Gunmen shot dead at least 30 travellers in an attack in Nigeria's southeastern Imo state, Amnesty International said on Friday, raising fresh concerns about violence in a region rife with insecurity.

More than 20 vehicles and trucks were set ablaze by the attackers, who were suspected to be members of the banned separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Amnesty said in a post on X.

Imo police spokesperson Henry Okoye confirmed the attack occurred in Thursday's early hours, but declined comment on the number of fatalities. One of the assailants was killed by the police, Okoye told Reuters on Friday.

A police statement said the gunmen, operating in three groups, barricaded the highway at about 0400 GMT and shot sporadically before setting vehicles ablaze.

"A full-scale search and cordon operation is currently underway, with security operatives combing nearby forests and surrounding areas where the suspects are believed to be hiding," the police said in the statement.

IPOB campaigns for the secession of southeastern Nigeria, where the majority belong to the Igbo ethnic group. Nigerian authorities have labelled IPOB a terrorist organisation.

Civil war engulfed the Biafra region in the late 1960s, killing more than 1 million people.

Thursday's attack coincided with a visit by President Bola Tinubu to the region, occurring in the same week that IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu appeared in federal court where he is facing trial on terrorism charges.

Amnesty called on Nigerian authorities to investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Reuters

Israel won't be involved in new Gaza aid plan, only in security, US envoy says

A U.S.-backed mechanism for getting aid into Gaza should take effect soon, Washington's envoy to Israel said on Friday ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East, without detailing how this would work with no ceasefire in place.

Gaza's residents face possible famine, the U.N. says, with Israel enforcing a months-long blockade on aid to the small Palestinian enclave and vowing to expand its military campaign against Hamas militants after breaking a truce in March.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said several partners had already committed to taking part in the aid arrangement, which would be handled by private companies, but declined to name them, saying details would be released in the coming days.

"There has been a good initial response," the former Republican governor told reporters at the embassy in Jerusalem.

"There are nonprofit organisations that will be a part of the leadership," he said, adding that other organisations and governments would also need to be involved, though not Israel.

Tikva Forum, a hawkish Israeli group representing some relatives of hostages held in Gaza, criticised the announcement, saying aid deliveries should be conditional on Hamas releasing the 59 captives in Gaza.

Hamas senior official Basem Naim said the plan was close to "the Israeli vision of militarising aid" and said it would fail, at the same time warning local parties against "becoming tools in the Zionist occupation's schemes".

Trump, who seeks a landmark deal that would see Israel and Saudi Arabia establish diplomatic relations, will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week.

Trump had teased a major announcement ahead of the trip. It was unclear if that was what Huckabee announced on Friday.

Anticipation has been building about a new aid plan for Gaza, laid waste by 19 months of an Israeli air and ground war against Hamas that has destroyed much of the infrastructure and displaced most of its 2.3 million population several times.

"It will not be perfect, especially in the early days," Huckabee said. "It is a logistical challenge to make this work."

European leaders and aid groups have criticised a plan by Israel, which has prevented aid from entering Gaza since ditching a two-month-old truce in March, for private companies to take over humanitarian distributions in the enclave.

Israel has accused agencies including the United Nations of allowing aid to fall into the hands of Hamas, which it has said is seizing supplies intended for civilians and given them to its own forces or selling them to raise funds. Hamas denies this.

CRITICISM OF AID PLANS

"The Israelis are going to be involved in providing necessary military security because it is a war zone, but they will not be involved in the distribution of the food or even bringing the food into Gaza," Huckabee told a press conference.

Asked whether the supply of aid hinged on a ceasefire being restored, Huckabee said: "The humanitarian aid will not depend on anything other than our ability to get the food into Gaza."

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday criticised emerging plans to take over distribution of aid in Gaza floated by both Israel and the United States, saying this would increase suffering for children and families.

A proposal is circulating among the aid community for a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that would distribute food from four "Secure Distribution Sites", resembling plans announced by Israel earlier this week, but drew criticism that it would effectively worsen displacement among the Gaza population.

