Following a Russian attack on a skyscraper in Pryluky, northern Ukraine, at least 5 people were killed and 20 others injured, including three children. This was reported by the Ukrainian authorities. In another location, the attack caused a fire in a manufacturing building. Two people were killed in bombings in Kiev during the night. Meanwhile, the battle in the Black Sea between Russia and Ukraine continues, two cargo ships have been hit off the coast of Bulgaria. You rescue the occupants of one vessel while the crew of the other is missing. German police have arrested the former head of the foreign secret service August Hanning: he is suspected of espionage. Hanning led the agency from 1998 to 2005. The federal prosecutor mentions among the charges those of espionage against the state, revelation of state secrets, attempted treason and of having worked as an agent of a foreign secret service. No details on which foreign power Hanning, now 80, would serve.
"Today, as a birthday 'present' for Putin, the Russian army destroyed a residential building in Pryluky, Chernihiv region. It was an ordinary five-storey apartment block. Unfortunately, at the moment there are five victims and 26 injured, including five children. It is possible that there are still people under the rubble. Rescuers are working tirelessly on site, doing everything possible to find every single person. The Russian missile attacks also damaged five apartment buildings in Dnipro and four skyscrapers in Kremenchuk. Unfortunately, two people were killed and eight injured. A skyscraper in Zaporizhzhia was damaged by a drone. In Kiev, the Russians killed two more people. So on X Volodymyr Zelensky, according to whom "overall, infrastructure in Kiev and 12 regions were targeted last night.
Bulgaria has concluded the search for the ten crew members of the merchant ship Alfa Watan, which sank yesterday in the Black Sea after an attack by naval and aerial drones, without finding any survivors. This was announced by the rescue service, while another stricken ship, the Able, remains adrift and risks sinking. The Alfa Watan, flying the Togolese flag and owned by Turkey, was sailing from Egypt towards Romania when it was attacked around 2.45 local time on Tuesday, 1.45 in Italy, 70 nautical miles, approximately 130 kilometres, from the Bulgarian coast, within the country's exclusive economic zone. "There is no trace of the sailors and most likely there won't be any," Rumen Nikolov, head of emergencies and rescues at the Maritime Administration, said in Varna. The operation, in which several air and naval assets participated, officially ended yesterday at 5pm and will not resume. A capsized boat, three life rafts and remains of the freighter were found in the area. Defense sources have specified to EFE that Navy ships will continue to monitor the area and pay attention to the possible presence of survivors, without however conducting active searches. The Bulgarian authorities know neither the cargo of the Alfa Watan nor the origin of the drones. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed the attack on Russia, claiming the reconstruction was verified with Sofia.
Moscow claims to have struck the production plants of the Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missiles during the night. According to the Ministry of Defense, "the companies involved in the interests of the Fire Point company for the production and storage of Flamingo and long and medium range drones in the regions of Kiev, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kharkiv were affected". Ria Novosti reports that Moscow targeted port and ship repair infrastructure in the Odessa region, and vessels linked to the Ukrainian armed forces.
An oil tanker off Russia's Black Sea coast was hit by a Kiev drone, causing a huge fire and a thick cloud of black smoke to engulfed part of the tourist city of Sochi. According to the Russian Ministry of Transport, an oil tanker flying the Liberian flag was attacked. “Crude oil is burning in the open in the waters of the Black Sea,” he added in a statement. "The firefighting operations will begin as soon as the intensity of the fire has subsided and rescue boats can safely approach the tanker." The statement reads that the crew of 23 people, all of Indian nationality, were rescued. Since the conflict began, Russia and Ukraine have targeted commercial shipping traffic around the Black Sea, and Russia recently attacked tankers carrying Ukrainian goods near the coast of Romania. Kiev had no comment on the attack. Videos and photos released on social media from Sochi, a popular Black Sea resort town of nearly 500,000 people, show flames above the sea and a thick column of black smoke rising into the sky.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reiterated his intention to deepen the strategic partnership with Russia in a letter sent to President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of his birthday, as reported by the official North Korean news agency KCNA and cited by Yonhap. “I am pleased to have a good friendship with her and open a new chapter in the development of relations between our two countries,” Kim wrote. The North Korean leader defined the Pyongyang government's "unshakable policy" and his "unshakable choice" to attach importance to the global strategic partnership and alliance with Russia, committing to broaden and further develop bilateral cooperation. Kim also expressed his "unchangeable support" for Putin and Russia, saying he was convinced that what he called the Russian people's "sacred war of justice" to defend "sovereignty, security interests and territorial integrity" will end in victory. In the letter, Kim addressed Putin as "my dearest friend" and concluded with a personal message: "I hug you warmly, my dear comrade," Yonhap reports. Relations between Pyongyang and Moscow have intensified since June 2024, when Kim and Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty that also provides for mutual military assistance. The agreement set the stage for North Korean military support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.
