Ukraine’s new defence minister takes office as popular predecessor calls for presidential vote
Europe • Aug 19, 2026, 11:20 AM
1 min de lecture
Ukrainian lawmakers approved former top special forces operative Yevhenii Khmara as the country’s new defence minister Wednesday, just hours after his predecessor Mykhailo Fedorov called for fresh presidential elections. Elections have been banned in Ukraine since President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law following the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Read our liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.
Yesterday
Kherson residents urged to leave as Russian attacks threaten power and heating
Europe • 10:40 PM
1 min
Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin urged residents to leave the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Thursday as Russian strikes damaged a district heating plant and threatened prolonged power and heating outages.
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Drought-hit Danube gives way to mammoth fossil hunt in Bulgaria
Europe • 9:58 AM
1 min
As drought in Europe brings river levels to record lows, a group of volunteers scans the dried-up Danube riverbank in northern Bulgaria, not far from where the receding waters revealed mammoth bones in July. About 20 volunteers join an effort in the hope
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Game of Drones: Deep strikes into Russia keeping Ukraine 'in this game'
Europe • 7:38 AM
1 min
Mark Owen is pleased to welcome Peter Zalmayev, Director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative. He argues that Ukraine’s expanding long-range strike campaign has helped Ukraine “stay in this game” by raising the economic, military and social costs of Russi
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Man drives car into group of pedestrians in French city of Caen, killing two
Europe • 1:55 AM
1 min
A car ploughed into pedestrians in the French city of Caen late Wednesday, killing two people and injuring nine others. Police detained a 26-year-old man after he fled the scene, while prosecutors said the incident was not currently being treated as terr
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Former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic convicted of genocide dies
Europe • 12:50 AM
1 min
Former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, convicted of genocide in the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, has died in the United Nations detention centre in The Hague after suffering several strokes, according to local media.
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