U.S. bounced from Women's World Cup

Nagasaki marks 78th anniversary of atomic bombing with mayor urging world to abolish nuclear weapons

TOKYO (AP) — Nagasaki marked the 78th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city Wednesday with the mayor urging world powers to abolish nuclear weapons, saying nuclear deterrence also increases risks of nuclear war.

Shiro Suzuki made the remark after the Group of Seven industrial powers adopted a separate document on nuclear disarmament in May that called for using nuclear weapons as deterrence.

“Now is the time to show courage and make the decision to break free from dependence on nuclear deterrence,” Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki said in his peace declaration Wednesday, “As long as states are dependent on nuclear deterrence, we cannot realize a world without nuclear weapons.”

Russia’s nuclear threat has encouraged other nuclear states to accelerate their dependence on nuclear weapons or enhance capabilities, further increasing the risk of nuclear war, and that Russia is not the only one representing the risk of nuclear deterrence, Suzuki said.

The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

At 11:02 a.m., the moment the bomb exploded above the southern Japanese city, participants at the ceremony observed a moment of silence with the sound of a peace bell.

Suzuki expressed concern about the tragedy being forgotten as time passed and memories fade. Survivors have expressed frustration about the slow progress of disarmament, while the reality of the atomic bombing and their ordeals are not yet widely shared around the world.

The concern comes after widespread reaction to social media posts about the “Barbenheimer” summer blitz of the “Barbie” and “Oppenhheimer” movies that triggered outrage in Japan.

The combination of “Barbie” and a biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer — who helped develop the atomic bomb — sparked memes, including of mushroom clouds. The craze was seen as minimizing the ghastly toll of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings.

Suzuki, whose parents were hibakusha, or survivors of the Nagasaki attack, said knowing the reality of the atomic bombings is the starting point for achieving a world without nuclear weapons. He said the survivors’ testimonies are a true deterrence against nuclear weapons use.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who did not attend the memorial in person, acknowledged in his video message that the path toward a nuclear-free world has grown tougher because of rising tensions and conflicts, including Russia’s war on Ukraine. Also weighing on the disarmament movemement is a deeper division in the international community.

Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, has sought to showcase the G7 commitment to nuclear disarmament but has angered the survivors for justifying nuclear arms possession for deterrence and for refusing to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Suzuki demanded Kishida’s government and national lawmakers quickly sign and ratify the treaty and attend the upcoming meeting as an observer “to clearly show Japan’s resolve to abolish nuclear weapons.”

As Washington’s ally, Japan is under the U.S. nuclear umbrella and seeks stronger protection as the allies reinforce security cooperation to deal with threats from China and North Korea’s nuclear and missile advancement. Under its new national security strategy, Kishida’s government is pushing for a military buildup focusing on strike capability.

As of March, 113,649 survivors, whose average age is 85, are certified as hibakusha and eligible for government medical support, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry. Many others, including those known as victims of the “black rain” that fell outside the initially designated areas, are still without support.

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World Bank says Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ law violates its values

By Kanishka Singh and Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The World Bank said on Tuesday that Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ law, which has been condemned by many countries and the United Nations, contradicts the bank’s values.

A World Bank team had traveled to Uganda immediately after the law was enacted to review the multilateral development bank’s portfolio. That review determined that additional measures were needed to ensure projects were being implemented in line with the bank’s environmental and social standards.

These measures were now under discussion with the authorities, but no new public financing projects would be presented to the World Bank’s board of executive directors until “the efficacy of the additional measures has been tested,” the World Bank said.

It said third-party monitoring and grievance redress mechanisms will be increased significantly, allowing the bank to take corrective action as necessary.

The World Bank said it remained committed to “helping all Ugandans — without exception — escape poverty, access vital services, and improve their lives.”

The law was enacted in May and carries the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” an offense that includes transmitting HIV through gay sex.

The World Bank had provided $5.4 billion in International Development Association financing to Uganda by the end of 2022. That existing portfolio will continue to disburse, even as new lending is put on hold, a World Bank source said.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)

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Trump and conservative media stars celebrate U.S. losing at World Cup

Conservative media stars and personalities — including former President Donald Trump — are celebrating after the U.S. women’s national soccer team lost to Sweden in the round of 16 on Sunday.

