Google notifies Truth Social of several violations of standard policies, pointing out it lacked the required moderation of user-generated content as users have been found inciting violence.
Truth Social restored Trump's presence on social media more than a year after he was banned from Twitter Inc, Facebook and YouTube.
(Dado Ruvic / Reuters)
Former US president Donald Trump's social media platform Truth Social has not yet been approved for distribution on Alphabet Inc's Google Play Store due to insufficient content moderation.
The delay, confirmed by a Google spokesperson on Tuesday, marks a setback for the app, which launched in the Apple App Store on February 21. Android phones comprise about 40 percent of the US smartphone market. Without the Google and Apple stores, there is no easy way for most smartphone users to download Truth Social.
"On August 19, we notified Truth Social of several violations of standard policies in their current app submission and reiterated that having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app to go live on Google Play," Google said in a statement.
Google said it has expressed concerns to Truth Social about violations of its Play Store policies prohibiting content like physical threats and incitement to violence.
BREAKING: Google has removed Truth Social from the Google Play store, due to their lack of moderation of violent content, including users openly planning to overthrow the US Government.
— LeGate☮️ | pillow-fight.com CMO (@williamlegate) August 30, 2022
'Censorship-free experience'
Truth Social parent company Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) in a press release said that it has "continuously worked in good faith with Google to ensure that the Truth Social Android App complies with Google’s policies without compromising our promise to be a haven for free speech."
It added: "Moreover, some of our competitors’ apps are allowed in the Google Play Store despite rampantly violating Google’s prohibition on sexual content and other policies, whereas Truth Social has zero tolerance for sexually explicit content."
News of the Android delay was first reported by Axios.
Truth Social restored Trump's presence on social media more than a year after he was banned from Twitter Inc, Facebook and Alphabet Inc's YouTube following the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riots, after he was accused of posting messages inciting violence.
TMTG has pledged to deliver an "engaging and censorship-free experience" on Truth Social, appealing to a base that feels its views around such hot-button topics such as the outcome of the 2020 presidential election have been scrubbed from mainstream tech platforms.
READ MORE: Trump's 'Truth' network hits a roadblock as its funding woes increase
Source: Reuters
Iraq's popular Shia cleric Muqtada al Sadr is said to have announced a hunger strike after resigning from politics amid a months-long political logjam.
Supporters of Iraqi cleric Muqtada al Sadr breach the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq on August 29, 2022.
(Thaier Al-Sudani / Reuters)
Shelling has targeted Baghdad's high-security Green Zone after Shia cleric Muqtada al Sadr said he was quitting politics, sparking chaos in which at least 15 of his supporters were killed.
Tensions have soared in Iraq amid a political crisis that has left the country without a new government, prime minister or president for months, and escalated sharply after Sadr's supporters stormed the government palace following their leader's announcement on Monday.
At least seven shells fell in the high-security Green Zone, which houses government buildings and diplomatic missions, the security source said late Monday on condition of anonymity.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the shelling, which was followed by the sound of automatic weapons being fired in the Green Zone.
The security source said Sadr's supporters opened fire at the Green Zone from the outside, adding that security forces inside "were not responding".
Sadr is said to have announced a hunger strike until the violence and use of weapons stops, Iraq's state news agency INA and state TV reported late on Monday.
There was no immediate confirmation from Sadr's office.
READ MORE:Iraq’s top judicial body suspends activities as Sadr supporters protestGreen Zone under siege
Shots were fired earlier in the fortified area, an AFP correspondent said, and medics said 15 Sadr supporters had been shot dead and 350 other protesters injured – some with bullet wounds and others suffering tear gas inhalation.
Witnesses said earlier that Sadr loyalists and supporters of a rival Shia bloc, the pro-Iran Coordination Framework, had exchanged fire.
The Framework condemned an "attack on state institutions", urging the Sadrists to engage in "dialogue".
The army had announced a nationwide curfew from 1600 GMT.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhemi said "security or military forces, or armed men" were prohibited from opening fire on protesters.
Calling the earlier developments "an extremely dangerous escalation", the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) urged "all" sides to "refrain from acts that could lead to an unstoppable chain of events".
