(Reuters) — NATO accused Moscow on Friday of reckless behavior and pledged to &#8220;defend every inch of Allied territory&#8221; after Romania said a Russian drone had crashed into a civilian apartment block in the alliance member state during an attack on neighboring Ukraine.
Romania&#8217;s defense ministry said a woman and a child suffered minor injuries in Galati near the border with Ukraine overnight after radar tracked a Russian drone entering Romanian airspace.
Photos from the scene showed charred and damaged brickwork on the roof of the 10-story apartment block which Romanian authorities said was hit by a drone that exploded on impact, tearing through a top-floor flat.
Russia&#8217;s TASS news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the incident.
<div id="attachment_1104439" style="width: 857px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1104439" class="size-large wp-image-1104439" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/2026-05-29T065911Z_1_LYNXMPEM4S0DZ_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ROMANIA-DRONES-1-847x576.jpg" alt="" width="847" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/2026-05-29T065911Z_1_LYNXMPEM4S0DZ_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ROMANIA-DRONES-1-847x576.jpg 847w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/2026-05-29T065911Z_1_LYNXMPEM4S0DZ_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ROMANIA-DRONES-1-300x204.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/2026-05-29T065911Z_1_LYNXMPEM4S0DZ_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ROMANIA-DRONES-1-768x522.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/2026-05-29T065911Z_1_LYNXMPEM4S0DZ_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ROMANIA-DRONES-1.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 847px) 100vw, 847px" />A Romanian law enforcement officer works on the site of an explosion at a residential block of flats following a drone hit close to the border with Ukraine, in Galati, Romania, May 29, 2026. Inquam Photos/George Calin via REUTERS</div>
Separately, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia&#8217;s powerful Security Council, warned European leaders that drones would continue to stray into their countries and prevent their populations from sleeping peacefully.
It was the first time a densely populated area in a NATO country had been hit causing injuries during Russia&#8217;s war in Ukraine, and the incident is likely to increase tensions on the alliance&#8217;s eastern flank as member states worry about the war spilling over their borders.
&#8220;Russia’s reckless behavior is a danger to us all,&#8221; NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on X after speaking by phone to Romanian President Nicusor Dan, whose country is in both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union.
&#8220;I affirmed that NATO stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory,&#8221; he said, without making any mention of triggering NATO&#8216;s mutual defense clause. &#8220;We will continue to enhance our readiness to deter and defend against any threat, including from drones.&#8221;
Dan said the Russian consulate in the southeastern city of Constanta would be closed and the consul expelled.
TASS quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying Moscow would respond swiftly to Bucharest&#8217;s decision to close the consulate.
Romania, which shares a 400-mile land border with Ukraine, said Russian drones had breached its airspace 28 times since Moscow began attacking Ukrainian ports across the Danube River following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Stephen Evelyn, a 44-year-old American citizen who lives in Galati, called it &#8220;another provocation by the Russians&#8221;.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe this was an accident, this has happened too many times for the Russians to be doing this by accident,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Either that or they&#8217;re highly incompetent at waging war, but NATO needs to do something about this.&#8221;
There have been multiple airspace incursions into NATO airspace since Moscow invaded Ukraine, most notably when more than 20 Russian drones entered Poland&#8217;s airspace on the night of September 9-10.
In recent weeks Ukrainian drones have strayed into Baltic countries&#8217; airspace, sowing confusion and raising tensions with Russia.
Romania has asked NATO allies to deploy additional anti-drone capabilities to Romania, with official sources saying Bucharest needs low-altitude radars and interceptor drones. A NATO spokesperson said on Friday &#8220;potential additional defensive measures are considered.&#8221;
Local authorities in southern Ukraine said Izmail port in the Odesa region, across the border from Galati, had come under attack from drones early on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was ready to support Romania &#8220;in whatever way is necessary&#8221;.
<div id="attachment_1104441" style="width: 659px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1104441" class="size-large wp-image-1104441" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/2026-05-29T054159Z_1_LYNXMPEM4S0AI_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ROMANIA-DRONES-649x576.jpg" alt="" width="649" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/2026-05-29T054159Z_1_LYNXMPEM4S0AI_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ROMANIA-DRONES-649x576.jpg 649w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/2026-05-29T054159Z_1_LYNXMPEM4S0AI_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ROMANIA-DRONES-300x266.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/2026-05-29T054159Z_1_LYNXMPEM4S0AI_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ROMANIA-DRONES-768x682.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/2026-05-29T054159Z_1_LYNXMPEM4S0AI_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ROMANIA-DRONES.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px" />A fire burns on the roof of a 10-story block of flats after a drone crashed into the building, causing an explosion and injuring two people, near the border with Ukraine, in Galati, Romania, in this handout image released on May 29, 2026. Romanian Department for Emergency Situations (DSU)/Handout via REUTERS</div>
The Romanian defense ministry said two F-16 fighter jets had been scrambled and a military helicopter was sent to monitor the attack, with the pilots authorized to shoot down any drones without endangering inhabited areas. The residents of border counties Braila, Galati and Tulcea were warned to take cover.
The drone was in Romania&#8217;s airspace for four minutes and flew at a low altitude for 6.2 miles, making it difficult for radar to detect, Romanian Brigadier General Gheorghe Maxim said.
He told a press conference that although the U.S. anti-drone system Merops is operational in Romania it is not yet fully integrated with national air defenses and it would have been too risky to use in a city.
In addition to the woman and her child who were taken to hospital with minor injuries, two people were treated on the scene for panic attacks and 70 were evacuated from the apartment block, local authorities said.
Deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat, who is in charge of the emergency response agency, told private broadcaster Digi24 that the drone affected two building stairwells, an elevator shaft and damaged five cars.
A drone also damaged an electricity pole and a household annex in Galati in April.
In a separate incident, a drone without an explosive charge was found in northwestern Romania, state TVR broadcaster said late on Thursday, citing local authorities.
(Reporting by George Calin in Galati, Luiza Ilie in Bucharest, Jekaterina Golubkova in Tokyo, Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw, Jason Hovet in Prague and Lily Bayer in Brussels; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Kate Mayberry and Timothy Heritage)

