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Russia and Ukraine Say Ammonia Pipeline Was Damaged, in Potential Blow to Grain Deal

Communal employees work on a site of an overnight explosion in the center of Kharkiv on June 6, 2023, following missile strike, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
Communal employees work on a site of an overnight explosion in the center of Kharkiv on June 6, 2023, following missile strike, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Russia and Ukraine Say Ammonia Pipeline Was Damaged, in Potential Blow to Grain Deal

Communal employees work on a site of an overnight explosion in the center of Kharkiv on June 6, 2023, following missile strike, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
Communal employees work on a site of an overnight explosion in the center of Kharkiv on June 6, 2023, following missile strike, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

A pipeline used to transport ammonia fertilizer from Russia via Ukraine which may be central to the future of the Black Sea grain deal has been damaged, according to both Kyiv and Moscow, potentially complicating talks around the accord.

Russia's defense ministry said a "Ukrainian sabotage group" had blown up a section of the pipeline on Monday night near the village of Masyutivka in Kharkiv region. The village is on the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian troops.

"As a result of this terrorist act, there were civilian casualties. They have been provided with necessary medical assistance," the Russian ministry said in a statement.

"At present ammonia residues are being blown out of the damaged sections of the pipeline from Ukrainian territory. There are no casualties among Russian servicemen."

Oleh Sinehubov, the governor of Ukraine's Kharkiv region gave a different version of events. He said in a statement posted on Telegram that Russian troops had shelled the pipeline.

Six Russian shells had landed near a pumping station near Masyutivka at around 5.45 pm (1445 GMT) on Tuesday, nearly 24 hours after Moscow alleged Ukraine had blown up the same pipeline, he said.

Reuters could not independently verify the Russian and Ukrainian assertions.

Resumption of supplies via the Tolyatti-Odesa pipeline, the world's longest ammonia pipeline, may be key to the renewal of the Black Sea grain export deal. The pipeline has been closed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in what it called a "special military operation".

Russia has repeatedly cast doubt on whether it will continue to renew the grain deal, brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye, which facilitates agricultural exports from Ukraine via the Black Sea.

Among the conditions for renewal that Moscow has put forward is resumption of the Togliatti-Odesa pipeline.

Moscow has said it will limit the number of ships allowed to travel to Ukraine's Pivdennyi port near Odesa under the deal until the pipeline is restarted.

In a briefing on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it would take between one and three months to repair the damaged section of the pipeline.

"The ammonia pipeline was one of the linchpins of the implementation of the agreements made in Istanbul on July 22. The (pipeline) was key to global food security," Zakharova said.

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World

Pakistan Launches Deadly Strikes in Afghanistan

Pakistani soldiers patrol the scene where a police officer was killed in the line of duty during an attack on a polio vaccination campaign team, in Chaman, Balochistan province, Pakistan, 06 February 2026. EPA/AKHTER GULFAM
Pakistani soldiers patrol the scene where a police officer was killed in the line of duty during an attack on a polio vaccination campaign team, in Chaman, Balochistan province, Pakistan, 06 February 2026. EPA/AKHTER GULFAM
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Pakistan Launches Deadly Strikes in Afghanistan

Pakistani soldiers patrol the scene where a police officer was killed in the line of duty during an attack on a polio vaccination campaign team, in Chaman, Balochistan province, Pakistan, 06 February 2026. EPA/AKHTER GULFAM
Pakistani soldiers patrol the scene where a police officer was killed in the line of duty during an attack on a polio vaccination campaign team, in Chaman, Balochistan province, Pakistan, 06 February 2026. EPA/AKHTER GULFAM

Pakistan said Sunday it launched multiple air strikes targeting militants in neighboring Afghanistan, where the government reported children were among dozens of people killed and wounded.

The overnight attacks were the most extensive since border clashes in October killed more than 70 people on both sides and wounded hundreds.

Islamabad said it hit seven sites along the border region targeting Afghanistan-based militant groups "in the aftermath of recent suicide bombing incidents in Pakistan".

The military targeted the Pakistani Taliban and its associates, as well as an affiliate of ISIS, a statement by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said.

Afghanistan's defense ministry said "dozens of innocent civilians, including women and children, were martyred and wounded" when strikes hit a madrasa and homes in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces.

