Russia and Ukraine have made competing claims about who is gaining ground, as Russian strikes keep hitting Ukrainian cities and U.S.-backed talks in Turkey were postponed. A Ukrainian general said Kyiv's forces push Russians back in parts of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Another Ukrainian officer tells the AP that troops have advanced more than 6 miles, while Russia's leader said his army expanded gains in the Donbas. There was no independent verification of either side's claims. Meanwhile, Russian glide bombs hit Sloviansk and killed four people and drone attacks wounded more civilians, a Ukrainian official said Tuesday.
By JACK MYER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, JOHN SEEWER and KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press
Authorities say a gunman wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words "Property of Allah" killed two people and wounded 14 at a Texas bar. The FBI said the shooting in Austin is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism. Police shot and killed the man, who had used both a pistol and a rifle early in the shooting early Sunday, a day after the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran. The Department of Homeland Security identified the gunman as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne. Multiple people briefed on the investigation say Diagne is originally from Senegal. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson says a fast police response in confronting the gunman saved lives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a Ukrainian delegation is set to meet on Thursday with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys ahead of another round of trilateral talks with Russia. Zelenskyy told reporters on Wednesday that Ukraine's negotiator Rustem Umerov will hold talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva. A round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran is expected to be held on the same day in the Swiss city.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine four years ago launched Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. It has caused immense suffering for civilians and harrowing ordeals for soldiers while rewriting the post-Cold War security order. The fighting enters its fifth year on Tuesday. A U.S.-based think tank says that as many as 1.8 million soldiers may have been killed, injured or missing on both sides. Another think tank says Russia controls nearly 20% of Ukrainian land. The U.N. says at least 14,999 civilians have been killed in Ukraine.
Russia has attacked Ukrainian cities again overnight as Ukraine accuses Russia of dragging its feet on new U.S.-brokered peace talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Washington is proposing talks next week in Miami or in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. He says Ukraine confirms it can attend but Russia is hesitating. Zelenskyy says major disputes still block a deal, including issues of occupied land and security guarantees. He also says Russia is ignoring a proposed ceasefire that impacts the energy sector. Ukraine's air force said on Thursday that Russia fired drones and missiles at Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odesa. Officials report injuries, damaged homes and major heating outages in the Ukrainian capital.
