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BEIRUT, June 25 (Reuters) – Senior Israeli and Lebanese officials denied on Thursday that there had been any Israeli withdrawal from occupied southern Lebanon, after a U.S. official said Israel had pulled some troops back in a good faith gesture toward Lebanon’s government.

Israel and Lebanon have been discussing a U.S.-backed proposal for Israeli forces to hand some of the territory they occupied in their war with Hezbollah to Lebanon’s military, in a possible step toward restoring Lebanese control in the south.

The “pilot zone” proposal has been part of the latest round of Israeli-Lebanese talks in Washington mediated by the U.S., which resumed even as they appeared to be eclipsed by Iran’s move to make Lebanon central to its own talks with Washington.

A U.S. State Department official said that “Israel has already taken a concrete step by pulling back from a part of its buffer zone”. The so-called buffer zone is a vast area of southern Lebanon that Israeli forces are occupying north of the Israeli border.

The official described the move as “a significant demonstration of good faith toward Lebanon’s legitimate government.”

“The (Lebanese Armed Forces) should now move in and verifiably clear out terrorist weapons and infrastructure. This model will be repeated across South Lebanon, enabling the safe return of displaced families, reconstruction of the south, and the restoration of full Lebanese sovereignty,” the official added.

DISPUTES OVER MECHANISM FOR WITHDRAWAL, OFFICIAL SAYS

A senior Israeli defence official denied there had been any kind of pullback or withdrawal by Israeli forces, and said Israel would not be withdrawing from its buffer zone.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters that any “redeployment” of the military would only come after southern Lebanon was demilitarized and Hezbollah was disarmed.

A senior Lebanese military official said developments on the ground in recent days “show the opposite of a pullback”.

Israel has been enforcing its buffer zone against anyone approaching, including the Lebanese army, the official said. Israel’s military said in a statement there had been no change in the location of its soldiers in the zone.

Israel has established what it describes as a buffer zone about 10 km (6 miles) into Lebanon from the Israeli border. Its military has forced the local Lebanese population from their homes and carried out raids on villages, destroying buildings.

Israeli officials say the area is supposed to protect communities in Israel’s north from Hezbollah attacks. It says it has found Hezbollah weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the military would not be withdrawing from the area.

On Thursday, three people were killed in southern Lebanon in an Israeli air strike on a car, Lebanon security and medical sources told Reuters.

   An Israeli military official confirmed a strike had been carried out and said that more details would be released later.

   It is the second consecutive day such an event occurred, after a similar deadly strike on Wednesday despite a ceasefire.

The talks on handing over Lebanese territory to the Lebanese army were for a few areas outside the buffer zone, not within it, the senior Israeli official said.

The State Department official said the pilot zone process was aimed at ensuring the complete and verifiable destruction of Hezbollah’s weapons and infrastructure and the dismantling of non-state armed groups.

A second Lebanese military official said the Washington talks had focused on a mechanism through which the pilot zone plan would be implemented but that disputes had emerged.

Lebanon’s government wants the pilot plan to be implemented within Israel’s buffer zone, while Israel wants to start by withdrawing from areas north of that area, the official said.

Israel has insisted on separately negotiating each area it could hand over without setting a timeline, while Lebanon wants to see a roadmap for full Israeli withdrawal, the official added.

Another Israeli military official told Reuters on Wednesday that the military had not received orders to hand over any position to the Lebanese army and that, for now, it would not permit the Lebanese army or civilians to cross into the buffer zone.

“We will not allow the Lebanese army to go south from the security line,” the official said.

(Reporting by Samia Nakhoul and Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem and Alexander Cornwell in Tel Aviv; editing by Rami Ayyub, Aidan Lewis and Andrew Heavens)

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By Andrew Chung

WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way on Thursday for President Donald Trump’s administration to strip hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants of a humanitarian status that protects them from deportation, giving another boost to his hardline approach toward immigration.

The court in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative justices overturned decisions by federal judges in New York and Washington, D.C., that had halted the administration’s actions terminating Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for more than 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,100 from Syria. 

The court’s three liberal justices dissented.

The State Department currently warns against traveling to either Haiti or Syria, citing widespread violence, crime, terrorism and kidnapping. 

