
Nato forced to scramble warplanes for 13th time in weeks after Putin's attack
Vladimir Putin unleashed yet another round of bombardments on Ukraine – close to the borders of four Western nations – forcing Nato to scramble its warplanes.
It is the 13th time in a few weeks that the alliance has publicly admitted to deploying jets in response to a widespread Russian attack, but the number could be much higher.
Missiles and drones pounded the Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk – one of the heaviest attacks in the war – reaching between 60 and 105 miles from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
For the past two months, Russia's nighttime strikes have strained Ukraine's air defences, and last night was no different.
At least one person has been killed and seven others injured in Kyiv, where its 3.7 million residents are exhausted and on edge.
Explosions lit up the night sky as the high-pitched whine of drone engines echoed off the walls of the capital's high-rise buildings.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said rescuers and medics were working on sites in four districts.
A subway station in central Kyiv, commercial property, shops, houses and a kindergarten have been heavily damaged.
Footage shows the Lukianivska metro station filling with smoke and debris as residents who were shielded inside the makeshift bomb shelter scrambled for safety.
Ukraine's air force said that Russia launched 426 drones and 24 missiles overnight across the country, but that only 23 drones hit their targets.
At the scene of a strike, dazed residents stood amid shattered glass and scorched walls, surveying the damage after a drone hit the lower floors of an apartment building.
In the region of Ivano-Frankivsk, several hundred miles west of Kyiv, four people including a 12-year-old boy were injured in the overnight attack, according to the state emergencies service.
Attack drones were also intercepted over the regions of Sumy, Kirovohrad, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Poltava, and Kherson. More Trending
Volodymyr Zelensky said on X: 'Throughout the night, Russia launched more than 420 drones and over 20 missiles, including ballistic ones.
'The waves of attacks lasted all night and continued into the morning. In the morning, 'shaheds' once again targeted the Kharkiv region.
'During the shelling, mobile fire groups, army aviation, electronic warfare units, Air Force warriors, and interceptor drones were in action.
'Many targets were shot down – but unfortunately, not all.'
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Moscow airports in chaos after fourth night of Ukraine drone strikes on city
MORE: Tsunami threat looms over Russia and Hawaii after series of earthquakes
MORE: War planes scrambled over Nato country after Russia launches latest barage
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
'Porta Potty party model' found in road with broken spine reveals what really happened
Maria Kovalchuk, 20, pointed the finger at 'rich Russian kids' who she alleges abused her after a party in a Dubai hotel, before she was found on a roadside in March Ukrainian model found on roadside with broken spine speaks out A wheelchair-bound Ukrainian model who was found seriously injured in Dubai after going missing for more than a week has spoken out for the first time. Maria Kovalchuk was discovered on a roadside in March, amid fears she had been kidnapped into "sexual slavery". The 20-year-old, who suffered horrific injuries including a broken spine and limbs, had been in a coma after she was found close to death having "fallen from a height." Based on the testimony of some reported friends, there were fears that Maria had been a victim of a notorious Porta Potty party in Dubai - where rich men are reported to pay large sums to abuse and degrade attractive young women, including those with social media profiles. Maria - who did not speak before leaving Dubai - has now revealed she is recovering from her ordeal in Norway, where her mother lives. The model, who has a prominent scar on her forehead after undergoing multiple surgeries, denied that citizens of the United Arab Emirates were behind her torture. Instead, she pointed the finger at "rich Russian kids" who she alleges abused her after a party in a hotel. She claimed that her expensive medical treatment was paid for by the Dubai authorities. Her mother, Anna, said: "I don't know how much they paid - the sum was colossal, millions." Russian news outlet Ostorozhno, Novosti, which spoke to Maria in Norway, claimed that "in exchange, she was asked not to say anything that would cast the Emirates' authorities in a negative light." Maria said: "I mostly use a wheelchair and crutches. "I still have a leg fracture that's healing. I'm learning to walk with crutches again, but for now, the wheelchair is my main means of moving around." Recalling the incident, Maria said she had been in Dubai to get content for her job as a model when she overslept and missed her onward flight to Thailand. According to the report, she met a young man - whom she had previously met at a karaoke bar - in the lobby of the Five Jumeirah Village hotel. The 19-year-old man in question lives with his father in Dubai. The report said: "She told him her air ticket had gone to waste and she had to check out of her hotel. "[He] offered for her to stay in his room and claimed that his father could fly her to Thailand on a private jet." Maria then claimed that there was a party with the children of wealthy Russian and Ukrainian businessmen. She admitted she agreed to go with the man and his friends - hoping it would lead to a free flight to Thailand, but the atmosphere turned sour. "They started teasing me, why I wasn't drinking," she told prominent Russian journalist Ksenia Sobchak at "Then some aggressive pushes like pushing in the shoulders began. After that, they started making fun of me like 'you belong to us, we will do whatever we want.' "I tried to take it as a joke, because it was really weird. They started behaving inappropriately, smashing bottles on the floor. That is, the entire floor was strewn with broken glass, that is, it was impossible to walk there. "Then they started intimidating me, smashing glass. After that, they took my personal belongings, which included my passport. And one of the girls….put on my things and just left in them, although before that I asked her not to do this, [and] to leave my things. That is, no one heard me, and she just left the hotel in my dress." This woman is now out of contact. The men "hinted" they wanted sex, she said, adding: "I did not reciprocate, and this aggression was