Accessibility links

Breaking News

Conflict

Kyiv Claims Drone Attack Downed

FILE: A police officer inspects parts of an unmanned aerial vehicle, what Ukrainian authorities consider to be an Iranian-made suicide drone, or Shahed-136, at the site of a Russian strike on fuel storage facilities in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on October 6.
FILE: A police officer inspects parts of an unmanned aerial vehicle, what Ukrainian authorities consider to be an Iranian-made suicide drone, or Shahed-136, at the site of a Russian strike on fuel storage facilities in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on October 6.

Ukraine said Wednesday it had shot down multiple Iranian-made drones launched at the capital by Russian troops in their latest attack on Kyiv.

"The terrorists started this morning with 13 Shaheds," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, referring to the Iran-made weapons.

"All 13 were shot down" he added, urging residents to heed air raid sirens.

Explosions rang out over a central neighborhood in Kyiv in the early hours and AFP journalists later saw law enforcement and emergency service workers inspecting metal fragments at a snow-covered impact site.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that explosions were heard in the central district of Shevchenkivsky and city officials said debris from the downed drones had damaged residential homes and an local administrative building.

No one was reported injured or killed.

Kyiv has been subjected to nearly ten months of air raid sirens and frequent aerial attacks since Russia invaded Ukraine in February and tried to capture the capital.

But the attacks have increased up since October when Russia began systematically targeting critical infrastructure in Ukraine in attacks that have disrupted electricity, water and heat to millions in Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Ukraine's allies to provide his country with more weapons to help it "fight through the winter" and sustain Kyiv's military advances.

In nearly 10 months of fighting, Russia has yet to fulfil any of its stated key goals in what it refers to as its "special military operation" in Ukraine, including seizing the capital or the eastern Donbas region.

The Moscow-installed leader of Ukraine's Donetsk region on Wednesday however called for Russia to widen its goals and annex two more areas of Ukraine, the Black Sea region of Odessa and Chernigiv in the north.


See all News Updates of the Day

Africa News Tonight: Hunger, violence stalk Goma residents, US considers AFRICOM changes, Cyclone batters southern Africa

Africa News Tonight: Hunger, violence stalk Goma residents, US considers AFRICOM changes, Cyclone batters southern Africa
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Africa News Tonight: Angola advances DRC talks, Tunisian opposition leaders remain jailed, US firefighters team up with Liberian colleagues

Africa News Tonight: Angola advances DRC talks, Tunisian opposition leaders remain jailed, US firefighters team up with Liberian colleagues
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Southern Africa bloc to begin phased withdrawal of troops from DRC


Southern Africa bloc to begin phased withdrawal of troops from DRC
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:01:05 0:00

The Southern African Development Community or SADC said Thursday that a summit of regional heads of state had terminated the mandate of its troop deployment in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and decided on a "phased withdrawal." SADC lost more than a dozen soldiers in conflict in January. The 16-nation bloc took the decision at a virtual summit on the conflict in the area that has seen some three decades of unrest and claimed millions of lives. "Summit terminated the Mandate of SAMIDRC and directed the commencement of a phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops from the DRC," the Southern African bloc said in a communique after the summit. The SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, SAMIDRC, — made up of soldiers from Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa — was sent to the region in December 2023 to help the government of the DRC, also a SADC member, restore peace and security. SADC extended its mandate late last year.

Africa News Tonight: DRC, US in talks on trade and security, concerns of civil war risk in South Sudan, tariff talk rattles stock markets

Africa News Tonight: DRC, US in talks on trade and security, concerns of civil war risk in South Sudan, tariff talk rattles stock markets
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

University students resume studies in Bukavu as DRC crisis deepens

University students resume studies in Bukavu as DRC crisis deepens
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:01:13 0:00

University students in Bukavu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are gradually returning to class for the first time since M23 rebels took their city last month. Toto Mufungizi, a student, said while they were home “during these months, we have endured many strange things.” “We stayed at home for at least one month and three weeks. We were confined due to this security situation. Even today, there is no serenity, we cannot move around safely," he told Reuters. The M23 rebel group captured Bukavu, South Kivu's capital, in mid-February, forcing a weeks-long suspension of academic activities. The Official University of Bukavu, UOB, and other institutions have now reopened, but security concerns persist. "We are afraid because we heard rumors that in Goma, students were kidnapped. Here, we are also afraid," third-year student Patient Kaliwe said. Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

Africa News Tonight: Expert calls for dialogue in DRC conflict, Uganda sends troops to Juba, top US, Ukrainian diplomats talk in Jeddah

Africa News Tonight: Expert calls for dialogue in DRC conflict, Uganda sends troops to Juba, top US, Ukrainian diplomats talk in Jeddah
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Africa News Tonight: Exploring the roots of DRC's conflict, Sudan’s displaced face hunger, Morocco's traditions shape Ramadan observances

Africa News Tonight: Exploring the roots of DRC's conflict, Sudan’s displaced face hunger, Morocco's traditions shape Ramadan observances
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:56 0:00

US-Ukraine to hold talks in Saudi Arabia on how to end war with Russia

US-Ukraine to hold talks in Saudi Arabia on how to end war with Russia
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:01:56 0:00

Even as U.S.-led peace negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine recently faced setbacks, talks between Washington and Kyiv are set to take place this week in Saudi Arabia. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details.

US hostage envoy calls Hamas meeting ‘helpful’

US hostage envoy calls Hamas meeting ‘helpful’
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:29 0:00

A Trump administration hostage negotiator called his recent meetings with representatives of U.S.-designated terror group Hamas “helpful.” Discussions focused on the release of an American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas. This, as Israel says it plans to deploy a delegation this week to discuss ceasefire talks. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story.

Africa News Tonight: Arab nations plan Gaza’s future, Afrikaner groups accused of treason, Sudan health workers struggle to provide care

Africa News Tonight: Arab nations plan Gaza’s future, Afrikaner groups accused of treason, Sudan health workers struggle to provide care
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:48 0:00

Russia waits for Trump's next move after clash with Zelenskyy

Russia waits for Trump's next move after clash with Zelenskyy
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:03:13 0:00

Russians are carefully watching U.S. President Donald Trump's push for an end to the war in Ukraine after his heated encounter last week with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Moscow.

European leaders question the halt in US military aid to Ukraine

European leaders question the halt in US military aid to Ukraine
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:03:29 0:00

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a "pause" Monday to military aid shipments to Ukraine with immediate effect, which his administration said was aimed at forcing all sides to peace talks. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, European leaders have said it is vital to continue weapons shipments to Kyiv — but there are doubts over how long Ukraine can keep on fighting.

Africa News Tonight: Trump focuses on policy goals in speech, Germany suspends aid to Rwanda, South Sudan tense after troops deploy in Juba

Africa News Tonight: Trump focuses on policy goals in speech, Germany suspends aid to Rwanda, South Sudan tense after troops deploy in Juba
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Africa News Tonight: DRC president rejects talks with M23, Trump addresses Congress, US auto tariffs may shake up Nigerian car market

Africa News Tonight: DRC president rejects talks with M23, Trump addresses Congress, US auto tariffs may shake up Nigerian car market
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Africa News Tonight: Sudan airstrikes batter families, schools to open as calm returns to Bukavu, thousands mourn Namibia’s Nujoma

Africa News Tonight: Sudan airstrikes batter families, schools to open as calm returns to Bukavu, thousands mourn Namibia’s Nujoma
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:24:55 0:00

Load more

XS
SM
MD
LG