TPS is a designation that allows migrants from countries stricken by war, natural disaster or other catastrophes to live and work in the United States while it is unsafe for them to return to their home countries. The United States first provided TPS to Haitians after a major earthquake in 2010 and to Syrians after their country descended into civil war in 2012.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the ruling, wrote that courts cannot review the administration’s decisions concerning TPS, a decision that could doom legal challenges going forward on revocation of this status for any country.

The law governing TPS “plainly bars” such judicial review, Alito wrote.

Alito also wrote that the Haitian TPS holders who sued the administration were unlikely to succeed in their argument that the administration’s actions were racially biased, violating the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment promise of equal protection under the law.

The court backed Trump in a second immigration-related decision on Thursday, also authored by Alito. It sided with the Trump administration in its defense of the government’s authority to turn away asylum seekers when officials deem U.S.-Mexico border crossings too overburdened to handle additional claims. The administration has said it may seek to revive the policy, known as “metering,” after it was dropped by Trump’s Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.

EXECUTIVE POWER

The legal fight over TPS presented another test of Trump’s executive power and the Supreme Court’s traditional deference to presidents on matters of immigration, national security and foreign policy.

Actions revoking TPS and other humanitarian protections are part of Trump’s broader rollback of legal and illegal immigration since returning to office in January 2025. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, last year let the administration end TPS for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans.

Trump had long sought to rescind TPS protections, and while running for reelection in 2024 vowed to revoke TPS for Haitian immigrants after making false and derogatory claims that they were eating household pets in Ohio. 

The dispute carried potentially wide implications, affecting 1.3 million immigrants from all 17 countries currently designated for TPS. Trump’s administration has said such protections were always meant to be temporary.

Advocacy groups supporting migrants voiced alarm at the ruling.

“This is a deeply painful day for hundreds of thousands of families who have built their lives here lawfully, paid taxes, cared for our communities, and who now face the prospect of losing everything,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of the group Global Refuge. “Importantly, the court did not find that Haiti or Syria is safe. It found that the question is beyond the reach of judicial review. Our immediate concern is what happens to these families and children should they be forced back to the dire circumstances that have long prevented their safe return.”

The Supreme Court previously granted Trump’s requests to immediately implement several key immigration policies while legal challenges continued to play out in courts. For instance, it let Trump deport immigrants to countries where they have no ties and let federal agents target people for deportation based in part on their race or language. 

Lower courts ruled against the TPS terminations, finding that administration officials failed to follow mandatory protocols to assess conditions in a country before revoking its designation.

The administration had said it followed proper procedures, and made the broader argument that courts cannot second-guess its TPS determinations.

NOEM’S ACTIONS

The challenges centered on actions last year by Kristi Noem, who at the time served as Trump’s Department of Homeland Security secretary, to revoke the TPS designations for Syria and Haiti, stating that providing this status to them was contrary to U.S. national interests. Noem’s TPS decisions were not at issue when Trump fired her in March.

Groups of Syrian and Haitian TPS holders filed class-action lawsuits separately challenging the administration’s moves. They said Noem’s actions and the pattern of ending humanitarian designations for various countries show that the decisions were a preordained effort to eliminate the TPS program. 

Also at issue in the Haitian case was a finding by Washington-based U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes that the administration’s action likely was motivated in part by “racial animus,” violating the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment. Reyes said it was likely that Noem preordained ⁠her termination decision “because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants.”

In his ruling on Thursday, Alito said that “ironically” the plaintiffs themselves undermined this argument by themselves by highlighting a “strong, race-neutral explanation for Haiti’s termination: namely, that the current administration, which has terminated every TPS designation that has come up for renewal, simply opposes the TPS program, at least as it has been implemented in the past.”

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

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June 25 (Reuters) – An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck Japan’s northeast coast on Thursday, but no tsunami warning was issued, no injuries were immediately reported and no irregularities were found at nuclear facilities, the authorities said.

Japan’s government has set up an emergency team to gather information on the quake in the Tohoku region and is ready for disaster relief operations, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters.

The epicentre of the quake, which was about 50 km (30 miles) deep, was off the coast of Iwate prefecture, and no tsunami damage was expected, except for slight sea level changes, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

On the Japanese 0-7 intensity scale, the hardest-hit area was Aomori prefecture at 6-plus, a level defined as making it impossible to remain standing or to move without crawling.

Tohoku Electric Power said no irregularities were found at its Onagawa and idled Higashidori nuclear power plants. Nearby nuclear facilities of Tokyo Electric Power and other companies saw no abnormalities, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said.

