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KYIV — Russia on Thursday targeted Ukraine with a barrage of missiles in strikes which Moscow said were in response to a border incursion earlier this month.

Ukraine said it downed nearly half of the missiles launched by Russia over at least 10 regions, with fighting raging in eastern Bakhmut.

The conflict has revived tensions in the neighbouring pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria in Moldova, where Moscow-backed authorities accused Ukraine of plotting a "terror attack".

"In response to the March 2 terrorist actions organised by the Kyiv regime in the Bryansk region, Russia's Armed Forces dealt a massive retaliation strike," the defence ministry said, adding that it had used the lauded Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

The ministry was referring to claims that Ukrainian nationalists had crossed into the southern Bryansk region and killed two civilians, which Kyiv dismissed as a provocation.

The Russian barrage on Thursday struck the relatively peaceful Lviv region in Ukraine's west, causing the first civilian deaths there in a long time, and left the country's second city of Kharkiv in the northeast without power, water or heating.

"The enemy fired 81 missiles in an attempt to intimidate Ukrainians again, returning to their miserable tactics," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

For months Russia has been pummelling key infrastructure facilities in Ukraine with missiles and drones — disrupting water, heating and electricity supplies for millions of people.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were injured, and 40 percent of the population were without heating following explosions in two areas of the Ukrainian capital.

On Prospekt Peremogy, or Victory Prospect, in the west of Kyiv, three cars parked near a high-rise apartment building were charred and the ground was littered with shattered glass from windows, an AFP reporter saw.

“I’d seen [the missile] flying towards my block of flats and when I got there I saw a big fire. My car was on fire. The flames were powerful and it was pointless to try to save the car,” said local resident Igor Yezhov, 60, a car dealer who was walking in a park at the time of the strikes.

“I was very scared, of course, although we have quite a solid building, made of reinforced concrete. All the same it was frightening.”

Five people died in Ukraine’s western Lviv, and a 34-year-old man died in the eastern city of Dnipropetrovsk, local authorities said.

Three others were killed when shelling hit a bus stop in the southern city of Kherson, said Andriy Yermak, the presidential chief of staff.

‘Countdown’ began 

Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator said the strikes had also cut off the electricity supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is controlled by Russian forces and is Europe’s largest.

The operator said it was the sixth time that the facility had been disconnected from the electricity grid since it was taken over, and it is now operating on diesel generators which have an autonomy of 10 days.

“The countdown has begun. If it is impossible to renew the external power supply of the station during this time, an accident with radiation consequences for the whole world may occur,” Energoatom said.

The Russian occupation authorities said it had “enough fuel reserves to ensure the operation of generators”.

The UN nuclear agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi also warned of the danger of repeated power outages at the plant, saying “each time we are rolling a dice”.

There were also strikes reported on energy plants in several other parts of Ukraine, including Kharkiv in the northeast and the region of Odesa in the southwest.

Kharkiv city’s residents remained without electricity after the strikes, with some supplies expected to be restored within a few hours, according to the mayor Igor Terekhov.

Transnistria claims 

On the ground, Russia reported gains in the battle for the industrial city of Bakhmut, which has been the focus of months of fierce combat.

Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, which has spearheaded the attack on Bakhmut, claimed on Wednesday to have captured the eastern part of the city.

“We cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on the sidelines of an EU defence ministers meeting on Wednesday.

The head of the US-led military alliance added that “this does not necessarily reflect any turning point of the war”.

Poland said on Thursday it had delivered Ukraine a further 10 Leopard tanks while allies would deliver more “very soon”.

Since the beginning of the offensive the Kremlin has been accused of raising tensions in Transnistria, a separatist region in eastern Moldova where Russia maintains troops.

Local authorities said they thwarted “a terror attack... directed by Ukrainian security services, being prepared against a number of officials.”

Ukraine denied the claims as a “provocation orchestrated by the Kremlin” while Moldova’s government said it was investigating the claim, but could not yet confirm it.

SEOUL — North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Thursday, Seoul's military said, Pyongyang's latest show of force just days before South Korea and the United States kick off major joint military exercises.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their worst points in decades, with the nuclear-armed North conducting ever more provocative banned weapons tests as Seoul moved to ramp up security cooperation with Washington in response.

Last year, Kim Jong -un’s regime declared North Korea an “irreversible” nuclear power and vowed to exponentially increase weapons production, including tactical nuclear weapons, as the US looks to move more assets to the region to defend ally Seoul.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that it “detected the launch of one short-range ballistic missile from the North’s western port city of Nampo at 6:20 pm [09:20 GMT]”.

