Ukraine Says Russian Drones Hit Oil Refinery, Damage Railway Power Lines 

Firefighters work at an oil refinery which was hit during Russia's drone attacks in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, Ukraine November 1, 2023. (Head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration Filip Pronin/Handout via Reuters)
Firefighters work at an oil refinery which was hit during Russia's drone attacks in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, Ukraine November 1, 2023. (Head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration Filip Pronin/Handout via Reuters)
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Ukraine Says Russian Drones Hit Oil Refinery, Damage Railway Power Lines 

Firefighters work at an oil refinery which was hit during Russia's drone attacks in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, Ukraine November 1, 2023. (Head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration Filip Pronin/Handout via Reuters)
Firefighters work at an oil refinery which was hit during Russia's drone attacks in Kremenchuk, Poltava region, Ukraine November 1, 2023. (Head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration Filip Pronin/Handout via Reuters)

An overnight Russian drone attack hit and set ablaze the Kremenchuk oil refinery in central Ukraine on Wednesday and falling debris from drones that were shot down damaged railway power lines in a nearby region, officials said.

The fire at the refinery, which Moscow has targeted many times during the war and Kyiv says is not operational, was put out quickly, said Filip Pronin, head of Poltava region's military administration. The extent of the damage was not clear.

The Air Force said air defenses shot down 18 of 20 drones and a missile fired by Russia overnight before they reached their targets in an attack that sought to strike military and critical infrastructure.

"The focus of the attack was Poltava region, it was attacked in several waves," Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on national television.

Railway power lines were damaged by falling debris in central Kirovohrad region, but the damage was quickly repaired, Governor Andriy Raikovych said.

The Ukrainian military said Russia carried out another missile attack on Poltava region and southern Odesa region later on Wednesday morning, but there were no immediate reports of what was hit.

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



EU Countries Weigh Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements

TOPSHOT - Journalists, protesters and local Palestinian landowners, who say some of their land was taken for the newly built Mount Tarousa settlement (background), run from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces blocking a road leading to the hilltop during a rally against the settlement near Dura in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 19, 2026. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Journalists, protesters and local Palestinian landowners, who say some of their land was taken for the newly built Mount Tarousa settlement (background), run from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces blocking a road leading to the hilltop during a rally against the settlement near Dura in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 19, 2026. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
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EU Countries Weigh Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements

TOPSHOT - Journalists, protesters and local Palestinian landowners, who say some of their land was taken for the newly built Mount Tarousa settlement (background), run from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces blocking a road leading to the hilltop during a rally against the settlement near Dura in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 19, 2026. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Journalists, protesters and local Palestinian landowners, who say some of their land was taken for the newly built Mount Tarousa settlement (background), run from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces blocking a road leading to the hilltop during a rally against the settlement near Dura in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 19, 2026. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)

EU foreign ministers on Monday discussed imposing an import ban on products from Israeli settlements, after pressure from a raft of member states.

"Everybody agrees that the situation in the West Bank is really intolerable," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at the start of a meeting in Brussels, AFP reported.

"What is happening in the West Bank is actually making it more and more impossible that the two-state solution ever can come into effect."

Several EU countries -- including Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain -- have already imposed their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, considered illegal under international law.

Under pressure for the EU as a whole to take measures, the bloc's executive last week laid out options to curb trade with settlements, including a ban.

"There have been a lot of asks and requests from the member states regarding the ban of the trade with illegal settlements," Kallas said.

"Let's see if these options that have been provided now will have a stronger push from member states."

Diplomats said the debate at a meeting in Brussels on Monday was not expected to yield any concrete decisions, but would help to sound out if there is enough support to move forward.

The slow pace of the discussion has angered countries keen to curb trade -- with some diplomats accusing the European Commission of dragging its feet.

Belgium's foreign minister Maxime Prevot said the options laid out appeared to be more "a bone to gnaw on than a genuine desire to move forward."

"We are calling for concrete proposals," he said.

There is disagreement in Brussels as to whether that move would need backing from all 27 member states or just a weighted majority.

Diplomats say that key players Germany and Italy are still undecided on the move.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory, excluding east Jerusalem, among some three million Palestinians.

The UN chief Antonio Guterres has condemned the "relentless" expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying in a report seen by AFP last month that they are contributing to the territory's worst displacement crisis since 1967.

