Russian Forces Capture 2 More Settlements in Eastern Ukraine

05 November 2024, Ukraine, Tschernihiw: erman Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (C) visits a command post with Lieutenant General Serhij Dejneko, head of the National Border Guard Service. Photo: Jörg Blank/dpa
05 November 2024, Ukraine, Tschernihiw: erman Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (C) visits a command post with Lieutenant General Serhij Dejneko, head of the National Border Guard Service. Photo: Jörg Blank/dpa
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Russian Forces Capture 2 More Settlements in Eastern Ukraine

05 November 2024, Ukraine, Tschernihiw: erman Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (C) visits a command post with Lieutenant General Serhij Dejneko, head of the National Border Guard Service. Photo: Jörg Blank/dpa
05 November 2024, Ukraine, Tschernihiw: erman Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (C) visits a command post with Lieutenant General Serhij Dejneko, head of the National Border Guard Service. Photo: Jörg Blank/dpa

Russian forces have captured two more settlements in eastern Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday, citing the Defense Ministry.

They named the settlements as Maksymivka and Antonivka.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report.

Ukraine's air defense units destroyed 38 out of 63 Russian drones overnight, Ukraine's air force said on Wednesday.

Another 22 Russian drones were lost over the Ukrainian territory and its airspace, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app, without providing further detail.

The air force has said before that lost drones are usually intercepted by electronic warfare.

The attack on energy infrastructure in the southern region of Mykolaiv cut power to some consumers and the repair work was ongoing, the regional authorities said.

Kyiv regional authorities also said that drone debris caused a fire in an open area without dealing damage to critical infrastructure.

The air force reported that Russia launched two missiles on the southern Odesa region late on Tuesday. The local authorities did not provide any additional details on damage there as of Wednesday morning.



Manchester Bombing Survivors Awarded Damages for Harassment by Conspiracy Theorist

Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, speaks to media outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the trial of his lawsuit against Richard D. Hall for alleged harassment, in London, Britain July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin/File Photo
Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, speaks to media outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the trial of his lawsuit against Richard D. Hall for alleged harassment, in London, Britain July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin/File Photo
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Manchester Bombing Survivors Awarded Damages for Harassment by Conspiracy Theorist

Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, speaks to media outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the trial of his lawsuit against Richard D. Hall for alleged harassment, in London, Britain July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin/File Photo
Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, speaks to media outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the trial of his lawsuit against Richard D. Hall for alleged harassment, in London, Britain July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin/File Photo

Two survivors of a bombing that killed 22 people at the close of an Ariana Grande concert seven years ago were on Friday awarded 45,000 pounds ($58,184) in damages after successfully suing a conspiracy theorist who claimed the attack was staged.

Martin Hibbert was paralysed from the waist down and his daughter Eve, then 14, suffered a catastrophic brain injury in the bombing at Manchester Arena in northern England in 2017, Reuters reported.

They sued Richard Hall – a self-styled journalist who claimed without evidence that the attack was orchestrated by British government agencies – for harassment.

Their case bears some similarities to defamation lawsuits brought against US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones by relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.

Judge Karen Steyn ruled last month that Hall's conduct in publishing a book and videos about the Manchester Arena bombing and filming Eve Hibbert and her mother outside their house in 2019 amounted to harassment.

The judge awarded Martin and Eve Hibbert a total of 45,000 pounds following a further hearing on Friday, British media reported.