The United States also urged calm amid the "disturbing" reports of unrest in Baghdad.
Protests spread to other parts of the country, with Sadr followers storming government buildings in the cities of Nasiriyah and Hillah south of Baghdad, an AFP correspondent and witnesses said.
Supporters of Iraqi populist leader Muqtada al Sadr swim after they breach the Republican Palace in protest in Baghdad's Green Zone in Iraq on August 29, 2022.
(Alaa Al-Marjani / Reuters)
Shortly after he made his surprise declaration, Sadr's followers burst into the Republican Palace in Baghdad, where cabinet meetings are usually held.
Inside the palace, protesters lounged in armchairs in a meeting room, some waved Iraqi flags and took photographs of themselves, and others cooled off in a swimming pool in the garden.
Sadr – a grey-bearded preacher with millions of devoted followers, who once led a militia against American and Iraqi government forces – announced earlier on Twitter he was stepping back from politics.
"I've decided not to meddle in political affairs. I therefore announce now my definitive retirement," said Sadr, a longtime player in the war-torn country's political scene, though he himself has never directly been in government.
He added "all the institutions" linked to his Sadrist movement will be closed, except the mausoleum of his father who was assassinated in 1999, and other heritage facilities.
His latest statement came two days after he said: "all parties" including his own should give up government positions to help resolve the political crisis.
His bloc emerged from last year's election as the biggest, with 73 seats, but short of a majority.
In June, his lawmakers quit in a bid to break the logjam, which led to the Coordination Framework becoming the largest bloc in the legislature.
For earlier updates on Sadr's resignation and protests, readhere
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
NIEUW-BEIJERLAND: Dutch police on Sunday said six people were killed and seven others hurt after a truck ran off the top of a dike and ploughed into a neighbourhood barbecue.
Police were questioning the Spanish-registered driver of the lorry following the accident on Saturday evening in Nieuw-Beijerland, a village 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Rotterdam.
The victims were three women aged 28, 32 and 75, and three men aged 41, 50 and 62, all from the local area, police said. One of the injured was in a critical condition in hospital.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander said he was “shocked” and Prime Minister Mark Rutte offered condolences over the “terrible” accident.
Police had first confirmed at least two dead after the vehicle drove into the crowded community barbecue, which Dutch news reports said was being hosted by an ice-skating club.
“We now have six people killed and seven injured, one seriously after yesterday’s accident,” police spokeswoman Mirjam Boers told AFP.
“We are still investigating what exactly happened,” she said.
Witnesses said the truck stopped for a moment at a T-junction on the narrow Zuidzijdsedijk dike, before taking off and ploughing into the revellers, according to local broadcaster Rijnmond.
Photographs from the scene taken immediately after the accident identified the truck as belonging to the El Mosca company, based in Spain. They showed scattered chairs lying on the ground and bunting hanging from trees.
– ‘Ripped from their lives’ –
Local mayor Charlie Aptroot said the accident had devastated the tight-knit community.
“Six residents have literally been ripped from their lives. One of the victims was heavily pregnant,” he said, adding that children were among the injured.
Three of the dead — a mother, son and daughter-in-law who was eight months pregnant — came from the same family, Rijnmond reported, quoting a local church announcement.
Residents were laying flowers at the location of the accident on Sunday, an AFP journalist at the site said. A police car stood guard at the scene.
“When we got here it was really terrible. There were a lot of police, ambulances, fire trucks, they were all here,” local resident Bob van den Burg, 20, who went to the scene after the accident on Saturday, told AFP.
“Everybody is affected and mourns with the people here. Nothing ever happens here, there are almost no thefts or something terrible, and suddenly something like this happens.”
– ‘Unimaginable sadness’ –
Police spokeswoman Boers confirmed the 46-year-old driver from Spain had been arrested “and was not under the influence of alcohol” at the time of the accident.
“He was arrested for causing a fatal accident and serious bodily injury. His role in the incident is under investigation,” police said in a statement.
Investigators had taken blood samples to see if he was on any medication and were also checking whether he was using his phone at the time of the accident, Dutch prosecutors said.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima said they were “shocked” by the tragedy.
