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PARIS, April 7 (Reuters) – A French high-speed train crashed on Tuesday morning into a truck carrying military equipment at a level crossing near Calais, killing the train driver, a spokesperson for the local prefecture said.

The spokesperson said several others were injured, confirming an earlier report from a union representative.

French transport minister Philippe Tabarot also confirmed the train crash in a post on X, adding that he would be going to the scene of the accident.

State-owned railway operator SNCF said on its X account that the accident had occurred at a level crossing between the towns of Bethune and Lens, and that traffic had been interrupted.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Sophie Louet; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

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By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, April 6 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s government and its political opposition are seeking to coordinate their legal defense of the oil-rich country’s United States assets, after Washington’s official recognition of interim President Delcy Rodriguez raised questions about who could represent the country in U.S. courts. 

Lawyers for Rodriguez’s government and the opposition asked Manhattan-based U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn on Monday to pause for 45 days a case in which creditors are seeking to seize funds linked to state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela while they determined who would represent Venezuela’s interests. 

The letter signaled potential cooperation between the opposition and Rodriguez’s government in the safeguarding of U.S. assets including Houston-based oil refiner Citgo Petroleum from creditors, including holders of debt issued by PDVSA and Venezuela’s government, companies whose Venezuelan assets were expropriated, and victims of acts of alleged terrorism.

Venezuela’s information ministry, which handles media requests on the government’s behalf, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

Relations between the opposition and Venezuela’s socialist government have long been acrimonious. The opposition has controlled U.S. assets including Citgo since 2019, when Washington first imposed sanctions on PDVSA in a bid to pressure now-jailed President Nicolas Maduro to leave office. 

Washington in March recognized Rodriguez as Venezuela’s leader, following the capture of Maduro by U.S. forces. She is now preparing to take over the boards of PDVSA’s U.S. subsidiaries including Citgo, Reuters reported on April 1, citing four people close to the preparations.

The U.S. recognition of Rodriguez’s government prompted Netburn to ask the parties to the lawsuit to clarify who had authority to represent Venezuela in court.

Netburn on Monday granted the request to pause the case. Lawyers for the government and opposition are expected to update her on the selection of a lawyer to permanently represent Venezuela’s interests by May 21.  

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Bill Berkrot)

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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Delcy Rodríguez remained Venezuela’s acting president on Monday, exceeding the 90-day limit on her temporary role set by the country’s high court following the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro in January.

However, it’s unclear how much longer she will keep the post as lawmakers have not taken a public vote to extend her term past last Friday’s deadline.

According to the court order, Maduro is still officially Venezuela’s president and his “forced” absence resulting from a “kidnapping” makes it temporarily impossible for him to fulfill his duties.

Under Venezuela’s constitution, according to an article referenced by the court, temporary absences are to be filled by the vice president — which was Rodríguez’s former role — for up to 90 days. These interim appointments can be extended by the national assembly for an additional 90 days.

The National Assembly, controlled by Rodríguez’s party, can trigger a snap election if lawmakers declare the post permanently vacant.

The government’s press office did not respond to requests for comment.

Ronal Rodríguez, a researcher at the Venezuela Observatory in Colombia’s Universidad del Rosario, said the government, particularly after Maduro took office in 2013, has previously used legal interpretations to remain in power.

“And it would be no surprise if they did so again now,” he said. “They will most likely try to come up with some kind of explanation, such as it being Good Friday or the way the days were counted, but in the end, everything will be validated by a ruling from the Supreme Tribunal of Justice.”

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured Jan. 3 in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Rodríguez and other ruling-party leaders have demanded that the pair be released from custody, calling their detention a kidnapping. Billboards and murals across Caracas also echo that same demand.

The Trump administration stunned Venezuelans by choosing to work with Rodríguez following Maduro’s ouster, instead of the country’s political opposition. She has since led cooperation with the administration’s phased plan to end Venezuela’s complex crisis, pitching her oil-rich nation to international investors and opening its energy sector to private capital and international arbitration. Rodríguez has also replaced senior officials, including Maduro’s faithful defense minister and attorney general.

