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LONDON — Prince Harry claimed a monumental victory Wednesday as Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life over decades and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

News Group Newspapers offered a “full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life,” Harry’s attorney, David Sherborne, read from a statement in court.

The statement even went beyond the scope of the case to acknowledge intruding on the life of Harry’s mother, the late Princess Diana, and the impact it had on his family.

“We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages,” the settlement statement said.

His phone was hacked, and he was spied on

It was the first time News Group has acknowledged wrongdoing at The Sun, a paper that once sold millions of copies with its formula of sports, celebrities and sex — including topless women on Page 3.

Harry had vowed to take his case to trial to publicly expose the newspaper’s wrongdoing and win a court ruling upholding his claims.

In a statement read by his lawyer, Harry claimed he achieved the accountability he sought for himself and hundreds of others, including ordinary people, who were snooped on.

News Group acknowledged “phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators” aimed at Harry. News Group had strongly denied those allegations before trial.

“This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were strong-armed into settling without being able to get to the truth of what was done to them,” Sherborne said outside the High Court in London.

Wrongdoing alleged at the top

The bombshell announcement came after the trial’s start was postponed a day as last-minute settlement talks heated up outside court.

Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, and Tom Watson, a former Labour Party member of Parliament, were the only two remaining claimants out of more than 1,300 others who had settled lawsuits against News Group Newspapers over allegations their phones were hacked and investigators unlawfully intruded in their lives.

The company engaged in “perjury and cover-ups” to obscure the truth for years, deleting 30 million emails and other records, Harry and Watson said in a joint statement read by Sherborne.

“There was an extensive conspiracy,” the statement said, in which “senior executives deliberately obstructed justice.”

News Group said in a statement that it would have disputed at trial that evidence was destroyed and that it continues to deny those allegations.

While News Group had issued an unreserved apology for its wrongdoing at the shuttered News of the World, it had never done so at The Sun and had vehemently denied those allegations.

The statement read by Sherborne took aim at Rebekah Brooks, now the CEO overseeing News Group, who had been the editor at The Sun when she was acquitted at a criminal trial in a phone hacking case.

“At her trial in 2014, Rebekah Brooks said, ‘When I was editor of The Sun, we ran a clean ship,'” he said. “Ten years later when she is CEO of the company, they now admit, when she was editor of The Sun, they ran a criminal enterprise.”

News Group apologized for wrongdoing by private eyes hired by The Sun, but not for anything done by its journalists.

Two cases down, one to go

In all the cases that have been brought against the publisher since a widespread phone hacking scandal forced Murdoch to close News of the World in 2011, Harry’s case got the closest to trial.

Murdoch closed the paper after the Guardian reported that the tabloid’s reporters had in 2002 hacked the phone of Milly Dowler, a murdered 13-year-old schoolgirl, while police were searching for her.

Harry’s case against News Group was one of three he brought accusing British tabloids of violating his privacy by eavesdropping on phone messages or using private investigators to unlawfully help them score scoops.

His case against the publisher of the Daily Mirror ended in victory when the judge ruled that phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at the newspaper and its sister publications.

During that trial in 2023, Harry became the first senior member of the royal family to testify in court since the late 19th century, putting him at odds with the monarchy’s desire to keep its problems out of view.

The outcome in the News Group case raises questions about how his third case — against the publisher of the Daily Mail — will proceed. That trial is scheduled next year.

Source of a bitter feud

Harry’s feud with the press dates to his youth, when the tabloids took glee in reporting on everything from his injuries to his girlfriends to dabbling with drugs.

But his fury with the tabloids goes much deeper.

He blames the media for the death of his mother, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi in Paris. He also blames them for the persistent attacks on his wife, actor Meghan Markle, that led them to leave royal life and flee to the United States in 2020.

The litigation has been a source of friction in his family, Harry said in the documentary “Tabloids On Trial.”

He revealed in court papers that his father opposed his lawsuit. He also said his older brother, William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, had settled a private complaint against News Group that his lawyer has said was worth over 1 million pounds ($1.23 million).

“I’m doing this for my reasons,” Harry told the documentary makers, although he said he wished his family had joined him.

Harry was originally one among dozens of claimants, including actor Hugh Grant, who alleged that News Group journalists and investigators they hired violated their privacy between 1994 and 2016 by intercepting voicemails, tapping phones, bugging cars and using deception to access confidential information.
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U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the possibility of placing additional sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Asked about the prospect while speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump responded, “Sounds likely.”

Trump said his administration has been in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and would be speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon.”