East Japan Railway said it has halted some trains, including Tohoku Shinkansen high-speed rail services, after the quake. Expressway routes in Aomori were shut for inspections.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about one-fifth of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

In March 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake on record in Japan, and a massive tsunami. Those events triggered the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chornobyl a quarter of a century earlier.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya, Chang-Ran Kim and Hina Suzuki in Tokyo and Natalia Bueno Rebolledo in Mexico City; Editing by Christopher Cushing and William Mallard)

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Another Jewish Group Visits Syria, Seeks Preservation of Ancestral Sites as Some Struggle To Recover Property

Tours of synagogues and meetings with religious leaders highlight renewed interest in Jewish history and unresolved questions over historic sites, property, and diaspora ties

[DAMASCUS] A visit by American Rabbi David Saperstein to Damascus has drawn attention to work to preserve Syria’s Jewish sites and rebuild ties with members of the Syrian Jewish diaspora after decades of emigration, conflict, and official restrictions.

Saperstein, who served as US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom during the Obama administration, arrived in the Syrian capital as part of an American delegation that toured historic Jewish sites and met with religious and civic figures. The visit comes as some Jews of Syrian origin living abroad have begun returning to the country for short visits, property inquiries, and work to document and protect communal landmarks following the fall of the Assad government.

The delegation visited some of Damascus’ most prominent Jewish landmarks, including the historic Jobar Synagogue, considered one of the oldest synagogues in the region, as well as the Al- Franj Synagogue and the city’s Jewish cemetery. Delegates were briefed on the condition of the sites, including damage sustained during years of war. They also received presentations on the history of Jewish life in Syria and the role the community played in the country’s economic, social, and cultural development.

The visit included meetings with Syrian figures and representatives of organizations involved in interfaith and cultural dialogue. Talks focused on preserving the religious and historical legacy of Syria’s various communities and promoting understanding among different faiths and cultures at a time when the country is undergoing major political and social changes.

Syrian-Australian journalist Johnny Abo told The Media Line that the visit carried particular significance because of the participants and the meetings held with Syrian officials and religious leaders.

“The meetings were positive, productive, and focused on Syria’s rich religious and cultural diversity,” Abo said. “The delegation received a warm welcome from religious authorities, including Christian patriarchs and clergy, who engaged in open discussions with the rabbi and other members of the group.”

According to Abo, participants emphasized the historical presence of the Jewish community in Syria and its place within the country’s social fabric. They also discussed the preservation of Jewish religious and cultural sites, including historic synagogues and communal properties.

“Syria has historically been a land of civilizations, diversity, and coexistence,” he said. “The Jewish community was once an active part of public life, including parliamentary representation and a prominent role in commerce and trade.”

While describing the visit as primarily religious and cultural, Abo said it also carried broader symbolic messages. He said the participation of a rabbi with previous diplomatic experience reflected an effort to foster dialogue among Syrians, members of the Syrian Jewish diaspora, and American circles interested in Syria’s future.

“The visit ultimately conveys a message of coexistence and peace,” Abo said. “For centuries, the peoples of this region lived side by side despite their differences, and that legacy remains an important foundation for building a more stable future.”

Joseph Jajati, a Syrian American Jewish activist originally from Damascus, played a key role in organizing the visit. Jajati has been involved in several initiatives aimed at strengthening ties between Syrians inside the country and those living abroad.

Speaking to The Media Line, Jajati said the visit carries significance beyond its religious dimension, reflecting a growing desire to open new channels of communication with Syrian communities worldwide and to rebuild trust after years of separation.

“The delegation received full cooperation throughout its visit to Damascus,” Jajati said. “Members were able to access Jewish religious and historical sites, observe their condition firsthand, and meet with individuals from different backgrounds.”

Jajati said the visit gave participants a firsthand view of conditions in Damascus and of changes underway in Syria. He said the level of cooperation reflected what he saw as a commitment to preserving the country’s religious and cultural legacy.

“The most important message of this visit,” he said, “is that Syria is more than a geographic space or political borders. It is a long history of coexistence and diversity among the communities that have lived here and contributed to its civilization.”

Jajati added that many members of the Syrian Jewish diaspora in the United States and elsewhere maintain strong emotional and cultural ties to their country of origin and that visits such as this can help reconnect younger generations with their Syrian roots.

