Kazakhstan vows to fast-track AZAL crash investigation amid rising diplomatic tensions
Kazakhstan has vowed to speed up its investigation into the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) crash near Aktau, as mounti...
Russia launched a major overnight assault across Ukraine, deploying hundreds of drones and a missile that struck multiple cities and damaged energy infrastructure, Ukrainian authorities said on Wednesday. At least 15 people were reported wounded.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 400 drones and a single ballistic missile, focusing primarily on Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, and Vinnytsia—cities spread across the country. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attacks were aimed at critical energy infrastructure.
Ukraine's largest private energy provider, DTEK, reported that around 80,000 households in Kryvyi Rih and other parts of the Dnipropetrovsk region lost power due to the strikes.
While most drones were intercepted, 57 managed to breach defences, striking 12 targets along with the ballistic missile, the air force said.
Russian drone and missile attacks on urban centres have intensified this summer, with hundreds of drones used in coordinated waves. U.S. President Donald Trump cited these escalating attacks as justification for his recent approval of additional military support for Ukraine, including advanced air defence systems.
“Russia is not changing its strategy. To counter this terror, we need a systemic boost in defences—more air defences, more interceptors, and a stronger response,” Zelenskyy posted on X.
In Vinnytsia, eight people were injured, and a plant owned by the Polish wood flooring manufacturer Barlinek Group was struck. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski described the strike as deliberate and warned that "Putin's criminal war is getting closer to our borders."
In Kryvyi Rih, local military chief Oleksandr Vilkul said the city endured a prolonged assault involving a missile and 28 drones, which disrupted water supplies in some areas. He noted that a 17-year-old boy was critically injured and remains in hospital in serious condition.
In Kharkiv, a city regularly targeted by Russian forces, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported at least 17 explosions during a 20-minute drone barrage that left three people injured.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that air defence systems were activated in the capital, though no casualties or damage were reported there.
Since the start of its full-scale invasion more than three years ago, Russia has killed thousands of civilians in attacks on Ukrainian cities. Moscow continues to justify strikes on infrastructure by claiming such facilities support Ukraine’s military effort. Ukraine also conducts long-range strikes within Russian territory, though on a smaller scale.
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Saudi Aramco closed its Ras Tanura refinery on Monday following an Iranian drone strike, an industry source told Reuters as Tehran retaliated across the Gulf after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iranian targets over the weekend.
The Middle East crisis intensifies after the deadly attack on the compound of the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei on Saturday that killed him, other family members and senior figures. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. targets in the region.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
Türkiye raised its security level for Turkish-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to Level 3 on Sunday (2 March). The development follows Iranian restrictions on shipping after U.S. and Israeli strikes and confirmation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors as tensions continue to rise.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 3rd of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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