“We are shocked and moved by the terrible accident in Nieuw-Beijerland last night in which so many people were killed. An unimaginable sadness within this close-knit community,” they said in an official message.
Premier Rutte also sent condolences.
“Terrible news… my thoughts are with the victims and relatives of this terrible drama. I wish them a lot of strength,” Rutte said on Twitter.
People from the surrounding region travelled to the village to offer their support.
“We live in another town close by and we all heard the sirens,” said Jolanda Koster, 61.
“Of course you mourn with these people. Now we are here to lay some flowers to show we are thinking of the relatives and all the other people that have been affected.”
Experts say the intensity, scope and duration of the heatwave could make it one of the worst recorded in global history.
The worst-affected area is the Yangtze river basin, with the Tibetan Plateau facing "severe" to "extraordinary" drought conditions.
(AFP)
Half of China's vast territory is now experiencing drought as the country goes through its hottest summer on record, with more high temperatures forecast for today.
A chart from the National Climate Centre showed on Wednesday that swathes of southern China, including the Tibetan Plateau, were experiencing "severe" to "extraordinary" drought conditions.
The world's second-largest economy has been hit by record heat, flash floods and droughts. Scientists say the extreme weather phenomena are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change.
Southern China has recorded its longest continuous period of high temperatures since records began more than 60 years ago, the agriculture ministry said this week.
The worst-affected area is the Yangtze river basin, stretching from coastal Shanghai to Sichuan province in China's southwest. It is home to over 370 million people and contains several manufacturing hubs including the megacity of Chongqing.
The China Meteorological Administration predicted continued high temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in Chongqing and the provinces of Sichuan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang on Thursday.
READ MORE: China sees 'severe threat’ to harvest amid hottest summer on record
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA0G6XEw4ZE[/embed]
Record low water levels
China's State Council on Wednesday announced a $1.45 billion (10 billion yuan) subsidy to support rice farmers experiencing drought conditions which authorities have warned pose a "severe threat" to this year's autumn harvest.
China produces more than 95 percent of the rice, wheat and maize it consumes, but a reduced harvest could mean increased demand for imports in the world's most populous country -- putting further pressure on global supplies already strained by the conflict in Ukraine.
Officials also called for "a combination of measures to increase water sources to fight drought, first ensure drinking water for the people, ensure water for agricultural irrigation," the State Council added.
Wednesday's CCTV evening news broadcast showed trucks supplying villagers who lacked drinking and agricultural water in rural Sichuan and Chongqing, with remote mountain areas particularly hard hit.
Temperatures as high as 45C (113F) have led multiple Chinese provinces to impose industrial power cuts, as cities struggle to cope with a surge in demand for electricity partly driven by people cranking up the air conditioning.
Record low water levels on the Yangtze River have also put pressure on the region's hydropower generators.
The heat broke records in Sichuan, where a temperature of 43.9C (111F) was recorded Wednesday afternoon, the province's Meteorological Service Centre said in a statement.
READ MORE: China's southwest extends power curbs as heatwave continues
Source: AFP
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Kabul's Emergency Hospital said on Twitter they had received 27 patients wounded in the blast, including a seven-year-old child.
Police said there were multiple casualties but did not say how many.
(Reuters Archive)
A huge explosion has struck a mosque
in Kabul during evening prayers, witnesses and
police have said, with many feared dead or injured.
Police said on Wednesday there were multiple casualties but did not say how many.
One Taliban intelligence official told Reuters news agency that as
many as 35 people may have been wounded or killed, and the toll
could rise further.
Kabul's Emergency Hospital said on Twitter they had received
27 patients wounded in the blast, including a seven-year-old
child.
Witnesses told Reuters the powerful explosion was heard in a
northern Kabul neighbourhood, shattering windows in nearby
buildings. Ambulances were rushed to the spot.
"A blast happened inside a mosque...the blast has
casualties, but the numbers are not clear yet," Kabul police
spokesperson Khalid Zadran told Reuters.
