Russia downs 30 ‘Ukrainian drones’ in overnight attack, defense ministry says
(LONDON) — Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday it defeated a fresh wave of Ukrainian drone attacks over the west of the country.
The ministry wrote on its official Telegram channel that 29 “Ukrainian drones were destroyed by air defense on duty overnight.”
The ministry said that 15 UAVs were downed over Bryansk region, five over the Kursk region, four over the Smolensk region, two over the Orel region and one each over Belgorod, Kaluga and Rostov regions.
On Sunday morning, the ministry said it shot down an additional Ukrainian drone over the Ryazan region.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired two ballistic missiles, one cruise missile and 14 Shahed UAVs into the country on Saturday night. The cruise missile and 10 Shaheds were shot down by air defenses, it wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine did not comment on its alleged overnight drone attack into Russia. Ukrainian leaders and commanders generally do not confirm or deny attacks within Russian borders.
The latest drone and missile exchange followed a large Russian drone assault against Ukrainian cities on Friday night and Saturday morning. Ukraine’s air force said it downed 72 of 76 Shahed drones fired at targets including the capital Kyiv.
Moscow said it also destroyed Ukrainian drones over two western regions on Friday night.
ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.
(PARIS) — Eight Palestinians from across the globe say they are competing in honor of their ancestral roots on the Palestine Olympic Team for this year’s Games in Paris.
But as athletes join in the international competition, conflict continues to rage on in Gaza.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, reports that more than 39,000 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 89,000 injured since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 — killing more than 1,200 — and Israel began its military operations on the Gaza Strip. Some of the Gazans killed in connection with Israel’s ongoing retaliation were Olympic athletes and coaches — including the reported deaths of soccer coach Hani Al-Masdar and the first man to hold the Palestinian flag at the Olympics in 1996, Majed Abu Marahee.
The growing death toll is front and center in the minds of several Palestinian athletes, who say they are using their international platform to bring awareness to the violence and dire humanitarian crisis facing civilians in Gaza.
For many of these athletes, it is their first time competing at the Olympics.
“While I prepare to swim in Paris, I’m racing to compete. I watch the news, and I see people swimming to receive packages from the sea,” said swimmer Valerie Tarazi, an American with ancestral roots in Gaza competing on the Palestinian team.
She traveled to the West Bank in July ahead of the Olympic Games, saying in an Instagram post that it reminded her “how proud I am to be Palestinian and what an honor it is to compete with the flag on my cap.”
“I love you Palestine. You have my heart,” she said in an Instagram post.
In April, the International Olympic Committee held a meeting with the National Olympic Committee of Palestine, where NOC President Jibril Rajoub asked the IOC for support in coordinating the rebuilding of destroyed sporting facilities in Palestinian territories amid the Israel-Hamas war.
The IOC said at the time that its “thoughts are with the many innocent victims of the current conflict in the region and their families” but have not offered any further comment on the request.
Yazan Al Bawwab, a swimmer who has family in the West Bank, has also competed in this year’s games. His activism spans beyond his Olympic platform as the founder of SwimHope Palestine, an organization aimed at empowering “underprivileged and refugee communities in Palestine by providing access to essential swimming education and life-saving water skills,” according to the International Olympic Committee.
Meanwhile, Omar Ismail, an 18-year-old taekwondo prodigy, made history as the first Palestinian taekwondo athlete to ever qualify for the Olympics, according to the IOC.
In an online post, he thanked the Palestinian Taekwondo Federation “for being the best support system anyone can have.”
He continued, “Together, we will show the world the strength and spirit of our nation.”
Runner Layla Al-Masri will be competing in the women’s 800-meter track event for the 2024 Palestinian Olympic team.
Al-Masri has used her platform to continue to shed light on what she has called a “brutal occupation” of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
“While the world’s eyes are on the screen watching the Olympics, we want to use our unique platform as athletes to keep eyes on what’s going on in Palestine,” said Al-Masri in an online post.
In her posts, she urges Olympic viewers to continue talking about Gaza.
“I run for Palestine to represent something bigger than myself, the resilience of the Palestinian people, to bring voices to the voiceless,” she continued.
Among the other Palestinian team members are boxer Wasim Abusal, judoka Fares Badawi, Mohammed Dwedar who will run in the men’s 800-meter race and skeet shooter Jorge Antonio Salhe.
(NEW YORK) — A violent protest broke out in the United Kingdom on Tuesday in the wake of a vigil for the victims of a deadly stabbing spree, resulting in nearly two dozen officers injured and cars set on fire, police said.
