Global Pulse

分类： world

  • Russia says it helped to repel Niger attempted coup

    Russia says it helped to repel Niger attempted coup

    In the early hours of Saturday, the capital city of Niger, Niamey, was rocked by the sound of explosions and sustained gunfire as an attempted coup unfolded. Key strategic sites, including the presidential palace and a major military airbase, found themselves at the center of the violence. Within hours, the ruling government of Niger announced that the rebellion had been successfully put down. On Sunday, Russia’s foreign ministry made a public confirmation that its military personnel, part of the African Corps under the Russian Ministry of Defence, played a direct role in assisting Nigerien forces to quash the uprising.

    Moscow further stated that it will maintain its security support for Niger in the country’s ongoing campaign against extremist groups, and emphasized that full control of the situation has now been restored to the legitimate government led by President Gen Abdourahmane Tiani. Over recent years, Russia’s African Corps has emerged as a critical security ally for a number of military-led administrations across the Sahel region, where governments have faced persistent challenges in containing years-long jihadist insurgencies.

    The Alliance of Sahel States, a regional bloc made up of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, has condemned the attempted coup, labeling it as a destabilizing act of betrayal carried out by a rogue faction of soldiers. As of Sunday, Niger’s authorities have not released details on the size of the mutinous faction or the number of casualties sustained during the violence. Gen Tiani, who took power last year after ousting the country’s democratically elected leader and was sworn in as president shortly after, has yet to make any public statement addressing the coup attempt.

    Footage broadcast on Niger’s state television showed multiple alleged mutineers in custody of the country’s Presidential Guard, confirming that a number of arrests have been made. According to Niger Press Agency, commercial activity across Niamey had returned to normal by Sunday, with petrol stations, retail shops and other businesses resuming operations after the unrest. Public gatherings in central Niamey also saw dozens of government supporters rallying to back the country’s security forces and Tiani’s administration.

    The site of the initial attack, Air Base 101, is integrated into the Diori Hamani international airport complex. The base hosts Nigerien military aircraft and drone fleets, as well as a counter-terrorism unit operated by the Alliance of Sahel States. Multiple international military contingents, including Russian and Italian personnel, are also stationed at the facility, Reuters reporting confirms.

    All three members of the Alliance of Sahel States — Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso — are currently under military rule. In recent years, all three nations have cut security and diplomatic ties with Western partners and significantly deepened their political and military cooperation with Moscow. Despite this strategic shift, large-scale jihadist violence remains rampant across all three countries, with insurgent groups carrying out regular attacks on civilian and military targets.

    Saturday’s mutiny lays bare the multiple challenges facing Tiani’s government: beyond the persistent external threat of jihadist insurgency, the administration now faces clear evidence of discontent within its own military ranks. Notably, Air Base 101, the site where the mutiny began, has already been targeted twice by jihadist groups this year alone — first by an affiliate of the Islamic State, and later by a faction linked to al-Qaeda.

    In the wake of the failed coup, Nigerien security officials have confirmed that they have stepped up patrols across key strategic sites in Niamey, including the main entrance to Diori Hamani Airport and the presidential pavilion, to prevent further unrest.

  • AP Exclusive: US coaches Polish forces in a drone-focused drill based on lessons from Ukraine

    AP Exclusive: US coaches Polish forces in a drone-focused drill based on lessons from Ukraine

    Deep in the Bavarian alpine countryside of southern Germany, under a rain-soaked, moonless sky, a team of Polish special forces slipped out of a dilapidated mock church structure on Friday. Silently advancing toward the distant tree line, with rugged hills rising behind them, the unit began the first ever Ukraine-inspired special operations exercise hosted by U.S. Army Green Berets for a NATO ally.

    Developed just months ago and modeled directly on the real-world combat challenges Ukrainian forces have faced in their 4.5-year war against Russian invasion, the drill is designed to test elite troops’ ability to infiltrate enemy lines, cross hundreds of kilometers of contested territory, and execute a precision drone strike on a high-value enemy target. Originally created for U.S. special operations units, this exercise has only been run twice before in 2025, both times by separate Green Beret teams, making Poland’s participation a landmark step for NATO collective military training.