ROMANIA-NATO-DEFENCE-EXERCISE

NATO Sends Clear Message To Russia After Attack On Member Nation

Foreign Policy

NATO

Russia

Ukraine-Russia War

When historians look back on this period of war in Ukraine and Iran, they will be deeply puzzled by a simple question: why can’t the leaders of the Western Democracies hear our enemies?
There were two examples last week, one from Russia and one from Iran, in which our enemies were extraordinarily clear about their view of things.
In both cases, our enemies’ comments were dramatically different from what we have been telling ourselves.
We keep hoping for reasonableness, for negotiating to a peaceful conclusion, for finding some common ground to build a better future.
Our enemies share none of those goals, and they are very clear about their goals and how different they are from the West’s self-delusion.
Consider first the Russian position.
While Putin was having a very nice chat with President Donald Trump for over an hour, his senior national security spokesperson was preparing a radically different message.
Dmitry Medvedev has been president, prime minister, and now deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia. He would never make an aggressive, hostile speech without Putin’s approval.
Yet the day after Putin’s call with President Trump, Medvedev gave a speech in which he declared that the United States is Russia’s geopolitical rival and that the conflict with the West is “a question of existence” that will last longer than this generation. He rejected any American mediation between Russia and Ukraine and asserted that victory over Ukraine would solve a lot of Russia’s problems.
Medvedev’s speech was a pretty clear statement of long-term conflict. Remember that Putin, in his April 2005 State of the Nation address, said he believed the collapse of the Soviet Union was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”
Why would we expect a former KGB Colonel who is a fervent Russian nationalist and who wants to reassemble a very strong Russian state to settle for the survival of a Ukraine he is determined to conquer?
While the Russians were telling us we were in a very long conflict that would last over a generation, the Iranians were sending us a clear, unambiguous statement about their intentions.
As the Institute for the Study of War reported:
<blockquote>
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared on April 30 that Iran will retain control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and maintain its nuclear and missile capabilities, which supports ISW-CTP’s assessment that the Iranian regime is unlikely to make meaningful concessions in its next proposal to the United States … Mojtaba also underscored that Iran will defend its nuclear, missile, and advanced technological capabilities as resolutely as it defends its territorial borders. A senior Iranian official speaking to the Washington Post on April 30 similarly asserted that Iran’s security establishment rejects compromise on key matters, such as Iran’s ability to enrich uranium.
</blockquote>
It seems clear that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Major General Ahmad Vahidi now dominates the Iranian dictatorship and represents the hardline position that Iran can withstand American and Israeli attacks and ultimately win the war simply by not giving in.
Western analysts, including those who dominate Washington, D.C., simply cannot break out of their rational, Enlightenment model of reasonableness to understand how unreasonable alternative systems can be, and yet, within their own values and their own experiences, they are following a logic train that is easily understandable.
This was the key problem Winston Churchill faced after reading “Mein Kampf” in the early 1930s and understanding the logic of Hitler’s insanity. He simply could not get the British establishment to listen to Hitler and rearm accordingly.
Consider first the belief system and history that shape General Vahidi. He is part of a religious dictatorship that has been chanting “Death to America” for 47 years. General Vahidi was born in 1958 and joined the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in 1979 at the age of 21. He is sanctioned by the United States, Canada, and the European Union for terrorism and nuclear activities.
When we think about the pain our bombing campaign is causing the Iranian government, we have to put it in the context of their experience of the war with Iraq from September 1980 to August 1988. This was a brutal meat grinder in which the Iraqis used chemical weapons. The best estimate is that Iranian casualties were over 1,000,000, with the Iranian death toll somewhere between 200,000 and 500,000.
If you consider that General Vahidi’s experience from the age of 22 to 30 was this brutal war, and since then he has waged terrorist campaigns against the West while focusing on building nuclear weapons and missiles that can reach Europe and the United States, you get a different sense of what we are up against.
If the religiously inspired (and this is the vital fact which the rational West refuses to consider) dictatorship, when it was barely established, could endure an eight-year war with a million casualties, what is the historic yardstick by which we should expect them to accept terms they would regard as a betrayal of the revolution?
This question of pain levels also applies to Putin and the Russian dictatorship. The Soviet Union lost over 20 million dead in World War II. At Stalingrad alone, they lost 40,000 civilians and had about 1,100,000 soldiers killed or wounded.
From a Ukrainian perspective, the horror of the Stalin-enforced famine of 1932 and 1933, which killed 3,900,000 (about 13% of the population) through starvation, is a horrifying reminder of why they fight against Moscow so intensely and at such costs. The Ukrainian word for the famine is Holodomor, which combines the Ukrainian words for starvation and to inflict death. It is reasonable to suggest that the Ukrainians will fight to the end rather than accept subjugation to a city that deliberately starved millions of them to death.
Our enemies are trying to tell us who they really are. Future historians will puzzle at our inability to hear them.
The Chinese and North Korean dictatorships are watching carefully our inability to confront and respond to reality. They will develop their own strategies accordingly, and both will help Russia and Iran survive the inadequate efforts of the United States and its allies.
Literally, the future of the world will be decided by the American ability or inability to learn and change when faced with aggressive evil.
If we do not change and recognize that our enemies are enemies who think differently from us, we will lose. It is that simple.
***
Newt Gingrich was the Republican Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Follow him on X @NewtGingrich. Join his newsletter at <a href="https://www.gingrich360.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.gingrich360.net/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1778011290065000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1zn9zi0baZTNq2_7KeHn-r">Gingrich360.net</a>.