The Taliban intelligence official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the explosion occurred in a mosque among
worshippers in Khair Khana area of Kabul.
The Imam of the mosque was among those killed and the toll
could still rise, the source added. Intelligence teams were at
blast site and investigations were ongoing.
Other officials in the Taliban government did not reply to multiple requests to confirm the number of casualties.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is seen on August, 4, outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters/FILE)
The "alarming" situation at a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine had reached a "grave hour," the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Thursday, as he called for an immediate inspection of the facility by international experts.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned that parts of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant had been knocked out due to recent attacks, risking an "unacceptable" potential radiation leak.
"IAEA experts believe that there is no immediate threat to nuclear safety," but "that could change at any moment," Grossi said.
"Any military action jeopardizing nuclear safety, nuclear security, must stop immediately," he added. "These military actions near to such a large nuclear facility could lead to very serious consequences."
Ukraine and Russia blame each other: The Zaporizhzhia facility — the largest nuclear plant in Europe — occupies an extensive site on the Dnipro river near the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar. It has continued operating at reduced capacity since Russian forces captured it early in March, with Ukrainian technicians remaining at work.
Russia and Ukraine have so far been unwilling to agree to an IAEA inspection of the plant and have accused each other of shelling the facility — action the IAEA has said breaches "indispensable nuclear safety and security pillars."
Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia on Thursday blamed Ukraine for the shelling and urged Kyiv's supporters to stop attacks and prevent a disastrous radiation leak.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pointed the finger at Moscow, which he said was putting all of Europe in danger.
"Only the complete withdrawal of Russians from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and the restoration of Ukraine's full control over the situation around the plant will guarantee the restoration of nuclear safety for all of Europe," Zelensky said.
More shelling: Ukraine's nuclear agency Energoatom said 10 shells landed near the complex on Thursday, preventing a shift handover.
"For the safety of nuclear workers, the buses with the personnel of the next shift were turned back to Enerhodar," the agency said. "Until the situation finally normalizes, the workers of the previous shift will continue to work."
Energoatom said radiation levels at the site remained normal, despite renewed attacks.
More than 5,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, according to a tally of confirmed deaths updated this week by independent Russian media outlet iStories.
The figure is over three times higher than the official death toll of 1,351 which was last updated by the Russian Defense Ministry in March.
While Russia is believed to have suffered significant military losses since its February invasion of Ukraine, the exact number of killed soldiers has been subject to intense speculation with Western officials estimating the number to be over 15,000 and Ukrainian officials claiming it to be more than 42,000.
iStories has verified the deaths of 5,107 soldiers.
The tally by iStories is likely to be far below the real number — because it is only based on publicly available social media posts and media reports — but it is one of the few independently managed databases of Russian losses, including names, ages and, often, the towns and villages where the dead men were from.
The Moscow Times created six graphs based on the iStories data to show what we know about the more than 5,000 soldiers killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
Four more ships loaded with grain set off from Ukrainian ports on Sunday, as Moscow and Kyiv blamed each other for a new strike at a Russian-occupied nuclear plant.
Amnesty International, meanwhile, said it deeply regretted the "distress and anger" caused after it alleged Ukrainian forces were flouting international law by exposing civilians to Russian fire. But it stands by its controversial report.
Kyiv's infrastructure ministry wrote on Telegram that a second convoy of Ukrainian supplies had just left, three from Chornomorsk and one from Odesa.
The Mustafa Necati, the Star Helena, the Glory and the Riva Wind were carrying "around 170,000 tons of agriculture-related merchandise," it said.
Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations Sunday over who bombed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear site in southern Ukraine.
Europe's largest atomic power complex has been under Russian control since the early days of the Feb. 24 invasion.
And as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed U.S. actress Jessica Chastain to Ukraine, Moscow celebrated the re-election of a former senior Russian politician to the world body governing chess.
'Very real risk'
Recent fighting at the plant has prompted UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to warn of "the very real risk of a nuclear disaster."
Russia's occupying authorities in the town of Enerhodar, where the plant is located, said the Ukrainian army overnight "carried out a strike with a cluster bomb fired from an Uragan multiple rocket launcher."
