TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
September 28, 2025
Leopard Spots on Martian Rocks
What is creating these unusual spots? Light-colored spots on Martian rocks, each surrounded by a dark border, were discovered last year by NASA's Perseverance Rover currently exploring Mars. Dubbed leopard spots because of their seemingly similarity to markings on famous Earth-bound predators, these curious patterns are being studied with the possibility they were created by ancient Martian life. The pictured spots measure only millimeters across and were discovered on a larger rock named Cheyava Falls. The exciting but unproven speculation is that long ago, microbes generated energy with chemical reactions that turned rock from red to white while leaving a dark biosignature ring, like some similarly appearing spots on Earth rocks. Although other non-biological explanations have not been ruled out, speculation focusing on this potential biological origin is causing much intrigue.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
>>23665329 PB
'Truly insane': Trump posts bizarre QAnon claim he will heal people with alien 'medbeds'
September 28, 2025 9:18AM ET
President Donald Trump posted a video apparently created by artificial intelligence promising to heal people through a QAnon conspiracy with so-called medbeds involving alien technology.
The video posted on Saturday on Truth Social begins with Lara Trump's likeness announcing that the president had unveiled "a historic new health care system, the launch of America's first medbed hospitals, and a national medbed card for every citizen."
In the video, the president appears to make an announcement from the Oval Office.
"Every American will soon receive their own medbed card," he says.
"With it, you'll have guaranteed access to our new hospitals led by the top doctors in the nation, equipped with the most advanced technology in the world.
These facilities are safe, modern, and designed to restore every citizen to full health and strength."
For years, the QAnon movement has pushed the medbed conspiracy theory as a miracle treatment for cancer.
"Some insist that the technology is secret, unlikely to be encountered by mere mortals, hidden from the public by billionaires and the 'deep state,'" the BBC reported in 2022.
"The more conspiratorial theorising includes speculation about 'alien technology' and bizarre claims like the idea that John F Kennedy is still alive, strapped to a medbed."
Bulwark reporter Will Sommer called the president's promotion of medbeds "truth insane."
https://www.rawstory.com/medbed-trump/
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115279524184169598
https://exopolitics.org/?s=med+bed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak0YgQ7vdeM
Catch up!
chekt
>A Russian submarine with nuclear capability has reportedly suffered a “serious accident” in the Mediterranean Sea.
party like it's 1968
Astronauts welcome NASA's new 'ascans' | On the International Space Station Sept. 22-26, 2025
September 28, 2025
On Monday (Sept. 22), NASA named its next class of astronaut candidates during a ceremony held at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
In addition to recording a message to the new trainees, members of the Expedition 73 crew also shared a photo (below) of them watching Group 24 being introduced.
"To the newest astronaut class, from the crew of Expedition 73 onboard the International Space Station, congratulations and welcome to the Astronaut Corps!" wrote Jonny Kim, a fellow NASA astronaut.
The "ascans" will become eligible for flight assignments after about two years of basic training.
Science status
Among the research that was conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station this week was:
Voyager DNA Decryption — NASA's Jonny Kim sequenced DNA samples as part of a study into using the polymer to securely store and transmit data in space.
The results of this research could help enable longer duration missions into deep space by replacing more bulky data storage techniques.
VIRTUAL —The Spatial Orientation and Interaction of Eisodic Systems Under Conditions of Weightlessness (Virtual) investigation collects data on crew members' vestibular functions "on the disposition of gaze and visual tracking during the course of a long-duration space mission." Cosmonaut Oleg Platonov wore virtual reality glasses and "responded to computer-generated visual stimuli as his eye movements and other physiological reactions were recorded," according to NASA.
SPLANKH — Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, both Roscosmos cosmonauts, scanned each other’s bellies with an ultrasound device after breakfast on Friday (Sept. 26) to gather data on their digestion, metabolism and nutrient delivery as they adjust to the microgravity environment of space.
Station keeping
The Expedition 73 crewmates also took part in activities to maintain the space station's systems and prepare for future research.
NG-23 Cygnus — Mike Fincke and Kimiya Yui on Friday (Sept. 26) continued to unload new science and supplies delivered aboard the S.S. William C. "Willie" McCool, an uncrewed cargo vehicle.