    The Associated Press was granted rare, unrestricted access to the 3,000-square-kilometer training complex at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center Hohenfels, located roughly an hour southeast of Nuremberg. The multi-day scenario places Polish special forces against a U.S. Army airborne infantry unit cast in the role of enemy forces, which parachuted into the restricted training area to establish a fortified front line. If Polish troops successfully slip past the defensive line, they must traverse 100 kilometers of mixed terrain—including working German farms, populated villages, private and government surveillance cameras, and a mid-sized civilian town—to reach a second training site in Grafenwoehr, where they will destroy a simulated strategic target.

    Every element of the drill is designed to replicate the risks of operating behind enemy lines, just as Ukrainian forces do in Russian-occupied territory. Unaware local German civilians act as an unscripted test of the special forces’ ability to blend into civilian populations: if troops are spotted and residents report suspicious activity to police, that intelligence is passed to opposing forces to track down the infiltrating team. “This is supposed to be Russia, and you’re going to stand out in Russia,” a senior enlisted special operations instructor told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity per U.S. military policy that prohibits public identification of special forces personnel. In prior iterations of the exercise, Green Beret trainees removed their military uniforms specifically to practice blending into civilian areas without being spotted.

    Opposing forces also deploy a fleet of more than 100 surveillance drones to hunt for the infiltrating team. If the Polish unit is detected, the scenario assumes that the full “Russian arsenal” would target their position, and opposing forces can dispatch canine-trained military police patrols or redirect additional drones to intercept the team, with troops marked as captured or killed if caught, just as in live combat.

    U.S. instructors emphasize that every aspect of the exercise draws directly on combat lessons emerging from the war in Ukraine. “We’re using lessons learned from Ukraine,” a Green Beret officer assigned to the training complex explained. “All of those effects that we’re seeing either Russia or Ukraine having to overcome — we’re doing our best to replicate.”

    The drill shines a spotlight on a growing push across U.S. and NATO military circles to adapt to modern drone warfare tactics, which have been pioneered and refined by Ukrainian forces throughout their defense against Russia. It also underscores the deepening military collaboration between the U.S., NATO allies, and Ukraine to prepare for potential future Russian aggression, even as the Trump administration’s ongoing force review for European deployments has created uncertainty around future U.S. troop levels, with repeated signals of potential drawdowns. Just this week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to issue a formal warning to Russian leadership against any direct military attack on NATO territory, The Wall Street Journal reported.

    Three Western officials, speaking anonymously Friday to discuss sensitive intelligence, confirmed that while Russian leadership seeks to avoid open direct confrontation with NATO, Moscow maintains the capability and intent to carry out large-scale sabotage and cyberattacks against NATO member states. This heightened tension has spurred growing interest across the alliance in Ukraine’s battlefield expertise. Training organizers told the AP they expect to run the exercise several times annually, and anticipate that most, if not all, of NATO’s 32 member states will request to send special forces units to train.

    Interest in Ukraine’s drone warfare knowledge extends far beyond NATO: In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that his country was already assisting five nations in the Middle East and Gulf region countering Iranian drone attacks, while multiple U.S. and European countries have also requested Ukrainian support for modernizing their own military tactics. The need for this updated training has been underscored by a recent rise in mysterious drone incursions across Europe: earlier this month, two unidentified drones were spotted over a German military base, and an explosive-laden drone was recovered at a major German cargo airport.

    Despite broad consensus on the value of modern drone warfare training, the message around alliance collaboration has been muddled in recent weeks. President Trump’s repeated shifts on plans for drawing down U.S. troops in Europe have sown confusion among NATO allies, and last week the U.S. Army’s top leadership disbanded a specialized elite drone warfare unit, a move that has sparked debate among military planners.