It added it was analysing “the possibility that North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles from the same region simultaneously”.

“Our military maintains a full readiness posture while closely cooperating with the US as we have strengthened surveillance and vigilance,” it said.

North Korea has long claimed its nuclear weapons and missile programmes are for self-defence, and has bristled over US-South Korea military exercises, describing them as rehearsals for an invasion.

Earlier this week, North Korea accused the US of “intentionally” ramping up tensions, and Kim’s powerful sister warned that if the US were to intercept one of Pyongyang’s missile tests, it would be seen as a “clear declaration of war”.

After talks between Kim and then-US president Donald Trump collapsed in 2019, diplomacy has stalled and the North has doubled down on military development.

South Korea’s hawkish President Yoon Suk Yeol has moved to boost diplomatic ties and security cooperation with Tokyo and Washington in response to growing threats from Pyongyang.

US President Joe Biden will host Yoon for a state visit on April 26, and the South Korean leader will also visit Tokyo next week, his office said.

This month, the US and South Korean militaries will hold their largest joint drills in five years.

Ahead of those exercises, named “Freedom Shield” and scheduled for at least 10 days starting March 13, the allies held air drills this week featuring a nuclear-capable US B-52 heavy bomber.

“This is likely only the beginning of a series of provocative tests by North Korea,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

“Pyongyang is poised to respond aggressively to major US-South Korea defence exercises, as well as to President Yoon’s upcoming summits with [Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden],” he said.

“The Kim regime may order missile firings of longer ranges, attempt a spy satellite launch, demonstrate a solid-fuel engine, and perhaps even conduct a nuclear test.”

North Korea has framed its missile tests and military drills as justified countermeasures following US-South Korea drills.

Last week, it called on the United Nations to urge a halt to these exercises, and reiterated that its nuclear weapons ensured the balance of power in the region.

TBILISI — At least 30,000 protesters took to the streets of Georgia for a third day running Thursday despite the ruling party's promise to drop a controversial "foreign agent" bill reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics.

Waving Georgian, Ukrainian and EU flags, protesters gathered outside the parliament building in the capital Tbilisi, piling pressure on the government accused of flirting with the Kremlin and putting the Black Sea nation on an authoritarian path.

Georgian and Ukrainian anthems as well as the "Ode to Joy", the European Union anthem, were performed at the rally. Protesters also shouted anti-government slogans, with some demonstrators calling on the government to resign.

"Our government is our sole obstacle to joining the EU, which is ready to give us (membership) candidacy," mathematician Eka Kamkamidze, 39, told AFP.

Another protester, 30-year-old painter Mamuka Kiria, said: "Georgians are united in their will to join Europe and the government is isolated — from its people and internationally."

The protesters wanted "early elections" to push the ruling Georgian Dream party out of power, he said.

'First victory' 

Tens of thousands took to the streets this week after lawmakers gave their initial backing to the "foreign agents" bill. On Tuesday and Wednesday Georgian police fired water cannon and tear gas at the demonstrators.

On Thursday morning, the Georgian Dream ruling party backtracked under pressure, announcing it would drop the bill, but the opposition said it would stage more rallies.

On Thursday evening, President Salome Zurabishvili sent a message of support to the protesters in a televised address from New York.

"I want to congratulate society on its first victory. I am proud of the people who made their voices heard," Zurabishvili said.

"There is distrust towards the government as we pursue our European path."

Opposition parties said in a joint statement that the protests would continue, pointing to a lack of guarantees “that Georgia is firmly on a pro-Western course”.

They also called for the immediate release of dozens of protesters they said had been detained. The interior ministry said on Thursday evening that all the detained people had been freed.

‘European future’ 

Georgian authorities have faced mounting international criticism over a perceived backsliding on democracy, seriously damaging Tbilisi’s ties with Brussels.

Brussels and Washington denounced the plans to introduce a “foreign agent” law as a heavy blow to Georgia’s democracy.

The EU delegation in Georgia welcomed the government’s announcement that it was withdrawing the draft law, adding that they “encourage all political leaders in Georgia to resume pro-EU reforms”.

The US embassy in Tbilisi also welcomed the news.

“The Georgian people have, once again, spoken clearly that the only choice for Georgia is a secure and prosperous European future,” said an embassy statement.