U.S. President Donald Trump has praised her work.

The U.S. Treasury Department last week lifted sanctions on Rodríguez, while the U.S. State Department last month recognized her as the “sole Head of State” of Venezuela.

The United States stopped recognizing Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader in 2019, the year after he claimed reelection victory in a contest widely considered a sham as opposition parties and candidates were barred from participating.

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WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday told reporters that Iran could be taken out in one night, “and that night might be tomorrow night,” warning Tehran it had to make a deal by Tuesday night or face wider bombing raids.

Trump had earlier vowed to enforce a Tuesday night deadline for Iran to agree to a ceasefire deal or face broad attacks on power plants and other critical infrastructure. Trump is demanding Iran forswear nuclear weapons and reopen the Strait of Hormuz oil transit waterway.

“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump told a White House press conference.

“I hope I don’t have to do it,” Trump said.

Critics have said Trump would be committing war crimes if the U.S. attacked civilian power plants, a point that Trump dismissed on Monday.

“I’m not worried about it. You know what’s a war crime? Having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said earlier on Monday during an Easter egg event for children on the White House South Lawn.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told the briefing that the largest volume of strikes since day one of the operation against Iran would take place on Monday and warned Tuesday would have even more.

RESCUE OPERATION

Trump, joined by Hegseth and other top national security advisers, described in detail the weekend U.S. operation to recover a downed American airman who hid in mountainous Iranian terrain and eluded capture by Iranian forces.

He said the airman, identified only by “Dude 44 Bravo,” kept climbing higher in order to improve the chances for recovery. He said the airman was seen moving via an unidentified U.S. camera link. “It was like finding a needle in a haystack,” Trump said.

Hundreds of American forces were involved in the search and recovery mission and to prevent the Iranians from finding him first, he said.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who joined Trump at the event, said the agency had engaged in a “deception campaign” to convince the Iranians the airman was somewhere else.

Ratcliffe said that on Saturday morning the CIA got confirmation that “one of America’s best and bravest was alive and concealed in a mountain crevice, still invisible to the enemy, but not to the CIA.”

The pilot, shot down on Friday, was recovered on Sunday morning.

“In a breathtaking show of skill and precision, lethality and force, America’s military descended on the area, the real area, engaged the enemy, rescued the stranded officer, destroyed all threats and exited Iranian territory while taking no casualties of any kind,” Trump said.

Hegseth said the lost airman used an emergency transponder to show where he was and his first message was: “God is good.”

General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the recovered airman had been the “back seater” on the downed aircraft.

“In this case, the back seater’s absolute commitment to surviving made much of our efforts possible,” Caine said.

‘WILLING TO SUFFER’

Trump said, without providing evidence, that the United States has “numerous intercepts” from Iranian civilians urging the U.S. not to let up in trying to dislodge the Iranian government from power.

“They would be willing to suffer that in order to have freedom,” Trump said.

Speaking to reporters earlier at a White House Easter event, Trump said a proposal offered by Iran was inadequate.

“They made a proposal, and it’s a significant proposal. It’s a significant step. It’s not good enough,” Trump told reporters during the Easter event at the White House.

Trump said the five-week conflict could end quickly if Iran does “what they have to do.”

“They have to do certain things. They know that, they’ve been negotiating I think in good faith,” he said.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Steve Holland; Editing by David Ljunggren, Michelle Nichols and Deepa Babington)

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By Max Hunder and Daniel Flynn

April 6 (Reuters) – Fire Point, maker of Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missile, is in talks with European companies to launch a new air defence system by next year, a senior executive told Reuters, creating a low-cost alternative to the increasingly hard-to-get Patriot system.

