Ukraine Says it Downed Six Drones and Two Missiles During Russia’s Attack 

Ukrainian service personnel use searchlights as they search for drones in the sky over the city center during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukrainian service personnel use searchlights as they search for drones in the sky over the city center during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Says it Downed Six Drones and Two Missiles During Russia’s Attack 

Ukrainian service personnel use searchlights as they search for drones in the sky over the city center during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 9, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukrainian service personnel use searchlights as they search for drones in the sky over the city center during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 9, 2024. (Reuters)

Ukraine's air force said on Monday it shot down six out of eight Russian-launched drones and two out of three missiles during an overnight attack over four Ukrainian regions.

Kyiv authorities said an attack on the city, the fifth in September, had not done damage or caused injuries in the capital.

Russia has launched hundreds of missiles and drones to attack Ukraine in the past weeks, prompting Kyiv to reiterate to its Western allies the urgent need for air defense and long-range strike capacity to repel the attacks.

On Monday, the air defense shot down aerial targets in the Kyiv region with debris causing two fires in open areas which have since been put out, the regional authorities said.

Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, said air defense shot down two missiles there, in addition to one reconnaissance drone.

Russian shelling of the town of Nikopol in this region injured three people and killed a 16-year-old girl, Lysak said.

The governor of the central Cherkasy region said air defense destroyed one drone and debris caused a fire which has since been put out.

The energy ministry said Russian forces had also attacked energy facilities in seven regions within 24 hours. The statement did not detail the scale of damage at the facilities.



US to Leave Iran 'Pretty Quickly' and Return if Needed, Trump Tells Reuters

03 March 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the White House. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
03 March 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the White House. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
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US to Leave Iran 'Pretty Quickly' and Return if Needed, Trump Tells Reuters

03 March 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the White House. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
03 March 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the White House. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa

The United States will be "out of Iran pretty quickly" and could return for "spot hits" if needed, President Donald Trump told Reuters on Wednesday, hours before he was scheduled to make a primetime address to the nation. Trump also said he would express his disgust with NATO for what he considers the alliance's lack of support for US objectives in Iran.
He said he is "absolutely" considering an attempt to withdraw the United States from NATO, Reuters reported.

Asked when the United States would consider the Iran war over, Trump said: "I can't tell you exactly .... we're going to be out pretty quickly."

He said US action has ensured Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

"They won't have a nuclear weapon because they are incapable of that now, and then I'll leave, and I'll take everybody with me, and if we have to we'll come back to do spot hits," Trump said.


Starmer Says UK to Host Multi-nation Meeting on Hormuz Shipping

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)
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Starmer Says UK to Host Multi-nation Meeting on Hormuz Shipping

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update on the latest situation in the Middle East and how the government is supporting families at home at 10 Downing Street in London, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Frank Augstein / POOL / AFP)

Britain will this week hold a meeting of about 35 countries to discuss how to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz which has been crippled by the Middle East war, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host the discussions, Starmer told reporters during a Downing Street press conference, without specifying the day of the talks.

The meeting will "assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities", Starmer said.

"Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped," he added.

The discussions will include countries who recently signed a statement saying they were ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz", Starmer said.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands are among those to have signed it.

Iran has virtually closed the vital strait since the US-Israeli strikes that started the war on February 28, causing global oil and gas prices to soar.

A fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait in peacetime.

"I do have to level with people on this. This (reopening) will not be easy," Starmer said.

The UK leader also backed NATO following renewed criticism of the eight-decade-old alliance by US President Donald Trump.

"NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, and it has kept us safe for many decades, and we are fully committed to NATO," Starmer said.

Trump told Britain's Telegraph newspaper in an article published Wednesday that NATO was a "paper tiger".

Asked whether he would reconsider US membership, he replied: "Oh yes, I would say (it's) beyond reconsideration," the paper reported.

Last month, Trump told the Financial Times that it would be "very bad for the future of NATO" if members fail to help reopen the vital waterway.

On Tuesday, he said that countries which have not joined the war but are struggling with fuel shortages should "go get your own oil" in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the US would not help them.


France: NATO is Not Designed to Carry Out Operations in Strait of Hormuz

France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
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France: NATO is Not Designed to Carry Out Operations in Strait of Hormuz

France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
France's junior Minister for Veterans affairs Alice Rufo delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)

NATO is a military alliance that ensures the security of the Euro-atlantic area and is not designed to carry out operations in the Strait of Hormuz that would breach international law, France's junior army minister said on Wednesday.

"Let me remind you what NATO is. It is a military alliance concerned with the security of the Euro-Atlantic region. It is not designed to carry out operations in the Strait of Hormuz, which would be a breach of international law," Alice Rufo said at the War & Peace conference in Paris, Reuters reported.

US President Donald Trump said he was strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO after allies failed to back US military action against Iran, according to an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph.