dismissal

After a disappointing start to the season in which UCLA’s offense ranked among the worst in the nation, the Bruins and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri mutually parted ways Tuesday evening, a university official told The Times.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the move has not been publicly announced.

Sunseri becomes the second coordinator to depart in the wake of coach DeShaun Foster’s dismissal, after defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe left earlier this month in another mutual parting of ways.

Tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel will be the offensive playcaller when the Bruins (0-4 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) face No. 7 Penn State (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Plans are underway to finalize additional staff and it is anticipated that former UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone will assume analyst responsibilities, pending completion of the appropriate university processes.

Neuheisel and Mazzone have a long history together, starting when Mazzone was UCLA’s offensive coordinator and Neuheisel a backup quarterback from 2012-15. After a stint playing professionally in Japan, Neuheisel joined Texas A&M’s staff as a quality control assistant before the 2017 season at the urging of Mazzone, then the Aggies’ offensive coordinator.

“He said, ‘You’re coming with me, I don’t care what you say,’ ” Neuheisel recalled. “And I said, ‘You’re right, I’m coming.’ I got on the next plane to Texas A&M.”

Sunseri’s hiring was hailed as a coup for the Bruins given that he was co-offensive coordinator last season at Indiana, which averaged 47.8 points on the way to reaching the College Football Playoff. But the Bruins’ offense has struggled mightily in Sunseri’s first season as a playcaller, averaging 14.2 points to rank No. 132 out of 134 major college teams. UCLA also averaged 321.2 yards per game, ranking No. 117 nationally.

The lack of offensive production has been a big reason why UCLA has fallen behind in every game, trailing 20-0 against Utah, 23-0 against Nevada Las Vegas, 14-0 against New Mexico and 17-0 against Northwestern.

Sunseri also couldn’t replicate the success he had as quarterbacks coach at Indiana and James Madison. While UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava has completed a career-high 65.3% of his passes, he’s averaging only 197 passing yards per game and has logged nearly as many interceptions (three) as touchdowns (four), leading to a career-low quarterback rating.

Mazzone helped generate dynamic, high-scoring offenses in four seasons under then-UCLA coach Jim Mora. Mazzone later served as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M and Arizona before going on to serve in that same capacity for three teams in the United States Football League and United Football League.

Mazzone, 68, favors no-huddle offenses light on plays and heavy on simplicity. He’s also known for tailoring offenses to his personnel, particularly the quarterbacks.

“I try to create space for playmakers,” Mazzone told The Times in 2012. “I’m going to get you the ball where all you’ve got to do is beat one guy man-to-man. I do that, then it’s up to you.”

Neuheisel is a lifelong Bruin, having been born at UCLA Medical Center before going on to play quarterback for the team his father once coached, coming off the bench to lead the Bruins to a come-from-behind victory over Texas in 2014. He returned to his alma mater in 2018 as a graduate assistant before subsequent promotions to wide receivers coach and tight ends coach.

One of Neuheisel’s most visible roles is leading postgame locker-room celebrations after victories, yelling, “It’s a great day to be a Bruin!” before players repeat the phrase.

Neuheisel’s latest promotion to playcaller represents another step toward what he’s long said was his dream job: UCLA head coach.

“I didn’t get to put roses on my shoulder as a player,” Neuheisel told The Times in 2016, referring to a Rose Bowl game tradition, “but I’m going to come back and put the roses on the players as a coach.”

Angela Rayner denies she wanted to dodge the extra tax, adding that she made a ‘mistake’ following legal advice.

United Kingdom Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has admitted she underpaid property tax on a flat she purchased, triggering calls for her sacking, as her party faces sliding poll numbers amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Rayner, who also serves as housing minister, confirmed she owed more tax on a property she bought in Hove, a seaside town in southern England, after initially relying on incorrect advice.

“I’m devastated because I’ve always upheld the rules and always have done,” she told Sky News on Wednesday. “I made a mistake based upon the advice that I relied upon that I received at the time.”

The admission has put her under pressure as Labour struggles in the polls, a year after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s landslide victory.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has surged ahead, with a June YouGov poll projecting Reform would win 271 seats in parliament, pushing Labour down to 178. The Conservatives, who suffered a historic defeat last year, would take just 46 seats.

Rayner, 45, is seen as a future leadership contender, but her future may hinge on an investigation by the government’s independent adviser on ministerial standards. Her opponents have accused her of avoiding 40,000 pounds ($54,000) in stamp duty on a second home by transferring ownership of her primary residence in northern England before buying the Hove property.