With governments seeking to defend their skies as the wars in Ukraine and Iran sow global instability, Fire Point’s co-founder and chief designer Denys Shtilierman said it aimed to slash the cost of intercepting a ballistic missile to below $1 million.

Shtilierman also said Fire Point was awaiting government approval for an investment by a Middle Eastern conglomerate that valued the company at $2.5 billion and would open the door to new business opportunities, including low-orbit satellite launches.

Years of know-how gained on the battlefield fighting Russian forces have made Ukraine a leading innovator in low-cost defence tech. With the outbreak of war in the Gulf, Kyiv has leveraged that expertise to sign security agreements with governments across the region.

Many Ukrainian defence firms are now seeking to export their excess capacity and cash in on a global boom in military spending. While the government recently loosened wartime export restrictions, each proposed deal is still subject to stringent checks and state approval.

DEVELOPING AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE PATRIOT SYSTEM

Ukraine and many other Western-allied nations rely heavily on the U.S.-made Patriot system to stop ballistic missiles.

But Patriot missiles are in increasingly short supply amid extensive deployment in the Gulf against Iranian attacks. And Europe’s only anti-ballistic system, the Italo-French SAMP/T, is produced in relatively small numbers.

To bring down a ballistic projectile, the Patriot system – manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin – often requires two or three air defence missiles, each costing several million dollars, Shtilierman said. 

“If we can decrease it to less than $1 million, it will be … a game changer in air defence solutions,” he said in an interview. “We plan to intercept the first ballistic missile at the end of 2027.” 

Shtilierman declined to name the European companies involved in the discussions to develop the new system but said Fire Point is “deeply interested” in collaboration on radar, missile target-seeking and communications systems – areas where it lacks expertise.

European companies including Weibel, Hensoldt, SAAB and Thales have good radar solutions, he noted.

Founded after Moscow’s 2022 invasion, Fire Point is Ukraine’s biggest maker of the long-range drones used in the majority of strikes deep inside Russia.

In recent months, its FP5 long-range cruise missile – commonly known as the Flamingo – has also been used to hit Russian military facilities and arms factories, including a ballistic missile plant nearly 1,400 km (870 miles) inside Russian territory.

Shtilierman said Fire Point was now in the final stages of developing two supersonic ballistic missiles. 

The smaller FP-7 missile, with a range of around 300 km, will have its first military deployment “in the close future”, he said, describing it as similar to Lockheed Martin’s ATACMS short-range ballistic system.

The larger FP-9, capable of carrying an 800 kg warhead up to 850 km, is about to enter testing and would place Moscow within range of Ukraine’s ballistic arsenal, he added.

Shtilierman said strikes on Moscow, which is ringed by some of the world’s most formidable air defences, would cause a “mass shift in the Russian mind and the mind of top guys in Russia.”

Russia’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment. 

Fabian Hoffmann, a missile expert and senior researcher at the Norwegian Defence University College, said that, while Russia has experience in successfully downing ATACMS, more widespread use of ballistic missiles could stretch Russian air defences, already degraded by Ukrainian strikes.

And while Fire Point’s 2027 target for launching a low-cost air defence system was “ambitious”, he said that, beyond Ukraine’s own military needs, there would be strong demand from governments even if its kill rates per missile were less effective than the Patriot’s.

UAE INVESTMENT COULD START SATELLITE VENTURE

Ukraine’s anti-monopoly authority has until around October to decide on the proposed $760-million acquisition of a 30% stake in Fire Point by the Middle Eastern investor, Shtilierman said.

Ukrainian media have identified the suitor as Emirati defence firm Edge Group. Edge Group and Ukraine’s anti-monopoly authorities did not respond to a request for comment. 

The investment would be the first step in a project to build a space launch terminal in the UAE, with the aim of eventually establishing a constellation of low-orbit European satellites. Shtilierman said the country’s location next to the Indian Ocean and geographical conditions were favourable for space launches. 