  • At least seven die in ferry capsize off Northern Cyprus; 23 missing

    At least seven die in ferry capsize off Northern Cyprus; 23 missing

    A devastating maritime disaster has unfolded off the coast of Northern Cyprus, where a passenger ferry carrying hundreds of people capsized and sank on Sunday, leaving at least seven dead and 23 others unaccounted for as multi-agency rescue teams continue search operations, local and Turkish officials have confirmed.

    The ill-fated vessel departed from the Northern Cypriot port of Kyrenia (Girne in Turkish) bound for the Turkish mainland port of Tasucu, and overturned just 6.5 kilometers (four miles) from shore mere minutes after setting sail. By the evening, the ferry had settled completely on the seabed at a depth of 514 meters (1,686 feet), according to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Transport Minister Erhan Arikli.

    Investigators have not yet confirmed the root cause of the disaster, but one rescued passenger has given a chilling firsthand account of an explosion moments before the ferry capsized. The 50-something unnamed survivor, who spent 90 minutes adrift in open water before being pulled out, told local TRNC television that a blast erupted in the bow of the vessel before it rolled over. “The front part exploded, they tried to turn around. And the side windows blew out. The boat starting taking on water,” he recalled. He added that many passengers were trapped below decks as water rushed in, and claimed the ship’s captain was among the first to abandon the vessel without coordinating an evacuation. Photographs broadcast on Turkish television showed survivors clinging to the upturned orange hull of the ferry while waiting for rescue, all wearing life vests.

    Official counts confirm the ferry was carrying 267 people in total. As of the latest update, 172 people have been rescued from the water. Of those survivors, 161 have been transported to local hospitals for evaluation and treatment, while 76 have already been released and returned to their families, Arikli told Turkish public broadcaster TRT.

    A large-scale rescue operation has been mobilized in response to the incident, drawing resources from both Northern Cyprus and Turkey. Private civilian boats were first on the scene to pull survivors from the water, and they have been joined by six Turkish naval vessels, a military helicopter and additional emergency response teams. Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz confirmed via the social platform X that Ankara is providing all necessary support for search and rescue efforts. “All necessary preparations are being made for a swift response from rescue and health services,” the TRNC’s health ministry said in a statement, adding that all hospitals across the territory had been placed on high alert to receive casualties.

    Addressing the disaster during a public appearance on Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said search efforts for the 23 missing people were continuing nonstop. “We hope to receive positive news from these efforts,” he added. Erdogan is scheduled to travel to Northern Cyprus on Monday for a pre-planned meeting with newly elected TRNC President Tufan Erhurmann, in what will be his first visit to the territory since 2023.

    The TRNC, a self-declared independent state that controls the northern third of divided Cyprus, is recognized only by Turkey. The island has been split since 1974, when Turkish forces occupied the northern region in response to a Greek Cypriot coup backed by Athens that aimed to unite the island with Greece. Today, regular sea and air routes connect the TRNC directly to Turkey, the only country that maintains formal diplomatic relations with the territory.

  • Saved by a lunch break: Nepal floods destroyed many schools, but students at this school survived

    Saved by a lunch break: Nepal floods destroyed many schools, but students at this school survived

    DHADING, Nepal — When catastrophic flash floods roared through central Nepal last Wednesday, the small mountain district of Dhading stood among the hardest-hit regions. What could have been a devastating tragedy for a local school, however, turned into a story of extraordinary luck and quick thinking, as nearly all of its students escaped the rising waters unharmed.

    For the group of children who survived, a routine daily break proved to be the difference between life and death. The first group of pupils had already left their classroom for lunch when the floodwaters began approaching the school grounds. Other students, still seated in their classrooms, were ushered out immediately by alert teachers who spotted the oncoming disaster, ordering pupils to abandon their personal belongings and evacuate to higher ground immediately.

    “The teachers told them, ‘There is a flood, leave your bags and lunch boxes behind,’” recalled Lakshmi Shrestha, mother of one student at the school. “That quick decision is the only reason our children are alive today.”