IRAN-POLITICS-US-HOSTAGE-ANNIVERSARY

Newt Gingrich: Why Can’t We Hear Our Enemies?

American History

DW Opinion

Iran war

A historic Catholic church and monastery complex in western Ukraine, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, was damaged in a Russian strike this week, underscoring the continued toll of the war on religious and cultural landmarks.
Russian forces launched <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/24/russia-strikes-civilian-areas-ukraine">a large-scale aerial assault</a> on Tuesday, striking the 16th-century Bernardine monastery complex in the city of Lviv, including St. Andrew’s Church, a cornerstone of Ukraine’s Greek Catholic community. The site, located in what has been described as the heart of Ukraine’s Catholic region, dates back roughly 400 years.
The attack comes just days before Holy Week, the most sacred period in the Christian calendar. Local officials confirmed that nearby residential buildings were also hit, with fires breaking out and parts of the monastery, including its tower, sustaining damage. 
The nearby Church of Saint Mary Magdalene was also impacted, with shattered windows and debris strewn across its interior. “Thank God it happened in the afternoon,” <a href="https://catholicreview.org/russian-drone-strikes-damage-historic-church-monastery-in-lviv-ahead-of-holy-week/">said</a> Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki of Lviv, noting that the timing likely prevented fatalities. “People were still at work, children had not yet returned from school.”
Even so, the broader assault was deadly. Ukrainian officials reported that Russia launched nearly 400 drones in a single night, one of the largest aerial attacks since the war began in 2022, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more. In another strike, a maternity hospital in the Ivano-Frankivsk region was also hit.
UNESCO <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-alarmed-strikes-lviv-world-heritage-site">said</a> it was “deeply alarmed” by the damage to protected cultural sites, emphasizing that such landmarks are safeguarded under international law. For those on the ground, however, the destruction of churches is nothing new.
“This happens a lot,” said Steven Moore, executive producer of the documentary A Faith Under Siege, speaking from Kyiv to <a href="https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/europe/ukraine-monastery-hit-in-russian-missile-strike-most-historic-church-targeted-so-far">EWTN</a>. He noted that Russia has repeatedly targeted religious buildings throughout the conflict, including Orthodox churches, despite claiming to defend traditional Christian values. 
St. Andrew’s Church, he said, may be “the most historic church they have targeted so far.” The strike also comes at a moment of renewed intensity across the front lines, as both sides escalate operations ahead of the spring campaign season.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces have <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-offensive-civilian-attacks-48a46d2503513c903bc3e4de31b96e00">continued grinding advances</a> in the Donetsk region, particularly around the heavily contested areas near Avdiivka and Chasiv Yar, where months of attritional fighting have yielded incremental gains at high cost. Ukrainian defenses, while still holding key lines, have been strained by manpower shortages and the constant pressure of artillery and drone assaults.
At the same time, Ukraine has expanded its use of long-range drone strikes deep into Russian territory, targeting oil depots, airfields, and logistical hubs in an effort to disrupt Moscow’s war machine beyond the front. These strikes, often carried out hundreds of miles from the battlefield, represent a strategic shift toward asymmetric pressure as Ukraine seeks to offset Russia’s numerical advantages.
Drone warfare, in particular, has become the defining feature of this phase of the conflict. Both sides are deploying thousands of unmanned systems monthly, from inexpensive first-person-view (FPV) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/drones">drones</a> used in trench warfare to long-range Iranian-designed Shahed drones that can strike cities far from the front. The scale and speed of this technological adaptation have transformed the battlefield into a constant, low-altitude threat environment where traditional lines of safety once assumed in Western cities such as Lviv no longer hold.
The war’s international dimensions are also becoming more pronounced. Iran continues to supply drone technology to Russia, while intelligence assessments have pointed to growing cooperation between Moscow and Beijing. Reports of North Korean personnel supporting Russian operations have further underscored concerns that the conflict is increasingly drawing in actors beyond Europe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, <a href="https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/masshtab-ciyeyi-ataki-svidchit-duzhe-chitko-sho-nemaye-v-ros-103497">addressing</a> the latest strikes, said their scale demonstrates that “Russia has no intention of really ending this war.” Now in its fifth year, the conflict continues to reshape daily life across Ukraine. Air raid sirens, damaged infrastructure, and the constant threat of attack have become routine, even in cities like Lviv, once considered relatively safe.
For Ukraine’s religious communities, the war has taken on an added layer of meaning. Churches that once stood for centuries as symbols of faith and continuity are now being drawn into the front lines, damaged, shattered, and, in some cases, destroyed. As Holy Week approaches, the strike on one of Ukraine’s most historic Catholic sites stands as a stark reminder: the war is not only being fought on battlefields, but in the cultural and spiritual heart of the nation itself.

