Russian Strikes Kill 12 Across Ukraine

Rescuers work at the site of the apartment building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine March 7, 2026. (Reuters)
Rescuers work at the site of the apartment building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine March 7, 2026. (Reuters)
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Russian Strikes Kill 12 Across Ukraine

Rescuers work at the site of the apartment building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine March 7, 2026. (Reuters)
Rescuers work at the site of the apartment building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine March 7, 2026. (Reuters)

Russia fired a volley of missiles and drones across Ukraine overnight on Friday to Saturday, killing 12 people and wounding more than a dozen, including children. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched 29 missiles and 480 drones, several of which targeted energy and railway infrastructure. 

Authorities in Kharkiv, the second-largest city, said a ballistic missile strike destroyed a five-storey apartment block, killing 10 people. 

AFP reporters saw rescuers sifting through the debris, where several people were believed to be trapped. 

"Since last night, the rubble of a residential building in Kharkiv is being cleared following a Russian ballistic missile strike," Zelensky said on social media. 

The victims included two women and their two children, mayor Igor Terekhov said. 

"Russia has not abandoned its attempts to destroy Ukraine's residential and critical infrastructure," Zelensky added, urging the country's allies to continue providing military support. 

The Ukrainian leader said he informed French President Emmanuel Macron about the consequences of the attacks during a phone conversation. 

During the call, Zelensky said it was important that a 90 billion euro ($105-billion) EU aid package as well as the next round of sanctions against Russia, currently blocked by Hungary, "are implemented". 

Russia said it had carried out a "massive high-precision strike" against military targets in Ukraine. It routinely denies targeting civilian infrastructure. 

The Russian army said earlier it had intercepted over 120 Ukrainian drones overnight. 

The Moscow-installed authorities of Ukraine's occupied Kherson region said one person was killed and four were wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike. 

- Air defense supplies - 

An air raid alert was triggered during the night across the entire country. 

The Polish air force said on X it had scrambled military aircraft to protect its airspace in regions bordering Ukraine, as it usually does in the event of large-scale Russian strikes. 

One person died in Ukraine's eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk and three were wounded in the capital Kyiv, authorities said. 

In the Sumy region bordering Russia, a 24-year-old man died in his car when it was hit by a Russian drone, according to local officials. 

The drone barrages from either side follow on the heels of an exchange between Moscow and Kyiv of 500 prisoners of war each, in line with accords reached during the latest round of peace talks in Geneva. 

Negotiations appeared to have stalled amid a lack of progress and since the eruption of war in the Middle East. 

Zelensky earlier warned that a prolonged Middle East conflict could hinder deliveries of US-made air defense missiles. 

Ukraine is facing a shortage of expensive US PAC-3 air defense ammunition. 

Zelensky has offered to the United States an exchange of Ukraine's drone interceptors for the missiles. 

He has also suggested sending drone specialists to help shield Washington's Gulf allies from Iranian drones. 

A delay in US missile supplies during winter made Ukraine's civil infrastructure more vulnerable to widespread Russian airstrikes that left hundreds of thousands without heating in freezing temperatures. 



Mojtaba Khamenei Says Closure of Strait of Hormuz Should be Used as 'Leverage'

(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
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Mojtaba Khamenei Says Closure of Strait of Hormuz Should be Used as 'Leverage'

(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used.

Khamenei called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” US bases, saying promised US protection is “nothing more than a lie.”

Khamenei did not appear on camera. Israeli intelligence assessed that he was likely wounded in the war’s opening salvo, which he said also killed his wife, one of his sisters, his niece and his father, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

US President Donald Trump has promised to “finish the job,” even as Iran is “virtually destroyed.” The first week of the war cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon.

“One point I must emphasize is that, in any case, we will obtain compensation from the enemy,” Khamenei said.

“If it refuses, we will take from its assets to the extent we deem appropriate, and if that is not possible, we will destroy its assets to the same extent.”

 

 

 

 


Russia Condemns Trump Comments on 'Takeover' of Cuba

US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
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Russia Condemns Trump Comments on 'Takeover' of Cuba

US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Russia condemned on Thursday what it called blackmail and threats by US President Donald Trump to initiate a "takeover" of Cuba, a traditional ally of Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would provide all possible political and diplomatic support to Cuba and called for a diplomatic solution to the tensions with Washington, Reuters reported.

Trump said on Monday that Cuba was in "deep trouble" and that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was dealing with the issue, which may or may not be a "friendly takeover."


Trump Says Stopping a Nuclear Iran More Important than Oil Prices

US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Trump Says Stopping a Nuclear Iran More Important than Oil Prices

US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons was more important to him than controlling oil prices, Reuters reported.

"The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stopping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World," said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform.