Boat off the Dhigurah island coastline with its long white sand beach lined with palm trees in the Maldives (@Didier Marti/Getty Images)
(MALDIVES) Five Italian nationals, including a mother and her daughter, died while scuba diving in a deep underwater cave in the Maldives, according to Italian and Maldivian officials, as a risky search effort attempts to recover the remaining missing divers.
The body of one of the divers has since been recovered in a cave about 200 feet deep, authorities said. The remaining four divers are believed to be inside the 200-foot-long cave, according to the Maldives National Defense Force.
Additional divers and special equipment were being sent to the area Friday for the “very dangerous, high-risk operation,” it said. The search was suspended Friday due to bad weather and the recovery operation is expected to resume on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
Maldivian presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef extended his “deepest condolences” to the people of Italy following the “tragic diving incident” in a statement on Friday. He said the search for the four remaining divers “remains our highest priority.”
Italy’s Foreign Ministry said the five Italian nationals died in a scuba diving accident. They were reported to have died “while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 meters,” it said.
“The reconstruction of the incident is still underway by the Maldivian authorities,” the ministry said.
The Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and the University of Genoa (UniGe) identified the deceased divers as Monica Montefalcone, a marine scientist and associate professor at UniGe; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, a UniGe biomedical engineering student; Muriel Oddenino, a UniGe research fellow; and marine biologist Federico Gualtieril, a recent UniGe graduate in marine biology and ecology.
The institute also identified one of the victims as diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
Montefalcone had won multiple awards for her work to study and protect the marine environment, the institute said.
The Italian ambassador from the embassy in Colombo arrived in the Maldives on Friday to meet with Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard officials, the ministry said.
The Italian Embassy in Colombo is in contact with the victims’ families and is providing assistance to 20 other Italian nationals aboard the Duke of Yoke who participated in the expedition, the ministry said.
“The vessel is awaiting an improvement in weather conditions in order to return to Malé,” the ministry said Friday.
The aftermath of Russia’s large-scale combined strike on the morning of May 14, 2026 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Danylo Dubchak/Frontliner/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Russian drone and missiles strikes killed at least seven people and left around 20 people missing, possibly trapped under rubble, amid 24 hours of intense attacks on the Ukrainian capital and other areas around the country, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram on Thursday that Russia launched 675 drones and 56 missiles into the country overnight, of which 652 drones and 41 missiles were intercepted or suppressed.
Fifteen missiles and 23 drones impacted across 24 locations, the air force said, while falling debris was reported in 18 locations. The Russian attack was still ongoing as of Thursday morning, the air force warned.
The overnight barrage followed an intense day of strikes on Wednesday, during which time the air force reported 892 Russian drones launched into the country, of which 821 failed to reach their targets.
In total, Ukraine’s air force reported at least 1,623 Russian munitions launched into the country through Wednesday and Thursday. Ukrainian officials said that at least 16 people had been killed and more than 100 injured across two days of Russian attacks.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Thursday that responders were digging through the rubble of a partially-collapsed nine-story apartment building in Kyiv’s southeastern Darnytsia district, searching for missing people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to social media that at least 20 buildings were damaged in Kyiv, including a school. “There will be a just response to all these attacks. And we need to put pressure on Moscow so that they feel the consequences of their terror there,” he wrote.
“It’s important that there be worldwide sanctions against Russia. Russia’s responsibility for the war and our sanctions pressure should work at full capacity. And it’s also very important that the world not remain silent about this terror and stand with Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged foreign leaders — including President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping — to condemn the latest strikes.
“This barbaric attack during such an important summit shows that the Russian regime poses a global threat to international security. Instead of peace and development, Moscow pursues aggression and terror,” he wrote in a post to X, referring to Trump’s ongoing visit to Beijing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sybiha wrote, “wants this war to continue in order to prolong his control and rule over Russia. There should be no illusions or wishful thinking: only pressure on Moscow can force him to stop.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported the interception of 36 Ukrainian drones overnight into Thursday. The ministry claimed to have downed 431 Ukrainian drones during the course of Wednesday.
Both Russia and Ukraine have expanded their long-range attacks exponentially over the past year, with the ongoing frontline combat grinding into a near-stalemate with little apparent hope for either side to achieve significant breakthroughs.
April saw Russia launch the most attacks of any month of the war to date, according to Ukrainian air force data. Kyiv reported facing 6,663 Russian drones and 141 missiles during the course of the month.
Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks reached a high point in March, according to data published by the Russian Defense Ministry. In that month, Moscow said its forces downed at least 7,347 Ukrainian drones.
ABC News cannot independently verify the data released by either Russia or Ukraine. It is possible that both sides may seek to exaggerate the effectiveness of their air defenses, or to amplify the attacks against them as proof that their enemies are not interested in pursuing a peace deal, experts have suggested.
Neither side provides detailed data on the scale of their own attacks or their targets, though often release statements describing the targets as military, energy or industrial sites. Both sides accuse the other of intentionally attacking civilian targets.
Ukraine’s air force publishes what it says is a daily tally of Russian drone and missile strikes, including information as to how many munitions were intercepted and how many penetrated air defenses.
Moscow, meanwhile, publishes only the number of Ukrainian drones and other projectiles it claims to have intercepted.
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
French police officers stand in front of the Louvre Museum after a robbery in Paris, France, on October 19, 2025. Robbers break into the Louvre and flee with jewelry on the morning of October 19, 2025. (Photo by Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(PARIS) — A man was arrested in France for allegedly planning a terror attack that may have sought to target the Louvre Museum in Paris, according to the French Interior Ministry and prosecutors in Paris.
Officials told ABC News the investigation began after the suspect was stopped by police in Paris on April 28, where he was allegedly driving with a forged license. Officials said the man’s phone was accessed after that traffic stop.
The Interior Ministry said the attack that was allegedly being planned would probably have targeted the museum, which is the world’s most-visited, but said the man was arrested before details of the attack had been fully formulated.
Police said the suspect also was planning an attack specifically targeting members of the Jewish community in Paris, the ministry said.
The man, a 27-year-old Tunisian national, was arrested on May 7 and was in pre-trial detention, officials said. ABC News has reached out to the man’s lawyer for comment.
An investigation was opened on Monday “on the grounds of terrorist association with the goal to commit crimes against individuals,” according to the French Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office.
Investigators accessed the suspect’s phone, officials said, and found jihadist propaganda videos, hundreds of images of firearms and knives, ISIS-related imagery used on social media and encrypted communications with overseas contacts, who are believed to be potentially linked to extremist networks.
The suspect, according to what was found on his devices, discussed knowledge of access routes into the Louvre, possible placement of explosives inside the museum and production of ricin toxin, officials said.
The man who was arrested arrived in Europe via Lampedusa, Italy, in 2022 and was residing in the Paris region without residency status, officials told ABC News.
Investigators reported to prosecutors that the suspect denied any intent to commit a crime during questioning, claiming his activities were driven by “curiosity” about ISIS ideology.
British Prime Minister and Labour leader Keir Starmer speaks to members of the media following local elections at Kingsdown Methodist Church on May 08, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with his Cabinet on Tuesday amid pressure from scores of his own Labour Party lawmakers to resign, following the party’s poor performance in last week’s local elections in which it came in second to the right-wing populist Reform Party.
Starmer met with his Cabinet at the prime minister’s Downing Street residence in London, with BBC News reporting that the prime minister said during the meeting that he refused to step aside.
The turmoil comes ahead of the King’s Speech and official opening of Parliament on Wednesday, an annual ceremonial event, during which King Charles III will set out the incumbent Labour government’s legislative agenda for the coming term.
Scores of Labour members of parliament have written to Starmer asking him to step down following last week’s local elections — as of Tuesday morning, the number was reportedly more than 81 — representing about 20% of the party’s members of the House of Commons.
But those lawmakers have not publicly backed a single potential leadership challenger, which is required to trigger a leadership contest. Starmer has said he will stand again in the event of a new leadership contest.
On Tuesday, Miatta Fahnbulleh — the minister for devolution, faith and communities — became the first government minister to resign in protest of Starmer’s continued leadership. “I urge the Prime Minister to do the right thing for the country and the Party and set a timetable for an orderly transition,” she wrote in a post to X.
Starmer has long said he intends to see out his full five-year term, which began with his party’s 2024 landslide election victory that ended 14 years of Conservative Party government and delivered Labour a historic majority in the House of Commons.
When he came to office, Starmer promised a departure from the policies of his five consecutive Conservative predecessors. But frustration with the pace and scale of reform has grown among some factions of the party during his first two years in power.
In last week’s elections, voters in England chose the leaders of their local councils and — in some cases — mayors. In Scotland and Wales, voters selected members of their devolved national parliaments.
The results were widely interpreted as a repudiation of Labour’s performance to date by British voters. The elections saw Labour lose 1,498 councillors in England and lose control of both the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, prompting immediate demands for change in Downing Street.
Labour held 1,068 councillors but were leapfrogged by the populist, anti-immigration and right-wing Reform Party — led by Nigel Farage — which emerged with 1,452 councillors, the most of any party.
On Monday, Starmer said during a speech, “I know that people are frustrated by the state of Britain, frustrated by politics and some people are frustrated with me. I know I have my doubters, and I know I need to prove them wrong, and I will.”
“We are not just facing dangerous times, but dangerous opponents, very dangerous opponents,” he said, framing Labour as the only was to prevent the country heading down a “very dark path.”
Defense Minister John Healey was among those who publicly backed the prime minister on Tuesday.
“People are worried about current conflicts and looming global crises. They expect their government to lead the country through, as the PM is doing,” he wrote on X.
“More instability is not in Britain’s interest. Our full focus now must be on dealing with immediate economic & security challenges,” Healey added.
The Hookers’ boat, “Soulmate,” is seen in Marsh Harbor on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas, April 8, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — The husband of a woman who was reported missing in the Bahamas after going overboard on a dinghy was questioned and then released by police without charges on Monday, according to his attorney.
Lynette Hooker, 55, of Michigan, has been missing for over a week. She and her husband, Brian Hooker, 58, had departed Hope Town on the Abaco Islands for their yacht, Soulmate, in Elbow Cay around 7:30 p.m. on April 4, when bad weather caused Lynette Hooker to fall overboard, her husband told authorities.
Brian Hooker was arrested on Wednesday in connection with his wife’s disappearance and interviewed by Bahamian police for approximately three hours on Friday. Police subsequently requested an extension to give them until Monday evening to make any charging decision, according to his attorney, Terrel Butler.
Butler told ABC News Monday night that Hooker is free to leave the Bahamas after being released.
She also said police have not given Hooker any updates on the search for his wife since his arrest.
Butler said Hooker is considered a suspect in his wife’s disappearance and denies any wrongdoing.
Following his initial interview on Friday, Butler said Brian Hooker was “questioned in relation to causing harm, which resulted in her death.”
“He definitely denies causing her death and he’s still asking about her and is hopeful that she will be recovered,” Butler continued, saying they have not been informed of any evidence that her body has been recovered.
The attorney said Brian Hooker is “heartbroken” over the disappearance of his wife of 25 years and that his arrest has been “traumatic.”
His arrest came after multiple sources told ABC News a criminal investigation had been opened into whether there was any wrongdoing in the case. The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the probe, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
In a statement posted to social media last Wednesday, Brian Hooker said “unpredictable seas and high winds” caused his “beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy” near Elbow Cay.
“Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus,” he said.
Brian Hooker told police that his wife was holding the boat key when she went overboard, causing the 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy’s engine to shut off, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. He subsequently paddled the boat back to shore, arriving at a marina at around 4 a.m. on April 5, and reported his wife overboard, police said.
The Hookers documented their sailing travels on social media under the name “The Sailing Hookers.”
Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has called for a “full and complete investigation” into her mother’s disappearance.