“We built a carbon winding machine, which allows us to wind a big solid rocket booster for satellite delivery,” he said, noting the project remained at the conceptual stage although there were already agreements “with a couple of Western companies”.

Regardless of whether the UAE deal proceeds, Shtilierman said Fire Point would not take on further investors until after it had demonstrated success with its missile defence system, which will use the company’s FP7 missile. .

Fire Point has, meanwhile, received interest from Gulf states for purchases of its existing drone products and is awaiting approval from Ukraine’s government to begin exports. Shtilierman said the company has monthly capacity to export up to 2,500 long-range drones.

Exporting the Flamingo missile, however, is much more difficult due to regulatory barriers, he said.

Fire Point says it makes hundreds of long-range strike drones a day, each costing about 50,000 euros ($57,775) to produce, and three Flamingo missiles, at a cost of about 600,000 euros apiece. He acknowledged some “bottleneck” issues with the Flamingo, including with engine production.

Fire Point will increase production of the Flamingo when a new, in-house engine goes into mass production in October and a rocket fuel plant in Denmark comes online later this year, he said. The plant is awaiting two final approvals from Danish authorities.

($1 = 0.8654 euros)

(Editing by Joe Bavier)

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HAVANA (AP) — Two U.S lawmakers called for a permanent solution to Cuba’s crises after witnessing the effects of a U.S. energy blockade during an official visit to the island.

Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and members of Parliament during a five-day trip that ended Sunday.

Díaz-Canel wrote on X Monday that upon meeting with Jayapal and Jackson, he “denounced the criminal damage caused by the #blockade, particularly the consequences of the energy embargo imposed by the current U.S. administration and its threats of even more aggressive actions.”

Díaz-Canel added: “I reiterated our government’s willingness to engage in serious and responsible bilateral dialogue and find solutions to our existing differences.”

Both the U.S. and Cuba have acknowledged recently that talks are ongoing at the highest level, but no details have been disclosed.

Jayapal told reporters she believes that recent steps taken by Cuba, such as opening the economy to certain investments by Cuban Americans living abroad; the recent announcement that more than 2,000 prisoners would be pardoned; and the arrival of an FBI team to collaborate in the investigation of a fatal shooting involving a U.S.-flagged boat, “indicate that the moment is here for us to have a real negotiation between the two countries and to reverse the failed U.S. policy of decades, a Cold War remnant that no longer serves the American people or the Cuban people.”

Cuba’s government has released the pardoned prisoners who were accused of a variety of crimes, although none so far appear to be political prisoners.

In late January, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that would sell or provide oil to Cuba, although he made an exception for a Russian ship that reached the island last week with 730,000 barrels of crude oil. It was the first petroleum shipment in three months to dock in Cuba, which produces only 40% of the oil it needs.

“This is cruel collective punishment — effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country — that has produced permanent damage. It must stop immediately,” Jayapal and Jackson said in a statement released Sunday.

Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the U.S. attacked the South American country in early January and arrested its then-leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Cubans already suffering from five years of economic crisis have acutely felt the impact of the fuel shortage: national blackouts, gasoline shortages and rationing, lack of public transport, cuts in working hours, paralyzed hospitals and surgeries, and suspension of flights, among other things.

Russia has promised a second delivery of petroleum, although it’s not clear when it might arrive. Experts have said that the first shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days.

Jayapal said that while such shipments are critical, they are only temporary solutions: “We need a longer, permanent solution for the Cuban people and the American people.”

Meanwhile, Jackson compared the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast to the oil blockade in Cuba, adding that the island “is the most sanctioned part of Earth.”

“Our government is fighting to keep the Strait of Hormuz open so there is a free flow of oil around the world. We want, for humanitarian reasons, a free flow of oil, fuel, and energy in our own hemisphere,” he said.

