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EU Commission Chief Has 'Severe Pneumonia'

FILE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses a media conference at the end of an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)
FILE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses a media conference at the end of an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)
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EU Commission Chief Has 'Severe Pneumonia'

FILE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses a media conference at the end of an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)
FILE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses a media conference at the end of an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is ill with “severe pneumonia” and has canceled her appointments for the next two weeks, her office announced Friday.

According to The Associated Press, spokesman Stefan De Keersmaeker said her agenda had to be cleared of meetings in Lisbon and in Poland, which has just taken over the EU's rotating presidency of the 27-nation European Union.

“She is dealing with severe pneumonia,” De Keersmaeker said in a statement, giving no further details about her conditions or how she fell ill.

Von der Leyen, 66, only recently started her second five-year stint at the top of the EU's powerful executive office.

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Ukraine Stages Drone Attack on Russia’s Saratov Region, Causing Big Fire

In this photo released by Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, firefighters and rescuers work at the industrial side damaged after Ukrainian drones' attack in Saratov, Russia. (Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel via AP)
In this photo released by Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, firefighters and rescuers work at the industrial side damaged after Ukrainian drones' attack in Saratov, Russia. (Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel via AP)
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Ukraine Stages Drone Attack on Russia’s Saratov Region, Causing Big Fire

In this photo released by Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, firefighters and rescuers work at the industrial side damaged after Ukrainian drones' attack in Saratov, Russia. (Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel via AP)
In this photo released by Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, firefighters and rescuers work at the industrial side damaged after Ukrainian drones' attack in Saratov, Russia. (Governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin telegram channel via AP)

Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russia overnight and attacked the Saratov region, causing a major fire in the city of Engels, the local governor said on Wednesday.

The region hosts a major air base for strategic bomber planes that form part of Russia's nuclear forces. Ukraine has attacked the base with drones before, but there was no word on whether it had been targeted on this occasion.

Russian news reports said the fire was at an oil facility. Unverified videos and photos published on social media showed a large fire burning with orange flames, sending thick clouds of smoke into the night sky.

Regional governor Roman Busargin said the cities of Saratov and Engels, on opposite sides of the Volga river, had been subject to a "mass drone attack" and there was a fire at an industrial site, but that there were no known casualties.

"There are sufficient forces and resources to localize the fire," he posted on Telegram.

Russia's defense ministry said in a statement that 11 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed overnight over the Saratov region, and 21 over other parts of Russia and the Azov Sea. It did not mention any damage.

The Engels air base is located about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow and hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border. In December 2022, three Russian air force personnel were killed when a drone was shot down there.

Independent news outlet Astra said the oil depot where the fire was burning provided fuel for the air base. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm that.