International Glance
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was hit by a massive strike of missiles and drones early on Sunday, shortly after its air force warned Russia might launch a hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile. Explosions reverberated through the city shortly after 1am after the air force announced a threat of an Oreshnik launch on its Telegram channel.
At least three people were injured and several residential buildings damaged across the city, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. “The capital has come under a mass ballistic missile attack,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said. “There are currently reports of at least four locations affected by the attack: Shevchenkivsky, Dniprovsky and Podilsky districts. Fires and damage to residential buildings are preliminarily reported.” Debris was on fire on the premises of a school in the city centre, Klitschko said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the use of such weapons as the Oreshnik missile “sets a global precedent for other potential aggressors”. He added in a social media post: “If Russia is allowed to destroy lives on such a scale, then no agreement will restrain other similar hatred-based regimes from aggression and strikes.
We count on a response from the world – and on a response that is not post factum, but preventive. Pressure must be put on Moscow so that it does not expand the war.”
US authorities have temporarily banned green-card holders from entering the country if they have traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days.
France has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from entering French territory, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Saturday, citing what he described as the minister’s “unacceptable actions” toward French and European citizens aboard the Global Sumud flotilla.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said continued support for Ukraine is central to the alliance’s security, as ministers discussed Kyiv’s battlefield needs and Russia’s attacks on civilians. He said Ukraine’s front line is stabilizing, praised Kyiv’s innovation in drone warfare, and said allies must keep support “substantial,” “predictable” and “sustainable.” Rutte also confirmed President Volodymyr Zelensky had been invited to NATO’s Ankara summit.
For decades, the Open Society Foundations have worked to advance justice and human rights in Africa, the Middle East and trouble spots around the world. But the OSF’s latest major investment is aimed at a crisis closer to home.
US intelligence assessed that Ukraine recaptured around 400 square kilometers of territory after Ukrainian officials disabled thousands of Starlink terminals used illegally by Russian forces. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, said the Starlink shutdown, together with middle-strike drones, helped shift battlefield momentum in Ukraine’s favor.
Following pressure from the U.S., the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations is withdrawing his bid for a vice president role at the U.N. General Assembly, and Lebanon's ambassador is taking his place, the U.N. said Thursday.
