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Russia launches war’s largest drone attack after peace talks, Ukraine says

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Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko © Thomson Reuters

By Pavel Polityuk, Gleb Garanich and Valentyn Ogirenko

KYIV (Reuters) -The largest known Russian drone attack since full-scale war began in 2022 killed a woman in the Kyiv region and injured at least three people, Ukrainian authorities said early on Sunday, as Moscow stepped up strikes following peace talks on Friday.

Russia launched 273 drones by 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT), targeting chiefly the central Kyiv region and the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the country’s east, Ukraine’s air force said.

A firefighter works at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
© Thomson Reuters

 

Based on data provided by the air force, this was Russia’s largest drone attack on Ukraine of the war. On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 23, Moscow launched a then-record 267 drones.

The first direct talks in three years between Russia and Ukraine on Friday failed to broker the temporary ceasefire Kyiv and its allies have been urging. The 100 minutes of talks in Istanbul yielded an agreement to trade 1,000 prisoners of war on each side.

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
© Thomson Reuters

 

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday.

The sustained overnight Russian drone attack on Sunday killed a 28-year-old woman in the capital region and injured at least three people, including a 4-year-old child, Ukrainian authorities said.

“Unfortunately, as a result of the enemy attack in the Obukhiv district, a woman died from her injuries,” Mykola Kalashnik, governor of the Kyiv region, posted on Telegram.

Kyiv and the region around it as well as the eastern part of Ukraine were under raid warnings for nine straight hours overnight before they were called off at around 9 a.m. local time (0600 GMT). Air defence units were engaged several times trying to repel attacks, the military said on Telegram.

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
© Thomson Reuters

 

“It’s been a tough night. The Russians have always used war and attacks to intimidate everyone in negotiations,” Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said on Telegram about Sunday’s attack.

A firefighter works at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
© Thomson Reuters

 

Air defence units destroyed 88 of the drones overnight. The attack also included 128 simulator drones that were lost along the way without hitting anything, Ukraine’s air force said in a statement on Telegram.

On Saturday, a Russian drone attack killed nine civilians after hitting a shuttle bus in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, Kyiv said. Zelenskiy called the attack “deliberate” and urged stronger sanctions on Moscow, which said it had attacked a military facility.

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
© Thomson Reuters

 

All of those injured in the Obukhiv district just south of Kyiv city were hospitalised, Kalashnik said. Several residential buildings were damaged in the area, he added.

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
© Thomson Reuters

 

In the city of Kyiv, fragments of a destroyed drone damaged the roof of a non-residential building, the city’s military administration said on Telegram. There were no reports of injuries, it added.

Reuters witnesses in and around Kyiv heard blasts that sounded like air defence units in operation. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war, but thousands have been killed in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
© Thomson Reuters

 

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Valentyn Ogirenko, Gleb Garanich and Serhiy Karazy in Kyiv and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by William Mallard and Jamie Freed)

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
© Thomson Reuters

 

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
© Thomson Reuters

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Police bust syndicate behind nude photo blackmail in Lagos

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Men of the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU), Lagos, have apprehended three suspects who allegedly run a cyber blackmail and extortion scheme in the state.

According to the spokesperson of the unit, DSP Ovie Ewhubare, the suspects get a hold of their victims explicit photos and then threaten to release them if a ransom is not paid.

He said that the suspects, two males and a female, were apprehended after a petition was filed by a complainant who reported being repeatedly threatened by unknown individuals demanding money.

“The complainant received several phone calls in which the callers threatened to release her nude photographs to the public if she failed to pay them. Acting out of fear and emotional distress, she transferred money to the suspects.

The situation escalated when the suspects demanded an additional N10 million, prompting her to formally petition the police,” he said

The police imagemaker state dthat upon receipt of the complaint, the Commissioner of Police, PSFU, Mr Kayode Ojapinwa, ordered the immediate deployment of operatives to investigate the matter.

“The investigation led to the arrest of the three suspects. Investigations revealed that one of the suspects gained unlawful access to the complainant’s mobile device and fraudulently transferred her nude photographs to his own device. Further findings indicated that he conspired with the other suspects and other accomplices currently at large to demand and receive money from the complainant in several tranches,” he said

According to him, the suspects are currently in police custody and are expected to be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction.

The image maker said that investigations were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate and to recover all proceeds of the alleged crime.

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Catholic Priest Collapses And D!es In Front Of Congregation While Walking To Tabernacle To Return Holy Communion

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A Catholic priest has tragically passed away after suddenly collapsing in front of the congregation during Sunday mass.

The tragic incident took place last Sunday, February 1 in Wiesmath in the district of Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

Shortly after administering Holy Communion, 59-year-old priest Raimund Beisteiner was about to return the host to the tabernacle when he “suddenly” collapsed, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Vienna.

“Despite immediate professional assistance, he di£d in the church,” the statement said.

The mayor of Wiesmath, Erich Rasner, had also attended the Mass with many other believers and witnessed the dramatic scenes.

The shock in Wiesmath at the loss of the popular priest is great. Beisteiner had shaped the spiritual life of the parish for almost two decades and was highly regarded far beyond the community.

Rasner praised him as an “extremely conscientious, sensitive priest” and also emphasized the personal loss of a friendship that had grown over many years.

A prayer service was organized at short notice for the late priest. It was attended by numerous priests from the deanery as well as Archbishop Josef Grünwidl.

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Nollywood Actress, Angela Okorie Allegedly Re-Arrested Over Alleged Refusal To Pay Lawyer Who Secured Her Bail (Video)

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Angela Okorie, the Nigerian actress, has reportedly been re-arrested over allegations that she refused to pay the lawyer who secured her bail from Suleja Prison.

Angela was re-arrested at the Suleja prison on Tuesday, immediately she was released on bail.

This came less than an hour after actor Stanley Ontop raised the alarm over an alleged plan to re-arrest the actress after release on Tuesday.

Speaking in a video on Instagram, actress Doris Ogala who said she is already on her way to the police station, stated that the actress was re-arrested by an unnamed Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, for refusing to pay the N5 million agreed fee to secure her bail.

Doris said; “You see, one thing is for someone to cut their clothes according to their size. Angela has been arrested again. As a matter of fact, I’m going to the police station now. You see, when Angela was arrested by Mercy, she called a friend of her or village person. I don’t know how they relate. To help her get a SAN.

“And the SAN charged them N5 million. I think the SAN was the one who even facilitated the bail and all that. Now when Angela knew that they have granted her bail according to the lady, Angela started saying that she didn’t ask her to get a SAN and she wasn’t going to pay the money, and meanwhile this lady has deposited.”

Recall that Angela, who was granted bail on Friday after her arrest by Mercy Johnson over alleged defamation, regained her freedom few minutes ago after perfecting her bail conditions.

Watch Doris Ogala speak

 

Nigerian Man Seeks Wife Who Knows How To Cook Well With Firewood, Says His Mother Eats Only “Firewood Food”

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