Cubesat — Mike Fincke installed a small satellite (cubesat) on the NanoRacks external platform that will soon be placed outside the space station.
Dragon reboost —A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft fired its thrusters for 15 minutes on Friday (Sept. 26), reboosting the station’s orbit. The maneuver came a day after a first attempt at the reboost was aborted after it was noticed a change of fuel tanks did not take place as expected.
Astronaut activity
Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim spoke with the leader of the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) on Thursday (Sept. 25).
"I believe that the words that you share with us today will be meaningful guidance and inspiration for our future generations who dream of space," said Yoon Youngbin, KASA administrator.
"There is so much to learn about space, and I am very inspired by what Korea is doing to push forward that envelope," said Kim.
The two spoke for about 20 minutes, which you can watch above.
By the numbers
As of Friday (Sep. 26), there are 7 people aboard the International Space Station: Expedition 73 commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos; fellow cosmonauts Alexey Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov; Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke of NASA; and Kimiya Yui of JAXA, all flight engineers.
There are two docked crew spacecraft: SpaceX's Dragon "Endeavour" attached to the zenith port of the Harmony module and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-27 attached to the Earth-facing port of the Prichal node.
There are four docked cargo spacecraft: Roscosmos' Progress MS-31 (92P) docked to the space-facing port of the Poisk module and Progress M-32 (93P) docked to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, SpaceX's CRS-33 Dragon spacecraft docked to the forward port of Harmony Node 2 and Northrop Grumman's NG-23 Cygnus XL, the "SS William C. 'Willie' McCool," berthed to the Unity node.
As of Friday, the space station has been continuously crewed for 24 years, 10 months and 24 days.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/astronauts-welcome-nasas-new-ascans-on-the-international-space-station-sept-22-26-2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zz1yRPsDKQ
The Orionid meteor shower 2025 has begun! See Halley’s Comet spark shooting stars this October
September 28, 2025
The Orionid meteor shower has arrived! Look up on the nights between Oct. 2 to Nov. 12 to see tiny shards of Halley's comet strike Earth's atmosphere to create spectacular shooting stars and fireballs in the night sky.
Orionid meteors are known for leaving glowing trains, or trails, in the night sky and can be spotted each year as Earth dives through the dense trail of debris shed by the wandering Comet 1P/Halley.
In 2025, the Orionids reach their peak activity around Oct. 20-21, when 10-20 shooting stars may be visible each hour, under ideal dark sky conditions, according to Earth Sky.
However, it's worth noting that other organizations have the peak occurring slightly later in the month, with the American Meteor Society forecasting that peak activity for the Orionids will take place on the night of Oct. 22-23, for example.
Meteors associated with the shower will be witnessed streaking away from a point of origin known as a "radiant" located near the stars of the constellation Orion, which will be visible above the southeastern horizon in the early hours of mid-October.
Orionid viewing tips
The best time to hunt for Orionid meteors is in the hours following midnight around the shower's peak, when the radiant will be high in the sky during the monthly new moon phase, leaving the skies blissfully free of natural light pollution.
For the best view, do not look directly at the radiant when hunting for meteors. Instead, pick out a patch of sky 40 degrees above, where the glowing trains will be longest, and allow 30 minutes for your eyes to become fully adapted to the dark.
Remember, the span of your clenched fist held at arm's length accounts for roughly 10 degrees of sky.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteor-showers/orionid-meteor-shower-october-2025-has-begun-halleys-comet-spark-shooting-stars
https://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/everything-you-need-to-know-orionid-meteor-shower/
https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/#Southern+Taurids
See our neighboring galaxy Andromeda shine in stunningly detailed astrophotography portrait
September 28, 2025
Astrophotographer Ronald Brecher has captured a stunning image of our neighboring spiral galaxy, Andromeda, shining in deep space some 2.5 million light-years from Earth.
Brecher's image captured spectacular detail in the sweeping spiral arms of the 260,000 light-year-wide galaxy gleaming with the intense light of star formation.
Dense dust lanes can be seen coiling around Andromeda's glowing galactic center, which is thought to house a supermassive black hole 140 million times more massive than our sun.
