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.



Italy Summons Iranian Ambassador, Demands Release of Journalist

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested by police in Tehran, Iran on December 19, 2024, according to Italy's foreign ministry, speaks at the event called "Chora Volume 1" in Milan, Italy February 16, 2024 in this picture released by Chora Media/via REUTERS/File Photo
Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested by police in Tehran, Iran on December 19, 2024, according to Italy's foreign ministry, speaks at the event called "Chora Volume 1" in Milan, Italy February 16, 2024 in this picture released by Chora Media/via REUTERS/File Photo
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Italy Summons Iranian Ambassador, Demands Release of Journalist

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested by police in Tehran, Iran on December 19, 2024, according to Italy's foreign ministry, speaks at the event called "Chora Volume 1" in Milan, Italy February 16, 2024 in this picture released by Chora Media/via REUTERS/File Photo
Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested by police in Tehran, Iran on December 19, 2024, according to Italy's foreign ministry, speaks at the event called "Chora Volume 1" in Milan, Italy February 16, 2024 in this picture released by Chora Media/via REUTERS/File Photo

Italy's foreign ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador on Thursday to demand the immediate release of reporter Cecilia Sala, who was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19 while working under a regular journalistic visa.

The ministry said in a statement it had relayed "serious concern" over Sala's detention and stressed the need for humane treatment and respect for her human rights.

Italian media have reported that Sala is in solitary confinement in a freezing cold cell with a neon light left on night and day. Her glasses have been confiscated and she has had hardly any contact with the outside world.

The secretary general of the Italian foreign ministry, Riccardo Guariglia, demanded that embassy staff in Tehran should be allowed to visit Sala and provide her with "the comfort items that she has been denied so far", the ministry said, Reuters reported.

Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on Monday that Sala had been arrested for "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic". It gave no further information.

Sala was detained three days after an Iranian businessman, Mohammad Abedini, was arrested at Milan's Malpensa Airport on a US warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2023 attack that killed three US service members in Jordan.

Iran has denied involvement in the attack, and its foreign ministry was quoted in Iranian media as saying Abedini's arrest violated international law.

In recent years, Iran's security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies this.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to discuss Sala's case with her foreign and justice ministers later on Thursday, her office said.