CBS News
Russia hits Ukraine’s biggest cities with deadly missile attack as Moscow blames U.S. for diplomatic deadlock
More than 40 Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s two largest cities Tuesday morning, killing at least six people and leaving 60 more wounded, according to Ukrainian officials, as Moscow again dismissed any diplomatic resolution to the two-year war backed by Kyiv and its Western supporters. The Russian missiles targeted Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and Kharkiv, damaging about 30 residential buildings in the latter and shattering around 1,000 apartment windows, leaving residents exposed to frigid winter weather, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov of Kharkiv, which is only about 18 miles from the eastern border with Russia, was quoted by the French news agency AFP as saying an entire section of a multi-floor apartment building was toppled and an unknown number of people left trapped under the rubble.
SERGEY BOBOK/AFP/Getty
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed the strikes carried out Tuesday had hit Ukrainian military production facilities, and that all intended targets had been struck successfully.
The latest missile strikes came after months of grueling trench and artillery warfare along the nearly 1,000-mile front line that stretches from the northern to the southern border of eastern Ukraine. They also came a day after Russian officials said Ukrainian drones had struck an oil storage facility in the Russian region of Bryansk, about 40 miles from the border, causing a massive blaze.
The front line has barely moved in a year, and both sides’ inability to dislodge the other has been matched by their unwillingness to budge on their key negotiating points.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a veteran diplomat close to President Vladimir Putin, again rejected on Monday any negotiations for a truce within the parameters put forward by Ukraine at the U.N., backed by the U.S., which include a full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory and a cessation of hostilities.
Lavrov blames U.S. for diplomatic deadlock
Lavrov, in New York for U.N. meetings on Ukraine and the Middle East, in an exclusive interview with CBS News on Monday, reiterated Moscow’s long-standing claim that it is the U.S. and its close allies that are preventing a resolution to the war Russia started with its Feb. 24, 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“The current administration is not interested in having any dialogue, except from time to time on issues of the detainees, exchanges, functioning of the two embassies in Washington and in Moscow and the mission in New York, but not on any policy matters,” insisted Lavrov. He complained that Russia was being treated unfairly by Washington and said if the U.S. would halt what he called its “policy of using Ukraine as an instrument of war against Russia, we would be ready to listen.”
Lavrov repeated Moscow’s frequent claim that the U.S. government “demonizes Russia” and, asked why more than 140 nations voted in the U.N. General Assembly to condemn Russia for violating Ukrainian sovereignty with its ongoing 2022 invasion, Lavrov said all the countries that voted against Russia were pressured “by the U.S., the Brits, and some Europeans.”
During Monday’s Security Council meeting on Ukraine, Kyiv’s Ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, told delegates his country’s security was “an integral part of world and regional security,” calling Russia’s invasion one of the primary “destabilizing factors for security in the world.”
U.S. deputy U.N. Ambassador Robert Wood said it was Putin’s “single-minded pursuit of the obliteration of Ukraine and subjugation of its people that is prolonging” the war.
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CBS News
$100 million in federal funds released for North Carolina to rebuild roads, bridges damaged by Helene
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation released $100 million in emergency funds on Saturday for North Carolina to rebuild its roads and bridges damaged by Helene.
“We are providing this initial round of funding so there’s no delay getting roads repaired and reopened, and re-establishing critical routes,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration will be with North Carolina every step of the way, and today’s emergency funding to help get transportation networks back up and running safely will be followed by additional federal resources.”
The storm caused rampant flooding that has devastated several towns and killed more than 225 people – with CBS News confirming at least 114 people killed in North Carolina. There was more than 8 inches of rain across the western North Carolina mountains, with some areas seeing more than a foot.
Hundreds of roads across Western North Carolina remain closed, leading to an increase in air traffic as teams scour the region for survivors by air. Air traffic over Western North Carolina has increased by 300% due to relief efforts since the storm cleared, the Federal Aviation Administration and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Mudslides blocked Interstate 40 and other highways in North Carolina and about 400 roads were closed due to damage from Helene. Interstate 40 was damaged at several locations, the Department of Transportation said.
President Biden visited the Carolinas on Wednesday, surveying the flood damage by air from Greenville, South Carolina, to Asheville, North Carolina. Mr. Biden announced the federal government would cover “100%” of all debris removal and emergency protective measure costs in North Carolina for six months.
The Department of Transportation said these relief funds will allow the North Carolina Department of Transportation to act more quickly to fund eligible repairs to their damaged facilities.
Li Cohen and
contributed to this report.
CBS News
Tropical Storm Milton forms in Gulf; forecast to strengthen into hurricane headed toward Florida
Tropical Storm Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane headed toward Florida with possible impacts to its western coast, the National Hurricane Center said on Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are expected to be at 40 mph with higher gusts and Milton is currently moving north-northeast, NHC said in an advisory.
Milton is forecast to undergo a period of rapid intensification before it makes landfall as a Category 2 hurricane across Florida’s west coast, CBS News Miami reported.
The forecast comes a little more than a week after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and across the Southeast, killing more than 200 people and causing immense destruction. President Biden on Thursday took an aerial tour of Florida’s Big Bend where Helene struck as a Category 4 storm. Hundreds of people are still missing and Mr. Biden said the work to rebuild will cost “billions of dollars” as communities suffer still without power, running water and passable roads.
NOAA
Milton is forecast to move across the southwestern Gulf of Mexico through Sunday night then across the south-central Gulf on Monday and Tuesday before reaching Florida’s west coast by the middle of the week, NHC said. Heavy rain is possible in the region starting Sunday into Monday, CBS Miami reported, and more rain and heavy winds will most likely arrive on Wednesday. Hurricane and storm surge watches will most likely be required for portions of Florida starting Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Along with the heavy rainfall, the hurricane center said to expect risks of flooding.
Residents in the area should ensure they have a hurricane plan in place, the National Hurricane Center said, follow the advice of local officials and check back for forecast updates.