1c09c4b99505fd9954fc0fe360424c20.jpg

Russia Bombs Iconic Centuries-Old Christian Landmark

Christians

Church

Holy Week

Russia hammered Ukraine with missiles and drones on Saturday, killing six people and inflicting damage across several regions of the country, Ukrainian officials said.
Five of the dead were in Kyiv region outside the capital, where President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces targeted energy infrastructure, but also damaged residential buildings, schools and businesses. Fifteen people were injured.
Zelensky said the Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions were also targeted in an attack that included around 430 drones and 68 missiles, most of which were downed by air defences.
Later in the day, the governor of the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, Ivan Fedorov, said a residential area of the city of Zaporizhzhia had been hit by Russian-guided bombs, killing one person and injuring three.
Reuters Television footage showed emergency crews at work amid piles of rubble and twisted metal. Windows and frames on balconies were smashed.
&#8220;The second attack was strong. The kitchen window flew out, as did those in the living room and bedroom, everything went into a roar. I ran and got slightly injured,&#8221; Olha Kiyashko, 65, told Reuters.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve got no strength left. They took away our pension years — the years we could have lived on, the years we&#8217;d planned and counted on. All our health is gone.&#8221;
Saturday&#8217;s strikes come as the Iran conflict has distracted international attention from a U.S.-backed peace push in the four-year war, which Kyiv says Moscow has no interest in ending.
&#8220;Russia will try to exploit the war in the Middle East to cause even greater destruction here in Europe, in Ukraine,&#8221; Zelensky wrote on X.
He repeated his call for Kyiv&#8217;s partners to boost production of air-defense weapons, stocks of which have been diminishing as the U.S. and its allies in the Gulf have fended off Iranian strikes.
Russia&#8217;s winter attacks on Ukraine have left swathes of major cities without power or heating, part of a campaign to weaken resolve as Moscow&#8217;s troops press a battlefield offensive and demand Kyiv cede more territory in the east.
Ukraine&#8217;s forces have targeted Russian strategic infrastructure such as oil refineries, depots and terminals in long-range strikes.
Ukraine&#8217;s Energy Ministry said on Saturday that consumers in six regions were without electricity after the overnight strikes and Russian shelling of frontline areas.
&#8220;There&#8217;s no way Russia will stop,&#8221; said local resident Natalia Fetko, 57, whose building was damaged in the strike. &#8220;Nothing is enough for them.&#8221;
Damage was recorded in four districts outside the capital, according to regional military administrator Mykola Kalashnyk.
Saturday&#8217;s attack also prompted NATO member Poland to scramble jets to protect its airspace, but no violations were observed, Warsaw&#8217;s military said.
In Moldova, on Ukraine&#8217;s western border, the Foreign Ministry denounced what it said was an intrusion by a Russian drone into its airspace in a border district, saying Moscow&#8217;s actions undermined regional security and posed a danger to its citizens.
(Additional reporting by Yurii Kovalenko, Serhiy Chaliy and Alexander Tanas; Editing by Toby Chopra, Gareth Jones, Rod Nickel, Ron Popeski and Diane Craft)

Ukraine

Russia Launches 400+ Drones, Dozens Of Missiles In Ukraine Strike, Killing 6

Global Politics

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

World

Ukraine hit a Russian plant manufacturing ballistic missiles in a missile strike in the remote Udmurtia region, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Saturday.
Ukraine said its forces attacked the plant manufacturing Russian missiles, including the short-range Iskander and intercontinental Topol-M, in Votkinsk, east of Moscow and about 1,400 km (800 miles) from Ukraine.
It said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that the Ukrainian forces used domestically produced ground-launched Flamingo cruise missiles. The attack caused a fire on the site, the Ukrainian military said.
Alexander Brechalov, the governor of the Udmurtia region in Russia, had earlier said a site there had been attacked overnight with drones.
&#8220;There has been damage and injuries as a result,&#8221; Brechalov said in a video posted on the Telegram app. He provided no other details.
The airport in Udmurtia&#8217;s main city, Izhevsk, and those in cities in nearby regions suspended operations, the civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said.
The unofficial Russian Telegram channel SHOT, which often quotes contacts in the security services, said residents in Votkinsk reported hearing at least three explosions and the humming of drones.
Russia uses its ballistic missiles to reinforce its drone attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, knocking out electricity and heating supplies for millions across Ukraine during the cold winter months.
Ukraine is increasingly targeting military and energy infrastructure deep inside Russia. Kyiv says that hitting the weapons producers and the energy system that fuels Russia&#8217;s military is the best way to gain leverage over its bigger enemy as the war enters its fifth year next week.
The Ukrainian military said it also hit a gas processing plant in the Russian Samara region. Russian officials in the Samara region issued no report of such an attack.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash, Editing by Alex Richardson)