The nearby satellite galaxy M32 can also be seen as a bright ball on the upper edge of Andromeda's disk while the milky splash of light below is in fact the elliptical galaxy Messier 110, which plays host to around 10 billion stars of its own.
Brecher captured Andromeda's ancient light over the course of 38 hours between Aug. 17 to Sept. 2 earlier this year from his home in Guelph, Canada, using a Sky-Watcher Esprit 70 EDX refractor with a QHY367C Pro camera and accompanying accoutrements.
"Whenever I look at this galaxy — which is often with my naked eye — I think of the light reaching my eye having begun its journey before humans evolved on earth," wrote Brecher in a post on his website. "Pretty cool".
The Andromeda Galaxy can be found less than 10 degrees to the upper left of Mirach — the brightest star in the Andromeda constellation — in the hours following sunset in late September.
Remember, the span of your clenched fist accounts for 10 degrees of sky!
Until recently, many astronomers were convinced the Andromeda Galaxy would collide and merge with our galaxy in around 4 billion years.
However, recent studies have cast doubt on the entwined fates of our galaxies, with University of Helsinki researcher Til Sawala stating "the probability went from near-certainty to a coin flip" according to his research.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/astrophotography/see-andromeda-galaxy-shine-in-stunningly-detailed-astrophotography-portrait-sept-2025
https://astrodoc.ca/andromeda-galaxy/
https://www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-signature-in-greenlands-ice-might-not-be-from-space-after-all
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0331811
Mysterious Signature in Greenland's Ice Might Not Be From Space After All
29 September 2025
Buried deep in Greenland's ice sheet lies a puzzling chemical signature that has sparked intense scientific debate.
A sharp spike in platinum concentrations, discovered in an ice core (a cylinder of ice drilled out of ice sheets and glaciers) and dated to around 12,800 years ago, has provided support for a hypothesis that the Earth was struck by an exotic meteorite or comet at that time.
Our new research offers a much more mundane explanation: this mystery platinum signature may have originated from a volcanic fissure eruption in Iceland, not space.
The timing matters. The platinum spike occurs near the beginning of our planet's last great cold period, the Younger Dryas Event. This lasted from about 12,870 to 11,700 years ago and saw temperatures plummet across the northern hemisphere.
This happened just as the planet had actually been warming up from the last ice age. Understanding what triggered this cold snap could help us understand how Earth's climate may change in the future.
We propose that this icy phase in Earth's climatic history was in fact caused either by a large volcanic eruption in Germany or by the eruption of an unknown volcano.
A climate mystery
Ice cores show that during the millennium-long Younger Dryas Event, temperatures across Greenland dropped to more than 15°C colder than they are today.
Europe returned to near glacial conditions, with tundra replacing forests that had begun to flourish. Low-latitude rainbelts shifted to the south.
The traditionally accepted explanation involves a massive release of freshwater from melting North American ice sheets. This freshwater pulse disrupted the ocean circulation, affecting temperatures.
However, other researchers have proposed that the event was triggered by a comet or asteroid impact over North America.
In 2013, researchers analysing ice cores drilled as part of the Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP2) discovered platinum concentrations that were well above normal levels.
The ratio of platinum to an element called iridium was also unusual because space rocks usually have high levels of iridium, while the ice core spike does not. The ice core signature was very different from anything seen in known meteorites or volcanic rocks.
The authors of the space impact paper suggested that perhaps the unusual ice chemistry reflected the impact of an unusual asteroid made up of iron.
A subsequent paper proposed that the ice chemistry could reflect the German
Laacher See volcanic eruption, which had an unusual geochemistry and occurred around that time.
To test this idea, we collected and analysed 17 samples of volcanic pumice from deposits left behind by the Laacher See eruption. We measured platinum, iridium, and other trace elements to create a chemical fingerprint of the eruption.
Our results were clear: the Laacher See pumices contain virtually no platinum, with concentrations below or barely at detection limits.
Even though some platinum may have escaped to the atmosphere before being trapped in the rock, the eruption was clearly not the source of Greenland's platinum spike.
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Additionally, when we examined the timing carefully, using updated ice core
chronologies, we found the platinum spike actually occurred about 45 years after the Younger Dryas began – too late to have triggered the cooling.