“We urge the ruling party to officially retract these bills and not pursue further this type of legislation, which is incompatible with Georgian and European values and the protection of fundamental freedoms.”

The Kremlin on Thursday expressed concern at the mass protests in neighbouring Georgia.

Moscow and Tbilisi went to war in 2008 and Russia still controls Georgia’s breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions, although the territories are recognised internationally as part of Georgia.

‘Big moment’ 

Tom de Waal, a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, said both the bill and the police crackdown on protesters represented a serious challenge in the politically turbulent country.

“It’s a big moment for Georgia, still a democracy, but definitely a struggling one,” he said on Twitter.

In Russia, the Kremlin has used the “foreign agent” label against opponents, journalists and human rights activists accused of leading foreign-funded political activities.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Georgia has hosted an influx of anti-war Russians. But in recent weeks authorities have barred some Kremlin critics from entering the country, and some observers have warned of a drift towards Moscow.

Georgia’s treatment of jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, whose health has drastically deteriorated in prison, has also drawn international condemnation.

The ruling party has insisted it remains committed to Georgia’s EU and NATO membership bid, enshrined in the constitution and supported — according to opinion polls — by at least 80 per cent of the population.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has defended his “balanced” policy as aimed at ensuring “peace and stability”.

Georgia applied for EU membership together with Ukraine and Moldova days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, 2022.

Last June, EU leaders granted formal candidate status to Kyiv and Chisinau but said Tbilisi must implement reforms first.

TBILISI — At least two thousand demonstrators marched through the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, on Wednesday to protest government plans to introduce a "foreign agent" law reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics.

There is increasing concern that the small Caucasus republic, which aspires to join the EU and NATO, is taking an authoritarian turn and bending to political pressure from the ruling party.

On Tuesday, riot police and protesters clashed after ruling party lawmakers approved the draft law on "foreign agents" in its first reading.

Police said on Wednesday more than 60 demonstrators had been detained and 50 police officers injured.

On Wednesday afternoon, marchers blocked Tbilisi's main road, chanting "No to the Russian law". An AFP correspondent put the numbers at between two and three thousand.

One of the banners read "Women against total control," a nod to International Women's Day.

"We want Europe! We want the West," Tamuna Kirkhvadze, a 37-year-old economist who took part in the march, told AFP. "We want a bright future for our children and us."

The protesters said they wanted the government to drop the bill on "transparency of foreign funding," which critics say mirrors a law used in Russia to force opposition groups to close.

Georgia's political opposition and civil society groups urged protesters to gather outside parliament Wednesday evening.

'Big moment' 

Tom de Waal, a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, said that both the bill and crackdown represented a serious challenge in the politically turbulent country.

"It's a big moment for Georgia, still a democracy, but definitely a struggling one," he wrote on social media.

Late Tuesday, police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protesters. At that rally, some slogans also targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war in 2008.

In Russia, the foreign agent label recalls the term “enemies of the people” of the Soviet era.

The Kremlin has extensively used the label against opponents, journalists and human rights activists accused of leading foreign-funded political activities.

Georgian authorities have faced mounting international criticism over a perceived backsliding on democracy, seriously damaging Tbilisi’s ties with Brussels.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has defended his “balanced” Russia policy as aimed at ensuring “peace and stability”.

But Georgian President Salome Zourabishvili has expressed support for the demonstrators and has vowed to veto the legislation.

“Today is a dark day for Georgia’s democracy,” the US embassy in Georgia said after the initial reading.

The interior ministry said the demonstrators had “physically assaulted” police and “thrown various objects — stones, inflammable and blunt objects”.

Molotov cocktails 

“Later, people started an organised attack on the parliament building, throwing so-called ‘Molotov cocktails’ and fireworks,” the ministry said in a statement.

The statement added that 66 people had been arrested for minor hooliganism and disobeying law enforcement.

Up to 50 police officers were wounded in the clashes, the ministry added, with several hospitalised.

Georgia applied for EU membership together with Ukraine and Moldova days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.

In June, EU leaders granted formal candidate status to Kyiv and Chisinau but said Tbilisi must implement a number of reforms first.

Plans to join NATO and the EU are enshrined in Georgia’s constitution and are supported by at least 80 per cent of the population, according to opinion polls.

Georgia’s treatment of jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, whose health has drastically deteriorated in prison, has also drawn international condemnation.

Late last month, European Union member states issued a formal diplomatic warning to Georgia’s leaders over Saakashvili’s health.

