KYIV: Ukrainian forces launched an overnight drone attack that set several oil storage tanks ablaze near the town of Azov in southern Russia, a defense source in Kyiv told AFP on Tuesday.
Kyiv has carried out several similar attacks on Russian energy facilities in recent months, arguing they are fair targets given that they fuel Moscow’s military.
Russia has also staged dozens of devastating attacks on Ukrainian power plants throughout its two-year invasion, crippling the country’s energy grid.
“Oil product tanks caught fire in Azov as a result of a drone attack. According to preliminary data, there were no casualties,” said the governor of the local Rostov region, Vasily Golubev.
Video published by Russia’s emergencies ministry showed thick smoke and flames billowing out of what appeared to be multiple oil storage tanks in an undisclosed location.
Ukraine did not say how many drones were involved in the attack.
The defense source, who asked not to be named, described it as a “successful” attack and said it caused “powerful fires in the installations.”
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) “will continue to impose ‘drone sanctions’ on Russia’s oil refining complex and reduce the enemy’s economic potential, which provides the aggressor with resources to wage war against Ukraine,” the source said.
It also claimed that SBU drones have carried out more than 20 successful attacks on Russian oil facilities in various regions.
Some 200 firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed to deal with the blaze, which spanned an area of at least 3,200 square meters (3,800 square yards), Russia’s emergencies ministry said.
The Rostov region sits directly across the border from Ukraine and is home to the operational headquarters overseeing Russia’s invasion.
On the battlefield, Ukraine said Russian forces were fighting to enter the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, a flashpoint town in the east whose capture could accelerate Russian advances.
Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk, where war-scarred Chasiv Yar lies, has borne the brunt of fighting over more than two years and the Kremlin claims the region is part of Russia.
“The enemy keeps trying to advance to the micro-district Novy in the town of Chasiv Yar,” a Ukrainian military official said in a briefing.
Further south, the military said Moscow’s forces were also pushing toward Pokrovsk, where they were closing in on a key road that would complicate supplies between strategic hubs in the region.
A 24-year-old Ukrainian serviceman, who identified himself with his call-sign Dykyi, dismissed concerns Russians could render the road impassable for Ukraine.
A colleague, who did not give his name, noted that Russian forces were already flying drones and launching missile attacks at the road.
“It will definitely not be blocked for the military,” Dykyi told AFP at a training ground in the Donetsk region, however, over the sounds of gunfire.
He said that even if Russian forces do advance toward the thoroughfare, military engineers could craft new routes or fix alternative roads in bad repair.
“As long as the weather is good, there are routes everywhere,” he said.
Ukraine’s air force meanwhile said it had downed 10 Iranian-designed attack drones launched by Russian forces overnight.
In a separate incident, Ukraine’s prosecutor general accused Russian forces of beheading a Ukrainian serviceman in the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukraine’s national grid operator Ukrenergo meanwhile said the country will face rolling electricity blackouts throughout Wednesday after Russian strikes on Ukrainian power plants.
On the diplomatic front, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that China’s support for Russia’s defense industry is prolonging the Ukraine war and “has to stop.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian earlier urged NATO to “stop shifting blame” over the Ukraine war after the alliance’s chief Jens Stoltenberg accused Beijing of worsening the conflict through support of Russia.
At a summit in Switzerland on Sunday, world leaders backed Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity, and the need for eventual talks with Russia on ending the war — but left the key questions of how and when unresolved.
Moscow doubled down on its demand for Kyiv’s effective surrender as a starting point for negotiations.
Ukraine claims drone attack on oil tanks in Russia
https://arab.news/6cwcb
Ukraine claims drone attack on oil tanks in Russia
- Kyiv has carried out several similar attacks on Russian energy facilities in recent months
- Some 200 firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed to deal with the blaze
Trump and Zelensky make nice after tensions over Ukraine war
- Zelensky later said he presented Ukraine's "Victory Plan" to Trump and "we thoroughly reviewed the situation in Ukraine and the consequences of the war for our people”
- The Ukrainian leader ehad met Trump’s election rival Kamala Harris, as well as President Joe Biden, on Thursday in Washington and both pledged their support for Ukraine
NEW YORK: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky held high-stakes talks Friday following several attacks by the White House hopeful on the Ukrainian president as the looming American election raises questions over long-term US support for ally Kyiv in its war with Russia.
Foreign policy hawks have voiced fears that a second Trump term would spell disaster for Ukraine’s defense, as the Republican has repeatedly defended Russia’s President Vladimir Putin while voicing skepticism over US funding for Kyiv.
Zelensky had met Trump’s election rival Kamala Harris, as well as President Joe Biden, on Thursday in Washington and both pledged their support for Ukraine.
Trump — who this week accused Zelensky of refusing to “make a deal” to end the conflict — vowed to bring peace if he wins a second term in office as the two men addressed reporters after their tete-a-tete at Trump Tower in New York.