She told ABC News her stepfather, Brian Hooker, told her that her mom “fell out of the boat and that he threw a life jacket to her or something, and he doesn’t know if she got it or not.”
Lynette Hooker’s mother, Darlene Hamlett, told ABC News she hopes “we find the truth” amid the investigation and alleged the couple have had a volatile relationship.
“I just want the truth to come out and I’m hoping that they can do that, and I hope they find her and that that will help clear up all of this,” she said.
Passenger cruise ship Sky Princess leaves the French Mediterranean port of Marseille. (Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — More than 100 people have been sickened in a norovirus outbreak on board a Caribbean Princess cruise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the agency, 102 passengers and 13 crew members were reported sick so far, with symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting.
The outbreak was reported to the CDC on Thursday, during the cruise ship’s April 28 to May 11 voyage.
The ship is currently in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, headed towards Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, according to CruiseMapper. It is scheduled to arrive at Port Canaveral, Florida, on May 11.
There are 3,116 total passengers and 1,131 crew members on board the cruise ship, according to the CDC.
In response to the outbreak, the ship and crew increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, isolated people who had fallen ill and collected stool specimens for testing, the CDC said.
ABC News has reached out to Princess Cruises for comment.
Norovirus is quite common, especially on ships, and is not related in any way to the current hantavirus outbreak on board the MV Hondius cruise ship.
This is the fourth gastrointestinal illness outbreak reported on a cruise ship so far this year, according to the CDC.
(NEW YORK) — A man has been arrested for possession of an offensive weapon near the U.K. home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, police said Thursday.
The suspect, who was not named, “was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and possession of an offensive weapon,” Norfolk Police said in a statement to ABC News.
He remains in custody, according to police.
Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, lives on his brother King Charles III’s privately owned Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England.
Buckingham Palace has not commented on the arrest.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
President Donald Trump conducts a news conference in the White House briefing room about the war in Iran on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — With the war in Iran still unresolved and an energy crisis linked to it battering the global economy, here’s a timeline of the key phases of the conflict, from the start of “Operation Epic Fury” to “Project Freedom,” intended to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz.
Phase 1: Trump announces the start of combat operations in Iran
In a late-night video statement released to the nation on Feb. 28, just hours after U.S. and Israeli forces launched attacks on Iran, President Donald Trump announced that major combat operations were underway.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said.
He said that chief among the goals of the joint U.S.-Israel operations was to eliminate once and for all Iran’s ambitions to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“They’ve rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore,” said Trump, adding that after the U.S. “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025, the regime began rebuilding its nuclear program and developing long-range missiles.
In his first press briefing four days after the start of combat operations, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said, “I stand before you today with one unmistakable message about Operation Epic Fury: America is winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy.”
U.S. military officials said top government and military leaders of the Iranian regime were killed in the opening salvos of the conflict, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Hegseth said the hundreds of military targets were hit in the first hours of the operation, knocking out the IRGC’s ability to effectively communicate.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles at seven Gulf states, hitting civilian infrastructure and airports in the United Arab Emirates, residential areas in Qatar and an apartment building in Bahrain.
During the briefing, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine released the names of six U.S. service members killed in an Iranian drone strike on Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.
Phase 2: Strait of Hormuz becomes focal point of the war
As the fighting progressed, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was named the country’s new supreme leader on March 8, despite reports that he was badly injured in the attack that killed his father.
In his purported first written statement, Mojtaba Khamenei directed the IRGC to continue to limit traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime channel linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, through which 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed in 2024.
Tensions immediately escalated in the Strait of Hormuz following Mojtaba Khamenei’s directive to the IRGC. The Iranian military claimed on March 12 that it struck an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, one of three commercial ships attacked that day near the Strait of Hormuz.
The attacks came just days after President Trump posted a message on his social media platform, saying if Iran attempted to stop the flow of oil in the strait, “They will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”
On March 21, Trump gave Iran an ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all commercial vessels in 48 hours. The president posted on his social media platform that if Iran didn’t comply, “The United States will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST.”