Missile

Ukraine Strikes Ballistic Missile Producer Deep Inside Russia, Kyiv Says

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got into a heated spat with Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka during a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
Clinton and Macinka, a right-leaning populist, disagreed on a number off issues — but the trouble really began when Clinton accused President Donald Trump of effectively conspiring with Russian President Vladimir Putin to exploit Ukraine.
&#8220;I think that the effort to force Ukraine into a surrender deal with Putin is shameful. I think that the effort that Putin and Trump are making to profit off the misery and death of the Ukrainian people is a historic error, and corrupt to the nth degree,&#8221; she said, adding, &#8220;I believe Ukraine is fighting for our democracy and our values of freedom and civilization on the front lines, losing thousands of people, and having their country destroyed by one man’s mania to control them, and I think Trump either doesn’t understand or could care less about that suffering.&#8221;
Macinka, when asked whether he would agree with Clinton&#8217;s assessment, turned to the former Secretary of State and said, &#8220;I think you really don’t like him.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
REALITY CZECH: Hillary Clinton clashes with Czech Deputy PM Petr Macinka after he says President Trump reacted to policies that went &#8220;too far.&#8221;
MACINKA: &#8220;We saw the woke revolution. I don&#8217;t agree with the gender revolution, the climate alarmism&#8230;&#8221;
CLINTON: &#8220;Which gender? Women… <a href="https://t.co/bCCYKXqvWa">pic.twitter.com/bCCYKXqvWa</a>
— Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/2023159967310590332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Clinton gave no argument to that: &#8220;That is absolutely true. Not only do I not like him, I don’t like him because of what he’s doing to the United States, and the world, and I think you should take a hard look at it if you think there is something good that will come out of it.&#8221;
Macinka defended Trump then, arguing that he was only attempting to push back against policies that the people believed had gone too far to the Left — &#8220;too far from regular people, too far from reality.&#8221;
&#8220;We saw the cancel culture, we saw the woke revolution, I don’t agree with the gender revolution, the climate alarmism,&#8221; Macinka offered examples when asked, but then Clinton interrupted him.
&#8220;Which gender revolution? Women having their rights?&#8221; Clinton asked, apparently misunderstanding his comment.
Macinka explained that he was not talking about women&#8217;s rights, but radical gender ideology, replying, &#8220;I think there are two genders.&#8221;
Clinton once again attempted to commandeer the narrative: &#8220;How about half of us, can we have our rights?&#8221;
Macinka was undeterred, however, and continued, &#8220;Some of us think there is more than two genders. I think there is male and female, and the rest, probably, is a social construct. This is something that went too far.”
“But does that justify selling out the people of Ukraine who are on the front lines dying to save their freedom and their two genders, if that’s what you’re worried about?” Clinton tried once more.
&#8220;Can I please finish my point? I’m sorry that it makes you nervous‚&#8221; Macinka shot back.
Clinton protested, &#8220;It doesn’t make me nervous, it makes me very, very, unhappy.&#8221;

Hillary Clinton Appears At Women Transforming Global Security Event

Watch Hillary Clinton Panic When Czech Leader Declares There Are Only Two Genders

Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton

Munich

Politics

WASHINGTON — Melania Trump has reunited even more Russian and Ukrainian children with their families today, the First Lady&#8217;s office announced on Thursday.
The news marks the third time that the First Lady has helped to bring children back to their families after these children were separated due to the Russia and Ukraine war.
&#8220;I appreciate that Russia and Ukraine are dedicated to bringing back the children who have been displaced because of the circumstances surrounding this conflict,&#8221; Melania Trump said in a statement on Thursday. &#8220;Although all parties are cooperating and our communications remain robust, I urge Russia and Ukraine to intensify their efforts to ensure the safe return of every child to their families and guardians.”
“Today marks the third reunification since I have been working strategically with both nations,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I have no doubt more progress will come.”
The First Lady and her representative helping with the negotiations &#8220;continue to engage&#8221; in these conversations with both Russia and Ukraine.
In October, the First Lady <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/melania-trump-persuaded-putin-to-help-her-reunite-children-displaced-during-russia-ukraine-war">revealed that she had been in frequent contact</a> with Russian President Vladimir Putin as she sought to bring home children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war, sharing at the time that she had reunited eight Ukrainian children with their families.
“President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children,” the first lady explained during a press conference at the White House, sharing that Putin responded to her August plea to help the children with his own letter, and willingly agreed to engage with her. “For the past few months, both sides have participated in several back channel meetings and calls, all in good faith.”
“Each child has lived in turmoil because of the war in Ukraine,” she said. “Three were separated from their parents and displaced to the Russian Federation because of frontline fighting. The other five were separated from family members across borders because of the conflict, including one young girl who has now been reunited from Ukraine to Russia.”
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<div id="attachment_1043309" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/for-the-third-time-melania-trump-reunites-russian-ukrainian-children-with-their-families/melania-trump-meets-with-released-american-israeli-hostage-keith-siegel" rel="attachment wp-att-1043309"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1043309" class="wp-image-1043309 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2259906303-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2259906303-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2259906303-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2259906303-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2259906303.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)</div>
The First Lady has been unusually public-facing this year, partially due to the release of her documentary film, &#8220;Melania,&#8221; which premiered at the Kennedy Center with an elegant black and white soiree attended by top members of the president&#8217;s administration and many staff.
On February 4, the First Lady met with Keith and Aviva Siegel at the White House, where they had a private, sit-down conversation before bringing in the press. Hamas forcibly took the Siegels from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023, and held them hostage. The terrorist group held Aviva Siegel hostage for 51 days, and Keith Siegel for 484 days.
Hamas released Aviva Siegel during the first hostage deal in November 2023, then released her husband on February 1, 2025, during a ceasefire brokered by the president before he even took office. Keith Siegel&#8217;s release came after his wife met with both Donald Trump and Melania Trump.
One of these meetings, between Melania Trump and Aviva Siegel, was included in the first lady’s new film, “Melania.&#8221; The film showed footage of Melania Trump and Aviva Siegel sharing an emotional moment in Manhattan. Melania Trump hugs Siegel as she weeps into her shoulder, and the first lady promises to pray for her husband, who was still in captivity.
One of the final title cards in “Melania” states that the first lady “played a key role in securing the release of Keith Siegel after 484 days as a hostage in Gaza, just 12 days after the inauguration.” And the First Lady states in the film: “I will always use my influence and power to fight for those in need.&#8221;