ATHENS — Greek police fired tear gas at firebomb-throwing protesters outside parliament on Wednesday as tens of thousands demonstrated over the country's worst rail tragedy and called on the prime minister to quit.

Fifty-seven people were killed, and 14 others remain in hospital after a freight train crashed head-on with a passenger train, carrying mostly students, on February 28.

The biggest protests were in Athens, where over 40,000 people flooded the streets, waving banners that read "it's not an accident, it's a crime" and "it could have been any of us on that train".

Outside parliament, dozens of masked, black-clad youths hurled Molotov cocktails and stones at riot police, who responded by firing volleys of tear gas, an AFP reporter said. Demonstrators also torched a van a few blocks away.

In Greece's second city of Thessaloniki, riot police fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters outside the local railway station.

More than 65,000 demonstrators took to the streets nationwide, according to police.

"I am here to pay tribute to the dead but also to express my anger and my frustration," Athens protester Niki Siouta, a 54-year-old civil engineer, told AFP.

“This government must go.”

Alongside the protesters, Greek civil servants staged a 24-hour walkout while doctors, teachers, bus drivers and ferry crew members also went on strike.

Railways were paralysed as train workers extended strike action launched in the aftermath of the accident.

“This government opts to spend money on the police and the army, but not for our safety,” said Thanassis Oikonomou, a striking worker and bus union representative.

Last week protests triggered by the crash saw riot police clash repeatedly with demonstrators, including in Athens.

Calls are growing louder for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis — who is fighting for reelection this spring — to quit over the tragedy, which has shone a harsh spotlight on decades of government mismanagement of the rail network.

A station master, who admitted forgetting to reroute one of the trains, has been arrested and charged, but the government has been criticised for seeking to shift the blame mainly on him.

Critics say the station master was inexperienced and was left working alone during a busy holiday period, and accuse officials of failing to pursue safety reforms on the network.

Greece’s transport minister resigned on March 1 and Mitsotakis has apologised to victims’ families, pledged to get to the root of what happened and embarked on a flurry of public appearances in an apparent bid to soothe anger.

‘Belated’ 

The premier visited the crash site and gave a televised address, blaming “human error” for the accident while calling for a special committee of experts to investigate.

But critics have been merciless. Writing in liberal daily Kathimerini, columnist Pantelis Boukalas called the prime minister’s apology “belated” and said that some may suspect it was “guided by PR gurus”.

The prime minister and other politicians suspended election campaigning in the wake of the tragedy. There is now speculation that the polls, expected in April, could be delayed until May.

Mitsotakis has vowed to seek European Union assistance to “finally” modernise the train network.

The executive director of the EU’s rail agency and the European Commission’s director for land transport were visiting Athens on Wednesday for talks with Greek officials.

Giorgos Gerapetritis, Greece’s acting transport minister, said rail passenger transport might resume by the end of March.

Speaking at a press conference, he also conceded that if safety systems had been fully automated, “the accident would not have happened”.

Political life will resume Thursday after a period of national mourning, but the premier seems in no rush to confront the issue of the looming polls.

Asked on Monday when Mitsotakis will set an election date, government spokesman Yiannis Economou replied: “At this stage, this issue is not on the prime minister’s mind at all.”

LONDON — The British government hit back on Wednesday at critics including the United Nations and football presenter Gary Lineker, after he compared its new plan on illegal immigration to the rhetoric of Nazi-era Germany.

The Conservative government intends to outlaw asylum claims by all illegal arrivals and transfer them elsewhere, such as Rwanda, in a bid to stop thousands of migrants from crossing the Channel on small boats.

Stopping the boats is the “people’s priority”, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons, vowing also to “break the criminal gangs” profiting from the journeys.

But rights groups and the United Nations said the legislation would make Britain itself an international outlaw under European and UN conventions on asylum.

“I am deeply concerned at this legislation,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

“All people compelled to leave their country of origin to seek safety and dignity abroad are entitled to the full respect of their human rights, regardless of their migration status or mode of arrival.”

Presenting the Illegal Migration Bill in parliament, Home Secretary Suella Braverman attached a note conceding that she could not confirm yet whether the plan respected European human rights law.

But in a round of broadcast interviews, the interior minister insisted the government was within its rights to stop the seaborne migrants, who she said could total 80,000 this year.

‘Immeasurably cruel’ 

“We’re not breaking the law,” she told Sky News, claiming support from the “vast majority” of the British public.

“We are very confident that our measures that we’ve announced yesterday [Tuesday] are in compliance with our international law obligations.”