Huckabee said there would be an "initial number" of distribution centres that could feed "perhaps over a million people" before being scaled up to ultimately reach two million.

"Private security" would be responsible for the safety of workers getting into the distribution centres and in the distribution of the food itself, Huckabee said, declining to comment on rules of engagement for security personnel.

"Everything would be done in accordance with international law," he said.

Mediation efforts by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have not been successful in implementing a second phase of the ceasefire. Israel demands the total disarmament of Hamas, which the Islamist group rejects.

Hamas has said it is willing to free all remaining hostages seized by its gunmen in attacks on communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and agree to a permanent ceasefire if Israel pulls out completely from Gaza.

Hamas' attacks on October 7, 2023 killed 1,200 people and 251 were taken hostage back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's campaign has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run health authorities.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia and Ukraine accuse one another of ceasefire violations

Ukrainian troops have made further attempts to breach the Russian border in the Kursk and Belgorod regions, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday as President Vladimir Putin hosted world leaders at a major military parade in Moscow.

The Defence Ministry said the attacks occurred during a three-day ceasefire running from May 8-10 that Russia has unilaterally declared to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

Ukraine has called the ceasefire a "farce" and on Friday documented scores of armed clashes.

It noted in particular, northeastern Sumy region, site of some of the heaviest Russian assaults in recent weeks, saying there had been no letup during the Kremlin-inspired ceasefire.

"There has been no 'ceasefire' in Sumy region on the 8th or 9th of May. Over the two days Russia has killed three civilians, the region's military administration said on Telegram.

Ukraine's military, in its account late on Friday of battlefield operations, said 162 armed clashes had been recorded over the past 24 hours, with the Kremlin ceasefire in effect, along with 22 air strikes and 956 drone attacks.

It noted heavy fighting near Pokrovsk, a logistics hub in eastern Ukraine targeted by Moscow's troops for months. Russian forces had attempted to break through Ukrainian lines 51 times.

The Russian Defence Ministry account said it had registered four attempts by Ukrainian forces to smash through the border into the Kursk and Belgorod regions in the past week.

In eastern Ukraine, Kyiv's troops had attacked Russian forces 15 times during the ceasefire, the ministry said.

Ukraine has said Russia had repeatedly breached its own truce this week. The governor of the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region said on Friday that Russia hit eight Ukrainian frontline villages 220 times since the ceasefire went into effect.

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In Russia's Belgorod border region, the local governor said a Ukrainian drone had attacked a government building on Friday.

In Kursk, Ukrainian troops launched a major incursion last August and held onto a chunk of Russian territory for many months as Moscow's forces battled to eject them with help from North Korean soldiers. Some fighting has continued, even after Putin last month declared "victory" in Kursk.

Ukraine said its troops had repelled 19 attacks in the region.

Rybar, a pro-Russian war blogger, said there was "high-intensity fighting" between Russian and Ukrainian troops near Tetkino, a village in the region. Rybar and other bloggers said Ukrainian attacks on multiple villages in the neighbouring Belgorod region were continuing on Friday.

Reuters could not independently verify statements by war bloggers or battlefield reports from either side.

Ukraine and Russia both accused the other of repeatedly violating a previous 30-hour Easter ceasefire declared by Putin.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian forces attempted to breach border four times during Moscow’s Victory Day truce – MOD

Ukrainian forces have attempted four cross-border incursions into the Russian regions of Kursk and Belgorod since the start of Moscow’s 72-hour ceasefire, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Ukrainian forces continued to conduct military operations despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a Victory Day ceasefire from midnight May 8 to midnight May 11, the ministry said on Friday.

Apart from the incursion attempts, Ukraine launched 15 smaller-scale attacks on a number of settlements in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, according to the statement.

The Ukrainian military also continued missile and artillery attacks against Russian frontline positions, the ministry said. The Russian military has recorded 5,026 attacks since the ceasefire came into force. The assaults involved around 1,500 instances of artillery shelling and 3,502 drone strikes, it added.

