INTERNACIONAL
Russian drone strike in Ukraine kills 9, injures 4 after peace talks, officials say
A Russian drone strike hit a passenger bus in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, killing nine people and injuring four others, Ukrainian officials allege.
The attack came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian officials held their first direct peace talks in years, although the two sides failed to reach a ceasefire agreement for the conflict that began with a February 2022 invasion by Moscow.
Ukraine’s national police released photos showing the aftermath of Saturday’s strike in the city of Bilopillia in the Sumy region. The city is about six miles from the front line and border with Russia.
«This is another war crime by Russia — a deliberate strike on civilian transport that posed no threat,» the Sumy regional administration said on Telegram.
ZELENSKYY SPEAKS WITH TRUMP ALLIES AFTER RUSSIA PEACE TALKS BROKER NO CEASEFIRE
Rescuers recover the bodies of passengers after a Russian drone struck a passenger bus at the village of Bilopillya in the Sumy region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as «deliberate killing of civilians.»
A mourning period has been declared in Bilopillia from Saturday through Monday. Local community chief Yurii Zarko called the day of the attack «Black Saturday.»
The passengers on the bus were being evacuated from Bilopillia when the drone struck, according to local media outlet Suspilne. Authorities were working to identify some of the victims, most of whom were elderly women.
The injured victims were transported to a hospital in Sumy, the regional capital. Three people were listed in serious condition.
On Saturday morning, Russia’s defense ministry claimed its forces hit a military staging area in the Sumy region, around 31 miles southeast of Bilopillia, but did not mention any other attacks in the area.
It was not immediately clear how the strike would affect peace efforts.
On Friday, Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Turkey in an attempt to reach a temporary ceasefire, but the talks ended in less than two hours without a truce. The negotiations were the first face-to-face talks between the two countries since the early weeks of the war.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations attend talks at the Dolmabache palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP)
Both sides agreed on a large prisoner swap, but remained far apart on key conditions for ending the conflict.
One condition for Ukraine, which has the backing of its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement. Russia, however, has pushed back against the truce, which remains elusive.
In Turkey, Russia and Ukraine agreed to each exchange 1,000 prisoners of war in what would be their biggest such swap, according to the heads of both delegations. Both sides also talked about a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state, according to chief Ukrainian delegate, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
An aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin said both sides also agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals, with Ukraine requesting the heads of state meeting that Russia took under consideration.
TRUMP, AFTER SKIPPING RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS, WANTS TO MEET PUTIN ‘AS SOON AS WE CAN SET IT UP’
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks on the phone during a meeting at the European Political Community summit in Skanderbeg Square in Tirana, Albania, on Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP)
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Zelenskyy said he discussed the negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, the U.K. and Poland. On X, he called for «tough sanctions» against Moscow if it rejects «a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.»
Zelenskyy was in Tirana, Albania, on Friday, to meet with leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defense and democratic standards. The leaders he met included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
«Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war,» Zelenskyy said on X.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
El golpe fulminante de EE.UU. e Israel para matar al líder supremo de Irán, Ali Khamenei
INTERNACIONAL
Jeb Bush commends former rival Trump’s Iran operation: ‘This is their time to take their country back’
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FIRST ON FOX: A major public policy nonprofit co-led by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush praised President Donald Trump for ordering Saturday’s military strikes against Iran.
United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) — was formed in 2008 by Ambassador Mark Wallace, who held a United Nations-centered post in Bush’s brother’s administration, and former George H.W. Bush diplomat Dennis Ross — to combat threats posed by the Islamic Republic.
The group has been on the front lines of highlighting Iran’s human rights abuses and attacks on Americans and advising policymakers and the business community about dangers posed by Tehran.
The organization counsels existing and would-be commercial partners of Iran regarding the legal, financial and reputational risks of that kind of commerce.
«UANI salutes the courage and professionalism of American and Israeli service members carrying out this historic mission against the Iranian regime,» Bush and Wallace told Fox News Digital Saturday.
Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump, left, and Jeb Bush take part in a presidential debate at the Reagan Library Sept. 16, 2015, in Simi Valley, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
«We applaud President Trump for his courageous decision to launch this military operation. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has unleashed terror, violence and misery — against its own people and across the region — while threatening the United States, Israel and our allies.»
Bush, who ran against Trump in a bruising 2016 primary, and Wallace noted that many presidents tried to bring Iran into the «peaceful community of nations» but were not able to finish the job.