“It’s a shame but this is a war that should have never happened and we’ll get it solved. It is a complicated puzzle,” Trump said. “Too many people dead. Too many beautiful cities.”
Before the meeting, which lasted less than an hour, the former US president had hailed his alliance with Zelensky but added: “I also have a very good relationship — as you know — with President Putin.”
Zelensky responded that the pair shared a “common view that the war in Ukraine has to be stopped” and that it is imperative that Ukraine prevail.
Later in a post on X, Zelensky described the meeting as “very productive.”
“I presented him our Victory Plan, and we thoroughly reviewed the situation in Ukraine and the consequences of the war for our people,” Zelensky wrote. “Many details were discussed. I am grateful for this meeting. A just peace is needed.”
The meeting initially looked like it would be scrapped after Zelensky told The New Yorker magazine that Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war” and that his running mate J.D. Vance is “too radical.”
The interview was published amid outcry over the Ukrainian leader’s trip to Pennsylvania, a critical US election battleground, with Democratic politicians to thank US workers for manufacturing ammunition that is helping Kyiv’s war effort against Moscow.
House Republicans have launched investigations into the trip, suggesting it amounted to election interference, and calling for Ukraine’s ambassador in Washington to be fired.
Trump, who refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to defeat Russia during his debate with Harris earlier this month, hit back at Zelensky at a campaign rally Wednesday in North Carolina, berating him as “a man who refuses to make a deal” for peace.
Zelensky is in New York this week for the UN General Assembly, and has been looking to shore up support for his country’s war effort as it struggles on the battlefield in the third year of Moscow’s invasion.
The Ukrainian leader presented a so-called “victory” plan to Biden and Harris at the White House on Thursday, with Biden announcing a new military aid package worth nearly $8 billion for Kyiv.
Standing with Zelensky at her side, Harris did not mention Trump by name but said there were “some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory.”
Zelensky said Friday that his talks in the United States went “exactly as needed.”
“The Victory Plan has been presented to America, and we explained each point in detail. Now, our teams will work to implement every step and decision,” he wrote on social media.
However, the row with Trump underscored how November’s US election could upend the support that Ukraine receives from its biggest backer.
Trump has echoed many of Putin’s talking points, saying at a rally earlier this week that Ukraine could not beat Russia, highlighting its 1812 defeat of Napoleon but ignoring more recent military defeats.
When Trump was president, he asked Zelensky for potentially damaging political material on Biden ahead of the 2020 election while withholding vital military aid that had already been approved by Congress — leading to the first of his two impeachments.
But the Republican had maintained good relations with Zelensky, pleased that the Ukrainian defended him over his conduct. Trump spent much of the impromptu news conference reminding reporters of Zelensky’s support.
French pay tribute to student murdered in Paris
- The killing of 19-year-old student has led to fresh demands to crack down on illegal immigration
VERSAILLES, France: Nearly 3,000 people on Friday attended the funeral of a Paris student who was raped and murdered in a case that has inflamed a French debate on migration after a Moroccan was named as the suspected attacker.
The killing of the 19-year-old, named only as Philippine, whose body was found half-buried in a park in western Paris, has led to fresh demands to crack down on illegal immigration.
A 22-year-old Moroccan arrested in Geneva has been named as the suspected attacker.
Mourners packed Saint-Louis Cathedral in Versailles outside Paris for the funeral, with many waiting outside as the student’s wooden coffin was carried in.
“I thought it was important to come here to reflect and pay my respects,” said one 15-year-old girl, clutching a bouquet of white and purple flowers.
FASTFACT
A 22-year-old Moroccan arrested in Geneva has been named as the suspected attacker.
The girl’s mother, Anouck B., said many people were affected by the tragedy. “It was important to come and support the whole family,” she said.
The Moroccan suspect is expected to be extradited to France. French authorities say he had been previously convicted of rape and been the subject of an expulsion order.
On Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron, speaking on a visit to Montreal, called Philippine’s murder “a heinous and atrocious crime” and added that “we need to protect the public better.”
The conservative interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, has vowed to change immigration rules after the murder.
The student’s body was found in the Bois de Boulogne Park, not far from Paris-Dauphine University in the affluent 16th district.
According to prosecutors, the suspect was convicted in 2021 of a rape committed in 2019 when he was a minor.
He was released in June, served his sentence, and placed in an administrative detention center.
In early September, a judge freed him on condition he reported regularly to the authorities.
Since the murder, conservative and far-right politicians have urged harsh measures, saying deportation orders are not enforced properly.
“How many tragedies will France endure before our leaders react?” Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally, said on the X social media platform.
However, some rights groups and left-wingers said the focus should not be on immigration but rather “feminicide.”
