(KYIV) – Russian forces launched overnight strikes against Ukraine into Thursday, wounding at least 18 people across multiple locations, with Kyiv and the port city of Odesa among the primary targets.
In the capital, at least 12 people were wounded, including two children aged 10 and 12. Explosions echoed across Kyiv shortly after midnight, and thick plumes of smoke were later seen rising from the city skyline. In Odesa, Russian drones struck a high-rise residential building, wounding a three-year-old child and two other people.
In a separate development, Ukrainian forces reportedly struck a military airfield in Russia’s Rostov region. Footage of the strike was released by the press service of the 14th Separate Unmanned Aerial Systems Regiment. Reports also emerged of a fire at Russia’s Yaroslavl oil refinery following a drone attack. Local authorities said the fire has been extinguished.
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives approved the late North Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham’s Russia sanctions bill. The legislation grants President Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas, as well as on five countries accused of helping Moscow evade energy sanctions.
Countries importing less than 15 percent of Russia’s total natural gas exports, along with those actively reducing their imports, are exempt. The list of sanctioned countries will be reviewed every six months, despite provisions requiring the president to impose sanctions on terrorists within 30 days. The legislation effectively gives him the option to refrain from using those measures. The Senate passed a bill with overwhelming bipartisan support last month, but faced much stronger opposition in the House, where many Democrats argued it would give Trump too much authority over tariffs.
In Europe, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to address the European Parliament, a day after EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed making Canada the EU’s first associate member. US President Donald Trump has called the plan laughable and threatened very serious tariffs in response.
The Canadian prime minister will make his speech just one day after von der Leyen made an unprecedented offer in her State of the Union address, proposing Canada become the very first EU associate state. What that entails remains unclear and has raised eyebrows among EU candidate countries, while notably ruffling feathers in Washington.
Trump was unequivocal in his opposition, describing the plan as laughable and accusing Canada of being a terrible trade partner. He warned that if the move were perceived as a hostile act, he would impose very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe on many things. He added that if Europe proceeded with good intention, that would be fine, but bad intention would result in very heavy tariffs on Europe.
It remains to be seen whether Carney will address Trump’s remarks. More importantly, Ottawa may clarify what it wants from this relationship and what the new partnership between Canada and the EU might entail.
The European Commission is also set to unveil the EU Kids Act, which could see children under the age of 15 having restricted access to social media video sharing apps and AI chatbots. The proposal will need to pass through the parliament and all 27 member states before becoming a reality.
In other news, the US has denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a visa, effectively barring him from participating in next week’s UN General Assembly in New York. The UN General Assembly is due to vote on allowing Abbas to submit a video statement to the annual gathering. The US is generally required to allow access to foreign diplomats for meetings at the UN in New York. However, Washington said it can deny visas for reasons concerning security, extremism and foreign policy.
The Trump administration has stepped up targeting of pro-Palestinian voices in recent months. Earlier this year, Washington sanctioned nine International Criminal Court judges, including ICC President Tomoko Akane, for issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Congressional Democrats led by Robert Garcia from the House Oversight Panel have launched an investigation into potential links between the White House and Russian oligarchs. The inquiry follows a ProPublica report revealing that a Russian oligarch with ties to Vladimir Putin spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding.
The Trump family is once again in the crosshairs of congressional Democrats in Washington. This time, however, the focus of their investigations is not the president but his newlywed son, Donald Trump Jr.
A report published Monday by investigative news outlet ProPublica found that a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on wedding festivities, including a private island. That individual is Umar Kremlev, the head of the International Boxing Association. In 2024, Kremlev accepted Russia’s Order of Friendship award from Vladimir Putin and earlier this year accompanied Putin as part of a delegation to China.
The Trump administration says it has no knowledge of Kremlev or his activities. The newlywed couple insists Kremlev’s donation was not politically motivated, stating that their dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations after their wedding. They added that it was unfortunate that something so personal and happy could be recast as something political or sinister simply because of who someone is or where they come from.
News of the payment surfaced shortly after Donald Trump Jr. returned from a trip to central and eastern Europe. On 7th September, he met privately with Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna in Tallinn to discuss regional security and the war in Ukraine. The US president’s son also made a stop in Poland, reportedly to discuss another visit by Polish President Karol Nawrocki to the White House in conjunction with this year’s G20 summit in Miami. A spokesperson for the president later denied such a meeting took place.