The focus on historic Jewish sites also reflects a broader attempt to recognize Syria’s pluralistic past and the contributions of communities that helped shape the country’s identity. Syria’s Jewish community, once concentrated mainly in Damascus, Aleppo, and Qamishli, declined sharply over the second half of the 20th century.

Unofficial estimates place Syria’s Jewish population in the 1950s at between 30,000 and 35,000 people. Waves of emigration later followed, driven by rising Arab nationalism, growing insecurity, and clandestine networks that helped Syrian Jews leave for the United States, Latin America, and Israel.

Jajati was born in Damascus and is the grandson of Yusuf Jajati, who headed Syria’s Jewish community during the presidency of Hafez Assad. He left Syria with his family for the United States after restrictions on Jewish travel were lifted in April 1992, following the launch of the Madrid Peace Conference.

Approximately 4,000 Jews left Syria during that period, leaving only a small community behind. Following the outbreak of the Syrian uprising and the escalation of violence, most of the remaining community departed. Today, only a handful of elderly Jews are believed to remain in Damascus.

Saperstein is a prominent Jewish religious leader in the United States. In addition to serving as US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom from 2015 to 2017, he has long been active in interfaith dialogue, religious freedom advocacy, and minority rights initiatives. Over several decades, he has participated in international efforts to promote understanding among religious communities and has become a respected figure in Jewish, academic, and interfaith circles.

Since the fall of the Assad government, Jajati has organized several visits by American delegations, including Jewish groups, to Syria. He has also worked to secure licensing for the Syrian Mosaic Foundation, an organization that promotes Syria’s multicultural history, interfaith engagement, and cultural diplomacy, and coordinated with the management of Damascus’ Semiramis Hotel to open what is currently the country’s only kosher restaurant.

Under Syria’s new authorities, some Jews of Syrian origin living abroad have been able to visit the country and return to former neighborhoods, homes, and places of worship. Some have begun pursuing claims to recover property or launch investment projects, particularly in the textile and garment sectors.

Others continue to face legal and administrative challenges related to properties belonging to Syrian Jews who emigrated abroad, including cases handled through Syria’s Office of Absentee Jewish Property.

Researchers and community activists say preserving Jewish sites in Syria is not only a matter for one religious group, but part of the country’s broader historical memory after years in which war, authoritarian rule, official restrictions, and emigration nearly erased one of the Middle East’s oldest Jewish communities.

Ms. Susan Al-Akhras, one of the organizers of the visit, said that the visit reflected openness and cooperation by the Syrian authorities toward efforts to preserve Syrian Jewish heritage and strengthen communication with members of the Syrian Jewish community abroad.

She explained in an interview with The Media Line that the visit was conducted in an official and organized manner, with the delegation receiving facilitation that enabled it to access several Jewish religious and historical sites in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and to assess their condition firsthand. The delegation also held meetings with religious and civil figures, as well as representatives of institutions concerned with dialogue and cultural diversity.

She added that during the tour, the delegation visited several prominent Jewish historical landmarks, including the Jobar Synagogue, the Franj Synagogue, and the Jewish cemetery in Damascus. The visit showed that these sites are an important part of Syria’s historical memory, although some still require restoration, maintenance, and protection after many years of war and neglect. Participants stressed that preserving these landmarks is not merely a Jewish matter but rather part of broader efforts to safeguard Syria’s national heritage across its religious and cultural components.

Members of the delegation and representatives of the Syrian Jewish community abroad also expressed their willingness to support projects to document, maintain, and restore Jewish historical sites, in coordination with the relevant Syrian authorities, to preserve this heritage for future generations.

They also emphasized the importance of reconnecting younger generations of Syrian Jews with their cultural and historical roots in Syria and encouraging more visits to help build bridges of trust and communication.

At the same time, Bikhor Shemtov, a representative of the Jewish community in Syria, told The Media Line that the visit reflected a positive atmosphere of welcome and engagement among many Syrians, who viewed it as a step that reflects Syria’s history of diversity and coexistence among its various communities. Participants affirmed that the country’s future should be based on respect for religious and cultural pluralism and on the preservation of the heritage of all communities that have contributed to the building of Syrian civilization throughout the centuries.

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By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) – Ghislaine Maxwell argued in a new court filing that Jeffrey Epstein documents released this year contained evidence her rights were violated before she was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping the late financier sexually abuse teenage girls.