Calls to resign

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged Starmer to dismiss her. Starmer defended his deputy, saying she had gone “over and above” transparency requirements regarding her property dealings and that he was “very proud” to work with her.

The Labour government has already been rattled by a string of scandals, with four ministers resigning over misconduct since its election. Both Starmer and Rayner were also criticised earlier this term for accepting high-end clothing donations, a practice they later scrapped.

Known for her blunt style and strong working-class roots, Rayner is widely regarded as one of Labour’s strongest political assets.

She rose to prominence from a modest background, often using her story to connect with disillusioned voters. Political analysts say her appeal among working-class communities is a key part of Labour’s strategy, making her potential downfall a significant blow to Starmer’s leadership team.

The controversy comes as Labour grapples with slowing economic growth, discontent over cuts in welfare schemes, and frustration among voters who backed the party last year, hoping for sweeping change. Pollsters say Reform UK’s surge signals deep public anger at mainstream parties, with Farage positioning himself as the voice of working-class Britons.

With the next election not due until 2029, Labour still has time to recover. But Rayner’s troubles add to a growing list of scandals that have chipped away at Starmer’s authority, fuelling speculation over whether the government can hold on to its massive majority.

Bangkok, Thailand – Thailand’s Constitutional Court is to decide whether to remove suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office over a phone call with Cambodia’s former leader in a ruling that could deal a fatal blow to the embattled Shinawatra dynasty and plunge the Southeast Asian kingdom into political turmoil.

An unfavourable verdict for Paetongtarn on Friday would make her the fifth prime minister since 2008 to be stripped of office by Thailand’s judges, who critics say defend the interests of the country’s royalist-military establishment.

The move could also potentially pave the way for early elections.

Friday’s ruling is also the second in three high-stakes court cases against Paetongtarn, 39, and her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The 76-year-old billionaire, who is a hero to the country’s rural poor and who was ousted in a military coup in 2006, dodged a jail sentence last week when he was acquitted of insulting the country’s powerful monarchy.

But he still faces another case relating to his return to Thailand in 2023 after 16 years in self-imposed exile, which could land him back in prison.

Even if Paetongtarn survives, analysts said the saga, as well as the failure of her Pheu Thai party-led coalition to deliver on key economic pledges, has left the Shinawatra brand in peril.

“I think that the Shinawatra brand is done for,” said Napon Jatusripitak, visiting fellow and acting coordinator of the Thailand Studies Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

“Pheu Thai depends very much on the Shinawatra legacy. … Even the charismatic leadership that Thaksin is often associated with has been chipped away by Paetongtarn’s naivete that has been put on public spectacle on a global scale,” he said, referring to her leaked conversation with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

‘A political case’

During the call, which took place in May after deadly border clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces, Paetongtarn was heard kowtowing to Hun Sen, a longtime friend of her father’s, and calling him “uncle” while criticising a senior Thai army commander and describing him as an “opponent”.

The comments caused a public outcry in Thailand with some Thais accusing her of treason. Paetongtarn apologised for her remarks, but the Constitutional Court took up a petition that accused her of ethical misconduct and suspended her pending a review of the case.

The border conflict, meanwhile, spiralled, killing dozens of people and displacing tens of thousands on both sides of the border.

“Judicial intervention has long shaped Thailand’s politics,” Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, constitutional law scholar at Chulalongkorn University, said, noting how the courts had also intervened to topple Thaksin-aligned prime ministers in 2008 and bar his sister, Yingluck, from office after a coup in 2014.

“Whether [Paetongtarn] survives the court’s judgement or not, the outcome will not hinge on legal arguments but on political instructions,” Khemthong said. “This has never been a matter of law. It is, and always has been, a political case.”

It does not help Paetongtarn that the controversy also has taken place at a time when Pheu Thai’s popularity has been plummeting. In its rocky two years in government, the party has been unable to reset the economy or drive through key policies, including raising the minimum wage, legalising casinos and completing a much-lauded cash handout programme.

Public anger has been seething too over Pheu Thai’s decision to strike a deal with royalist-, military-backed parties to take office in 2023.

During that year’s vote, Pheu Thai came in second to the progressive youth-led Move Forward, but the latter was prevented from forming a government by the conservative-controlled Senate.

It was that same power-sharing deal that saw Thaksin return to Thailand.

