With U.S.-brokered Ukraine peace talks on hold due to the war in the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to try to expand his military gains via new offensives against his southern neighbor that will put even more pressure on Kyiv. Windfall revenues from surging global oil prices are filling Moscow's war coffers and U.S. air defense assets are being drained quickly by Iranian attacks across the Gulf, leaving little available for Ukraine in the fifth year of Russia's full-scale invasion. Ukraine's European allies have promised to maintain their steadfast support, but bickering over a major 90 billion euro ($106 billion) European Union loan to cover Kyiv's military and economic needs for two years has reflected the mounting challenges.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says there's no imminent threat to the state from Iran. ABC News says the FBI warned California that Iran had aspired to send drones to the West Coast in retaliation for war. The FBI later released text of the alert, which noted that the information was based on "unverified information." The White House now says, "No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists." Newsom says California and various agencies plan for worst-case scenarios. Police in Los Angeles and San Francisco say they are monitoring world events for any risks.
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 KAREEM CHEHAYEB, NATALIE MELZER and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press
The Lebanese parliament has extended its term by two years due to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which has pushed the region into an escalating conflict, and Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon. On Monday, lawmakers approved the move after fighting displaced more than half a million people in Lebanon. Israel also intensifies attacks on Lebanon, saying it targeted Hezbollah's financial arm, al-Qard al-Hasan, in Beirut's southern suburbs. Israel also said its ground forces launched "focused raids" in the south of Lebanon. Hezbollah said it hit Israeli troops and fired rockets into northern Israel. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using white phosphorus in strikes on a Lebanese village in violation of international law.
By JULIA FRANKEL and MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press
Satellite images and videos of an Iranian girls school damaged by large explosions at the start of a U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign targeting the Islamic Republic indicate a targeted attack from the air hit the building. That's according to military experts who spoke to The Associated Press. Iran says the blast killed at least 165 people, most of them children. The location of the strike, its affiliation to a coastal defense unit of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and the tight pattern of the damage suggest a targeted airstrike on the site. Several factors point to a U.S. strike, given the proximity of American forces to the school and focus on missile sites and naval forces in the war.
The distinctive buzz of the Iranian-designed drones has become a familiar sound in Ukraine over the past four years. Now, it's increasingly heard across the Persian Gulf as Tehran strikes back with the cheap but effective weapons following the attack by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. The Shahed drones have made a transformative impact on the modern battlefield, with Russia sending swarms of the deadly weapons into the skies above Ukraine on nightly missions. While ballistic and cruise missiles fly much faster and pack a bigger punch, they cost millions and are available only in limited quantities. A Shahed drone costs only tens of thousands of dollars — a tiny fraction of a ballistic missile.