Maxwell, 64, has been challenging her December 2021 conviction and sentence in Manhattan federal court, and is seeking a writ of habeas corpus declaring her punishment unlawful. Prosecutors said her latest claims were baseless or filed too late.

In her amended petition made public on Wednesday, Maxwell said many documents disclosed through the Epstein Files Transparency Act show that her due process rights were violated because lawyers representing Epstein’s accusers served as “De Facto Prosecutors and agents of the government.”

The former British socialite and Epstein girlfriend cited among other things a letter from a former federal prosecutor who said, “I did what I could” to help the women’s lawyers, in an alleged attempt to set aside Epstein’s controversial 2007 non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida.

Maxwell has repeatedly argued unsuccessfully that Epstein’s agreement shielded her from criminal prosecution.

Her habeas petition represents her broadest effort to overturn her conviction, the most significant successful prosecution to emerge from the Epstein scandal.

She drew on some of the millions of pages of documents released under the Epstein files law, which U.S. President Donald Trump signed in November following near-unanimous congressional approval.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer oversees Maxwell’s case, and will review her petition.

US SAYS MAXWELL’S CONVICTION, SENTENCE WERE FAIR

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in Manhattan, whose office prosecuted Maxwell, said she filed most of her claims too late, while those filed on time were speculative at best, misstated the record or the law, or failed to show her trial was unfair.

“In short, the defendant — for multiple, independent reasons — utterly fails to carry her burden to overturn her proper conviction and just sentence,” Clayton said in a court filing also made public on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for some lawyers representing Epstein accusers had no immediate comment.

Maxwell is representing herself in seeking to overturn her conviction on five charges for recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004.

An earlier appeal focused on Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement, which led to his 2008 guilty plea on a Florida state prostitution charge. He was sentenced to 13 months in jail, a punishment now widely considered too lenient.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected that appeal in October.

MAXWELL SAYS LAX PROSECUTORS LED TO ‘UNSAFE’ CONVICTION

In her amended petition, Maxwell also objected to prosecutors’ alleged “failure to follow witnesses and the evidence.”

She cited among other things their failure to interview Leslie Wexner, the retail billionaire behind Victoria’s Secret who hired Epstein to manage his personal finances.

Wexner, 88, told Congress in February that he severed ties with Epstein in 2007 and had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity.

Maxwell said the newly released materials showed that prosecutors failed to do “any real investigation of their own,” leading to “misrepresentations to judges and the jury resulting in an unsafe conviction.”

The petition also alleged other grounds to overturn Maxwell’s conviction, including gaps in witness testimony and government suppression of evidence. 

A federal judge delayed the release of Maxwell’s amended petition so prosecutors could make redactions to preserve the anonymity of Epstein’s victims.

Epstein died at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, five weeks after being arrested on sex trafficking charges. New York City’s medical examiner called the death a suicide.

Maxwell is housed at a minimum security federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas. She is eligible for release in July 2037, when she will be 75.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela within about a minute of each other on Wednesday, causing buildings to collapse and damage in Caracas. The rare back-to-back tremors, measuring magnitudes 7.1 and 7.5, rank among the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in more than a century.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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TAIPEI, June 25 (Reuters) – Taiwan expressed its thanks after the U.S., Britain, France and Germany raised the alarm about the Chinese Coast Guard and other activities off the island’s east coast, with the government saying freedom of navigation was essential to global trade.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, sent Coast Guard ships earlier in June into the waters off the island’s east coast for what it called a “special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation,” angering Taipei.

China said the operation was in response to an announcement by Japan and the Philippines that they would begin formal talks on their maritime boundaries, which Beijing viewed as involving Chinese waters off Taiwan.

China has also been sending maritime survey ships into the same waters.

Joseph Wu, secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, wrote on X late on Wednesday he was “truly thankful” for the statements from the four countries.

“A rules-based int’l order, the StatusQuo, & regional peace & stability are what we all care about. The PRC should stop its maritime expansionism,” he wrote, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

China’s foreign ministry has yet to comment on the statements. China recognises no claims of sovereignty by Taiwan and considers the island and the waters around it to be its own territory.

In a separate statement, Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, which runs the island’s Coast Guard, said freedom of navigation and maritime safety in the Taiwan Strait and the waters surrounding Taiwan are essential to global trade. 

“China’s maritime harassment of Taiwan, and the political pressure that follows, not only violate international law but also harm the shared interests of the international community. They must be promptly contained and collectively rejected,” it added.

