Ukraine and Russia Trade Overnight Drone Strikes, Officials Say

Smoke rises above the city after a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 10 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
Smoke rises above the city after a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 10 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
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Ukraine and Russia Trade Overnight Drone Strikes, Officials Say

Smoke rises above the city after a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 10 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
Smoke rises above the city after a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 10 June 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)

Ukraine and Russia exchanged overnight drone strikes into early Friday, with Ukraine targeting a major oil processing and petrochemical region while Russia attacked railway stations and electrical substations. 

Ukraine's strikes hit an apartment block in Russia's central Tatarstan injuring three, and Russia's attack in Ukraine's Sumy region killed a railway worker, officials said. 

The strikes follow large air attacks by Russia on Ukraine in recent weeks, while Kyiv has ‌intensified long-range ‌drone strikes on Russian oil facilities, leading to shortages of ‌fuel in ⁠Crimea and elsewhere. 

Industrial ⁠facilities in Tatarstan were targeted, regional head Rustam Minnikhanov said on the Telegram messaging app. Regional city Nizhnekamsk will cancel public events on Friday amid the threat of drone attacks, its mayor, Radmir Belyayev, also said. 

The country marks Russia Day on June 12 with a national holiday. 

Belyayev did not mention damage caused by drones. Several major industrial facilities are located in the area, including a petrochemical ⁠plant of Sibur's Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Tatneft's oil refinery TANECO. 

Togliatti, a ‌city on the Volga River some 800 ‌km (500 miles) southeast of Moscow and home to Russia's biggest automaker Avtovaz, has also ‌come under drone attack, the regional governor said. 

Separately, two people were killed ‌and another 10 injured in a Ukraine attack on Russia's border region of Bryansk, Acting Regional Governor Yegor Kovalchuk said late on Thursday. 

Russia downed 231 Ukrainian drones overnight, news agencies reported, citing Russia's defense ministry. 

Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians. 

RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE ‌IN UKRAINE UNDER ATTACK 

Russian drones attacked railway stations, electrical signaling posts and substations in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, killing ⁠a railway worker, ⁠the chief executive of Ukraine's state railway Ukrzaliznytsia said on Friday. 

CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi also said another railway worker was injured. The attack followed an overnight one on Thursday when a railway worker was killed and four injured in an attack on the town of Konotop, also in the Sumy region. 

Ukraine's air force said Russia had launched 117 drones since 6 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on Thursday, with air defense units downing or neutralizing 102 of them. 

Three people were injured in a drone attack in the southern city of Mykolaiv overnight, local authorities said on Telegram, reporting damage to 14 private buildings. Another drone attack early on Friday injured a man, they said. 

Reuters could not independently confirm the reports. 



UK PM Starmer Says He Has Not Lost Authority, Will Fight to Stay in Job

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during the Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Britain, June 10, 2026. (House of Commons/Handout via Reuters)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during the Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Britain, June 10, 2026. (House of Commons/Handout via Reuters)
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UK PM Starmer Says He Has Not Lost Authority, Will Fight to Stay in Job

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during the Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Britain, June 10, 2026. (House of Commons/Handout via Reuters)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during the Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Britain, June 10, 2026. (House of Commons/Handout via Reuters)

British Prime ‌Minister Keir Starmer on Friday rejected the idea that he had lost authority in his role, and said he would fight to keep his job, adding that anyone who wanted to replace him would have to deal with the same financial constraints.

The comments come a day after defense minister John Healey delivered a fresh blow to the prime minister's already weakened leadership ‌by quitting ‌and accusing Starmer of being ‌unable ⁠to commit the resources ⁠needed to keep the country safe, in a dig at the authority the PM has over his ministers.

"I'm not going to walk away," Starmer told the BBC, making his first public comments since Healey's shock resignation.

With rivals ⁠expected to launch a contest ‌to replace him ‌in the coming weeks or months, Starmer said he would ‌fight any challenge to his role.

"Let me ‌just be clear with you, that's not about personal vanity, it's not about stubbornness, it's out of a very deep sense of duty. I was ‌elected to serve this country, notwithstanding the difficult circumstances. That is what I ⁠am doing," ⁠he said.

Starmer rejected Healey's criticism, saying defense and security were his top priorities and would remain so every time the government had to make spending decisions in the future.

He said he had already made "hard-edged" choices to cut other departments' budgets in order to put more money towards defense investment.

"Whoever is prime minister is going to face the same prevailing winds as I am facing. None of that is going to change," Starmer said.


US-Iran Deal 'Never Been Closer', Says Iranian FM

27 April 2026, Russia, Saint Petersburg:  Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives for a meeting in Saint Petersburg. (Kremlin/dpa)
27 April 2026, Russia, Saint Petersburg: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives for a meeting in Saint Petersburg. (Kremlin/dpa)
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US-Iran Deal 'Never Been Closer', Says Iranian FM

27 April 2026, Russia, Saint Petersburg:  Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives for a meeting in Saint Petersburg. (Kremlin/dpa)
27 April 2026, Russia, Saint Petersburg: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives for a meeting in Saint Petersburg. (Kremlin/dpa)

The United States and Iran have "never been closer" to a deal on ending the war in the Middle East, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday.

"The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer," Araghchi wrote on X, referring to the Pakistani capital which hosted previous US-Iran talks.

"Pending its finalization, the media should refrain from entering speculation about its content," he added, after purported details of the accord were published by Iranian media.

"In line with our responsible and transparent approach, all details will be shared with the public in due course," Araghchi added.

Expectations have grown in recent days that the two sides are on the verge of an accord, even if tensions and sticking points remain.

US President Donald Trump had earlier lashed out at the leaks in Iranian media, saying on Truth Social "they have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing".


Putin Says Ukraine Drone Strikes Aim to Divide Russians

 Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with participants of the special military operation at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Friday, June 12, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with participants of the special military operation at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Friday, June 12, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Putin Says Ukraine Drone Strikes Aim to Divide Russians

 Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with participants of the special military operation at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Friday, June 12, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with participants of the special military operation at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Friday, June 12, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Ukraine's increasing drone strikes on Russia aimed to "sow confusion" and damage the country's economy.

Ukraine has hit ever deeper into Russia in recent months, regularly hitting oil refineries and export hubs.

"Their goal is to create a split in Russian society, sow confusion and inflict economic damage," Putin told Russian soldiers in a Kremlin meeting.

"But they will not succeed," he added.

The comments came hours after Kyiv said it hit a major oil refinery over 1,000 kilometers (around 620 miles) from the front line.

Putin admitted that Ukrainian strikes had caused "economic damage" but claimed that "everything is quickly restored".

It has been difficult to assess just how damaging the strikes on Russian energy infrastructure have been.

Ukraine has called the strikes fair retaliation for Russia's daily barrage of drones and missiles sent to Ukrainian towns and cities.

Putin said Moscow must improve its air defenses, in the second such call this month.

The Russian leader compared the West to 19th century French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and 20th century German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler -- who both tried to take Russian territory -- and praised Russian assault groups for "coming in, taking control and securing territory for Russia."

Putin recently rejected the prospect of face-to-face talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to end more than four years of war.