    Four days after the flood struck, Shrestha joined dozens of other grieving but relieved parents and children as they returned to the destroyed school compound on Sunday, sifting through the mud and wreckage to recover what little could be saved. Family representatives confirmed that the vast majority of the school’s students survived the disaster, a small miracle amid widespread loss of life across the country.

    Walking through the destroyed campus leaves no doubt of the flood’s power. Thick layers of muddy brown and gray sediment coat every surface: wooden classroom benches, concrete walls, and waterlogged notebooks alike. The open school courtyard is completely filled with silt and debris, and dark water lines streaked across interior walls show how rapidly the floodwaters rose, reaching several meters high in mere minutes. Small mud-caked backpacks, many still strung with colorful key chains that hint at their young owners, are piled across benches and floors, waiting to be claimed by their families.

    Even for parents who left empty-handed, the survival of their children outweighs any material loss. Kopila Mizar, another mother whose child escaped unharmed, could not locate her son’s backpack during Sunday’s search, but she remained upbeat about the outcome. “My son is alive, that is my biggest happiness,” she said simply.

    This small school is far from the only educational institution impacted by the disaster. According to global nonprofit Save the Children, at least 69 schools across Nepal’s flood-ravaged districts have been fully destroyed or severely damaged, disrupting access to education for nearly 19,000 children. The organization warned that this number is almost certain to rise in coming days, as rescue and recovery teams reach more remote cut-off communities that have been unreachable since the floods hit.

    In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the Nepali government ordered all schools and universities across affected regions to close for three days, pausing all scheduled university examinations as well. With national weather services continuing to issue flood warnings urging communities to evacuate to higher, safer ground, it remains unclear when normal classes will be able to resume across the hardest-hit areas.

    As of Sunday, Nepal’s national disaster management agency confirmed that the national death toll from the floods and accompanying landslides has climbed to 788, with an additional 2,502 people still reported missing across the country. Across the border in southern Tibet, Chinese authorities have reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing. Among the missing are hundreds of citizens from more than a dozen countries, who were in the Himalayan region for work, trekking, or pilgrimage to a sacred mountain peak. Chinese state media confirmed Sunday that 261 foreigners are currently missing in Tibet, including more than 100 Nepali citizens and dozens of people from other nations around the world.

  • At least six die in ferry capsize off Northern Cyprus

    At least six die in ferry capsize off Northern Cyprus

    A passenger ferry carrying hundreds of people capsized shortly after leaving the Northern Cypriot port of Kyrenia early Sunday, leaving at least six passengers dead and triggering a large-scale cross-border search and rescue operation between Turkey and the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

    Preliminary casualty figures shared with Turkish media by Unal Ustel, prime minister of the TRNC, confirm six fatalities so far. Ustel told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu News Agency that the vessel was carrying 267 total passengers and crew when it overturned almost immediately after departing for the southern Turkish port of Tasucu. As of Sunday afternoon, 172 people had been pulled from the Mediterranean waters alive, with rescue teams continuing efforts to locate and evacuate the remaining people on board.

    Ali Murat Basceri, Turkey’s ambassador to Nicosia, independently confirmed the deaths in an interview with Turkish public broadcaster TRT, though he declined to share a specific toll. In his remarks, Basceri noted that the large majority of the 259 recorded passengers had already been pulled from the water by rescue teams.

    Footage broadcast across multiple Turkish television outlets on Sunday shows the fully overturned ferry floating off the coast, with dozens of survivors clinging to the orange inverted hull while wearing life vests. Multiple civilian and official rescue vessels were deployed to the scene, with witnesses reporting calm, sunny conditions at the time of the incident. As of Sunday, officials have not released any details on what caused the vessel to capsize.

    The TRNC, a self-declared state that controls the northern third of divided Cyprus, is recognized exclusively by the international community by Turkey. The island has been split along political lines since 1974, when Turkey deployed military forces to northern Cyprus in response to a Greek nationalist coup backed by the Athens government that sought to annex the entire island to Greece. Today, regular air and sea passenger routes connect the TRNC directly to Turkey.