Russia responded with tit-for-tat actions, according to the ministry.

Putin announced the ceasefire last week, describing it as a humanitarian gesture to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, which he said could also serve as a catalyst for “the start of direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions.”

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky dismissed the initiative, calling it a Russian ploy and an “attempt at manipulation.” Kiev has ramped up drone strikes on Russian territory, with the Defense Ministry reporting a record 524 UAVs being shot down on Wednesday alone.

Nevertheless, the Ukrainian leader said on Thursday that Kiev is ready for a “complete ceasefire” without any preconditions at any moment, but insisted that it should last at least 30 days.

Russia has said it is ready for direct talks with Ukraine “without preconditions,” and has advocated for a permanent resolution to the conflict that addresses the root causes. It has also warned that Kiev could use a temporary truce to regroup its forces and replenish its military equipment and ammunition.

Reuters/RT

The 25,000 residents of Lice, a town in Turkey’s Diyarbakır province, involuntarily got high after police burned tens of tons of seized cannabis in the town center.

On April 18, Turkish authorities conducted an operation to burn over 20 tons of confiscated cannabis in Lice, which caused the air in the settlement to become thick with weed smoke. For at least five days, people couldn’t leave their windows open and avoided going out, for fear of becoming intoxicated and experiencing symptoms like dizziness, nausea, and hallucinations. The destroyed cannabis, valued at 10 billion Turkish Lira ($261,433,808), weighed 20 tons 766 kilos 679 grams and had been seized from all over Diyarbakır province during 2023 and 2024.

“The smell of drugs has been enveloping the district for days,” a local man complained. We cannot open our windows. Our children got sick, we are constantly going to the hospital.”

The Chairman of the Yeşil Yıldız Association, Yahya Öğer said that, although the success achieved by authorities in the fight against drugs is important, the manner in which the cannabis was destroyed was incorrect. He emphasized that arranging the bags of weed to form the name of the town, LICE, in burning letters only added insult to injury.

“This was perhaps done as a preventive measure to deter, but the fact that it was destroyed in the city center could cause serious discomfort to people due to the smoke of burned hemp,” Öğer told reporters, adding that his association recommends that police dispose of the cannabis in factories with filtered chimnies, to prevent the smoke from affecting the local population.

“As you know, the destruction or burning of such herbs can also cause serious intoxication,” Öğer explained. “Just as tobacco harms passive smokers when used in a closed area, the smoke released by such narcotic substances when disposed of can cause serious discomfort to people on the other side. It can make people drunk, dizzy, nauseated, and cause hallucinations.”

Oddity Central

Developing healthy, lifelong connections is something that Mark Groves knows all about: He equips individuals with the skills they need to strengthen their relationships through his online membership community, Create the Love. Companies also hire him to help their teams work better together and maintain healthy work ties.

"I was 27 and I started studying relationships. I thought, 'Why is no one teaching us this?' Everything I would learn, I would just think to myself, 'Why wasn't there a class?'" Groves says.

He began writing about the complexities of relationships — including his personal ones. He studied positive psychology and eventually began training others to establish their own healthy connections.

"The most amazing thing I learned over all this time is that anyone can have exceptional relationships, that they're something you create. They're not done by luck," Groves says.

"We are an active participant in every relationship in our lives, which means that we could take 100% responsibility for our side of things.”

In an article he wrote for his Substack in 2023, Groves shared recommendations for how you can form healthy relationships. Here’s what he suggests:

• Take stock of what you do, or tolerate from others, that hurts you or other people
• Process the feelings that arise from facing how you've shown up in relationships
• Alchemize the emotions like fear or hurt and use them for growth

"Great relationships are created,” Groves says. “And everyone can learn the skill set to create exceptional relationships.”

CNBC

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed that Nigeria has fully repaid the $3.4 billion emergency loan it received in 2020 to cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp decline in global oil prices. The financing, provided under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), was disbursed in April 2020 to help Africa’s largest oil producer address severe balance of payments needs during the global crisis.