Although the U.S. dominated the game, hitting the woodwork on several occasions and forcing five saves from Sweden’s goalkeeper, Sweden won 5-4 on penalties after Lina Hurtig’s spot kick crossed the line by a fraction of a centimeter.

The loss was the earliest World Cup exit ever for the team, which had won the past two tournaments.

Prominent figures on the right — most notably the former president and current Republican presidential front-runner — took aim at the team following the match, specifically veteran Megan Rapinoe, who missed a crucial penalty kick.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the U.S. team’s loss to Sweden “is fully emblematic of what is happening to the our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden.”

“Many of our players were openly hostile to America — No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close,” he wrote on Sunday. “WOKE EQUALS FAILURE. Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!!”

Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly also took aim at Rapinoe on her podcast.

“Long-time team leader and activist Megan Rapinoe was smiling and laughing to herself after missing the crucial penalty kick. It was overall just an embarrassing performance for this team from the start,” she said this week on “The Megyn Kelly Show.”

“They donned the uniforms of the United States of America but they refused to honor anything we stand for. And therefore, I’m thrilled they lost, good, I’m glad you went down. You don’t support America, I don’t support you,” Kelly said.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham echoed Kelly’s sentiments on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” Monday night.

Megan Rapinoe, right, and her teammates following their loss to Sweden at the Women's World Cup in Melbourne, Australia, on Aug. 6, 2023. — Megan Rapinoe, right, and her teammates following their loss Sunday to Sweden at the Women’s World Cup in Melbourne, Australia. Scott Barbour / AP

“I know a lot of folks are angry that anyone could be happy about this outcome but let this be a lesson for Rapinoe and a lot of her teammates: If you don’t support America or at least are not perceived to support America, don’t expect for America to blindly support you either,” Ingraham said.

Rapinoe has been a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team since 2006 and has helped the team win two Olympic medals and two World Cup championships. Off the field, she’s almost as well known for her activism on behalf of LGBTQ rights and women’s equality.

In 2016, Rapinoe and four other U.S. Women’s National Team players filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against the U.S. Soccer Federation, alleging gender discrimination. Then in 2019, 28 members of the team, including Rapinoe, filed a similar lawsuit, citing years of gender discrimination in pay, medical treatment and overall workload.

The group of five players reached a settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation in February, receiving $24 million and securing an agreement from the federation to pay men and women equally in all exhibition games, or friendlies, and tournaments.

Fox News host Jesse Watters on Monday criticized Rapinoe for “constantly kneeling” during the national anthem and calling out the U.S. for oppression, racial profiling and police brutality.

“Her abrasive and self-centered style was divisive,” Watters said.

“When U.S. women’s soccer plays in the the World Cup, we expect the team to put its best foot forward — but the kneeling, the no hand on the heart, celebrating ties — did not meet the high expectations the American public has for our athletes to conduct themselves,” he said. “There’s also a way to go about getting a pay raise. Injecting sexism and ignoring arithmetic leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths.”

Watters added: “Americans are dying to be proud of our athletes, especially ones who are proud of our country, but it’s hard to root for an athlete who disparages our country in front of the world again, and again, and again.”

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The World Food Program slowly resumes food aid to Ethiopia after months of suspension and criticism

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United Nations World Food Program is slowly resuming food aid to Ethiopia nearly five months after taking the extraordinary measure of suspending aid to millions of people after the discovery of a massive scheme to steal donated grain. WFP said it’s testing small-scale distribution in some areas but acknowledges that the government still plays a role in the process.

Critics of the aid suspension, including aid groups and health workers, have called it immoral and alleged that hundreds of people have died of hunger. The United States, however, says its own suspension of food aid to the East African country will continue while it negotiates with Ethiopia’s government for reforms of a system long controlled by local authorities.

The pause has affected 20 million Ethiopians — 1/6 of the population — plus 800,000 refugees.