He said the European Union should be “paying a lot more than they’re paying” to aid Ukraine, while falsely stating the U.S. has contributed $200 billion more than the EU.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has committed about $175 billion in aid for Ukraine. The European Union says the bloc and its member states have made about $145 billion in aid available.

Trump says Europe should be paying more because its proximity means the war has a greater effect on the EU than the United States.

“I mean, what are we, stupid? I guess the answer is yes, because they must think so,” Trump said.

He has previously complained that NATO allies are not allocating enough of their spending to defense and called for increased defense budget targets.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said during a speech Wednesday at an EU Defence Agency conference that, in terms of general defense spending, Trump is “right to say that we don’t spend enough,” and that the EU needs to invest more.

She called for the EU to provide “more, faster and stronger” support to Ukraine, saying that Ukrainians “are fighting for their freedom and ours.”

“There is absolutely no doubt that we can do more to help Ukraine,” Kallas said. “With our help, they can also win the war.”

Aerial attacks

Ukrainian officials said Wednesday the country’s air defenses shot down dozens of drones overnight, including in Mykolaiv where Governor Vitaliy Kim said falling debris damaged an apartment building and injured two people.

Officials in the Khmelnytskyi and Sumy regions also reported drones being shot down in their areas.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed six Ukrainian drones over the Rostov region, while also knocking down a drone over Kursk and another over Voronezh.

Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar said drone fragments fell in the courtyard of a house, but that no one was injured.

Ceasefire provisions

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that if a ceasefire deal were enacted with Russia, “at least 200,000 European peacekeepers” would need to be on the ground in Ukraine to defend the Eastern European country against a possible attack by Russia.

Zelenskyy said Europe must “take care of itself.” He said 200,000 peacekeepers from European countries would be the minimum number of peacekeepers required, “Otherwise, it’s nothing.”

“Let’s not forget, there is no ocean separating European countries from Russia,” Zelenskyy said in his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Ukraine’s president said Russia’s demand that Ukraine reduce its army to one-fifth of its current size of 800,000 is not an option. 

Ukraine’s best defense during a ceasefire deal, Zelenskyy said, would be its membership into NATO. 

Alliance members have declared the Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to membership, but the United States, Germany and others oppose allowing Ukraine to join while the war is ongoing for fear of sparking a wider conflict..

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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ANKARA, TURKEY — Turkey has detained nine people, including the owner of the hotel, in connection with a deadly fire that claimed the lives of 76 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in western Turkey, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said early Wednesday.

Yerlikaya also reported that the bodies of 45 victims had been handed over to their families, while DNA tests were being conducted to identify the remaining bodies at the forensic institute.

The fire occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort in the Bolu mountains.

The hotel, where the fire broke out, expressed deep sorrow in a statement on Wednesday and pledged full cooperation with the investigation.

“We are cooperating with authorities to shed light on all aspects of this incident,” the statement said. “We are deeply saddened by the losses and want you to know that we share this pain with all our hearts.”

The 12-story hotel, which had 238 registered guests, was consumed by flames after the fire started on the restaurant floor around 3:30 a.m. local time or 0030 GMT. Survivors described scenes of panic as they fled through smoke-filled corridors and jumped from windows to escape.

Authorities are facing growing criticism over the hotel’s safety measures, as survivors reported that no fire alarms went off during the incident. Guests said they had to navigate the smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.

President Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday a day of national mourning following the tragedy, which occurred during the peak of the winter tourism season, with many families from Istanbul and Ankara traveling to the Bolu mountains for skiing.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would likely impose sanctions on Russia if its president, Vladimir Putin, refuses to negotiate about ending the war in Ukraine. 

Trump gave no details on possible additional sanctions. The United States has already sanctioned Russia heavily for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 

Trump said his administration was also looking at the issue of sending weapons to Ukraine, adding his view that the European Union should be doing more to support Ukraine. 

“We’re talking to [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy; we’re going to be talking with President Putin very soon,” Trump said. “We’re going to look at it.” 

Trump said he had pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping in a call to intervene to stop the Ukraine war. 

“He’s not done very much on that. He’s got a lot of … power, like we have a lot of power. I said, ‘You ought to get it settled.’ We did discuss it.”  
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U.S. President Donald Trump pledged Tuesday to hit the European Union with tariffs, adding that a 10% duty on Chinese imports could also come as soon as February 1. 

Trump, who was speaking to reporters at the White House a day after being sworn in, cited the need to rectify the EU’s trade imbalances with the United States while taking aim once again at Beijing over fentanyl trafficking. 

