Russian Air Strike Damages Ukraine’s Izmail Port, Injures Two 

Firefighters work near damaged trucks following a Russian strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a location given as Odesa region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 26, 2023. (Odesa Regional Military Administration/Handout via Reuters)
Firefighters work near damaged trucks following a Russian strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a location given as Odesa region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 26, 2023. (Odesa Regional Military Administration/Handout via Reuters)
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Russian Air Strike Damages Ukraine’s Izmail Port, Injures Two 

Firefighters work near damaged trucks following a Russian strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a location given as Odesa region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 26, 2023. (Odesa Regional Military Administration/Handout via Reuters)
Firefighters work near damaged trucks following a Russian strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a location given as Odesa region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 26, 2023. (Odesa Regional Military Administration/Handout via Reuters)

An overnight Russian air strike on the key Ukrainian grain exporting port of Izmail injured two people and damaged infrastructure, the governor of the Odesa region said on Tuesday.

A port building, storage facilities and more than 30 trucks and cars were damaged in the attack, which lasted more than two hours, Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Ukrainian military reported shooting down 26 of the 38 Iranian-made attack drones it said were launched by Russia.

Moscow has intensified its air attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Danube River, including Izmail and Reni, after it quit a grain deal in July that ensured the safe export of Ukrainian grains.

Separately on Tuesday, a Russian missile strike also damaged a local enterprise in the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

A Ukraine drone attack on Russia's Kursk resulted in power being cut off to about seven settlements in the region, the region's governor Roman Starovoyt said on Tuesday. He said there were no reports of injuries.

Earlier, Russia's defense ministry said its air defense systems had destroyed one Ukraine-launched drone over the Kursk at around 5:30 a.m. (0230 GMT). That followed reports of multiple drones being shot down over the region that borders Ukraine on Monday.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.



UN Warns Congo’s M23 Conflict Could Spark Regional War 

A pick up truck of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) patrols in Goma, on January 23, 2025. (AFP)
A pick up truck of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) patrols in Goma, on January 23, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Warns Congo’s M23 Conflict Could Spark Regional War 

A pick up truck of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) patrols in Goma, on January 23, 2025. (AFP)
A pick up truck of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) patrols in Goma, on January 23, 2025. (AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that eastern Congo's M23 conflict risks spiraling into a broader regional war, his spokesperson said in a statement, condemning the rebels' capture of another strategic town, Sake.

Fighting has flared more fiercely in Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral-rich east since the start of the year as the Tutsi-led M23 group seized control of more territory than ever before, prompting thousands more people to flee their homes.

Congo and the United Nations accuse neighboring Rwanda of fueling the three-year M23 insurgency with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda denies this.

"This offensive has a devastating toll on the civilian population and heightened the risk of a broader regional war," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday.

The Secretary-General "calls on all actors to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to put an end to all forms of support to armed groups," Dujarric said.

After seizing the town of Minova on Tuesday, M23 fighters have continued their advance, moving into the town of Sake, around 20 km (12 miles) from the provincial capital Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo.

The national army spokesman did not respond to requests for comment about the situation in Sake on Thursday, but the UN statement condemned "the recent seizure of Sake, which increases the threat to the town of Goma".

The M23 briefly managed to take over Goma during a previous rebellion in 2012, prompting international donors to cut aid to Rwanda. Even then, the rebels did not hold as much ground as they do now.