In a statement released on Thursday, IMF resident representative to Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, said that as of April 30, 2025, the country had completed repayment of the facility. The IMF’s data shows the loan was repaid in tranches of SDR 613.62 million in 2023, SDR 1.22 billion in 2024, and SDR 613.62 million in 2025.

However, Nigeria will continue to make annual payments of approximately $30 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) charges. These charges, which represent the cost of borrowing from the IMF, are calculated based on the difference between Nigeria’s current SDR holdings and its cumulative SDR allocation.

The IMF explained that the charges are levied at the SDR interest rate, which is updated weekly, and will continue until Nigeria’s SDR holdings (currently SDR 3.164 billion or $4.3 billion) match its total allocation (SDR 4.027 billion or $5.5 billion).

Despite the full repayment of the principal loan, Nigeria’s foreign debt servicing costs remain high. According to the Debt Management Office, the country spent $4.66 billion on external debt servicing in 2024, including $1.63 billion paid to the IMF.

Nigeria is facing a deepening public health crisis as both the federal government and a new report by civil society group Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) raise alarm over the devastating impact of food-related illnesses and the unchecked spread of unhealthy, ultra-processed foods across the country.

Speaking at the launch of a new national food safety operational manual in Abuja, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, disclosed that an estimated 200,000 Nigerians—many of them children—die each year from foodborne diseases. He pointed to dangerous practices such as using paracetamol to tenderize meat, fermenting cassava with detergents, and adding industrial dyes like Sudan IV to palm oil and pepper, calling them “criminal acts” punishable under Nigeria’s Criminal Code.

“These are not cultural missteps—they are attacks on public health,” the minister said, adding that poor hygiene and contaminated food were behind recent outbreaks of cholera and Lassa fever, which claimed hundreds of lives in early 2025 alone. The new manual, he noted, offers a science-based guide for food safety enforcement at the local level, targeting markets, street vendors, and informal food outlets where millions of Nigerians source their meals daily.

Supporting the initiative, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, cited findings from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) showing that 20% of hospital admissions in urban areas stem from foodborne illnesses. He emphasized the urgent need for robust food safety frameworks, developed in collaboration with state governments, to address local realities.

The head of the Nigerian Council for Food Science and Technology (NiCFoST), Nkechi Veronica Ezeh, described the manual as a “missing piece” in the country’s food safety infrastructure, aligning with constitutional mandates for local governments to regulate food environments.

However, the challenge is not only about contamination and food safety—it also concerns the rising threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) linked to unhealthy diets. According to a new report by CAPPA titled “Junk on Our Plates”, weak regulation is enabling food and beverage companies to flood Nigerian communities with ultra-processed, sugar-laden products, using deceptive marketing tactics and cultural targeting to reach schools, religious centers, and low-income areas.

CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said the shift from traditional diets to processed snacks and sugary drinks is fuelling a wave of NCDs—obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease—which now account for over 30% of all annual deaths in Nigeria. “We’re talking about 684,000 preventable deaths every year—equivalent to wiping out the population of Luxembourg annually,” he warned.

The report highlighted misleading labeling practices and aggressive promotions by multinational brands, including bundling sugary drinks with fast food during Ramadan in Lagos and Abuja, and embedding products into local food cultures in the North. “These companies operate like the tobacco industry once did—covertly targeting children, distorting health information, and bypassing regulation,” Oluwafemi added.

Despite policy steps such as the N10-per-litre Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Tax introduced in 2021, and new sodium reduction and trans fat guidelines, CAPPA says enforcement remains weak. Public health advocates have also questioned the lack of transparency in how over N100 billion collected from SSB taxes since 2022 has been used.

The group is calling for stronger action: raising the SSB tax to N130 per litre, banning unhealthy food marketing near schools, enforcing front-of-pack nutrition labels, and protecting policymaking from corporate influence. “Food is a right, not a luxury,” Oluwafemi said. “Whether in Maitama or Makoko, every Nigerian deserves safe and nutritious food.”