    Local emergency authorities have activated full response protocols to handle the disaster. “All necessary preparations are being made for a swift response from rescue and health services,” the TRNC Ministry of Health said in an official statement Sunday, adding that all hospitals across the territory had been placed on high alert to receive injured survivors and provide emergency care as needed.

    Turkey, which provides political, economic and logistical support to the TRNC, has mobilized its own resources to support the operation. Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz announced via the social platform X Sunday that the Turkish government was providing all necessary assistance to the search and rescue effort.

    The disaster comes just one day before a planned visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the TRNC, scheduled for Monday. The trip will mark Erdogan’s first visit to the territory since 2023, and is intended to hold talks with newly elected TRNC President Tufan Erhurman, who won the territory’s presidential election last October.

  • In one Nepal district, flood catastrophe is measured in bodies and burial trenches

    In one Nepal district, flood catastrophe is measured in bodies and burial trenches

    In the wake of catastrophic flash floods and mudslides that tore through the Himalayan region earlier this week, authorities in Nepal’s south-central Chitwan district have been forced to take unprecedented action: burying hundreds of unidentifiable disaster victims in temporary communal graves, a move that has sparked fierce public debate over cultural traditions and disaster response protocols.

    The disaster, which struck Wednesday, has already claimed at least 800 lives across Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, with more than 3,000 people still unaccounted for. Many of the bodies recovered in Chitwan were swept hundreds of kilometers downstream along the Bhotekoshi River from the flood’s hardest-hit epicenter, leaving local officials overwhelmed by the sudden influx of remains. As of Saturday, around 250 bodies were still waiting for identification, and officials confirmed that roughly 100 victims had already been laid to rest in hastily dug temporary trenches in a forested area of the district, with another 50 set for burial on Sunday after DNA samples are collected.

    Local law enforcement coordinating the operation say the rushed burials are a necessary response to a cascade of overlapping crises. Anil Thapa, a police inspector leading the body management effort, explained that most remains spent up to four days submerged in rushing floodwaters, and decomposition was already well advanced by the time they were recovered. Compounding this challenge, Chitwan faces severe limits to its forensic infrastructure and morgue capacity, unable to accommodate the surge of bodies brought in by the flood. Sweltering heat and high regional humidity have further sped decomposition, and public health officials have warned that leaving decomposing remains unburied poses a serious risk of infectious disease outbreaks.

    The logistical challenges have been exacerbated by fresh natural hazards in the region. On Sunday, new landslides blocked the key highway connecting Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to Chitwan, just one day after the route was partially reopened. This disruption has complicated both the movement of remains into the capital and the delivery of critical relief supplies to flood-impacted communities. Across the flood zone, the scale of destruction remains visible: homes, vehicles, and farm equipment are still left half-buried in thick mud deposited by the mudslides.

    The decision to proceed with temporary burials has drawn sharp criticism from local residents, families of the missing, and prominent public figures, particularly given Nepal’s status as a majority-Hindu nation where traditional custom requires cremation of the dead, often conducted on riverbanks in the presence of immediate family. Ruby Chaudhary, a local resident who is still waiting for news of two missing relatives, said authorities had no right to proceed with burials without family consent. “The dead deserve to be treated with dignity,” Chaudhary said. “Our tradition is to cremate them on the riverbank, surrounded by their immediate family.”

    Former Nepali prime minister Baburam Bhattarai also joined the criticism, arguing that disposing of unidentified bodies before search and rescue operations are concluded, and without broader consultation with affected families, is inappropriate. In a social media post Saturday night, Bhattarai noted that if permanent morgue space was insufficient, authorities could have mobilized emergency resources to set up temporary cold storage facilities instead of rushing to burials.