In a written response Monday evening to questions, the WFP told The Associated Press that the agency has started distributing wheat to around 100,000 people in four districts of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region on July 31 as it tests “enhanced controls and measures for delivering food assistance.” Tigray is recovering from a two-year conflict with Ethiopian forces that ended in November.

The WFP’s new measures include digitally registering beneficiaries, adding markings to grain sacks, feedback hotlines and more training for aid partners. The agency hopes to roll out its new distribution system to other parts of Ethiopia as soon as possible, WFP said, adding that it’s confident the measures will help to ensure food reaches the people who need it most.

The WFP first halted food deliveries to Tigray in March after discovering the theft of grain. In a single Tigray town, enough stolen food aid to feed 134,000 people for a month was found instead for sale in markets, still marked with the U.S. flag.

The suspension was extended to all of Ethiopia in June. The U.S., the largest humanitarian donor to both Ethiopia and WFP, also paused food aid.

U.S. officials have said they believe the theft could be the largest-ever diversion of donated food. Aid workers have told the AP that Ethiopian officials were deeply involved. Ethiopia’s government dismissed as harmful propaganda the suggestion that it bears primary responsibility and agreed to a joint investigation.

Donors have recommended completely removing Ethiopia’s government from the aid system. But “WFP works in Ethiopia at the request of the government and works closely with the government of Ethiopia at all levels,” the U.N. agency said.

The U.S. Agency for International Development told the AP in a written response to questions that the resumption of WFP aid is not funded by the U.S., which continues its suspension. It noted the WFP program is funded by the World Bank.

“We are committed to resuming food assistance as quickly as possible once we can be confident our assistance is reaching the most vulnerable that it is intended for,” USAID said, adding that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to “drive progress on these issues.”

Some humanitarian groups and Ethiopian religious leaders have joined the calls to resume food aid distribution as soon as possible.

“People are starving to death. In recent weeks, hunger has killed hundreds of people in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region as result of food shortage. This is neither humane nor moral,” Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Alistair Dutton said in a statement in July.

The U.S. has told the AP it was horrified by reports of hunger.

Addressing criticism, USAID administrator Samantha Power said last month that “suspending food assistance at a time of such vulnerability is an absolutely wrenching thing that none of us would ever wish to be a part of, or had anything to do with.” But she added that “one could have no confidence that the food we’re bringing to Ethiopia, that U.S. taxpayers are paying for, was actually reaching this vulnerable people.”

Ethiopian authorities were investigating, she said, and “there’s criminal liability and accountability, you know, for any officials who are involved.”

The implications for the U.S. are global. Proving it can detect and stop the theft of aid paid for by U.S. taxpayers is vital at a time when the Biden administration is fighting to maintain public support for aid to corruption-plagued Ukraine.

Power said she knew people were looking for an exact date that food aid would resume. “But we have come a very long way in a short period of time, and our ambition, our heartfelt ambition, is to restart food assistance as soon as possible,” she said.

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AP writer Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed.

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The World Food Program slowly resumes food aid to Ethiopia after months of suspension and criticism

The pause has affected 20 million Ethiopians — 1/6 of the population — plus 800,000 refugees.

The suspension was extended to all of Ethiopia in June. The U.S., the largest humanitarian donor to both Ethiopia and WFP, also paused food aid.

Some humanitarian groups and Ethiopian religious leaders have joined the calls to resume food aid distribution as soon as possible.

The U.S. has told the AP it was horrified by reports of hunger.

Ethiopian authorities were investigating, she said, and “there’s criminal liability and accountability, you know, for any officials who are involved.”

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AP writer Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed.

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South Korea evacuating World Scout Jamboree site as Typhoon Khanun bears down

Seoul, South Korea — South Korea will evacuate tens of thousands of scouts by bus from a coastal jamboree site as Tropical Storm Khanun looms, officials said Monday. Beginning Tuesday morning, vehicles will move 36,000 scouts — mostly teenagers — from the World Scout Jamboree in the southwestern county of Buan, according to Kim Sung-ho, a vice minister at South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

He said most of the scouts, who come from 158 countries, will be accommodated at venues in the capital city, Seoul, and the nearby metropolitan area. Officials were trying to secure spaces at government training centers and education facilities as well as hotels. Kim said it would take six hours or more to evacuate the scouts from the campsite, which organizers said will no longer be used for any event after they leave.

