Russian strikes kill 19 in Kyiv, other cities

Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities killed at least 19 people, including a 12-year-old child, and wounded about 100 others overnight into Thursday, Ukrainian officials said.

Four people, including the child, were killed in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Nine people were killed in Odesa, five in and around Dnipro, and another person was killed later Thursday in Sumy, according to regional officials. Rescue operations were ongoing, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said, and the toll could rise.

In Kyiv, fires broke out in several areas, and debris damaged apartment buildings and a hotel. Klitschko said a low-flying drone hit an 18-story building early Thursday. Officials said 60 people were injured in the capital, including four emergency medical workers and two police officers.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had carried out a “massive” strike on Ukrainian energy targets used by Ukrainian forces, as well as cruise missile and drone production facilities, without providing details. Ukraine’s drone forces commander said Ukrainian forces struck two oil depots in Russian-occupied Crimea and infrastructure in the southern Russian port of Tuapse.

In Russia, officials and media said a Ukrainian drone attack on Tuapse killed two people, including a 14-year-old girl, wounded seven, and caused a large fire. Tuapse is home to an oil refinery and an export hub for oil, coal, and fertilizer.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down or neutralized 31 missiles and 636 drones in the 24 hours to 7 a.m. Thursday, while 12 missiles and 20 drones hit targets. In Odesa, officials said a high-rise residential building, port facilities, and other infrastructure were damaged. In Kharkiv, officials said two people were injured in drone strikes.

France’s social security system will reimburse reusable menstrual cups and period underwear for women under 26 and for women of any age receiving special health care support because of low income, the government said Thursday.

Eligible women will be reimbursed after buying the products at a pharmacy. Parliament approved the measure as part of France’s 2024 social security budget.

Implementation was delayed because no decree had been issued, prompting criticism from feminist groups and companies that make reusable menstrual products.

A November survey of 4,000 women in France found that 1 in 10 used alternatives to standard period products, including torn clothing, because of tight budgets, according to the charity Dons Solidaires.

France cut the sales tax on period products in 2016 from 20% to 5.5%.

In 2020, Scotland became the first country to make period products universally free in public buildings.

Supporters of a draft law linking anti-Semitism in France to hostility toward Israel withdrew the bill hours before it was due to be debated in the National Assembly.

In its current form, the bill would have broadened France’s offense of “apology for terrorism” to include speech that “implicitly” justifies or downplays acts deemed terrorist. It also would have made it illegal to call for the “destruction” of any country recognized by France, punishable by five years in prison.

The bill’s preamble said: “Today, anti-Jewish hatred in our country is fuelled by an obsessive hatred of Israel, whose very existence is regularly delegitimised and criminalised.” It added: “This hatred of the State of Israel is now inseparable from hatred of Jews.”

The proposal, known as the “Yadan law” after lawmaker Caroline Yadan, divided the Assembly. Left-wing lawmakers, including the Socialist Party, the Greens, and France Unbowed, said it could restrict legitimate criticism of Israel by treating it as anti-Semitic. The far-right National Rally, the right-wing Les Républicains, the government’s center-right coalition, and some Socialists, including former President François Hollande, had backed the bill.

A petition on the National Assembly website opposing the bill had received more than 700,000 signatures by Thursday, above the 500,000 needed for possible debate in the chamber. Even so, the government coalition and the far right voted against debating the petition.

France has reported a sharp increase in anti-Semitic acts since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. In 2025, more than half of all reported anti-religious acts targeted the Jewish community.

But a 2024 report by France’s National Consultative Commission on Human Rights said its surveys did not find a statistically significant link between negative views of Zionism and anti-Semitic prejudice. “It is therefore difficult to view anti-Zionism as the key driver of contemporary anti-Semitism,” the report said.

Support for the bill appeared to weaken before the planned vote. Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said the party would oppose it, and members of the centrist Democratic Movement (MoDem) distanced themselves from the text, saying it “undermines the cause it seeks to defend.”

European leaders were preparing a multinational military deployment to the Strait of Hormuz as shipping disruptions tied to the U.S.-Iran impasse raised costs and increased pressure on energy supplies.

France and the United Kingdom were set to chair a meeting Friday of about 40 nations on protecting shipping through the strategic waterway, which typically carries about 20% of the world’s oil.

The strait has been largely closed since the joint U.S.-Israel military operation against Iran began nearly two months ago. It is now under a U.S. Navy blockade aimed at taking control from Iran, whose retaliatory actions have sharply reduced maritime traffic.

The disruption has increased pressure on Europe, which depends heavily on oil and gas moving through the Persian Gulf. Gas prices have risen, and airline industry leaders warned this week of a jet fuel shortage that could force flight cuts within weeks.

“The unconditional and immediate reopening of the Strait is a global responsibility, and we need to act to get global energy and trade flowing freely again,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday.

Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron said they aimed to create a multinational effort to protect freedom of navigation through the strait. According to Starmer, the goal was to deploy a combined military mission “as soon as conditions allow.”

European allies have faced pressure from President Donald Trump to help reopen the strait. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that current European plans, focused on support once conditions improve, did not come soon enough.

“When shots were fired and those countries were needed the most, they weren’t there,” Hegseth said. “They weren’t in the strait. They weren’t alongside us. Their leaders weren’t rallying what they have of their navies.” He added that allied support after U.S. Central Command “does the heavy lifting” would be welcomed “after the fact.”

At Friday’s meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was expected to outline capabilities Berlin could contribute, including mine-hunting boats, an escort ship, and reconnaissance aircraft, according to the German Press Agency.

France and Germany disagree on whether to include the United States in the planning, with Merz favoring coordination with Washington and Macron opposed, Politico reported Thursday.