A Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig in the center of the country on Friday killed three people and wounded others, the regional governor said.

"Three people were killed by the Russian army when it struck Kryvyi Rig," the governor of the wider Dnipropetrovsk region, Sergiy Lysak, wrote on Telegram, adding that others had been wounded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact Friday as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging Western sanctions.

Russian and Iranian officials say the "comprehensive strategic partnership treaty" covers all areas -– from trade and military cooperation to science, education and culture.

Japan on Thursday formally inaugurated an independent mission to the NATO military alliance as Tokyo and NATO seek to bolster cooperation amid escalating tension from Russia, China and North Korea.

Previously, the Japanese embassy in Belgium also covered NATO. The new mission is led by Osamu Izawa, who takes over the role currently filled by the ambassador to Belgium, Masahiro Mikami.

After forging unexpectedly fond ties with U.S. President Joe Biden, Italy's right-wing Premier Giorgia Meloni is poised to leverage a more natural alliance with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that positions her as a key interlocutor between the U.S. and Europe.

Weeks before his inauguration, Meloni met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago retreat, a visit that she said went "beyond expectations." The trip, she said, "was an opportunity to confirm a relationship that promises to be very solid,'' adding diplomatically, "I don't know if I can say privileged."

Air raid sirens and loud blasts rang out over Kyiv on Thursday during a visit to the Ukrainian capital by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, AFP journalists reported.

Officials in Kyiv said that air defense systems in the center of the city were engaging enemy targets, after the air force warned of an enemy drone attack. AFP reporters in central Kyiv saw a drone flying overhead.

President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump are both claiming credit for Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire deal in Gaza on Wednesday after the White House brought Trump's Middle East envoy into negotiations that have dragged on for months.

Trump wasted no time in asserting he was the moving force behind the deal. Biden, meanwhile, stressed that the deal was reached under "the precise contours" of a plan that he set out in late May.

U.S. President Joe Biden urged Americans Wednesday to stand guard against a "dangerous" oligarchy forming under Donald Trump as he delivered a dark farewell address before stepping down next week.

In a primetime speech from the Oval Office at the end of his single term in office, he warned of an ultra-wealthy "tech industrial complex" that he said could gain unchecked power over the American people.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is cohosting a reception with billionaire Republican donors next week for Donald Trump's inauguration, the latest sign of the Facebook founder's embrace of the president-elect.

The reception cohosted by Zuckerberg is set for Monday evening, shortly before the inaugural balls, according to two people familiar with the private plans who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss them.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Russia on Wednesday of planning acts of sabotage worldwide that included "acts of air terror" against airlines.

Tusk spoke at a news conference in Warsaw alongside Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy.

Russia on Wednesday launched a major ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine, targeting energy production and compelling authorities to shut down the power grid in some areas despite freezing winter weather, officials said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that it launched a strike on "critically important facilities of gas and energy infrastructure that ensure the functioning of Ukraine's military industrial complex." It didn't give the target locations or other details.