KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian drone struck an important arms depot inside Russia, the Ukraine military said Wednesday, three weeks after another drone blasted a major Russian armory and three days after a drone smashed into a key oil terminal in Russia-occupied Crimea.
The Tuesday night strike targeted an arsenal in Russia’s Bryansk border region where missiles and artillery munitions were stored, including some that had been delivered by North Korea, a Ukrainian General Staff statement said.
Hugely powerful glide bombs that have terrorized civilian areas of Ukraine and bludgeoned Ukrainian army defenses were also kept at the arsenal, located 115 kilometers (70 miles) from the Ukrainian border, and some of the ammunition was stored in the open, it said.
“Striking such arsenals creates serious logistical problems for the Russian army, thus significantly reducing (its) offensive capabilities,” the statement said.
Russia is expending enormous amounts of ammunition as it makes its advantage in artillery shells felt on the battlefield in a war of attrition that is approaching its 1,000-day milestone next month.
Its slow but relentless drive deeper into Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region is stretching Ukraine’s resources just as some of Kyiv’s key Western partners are being distracted by domestic concerns and Middle East wars.
Ukraine is building up its own arms industry, and authorities have identified drones as an important aspect of that.
“Among the key areas identified are drones for our army, and this should be a supply that not only constantly increases in volume, but also evolves and develops in line with the demands of war,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address late Tuesday about weapons production.
The Russian military has also improved its drones’ capabilities and expanded their use.
Russian drones targeted Ukraine’s southern Odesa region for the third night in a row on Tuesday, injuring five people, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said.
However, Ukraine’s air defenses have proved resilient against drones. The Ukrainian air force said Wednesday it shot down 21 out of 22 drones that Russia launched over three Ukrainian regions.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A machine gun of the Ukrainian 126th brigade air-defense unit stands at the position during air alert in Kherson region, Ukraine, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Ivkov)
A Ukrainian serviceman of the 126th brigade air-defense unit fires by a machine gun during the training in Kherson region, Ukraine, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Marko Ivkov)
Palestinian officials said Wednesday that Israel’s bombardment of central and northern Gaza killed at least 18 people, including five children and two women, as the territory's overall death toll passed 42,000.
Two strikes hit tents for displaced people in the urban Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps in central Gaza.
The bodies of nine people, including three children, were brought to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah. An Associated Press journalist saw the bodies at the morgue. An earlier strike killed nine people, according to the Al-Ahly Hospital, which received the bodies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel has killed the successor to the head of Hezbollah, while the militant group's acting leader promised more fighting in southern Lebanon.
A year ago, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. They are still holding about 100 captives inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, which began firing rockets at Israel on Oct. 8, 2023.
Here is the latest:
TEL AVIV, Israel — At least six people were stabbed and wounded in northern Israel in what police say was a militant attack.
Police said the assailant stabbed people in multiple locations in the northern city of Hadera on Wednesday before fleeing on a motorbike. Police said they later shot and “neutralized” him, indicating he was killed. They did not provide the name or nationality of the assailant.
Five of the people who were attacked were in critical or severe condition, while the sixth was moderately wounded, according to the nearby Hillel Yaffe Medical Center.
Palestinians have carried out scores of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis in recent years, and tensions have spiked over the war in Gaza.
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered government agencies Wednesday to prepare to evacuate Filipinos “by whatever means” from Lebanon.
Marcos held a virtual meeting with key Cabinet members while attending a summit of Southeast Asia leaders in Laos, underscoring the urgency as Israel intensified attacks against the militant group Hezbollah.
“We are now going to evacuate our people by whatever means — by air, or by sea,” Marcos said, adding that any ship to be used has to be positioned near Beirut so Filipinos could immediately leave.
About 11,000 Filipinos live and work in Lebanon, including many house helpers, but Philippine Foreign Affairs officials say many are hesitant to leave their jobs. Only about 171 Filipinos in Lebanon were ready for immediate repatriation, they said.
BEIRUT — Turkish navy ships docked at a port in Beirut on Wednesday as a part of a mission to bring humanitarian aid to Lebanon and evacuate Turkish citizens.
Two of the ships, which can accommodate up to 2,000 passengers, were carrying up to 300 tons of humanitarian aid consisting of food, tents and blankets, according to a statement from the Turkish Defense Ministry.
Rear Adm. Nihat Baran, commander of the evacuation mission, said the trip was ordered by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “to ensure that our citizens living in Lebanon are transferred to Turkey safely.”
Citizens of Bulgaria, Romania and Kazakhstan also applied for the evacuation, the ministry said.
The two ships are part of a larger six-vessel convoy that departed the southern port of Mersin early Wednesday. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said additional evacuations would be organized if necessary.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll from the war in Gaza has passed 42,000.
The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count, but has said women and children make up more than half of those killed.
It said Wednesday that 42,010 Palestinians have been killed and 97,720 wounded since the start of the war, which was ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel.
BERLIN — German police say they dissolved a pro-Palestinian protest camp in the western city of Dortmund after organizers told them that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was planning to visit the camp.
Dortmund police said late Tuesday the decision was made, among other reasons, because Thunberg’s appearance would probably have drawn more people to the protest camp than originally permitted.
The dismantling of the camp, which had been in existence for months, was accepted without resistance, police said. Seven protesters were present at the camp on Tuesday, but Thunberg did not appear, German news agency dpa reported.
On Monday, Thunberg participated in a pro-Palestinian protest in Berlin.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian officials say Israeli strikes in central and northern Gaza killed at least 18 people, including five children and two women.
Two strikes hit tents for displaced people in the urban Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps in central Gaza early Wednesday. The bodies of nine people, including three children, were brought to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah. An Associated Press journalist saw the bodies at the morgue.
In northern Gaza, an Israeli strike hit a family home in the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing at least nine people, according to the Civil Defense, a rescue agency operating under the Hamas-run government. The dead were taken to the Al-Ahly Hospital, which said two women and two children were among those killed.
Footage shared by the Civil Defense showed first responders recovering dead bodies and body parts from under the rubble.
Israel launched an air and ground operation earlier this week in Jabaliya, a densely populated urban refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. Israel has carried out several previous operations in Jabaliya, and its forces have repeatedly returned to other areas of Gaza after militants have regrouped.
Smoke and fire rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Tents set up as temporary shelters by displaced families fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south and Dahiyeh, are seen along the Ramlet al-Baida public beach in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Mourners pray over the body of a Palestinian child, Hosam Al Khaldi, killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside the hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners gather around bodies of Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, outside the hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside the hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
