Russian air strikes killed a child and injured five people in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and the surrounding area, early today (Wednesday), officials said. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram application that fires broke out and damaged homes, a store and a warehouse in Kiev, and resulted in two people being injured.
A witness from Reuters heard explosions in the city. Timur Tkachenko, governor of the Kiev region, said on the Telegram application that a Russian missile and a drone attack resulted in the death of a child and the injury of three people in the region, and also caused damage to infrastructure facilities, homes, warehouses, and cars.
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its forces launched a large-scale attack overnight targeting a communications center in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and energy facilities in the surrounding area that support military production, in addition to port infrastructure in the city of Ismail. The ministry explained that all identified targets were hit.
In this context, the Polish Air Navigation Authority said today that Jeszów and Lublin airports temporarily suspended air operations, due to military aviation activities during Russian attacks on Ukraine.
King Felipe VI of Spain said on Tuesday that European countries should have shown more solidarity with Madrid and provided it with greater support following the mass crossing of tens of thousands of migrants into the Ceuta enclave.
The king was speaking during a dinner party held on the occasion of a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, and his speech was unusually frank, reflecting the scale of the crisis facing Spain in the wake of the influx of migrants across the Ceuta border that occurred two months ago.
The king said that what happened in the enclave on the North African coast was “unacceptable” and led to a massive challenge to security and public order, as well as the humanitarian aspect.
He continued, "It is a position that must lead to strengthening cooperation between member states in terms of resources and support."
He added, "The European countries that are exposed to the greatest amount of pressure because they are located on the external borders of the European Union cannot bear alone a responsibility that also falls on everyone else."
The king spoke during a dinner at the Royal Palace in Madrid, which was also attended by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the few European supporters of the benefits of migration, who launched a major campaign to regularize irregular migrants that ended in the summer.
However, Sanchez is proposing changes to asylum rules to return arrivals faster, which NGOs and lawyers say would violate human rights conventions.
In response to a question in a press conference about these plans, Regional Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres said that the government is “studying the possibility” of making a legislative amendment, but pointed out that the matter is “not easy” due to issues related to international law.
Following the crossing of about 72,000 migrants into Ceuta on July 30, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised the rapid measures taken by Spain to return most of the arrivals to Morocco. However, other leaders showed less understanding, and Italy suspended the Schengen Agreement on freedom of movement arrangements with Spain for a month.
On Tuesday, European Union Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner revealed a plan to strengthen controls on the bloc's external borders in the wake of the chaotic influx of migrants to Ceuta.
The plan, which requires approval by member states, will strengthen the powers of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and provide it with a force ready for immediate deployment.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right and the National Rally in France, on Tuesday defended party leader Jordan Bardella against charges of making anti-Semitic comments, months before the presidential elections that she is likely to win.
The French website Mediapart, known for its investigative reports, published a report this week in which it indicated that Bardella (31 years old) recorded conversations that included anti-Semitic comments in the summer of 2013, including that “the Jew must dominate others, crush them, and steal them.”
The website also reported that Bardella wrote, “This is all they (the Jews) want: a new world order dominated by Israel, with Jerusalem as its capital, of course,” in addition to the fact that “all the banks are owned by Jews.”
Bardella denied the comments made in an investigation based on private notes he allegedly wrote when he was still 17 or 18 years old.
The French news site confirmed that it had verified the authenticity of these statements, without mentioning where they were recorded or publishing pictures of them.
The party held a meeting of its representatives on Tuesday, attended by both Le Pen and Bardella.
The right-wing leader, who opinion polls give her preference among the candidates in the presidential elections, said that she places “full confidence” in Bardella, who is likely to be her prime minister if she wins.
She pledged that the National Rally would respond to these accusations, warning that “our opponents will do anything at all, including the most disgusting things, in an attempt to disrupt this momentum” enjoyed by the party, which she hopes will lead her to the Elysee Palace to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in 2027.
In turn, Bardella spoke of “the beginning of an all-out war and an attempt to destabilize the presidential campaign” against the far-right party, criticizing what he described as “an attempt to assassinate my political career.”
On the other hand, Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Anti-Semitism, Amichai Shekli, defended Jordan Bardella, whom he described in a post on the
Chikli attacked the Mediapart website and accused it of trying to “discredit” Bardella.
According to a new opinion poll published on Monday, Le Pen will lead over all other candidates in the first round of elections scheduled for mid-2027, and she also has the advantage of winning over any competitor who may face her in the second round.
Le Pen (58 years old) intends to run in the presidential race for the fourth time in her career.
“I now believe that Mediapart is the party that should be asked to wear a protective vest... because of course the way it behaves will be responded to,” the far-right leader said on Tuesday.
Bardella, who is known for his frequent use of social media platforms and his great care for his political image and public life, is one of the pillars of the Le Pen project, which aims to normalize the party's image and make it a political force capable of winning elections.
Bardella worked with Le Pen to rid the party of the legacy of her late father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who founded the party and led it under the name “National Front,” and was known for repeatedly making anti-Semitic statements.
Bardella previously made a visit to Israel in 2025, which was the first for a leader of the French extreme right to the Hebrew state, as part of his effort to highlight the new image that the party seeks to establish.
