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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)
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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.

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World

Russian Strikes Kill 4 in Ukraine

A damaged vehicle sits on a road, following a Russian airstrike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine, July 11, 2026 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. State of Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy Region/Handout via REUTERS
A damaged vehicle sits on a road, following a Russian airstrike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine, July 11, 2026 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. State of Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy Region/Handout via REUTERS
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Russian Strikes Kill 4 in Ukraine

A damaged vehicle sits on a road, following a Russian airstrike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine, July 11, 2026 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. State of Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy Region/Handout via REUTERS
A damaged vehicle sits on a road, following a Russian airstrike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine, July 11, 2026 in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. State of Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy Region/Handout via REUTERS

Russia fired a wave of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least four people, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.

The strikes came a day before Ukraine's allies were set to meet in Paris for talks on pressuring Russia to end its more than four-year war.

Ukraine's air defenses have come under strain from repeated Russian ballistic missile strikes in recent weeks.

The United States this week gave Ukraine permission to build US-designed Patriot air defense systems capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, but it may be months before they enter production.

Three people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, including two in a strike on an "industrial enterprise" in the city of Kryvyi Rig, regional officials said.

A separate drone attack on the southern city of Kherson killed a 48-year-old, mayor Yaroslav Shanko reported.

A Ukrainian drone struck a tanker as it was entering the Azov-Black Sea Canal, Yury Slyusar, governor of Russia's Rostov region, said on Sunday.

A vessel is seen in this screen grab taken from undated drone footage which Ukrainian authorities said showed an attack on a Russian vessel at sea, released by Ukraine's Unmanned Aerial Systems Force on July 12, 2026. Commander of Unmanned Aerial Systems Force/Handout via REUTERS

The fire caused by the attack has been brought under control and ⁠there was no ⁠risk of an oil spill because the vessel was empty, Slyusar said on messaging app Telegram, adding ⁠that there were no casualties.

The Ukrainian military has recently attacked more than 40 Russian tankers in the Sea of Azov as part of what Ukraine describes as a campaign aimed at disrupting fuel supplies ⁠to Russian ⁠forces and isolating Moscow-occupied Crimea.

Ukraine has intensified attacks on logistics and energy infrastructure in Crimea in recent weeks, contributing to fuel shortages and prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency in the peninsula.

World

Hundreds Return Home as Deadly Spain Wildfire Nears Control

Houses stand amongst a burnt landscape after a wildfire that killed at least 12 people, in Bedar, Almeria Province, on July 12, 2026. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)
Houses stand amongst a burnt landscape after a wildfire that killed at least 12 people, in Bedar, Almeria Province, on July 12, 2026. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)
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Hundreds Return Home as Deadly Spain Wildfire Nears Control

Houses stand amongst a burnt landscape after a wildfire that killed at least 12 people, in Bedar, Almeria Province, on July 12, 2026. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)
Houses stand amongst a burnt landscape after a wildfire that killed at least 12 people, in Bedar, Almeria Province, on July 12, 2026. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)

A wildfire that has killed at least 12 people in southern Spain was close to being brought under control Sunday, allowing hundreds of evacuated residents to return home as firefighters worked to fully stabilize the blaze, officials said.

Regional emergency chief Antonio Sanz said late Saturday that about 600 of the nearly 1,500 people evacuated from the fire zone in Almería province had been allowed to return after firefighters made significant progress containing the blaze.

"The attack carried out today and the stabilization of much of the perimeter have made it possible to adopt these measures and continue moving, always with the utmost caution, toward a return to normality," AFP quoted Sanz as saying in a statement issued by the regional government of Andalusia.

The improved outlook followed a day of better weather conditions with calmer winds and higher air humidity that allowed firefighters to mount a direct assault on the fire.

Justice Minister Felix Bolanos, said Saturday that crews had taken advantage of favorable wind and humidity conditions to move closer to bringing the wildfire under control.

The burned area remained at about 6,600 hectares (16,300 acres) after the fire made no further advances Saturday, he said.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is scheduled to visit the devastated area on Monday.

Burned-out vehicles still line some roads where people were trapped as the fast-moving fire swept through the area at speeds of up to 100 meters (330 feet) per minute.

Authorities have kept the death toll at 12 and cautioned that the number of missing people remains uncertain until autopsies and the identification of recovered bodies are completed.

Officials have said many of the victims could be foreign nationals.

The identification process has been slowed because collecting DNA samples from relatives has proved difficult, with family members traveling from other countries.

Despite the improving conditions, the Civil Guard police planned another search of the affected area Sunday to ensure no victims remain unaccounted for.

"The Civil Guard has entered more than 250 homes to verify that no one was inside, and it will now carry out one final sweep of the area to make a complete check that no one else remains," Virginia Barcones, secretary-general for Civil Protection, told Spain's public broadcaster Sunday.

World

India Says 10 Rescued, One Missing after Vessel Attacked Off Oman

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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India Says 10 Rescued, One Missing after Vessel Attacked Off Oman

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

India said on Sunday that 11 of its nationals were on a vessel that was struck in waters east of Oman as Iran and the United States traded fresh fire.

"Of the 11 Indian nationals on board, 10 have been rescued so far, while one Indian national is reportedly missing," the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Search-and-rescue operations were underway after the commercial vessel, GFS Galaxy, was attacked off the coast of Oman early on Sunday, the ministry statement said.

US Central Command said the vessel had been disabled by fire and damage to its engine room, accusing Tehran of attacking the ship.

British maritime agency UKMTO said the crew had abandoned the vessel and were on a lifeboat, adding that the incident occurred around 17 kilometers (10 miles) east of Oman.

The attack came as Tehran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and launched missiles and drones at Gulf countries in retaliation for new US strikes.

The Indian foreign ministry said the attacks on commercial shipping in the region were "deeply worrisome".

"The targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end," it said.

"... free and unimpeded navigation... through the international waterways in the region, in keeping with international law, must be restored at the earliest."

The fresh tensions threatened an interim agreement aimed at ending the Middle East war that began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, including one that killed former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.