‘Russian strike destroys Odesa grain hangar’

KYIV, Ukraine—A

Russian overnight drone strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region destroyed a grain hangar, Kyiv’s military said Monday.

“Tonight an almost four-hour attack by ‘Shahed-136’ drones was directed at the port infrastructure of the Danube” in the Odesa region, Ukraine’s southern military command said on Telegram.

“As a result of the strikes, a grain hangar was destroyed, tanks for storing other types of cargo were damaged.” Three of the Iran-made Shahed attack drones used in the attack were destroyed

Lifeline to PM Sanchez seen in bitter poll

MADRID—Despite polls predicting victory for Spain’s right-wing Popular Party, Sunday’s election resulted in a hung parliament, offering a lifeline to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez who could cling on to power through a jigsaw of alliances.

The closely-watched vote took place just three weeks after Spain took over the rotating presidency of the European Union with the European left bracing for a fresh blow.

With 99 percent of the ballots counted, the PP won with 136 seats, while the prime minister’s Socialists came second with 122 in the 350-seat parliament—both far from the 176 needed for a governing majority.

And neither was able to reach that figure even with support from their main political partners, with the farright Vox counting 33 mandates and the radical left-wing Sumar winning 31.

With the PP and Vox falling short of a working majority, that gives the leftwing bloc a fresh chance to form another government because the Socialists have more options to create alliances.

In power for five years, Sanchez is in a far better position than his rival to seek the support needed to piece together a coalition, notably from the Basque and Catalan separatist parties for whom Vox is a bogeyman.

Polls had predicted a decisive victory for Alberto Nunez Feijoo’s PP, which was seen winning 145-150 seats. But without a working majority, the party would have been forced to turn to Vox for support to govern. AFP

FERRY SINKS. This handout photo from Indonesia’s National Rescue Agency (Basarnas) taken and released on Monday shows members of a rescue team setting out to conduct search and rescue operations in Buton Tengah, southeast Sulawesi after a ferry sank. At least 15 people were killed and 19 more were missing Monday. AFP by air defenses, the military said.

“According to initial reports, about four workers of the port were injured, but the information is still being clarified,” it said.

Attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa region have increased since Russia pulled out last week of a key deal which had allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain on the Black Sea.

Russian authorities then announced that they would consider any ships heading for Ukrainian grain ports on the Black Sea as military targets.

Kyiv has accused Russia of targeting grain supplies and infrastructure vital to any resumption of Ukrainian grain exports.

In Moscow, Russia said it had neu- tralized two Ukrainian drones over the capital in the early hours of Monday, with one crashing close to the defense ministry in the city center.

Officials said the drones struck nonresidential buildings in the capital and there were no casualties.

The attack came a day after Kyiv vowed to “retaliate” for a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa.

“A Kyiv regime attempt to carry out a terrorist act using two drones on objects on the territory of the city of Moscow was stopped,” Russia’s defense ministry said.

“Two Ukrainian drones were suppressed and crashed. There are no casualties.”

The TASS news agency reported one drone crashed in Komsomolsky Prospekt, near the defence ministry, while another hit a business centre on Likhacheva Street by one of Moscow’s main ring roads.

AFP reporters at the scene saw a building with a damaged roof on Komsomolsky Prospekt, where police had cordoned off the area.

Several police cars and fire engines and an ambulance could be seen and an AFP reporter was instructed by a police officer to stop filming or face detention.

“I wasn’t asleep. It was 3:39am. The house really shook,” Vladimir, a 70-year-old local resident, told AFP about the moment of impact.

“It is scandalous that a Ukrainian drone almost flew into the defence ministry,” said Vladimir, who declined to give his last name, as he took pictures at the scene.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the drone strikes occurred at around 4:00 am local time (9 am in Manila). He said emergency services were working at the scene and also reported no casualties.

The RIA Novosti news agency posted a video of the business center, with some damage visible to the top of the tall building.

The road around it was closed. Moscow and its environs lie around 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border but have been hit by several drone attacks this year, with one even hitting the Kremlin in May.

Earlier this month, Russia said it had downed five Ukrainian drones that disrupted the functioning of Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport. AFP