Foreign
Russia launches massive air attacks on Ukraine’s cabinet building
Russia fired its biggest-ever aerial barrage at Ukraine early Sunday, killing two people and setting the seat of the Ukrainian government in Kyiv ablaze in an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky warned would prolong the war.
An AFP reporter saw the roof of Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers in flames and smoke billowing over the capital.
Drone strikes also damaged several high-rise buildings in Kyiv, according to emergency services.
Russia has shown no sign of halting its three-and-a-half-year invasion of Ukraine, pushing hardline demands for ending the war despite efforts by the United States to broker a peace deal.
Residents in Kyiv spoke of their frustration following the strikes.
“This is already routine for us, unfortunately,” Olga, a 30-year-old resident of a damaged building, told AFP.
The Russians first “grab the Shaheds (Iranian-designed drones), then the rockets come,” she said.
The attack on Sunday was the first to hit Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers, a sprawling government complex at the heart of Kyiv.
An AFP reporter saw helicopters dropping what appeared to be buckets of water over its roof, as emergency services rushed to the scene.
Russia, which denies targeting civilians in Ukraine, said it had struck “Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and transport infrastructure” in the attack, without mentioning the government building.
Police cordoned off the area surrounding the building, the roof and upper floors of which sustained damage.
“We will restore the buildings. But we cannot bring back lost lives. The enemy terrorises and kills our people every day throughout the country,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
Russia fired at least 810 drones and 13 missiles at Ukraine between late Saturday and early Sunday, in a new record, according to the Ukrainian air force.
Zelensky said emergency services were working across the country.
“Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have already begun long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war,” he said on Facebook.
The attack drew condemnation from European leaders, including Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
“Once again, the Kremlin is mocking diplomacy,” von der Leyen wrote on X.
Strike kills six
AFP reporters heard explosions over the capital early Sunday.
A strike on a nine-story residential building in the west of Kyiv killed at least two people, a mother and her two-month-old son, prosecutors said.
More than a dozen others were wounded in Kyiv, according to the emergency service.
Among them was a 24-year-old pregnant woman, who delivered a premature baby shortly after the attack, and doctors were fighting for her life and that of her baby, state TV Suspilne reported.
Four more died, and dozens of others were wounded in overnight strikes across the country’s east and southeast, authorities said.
The attack also killed seven horses at an equestrian club in Kyiv’s suburbs, according to Ukraine’s foreign ministry.
“The world cannot stand aside while a terrorist state takes lives—human or animal—every single day,” it wrote on X.
The barrage came after more than two dozen European countries pledged to patrol any agreement to end the war, some of whom said they were willing to deploy troops on the ground.
Kyiv insists on Western-backed security guarantees to prevent future Russian attacks, but President Vladimir Putin warns that any Western troops in Ukraine would be unacceptable and legitimate targets.
Efforts in recent weeks by US President Donald Trump to end the war have so far yielded little progress.
Meantime, on the front line in the east, Moscow continued to claim territory in costly grinding battles, capturing another village in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia occupies around 20 per cent of the country in total.
Tens of thousands have been killed in three-and-a-half years of fighting, which has forced millions from their homes and destroyed much of eastern and southern Ukraine in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.
AFP
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was extending a ceasefire with Iran to give more time for negotiations but would maintain a US naval blockade of the country’s ports.
Trump posted on social media that he would “extend the ceasefire” until Iran came up with a proposal to end the conflict. However, he “directed our military to continue the blockade.”
Trump’s ceasefire extension came hours before it was believed to be set to expire.
It also came as the White House said Vice President JD Vance would not be going to Pakistan for what had been expected to be a second round of peace talks.
“The trip to Pakistan will not be happening today. Any further updates on in-person meetings will be announced by the White House,” a White House official said in a statement.
The US president cast the breakdown in more talks as resulting from Iranian infighting, adding that Pakistan’s leaders had asked him to extend the truce.
“Based on the fact that the government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our attack on the country of Iran until their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump posted on his Truth Social site.