The following day, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the U.N. International Maritime Organization, saying the strait was open to “non-hostile” vessels.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on state TV on March 25 that “Iran’s power is the Hormuz Strait.”
Phase 3: US Naval blockade and ceasefire
Trump announced on March 23 that the U.S. and Iran were discussing an end to the war, giving the first indication of diplomatic talks since the start of the war. He gave Iran a five-day extension to reopen the strait, citing progress in ongoing peace negotiations.
The next day, the Trump administration offered Iran, through intermediaries in Pakistan, a 15-point plan to end the war.
Israeli Defense Forces announced on March 26 that Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the IRGC’s navy, was “eliminated” in a strike. The IDF also claimed the strike killed the head of Iran’s naval intelligence, Behnam Rezaei.
On March 26, Trump announced that he was pausing the attack on Iran’s energy plants for 10 days until April 6 at 8 p.m. ET., saying in a social media post, “Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well.”
Trump extended Iran’s deadline again on April 5, giving Iran until April 7 to make a deal. Iran responded to Trump’s 15-point peace plan with a 10-point proposal for ending the war, but the strait remained on lockdown.
Just hours ahead of the April 7 deadline, Trump again took to social media, writing, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
That same day, Iran and the United States announced they had agreed to a two-week ceasefire that would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
But on April 8, Israel launched a heavy bombing attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon, prompting Iran to complain that Israel broke the ceasefire agreement and closed the strait again.
Vice President JD Vance then traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan, for peace talks with Iran, brokered by Pakistan. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also participated in the talks, but Vance announced on April 11 that no agreement had been reached.
With the strait still closed, President Trump on April 13 announced a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports along the strait. “We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world, because that’s what they’re doing,” Trump said.
Trump said on April 21 that the ceasefire was being extended indefinitely at the request of Pakistan, but that the naval blockade would stay in place.
Phase 4: ‘Project Freedom’
As the war dragged into May, Trump announced that the U.S. Central Command was launching “Project Freedom,” in which U.S. military ships would escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
But the launch of Project Freedom on May 3 caused an escalation of tensions in the strait.
On May 4, Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the U.S. Central Command, said the IRGC had launched missiles, drones, and small boats toward ships the U.S. was protecting in the Strait of Hormuz. Cooper said the U.S. “defeated each and every one of those threats,” and that U.S. AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and others were used to “eliminate” the Iranian attack boats.
On May 5, Trump announced a temporary pause in Project Freedom at the request of Pakistan.
In a statement on social media on May 6, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the pause “will go a long way towards advancing regional peace, stability and reconciliation during this sensitive period.”
Trump said that while Project Freedom is paused, the U.S. naval blockade is still in effect.
A man with extinguisher extinguishes a fire on car in the city center after Russian aerial attack on May 5, 2026 in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. (Photo by Oleksandr Magula/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Russia’s Defense Ministry reported a major Ukrainian drone attack overnight into Thursday morning, with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reporting that dozens of Ukrainian craft were intercepted while flying toward the capital.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram that its forces intercepted at least 427 Ukrainian drones and through Thursday morning. Moscow only publishes the number of Ukrainian drones and other projectiles it claims to have intercepted.
Sobyanin said that as of Thursday afternoon, at least 41 drones were shot down while flying toward the capital. Emergency responders, he said in posts to Telegram, were responding to several sites where falling drone debris was reported.
Ukraine’s air force said that Russia also continued its long-range attacks overnight. The air force said on Telegram that Moscow launched 102 drones into the country overnight, of which 92 were intercepted or suppressed. Eight drones impacted across six locations, the air force said.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Services said that at least four people were injured by Russian strikes in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, one other person was injured by a Russian attack in the northeastern Sumy region and seven people — among them two children — were injured in Kharkiv.
Cross-border attacks have continued despite both Kyiv and Moscow announcing their own rival temporary ceasefires.