First Lady Melania Trump Meets Freed Israeli-American Hostage Keith Siegel

For The Third Time, Melania Trump Reunites Russian, Ukrainian Children With Their Families

Melania Trump

Russia launched a massive air attack on Ukrainian energy facilities overnight on Saturday, targeting electricity generation and distribution, Kyiv said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the overnight attack involved more than 400 drones and some 40 missiles of various types, targeting the grid, generation facilities and distribution substations.
Nearly four years into the war that began with Russia&#8217;s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, Ukraine&#8217;s battered energy sector is crumbling under the Russian strikes, accumulated wartime damage and bitterly cold winter weather.
&#8220;Every day, Russia could choose real diplomacy, but it chooses new strikes,&#8221; Zelensky posted on X. &#8220;It is crucial that everyone who supports the trilateral negotiations respond to this. Moscow must be deprived of the ability to use the cold as leverage against Ukraine.&#8221;
Moscow did not immediately comment on the attacks.
Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said the strikes hit two thermal power stations in Ukraine&#8217;s western regions and core elements of the Ukrainian electricity distribution system &#8211; substations and key electricity distribution lines.
&#8220;Russian criminals carried out another massive attack on Ukraine&#8217;s energy facilities,&#8221; Shmyhal said on the Telegram app. &#8220;Energy workers are ready to start repair works as soon as the security situation allows.&#8221;
The strikes were launched as temperatures began to drop and are forecast to fall to minus 14 degrees Celsius (7 degrees Fahrenheit) in the coming days.
The new Russian attacks on the energy system also come just days after the latest round of the U.S.-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia on how to end the war.
Despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration and rounds of talks, diplomatic efforts have so far brought no tangible results.
Since autumn 2025, Moscow has intensified its attacks on the Ukrainian power grid and other energy infrastructure, forcing frequent blackouts across Ukraine and plunging millions into darkness for hours.
Ukrainian officials said that emergency power cuts were introduced across the country. Shmyhal said the government asked Poland for emergency power imports to help the Ukrainian grid.
Regional officials reported attacks across the country, including in the western regions of Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv.
The Burshtyn and Dobrotvir thermal power plants in western Ukraine were hit, officials said.
DTEK, Ukraine&#8217;s largest private energy company, said that equipment was damaged significantly at its thermal power plants in different regions. DTEK said it was the 10th attack on its thermal power stations since October 2025.
&#8220;Since Russians have been targeting energy facilities in various regions of our country, power outages may last much longer,&#8221; said Maksym Kozytskyi, the Lviv regional governor.
He said air alerts lasted more than six hours in the western Lviv region, close to the Polish border.
Polish authorities said two airports in southeastern Poland were suspended from operations as a precaution due to Russian strikes on nearby Ukrainian territory. The airports in Poland later resumed operations.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by)

Severely damaged Darnytska CHPP in Kyiv after massive Russian attack

Russia Launches Massive Attack On Ukraine’s Energy System, Zelensky Says

A gunman shot and seriously wounded a senior Russian intelligence official in his Moscow apartment building on Friday in yet another assassination attempt that the Kremlin is blaming on Ukraine.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, a deputy head of Russia&#8217;s military intelligence arm, was taken to the hospital after the shooting and remains in critical condition, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-military-official-hospitalised-after-being-shot-agencies-report-2026-02-06/">reported</a>, citing Russian investigators. The gunman fled the scene and has not been identified as of Friday morning.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the shooting a &#8220;terrorist attack&#8221; and claimed that Ukraine was attempting to derail talks between Moscow and the United States, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia/senior-russian-military-general-vladimir-alekseyev-shot-moscow-rcna257748">reported</a>. The shooting took place just one day after U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian officials concluded another round of peace talks in the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine and Russia agreed to another prisoner swap during the negotiations, but no breakthroughs on a potential peace deal or ceasefire were announced.
Alekseyev, 64, is a highly respected military official in Russia and was honored by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the &#8220;Hero of Russia&#8221; award, which recognizes exceptional service for the country. The United States has sanctioned the Russian general for his role in Russian cyberattacks. Alekseyev was also sanctioned by the European Union after Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in England in 2018.
In 2023, Putin sent Alekseyev to negotiate with Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin after Prigozhin started a mutiny and attempted to overthrow the Russian dictator. The coup attempt ultimately failed, and Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash that U.S. officials <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/wagner-prigozhin-russia-assassinated-intelligence-3e456fab">believe</a> was caused by a bomb on board &#8220;or some other form of sabotage.&#8221;
Russian news media cited law enforcement sources who said the gunman was waiting for Alexeyev outside of his apartment and opened fire when the military official left to go to work. Alekseyev reportedly sustained gunshot wounds to the chest, along with one of his arms and a leg. Following the assassination attempt, some Russian journalists questioned why top military leaders are not better protected, Reuters reported.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to some of those criticisms, saying, &#8220;It is clear that military commanders and high-level specialists are at risk during wartime. But it is not the Kremlin that should be deciding how to ensure their safety. This is a matter for the special services.&#8221;
Ukraine has not taken responsibility for the assassination attempt, which comes just two months after another Russian general was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/another-russian-general-taken-out-by-car-bomb-on-moscow-street?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Another+Russian+General+Taken+Out+By+Car+Bomb+On+Moscow+Street">killed</a> in a car bombing in Moscow. In December, Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who was head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed along with his assistant in a blast that Russian authorities blamed on Ukraine&#8217;s intelligence agency.
Sarvarov was the third high-ranking Russian military leader to be assassinated since late 2024. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for the assassinations of multiple Russian generals since the beginning of the war.
During the trilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates this week, the White House agreed to resume high-level military dialogue with Russia, something that has not happened since before Moscow invaded Ukraine. The agreement comes as the nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nuclear-caps-gone-as-u-s-russia-treaty-expires">expired</a> on Thursday.