Jackson and Jayapal said they would prepare a report and continue to work on initiatives proposed by fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives to lift sanctions against Cuba to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Mahmoud Issa

CAIRO/GAZA, April 6 (Reuters) – An Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people and wounded several others outside a school housing displaced Palestinians on Monday, health officials said, in the latest violence overshadowing the fragile U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire deal.

Before the strikes, some Palestinians had clashed with members of an Israeli-backed militia, who they said attacked the school in an attempt to abduct some people, medics and residents said.

In the midst of the clashes, east of the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Israeli drones fired two missiles into the area, killing at least 10 people and wounding several others, they added.

It was not immediately clear how many civilians had been killed in the strikes, which hit in a closely packed neighborhood of mostly displaced Palestinians.

Ahmed al-Maghazi, an eyewitness, said their area was attacked by members of the Israeli-backed militia who operate in the territory adjacent to where the Israeli forces are in control, before the militia opened fire.

“The residents tried to defend their homes, but the occupation forces targeted them directly,” he told Reuters.

Later on Monday, a leader of one of the Israeli-backed militias said in a video, which Reuters couldn’t immediately authenticate, that they killed some five Hamas members .

There was no immediate comment from Hamas, which brands those groups that operate in areas under Israeli control as “Israeli collaborators.”

Earlier on Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed one Palestinian and wounded a child as they traveled on a motorbike in Gaza City, medics said. 

Medics said that Israeli forces killed another Palestinian when they opened fire on a vehicle in central Gaza, taking Monday’s death toll to at least 12.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on any of the three incidents on Monday.

The Palestinian group Hamas, which has run Gaza since 2007, and Israel have traded blame over violations of the ceasefire that kicked off in October.

The Gaza health ministry says Israeli fire has killed at least 700 people since the ceasefire began. Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.

The violence comes as Hamas has continued to resist relinquishing its weapons, a major obstacle in talks to implement the next steps in U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan for Gaza. 

On Sunday, Hamas’ armed wing said that discussing the group’s disarmament before Israel fully implements the first phase of Trump’s Gaza plan was an attempt to continue what it called a genocide against the Palestinian people. 

Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s ensuing two-year campaign killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gazan health authorities.

The offensive spread famine, reduced most of the strip to rubble, and displaced the majority of its population.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Mahmoud Issa in Gaza.Editing by Keith Weir)

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By Samia Nakhoul and Maha El Dahan

Dubai, April 6 (Reuters) – UAE official Anwar Gargash said any settlement of the U.S.-Iran war must guarantee access through the Strait of Hormuz, warning that a deal that fails to rein in Iran’s nuclear programme and its missiles and drones would pave the way for “a more dangerous, more volatile Middle East.”

Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, told a weekend briefing that the Strait of Hormuz – the world’s most critical oil artery – cannot be weaponised, stressing that its security is not a regional bargaining chip but a global economic imperative.

“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be held hostage by any country,” said Gargash, adding that freedom of navigation through the waterway “has to be part and parcel of the settlement of any conflict with clear agreement on that.” 

Gargash said the UAE wants the war to end, but warned against a ceasefire that leaves the root causes of instability unresolved.

“We don’t want to see more and more escalation,” he said. “But we don’t want a ceasefire that fails to address some of the main issues that will create a much more dangerous environment in the region…notably (Iran’s) nuclear programme, the missiles and drones that are still raining down on us and on other countries.”

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it did not make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline. In a post laden with expletives on Sunday on his Truth Social platform, Trump threatened further strikes on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure that critics say would constitute a war crime. 

The U.S. and Israel have pounded Iran with missiles and airstrikes for more than five weeks to destroy what they said was an imminent threat from the country’s nuclear weapon development programme, ballistic missile arsenal and support for regional proxy militias.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO UNFOLDING

Gargash said the United Arab Emirates was ready to join any U.S.-led international effort to secure shipping through the strait.

About a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas supplies normally pass through it each day, but Iran’s actions have severely curtailed traffic, triggering a global energy crisis.