Russian President Vladimir Putin this week announced a unilateral truce on May 8 and May 9 to coincide with annual “Victory Day” celebrations, which mark the anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
Zelenskyy then said Ukraine would observe its own 24-hour ceasefire beginning at midnight on May 5. Russia did not partake in the truce, continuing missile and drone strikes across Ukraine as well as frontline activities.
Zelenskyy said in a Wednesday statement, “We can confirm that the Russian side has derailed the ceasefire regime,” adding that Kyiv would decide on possible subsequent actions.
“Ukraine clearly stated that it would act in kind, taking into account Russia’s persistent appeals through the media and social networks asking for a ceasefire during the Moscow parade,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the planned military event in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9.
Russia’s Defense Ministry warned that it would “launch a retaliatory, massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv” if Ukraine attacked the Victory Day celebrations.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy again criticized Moscow’s continued attacks. “Russia continues killing people while being completely irrationally concerned only about a few hours of silence in one part of Moscow,” he said in a statement, referring to the May 9 celebrations.
“Ukraine will act fairly — day by day. We proposed silence beginning at midnight on May 6. Yesterday and today, this regime has been violated by Russia,” Zelenskyy added.
“In a mirror response and in reply to Russian strikes, our long-range sanctions will follow; in response to Russia’s readiness to move toward diplomacy, we will move along the path of diplomacy,” he added.
Damaged cars lie on road after Russian missile attack on May 4, 2026 in Merefa, Ukraine. Russian army fired an Iskander missile with a high-explosive warhead on a road near shops. (Photo by Liubov Yemets/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — At least one person was killed and two people were injured by an overnight Russian drone strike on a kindergarten building in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, local officials there said on Wednesday, as Moscow’s cross-border attacks continued despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s unilateral declaration of a temporary ceasefire beginning at midnight on Tuesday.
Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram that Russia launched 108 drones and three missiles into the country overnight, of which 89 drones were intercepted or suppressed. The missiles and nine drones impacted across eight locations, the air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, claimed to have downed at least 53 Ukrainian drones overnight. The ministry did not specify whether any Ukrainian drones were intercepted after the unilateral Ukrainian ceasefire came into effect at midnight on Tuesday.
Sumy was among several targets of Russia’s overnight strikes. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said in posts to Telegram that at least four people were killed and 19 people injured by Russian strikes in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, which damaged infrastructure plus administrative and residential buildings.
In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, the ministry said, two women were injured by a drone strike on a house in the southwest of the city which also sparked a fire.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service also reported a Russian drone attack on an apartment building in the southern city of Kherson.
Tuesday night’s attacks followed a major Russian missile and drone attack on several Ukrainian cities earlier in the day, in which officials said at least 28 people were killed.
Zelenskyy issued a statement on Wednesday condemning what he described as Russia’s “brutal attacks” and Moscow’s refusal to partake in the Kyiv-proposed 24-hour ceasefire.
“On all key frontline areas, assault operations are ongoing, and just since the beginning of today, the Russian army has carried out nearly 30 assault operations. More than 20 airstrikes involving over 70 aerial bombs were recorded just last night and this morning,” Zelenskyy wrote.
“During the night, the Russian army also launched attacks with various types of drones,” the Ukrainian president added.
“Ukraine has clearly stated that it will respond in kind, given the persistent Russian appeals through the media and social networks to maintain silence during the Moscow parade,” Zelenskyy wrote, referring to the planned “Victory Day” celebrations in the Russian capital planned for May 9.
Russian President Vladimir Putin this week announced a unilateral truce on May 8 and May 9. Zelenskyy then said Ukraine would mark its own 24-hour ceasefire beginning at midnight on May 5.
“Russia must end its current war. Even with the internet shut down and most Russians’ communications blocked, it’s absolutely clear that their leadership could emerge from the bunker and choose peace,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Our diplomatic proposals are on the Russian side, and the only thing needed is Russia’s willingness to move towards real peace.”
“As of today, we note that the Russian side has disrupted the ceasefire. Based on the results of our military and intelligence evening reports, we will determine our further actions,” he added.