Top Russian Military Intelligence Lt.Gen. Vladimir Alexeyev Wounded In Moscow

Top Russian Military Official Shot In Moscow Shortly After Trilateral Peace Talks Conclude

Kremlin

U.S. envoys met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for over three hours to discuss a potential deal aimed at ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.
Trump confidants Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with newly-appointed Board of Peace senior advisor Josh Greunbaum, met with Putin at midnight Thursday as the World Economic Forum in Davos comes to a close.
A video clip shared by the Kremlin on Telegram showed Putin, joined by his foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, and special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, shaking hands with the envoys prior to the meeting.
The group discussed the 20-point peace plan to end the Russian invasion, which has been held up due to key disagreements on Russian demands for land in Eastern Ukraine, much of which Ukraine has successfully defended at this point in the war.
The outcome of the meeting was unclear in the immediate aftermath of the talks, which were held shortly after President Trump said a deal was &#8220;reasonably close&#8221; and Witkoff <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-meets-us-envoys-late-night-talks-ukraine-2026-01-22/">said</a> a deal hinged on one last issue, according to Reuters.
Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hours earlier at Davos, describing the conversation as &#8220;good&#8221; to reporters aboard Air Force One.
&#8220;We&#8217;re discussing things that have been discussed for six or seven months, and he [Zelensky] came, and he said he wants to make a deal because I wasn&#8217;t necessarily sure. I think he should want to make a deal,” Trump said. “President Putin would like to make a deal. I think that President Zelensky would like to make a deal.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on his meeting with President Zelensky in Davos: &#8220;We&#8217;re discussing things that have been discussed for six or seven months and he came and he said he wants to make a deal because I wasn&#8217;t necessarily sure. I think he should want to make a deal.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/89LxjlmJTs">pic.twitter.com/89LxjlmJTs</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2014494433190817922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Zelensky blasted European leaders during his Davos speech on Thursday for what he called their inaction against Putin.
&#8220;Europe loves to discuss the future, but avoids taking action today,&#8221; Zelensky <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-22/putin-starts-kremlin-talks-with-us-envoys-witkoff-and-kushner">said</a>. &#8220;Where is the line of leaders who are ready to act?&#8221;