    Nepali officials have defended the measure, emphasizing that the burials are only a temporary solution, not a permanent disposition of remains. Thapa stressed that authorities have taken steps to preserve future identification: DNA samples are collected from all victims, photographs of distinguishing features are taken, other identifying details are recorded, and each body is assigned a unique reference number to allow families to claim remains at a later date. “If someone is able to verify the identity later using the available information, they can take back the body and perform the appropriate funeral rites,” Thapa explained.

    Amrit Bahadur Rai, Nepal’s foreign secretary, added that the process aligns with internationally accepted disaster management standards, including protocols established by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Speaking at a press briefing in Kathmandu, Rai confirmed that once identities are confirmed through matching records, families will be permitted to exhume the remains to carry out traditional funeral rituals.

  • Boat carrying some 270 people capsizes off northern Cyprus – reports

    Boat carrying some 270 people capsizes off northern Cyprus – reports

    A major maritime emergency is unfolding off the coast of northern Cyprus, after a passenger boat carrying approximately 270 people overturned in open water, triggering an urgent search and rescue operation, local media has confirmed.

    According to Murat Senkul, mayor of the coastal Kyrenia town, rescuers have so far made contact with 159 of the passengers onboard the capsized vessel. Senkul described the ongoing incident as extremely serious, in remarks to Turkish broadcaster CNN Turk.

    The boat started taking on water roughly four nautical miles from the northern Cypriot shore, local reports indicate. Footage broadcast by regional television outlets shows the ferry completely overturned in the water, with dozens of passengers clinging to the upturned hull while wearing life vests to stay afloat.

    Emergency response teams have deployed multiple assets to the accident site: both military and civilian helicopters are conducting air searches, while coastguard vessels are maneuvering around the capsized hull to pull survivors from the water. On the nearby shore, ambulance teams have set up staging points to receive rescued passengers and deliver emergency medical care.

    Erhan Arikli, transport minister for the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), told reporters that 100 passengers have successfully been brought to land as of the latest update.

    Contextually, the TRNC controls the northern third of the island of Cyprus, which has been divided into two administrative regions since a 1974 Turkish military intervention. The entity is only recognized as a sovereign state by Turkey, with no broader international endorsement.

    This is an active breaking news story, and new details are expected to be released as rescue operations continue. Readers can access real-time updates via the BBC News mobile application, or by following the BBC Breaking account on X for the latest alerts.

  • At least 7 dead after ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers and crew capsizes off northern Cyprus

    At least 7 dead after ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers and crew capsizes off northern Cyprus

    A maritime disaster off the northern coast of Cyprus has left at least seven people dead and 24 others unaccounted for, according to Turkish media reports of Sunday’s capsizing incident. The catamaran ferry, carrying a total of 269 passengers and crew, was en route from the port of Kyrenia (also called Girne) in the Turkish-administered northern region of ethnically split Cyprus to Tasucu, a Turkish port located in Mersin province.

    Northern Cyprus Prime Minister Unal Ustel confirmed to Turkey’s state-owned TRT news outlet that 237 people have been pulled from the water alive by rescue teams. Search and rescue operations are still actively underway to locate the 24 passengers and crew who remain missing following the incident.

    Per Prime Minister Ustel’s account, the vessel encountered severe, unfavorable weather conditions shortly after it departed its starting port. Just 15 minutes after leaving the dock, the ferry began taking on water, and an emergency distress call was dispatched immediately to local authorities. TRT further specified that the water intrusion began roughly 7.5 kilometers, or 4 nautical miles, off the northern Cypriot coast.

    Kyrenia Mayor Murat Senkul added that the sunken vessel is owned by Turkish ferry operator Filo Denizcilik, and capsized in waters close to Diana Beach on Northern Cyprus’ coastline. Raw video footage captured from the disaster zone shows survivors clad in life vests treading water around the overturned hull of the ferry, waiting for extraction by rescue teams.