Twenty-two officers were injured, eight seriously, following “violent disorder” in Southport, a seaside town about 20 miles north of Liverpool, according to Merseyside police.
The protest broke out Tuesday evening after a large group of people started throwing bricks at a mosque in Southport, police said. The protesters are believed to be supporters of the far-right English Defence League, police said.
Cars were set on fire and a local convenience store was also damaged, police said.
The protest followed a peaceful vigil for the victims of a deadly stabbing that occurred a day prior in the town.
Three children were killed and nine others injured in the stabbing incident, police said. Two adults were also injured while trying to protect the children, police said.
Merseyside police said the children were attending a Taylor Swift-themed event at a dance school at the time.
A 17-year-old boy from Banks, a coastal village in Lancashire, just outside Southport, was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, police said. The suspect, whose name was not released, was born in Cardiff, Wales, police said.
The motive remains unclear, police said.
Tuesday’s protests were apparently fueled by “speculation” over the unidentified suspect, Merseyside Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss said.
“There has been much speculation and hypothesis around the status of a 17-year-old male who is currently in police custody and some individuals are using this to bring violence and disorder to our streets,” Goss said in a statement. “We have already said that the person arrested was born in the UK and speculation helps nobody at this time.”
Goss said protesters used bricks to attack officers and damaged cars parked in the mosque parking lot. Officers sustained injuries including fractures, cuts, head injuries and a concussion, police said.
“This is no way to treat a community, least of all a community that is still reeling from the events of Monday,” Goss said.
U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also decried the violence, calling the attacks on police and the mosque “appalling.”
“The community of Southport are reeling from a horrifying ordeal and families are grieving,” Cooper said in a statement. “This violent thuggery, which has overshadowed a peaceful vigil for three little girls, is an insult to the community and to all those who need the space to process what has happened and to heal.”
Earlier Tuesday, hundreds of people attended a vigil for the stabbing victims in the center of Southport.
Three girls — 6-year-old Bebe King, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar — were killed in the stabbing.
Five children and two adults injured in the stabbing remained in critical condition on Tuesday, police said.
(ROME and LONDON) — A 183-foot sailboat carrying 22 people sank early on Monday off the coast of the Italian island of Sicily following stormy weather in the area, killing at least one passenger, according to Italian officials.
Members of the coast guard have rescued 15 passengers, but six — including two Americans — are still missing, according to the coast guard and a local port authority. British and Canadian citizens are also unaccounted for, the coast guard said in a statement.
Of those recovered, eight have been transported to local hospitals, officials said.
The U.K.-flagged vessel — named the Bayesian — sank off Porticello, near the coastal city of Palermo, the statement said. The ship is currently located at a depth of around 164 feet, with firefighter divers now attempting to reach it, the statement said.
One body was recovered and six people were missing, an authority from the Palermo Port Authorities told ABC News. Divers reached the hull of the ship early on Monday and were still searching the water, the official said.
A State Department spokesperson said U.S. officials “are aware of reports that U.S. citizens were on the Bayesian.”
“We are working with local authorities to gather information and we stand ready to provide consular assistance,” the spokesperson said.
Four coast guard vessels, one helicopter and a team of fire brigade divers are involved in the search, which is being coordinated by the Palermo coast guard, the statement said.
#Palermo, naufragio imbarcazione davanti alla costa di Porticello, 15 persone salvate, 7 segnalate come disperse: dall’alba #sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco impegnati nelle ricerche. Relitto individuato a 50 metri di profondità, in arrivo sommozzatori speleo [#19agosto 10:00] pic.twitter.com/IJGP2aRRWB
Fabio La Bianca, who owns the local BAIA Santa Nicolicchia restaurant, told ABC News that he noticed the moored vessel had disappeared when he went to check on storm damage to his business.
“After half an hour with the other guys we realized that it was no longer there and immediately the rescuers were going around to look for the missing, they had also launched two distress rockets in the air before,” La Bianca said.
Local Mayor Giuseppe D’Agostino wrote on Facebook that the “tragedy that struck our community is unparalleled in history.”
“The administration has activated all channels with the police and is taking care of the people recovered alive so far,” D’Agostino said, adding that local authorities are gathering clothes and finding accommodation for the survivors.
“The search continues at sea and all we can do is pray and hope to find someone alive.”
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Shannon K. Kingston contributed to this report.