“They treat us very, very badly. So they’re going to be in for tariffs,” Trump said of the EU. “You can’t get fairness unless you do that.” 

A day earlier, Trump accused the bloc of not importing enough American products, saying he would “straighten that out” by imposing duties or by urging for more oil and gas purchases. 

Regarding China, Trump on Tuesday reiterated his threat to impose a 10% tariff, saying it was “based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada.” 

When asked how soon these tariffs could be enacted, he added: “Probably February 1st is the date we’re looking at.” 

This was the same date he earlier said he could impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, accusing them of failing to stop illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking into the United States. 

Mexico, Canada and China are leading sources for goods imported by the United States, according to official trade data. 

The EU’s economy commissioner vowed this week that the bloc stands ready to defend its interests. 

Speaking at an annual meeting of global elites in Davos, Switzerland, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen declared that Europe was ready to negotiate with Trump, while maintaining that Washington remains an important partner. 

The EU’s “first priority will be to engage early, discuss common interests, and be ready to negotiate” with Trump, she said. 

“We will be pragmatic, but we will always stand by our principles, to protect our interests and uphold our values,” she said. 

On Monday, Trump vowed an immediate overhaul of the U.S. trade system, promising to “tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.” 

He signed an order directing agencies to study a range of trade issues including deficits, unfair practices and currency manipulation. 

The investigations could pave the way for further duties. 
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Geneva — United Nations agencies say the imminent U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and Paris climate agreement will have serious consequences for global health and efforts to slow down climate change.

“The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the organization,” the WHO said Tuesday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration Monday that he intends to quit the U.N. health agency.

“WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go,” it stated.

In explaining his decision, Trump accused the agency of being subject to “inappropriate political influence” from other member states.  “World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,” he said in signing an executive order Monday, hours after his inauguration.

In responding to the allegations, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told journalists at a briefing in Geneva Tuesday that the United States, which was one of the founding members of WHO in 1948, had over seven decades together with the WHO, “saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats.”

“Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication,” he said.

The United States is the WHO’s single largest donor. It contributed $1.284 billion or 18 percent of the agency’s 2022-2023 budget.

Jasaravic said the U.S. decision was not unexpected and the WHO was now analyzing the exact details of Trump’s executive order “to see how this will play out and to see what will be the consequences.”

He noted that the United States can formally leave the WHO and stop financing the organization one year after the United Nations receives official written notice of U.S. withdrawal.

He said the WHO hopes the United States will reconsider its decision and maintain the U.S.-WHO partnership “for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.”

“At the same time, we will continue to work in the world’s most difficult places,” including countries in conflict, “so we can protect the most vulnerable and be where people need us the most,” he said.

“The world lives longer, healthier, perhaps a little bit happier because of WHO, which goes to places where others cannot go, including Gaza, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Sudan,” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said in support of the beleaguered agency.

In the meantime, U.N. officials have called the U.S. decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement “a major disappointment,” noting that the world’s nations had adopted the accord because they recognized “the immense harm that climate change is already causing and the enormous opportunity that climate action presents.”

Antonio Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, said that it was “crucial that the United States remains a leader on environmental issues” in this critical decade for climate action.

The World Meteorological Organization has warned that “climate change is playing out, on an almost daily basis, through more extreme weather.”

A recent WMO report finds the last 10 years have been the hottest in recorded history, and that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with temperatures at about 1.55 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era.

“Every fraction of a degree of global warming has an impact on our economies and our lives,” Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson said, adding that “The U.S. accounts for the lion’s share of global economic losses from weather, climate and water-related hazards.”

According to the non-profit USAFacts, “nearly 40 percent of the billion-dollar climate events that have hit the U.S. since 1980 happened between 2017 and the present day.” The data-gathering organization says that “2023 had the most billion-dollar natural disaster events of any year to date.”

Nullis pointed out Tuesday that the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires are “estimated to be the most costly U.S. disaster on record.”

“Not all of these weather-related disasters, you know, have a connection with climate change.  We are not saying that…but climate change is an aggravating factor.  It is making our weather much more, much more extreme,” she said.  “So, you know, the need for the Paris Agreement is pretty obvious.”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that if a ceasefire deal were enacted with Russia, “at least 200,000 European peacekeepers” would need to be on the ground in Ukraine to defend the Eastern European country against a possible attack by Russia.  