«This president engaged extensively and in good faith to achieve a diplomatic solution,» they said after Trump indicated as recently as last week he wanted to negotiate terms.
«The regime chose escalation and continued its pursuit of nuclear weapons. The responsibility for this moment rests squarely with Ayatollah Khamenei.»
Khamenei, 86, was declared dead by Israeli sources by late afternoon.
Bush and Wallace added it was clear the joint American-Israeli operation was directed not at Iran, the country and citizenry, but at Khamenei’s «lethal capabilities.»
The Iranian people, they said, have long suffered under repression and that Trump’s message since the strikes began is one that should be embraced by all Americans: «We aim to see Iran free, prosperous, and at peace. This is their time to take their great country back.»
«The Butcher of Tehran is dead,» Bush and Wallace added in a separate public statement.
ICE NABS IRANIAN NATIONAL WITH RAPE, SODOMY CONVICTIONS AFTER VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS MOVE TO CURB COOPERATION
Bush added in a statement on X that «Operation Epic Fury marks a historic mission against the Iranian regime.»
«We salute the courage and professionalism of American and Israeli service members and commend for his courageous decision,» he added.
Bush’s relationship with Trump has appeared to warm since their bitter feuds of a decade ago.
During the 2016 sweeps, Trump nicknamed the Republican Party scion «Low Energy Jeb,» while Bush quipped that the mogul would not be able to «insult your way to the presidency» after the eventual victor mocked an ad that former first lady Barbara Bush filmed for her son.
While governor, Bush made improving public education a hallmark of his administration in Tallahassee. Bush implemented stricter proficiency standards in elementary education and signed what was dubbed the «A+ plan,» making Florida the first state to require clear letter grades on student performance.
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He recently praised the Trump administration’s overtures toward universal school choice and federal block grants as a «transformational opportunity.»
«The Trump administration has a chance to shift the power dynamic back to the states, where policymakers are uniquely equipped to understand and address the diverse needs of their students, schools, and communities,» he added in a column in Education Week.
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Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin joins ‘America Reports’ to give the latest on the aftermath of the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
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Iran entered a new chapter Saturday after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, abruptly ending more than three decades of authoritarian rule and setting in motion a leadership transition the regime has long prepared.
A senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that while Khamenei’s demise is a «massive blow» to the Islamic Republic, Tehran anticipated the possibility and took steps to withstand such a scenario.
«Mere survival, at this point, would be considered a victory,» the diplomat said of the regime, according to the outlet, following U.S. and Israeli strikes across the country.
A recent report from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) outlined three broad trajectories for a post-Khamenei Iran: managed regime continuity, an overt or creeping military takeover, or systemic collapse.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike on Saturday. (Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via Getty Images)
CFR cautioned that even a leadership change at the top would not necessarily translate into meaningful political reform in the near term, given the regime’s deeply institutionalized power structure and its record of using force to maintain control.
The report notes that the real balance of power rests within a tight circle of clerical elites and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
It describes a likely «continuity» scenario as producing «Khamenei-ism without Khamenei,» in which a successor from within the regime preserves the ideological framework of the Islamic Republic while relying on established security institutions to preserve stability.
LEAKED DOCUMENTS EXPOSE KHAMENEI’S SECRET DEADLY BLUEPRINT FOR CRUSHING IRAN PROTESTS
«The Islamic Republic’s constitution includes a succession process. The Assembly of Experts, a clerical body, is constitutionally charged with selecting the next supreme leader,» Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital.
«In the interim, should there be a leadership vacancy, an interim leadership council is formed comprised of the president, chief justice, and a member of the Guardian Council selected by the Expediency Council,» he added. «The IRGC is a key stakeholder in this process, and will heavily influence its outcome.»
Over the past three decades, the Bayt-e Rahbari, or the Office of the Supreme Leader, expanded into what a February report by UANI described as a «sprawling parallel state» operating alongside Iran’s formal institutions.
Large crowds gather at Enghelab Square in Tehran, Sunday, after Iranian state TV announced that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The analysis characterizes the Office as the regime’s «hidden nerve center,» extending control across the military, security establishment and major economic foundations in ways that make the system’s authority institutional rather than dependent on Khamenei’s physical presence.
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«The supreme leader today is no longer just one man; he is represented through an all-encompassing institution that consolidates power, manages succession, and guarantees continuity,» the non-partisan policy organization said. «The Islamic Republic’s most enduring strength lies in this hidden architecture of control, which will continue to shape the country’s future long after Khamenei himself departs from the scene.»
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