Hot temperatures have already forced thousands of British and American scouts to leave the site, which is made on land reclaimed from sea. The British scouts were transferred to hotels in Seoul while the American scouts were moved to Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military base about 45 miles south of Seoul.

SKOREA-WEATHER-HEAT — Flags are displayed at a viewing deck overlooking the campsite of the World Scout Jamboree in Buan, North Jeolla province, South Korea, August 5, 2023.

ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty

The announcement came after The World Organization of the Scout Movement said it had urgently called on South Korea to move the scouts from the storm’s path and “provide all necessary resources and support for participants during their stay and until they return to their home countries.”

South Korea categorizes Khanun as a typhoon, defined as a tropical storm with winds stronger than 38 miles per hour. South Korea’s weather agency expects Khanun to weaken to a storm within the next five days.

South Korea’s government did not immediately specify any venues where the scouts will be staying. David Venn, global director of communications for the World Organization of the Scout Movement, said it was still waiting for government officials to provide detailed plans.

Typhoon Khanun forecast

Khanun has taken an unusual, meandering path around Japan’s southwestern islands for more than a week, dumping heavy rain, knocking out power to thousands of homes and disrupting flights and train services. On Monday afternoon, it had sustained winds of 67 miles per hour, with higher gusts, and was forecast to maintain that strength as it brushes Japan’s main island of Kyushu this week, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

South Korea’s weather agency reported that Khanun was expected to make landfall in South Korea on Thursday morning, potentially packing winds as strong as 95 miles per hour. Large swaths of the country’s south, including Buan, could be affected by the storm as early as Wednesday, the agency said.

The plans to evacuate the scouts were announced hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said he had called for “contingency” plans, including relocating them to hotels and other facilities in the greater capital area.

The agency said the storm was at about 99 miles east of Amami city on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu and moving gradually toward the north as of Monday afternoon. It warned residents in affected regions to watch out for mudslides, high winds and rough seas.

The storm has caused one death and 70 injuries on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, according to the country’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Due to the forecast of harsh weather in the region, West Japan Railway Co. said there was a possibility of suspending “Shinkansen” bullet train services from Wednesday night to Thursday morning.

Scouts “not taking any chances”

Hundreds of participants had been treated for heat-related ailments since the jamboree started on Wednesday. Long before the event’s start, critics raised concerns about bringing such large numbers of young people to a vast, treeless area lacking protection from the summer heat.

Kirvil Kaasa of the Norwegian Guide and Scout Association told Norway’s news agency NTB that “the evacuation is taking place well before the (storm).”

“We are not taking any chances, and the health and safety of our Norwegian participants is the most important thing,” she told NTB. Some 700 scouts from the Scandinavian country took part in the event and they were to be relocated to a U.S. military base, NTB said.

Kim Hyun-sook, South Korea’s minister of gender equality and family, said officials are trying to arrange new cultural events and activities for the scouts before they leave, including a possible K-pop concert at a Seoul soccer stadium on Friday to go with the closing ceremony.

“We don’t see it that way,” Kim said when asked whether the scouts’ departure from Buan should be seen as an early end for the jamboree. “We are creating new programs with regional governments away from the campsite, so it could be said jamboree is widening.”

Organizers earlier on Monday were scurrying to come up with plans to evacuate the scouts ahead of the storm’s arrival. Choi Chang-haeng, secretary-general of the jamboree’s organizing committee, said organizers have secured more than 340 evacuation venues, including community centers and gyms, in regions near Buan.

About 40,000 scouts came to the jamboree, built on land reclaimed from the sea. About 4,500 were from the U.K., representing the largest national contingent, while about 1,000 were from the United States.

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Tens of thousands of young scouts to leave South Korean world jamboree as storm Khanun looms

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea is preparing to evacuate tens of thousands of scouts from a coastal jamboree site as Tropical Storm Khanun looms, scouting officials said Monday.

The World Organization of the Scout Movement said it received confirmation from South Korea’s government of the early departure for all participants in the southwestern county of Buan. That means quickly moving tens of thousands of scouts — mostly teenagers — from 158 countries out of the storm’s path.