In Bulgaria, economic deficit, corruption and the country’s relationship with Russia are among the challenges facing the prime minister, who only recently took office. Anti-government protests are heating up, with demonstrators demanding the government’s resignation. Rosen Zhelyazkov, the Bulgarian prime minister who assumed office just over four months ago in May, is facing yet another protest. In Sofia, hundreds of Bulgarians took to the streets outside the Council of Ministers, accusing Zhelyazkov of failing to deliver on promises to rein in the country’s stubbornly high inflation.
One protester said there had been a lot of explaining about how many things would be done, but nothing had been done. Prices had shot up enormously from the start of the year to now, and spending had gone up enormously once again, but they saw no improvements whatsoever in people’s lives.
Bulgaria’s elevated inflation recently reached its highest levels in years, peaking at 6.3 percent last May, and has now begun growing again following a brief period of decline. However, some protesters say it is Bulgaria’s political trajectory that concerns them most. One demonstrator said Bulgaria needed to stand firm in its position with partners from the EU, NATO and so on, adding that this was one of the things that was not okay in their view.
Since assuming office, Zhelyazkov has come under waves of criticism for opting out of the coalition of the willing, diminished aid to Ukraine and opposing EU sanctions on Russia. He has said Bulgaria will make efforts to continue its European path, but added that a strong Bulgaria in a strong Europe needs critical thinking and pragmatism, because Europe has fallen victim to its own ambition to be a moral leader in a world without rules.
The most recent protest echoes the voices of demonstrators who took to Sofia’s streets in July, when hundreds gathered to criticise the new government’s budget deficit and what protesters saw as the authorities’ pro-Russian stance. Many are now asking whether this is just another protest that will fade away or the beginning of a broader challenge to Zhelyazkov’s rule.
In the entertainment world, all supporting acts have exited British musician Ed Sheeran’s US tour in protest at the decision to remove rapper Macklemore from the lineup over his support for Palestine. Sheeran’s own band also quit. Earlier this month, Macklemore, who has long spoken out against Israel’s assault on Gaza, expressed his support for Palestine while on stage. He was quickly dropped from the tour after US stadium owners threatened to ban any shows with Macklemore on the ticket.
Following intense backlash over the rapper’s ouster, Sheeran has tried to distance himself from the decision, saying he tried to mediate but the decision was made by the promoter. Macklemore has since donated $1 million to Palestinian causes and challenged Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of Gillette Stadium, who played a crucial role in his removal from the tour, to do the same.
OpenAI has revealed six instances of unexpected and concerning model behaviour over the past six months. The maker of ChatGPT made the comments in a Wednesday blog post likely to further fuel debate on the regulation of artificial intelligence. The previously unreported incidents included models concealing or fabricating information so they could achieve a task.
OpenAI said the observations included models generating instructions to get around restrictions imposed on them, generating false information and hiding mistakes. The company’s CEO, Sam Altman, on Saturday backed the call to slow down the rate of model progress, which had been proposed by rival AI firm Anthropic.
Finally, a European success story of Polish origin. ICEYE, a company operating a fleet of radar imaging satellites, was highlighted by Ursula von der Leyen during her State of the Union address as an example of Europe’s ingenuity. But despite these successes, Europe still lacks scale when it comes to space.
This is a satellite shot of the South African port of Durban. And this is the same place, but seen from a satellite that shoots radio waves at Earth. The latter kind of imagery is provided by just a handful of companies, including one with Polish roots, ICEYE. The company has become such a hit that it was singled out by the European Commission’s boss in her State of the Union address as an example of European ingenuity.
Today, it is one of the world’s leading space technology companies with offices in Finland, Poland, Spain and Greece. ICEYE was founded by Rafał Modrzewski and Pekka Laurila in 2014. Twelve years down the road, the company is valued at around €10 billion and operates a fleet of more than 80 satellites. Modrzewski and Laurila met at an Erasmus student exchange funded by the EU and received cash for their first satellite from Horizon, also an EU funded programme.
For von der Leyen, this is a prime example of a European success story. Modrzewski has said the company is an example of a European firm built on top of European foundations at large, and that this fact has allowed it to become a global leader.
But Europe doesn’t have many of those as it lags behind other superpowers in space. Despite SpaceX’s obvious success, the old continent still has no reusable rockets, which makes European lift services expensive. Efforts to build a Starlink-like constellation have taken off only after it became apparent that Europe and the US are drifting apart. There is still a lot to do on Europe’s part.
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