The conflict erupted on February 28, when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran after talks aimed at securing a nuclear agreement between Washington and Tehran hit a deadlock. Iran retaliated with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israel, U.S. military bases in the region, and vital Gulf energy infrastructure, including airports, ports and commercial centres. 

The UAE has come under heavier Iranian strikes than any other Gulf state, according to regional officials.

Gargash said that for decades, the most unlikely worst‑case scenario for the UAE had been a full Iranian attack – a scenario that is now unfolding. Despite that, he said, the country was coping well, demonstrating resilience and resourcefulness under pressure.

He said the UAE’s economic fundamentals remained strong and positioned the country for a recovery, though he acknowledged it would require effort.

Gargash said Iran’s strategy was likely to harden the Gulf’s security alignment with Washington rather than reduce it, entrenching the U.S. military role in the region and amplifying Israel’s footprint. He said the U.S. would remain the UAE’s core security partner and that Abu Dhabi would double down on that relationship as regional threats intensify.

Iran’s strikes on Gulf energy facilities and shipping lanes were seen by regional officials as a calculated attempt to raise the costs for Washington’s Gulf Arab allies. By hitting oil facilities, ports and key waterway – including the Strait – Iran banked on Gulf states, alarmed by economic shock and regional spillover, to press the United States to halt its campaign.

That logic drew on years of Gulf efforts to balance ties with Washington and Tehran, keep tensions contained, and avoid direct confrontation. Many Gulf states had restored diplomatic relations with Iran and tried to shield their economies from regional shocks, believing engagement would lower the risk.

Gargash said Iran’s leadership was fighting to preserve the “regime, not the country”, arguing that no normal government would accept such destruction simply to claim it had resisted. He said the UAE did not seek hostility with Iran, but warned that trust was impossible under the current Tehran government.

The UAE was grateful, he said, for the international support it has received, singling out France as a steadfast partner and praising Washington for its exceptional backing, particularly in strengthening the UAE’s air‑defence capabilities.

(Writing by Samia Nakhoul; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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SEOUL, April 6 (Reuters) – North Korea’s test of a solid-fuel rocket engine is intended for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) built with carbon fibre to extend range and allow for delivery of heavier and possibly multiple warheads, South Korean lawmakers said on Monday.

In March, North Korea conducted a ground test of a solid-fuel rocket engine that analysts believe is being developed for its latest ICBM.

The new engine likely has greater thrust than the previous model it tested in 2024, which was already assessed as capable of striking anywhere in the mainland United States, they said.

North Korea has conducted all its longer-range missile launches at a lofted trajectory to splash down the projectiles in the ocean off its east coast or to the east of Japan to test them without flying them for a distance they are designed for.

North Korean media showed the airframe of the missile at the new engine test that was built with carbon fibre, which is lightweight while strong, allowing the projectile to carry multiple warheads, member of parliament Park Sun-won said.

Park was speaking to reporters following a closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea’s main spy agency.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was on hand for the March 28 test and said it was a significant upgrade to the country’s strategic forces.

North Korea has defied a U.N. Security Council ban on missile and nuclear tests, steadily progressing in the development of more powerful and technically superior missiles.

(Reporting by Jack KimEditing by Ed Davies)

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KYIV, April 6 (Reuters) – Russia launched a drone attack on Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa overnight on Monday, killing three people, including a child, and damaging infrastructure, residential and administrative buildings, the regional governor said.

“Overnight, Odesa came under another heavy attack by the enemy,” Oleh Kiper, Odesa regional governor, said on the Telegram app. As well as the three dead, 10 people were injured, he said.

“Residential buildings, critical infrastructure and administrative facilities were hit. There is significant damage,” Kiper said.

  With the war now in its fifth year, Moscow has escalated its attacks on Odesa, a key logistics hub in southern Ukraine and the country’s largest port, handling the majority of the Ukrainian grain and other maritime exports.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Kate Mayberry)

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