Zelenskyy, speaking a day after Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, said Europe must “take care of itself.” He said 200,000 peacekeepers from European countries would be the minimum number of peacekeepers required, “Otherwise, it’s nothing.”  

“Let’s not forget, there is no ocean separating European countries from Russia,” Zelenskyy said in his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Ukraine’s president said Russia’s demand that Ukraine reduce its army to one-fifth of its current size of 800,000 is not an option.   

Ukraine’s best defense during a ceasefire deal, Zelenskyy said, would be its membership into NATO. While most European countries support Ukraine’s entry into the alliance, Germany and the U.S. oppose it. Hungary and Slovakia, which are pro-Russia governments, also oppose Ukraine’s entry into NATO.  

Zelenskyy also called on European nations to consider Trump’s recent call for NATO members to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP. “If it takes 5% of GDP to cover defense, then so be it, 5% it is.” Zelenskyy said Europe needs to create a united security and defense policy.   

Meanwhile, Ukraine is seeking a meeting with Trump, who had promised before the U.S. election that he would bring a swift end to the war between Russia and Ukraine if he won the American presidency. It has never been clear, though, how he would accomplish that.  

Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that Russian drone attacks damaged residential buildings in several parts of central and southern Ukraine. 

The attacks were part of an assault that Ukraine’s military said involved 131 Russian drones and four ballistic missiles. 

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 72 of the drones, the air force said. 

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysask said on Telegram that Russian attacks damaged houses and a warehouse, injuring one person. 

Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets reported Tuesday that falling drone fragments damaged four residential buildings, a school, a shop and a power line.  

Poltava Governor Filip Pronin said on Telegram that a drone fell on a house in his region, sparking a fire, while pieces of destroyed drones damaged six residential buildings. 

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it destroyed 55 Ukrainian aerial drones, mostly in regions along the Russia-Ukraine border. 

Russian air defenses knocked down 22 of the drones over Bryansk, 12 drones over Rostov and 10 over the Smolensk region, the ministry said. 

Other intercepts took place over Voronezh, Saratov and Kursk. 

Smolensk Governor Vasily Anokhin said on Telegram that drone debris damaged several residential buildings, while Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a drone attack on a car injured two people. 

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Davos, Switzerland — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen declared Tuesday that Europe was ready to negotiate with the United States and seek to improve ties with China as Beijing warned against damaging trade wars in the face of Donald Trump’s protectionism.

Trump returned to the White House on Monday, and while he may not be physically present in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos, he is the elephant in the room for the executives and leaders hobnobbing at the annual World Economic Forum.

With Beijing and Brussels facing some of the biggest risks from the return of self-professed tariff-loving Trump, China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took to the stage first at the forum.

“Protectionism leads nowhere and there are no winners in a trade war,” Ding said, without mentioning Trump directly.

Trump threatened on Monday to impose tariffs if Beijing rejects his proposal to keep Chinese-owned app TikTok online on condition that half of it is sold off.

China is taking a cautious approach to Trump and after the TikTok threat, Beijing said it hoped the United States would provide a fair business environment for Chinese firms.

After Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Trump by phone on Friday, he said he hoped for a “good start” to relations with the new US administration.

Meanwhile, von der Leyen took a conciliatory tone. She said the EU’s “first priority will be to engage early, discuss common interests and be ready to negotiate” with Trump.

“We will be pragmatic but we will always stand by our principles, to protect our interests and uphold our values,” she said.

The European Commission president also stressed that Europe “must engage constructively with China – to find solutions in our mutual interest” despite escalating trade tensions between the two.

Brussels has provoked Beijing’s ire with a raft of probes targeting state subsidies in the green tech sector, as well as slapping tariffs on Chinese electric cars.

In an apparent reference to the European Union measures, Ding warned against “erecting green barriers that could disrupt normal economic and trade cooperation.”

More trade deals

On the campaign trail, Trump said he would impose extra customs duties on allies including the EU, as well as on China.

After his inauguration, Trump raised the possibility of imposing 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Von der Leyen reiterated her commitment to free trade during her speech, pointing to recent EU deals with Switzerland, the South American bloc Mercosur and Mexico.

She also said she and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to “upgrade” their partnership.

Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, which von de Leyen defended as the “best hope for all humanity” and vowed: “Europe will stay the course.”

Ukraine is also keeping a very close eye on what Trump’s second mandate will involve.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to call on world leaders and company executives to maintain – and ramp up – their support for his country’s war against Russia.

Zelensky said on Monday he was hopeful Trump would help achieve a “just peace.”

Embattled German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also to address the Davos forum, likely his last as leader ahead of elections next month.