This result was arrived at independently but was consistent with previous research finding the same thing. Importantly, the elevated platinum concentrations lasted for 14 years, suggesting a prolonged event rather than an instantaneous asteroid or comet impact.
We compared the ice core's chemical signature with various other geological samples and found the closest match was with volcanic gas condensates (the products formed when gases released from a volcano cool from a gas to a liquid or solid state) particularly from submarine volcanoes.
Iceland's volcanoes can produce fissure eruptions lasting years or even decades, matching the 14-year duration of the platinum spike. During the melting phase that preceded the Younger Dryas, Iceland's volcanic activity increased dramatically as melting ice sheets reduced pressure on the Earth's crust.
Crucially, submarine or subglacial eruptions interact with water in ways that could explain the unusual chemistry. Seawater can strip away sulphur compounds while concentrating other elements like platinum in volcanic gases.
These platinum-rich gases could then travel to Greenland and be deposited on the ice sheet, explaining the odd geochemistry.
Recent research on historical Icelandic eruptions supports this mechanism. The 8th-century Katla eruption produced a 12-year spike in heavy metals like bismuth and thallium in Greenland ice cores.
The 10th-century Eldgjá eruption resulted in a cadmium spike within glacial ice. Although platinum was not measured in those studies, these examples show Icelandic volcanoes regularly deliver heavy metals to the Greenland ice sheet.
A smoking gun?
Because of the chronological mismatch, whatever mechanism was responsible for the platinum spike didn't trigger the Younger Dryas.
Our research does, however, highlight previous results showing a massive volcanic sulphate spike in multiple ice cores coinciding precisely with the onset of cooling 12,870 years ago.
This eruption, whether from the Laacher See eruption or an unknown volcano, injected enough sulphur into the atmosphere to rival the largest eruptions in recorded history.
Volcanic eruptions can trigger cooling by releasing sulphur into the stratosphere, reflecting incoming sunlight and potentially setting off a cascade of positive feedbacks including sea ice expansion, changed wind patterns and disruption of ocean currents, though future research needs to explore this further.
The substantial volcanic forcing around the Younger Dryas onset – a time when climate was already sitting between a glacial and an interglacial (the periods between cold snaps) – may have provided the nudge that tipped Earth's climate back into a cold state.
It is important to note that our research focused on the platinum spike and did not consider other evidence, such as spherules (spherical fragments of melted rock) and black mats (mysterious dark layers in soil), for an extraterrestrial impact.
That said, based on our analysis of the new results and existing data, a large northern hemispheric volcanic eruption seems to be the most straightforward explanation for the Younger Dryas Event.
Understanding past climate triggers is vital for anticipating what lies ahead. Although the chance of a large meteorite impact or volcanic eruption in any given year is low, such events are virtually certain to occur eventually.
Knowing how Earth's climate responded in the past is therefore crucial for preparing for the consequences of the next major event.
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Congressman Mike Haridopolos Calls Blue Origin Factory on Merritt Island a ‘Career Engine’ for Florida’s Space Coast
September 27, 2025
Rep. Mike Haridopolos toured Blue Origin’s rocket factory on Merritt Island Friday, calling the sprawling facility a symbol of Florida’s economic growth and America’s renewed push into space.
The congressman, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, walked through sections of the 750,000-square-foot campus where Blue Origin is building its New Glenn rockets.
He said the factory shows how far the Space Coast has come since the end of the shuttle era.
“Just a few years ago, this was barren pasture,” Haridopolos said. “Billions of dollars have been invested — 4,000 jobs and more to come.
America is on a great comeback, and it’s because we’re thinking outside the box.”
Blue Origin employs thousands at the Merritt Island site and has plans to expand further. The company is preparing for lunar lander production that could add 1,500 to 2,000 more jobs in the coming years.
Haridopolos framed the facility as more than just another manufacturing plant. “This isn’t just a job site — it’s a career engine,” he said.
He added that the opportunities created here could help keep young professionals in Florida.
“We want our kids to grow up here, go to school here, and then have careers right here on the Space Coast,” Haridopolos said. “That’s what facilities like this are all about.”
Much of the growth has been fueled by NASA contracts and partnerships with Space Florida.
Haridopolos said the model is proof that government and industry can work together to grow the economy and strengthen the nation’s space program.