also heating them up." The report claimed that "amid the violence, Maria tried to flee "but the young men "dragged her back into the room." It added: "When they stepped out onto the balcony, she escaped and hid at a nearby construction site." Then the men, who were "out of their minds" by this point, allegedly found her at the construction site and "beat her". "They practically tore the skin off her scalp, then threw her off a ledge onto the road," said the account. "I ran away. Then, already on the street, when I was, I didn't see them anymore, but I knew they were coming," said Maria. "I ran to the nearest building, just scared, and ran in, hid there. It was just an unfinished building, open." Maria doesn't remember the violence itself that led to her injuries, and the CCTV footage has since been erased, she said. "Three months have passed - the police waited until the cameras were automatically wiped [after this period]. So now there's no evidence," said Maria. "Most likely, there was a blow to the head, I suppose. The next scene [that] I remember is me asking for help from a passing car, which had already stopped and called an ambulance and the police." She had fled wearing only a hotel robe. She said: "I think that maybe I was thrown. Or it was a beating. One of two options, the injuries looked like either a beating or a fall." The men accused by Maria were both detained by police in Dubai but only for one day, said the report. It added: "They now claim in their testimonies that they tried to find and help Maria and that she had asked to come to the party herself." There appear to be no charges against them. "The next day the case was closed, they were released. And the case was closed," said Maria's mother. "The [Dubai] police investigation indicated that Maria said that she was running away from sexual violence and then went to protect her honour, her dignity, decided to commit suicide," she said. The mother claimed the statement was "falsified", adding that Maria wasn't trying to take her own life and saying she was not intoxicated. Medical tests also showed she had no alcohol in her blood, said her mother.


North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Ukraine's allies stand at ‘moment of maximum opportunity'
The Defence Secretary said the UK and other allies must use Donald Trump's 50-day ultimatum to Vladimir Putin to start a '50-day drive' to arm Ukraine ahead of any talks, with the aim of strengthening its hand against Russia. The US president has threatened to impose 'very severe' tariffs on Russia if it does not agree a ceasefire by September 2, 50 days on from his announcement that he would sell 'top-of-the-line' weapons to Nato that could then be given to Ukraine. Speaking at the 29th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG), Mr Healey told allies gathered from 52 nations: 'This is a moment of maximum opportunity. 'Last week, President Trump announced a new plan for large scale Nato weapons transfers, and committed to getting these, he said, quickly distributed to the battlefield. 'The UK backs this policy. We will play our full part in its success.' Mr Healey added: 'Alongside this new agreement to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself, President Trump also started the clock on a 50-day deadline for Putin to agree to peace or to face crippling economic sanctions. 'And as members of this UDCG, we need to step up, in turn, a 50-day drive to arm Ukraine on the battlefield and to help push Putin to the negotiating table.' The UK Defence Secretary chaired the meeting for the fourth time, also his third time co-chairing with German defence minister Boris Pistorius. The group, which brings together defence ministers and officials from Ukraine's allies, was chaired by the US until Mr Trump came to power and began rowing back on American support for Kyiv and European security. As the UK and Germany led calls for European allies to step up their support for Kyiv, Mr Healey said the two countries have 'agreed to partner in providing critical air defence missiles to Ukraine'. His German counterpart Mr Pistorius, meanwhile, said the pair were involved in an initiative to replenish ammunition for anti-aircraft guns. 'We will, together with our British friends, provide 220,000 rounds of 35 millimetre ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft gun system at short notice, financed by Germany,' the German defence minister said. The drive to step up support for Ukraine comes after the UK revealed it has spent some £150 million on air defence and artillery for the war-torn nation over the past two months. At least £700 million will be spent on similar support over the course of the year, according to the Ministry of Defence. Elsewhere on Monday, the Foreign Office announced 137 fresh sanctions on Russian entities, targeting the oil and gas sector. The new sanctions target 135 oil tankers involved in Mr Putin's 'shadow fleet' operation, responsible for illicitly carrying cargo since the start of the war in Ukraine. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 'New sanctions will further dismantle Putin's shadow fleet and drain Russia's war chest of its critical oil revenues. 'As Putin continues to stall and delay on serious peace talks, we will not stand idly by. We will continue to use the full might of our sanctions regime to ratchet up economic pressure at every turn and stand side by side with Ukraine.'


Metro
2 hours ago
- Metro
Screams heard after bus smashes into bridge injuring 15
Fifteen people are injured after a double decker bus collided with a bridge, tearing off its roof. The incident occurred on a No 100 bus in Eccles, Greater Manchester. 'It probably two minutes before I got there,' one resident told Manchester Evening News. They said: 'I could just hear screaming coming from the top of the bus.' A spokesperson for GM Police said: 'We are currently responding to a collision between a bus and a bridge at the junction of Barton Road and Trafford Road in Eccles. Emergency services are currently on scene as part of the ongoing work. Please avoid the area as road closures are currently in place.' Northwest Ambulance Service said: 'Following reports of an RTC involving a bus in Eccles, the trust has dispatched resources to the scene. We are currently assessing the situation and working with other members of the emergency services.' Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. MORE: Family pays tribute to man, 58, killed in M60 motorbike crash MORE: Italian Oasis fans recreate iconic Manchester street Renaissance photo MORE: Jack Grealish was slapped by Man Utd fan he called a 'little, ugly w**ker'