Briefly

EAST EUROPE

Russia, Ukraine trade strikes, several dead

Russia struck Ukraine with missiles, drones and guided bombs on Saturday, killing eight people and wounding dozens of others, officials said. Missiles also hit the capital Kyiv, wounding 12 people, the city's mayor said. Last week, the United States gave Ukraine permission to build US-designed Patriot air defense systems capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, but it may be months before they enter production. A Ukrainian attack in southwest Russia's Samara Region killed one person and wounded three more, officials said on Sunday. Residential homes and apartment buildings were damaged in the strike, as well as an unspecified "industrial site", Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said.

UNITED STATES

Senator and Trump ally Graham dies aged 71

Prominent United States Senator Lindsey Graham, a key ally of President Donald Trump, died aged 71, his office said on Sunday. The South Carolina lawmaker "passed away from a brief and sudden illness", his office posted on X early on Sunday. NBC News reported that emergency services responded to a call for "cardiac arrest" at Graham's Capitol Hill home on Saturday night, according to police scanner audio obtained by NBC and other outlets.

XINHUA-AGENCIES