Israel says it intercepted missile fired from Yemen; Houthis claim responsibility

Israel's military said on Saturday it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen and Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the attack, the third of its kind by the Iran-aligned group in 24 hours.

The Israeli military said sirens were activated in a number of areas in Israel after the missile was launched. No casualties or serious damage have been reported from the missile salvoes.

The claim of responsibility, announced by the Houthis' military spokesperson, came amid an intensification of U.S. airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

In March, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis to reduce their capabilities and deter them from targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The deadly strikes on the group have been the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January.

The Houthis say their attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping are in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Hamas militants and Israel in Gaza.

The group pledged to expand its range of targets in Israel in retaliation for a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza launched in mid-March, breaking a two-month-old ceasefire after the mediated talks on terms for extending it broke down.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russia violating its own 3-day ceasefire, calls it a 'farce'

Ukraine's foreign minister said on Thursday Russia had repeatedly violated its own 3-day ceasefire hours after it began and called the initiative a "farce", while Moscow said Kyiv had continued fighting.

There was, though, a drop-off in combat activity after the ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin came into force in the early hours of Thursday, with a respite in the drone and missile attacks that had rattled Ukrainian cities earlier this week.

"Predictably, Putin's 'Parade ceasefire' proves to be a farce," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X, referring to the truce which coincides with a May 9 parade on Moscow's Red Square to commemorate the end of World War Two.

"Russian forces continue to attack across the entire frontline," Sybiha wrote. "From midnight to midday, Russia committed 734 ceasefire violations and 63 assault operations, 23 of which are still ongoing."

He said Kyiv was notifying the United States and European states about Russia's actions.

The Russian defence ministry, cited by Interfax news agency, said that Ukraine, in turn, had carried out 488 attacks on Russian targets and twice tried to break through the border in the Kursk region.

The two sides did not immediately comment on each other's battlefield reports, which Reuters could not independently confirm.

A late night report issued by the General Staff of Ukraine's military nearly 24 hours in the proclaimed ceasefire said 154 clashes had been recorded. Russian forces, it said, had launched one missile attack and 15 air strikes.

The governor of southeastern Zaporizhzhia region said a Russian drone had struck a car in the south of the region, killing a passenger.

In central Poltava region, the head of the regional military administration said air defence units had downed a missile deployed by Russian forces. The missile damaged private homes, but caused no casualties.

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UKRAINE DERIDES KREMLIN CEASEFIRE

Ukraine has not committed to abide by the ceasefire, calling it a ruse by Putin to create the impression he wants to end the war, which began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Putin says he is committed to achieving peace.

Reuters journalists with a Ukrainian drone unit near the front in eastern Ukraine said a small Russian infantry raiding party had tried to advance on Thursday, but had been stopped by drones piloted by members of the unit.

Ukrainian soldiers observed the clash on a live feed streamed onto monitors in their bunker.

"The infantry are still coming," said one of the soldiers in the unit, a 33-year-old who identified himself by his callsign, "Mikha."

A second person in the same unit, who identified himself as Nazar, said in the six hours since the Russian ceasefire started, there had been three Russian strikes on his section of the front. Asked if the ceasefire was holding, he said: "The facts speak for themselves."

A Ukrainian military spokesman earlier said Russia had continued assaults in areas on the eastern front and prosecutors said two people had been wounded along with the 55-year-old woman killed by bombs fired at the northern Sumy region.

The Russian ceasefire falls on the 80th anniversary of the World War Two defeat of Nazi Germany, for which Putin is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders ahead of a military parade on Red Square on May 9.

Ukraine, like the West, marks the anniversary on May 8.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy marked the day by taking a rare walk in central Kyiv to pay his respects to fallen Ukrainian soldiers at a vast mound of Ukrainian flags planted on a grassy verge on the central square.