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT-US-DIPLOMACY

Trump Pushes Ukraine Peace Deal As Kushner, Witkoff Hold Talks With Putin

Davos

Jared Kushner

Steve Witkoff

KYIV, Jan 2 (Reuters) &#8211; Russian missiles struck a multi-story apartment building in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Friday, leaving the building in ruins and killing at least two people and injuring about 25 more, officials said.
Russia denied the attack had taken place, suggesting that an explosion at the site was caused by Ukrainian ammunition.
Photographs and videos posted online showed smoke rising from an area of destruction, with emergency crews making their way through rubble and large chunks of building materials.
Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov, writing on Telegram, said that according to preliminary information the bodies of a woman and her son were found under rubble.
Speaking earlier on Ukrainian television, Syniehubov said two ballistic missiles had struck the area and &#8220;nearly destroyed a five-story dwelling.&#8221;
&#8220;Rescue teams are on site,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They are primarily clearing rubble and searching for people underneath.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1022717" style="width: 868px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1022717" class="wp-image-1022717 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T165850Z_1_LYNXMPEM010DA_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-858x576.jpg" alt="" width="858" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T165850Z_1_LYNXMPEM010DA_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-858x576.jpg 858w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T165850Z_1_LYNXMPEM010DA_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-300x201.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T165850Z_1_LYNXMPEM010DA_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-768x516.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T165850Z_1_LYNXMPEM010DA_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-1536x1031.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T165850Z_1_LYNXMPEM010DA_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-2048x1375.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px" />Firefighters work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia&#8217;s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine January 2, 2026. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy</div>
Ukraine&#8217;s state Emergency Services said it was deploying find people it believed were still trapped under the ruins of the building.
Syniehubov earlier said 25 people were injured, with 16 in hospital, including a woman in serious condition. He said customers may have been at shops and a cafe on the building&#8217;s first floor when the explosion occurred.
<div id="attachment_1022719" style="width: 871px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1022719" class="wp-image-1022719 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T171058Z_1_LYNXMPEM010IN_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-861x576.jpg" alt="" width="861" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T171058Z_1_LYNXMPEM010IN_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-861x576.jpg 861w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T171058Z_1_LYNXMPEM010IN_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-300x201.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T171058Z_1_LYNXMPEM010IN_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-768x514.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T171058Z_1_LYNXMPEM010IN_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/2026-01-02T171058Z_1_LYNXMPEM010IN_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-KHARKIV-2048x1370.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 861px) 100vw, 861px" />Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia&#8217;s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine January 2, 2026. REUTERS/Vitalii Hnidyi</div>
Russia&#8217;s Defense Ministry, writing on Telegram, said reports of an attack were untrue and suggested the blast at the site had been caused by the detonation of Ukrainian ammunition.
&#8220;Published video footage seconds before the explosion shows thick smoke of unknown origin which, to a high probability, would indicate that a detonation of stored Ukrainian military ammunition occurred at the &#8216;Persona&#8217; shopping centre,&#8221; it said.
The ministry said the reports sought to distract world attention from a New Year&#8217;s Eve strike, which it blamed on Ukraine, on a hotel in a Russian-held part of Kherson region in southern Ukraine. Ukraine responded by saying its strikes were aimed at Russian military and energy targets.
The area&#8217;s Russia-installed governor, Vladimir Saldo, told TASS news agency on Friday that the death toll in that incident had risen to 28.
Located 30 km (18 miles) from the border, Kharkiv withstood Russian advances in the early weeks of Russia&#8217;s February 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbor.
With Russia&#8217;s forces focused since on capturing eastern regions of the country, the city has been a frequent target of aerial attacks.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Ron Popeski, Gareth Jones and Alistair Bell)

REUTERS/Vitalii Hnidyi

Russian Strike On Ukraine’s Kharkiv Kills Two, Injures 25; Moscow Denies Attack Took Place

Russia and Ukraine accused each other of targeting civilians over the New Year, with Moscow reporting a deadly strike on a hotel in territory it occupies in southern Ukraine while Kyiv said there had been another broad attack on its power supplies.
The reports coincide with intensive talks overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump and aimed at bringing an end to the nearly four-year-old war. Each country has said the other is doing all it can to influence his views and shape the outcome.
&#8220;On New Year, Russia deliberately brings war. Over 200 attack drones were launched onto Ukraine in the night,&#8221; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram, saying energy infrastructure in seven regions across Ukraine had been targeted.
Russia accused Ukraine of killing at least 24 people, including a child, in a drone strike on a hotel and cafe where civilians were seeing in the New Year in a Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.
Ukraine&#8217;s military, which has accused Russia of killing many civilians in its own attacks on Ukrainian cities, said it targeted strictly military and energy targets, but made no specific reference to accounts of the strike on the hotel.
Zelensky said that Russia&#8217;s holiday season attacks showed Ukraine could not afford delays in air defense supplies.
&#8220;(Our) allies have the names of equipment which we are lacking. We expect that everything agreed with the United States at the end of December for our defense will arrive on time,&#8221; he said, without clarifying further.
Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of the region, said three Ukrainian drones had hit the celebrations in Khorly, a coastal village, in what he said was a &#8220;deliberate strike&#8221; against civilians. He said that many people had been burnt alive.
Russia&#8217;s Foreign Ministry said that as well as the 24 dead, 50 people had been injured.
It said the strike, as well as other drone attacks blamed on Ukraine, sought to &#8220;divert attention from the failures of the Ukrainian military at the front. The Kyiv regime is trying to prove its viability through terrorist acts.&#8221;
On Monday, Moscow accused Kyiv of trying to strike a residence of President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian and European officials have said the incident did not happen and U.S. security officials were also reported to have found that Ukraine did not target the residence.
A senior Russian military chief handed to a U.S. military attache what he said was part of a Ukrainian drone containing data he said proved that the Ukrainian military had targeted the residence.
Reuters was not able to immediately verify the reported Kherson region attack or photographs of what Saldo&#8217;s press service said was the aftermath on Thursday. Saldo said he had briefed Putin on the details of the attack.
The images showed at least one dead body was visible beneath a white sheet. The building showed signs that a fire had raged and there were what looked like blood stains on the ground. Russia&#8217;s TASS news agency published video showing drone fragments, some with Ukrainian writing on them.
Ukrainian officials regularly report civilian deaths from Russian air attacks, including in the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson, which lies near the front line.
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The Ukrainian governor of Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said that one man had been killed and an 87-year-old woman injured in attacks on the city on Thursday.
Ukraine&#8217;s deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said rail facilities had been attacked in three regions.
The Russian Defence Ministry said on Thursday its strikes had hit military targets, as well as energy infrastructure which it claimed was being used to support Ukraine&#8217;s military.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia&#8217;s Security Council, told TASS that those who carried out the hotel attack and their commanders should be targeted.
Kherson is one of four regions in Ukraine which Russia claimed as its own in 2022, a move Kyiv and most Western countries denounced as an illegal land grab.
Moscow&#8217;s Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said Russian air defence units had downed 35 Ukrainian drones over the past 24 hours. He reported no casualties or damage.
(Reporting by Max Hunder and Reuters bureaux; writing by Philippa Fletcher; editing by Ros Russell and Ron Popeski)

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