But the blockade of ports on Iran’s coast in the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place, Trump said, while the US military will “in all other respects, remain ready and able.”
The ceasefire, he said, will be extended “until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
US federal prosecutors said Sunday an Iranian national was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms to Sudan on behalf of Tehran.
Shamim Mafi, 44, is charged with “brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan,” US Attorney Bill Essayli wrote in an X post.
A resident of the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, Mafi “is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016,” the prosecutor said.
Mafi was arrested Saturday and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
The post was accompanied by images of a woman presumed to be Mafi surrounded by federal agents at the airport, a large drone on a tarmac, a woman’s ID image and bundles of cash.
The United Nations recently warned that Sudan is at risk of slipping into “full-scale famine and collapse,” as the war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) enters its fourth year.
The UN Sudan chief, Denise Brown, told AFP Thursday that Sudan is facing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, and weapons from outside sources deserve part of the blame.
The UN has repeatedly called on foreign powers to stop fueling the war, but has not accused specific states.
On one side, the Sudanese army has been backed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and deployed Turkish and Iranian-made drones.
However, most of the blame has been pointed at the United Arab Emirates, which denies evidence that it has funnelled arms to the RSF, who have been accused of genocide.
AFP
United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hand over its remaining stockpile of enriched uranium and abandon ambitions for a nuclear weapon, describing negotiations as being on the verge of a major breakthrough.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday before departing for Las Vegas, Trump said: “We’re very close to making a deal with Iran. We had to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon… They’ve totally agreed to that. They’ve agreed to almost everything.”
He added that Iran had consented to return its enriched uranium, which he has repeatedly called “nuclear dust”, material believed to be buried deep underground following earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust,” Trump stated. He also suggested that the next round of talks could take place over the weekend and expressed uncertainty about whether the current fragile ceasefire would need extension.
The comments come amid efforts to end six weeks of conflict in the Middle East that has disrupted global energy supplies and raised fears over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for oil exports.
However, Iran has not publicly confirmed Trump’s assertions. Multiple reports indicate that Tehran has previously pushed back against similar claims, describing them as exaggerated.
Recent direct talks in Islamabad on April 11-12 collapsed without agreement, with core disputes remaining over the future of uranium enrichment inside Iran and the removal of existing stockpiles.
The White House has been discussing a possible second round of negotiations in Pakistan, with officials expressing optimism.
A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place, adding pressure on Tehran.
Analysts caution that any final deal would require strict verification mechanisms, especially given the deeply buried nature of the material in question.
For Nigeria and other oil-producing nations, progress toward de-escalation could help stabilise crude prices, which have spiked due to fears of prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
A lasting agreement might also open the door for sanctions relief on Iran, potentially shifting global energy dynamics.
Trump has maintained that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a non-negotiable red line, while offering the prospect of broader regional stability in return for Iranian concessions.
No immediate reaction from Iranian officials was available as of press time. Further developments are expected in the coming days as diplomatic channels continue.
BREAKING: Finally, Power Minister, Adelabu resigns from Tinubu’s cabinet
Reps Begin Review of Police Trust Fund Law, Tighten Timeline for Committee Work
Iran Seizes Two Ships attempting to cross Strait of Hormuz
-
News19 hours agoHow Tinubu Sacked Finance Minister Wale Edun Weeks After Hon. Alex Mascot Exposed ‘Missing’ N1.15tr
-
News19 hours agoYul Edochie Under Attack Over Disparaging Post Against Peter Obi
-
News19 hours agoOkowa Accuses Ned Nwoko of Misleading Anioma People Over State Creation Proposal
-
Entertainment19 hours agoDavido Bags Political Appointment
-
Health19 hours agoCross River reports outbreak of Covid-19, activates response centre
-
Foreign19 hours agoTrump Extends Ceasefire To Give Iran More Time To Negotiate
-
News19 hours agoDangiwa Reacts To His Sack As Minister By Tinubu
-
News13 hours agoAdelabu ready to quit as Power Minister after meeting with Tinubu
You must be logged in to post a comment Login