Also speaking on Tuesday will be conservative leader Friedrich Merz, the favorite to succeed him as chancellor.

‘Better understand’ Trump

Middle East conflicts will likewise be high on the agenda as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani speak in separate sessions during the first full day of the forum.

As a fragile ceasefire holds in the Israel-Hamas war, the WEF will host a discussion on how to improve aid delivery to the Palestinian territory of Gaza and how to kickstart the reconstruction and recovery after heavy bombardment.

Despite suggestions Trump’s return would overshadow the forum that began on the same day as his inauguration in Washington, WEF President Borge Brende said the US leader had brought fresh attention to the gathering.

“It has increased the interest in Davos because people feel they need to come together to better understand what’s on its way,” Brende told AFP in an interview.

 
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Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin had a call Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasizing the two countries’ close ties, a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president.

The two leaders have developed strong personal links that helped bring relations between Moscow and Beijing, growing even closer after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. China has become a major customer of Russian oil and gas and a source of key technologies amid sweeping Western sanctions on Moscow.

In Tuesday’s call with Xi, Putin emphasized that Russia-China relations are based on shared interests, equality and mutual benefits, noting that they “don’t depend on internal political factors and the current international environment.”

“We jointly support the development of a more just multipolar global order and work to ensure indivisible security in Eurasia and the world as a whole,” Putin told Xi in remarks carried by the Russian state TV. “Joint efforts by Russia and China play an important stabilizing role in global affairs.”

Xi similarly praised close cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, saying it helps “bring positive energy to reforming and developing the global system.”

While neither leader directly mentioned Trump in the televised fragment of their call, the timing of the conversation may signal that Putin and Xi want to coordinate their action in dialogue with the new U.S. administration.

The Chinese president had a call with Trump on Friday and expressed hope for positive ties with the U.S.

Trump had threatened to impose tariffs and other measures against China in his second term, while also hinting at ways in which the two rival powers could cooperate on issues such as regional conflicts and curbing the export of substances used in the production of fentanyl.

Putin, who is yet to talk to Trump, congratulated him on taking office in televised remarks during a video call with officials and welcomed his intention to open a dialogue with Moscow.

Trump told reporters Monday after taking office that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had told him he wanted to make a peace deal and voiced hope that Putin would follow suit. He added that Putin would be destroying Russia by failing to make a deal, pointing out Russia’s economic troubles, including high inflation.

Putin hailed Trump’s openness to dialogue as he spoke to Russia’s Security Council members shortly before the U.S. president’s inauguration.

“We hear the statements from Trump and members of his team about their desire to restore direct contact with Russia, which were halted through no fault of ours by the outgoing administration,” Putin said on Monday. “We also hear his statements about the need to do everything to prevent World War III. We certainly welcome such an approach and congratulate the U.S. president-elect on taking office.”

The Russian leader also stressed that dialogue between the two nations should be based on “equal basis and mutual respect, taking into account the important role our countries play on some key issues on the global agenda, including the strengthening of global stability and security.”

Putin also noted that Moscow is open to dialogue with the Trump administration on the conflict in Ukraine, emphasizing the need to respect Russia’s interests and adding that “the most important thing is to remove the root causes of the crisis.”

“As for the settlement of the situation, I would like to underline that its goal should not be a short truce, not some kind of respite for regrouping forces and rearmament with the aim of subsequently continuing the conflict, but a long-term peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people, all nations living in this region,” Putin said.
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Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that Russian drone attacks damaged residential buildings in several parts of central and southern Ukraine.

The attacks were part of an assault that Ukraine’s military said involved 131 Russian drones and four ballistic missiles.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 72 of the drones, the air force said.

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysask said on Telegram that Russian attacks damaged houses and a warehouse, injuring one person.

Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets reported Tuesday that falling drone fragments damaged four residential buildings, a school, a shop and a power line.

Poltava Governor Filip Pronin said on Telegram that a drone fell on a house in his region, sparking a fire, while pieces of destroyed drones damaged six residential buildings.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it destroyed 55 Ukrainian aerial drones, mostly in regions along the Russia-Ukraine border.

Russian air defenses knocked down 22 of the drones over Bryansk, 12 drones over Rostov and 10 over the Smolensk region, the ministry said.

Other intercepts took place over Voronezh, Saratov and Kursk.

Smolensk Govenror Vasily Anokhin said on Telegram that drone debris damaged several residential buildings, while Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a drone attack on a car injured two people.

Some information for this report was provided by Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

 
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