An AFP journalist in Nangarhar's Bihsud district said residents from around the remote and mountainous area joined rescuers in one village, using a digger and shovels to search for bodies under the rubble.

Afghanistan's defense ministry said it will "deliver an appropriate and calculated response" to the Pakistani strikes.

The two countries have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban authorities retook control of Afghanistan in 2021.

Pakistani military action killed 70 Afghan civilians between October and December, according to the UN mission in Afghanistan.

World

Trump Says Sending Hospital Boat to Greenland

US President Donald Trump (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump (Reuters)
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Trump Says Sending Hospital Boat to Greenland

US President Donald Trump (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was sending a hospital boat to Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory that he has long coveted and threatened to seize by force.

Trump's rhetoric has ratcheted up tensions between the United States and Denmark, while putting the global spotlight on the Arctic as he insists mineral-rich Greenland is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China.

He said the boat would treat many "sick" people in Greenland, without providing any details on who he was referring to or the number of people the vessel would help.

"We are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there," Trump wrote in a social media post.

"It's on the way!!!," he added, according to AFP.

The post on his Truth Social platform carried an apparent AI image that depicted the USNS Mercy -- an 894-foot (272-meter) vessel that is typically stationed in southern California -- sailing toward snowcapped mountains on the horizon.

It was unclear if that was the actual vessel being sent to Greenland.

Trump said in the post that the ship would be sent in coordination with Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA), who was named as Trump's envoy to the Arctic island in December.

During Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans this month, Landry posted an image of himself and two men at one of the city's famous balls, holding a flag of Greenland together.

"Great to host some of the wonderful people of Greenland," he wrote.

Earlier this week Denmark's King Frederik X visited Greenland, where he has long enjoyed popularity, as anxieties mount over Trump's interest.

Trump backed off repeated threats to seize the territory last month, after striking a "framework" deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence.

World

Ukraine Strikes Ballistic Missile Producer Deep Inside Russia, Kyiv Says

Ukrainian firefighters work at the scene of a recent multiple Russian drone strike on a gas station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, 09 February 2026. (EPA)
Ukrainian firefighters work at the scene of a recent multiple Russian drone strike on a gas station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, 09 February 2026. (EPA)
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Ukraine Strikes Ballistic Missile Producer Deep Inside Russia, Kyiv Says

Ukrainian firefighters work at the scene of a recent multiple Russian drone strike on a gas station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, 09 February 2026. (EPA)
Ukrainian firefighters work at the scene of a recent multiple Russian drone strike on a gas station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, 09 February 2026. (EPA)

Ukraine hit a Russian plant manufacturing ballistic missiles in a missile strike in the remote Udmurtia region, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Saturday.

Ukraine said its forces attacked the plant manufacturing Russian missiles, including the short-range Iskander and intercontinental Topol-M, in Votkinsk, east of Moscow and about 1,400 km (800 miles) from Ukraine.

It said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that the Ukrainian forces used ‌domestically produced ground-launched ‌Flamingo cruise missiles. The attack caused ‌a fire ⁠on the site, ⁠the Ukrainian military said.

Alexander Brechalov, the governor of the Udmurtia region in Russia, had earlier said a site there had been attacked overnight with drones.

"There has been damage and injuries as a result," Brechalov said in a video posted on the Telegram ⁠app. He provided no other details.

The airport ‌in Udmurtia's main city, ‌Izhevsk, and those in cities in nearby regions suspended ‌operations, the civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said.

The unofficial Russian ‌Telegram channel SHOT, which often quotes contacts in the security services, said residents in Votkinsk reported hearing at least three explosions and the humming of drones.

Russia uses its ballistic ‌missiles to reinforce its drone attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, knocking out electricity ⁠and heating ⁠supplies for millions across Ukraine during the cold winter months.

Ukraine is increasingly targeting military and energy infrastructure deep inside Russia. Kyiv says that hitting the weapons producers and the energy system that fuels Russia's military is the best way to gain leverage over its bigger enemy as the war enters its fifth year next week.

The Ukrainian military said it also hit a gas processing plant in the Russian Samara region. Russian officials in the Samara region issued no report of such an attack.