“Misogyny kills. Let’s not have the wrong debate,” said the women’s rights group CIDFF.
Iranian operatives charged in the US with hacking Donald Trump’s presidential campaign
- Three accused hackers were employed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Justice Department said
- Trump campaign said on Aug. 10 it had been hacked, Iranian actors stole sensitive internal documents
WASHINGTON: The Justice Department unsealed criminal charges Friday against three Iranian operatives suspected of hacking Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and disseminating stolen information to media organizations.
The three accused hackers were employed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and their operation also targeted a broad swath of targets, including government officials, members of the media and non-governmental organizations, the Justice Department said.
The Trump campaign disclosed on Aug. 10 that it had been hacked and said Iranian actors had stolen and distributed sensitive internal documents. Multiple major news organizations that said they were leaked confidential information from inside the Trump campaign, including Politico, The New York Times and The Washington Post, declined to publish it.
US intelligence officials subsequently linked Iran to a hack of the Trump campaign and to an attempted breach of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign. They said the hack-and-dump operation was meant to sow discord, exploit divisions within American society and potentially influence the outcome of elections that Iran perceives to be “particularly consequential in terms of the impact they could have on its national security interests.”
Last week, officials also revealed that the Iranians in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails containing excerpts of the hacked information to people associated with the Biden campaign. None of the recipients replied. The Harris campaign said the emails resembled spam or a phishing attempt and condemned the outreach to the Iranians as “unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity.”
The indictment comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran as Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel escalate attacks against each other, raising concerns about the prospect of an all-out war, and as US officials say they continue to track physical threats by Iran against a number of officials including Trump.
US charges British man over ‘hack-to-trade’ scheme
- The US Department of Justice will seek the extradition of Robert Westbrook, 39, of London, to face securities fraud, wire fraud and five computer fraud charges
- Westbrook was arrested this week in the United Kingdom, and also faces related US Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges
WASHINGTON: A British man has been arrested and charged by US authorities with hacking into the computers of five companies to obtain details about their expected earnings and making $3.75 million of illegal profit by trading before results were released.
The US Department of Justice will seek the extradition of Robert Westbrook, 39, of London, to face securities fraud, wire fraud and five computer fraud charges contained in a criminal indictment made public on Friday.
Westbrook was arrested this week in the United Kingdom, and also faces related US Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges. His lawyer could not immediately be identified.
The companies were not identified by name in court papers filed in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.
Financial and stock price details in the SEC complaint suggest the companies are food container maker Tupperware, general contractor Tutor Perini, software provider Guidewire Software, gas station operator Murphy USA and telecommunications equipment maker Lumentum Holdings.
Authorities said Westbrook’s “hack-to-trade” scheme involved gaining access to executives’ email accounts between January 2019 and May 2020, and using material nonpublic information to buy stocks and options prior to at least 14 earnings announcements.
On several occasions, Westbrook allegedly implemented rules to have content from executives’ email accounts automatically forwarded to his own accounts.
Jorge Tenreiro, acting chief of the SEC’s crypto assets and cyber unit, called Westbrook’s activity a “sophisticated international hacking,” including the use of anonymous email accounts, VPN services, and bitcoin to conceal wrongdoing.
None of the five companies was accused of wrongdoing.
The securities fraud and wire fraud counts each carry a maximum 20-year prison term, while each computer fraud count carries a maximum five-year term.
Iranian operatives charged in the US with hacking Donald Trump’s presidential campaign
- US intelligence officials subsequently linked Iran to a hack of the Trump campaign and to an attempted breach of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign
- The indictment comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran
WASHINGTON: The Justice Department unsealed criminal charges Friday against three Iranian operatives suspected of hacking Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and disseminating stolen information to media organizations.
The three accused hackers were employed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and their operation also targeted a broad swath of targets, including government officials, members of the media and non-governmental organizations, the Justice Department said.
The Trump campaign disclosed on Aug. 10 that it had been hacked and said Iranian actors had stolen and distributed sensitive internal documents. Multiple major news organizations that said they were leaked confidential information from inside the Trump campaign, including Politico, The New York Times and The Washington Post, declined to publish it.
US intelligence officials subsequently linked Iran to a hack of the Trump campaign and to an attempted breach of the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign. They said the hack-and-dump operation was meant to sow discord, exploit divisions within American society and potentially influence the outcome of elections that Iran perceives to be “particularly consequential in terms of the impact they could have on its national security interests.”
Last week, officials also revealed that the Iranians in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails containing excerpts of the hacked information to people associated with the Biden campaign. None of the recipients replied. The Harris campaign said the emails resembled spam or a phishing attempt and condemned the outreach to the Iranians as “unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity.”
The indictment comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran as Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel escalate attacks against each other, raising concerns about the prospect of an all-out war, and as US officials say they continue to track physical threats by Iran against a number of officials including Trump.
