Day News Recap: Ukraine under fresh fire as Hormuz tensions, sanctions and diplomacy ripple worldwide

Russia intensified its assault on Ukraine overnight, with missile and drone strikes injuring at least 19 people and causing damage in Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions, while separate attacks on Odesa and Sumy brought fresh fires, deaths and injuries according to local officials and emergency services.  🔗  🔗

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Kyiv also moved to replace its top prosecutor after a corruption scandal, appointing Anton Kovalskyi as acting prosecutor general following Ruslan Kravchenko’s resignation. At the same time, Ukrainian and US diplomatic teams were working to arrange a Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump meeting at the UN as the country faced the latest Russian strike.  🔗  🔗

In the Middle East, the US said commercial shipping was still moving through the Strait of Hormuz despite an Iranian blockade and attacks on vessels, even as leaked photographs showed extensive damage at multiple US military sites in the Gulf after Iranian strikes. China is already feeling the strain, with disruption across key Middle East export routes pushing domestic oil prices to record highs.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Energy pressure is spreading further, with rising oil and gas costs feeding inflation and putting central banks under renewed pressure to consider rate rises. Saudi Arabia is also rerouting crude through dark shipments and ship to ship transfers off Oman after drone attacks hit part of the East West pipeline, while the UAE said trust with Iran will take years to rebuild.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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Yemen saw another deadly escalation, with at least five people killed in fighting involving the Houthis, the Yemeni government and Saudi backed forces. Verified footage showed wreckage of a Saudi F 15 near Marib after the Houthis said they shot it down, underlining how the conflict is widening across multiple fronts.  🔗  🔗

In Europe and the wider security picture, the US House passed a sweeping Russia sanctions bill that would give President Trump broad powers to target Russian crude exports and impose steep tariffs on buyers, while Putin urged Russians to turn out in the parliamentary vote as a test of support for the war. Sweden’s left wing opposition also won a slim parliamentary majority, prompting Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to resign.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere in Europe, Belarus freed 25 political prisoners after Washington lifted sanctions on two Belarusian firms, and France hosted talks on Lebanon security as UNIFIL nears expiry and attacks continue. Syria’s parliament abolished the Assad era Counter Terrorism Court, while a military criminal court in Aleppo issued the first verdicts over last year’s coastal killings.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Across the Americas and beyond, the UN backed experts said there were reasonable grounds to believe the US committed war crimes in strikes in Iran, including one on a school, and the House held Leon Black in contempt over Epstein related subpoenas. In the US, three people died in flooding near Newcomb in northwestern New Mexico, and two Britons were among three killed in a light aircraft crash in the Swiss Alps.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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Public health and diplomacy also featured prominently, with Bangladesh battling its worst measles outbreak in decades and more than 1,000 children reported dead as vaccination efforts expand, while WHO warned Ebola transmission is rising sharply in North Kivu. Malaysia offered to invite Myanmar’s military ruler for a visit to help repatriate Rohingya refugees, South Africa rejected planned US visa sanctions, and Iran and Sweden traded diplomat expulsions.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In Asia and the Pacific, scientists linked last month’s deadly Himalayan flood disaster near Nepal’s border with China to climate change, and a report said North Korean overseas workers generated up to $800 million for the nuclear programme. North Korea separately rejected denuclearisation expectations at a Vienna conference, while India and Pakistan traded accusations after a naval collision in the Arabian Sea.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Other developments included Trump threatening the EU with very serious tariffs as Canada and the EU deepened ties, Canada welcoming a possible closer strategic partnership with Brussels, Israel and Morocco agreeing to open embassies, and Kosovo joining the US led Gaza framework after Israeli approval. The US also extended visa sanctions on Palestinian officials, more than 900 Gaza wheelchairs remained stuck in Jordan, and a report said Israel is using AI tools to speed West Bank demolitions and displacement.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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