Lineker, an ex-England striker who presents the BBC’s flagship football coverage on TV, was warned by the broadcaster to respect its social media guidelines after he lashed out at Braverman on Twitter.

“Good heavens, this is beyond awful,” he tweeted over a video of Braverman explaining her plan, in his latest broadside against the Conservatives’ immigration policies.

“There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries,” Lineker noted.

“This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”

Sunak’s press secretary told reporters his comments were “not acceptable”.

Braverman has often been accused of using inflammatory language over the migration issue, as the Conservatives try to restore their weak standing in opinion polls.

“I’m obviously disappointed that he should attempt to equate our measures with 1930s Germany,” she told BBC radio.

The minister vowed to be “honest” with the British public, while defending her claim that “billions” of migrants were “eager” to come to the UK.

Citing a similar, deeply controversial, policy in Australia, Braverman said the boat crossings would “fall dramatically” in time but could not say when.

‘Take back control’ 

Defending the policy Tuesday, Sunak said he was ready to fight legal challenges, as he vowed to “take back control of our borders once and for all” — reprising a popular pledge by Brexit campaigners in 2016.

But the prime minister, who meets French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday, faces pressure to restore migration cooperation with the European Union and get stronger action from Paris.

The perilous nature of the Channel crossings — with migrants traversing one of the world’s busiest waterways on fragile craft — has been underlined by several tragedies in recent years.

In November 2021, at least 27 people drowned when their dinghy deflated. They were mostly Kurds from Iraq and included a child aged seven.

If passed by parliament, the law would mean anyone arriving in this manner would be deported and never allowed to re-enter the United Kingdom or seek asylum.

More than 3,000 migrants have arrived by boat so far this year, often ending up in expensive hotels at taxpayers’ expense, and the backlog of asylum claims now exceeds 160,000.

The new plan would transfer illegal migrants to disused military barracks temporarily and cap the annual number of refugees who arrive legally.

MATAMOROS, Mexico — Two of the four US citizens kidnapped in crime-plagued north-eastern Mexico were found dead on Tuesday, prompting a vow by Washington to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

The two others were located alive several days after the group was snatched at gunpoint in the city of Matamoros, having apparently crossed the border for medical reasons, Mexican authorities said.

The attorney general's office confirmed that of the four abductees, two were dead and one of the others was injured, Tamaulipas state governor Americo Villarreal said.

Hours later, a convoy of about 20 vehicles including ambulances was seen travelling from the prosecutor's office to one of the border bridges connecting Matamoros with the US city of Brownsville.

Tamaulipas state attorney Irving Barrios tweeted that two US citizens who had been kidnapped were returned to the United States, without giving full details of the repatriation.

The victims had traveled to Matamoros on Friday in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in an earlier statement.

It offered a $50,000 reward for help leading to the return of the unidentified victims and the arrest of the perpetrators.

"Shortly after crossing into Mexico, unidentified gunmen fired upon the passengers in the [minivan]. All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men," the FBI said.

A Mexican national was also killed in the incident.

The White House denounced the kidnappings as "unacceptable" and offered condolences to families of the victims.

"We're going to work closely with the Mexican government to ensure that justice is done in this case," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

He told reporters that Washington was still learning about details of the incident from Mexican officials.

"Right now our focus is very squarely on these four Americans and the families that have been affected by the attack," Kirby added.

Cartel hot spot 

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that the victims were believed to have entered the country to buy medicines and got caught up in a confrontation between criminal groups.

"We're very sorry that this is happening in our country," Lopez Obrador told reporters after the confirmation of the deaths.

"We send our condolences to the families of the victims, to friends, to the people of the United States, to the US government," he said.

"Those responsible are going to be found. They are going to be punished," Lopez Obrador added.

Matamoros, located across the US border from Brownsville, Texas, is one of the areas of Mexico most affected by drug trafficking and other organised crime.

The Latin American country is plagued by cartel-related bloodshed that has seen more than 340,000 people murdered since the government deployed the military in the war on drugs in 2006.

The US State Department advises against travel to Tamaulipas due to crime and kidnapping.

"Organised crime activity — including gun battles, murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, force disappearances, extortion, and sexual assault — is common along the northern border and in Ciudad Victoria," the state capital, according to a US travel advisory.

"Criminal groups target public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments," it warned.

Despite the risks, Matamoros, located on the banks of the Rio Grande river separating the two countries, is a major stopping point for migrants heading for the United States.