‘I hope they won’t reach us’ – Russian fears grow over long-range missile strikes

Published

10 months ago

September 13, 2024

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The last time war came to Oryol was 1941. It came under Nazi occupation, before becoming one of the first major cities to be liberated by the Soviet Red Army.

More than 80 years on, fighting is not far away once again.

Ukraine’s incursion into the neighbouring Kursk region is little more than 100 miles south, and if the West does allow Kyiv to strike deeper inside Russia, Oryol would be in range.

“I am worried, of course I am,” Olga told Sky News, near Lenin Square, in the centre of the city.

“But I hope they won’t reach us. I really hope so.”

Not everyone was happy to speak to us.

“Great Britain is our enemy,” Mikhail said, when we told him we were from the UK.

But after initially declining to give his opinion, he elaborated: “[The West] will give permission now and the missile hits where we stand. And where will we be? In the cemetery.”

If the West does give Kyiv the green light to use their long-range missiles, civilians won’t be the target though.

Instead, it’ll be the launchers and runways that send Russian rockets into Ukraine, something Moscow has been doing for quite some time. But that fact is conveniently overlooked.

“I condemn Blinken’s position,” Leonid tells us, referencing the US secretary of state’s comments that Washington is “not ruling out” giving Kyiv permission.

“Of course, [the missiles] could reach here, without a doubt, but only if our valiant armed forces allow them to.”

Despite this apparent new threat, life in Oryol continues as normal.

Signs of the current conflict, like recruitment posters and military murals, have become part of the landscape.

The latest addition are makeshift bomb shelters. They appeared shortly after Ukraine’s cross-border assault, which has now been going on for nearly six weeks.

The shelters are a clear indication that things aren’t going to plan for Russia. This was never part of the script.

But that’s not how people in Oryol see it, including those who have been displaced by the fighting.

Anna Konstantinova and her family, including three-month-old Anna, fled their home near the border in Rylsk when the incursion began, and are now being housed at a guesthouse in Bolkhov, north of Oryol.

She was told they’d be able to return home after a few days, but it’s now been a month. Yet she still believes the Kremlin’s message that everything is under control.

“In war, there are mistakes,” Anna said. “But I believe that everything will work out and everything will be fine.”

Even now, two and a half years into a war that was supposed to last a few days, the wisdom of the so-called Special Military Operation (SMO) is not questioned.

“If they hadn’t started the SMO, [Ukraine] would have simply attacked Russia,” asserted Anna, repeating the reasoning Vladimir Putin gave when he launched the full-scale invasion.

‘Drones were flying over our heads’

Lyudmila, 85, is another evacuee at the guesthouse after fleeing her home near Sudzha.

“It was terrifying,” she told us.

“When we were driving, drones were flying over our heads. And one drone, or shrapnel, hit our car and broke the side window. I don’t know how we survived.”

For her, though, this isn’t the first time she’s seen Russia invaded.

She was alive when the Germans came and is certain that Russia will again emerge victorious.

“We’ve always won,” said Lyudmila, bursting with pride.

“We fought with the French for so long before, we fought with the Germans a long time ago and won, the Mongols and the Tatars.

“The Russian people have always won, because they are so courageous and they are kind. They don’t want war.”

However to Ukraine, it’s very clear Russia does want war, and it’s why the West is considering giving Kyiv more help.

World

Defiance in Tehran as Khamenei makes appearance

Published

4 hours ago

July 6, 2025

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Defiance in Tehran as Khamenei makes appearance

They rose to their feet in ecstatic surprise, shouting “heydar, heydar” – a Shia victory chant.

This was the first public appearance of their supreme leader since Israel began attacking their country.

He emerged during evening prayers in his private compound. He said nothing but looked stern and resolute as he waved to the crowd.

He has spent the last weeks sequestered in a bunker, it is assumed, for his safety following numerous death threats from Israel and the US.

His re-emergence suggests a return to normality and a sense of defiance that we have witnessed here on the streets of Tehran too.

Earlier, we had filmed as men in black marched through the streets of the capital to the sound of mournful chants and the slow beat of drums, whipping their backs with metal flails.

This weekend they mark the Shia festival of Ashura as they have for 14 centuries. But this year has poignant significance for Iranians far more than most.

The devout remember the betrayal and death of Imam Hussein as if it happened yesterday. We filmed men and women weeping as they worshipped at the Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine in northern Tehran.

The armies of the Caliph Yazid killed the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh-century Battle of Karbala.

Shiite Muslims mark the anniversary every year and reflect on the virtue it celebrates, of resistance against oppression and injustice.

But more so than ever in the wake of Israel and America’s attacks on their country.

The story is one of prevailing over adversity and deception. A sense of betrayal is keenly felt here among people and officials.

Many Iranians believe they were lured into pursuing diplomacy as part of a ruse by the US.

Iran believed it was making diplomatic progress in talks with America it hoped could lead to a deal. Then Israel launched its attacks and, instead of condemning them, the US joined in.

Death to Israel chants resounded outside the mosque in skies which were filled for 12 days with the sounds of Israeli jets. There is a renewed sense of defiance here.

One man told us: “The lesson to be learned from Hussein is not to give in to oppression even if it is the most powerful force in the world.”

A woman was dismissive about the US president. “I don’t think about Trump, nobody likes him. He always wants to attack too many countries.”