There was no sign of his security detail in the selfie video he filmed as he passed pedestrians on the city's main drag, at one point pausing to say "hi" as cars tooted their horns and deriding Friday's planned pomp-filled ceremony in Moscow.

"There will be a parade of cynicism. You simply cannot call it anything else. A parade of bile and lies. As if not dozens of allied states, but Putin personally defeated Nazism," he said.

Ukraine launched successive drone attacks on Moscow this week, which had forced the closure of airports in the Russian capital and the grounding of airliners.

Russia's aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said on Thursday evening that airline schedules, heavily disrupted earlier in the week, were now operating normally.

Zelenskiy said on Thursday that he had told U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone call that a 30-day ceasefire was a "real indicator" of moving towards peace with Russia and Kyiv was ready to implement it immediately.

Zelenskiy said he had also spoken to Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who assured him that his government could be relied upon for continued support. The Ukrainian president also spoke to European Union Executive Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Kiev attempts new incursion into Russia’s Kursk

The Ukrainian military launched a new attempt to invade Russia’s Kursk Region on Monday, launching multiple cross-border attacks. While the fighting in the border area continued into Wednesday, Kiev’s forces have failed to achieve any tangible gains, sustaining considerable materiel and personnel losses during the raid.

The attacks targeted several locations, including the villages of Tetkino and Novy Put, just to the east of the area invaded by Ukrainian forces last August and fully liberated by the Russian military earlier this year.

“In the Tetkino area and closer to Novy Put, the enemy has been conducting reconnaissance in force for the second day in a row and is trying to clear our mine and engineering barriers in order to try to send troops into the breach,” Igor Kimakovsky, a senior official in the administration of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, told reporters. 

The village of Tetkino was the target of an unsuccessful Ukrainian incursion attempt in March 2024. The hamlet of Novy Put saw the most intensive combat in November last year, when Kiev’s troops attempted to flank the Russian forces advancing in Kursk Region.

Multiple videos circulating online, said to be taken south of Tetkino, show Ukrainian troops deploying several breacher vehicles in an attempt to break through the reinforced border, clearing mines, ‘dragon’s teeth’ concrete pyramids, and other obstacles.

The vehicles, including a Soviet-made IMR-2, German-supplied Wisent 1 engineering vehicles, and the Soviet-designed UR-77 Meteorit mine-clearing vehicle, were hit by multiple FPV drones and abandoned by their crews.

Ukrainian forces attempted to evacuate the crews of the vehicles on quad bikes. Some of the evacuation teams, however, fell victim to FPV drones as well. 

Multiple Ukrainian armored vehicles that attempted to advance on Russian positions near Tetkino through the openings made by the breachers ended up destroyed as well. One of the videos from the area show a heavily uparmored US-supplied M1117 armored car getting hit by a drone carrying two PRG-7 warheads.

Despite initial setbacks, Ukrainian forces managed to reach the westernmost tip of Tetkino, located a mere 100 meters from the border, on Tuesday. An unspecified number of Ukrainian servicemen reportedly infiltrated several residential homes on the outskirts of the village. The forces were subjected to artillery and aerial strikes, footage available online indicates, and reportedly were pushed back across the border by the end of the day.

A similar situation unfolded near Novy Put, where Kiev’s troops also sent in breacher vehicles only to lose them in the open field. Drone footage purportedly taken near the hamlet shows an IMR-2 hitting a landmine when the vehicle attempted to cross an anti-tank ditch and rampart at the border. Immediately after the blast, an uparmored vehicle carrying Ukrainian infantry that followed the breacher was hit by at least one FPV drone, the video suggests. 

The ongoing incursion attempt has been marked by the active use of quad bikes by Ukrainian forces, who are using them for rapid infantry deployment instead of relying purely on armored vehicles that follow breachers. A convoy of ten quad bikes was reportedly destroyed en route to Novy Put.

Thermal footage circulating online purports to show the bikes speeding along a road towards the hamlet. The group stopped at some point, and the tightly packed vehicles were subsequently hit by multiple artillery shells, the footage shows.

Reuters/RT