The US and UK have carried out joint attacks on Houthi military targets in Yemen for the second time.
The strikes targeted a Houthi underground storage site and locations associated with the Houthis’ missile and air surveillance capabilities, a joint statement from the UK, US, Bahrain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands said.
It added that attacks by the Houthis on “international and commercial vessels” in the Red Sea “constitute an international challenge”.
The Ministry of Defence said four RAF Typhoons, supported by a pair of Voyager tankers, “joined US forces in a deliberate strike against Houthi sites in Yemen”.
It added that Paveway IV precision-guided bombs were used to strike “multiple targets at two military sites in the vicinity of Sanaa airfield”.
The MoD continued: “These locations were being used to enable the continued intolerable attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea.”
It said a “very rigorous analysis” was used to minimise any risk of civilian casualties, which included the decision to attack at night.
The Houthis support Hamas and have been attacking ships they claim are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports. However, several of the group’s attacks have been on vessels from other countries.
Image: A tribesman loyal to the Houthis
Houthi media said the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, was among the targets, along with several other areas.
Jamal Hassan, who lives in south Sanaa, said two strikes landed near his home, setting off car alarms in the street.
Aircraft were heard flying over Sanaa, an Associated Press journalist said.
Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, and US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone earlier today about ongoing attacks against naval and merchant vessels, the White House said.
They also discussed trying to secure the release of hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza, the US added.
Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the latest attacks would “deal another blow” to the Houthis’ “limited stockpiles and ability to threaten global trade”.
The risk has always been mission-creep
This is the second major wave of airstrikes carried out by American and British forces on Houthi targets in Yemen in under a fortnight.
The first was intended as a firm punch on the nose, and although the hope was that it would be enough to stop further attacks on Red Sea shipping, few believed that would be the case.
It wasn’t to be so. The Houthis have continued targeting shipping, albeit it at a lower rate than before.
Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak spoke on the phone on Monday evening, but the readout gave few clues about the imminent action.
The risk has always been mission creep, and the two countries being drawn into something they cannot stop.
The strikes on Monday evening show that London and Washington are committed to the operation, at least in the immediate term, but there are many indications this is precisely what the Houthis want – to drag the West in and show the Arab world they are the ones taking on the big powers.
Neither the US nor the UK has articulated an end game but they are now knee deep in a conflict – the Houthis can, and probably will, continue launching cheap drones at ships, while Britain and America will be compelled to hit back with expensive ordnance.
They might have moral, legal and commercial justification but this new phase of operations will trigger more questions about the overall strategy.
Earlier this month, British and American forces bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iran-backed militia in retaliatory strikes following the Red Sea attacks.
The group had defied a warning to stop.
After the first attacks involving British forces, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said “particular care was taken to minimise any risks to civilians” and “any such risks were mitigated further by the decision to conduct the strikes during the night”.
Tonight’s attacks were also carried out under the cover of darkness.
Yemeni press agency, SABA, reported earlier this month that the first UK/US attacks took place in the capital, Sanaa, and the governorates of Sadah, Hodeidah, Taiz, and Dhamar.
A Houthi official said the initial attacks killed at least five people and wounded six, adding that they would not go “unanswered”.
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‘Lights are flashing red on global dashboard’
Lord Cameron, the foreign secretary, has said the actions of the Houthis were “effectively terrorist attacks”, adding: “If you don’t act against the Houthis in the Red Sea, you are going to see more attacks.”
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.