“This is a public-private partnership that is creating these jobs and improving our lives,” he said.
He also pointed to the collaboration as critical for U.S. competitiveness.
“If we’re going to stay ahead of China and Russia in space, this is how we do it — through innovation and teamwork,” Haridopolos said.
Key Role in Supporting Artemis
Blue Origin’s rockets and lunar lander are expected to play a key role in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon later this decade.
“We’re confident that once Artemis II is successful, Artemis III will follow — putting astronauts back on the moon and winning the space race,” Haridopolos said.
He added that the program is not only about exploration but also about American leadership.
“Space is the new frontier of global competition,” Haridopolos said. “If we lead here, we lead everywhere else.”
The tour highlighted the Space Coast’s turnaround since the shuttle’s retirement in 2011, when thousands of jobs were lost.
Today, the region is home to booming aerospace activity led by Blue Origin, SpaceX, and other commercial launch companies.
“This is the rebirth of the space industry, and I think it brings a smile to all our faces,” Haridopolos said.
He closed his tour with optimism about Florida’s role in shaping the future. “We’re building not just rockets here — we’re building futures,” Haridopolos said.
“The next generation of explorers, engineers, and innovators will look back and say this is where it all began.”
Blue Origin is preparing for its next New Glenn launch in the coming months. Company leaders say the rocket will eventually support both commercial payloads and NASA missions.
Haridopolos left the tour upbeat, saying the factory is proof that Florida is once again at the center of America’s space ambitions.
https://spacecoastdaily.com/2025/09/congressman-mike-haridopolos-calls-blue-origin-factory-on-merritt-island-a-career-engine-for-floridas-space-coast/
Putin invite to Trump still stands – Kremlin
28 Sep, 2025 15:20
Russian President Vladimir Putin is still ready and willing to host his US counterpart Donald Trump in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
The American leader has been actively engaged in diplomacy with Moscow over the Ukraine conflict but recently has drastically changed his rhetoric.
The White House has initiated numerous rounds of talks with Russian officials since Trump took office in January, which culminated in a summit with Putin in Alaska in mid-August.
At that meeting, the Russian leader extended Trump an invitation to visit the Russian capital. Both men also described the summit positively, with Putin calling it “frank” and “substantive” and Trump hailing it as “productive.”
“This invitation still stands,” Peskov told TASS on Sunday when asked whether Moscow’s position had changed. “Putin is ready and will be glad to meet President Trump. It will then all depend on Trump’s decision.”
For months, Washington insisted that Kiev would need to give up on certain territorial claims for a US-mediated peace deal to move forward. This week however, Trump made a U-turn, claiming that Kiev could defeat Russia and calling Moscow a “paper tiger.”
Peskov had earlier responded to Trump’s remarks by insisting that Russia has traditionally been seen as a bear and that there is “no such thing as a paper bear.”
He also dismissed Trump’s claims about the Russian economy by stating that it had adapted to the ongoing conflict and unprecedented Western sanctions even if it does face certain “problems.”
The Kremlin spokesman still maintained that Putin “highly values” Trump’s efforts to mediate, while describing their relationship as “warm.”
Speaking at the White House earlier this week, Trump stated he would not describe Russia as a “paper tiger” again and was not willing to use the term against “anybody” at all.
https://www.rt.com/russia/625480-putin-invite-trump-stand-kremlin/
SpaceX Starlink Mission
September 28, 2025
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 28 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This will be the 28th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B, NROL-113, NROL-167, NROL-149, NAOS, and 18 Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-11-20
FBI had nearly 300 ‘plainclothes agents’ at Capitol riot – media
27 Sep, 2025 21:10
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had some 274 “plainclothes agents” present during the January 6 Capitol Hill riot, conservative outlet Blaze News reported on Thursday, citing an unnamed senior congressional source.
The new claim contradicts the bureau’s longstanding denial of its alleged heavy presence during the 2021 unrest. Late last year, the US Department of Justice Office of Inspector General said the bureau had no “undercover employees” in the crowds, but acknowledged that 26 FBI confidential informants were present.
At the time, the DOJ inspector general said that four of the informants had entered the Capitol alongside the crowds. Only three of the informants were summoned to Washington to report on “domestic terrorism subjects who were possibly attending the event” in the aftermath.