The projectiles fell "within 400 meters of a working reactor" and in a "zone storing used nuclear fuel," Russia's state news agency TASS reported.
Ukraine's state nuclear energy company Enerhoatom however said the "Russian occupiers once again fired rockets" at the nuclear power plant in its host town, Enerhodar. One worker there had been hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, it added.
AFP was not able to confirm the allegations from an independent source.
On Saturday, Enerhoatom had already said parts of the facility had been "seriously damaged" by military strikes the previous day, forcing the shutdown of one of its reactors.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned Saturday: "Any military firepower directed at or from the facility would amount to playing with fire, with potentially catastrophic consequences."
Zelensky in his nightly address Sunday, called for a "principled response" from the international community.
Evoking the possibility that the plant was hit causing the release of a toxic cloud, he added: No-one will stop the wind that will spread the radioactive contamination."
Amnesty's regret
Amnesty International sparked outrage in Ukraine with a report Thursday accusing the military of endangering civilians by establishing bases in schools and hospitals, and launching counter-attacks from heavily populated areas.
The head of their Ukraine bureau resigned over the report, accusing Amnesty of becoming "a tool of Russian propaganda."
On Sunday, the rights group said that while it stood by its finding, "nothing we documented Ukrainian forces doing in any way justifies Russian violations."
The renewed shipments of Ukrainian grain to help ease global food shortages and bring down prices nevertheless offer a small glimmer of hope as the war enters its sixth month.
Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters, had been forced to halt almost all deliveries in the wake of Russia's invasion.
That sent global food prices soaring, making imports prohibitively expensive for some of the world's poorest nations.
A bulk carrier arrived in Chornomorsk on Saturday to be loaded with grain for the first time since Moscow's invasion.
The departure Sunday of the four other vessels follows several others last week under a deal brokered with the help of Turkey.
'Sign of hope'
In Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis welcomed the resumption of grain exports as "a sign of hope" that showed dialogue was possible to end the war.
"I sincerely hope that, following this path, we can put an end to the fighting and arrive at a just and lasting peace."
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted pictures on Telegram on Sunday of a meeting with Oscar-winning actress Jessica Chastain.
Underlining the value of visits from famous people, he wrote: "Thanks to this, the world will hear, know and understand the truth about what is happening in our country even more."
Earlier Sunday, Moscow celebrated a diplomatic victory of its own with the re-election of Russia's Arkady Dvorkovich to the helm of the international chess body FIDE.
Dvorkovich, a former deputy premier under Russian President Vladimir Putin, comfortably saw off a challenge from Ukrainian grandmaster Andrii Baryshpolets who had accused him of being part of Moscow's "war machine."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it "clearly very good news and a very significant victory," Russia's TASS news agency reported.
The blast occurred in a west Kabul neighbourhood that is mainly inhabited by members of the ethnic Hazara community, who are mostly Shia Muslims.
No group has so far claimed the blast, but Daesh has regularly targeted Shia Muslims in Afghanistan.
(Reuters Archive)
A bomb attached to a handcart has exploded in Kabul, police said, killing eight people and wounding 18 in an area largely inhabited by Afghanistan's minority Shia Muslim community.
The explosives were attached to a handcart loaded with vegetables and parked in an area where residents shopped for daily food items, Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran told reporters on Friday.
"The explosion took place amongst civilians and according to preliminary information two of our citizens were martyred and three others were wounded," he said.
The blast occurred in a west Kabul neighbourhood that is mainly inhabited by members of the ethnic Hazara community, who are mostly Shia Muslims.
Shia Muslims in Afghanistan are currently commemorating the first 10 days of the Islamic holy month of Muharram, culminating in Ashura, which marks the death of the revered Imam Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
No group has so far claimed the blast, but Daesh has regularly targeted Shia Muslims in Afghanistan.
The number of violent public attacks across the country has fallen since the Taliban returned to power in August last year, but Daesh has continued to target Shia Muslims, whom it views as heretics.
The minority group makes up between 10 to 20 percent of Afghanistan's population of 38 million.
