Outer space has emerged as the world's next battlefield, demonstrated by recent cyberattacks on satellites blamed on Russia. National security officials have said the Kremlin also is seeking to develop a space-based weapon that could knock out American satellites, potentially devastating the U.S. economy while leaving the country vulnerable to military attack. Officials in Washington are taking notice, investing in greater efforts to defend U.S. satellites while countering threats from China and Russia. One example is the U.S. Space Force, created in 2019 and tasked with protecting American interests in space.
Israel struck Iran's state-run television station during a live broadcast, forcing a reporter to run off camera following an explosion, after Iran fired a new wave of missiles at Israel that killed at least eight people. Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people in the middle of Tehran to evacuate Monday ahead of the strike against the TV station, which the military said provided a cover for Iranian military operations. The warning came on the fourth day of the conflict, when the Israeli military claimed it had achieved air superiority above the Iranian capital and could fly over the city without facing major threats. The warning affected up to 330,000 people.
A surprise Ukrainian drone attack that targeted Russian air bases hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers was unprecedented in its scope and sophistication, and dealt a heavy blow to the Russian military. Ukraine said more than 40 bombers — or about a third of its strategic fleet — were damaged or destroyed Sunday. The Russian military said only several planes were damaged. The conflicting claims couldn't be independently verified. But the bold attack demonstrated Ukraine's capability to hit high-value targets anywhere on Russian territory, dealing a humiliating blow to the Kremlin and inflicting significant losses to Moscow's arsenal in the 3-year-old war.
South Korea's military says North Korea has fired several ballistic missiles into the sea. The launch Monday happened hours after South Korean and U.S. troops kicked off their large annual combined drills, which the North views as an invasion rehearsal. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile firings, North Korea's fifth missile launch event this year, were detected from the North's Hwanghae province but gave no further details such as how far they flew. Earlier Monday, the South Korean and U.S. militaries began their drills. The exercises began after the South Korean and U.S. militaries paused live-fire training while Seoul investigates how two of its fighter jets mistakenly bombed a civilian area during a warm-up drill last week.
Ukrainian officials said Russia had targeted energy facilities with dozens of missiles and drones in a nighttime attack. The barrage hobbled the country's ability to deliver heat and light to its citizens and to power weapons factories vital to its defenses. The overnight onslaught — which also pounded residences and wounded at least 10 people — came days after the U.S. suspended military aid and intelligence to Ukraine to pressure it into accepting a peace deal being pushed by the Trump administration. Also on Friday, the U.S. government said it halted Ukrainian access to unclassified satellite images that had been used to help it fight back against Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine and that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia. Putin said during a nationwide TV address that the Russian strike Thursday on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro came in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory this week that used U.S. and British longer-range missiles. Two people were wounded in the attack. Putin declared that Russia would issue advance warnings if it launches more strikes with such missile against Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate to safety. He warned that U.S. air defense systems wouldn't be capable of intercepting Russian missiles.
North Korea is boasting that its new intercontinental ballistic missile is "the world's strongest," a claim seen as pure propaganda after experts assessed it as being too big to be useful in a war situation. The ICBM launched Thursday flew higher and for a longer duration than any other weapon North Korea has tested. But foreign experts still doubt North Korea has functional missiles that can carry warheads to the U.S. mainland. North Korea on Friday identified the missile as a Hwasong-19 and called it "the world's strongest strategic missile" and "the perfected weapon system." But experts say the ICBM and its launch vehicle are oversized. That would make them harder to move and easier for enemies to see.
The Israeli military says it killed a top Hezbollah commander as part of a two-day bombing campaign that has left more than 560 people dead and prompted thousands in southern Lebanon to seek refuge from the widening conflict. With the two sides on the brink of all-out war, Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets into Israel on Tuesday, targeting an explosives factory and sending families into bomb shelters. Families that fled southern Lebanon flocked to Beirut and the coastal city of Sidon, sleeping in schools turned into shelters, as well as in cars, parks and along the beach.
As Iran threatens to attack Israel over the assassination of a Hamas leader in the Iranian capital, its long-vaunted missile program offers one of the few ways for Tehran to strike back directly. But questions loom over just how much of a danger it poses. The program was behind Iran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on Israel in April, when Iran became the first nation to launch such a barrage since Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein lobbed Scud missiles at Israel in the 1991 Gulf War. But few of the projectiles reached their targets. A new report shared exclusively with The Associated Press suggests one of Iran's advanced missiles is far less accurate than previously thought.
Russia has fired dozens of missiles and drones across Ukraine for a second day. Ukraine's president says some were shot down by Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets before they reached their targets. It's the apparent first use by Ukraine of the F-16s to shoot down a missile. The Russian onslaught killed five people and destroyed some critical infrastructure in multiple regions. That has prolonged power outages in sweltering heat. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed calls for the U.S. to lift restrictions and let Ukraine strike deep inside Russia. Ukraine's military chief says troops now control nearly 500 square miles of Russia's Kursk region.