Russian Attacks on Ukraine Kill Six in Second Day of Major Strikes, Kyiv Says

This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on August 26, 2024 shows rescuers working to extinguish a fire following a missile attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on August 26, 2024 shows rescuers working to extinguish a fire following a missile attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)
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Russian Attacks on Ukraine Kill Six in Second Day of Major Strikes, Kyiv Says

This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on August 26, 2024 shows rescuers working to extinguish a fire following a missile attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on August 26, 2024 shows rescuers working to extinguish a fire following a missile attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)

Russia launched missile and drone attacks targeting scores of Ukrainian regions and killing at least six people, officials said on Tuesday, a day after Moscow's biggest air attack of the war on its neighbor.

Three people were killed when a hotel was "wiped out" by a missile in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, regional officials said. Five people were injured and one person was still missing after the strike, Serhiy Lysak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region that includes Kryvyi Rih, said on Telegram.

Separately, three people were killed in drone attacks on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.

Three people were also injured in the Zaporizhzhia region and four were hurt in a missile strike on the northeastern region of Kharkiv overnight, local authorities said.  

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Ukraine would retaliate against Russia for its attacks.

He asked allies to consider joint air defense operations and provide long-range capabilities after Russia pummeled Ukrainian energy infrastructure with more than 200 missiles and drones on Monday.

During Tuesday's attack, Ukraine downed five out of 10 incoming missiles and 60 out of 81 drones, the air force said.

The Ukrainian air force lost track of 10 more drones that have likely come down somewhere on its territory, it said. One more crossed into Belarusian territory.  

The Russian defense ministry said its forces had carried out a high-precision weapon strike on Ukraine overnight, the Interfax news agency reported.  

Moscow denies targeting civilians since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, although thousands have been killed.  

Several Russian military bloggers said Moscow's attacks were an "act of retaliation" for Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russia's western Kursk region - the first such action since World War Two.

In the capital Kyiv, the military administration said air defenses had shot down all incoming targets aimed at the city. There were no casualties and two small fires caused by debris were put out by the emergency services, local authorities said.



US, Allied Countries Begin Military Exercises in Indonesia

Military personnel from Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Britain and the US, among others, take part in the opening ceremony of the Super Garuda Shield joint military exercises, at the Indonesian Naval Aviation Center in Sidoarjo, East Java, Aug. 26, 2024. (AFP)
Military personnel from Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Britain and the US, among others, take part in the opening ceremony of the Super Garuda Shield joint military exercises, at the Indonesian Naval Aviation Center in Sidoarjo, East Java, Aug. 26, 2024. (AFP)
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US, Allied Countries Begin Military Exercises in Indonesia

Military personnel from Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Britain and the US, among others, take part in the opening ceremony of the Super Garuda Shield joint military exercises, at the Indonesian Naval Aviation Center in Sidoarjo, East Java, Aug. 26, 2024. (AFP)
Military personnel from Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Britain and the US, among others, take part in the opening ceremony of the Super Garuda Shield joint military exercises, at the Indonesian Naval Aviation Center in Sidoarjo, East Java, Aug. 26, 2024. (AFP)

Thousands of military personnel from Indonesia, the US, and other allied countries began two weeks of exercises Monday, focused on ensuring stability in the Asia-Pacific.

The region, particularly in the South China Sea, has seen tensions rise this year with flashpoints between littoral states claiming sovereignty over disputed islands and waterways.

The annual exercises — known as Super Garuda Shield — started in Sidoarjo, East Java, with Indonesia deploying more than 4,400 troops to the drills.

The Indonesian military said around 1,800 US troops and several hundred from other countries will also take part.

The exercise, first held in 2007, has evolved into a “world-class joint/multinational event designed to enhance our collective capabilities,” said Major General Joseph Harris, the Commander of The Hawaii Air National Guard.

The program includes expert academic exchanges, professional development workshops, a command-and-control exercise, and field training that culminates with a live-fire event, he added.

Training will include staff and cyber exercises, airborne operations, joint strikes, an amphibious exercise, and simulated land operations.

Charles Flynn, commanding general of the US Army Pacific, said in a statement last week that the exercises would show commitment to a safe, stable and secure Indo-Pacific.

The two-week exercise, which will be held until September 6 in multiple locations across the nation, is also joined by participants from Australia, Japan, Britain, Singapore, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand and France.

Brazil, Germany, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, the Netherlands, Timor Leste, and Papua New Guinea are participating in the exercise as observer nations.