South Korea’s weather agency reported that Khanun was expected to make landfall in South Korea on Thursday morning, potentially packing winds as strong as 118 to 154 kilometers (73 to 95 miles) per hour. Large swaths of the country’s south, including Buan, could be affected by the storm as early as Wednesday, the agency said.

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said he called for “contingency” plans, which could include relocating them to hotels and other facilities in the country’s capital, Seoul, and nearby metropolitan areas. Khanun has taken an unusual, meandering path around Japan’s southwestern islands for more than a week, dumping heavy rain, knocking out power to thousands of homes and disrupting flights and train services. On Monday afternoon, it had sustained winds of 108 kilometers (67 miles) per hour, with higher gusts, and was forecast to maintain that strength as it brushed Japan’s main island of Kyushu this week, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The agency said the storm was at about 160 kilometers (99 miles) east of Amami city on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu and moving gradually toward the north as of Monday afternoon. It warned residents in affected regions to watch out for mudslides, high winds and rough seas.

Hot temperatures have already forced thousands of British and American scouts to leave the site, which is made on land reclaimed from sea. Hundreds of participants had been treated for heat-related ailments since the jamboree started on Wednesday. Long before the event’s start, critics raised concerns about bringing such large numbers of young people to a vast, treeless area lacking protection from the summer heat.

About 40,000 scouts — mostly teenagers — from 158 countries came to the jamboree, built on land reclaimed from the sea. About 4,500 were from the U.K., representing the largest national contingent, while about 1,000 were from the United States.

South Korea categorizes Khanun as a typhoon, defined as a tropical storm with winds stronger than 61 kilometers (38 miles) per hour. South Korea’s weather agency expects Khanun to weaken to a storm within the next five days.

—

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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U.S. bounced from Women’s World Cup

U.S. bounced from Women’s World Cup – CBS News

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The U.S. women’s national soccer team lost to Sweden on penalty kicks in the round of 16 on Sunday morning. It was the earliest ever exit from the tournament for the two-time defending champions. Nancy Chen reports.

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Panini dispels the notion that fewer World Cup stars are printed – 60 Minutes

This is an updated version of a story first published on Nov. 20, 2022.

It is said the World Cup unofficially kicks off when the Italian collectable company “Panini” releases its sticker album for the quadrennial competition. The 2022 U.S. edition featured 670 stickers across 80 pages, representing players from all 32 countries that competed in the event.

Panini told 60 Minutes it prints 11 million sticker packets a day in the months leading up to the World Cup. Each packet contains five stickers at a price of $1.20 for the set. The corresponding album featured a spread for every team that took the field in Qatar and included player photos, a shiny team logo, and stickers celebrating previous World Cup winning teams. To amass the requisite 670 stickers, most collectors resort to trading duplicates. The popularity of the album has generated an entire swapping ecosystem – with online groups and organized meetups entirely devoted to Panini.

The soccer, or football, sticker phenomenon began in 1961 in Modena, when the four Panini brothers began selling collectable stickers of Italian soccer players from their family’s news stand in the north of Italy. Panini’s primary customers were initially children, but the company now estimates that roughly 40% of collectors are adults.

The story has been on the radar of 60 Minutes producer Draggan Mihailovich for years. He teamed up with correspondent Jon Wertheim on the piece.

“The origin of the story is that I was once a Panini World Cup sticker album collector, way back in 1974, when I was 12 years old,” Mihailovich told 60 Minutes Overtime. “We were in Yugoslavia in June of ’74, visiting relatives, and my father went to a newspaper kiosk and saw these black packets of stickers with…a drawing of a soccer player on it. And he took interest, and he bought a few, bought an album, and showed it to us and said, ‘Here, you know, what do you think?’ And we didn’t know what it was, but then we got really into it, as you’re ripping open the packets and you’d see these players that sort of came to life right in your hand. It was like an organic addiction.”

After five weeks in Europe, Mihailovich returned to North Carolina two stickers short of completing the album.