Pictures on billboards nearby draw a line between Imam Hussein’s story and current events. The seventh-century imam on horseback alongside images of modern missiles and drones from the present day.

Other huge signs remember the dead. Iran says almost 1,000 people were killed in the strikes, many of them women and children.

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Officially Iran is projecting defiance but not closing the door to diplomacy.

Government spokeswoman Dr Fatemeh Mohajerani told Sky News that Israel should not even think about attacking again.

“We are very strong in defence and as state officials have announced, this time Israel will receive an even stronger response compared to previous times,” she said.

“We hope that Israel will not make such a mistake.”

But there is also a hint of conciliation: Senior Iranian officials have told Sky News that back-channel efforts are under way to explore new talks with the US.

Israel had hoped its attacks could topple the Iranian leadership. That proved unfounded, the government is in control here.

For many Iranians, it seems quite the opposite happened – the 12-day war has brought them closer together.

World

‘Nobody likes Trump’: Sky News finds defiance on the streets of Tehran

Published

16 hours ago

July 5, 2025

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'Nobody likes Trump': Sky News finds defiance on the streets of Tehran

To the sound of mournful chants and the slow beat of drums, they march, whipping their backs with metal flails.

It is an ancient ceremony going back almost 14 centuries – the Shia commemoration of Ashura.

But this year in particular has poignant significance for Iranians.

The devout remember the betrayal and death of the Imam Hussein as if it happened yesterday.

We filmed men and women weep as they worshipped at the Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine in northern Tehran.

The grandson of the Prophet Muhammad was killed by the armies of the Caliph Yazid in the seventh century Battle of Karbala.

Shia Muslims mark the anniversary every year and reflect on the virtue it celebrates – of resistance against oppression and injustice. But more so than ever this year, in the wake of Israel and America’s attacks on their country.

The story is one of prevailing over adversity and deception. A sense of betrayal is keenly felt here by people and officials.

Many Iranians believe they were lured into pursuing diplomacy as part of a ruse by the US.

Iran believed it was making diplomatic progress in talks with America, which it hoped could lead to a deal. Then Israel launched its attacks and, instead of condemning them, the US joined in.

“Death to Israel” chants resounded outside the mosque in skies that for 12 days were filled with the sounds of Israeli jets.

There is a renewed sense of defiance here.

One man told us: “The lesson to be learned from Hussein is not to give in to oppression, even if it is the most powerful force in the world.”

A woman was dismissive about the US president.

“I don’t think about Trump. Nobody likes him. He always wants to attack too many countries.”

Pictures on billboards nearby link Imam Hussein’s story and current events. They show the seventh century imam on horseback alongside images of modern missiles and drones from the present day.

Other huge signs remember the dead. Iran says almost 1,000 people were killed in the strikes, many of them women and children.

Officially Iran is projecting defiance, but not closing the door to diplomacy.

Government spokeswoman Dr Fatemeh Mohajerani told Sky News that Israel should not even think about attacking again.

“We are very strong in defence, and as state officials have announced, this time Israel will receive an even stronger response compared to previous times. We hope that Israel will not make such a mistake.”

But there is also a hint of conciliation. Senior Iranian officials have told Sky News back-channel efforts are under way to explore new talks with the US.

Israel had hoped its attacks could topple the Iranian leadership. Those hopes proved unfounded. The government is in control here.

For many Iranians it seems quite the opposite happened – the 12-day war has brought them closer together.

World

Two security workers injured after grenades thrown at aid site, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says

Published

19 hours ago

July 5, 2025

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Two security workers injured after grenades thrown at aid site, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says

Two American security workers in Gaza were injured after grenades were thrown during food distribution in Khan Younis, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has said.

In a statement, the US and Israeli-backed aid group said a targeted terrorist attack was carried out at one of its sites in southern Gaza on Saturday morning.

The two Americans injured “are receiving medical treatment and are in stable condition,” it said, adding that the delivery of aid was “otherwise successful” and that “no local aid workers or civilians were harmed”.

GHF didn’t say exactly when the incident happened but claimed Hamas was behind the attack, adding: “GHF has repeatedly warned of credible threats from Hamas, including explicit plans to target American personnel, Palestinian aid workers, and the civilians who rely on our sites for food.

“Today’s attack tragically affirms those warnings.”

Later, the aid group posted a picture on social media, which it said showed “fragments of a grenade packed with ball bearings” that was used in the attack.

Asked by Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, whether the two injured individuals were responsible for handing out aid or were responsible for providing security, GHF said they were “American security workers” and “two American veterans.”

The aid group did not provide specific evidence that Hamas was behind the attack.

The US and Israeli-backed group has been primarily responsible for aid distribution since Israel lifted its 11-week blockade of the Gaza Strip in May.

It comes after Sky News analysis showed GHF aid distributions are associated with a significant increase in deaths in Gaza.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, 600 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid from GHF sites as of 3 July, which charities and the UN have branded “death traps”.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press has reported that Israeli-backed American contractors guarding GHF aid centres in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades.

GHF has vehemently denied the accusations, adding that it investigated AP’s allegations and found them to be “categorically false”.

Israel’s military added that it fires only warning shots and is investigating reports of civilian harm.

It denies deliberately shooting at any innocent civilians and says it’s examining how to reduce “friction with the population” in the areas surrounding the distribution centres.