Blaze News noted that the new information it had learned from the congressional source does not necessarily contradict the official account, given that “undercover employees” and “plainclothes agents” could be treated differently by the bureau.
The report nonetheless drew the ire of US President Donald Trump, who pledged to investigate the claims and bring “dirty cops and crooked politicians” to justice.
The FBI undercover personnel could have been acting as “agitators and insurrectionists” during the January 6 events, Trump alleged.
“I want to know who each and every one of these so-called ‘Agents’ are, and what they were up to on that now ‘Historic’ Day. Many Great American Patriots were made to pay a very big price only for the love of their Country.
I owe this investigation of ‘Dirty Cops and Crooked Politicians’ to them! Christopher Wray, the then Director of the FBI, has some major explaining to do,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The January 6 events prompted a massive FBI investigation, as well as a far-reaching probe into the alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.
The probe resulted in more than 1,500 people being charged with federal crimes, including Trump himself. Trump granted clemency to everyone who faced charges stemming from the riot, with most receiving full pardons.
https://www.rt.com/news/625412-fbi-agents-capitol-riots/
https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-kyiv-drone-attack-df3ec471bacd7395d408cc0d7e68f8b4
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/09/28/russian-missile-and-drone-barrage-kills-4-kyiv-a90646
Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv kills 4 and wounds at least 10, as other regions hit too
Updated 7:49 AM PDT, September 28, 2025
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed a barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine overnight into Sunday, killing at least four people, with Kyiv suffering the heaviest assault.
This is the first major bombardment since an air attack on Ukraine’s capital left at least 21 people dead last month.
Kyiv bears the brunt of the attack
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration, confirmed Sunday’s casualties via Telegram and said that 10 others were wounded in the attack, which targeted civilian areas across the city.
A 12-year-old girl was among the dead. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from a blast near the city center.
“The Russians have restarted the child death counter,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.
Russia fired a total of 595 exploding drones and decoys and 48 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday. Of those, air defenses shot down or jammed 566 drones and 45 missiles.
Besides Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the bombardment targeted the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa. Zelenskyy wrote on X that at least 40 people were wounded across the country.
Later, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry stated the number of the wounded rose to 70, with more than 100 civilian objects damaged.
Zaporizhzhia’s regional head, Ivan Fedorov, said that three children were among the 27 wounded in the region, adding that more than two dozen buildings were damaged in the capital, which that bears the same name.
“This vile attack came virtually (at) the close of U.N. General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position. Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told world leaders on Saturday that his nation doesn’t intend to attack Europe, but will mount a “decisive response” to any aggression.
Residents shaken
The strikes that began overnight and continued after dawn on Sunday also targeted residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, a medical facility and a kindergarten, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who also said that damage was reported at more than 20 locations across the capital.
At Kyiv’s central train station, passengers arrived to the crackle of anti-aircraft gunfire and the low buzz of attack drones. Mostly women, they waited quietly in a platform underpass until the air raid alert ended.
Parents checked the news on their phones while children played online games.
“The sky has turned black again,” said one woman at the station, who gave only her first name, Erika. “It’s happening a lot.”
Ilona Kovalenko, a 38-year-old resident of a five-story building struck in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, told The Associated Press that she woke up because of the explosion, which shattered windows.
“A neighbor kept knocking on our door. She was completely covered in blood and shouting, ‘help, save my daughter,’” said Kovalenko, who fled the building with her grandmother after the strike.
Oleksandra, the neighbor’s daughter, was the 12-year-old killed in the attack. “Sadly, she died on the spot,” Kovalenko said. “We are in shock, to be honest.”
Another multistory residential building was heavily damaged by the attack. Emergency services personnel used power saws to clear the debris. Piles of glass littered nearby sidewalks as building residents, some looking shaken, sat on benches.
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“There are no warehouses or plants here. We were sure that nothing would happen, but it hit us here,” Volodymyr, a retired Kyiv resident who only gave his first name, told the AP at the site of a missile strike.
The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed that Russia’s military only strikes military targets. Russian officials didn’t immediately comment on the latest attacks.
For some Kyiv residents, this wasn’t the first time they had come under Russian attack. Mark Sergeev, a pastor who had already fled Russia-occupied Melitopol, found himself under attack again in Kyiv.