“My dad then notices an address on the back of the album, and he decides to write a letter to Panini,” Mihailovich said. “And sure enough, six weeks later, we get a letter with the two stickers in the envelope. And so we completed our album. And I was hooked at that point.”

60 Minutes producer Draggan Mihailovich holding up his 1974 Panini Football sticker album, the first one he completed.

60 Minutes

The two remaining stickers were supplied by Panini’s missing sticker service. Once staffed by schoolteachers who answered children’s letters, the team has since been modernized to include a staff that operates machinery to sift through the company’s vast sticker archive. Panini told 60 Minutes it guarantees the chance to complete the collection and considers the services a critical ingredient in the success of the Panini formula. For collectors who have been less than successful swapping their duplicates, the missing sticker service sells up to fifty individual stickers for $0.40 each.

Panini has a vast archive outside of Modena featuring stickers from past World Cup albums.

Inside the archive, there are stickers of famous and forgotten players all, at one time, printed in the same quantity by Panini. Some collectors have been known to accuse the company of printing fewer stickers of hard-to-find players like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but it is an allegation the Panini denies.

“We print all the stickers in the same quantities,” said Antonio Allegra, Panini’s soccer marketing director. “So there are not rare stickers. But [it] is the market that creates the rare stickers…Maybe you are an Argentina fan. And you find [Lionel] Messi. Okay, the first one is for your collection. The second one is in your wallet…So you don’t use the Messi stickers in the swapping market. So automatically it became a rare sticker.”

Panini said there is no statistical difference in the chance that you might purchase a pack of stickers and find the American Christian Pulisic versus Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, two players who appeared in the 2022 World Cup collection.

As for 60 Minutes producer Draggan Mihailovich, 48 years after pasting the likes of German great Franz Beckenbauer and Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, he completed his 2022 album by trading for stickers on a trip to Madrid.

The video above was originally published on November 20, 2022 and was produced by Keith Zubrow and edited by Joe Schanzer.

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Russia strikes blood transfusion center as world leaders meet to discuss peace

A Russian “guided air bomb” hit a blood transfusion center in northeast Ukraine Saturday night, killing two people and injuring four, Ukrainian officials said.

“This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Telegram post, alongside a picture of a building engulfed in flames.

He said that a “guided air bomb” had hit the blood transfusion center in the northeastern city of Kupiansk.

In a separate post on his own Telegram channel, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said initial reports suggested two men had died and another four were injured in the “large scale fire.”

Houses and farm buildings were also damaged, he said, adding that residential housing and other agricultural buildings had also been struck in nearby villages.

NBC News could not independently verify these claims, and Russia has repeatedly denied deliberately targeting civilians in what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, although Western leaders and Ukraine’s armed forces estimate thousands of people, both military members and civilians, have been killed, and millions more displaced.

The city of Kupiansk and its outlying settlements are in Kharkiv, which were seized by Russian troops in the early days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The area was liberated during a Ukrainian counteroffensive in September but has since come under heavy shelling and attacks.

Elsewhere, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said in a Telegram post that the Chongar Bridge, which links the peninsula to the Russian occupied Ukrainian mainland, had been hit with a “missile strike.”

“One hit, some of the missiles were shot down by air defense forces,” he said. “There is damage to the roadbed of the automobile bridge, repair work is already beginning. There are no victims.”

Farther north, Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-installed mayor of the city of Donetsk said a fire had broken out at the University of Economics and Trade after 40 missiles were fired in its vicinity.

Alexei Kostrubitsky, the Russian-installed Donetsk regional emergency minister, told Reuters that Ukrainian forces had used cluster munitions in the shelling, which had caused the fire.

NBC News could not verify these claims, but both sides have used cluster munitions over the course of the invasion.

The intense overnight fighting came as officials from 40 different countries, including the U.S. and China, met in Jeddah to begin Ukraine-organized peace talks seeking to find a way to start negotiations over Russia’s war on the country.

Ukrainian and Western diplomats hope that the senior officials from countries across both the global North and South will agree on key principles for a future peace settlement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia was not invited.

The renewed global push to peace comes as Russia exited a Turkey and U.N.-backed deal in July allowing for the safe export of Ukrainian grain, causing a jump in global food prices.

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