Russian drone strike in northeastern Ukraine kills 9 people, officials say
Kyiv, May 17 (AP): A Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from a front-line area in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region Saturday, killing nine people, Ukrainian officials said, hours after Moscow and Kyiv had held their first direct peace talks in years that failed to yield a ceasefire.
Seven people were also injured in the attack in Bilopillia, a town around 10 kilometres from Russia's border, three of them seriously, according to local Gov Oleh Hryhorov and Ukraine's national police.
The Associated Press couldn't independently verify the report. There was no comment from Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “deliberate killing of civilians,” adding in a post on Telegram messaging app that “Russians could scarcely not realize what kind of vehicle they were hitting.”
He lamented the missed opportunity from Friday's peace talks, saying that “Ukraine has long proposed this — a full and unconditional ceasefire in order to save lives.”
“Russia only retains the ability to continue killing,” Zelenskyy added.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “appalled” by the attack. “If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done,” he wrote on X.
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11k litres of milk poured into Narmada river after religious event; environmentalists see red
Sehore (PTI): Around 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river, often called the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, in Sehore district on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
The event concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a 'mahayagna' on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said.
The milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
"Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals," noted environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube said.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Renowned environmentalist Subhash Pandey said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
"It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide," Pandey pointed out.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