Taiwan will continue to stand together with its friends and “responsibly and jointly defend the international order in surrounding waters through lawful, appropriate, and firm measures”, the council said.

Kuan Bi-ling, the minister who runs the council, wrote on her Facebook page that China has been “certified” as a disruptor of regional stability.

“The more China harasses Taiwan, the more the international community supports Taiwan!” she added.

Last week, Kuan hosted the de facto British ambassador to Taiwan, Ruth Bradley-Jones, on Taiwan’s Yunlin coast guard ship, docked at port.

Taiwan says China has no right to claim any sovereignty or jurisdiction over the island or its waters.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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June 24 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Wednesday declared a state of emergency after strong back-to-back earthquakes and nearly two dozen aftershocks shook the country, collapsing buildings in capital Caracas and elsewhere.

Rodriguez, appearing on state television flanked by her brother Jorge, the head of the national assembly, and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, said she extended her condolences to the families of those killed, but she gave no death toll or number of injured.

Simon Bolivar Airport in Maiquetia, near Caracas, is closed because of damage, she added.

(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb)

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces struck a major natural gas processing plant and two key satellite communications centers in their latest nighttime attack on Russia, Ukraine’s General Staff said Wednesday.

The operation was part of Ukraine’s aerial campaign targeting energy facilities and military industries that has intensified as Kyiv builds bigger and better long-range weapons to defeat Russia’s all-out invasion, now in its fifth year.

The overnight attack hit the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, which is part of a complex that also houses the only helium plant in Russia, the General Staff said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. The attack set the complex on fire, it said.

Orenburg is located more than 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) behind the front line that snakes along eastern and southern Ukraine, it said.

The plant is one of the largest gas complexes in the world, according to the General Staff. It produces helium, used in liquid-fuel rocket engines and guidance systems, and ethane, a key component in producing solid rocket fuel and gunpowder, among other things, it added.

It was not possible to independently verify the General Staff’s report, and Russian officials made no immediate comment.

The Ukrainian statement did not say whether the military used drones or missiles in the assault, but drones have recently been used to strike Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Overnight attacks also struck two satellite communication centers used by the Russian military, according to the General Staff.

One was the Dubna Space Communications Center near Moscow, which it described as the largest ground-based satellite communications complex in Russia, and the other was in the Vladimir region east of the Russian capital.

Ukraine has recently focused its drone and missile attacks on Crimea, aiming to cut off the vital Russian-held peninsula, and overnight drone strikes knocked out power in Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the city’s Moscow-installed governor, said Wednesday.

Ukraine is trying to disrupt military supply lines in Crimea and strike the peninsula’s power grid at the height of the summer tourist season. Kyiv hopes the campaign will embarrass Russian President Vladimir Putin and increase public pressure on him to end the war, according to Western analysts.

Crimea sits in a strategic location on the Black Sea. It has naval bases and also provides an important supply line to Russian forces inside Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Security Service said Wednesday it struck two military airfields and destroyed missile systems in Crimea.

Russian forces shot down 323 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

Ukraine’s air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 101 long-range attack drones overnight.

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Elise Morton in London contributed to this story.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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ANKARA, June 24 (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that work was underway on a legal framework that would speed up the disbandment of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and that it would be put on parliament’s agenda without much delay.

The move signals a potential breakthrough after a peace process between the Turkish state and the PKK came to a near standstill in recent months due to the Iran war and the concerns it triggered about further regional instability.

The PKK, which waged a decades-long separatist insurgency against the Turkish state and is designated a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, decided in May 2025 to disarm and disband, after an appeal from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Turkey announced last November its plans for establishing a new legal framework but the country’s Kurdish politicians had accused the government of moving too slowly.

“At the point we have reached, we are working on a legal framework that will speed up the disbandment of the group. Once the necessary deliberations have been made, we will present the legislation in question to parliament without too much delay,” Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling AK Party in parliament, without elaborating.

“I believe we have the capacity to solve the issue without compromising on our state’s qualities, our people’s values,” he added, saying that the integration of Syrian Kurdish militants into Syria’s state apparatus, a key element of the process, was also moving along.

The PKK launched its insurgency in 1984. It initially sought an independent Kurdish state in southeast Turkey but later changed its goals to autonomy and Kurdish political rights.

(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler and Gareth Jones)

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