  • British woman killed in stabbing at German railway station

    British woman killed in stabbing at German railway station

    A violent stabbing incident at a major Bavarian railway hub has left a 31-year-old British woman dead, German law enforcement authorities have confirmed. The attack unfolded shortly before 1 a.m. local time (midnight BST) on Sunday at Rosenheim station, located in southern Germany’s Upper Bavaria region.

    Following the assault, emergency medical teams rushed the injured woman to a nearby hospital, but she ultimately succumbed to her severe wounds, Bavarian Police announced in an official statement.

    law enforcement response was rapid: officers took a 27-year-old German male suspect into custody directly at the scene within moments of the attack. As of the latest update, investigators have not yet established a clear motive or full contextual background for the violence, with probe work ongoing.

    To advance their investigation, police have issued a public appeal for any individuals who were present at the station between late Saturday and early Sunday and observed an argument or physical confrontation prior to the stabbing to come forward and contact investigative teams.

    Rosenheim, which ranks among the largest urban centers in Upper Bavaria, serves as a critical transportation junction for international rail travelers connecting Germany to popular Austrian destinations including Vienna, Salzburg, and Innsbruck. The incident has shocked local communities and drawn cross-border attention following the confirmation of the British victim’s death.

  • Death toll rises to 38 from Russia’s deadliest attack on Ukraine this year

    Death toll rises to 38 from Russia’s deadliest attack on Ukraine this year

    As the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its third year, a devastating escalation of hostilities has sent shockwaves across the country, leaving dozens dead and triggering fresh fears of a catastrophic winter energy crisis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced via social media on Sunday that the death toll from a Friday night Russian strike on a warehouse in the village of Myla, located just west of Kyiv, has climbed to 38, with four additional people still unaccounted for. This attack marks the deadliest single Russian assault on Ukrainian territory so far in 2024.

    Ukrainian officials confirmed the targeted structure was an ammunition storage facility. The impact of the strike triggered massive, uncontrolled explosions that sparked widespread fires, which spread rapidly to consume dozens of residential homes and adjacent civilian buildings near the storage site. In his update, Zelenskyy noted that 20 people were wounded in the attack, among them two young children. As of Sunday, emergency response teams remained on the ground, working to fully extinguish remaining hotspots, recover victims, and clear the area of unexploded ordnance to make the site safe for recovery efforts.

    The deadly strike near Kyiv came amid a sharp escalation of cross-border hostilities between the two nations. On Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense issued a direct threat, announcing it is preparing to carry out “massive strikes” against Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure. The Russian ministry framed the planned attacks as a direct retaliation for recent Ukrainian drone operations targeting Russian civilian and energy sites, including facilities belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce platform often called “Russia’s Amazon,” and key oil and gas infrastructure across the country.

    Ukrainian officials have long justified these cross-border strikes, arguing that Russia’s energy sector directly funds and fuels Moscow’s full-scale invasion, while Wildberries has supplied dual-use goods that support Russian military operations. Recent months have seen a steady wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and energy facilities, a campaign that has created an unusual fuel shortage across Russia, one of the world’s largest oil and gas exporters—an unprecedented crisis for the country’s energy market.

    This is not the first time Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of the cold winter months. During the two previous winters of the full-scale war, Russian forces launched systematic, large-scale attacks on Ukraine’s power generation and transmission infrastructure, leaving millions of Ukrainians without access to heat and electricity during subzero freezing temperatures. Ukrainian national security and energy officials have repeatedly warned the public and international partners that the approaching 2024-2025 winter could be the most difficult for the country’s energy system since the 2022 full-scale invasion, as Russian forces prepare to resume widespread attacks on critical infrastructure.

    In a separate development over the weekend, another Russian drone strike targeted Kyiv in the late hours of Saturday, leaving at least three people injured. Air raid alerts remained active across the capital for the entirety of Saturday. Ukraine’s state emergency services reported that a multi-story residential building in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district caught fire between the second and fifth floors after the strike. Response teams also extinguished fires in three other districts of the capital, with non-residential administrative buildings damaged in two separate strike locations across the city.