Taliban officials insist their forces have defeated Daesh, but analysts say the group remains a key security challenge.
China has encircled Taiwan with a series of huge military drills — now into their second day — that have been condemned by the United States and other Western allies.
Set to last until Sunday, the exercises will take place in multiple zones around Taiwan — at some points within just 20 kilometres (12 miles) of the shore.
(AFP)
Taiwan says Beijing's fighter jets and ships have crossed the median line that runs down the Taiwan Strait as part of its latest military drills, calling China "the evil neighbour next door".
China has been holding huge drills encircling Taiwan, which Beijing considers as its own territory, since Thursday to protest this week's visit to the island state by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The drills involve live firing on the waters and in the airspace near the self-ruled island state, with as many as four missiles believed to have flown over the capital Taipei in an unprecedented escalation during the exercises.
"This Chinese military exercise, whether it be the launch of ballistic missiles or the deliberate crossing of the median line of the strait, is a highly provocative act," Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"...multiple batches of Chinese warplanes and warships conducted exercises around the Taiwan Strait and crossed the median line of the strait."
The median line is an unofficial but once largely-adhered-to border that runs down the middle of the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan and China.
It was previously rare for military jets and ships to cross the median line, although Chinese incursions have become more common after Beijing declared in 2020 that the unofficial border no longer existed.
And there has been a spike in median-line incursions during this week's drills.
Crossings of the line are sensitive because the Taiwan Strait is narrow, just 130 kilometres (81 miles) at its thinnest point, and incursions raise the risk of military accidents.
The latest drills are expected to continue until midday Sunday, and have sparked outrage from the United States, Japan and the European Union, as well as Taipei.
China defends the drills as just countermeasures in the face of provocations by the United States and its allies in Taiwan.
Taiwan's premier Su Tseng-chang called for allies to push for de-escalation on Friday.
"(We) didn't expect that the evil neighbour next door would show off its power at our door and arbitrarily jeopardise the busiest waterways in the world with its military exercises," he told reporters.
The military exercises have straddled some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Airlines too have cancelled flights to Taipei and rerouted others to avoid airspace nearby that has been closed to civilian traffic during Chinese military exercises.
Beijing is yet to formally confirm whether missiles overflew the island state during the drills, while Taipei has refused to confirm or deny the flight paths, citing intelligence concerns.
But Japan's defence ministry said of the nine missiles it had detected, four were "believed to have flown over Taiwan's main island".
Meng Xiangqing, a professor at China's military-affiliated National Defence University, told state broadcaster CCTV that the drills represented the People's Liberation Army's closest-ever exercises to the island, its first encirclement and the first time it set up a shooting range east of Taiwan.
"That's unprecedented," Bonnie Glaser, a Washington-based Asia security specialist at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said of statements that four ballistic missiles had been fired over Taiwan.
"In my view, the larger threat is that China is doing a rehearsal for a blockade, demonstrating it can block Taiwan's ports and airports, and prevent shipping," she said.
Russia continues its attacks on Ukrainian territories while Kiev calls for civilians to leave the frontline Donetsk region as the fierce fighting continues on the 159th day.
Authorities in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv said on July 31, 2022 that widespread Russian bombardments overnight had left at least one person dead, as Moscow continued to pummel the sprawling front line.
(AFP)
Ukraine said the "brutal" shelling by Moscow so far of the southern city Mykolaiv killed a grain tycoon, as Russia claimed an attack from a drone wounded six personnel at the headquarters of its Black Sea fleet.
Russian bombardment of the eastern town of Bakhmut was intense after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for civilians to leave the frontline Donetsk region, which has borne the brunt of the Kremlin's offensive.
Russian authorities in the Crimean Black Sea peninsula — seized by Moscow from Ukraine in 2014 — said a small explosive device from a commercial drone, likely launched nearby, hit the navy command in Sevastopol.
The local mayor blamed "Ukrainian nationalists" for the attack that forced the cancellation of festivities marking Russia's annual holiday celebrating the navy.
"Today, one of the most brutal shellings of Mykolaiv and the region over the entire period of the full-scale war took place. Dozens of missiles and rockets."