He was sleeping on the second floor with his wife when the blast struck, with his children on the floor above. “There was a blast, and a wardrobe fell on me and I was covered with glass.
My wife was shouting: ‘Mark, where are the kids?’ I felt like this was like a death sentence,” Sergeev said.
He called out to his older son Toper, who responded that he was alive, before pulling his younger child from the debris.
The pastor, who previously testified before U.S. Congress about Christian persecution in Russian-occupied territories, said that the attack brought back painful memories.
“I am a pastor from Melitopol. We had a large Protestant church and a house that I built with my own hands, and the Russian FSB took it away and nationalized it,” he said, describing how Russian forces had forced his family to lie on the ground at gunpoint in 2022.
“And so, we lost our second home again,” Sergeev said.
Polish military responses triggered
The assault also triggered military responses in neighboring Poland, where fighter jets were deployed early Sunday as Russia struck targets in western Ukraine, according to the Polish armed forces.
Polish military officials characterized these defensive measures as “preventative.”
International concerns have mounted recently that the fighting could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders as European countries rebuked Russia for what they said were provocations.
The incidents have included Russian drones landing on Polish soil and Russian fighter aircraft entering Estonian airspace.
Russia denied that its planes entered Estonian airspace and said that none of its drones targeted Poland.
The latest bombardment follows Zelenskyy’s announcement Saturday of what he called a “mega deal” for weapons purchases from the United States.
The $90 billion package includes both the major arms agreement and a separate “drone deal” for Ukrainian-made drones that the U.S. will purchase directly.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday.
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Ukraine's military intelligence claims killing Russian drone operators in occupied Melitopol
September 28, 2025 5:24 pm
Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) claimed on Sept. 28 that it killed at least four Russian drone operators in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
HUR claimed that an explosion rocked a guarded military base on the airfield in occupied Melitopol, destroying a Soviet-era UAZ-452 van and at least four operators who were allegedly inside the vehicle. The video provided by HUR shows the van exiting a facility but doesn't show the explosion.
The Kyiv Independent couldn't independently verify the claim, as information coming from occupied territories is scarce. HUR did not disclose further details of the operation.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine has conducted various high-stakes operations in occupied territories to disrupt the Russian army's logistics and military capacity, as well as to boost morale.
Often using homemade long-range drones, Ukraine is often hitting military targets in occupied territories and deep inside Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not reacted to the Ukrainian claim. Both sides rarely admit military targets taking a hit.
https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-claims-killing-russian-drone-operators-in-occupied-melitopol/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-september-28-2025/
https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/idf-says-it-struck-around-140-terror-targets-in-gaza-as-hamas-claims-ceasefire-talks-suspended
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-868865
Trump reports ‘ALL ARE ON BOARD FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL,’ amid talk of Gaza truce plan
September 28, 2025 3:08 am
7:34 pm
Netanyahu says Abraham Accords ‘will be expanded’ despite Gaza war, Doha strike
Speaking to Fox News ahead of his meeting tomorrow with US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the Abraham Accords are not threatened by Israel’s recent strike against Hamas leaders in Doha or by the ongoing war in Gaza.
He argues that, on the contrary, the normalization agreements “will be expanded” as a result of peace efforts in cooperation with Trump.
“I think there are many possibilities for peace, which I’m discussing with President Trump and his team, and we plan to seize them.
I think you’ll see that not only are the Abraham Accords not endangered, they’ll be expanded to other countries,” Netanyahu tells the network, when pressed about his defense of the strike despite the harsh blowback from Gulf leaders, including the United Arab Emirates, which normalized ties under the accords.
“The Abraham Accords, brokered by President Trump with me and the leader of the UAE, I think they’ve been remarkably resilient and strong. We’ve been after two years of war and they’ve held up very well. We’ve got commerce going both ways,” the premier says.
Netanyahu reiterates his support of the strike in Qatar, saying, “I think that the United States and any self-respecting country doesn’t give a pass to terrorists.
Of course, we weren’t attacking Qatar any more than [the US was] attacking Pakistan when [it] took out [former Al-Qaeda leader Osama] Bin Laden.”