The EU has long been hampered by divisions over its approach towards Israel, with some members staunchly backing the country and others supporting the Palestinians.


Garbage Heap Collapse Kills 9 at India Waste Plant

This photograph taken on July 8, 2026 shows a pedestrian (C) walking amidst vehicles along a bridge in New Delhi. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
This photograph taken on July 8, 2026 shows a pedestrian (C) walking amidst vehicles along a bridge in New Delhi. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
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Garbage Heap Collapse Kills 9 at India Waste Plant

This photograph taken on July 8, 2026 shows a pedestrian (C) walking amidst vehicles along a bridge in New Delhi. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
This photograph taken on July 8, 2026 shows a pedestrian (C) walking amidst vehicles along a bridge in New Delhi. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)

Nine workers were killed at a waste-to-energy plant in western India after a garbage heap collapsed onto an administrative building following heavy rains, the facility's operator said Monday.

Building and construction accidents are common during India's June-to-September monsoon season, with old and rickety structures buckling after prolonged downpours.

The accident occurred last Wednesday at the Antony Waste plant on the outskirts of Pune, when thousands of tons of waste from a nearby landfill gave way, trapping 23 people inside the building.

"The incident, triggered by incessant rains causing thousands of tons of waste from an adjacent landfill to destabilize, severely damaged the structure where 23 personnel were present," AFP quoted the company as saying in a statement.

Nine were killed and the other 14 were rescued alive.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the rain as workers struggled to reach those buried under debris, according to plant officials.

Operations at the plant have been temporarily suspended pending structural and safety assessments.

Scientists say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in India, the world's most populous country.

The arrival of a potentially powerful El Nino weather system this year could also shift normal weather patterns in the country, weather forecasters say.


Germany Funds 50,000 Strike Drones for Ukraine, Source Says

FILE PHOTO: A serviceman of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Air Assault Forces of Ukraine prepares to launch a Hornet middle strike drone towards Russian troops from a position near a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 23, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A serviceman of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Air Assault Forces of Ukraine prepares to launch a Hornet middle strike drone towards Russian troops from a position near a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 23, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo/File Photo
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Germany Funds 50,000 Strike Drones for Ukraine, Source Says

FILE PHOTO: A serviceman of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Air Assault Forces of Ukraine prepares to launch a Hornet middle strike drone towards Russian troops from a position near a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 23, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A serviceman of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Air Assault Forces of Ukraine prepares to launch a Hornet middle strike drone towards Russian troops from a position near a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 23, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo/File Photo

Germany is funding 50,000 attack drones for Ukraine, a source familiar with the matter said, in an order that marks one of the biggest known purchases of drones for Kyiv by a Western government.

Ukraine has relied heavily on a range of unmanned vehicles during the more than four-year-old war against Russia, and it is producing millions of drones annually ‌as Ukrainian ‌forces conduct thousands of drone strikes each day, Reuters said.

The ‌attack ⁠drone order involves ⁠Shrike first-person-view (FPV) drones made by major Ukrainian manufacturer SkyFall and equipped with software from US defense technology firm Auterion designed to autonomously track and hit moving targets in the final phase of the flight.

Auterion CEO Lorenz Meier confirmed the size of the contract, adding that it was worth about €90 million ($103 million) and was funded by a European ⁠country. Meier told Reuters some of the drones ‌had already been delivered to Ukraine's government ‌with the rest due for dispatch this year.

SkyFall confirmed Germany's involvement, ‌but said the company could not comment on the details of ‌the purchase.

Germany's Defense Ministry declined to comment, citing operational security.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry also declined to comment.

SHRIKE CATCHES PENTAGON'S EYE

The Shrike, a low-cost drone that has been deployed in Ukraine since 2023, recently gained prominence overseas.

A ‌version called Shrike 10-F produced by SkyFall with UK company Skycutter recently topped the leaderboard in the ⁠first round of ⁠a Pentagon-run competition as part of a $1.1 billion initiative to buy hundreds of thousands of one-way attack drones. Auterion said its software was being used in several entries in the competition.

Meier said Auterion was helping to supply a total of 100,000 drones for Ukraine this year in partnership with different hardware makers, funded by several Western governments.

That also includes a $50 million Pentagon contract to provide 33,000 drones, which he said have been delivered to Ukraine.

Last month, Britain said it would provide 150,000 drones to Ukraine this year as part of a broader £752 million ($1.01 billion) funding package.