were apparently caused by North Korean mines, Seoul said Tuesday, accusing Pyongyang of an armistice violation and warning of "corresponding measures".

One soldier lost a foot due to the explosions in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily mined buffer zone that has divided the two Koreas since their 1953 armistice.

The northern and southern boundaries of the zone are among the world's most heavily fortified frontiers and landmine incidents have previously heightened tensions between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war.

South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul spoke before a parliamentary hearing a day after his ministry said North Korean mines were "highly suspected" of causing the two explosions last week.

"This is a clear violation of the armistice agreement, and since North Korea bears responsibility, we will take corresponding measures," AFP quoted him as saying.

The military "has a range of necessary measures at our disposal, and we will implement them in stages", he added, without giving details.

The minister said that dense vegetation in the area had hampered the work of mine detectors, and that South Korean forces were in the DMZ to clear the area in advance of an operation with the UN Command.

That operation would assess terrain changes caused by North Korean forces south of the Military Demarcation Line, which marks the nations' effective border.

Hong Sung-pyo, senior researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Military Affairs, said it was reasonable to conclude that the mines were North Korean.

"In practical terms, the only forces operating in the DMZ area are the South Korean, US and North Korean militaries," he told AFP.

"Given the interoperability between South Korean and US forces, there would be little reason for the US military to have laid any mines there."

Yang Jin-hyeok of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told lawmakers that a site investigation on Tuesday discovered an unexploded North Korean plastic anti-personnel mine.

Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war since the Korean conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

Since 2024, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un designated South Korea as his country's "principal enemy", Pyongyang's military has laid mines and built anti-tank barriers along the frontier as part of efforts to permanently seal it off.

During the operation, Pyongyang also blew up the northern parts of inter-Korean roads no longer in use.

Minister Kang said Tuesday that the North Korean mines linked to the September 21 incident were believed to have been laid as part of Pyongyang's border fortification work.

There was no mention of last week's blasts on North Korean state media.

In a 2015 incident, two South Korean soldiers were seriously wounded in a landmine blast on the southern side of the DMZ, with one losing both legs.

Seoul concluded that North Korean troops had crossed the Military Demarcation Line to plant the mines, an accusation Pyongyang denied.

The incident prompted South Korea to resume anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts along the border.

But Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said that there is "very little South Korea can realistically do" in retaliation for the latest blasts.

"Resuming loudspeaker broadcasts would do more harm than good, particularly because residents in border areas would bear much of the disruption," he told AFP.

"That effectively leaves Seoul with few options beyond demanding an apology from North Korea and seeking assurances that such an incident will not happen again" -- unless it is willing to risk heightened military tensions and further escalation, he added.


Trump Denies Offering Iran Sanctions Relief for Nuclear Concessions

US President Donald Trump takes questions at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump takes questions at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Trump Denies Offering Iran Sanctions Relief for Nuclear Concessions

US President Donald Trump takes questions at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump takes questions at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US President Donald Trump on Monday denied offering Iran sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds in return for nuclear concessions from Tehran.

"This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING," Trump wrote on Truth Social, responding to an Axios report that cited US officials as saying that he was willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release Iranian frozen funds in ⁠return for "concrete" Iranian steps ⁠regarding the nuclear program.

CNN also reported, citing an unidentified US official, that Trump was willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release frozen funds as part of a final deal ⁠on the condition that Iran offered "concrete progress" on the nuclear issue.

Trump has offered shifting goals and timelines for the Iran war that began on February 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran responded with its own strikes on Israel and other states.

US and ⁠Iranian officials ⁠spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of a renewed effort to end seven months of war, according to officials of both countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he expected a formal answer on Tuesday from the US to Tehran's proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported.

Qatari intermediaries "presented ideas, and we discussed them; they are set to raise the matter with the American side once more, after which the final US response will be conveyed to us," Araghchi said late Monday.

Iran's top diplomat, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, said "the Qataris hope this will be done by tomorrow.”

"The current focus is solely on the Strait of Hormuz, and the reopening of the strait is contingent upon the fulfilment of certain conditions that we have communicated to the other side," he added.

The Strait of Hormuz lies at the heart of the conflict between the United States and Iran.


CNN, MS NOW, Politico Ask Judge to Extend Block on White House Ban

A CNN camera sets up before President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive at the National Archives Museum, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A CNN camera sets up before President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive at the National Archives Museum, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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CNN, MS NOW, Politico Ask Judge to Extend Block on White House Ban

A CNN camera sets up before President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive at the National Archives Museum, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A CNN camera sets up before President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive at the National Archives Museum, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

CNN, MS NOW and Politico asked a federal judge late on Monday to issue a court order preserving their White House access while they fight US President Donald Trump's move to ban them over coverage he dislikes.

The news outlets asked a judge overseeing their case in Washington, DC, federal court to grant a preliminary injunction blocking Trump's bans ⁠until there is ⁠a final ruling in the case, Reuters reported.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly previously issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking the bans, finding they likely violated the news outlets' rights to fair ⁠legal treatment.

The outlets said in their September 21 lawsuit that Trump's bans were unlawful viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees free speech and free press rights.

The Justice Department said Trump lawfully banned the outlets after determining their coverage threatened national security by revealing classified information.

Trump said ⁠in ⁠a September 18 social media post that he was banning the outlets for “reporting FAKE NEWS” and that they "shouldn't be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES.”

Trump has frequently clashed with the media in his second term and personally sued outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and BBC for defamation.