Addressing a clause within Washington’s 21-point plan for ending the war in Gaza that would bar Israel from carrying out future strikes in Qatar, the premier says, “These things, again, will be worked out because our goal was that.
Our goal was Hamas, not anything beyond it. I think we can work out an understanding on this.”
9min ago
Footage shows strike on Gaza City high-rise
Footage shows the Israeli Air Force strike that leveled a high-rise building in Gaza City a short while ago.
The military said the building was used by Hamas. It had issued an evacuation order for those in the vicinity of the building prior to conducting the airstrike.
Watch | The moment Israeli occupation airstrikes completely flattened the Makka residential tower that consisted of 16 floors and 65 apartments in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, west of Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/YiwuzFFEI5
20min ago
Report: ‘Significant gaps’ remain between Israel, US on Gaza war deal
The Kan public broadcaster, citing a source close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports that “significant gaps” remain between the premier and the White House on the conditions for ending the war in the Gaza Strip.
According to the report, Netanyahu, who is set to meet with Trump tomorrow, changed his schedule today in order to meet with his own inner circle of advisors.
He is also expected to meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff before meeting with the US president, the report says.
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36min ago
Netanyahu: Israel would give Hamas leaders safe passage if they end the war, free all hostages freed; thinks PA reform won’t happen
Speaking to Fox News about Washington’s 21-point plan for ending the war in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel would allow Hamas members safe passage if they end the war and release all the hostages, while reiterating his rejection of the Palestinian Authority as a viable ruler of postwar Gaza.
Ahead of his planned meeting with US President Donald Trump tomorrow, Netanyahu stresses that “the details of this have to be worked out,” while telling the network that “if Hamas leaders finish the war, release all the hostages, we let them out.”
“That is something that I’ve said in the past, but it has to be worked out. All of that, I think, is part of the plan. I’m not going to preempt it, because we’re having these discussions exactly right now,” he adds.
Netanyahu also reaffirms his long-standing opposition to the PA governing Gaza after the war — a stance he strongly restated last week at the United Nations General Assembly.
Doubting the PA’s ability to abandon incitement and terror financing, he says:
“I haven’t changed my positions, and I think that the credibility or the likelihood of the things — a reformed Palestinian Authority that changes completely its stripes… Some people will believe it happens. I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
Under the US plan, revealed by The Times of Israel, once the hostages are freed, Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence would be granted amnesty, while those who wish to leave Gaza would receive safe passage to third countries.
The proposal also outlines a potential pathway to a future Palestinian state, contingent on Gaza’s redevelopment and a comprehensive reform of the Palestinian Authority.
1hr ago
Lebanese media report Israeli airstrikes near Nabatieh in country’s south
Lebanese media reports Israeli airstrikes near the southern Lebanon town of Jarmaq, close to Nabatieh.
The IDF has not yet commented.
1hr ago
Netanyahu: Israel ‘working on’ US’s 21-point plan for ending Gaza war, it’s not finalized
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is currently working with US President Donald Trump’s administration to advance the American 21-point plan for ending the war in Gaza, in an interview with Fox News.
“We’re working on it,“ Netanyahu tells the network when asked about the plan, speaking from New York a day before his meeting with Trump at the White House tomorrow.
“It’s not been finalized yet, but we’re working with President Trump’s team, actually, as we speak,” he continues.
“I hope we can make it a go, because we want to free our hostages, we want to get rid of Hamas rule, and have them disarmed, Gaza demilitarized, and a new future set up for Gazans and Israelis alike, and for the whole region,” the premier says.
1hr ago
IDF strikes Gaza City high-rise, after evacuation warning; says it was used by Hamas
Following an evacuation warning, the IDF says it struck a high-rise tower in Gaza City that was being used by Hamas.
According to the military, Hamas set up “military infrastructure” in the building, which was used to advance attacks on Israeli troops in the area.
1hr ago
Netanyahu cancels appearance at JNS conference, amid prep for meeting with Trump
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled his scheduled participation in a Jewish News Syndicate conference in New York City this afternoon, his office confirms.
Netanyahu is reportedly using the time to prepare for his meeting tomorrow with US President Donald Trump in Washington.
The cancellation comes shortly before Netanyahu appears on Fox News.
cont.
Flying J In da house