Upon his arrival, the politician, who had been sentenced in absentia to eight years on charges of corruption, was sent to jail to serve his sentence. His sentence was reduced by King Maha Vajiralongkorn to one year, but during his first night, he was transferred to a hospital on medical grounds. He spent six months in a hospital suite, after which he was released on parole.

Now, the Supreme Court is to rule on whether his hospital stay was justified in a case that could see him sent back to prison to serve his sentence.

“Thaksin had the moral high ground of being overthrown, from being democratically elected, but he gave up that moral high ground by making a deal with the establishment,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor and senior fellow of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Political Science.

“He’s given up, he’s given in, and I think that the Shinawatra brand now is politically spent.”

But it’s not just the Shinawatras that the conservative forces are after, Thitinan said.

“They’re going after any threat that they see that wants to institute reforms and wants to modernise Thailand. And this is why Thailand has been stuck for the last two decades. Until Thailand can get out of this straightjacket, whereby elected governments get overthrown, through manipulation, subversion, while the autocratic forces that do the overthrowing cannot get elected, it will remain so,” he added.

‘A real-life Squid Game’

Indeed, if Paetongtarn is removed, Thailand could again be in for a period of prolonged uncertainty. That is because the current constitution, drafted under military supervision, allows only politicians who had been nominated for prime minister by their parties before the 2023 elections to take power.

Pheu Thai may put up their final eligible candidate for premier – Chaikasem Nitisiri, a Thaksin loyalist and former justice minister.

Other candidates come from the conservative parties, including Anutin Charnvirakul of the Bhumjaithai Party and Prayuth Chan-ocha, formerly of the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party, who led the 2014 coup and then ruled Thailand for nine years. Prayuth is currently a member of the Privy Council, and he would need to step down to return to politics.

Napon of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute said he believes the royalist-military establishment, after removing Paetongtarn, could be manoeuvring to install a new coalition with Pheu Thai but with the party “relegated to a sort of a junior partner in the coalition” under a conservative leadership “despite them bringing the most seats”.

“Pheu Thai could accept that kind of arrangement given that Thaksin still has a pending case pertaining to his hospital stay,” Napon said. “In the worst case scenario, he could be sent back to serve his time in prison. That could end up being used as leverage to force Pheu Thai back into an unequal power-sharing arrangement with the conservatives once again.”

The continued conservative stranglehold on power has dismayed millions of voters, especially young Thais who say their votes and their aspirations for a greater stake in their country’s future have been ignored.

“Thai democracy exists largely on paper,” Pannika Wanich, a former Move Forward legislator who has been given a lifetime ban from politics, told Al Jazeera.

“Thai politics resembles a real-life Squid Game. Prime ministers are eliminated one after another until the game master gets the player they want. The rules are rigged – and the normal principles of democracy don’t apply.”

The Fox Sports hairstylist who alleged that longtime sports talk show host Skip Bayless made unwanted sexual advances toward her has attempted to have her lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court dismissed, only to be rebuffed by the court.

The request is an indication the parties have reached a settlement, said Edson McClellan, a lawyer with Rutan & Tucker who specializes in high-stakes civil and employment litigation. In addition to Bayless, defendants include Fox Corp. and two additional high-profile former employees at Fox Sports — commentator Joy Taylor and executive Charlie Dixon.

McClellan said the filing for dismissal by plaintiff Noushin Faraji “is a strong indication that a settlement has been reached.”

The court rejected the request for dismissal because, in addition to Faraji alleging sexual battery, retaliation and wrongful termination, the lawsuit added a class action complaint alleging that Fox engaged in “unfair, unlawful, or fraudulent business practices” by failing to pay minimum wages, reimburse business expenses and pay severance to other employees as well.

For the settlement with Faraji to take place, her lawyers must either refile the lawsuit without the class action complaint or file a declaration explaining why the individual complaint should be dismissed while the class action complaint continues to move forward, according to Alexander R. Wheeler, a partner with the Parris Law Firm.

“The judge sits in an advisory, almost fiduciary relationship with those who stand to benefit from the class action,” Wheeler said. “If the case was settled to the single plaintiff, the judge might say, ‘Hold on, what’s the deal with the class action?’ Judges do not want plaintiffs using the threat of class action to extract a better settlement.”

Faraji’s allegations in the 42-page lawsuit in January had serious consequences for Bayless, Taylor and Dixon. All three were fired, although Taylor and a lawyer for Dixon said their employment with Fox ended for reasons other than the lawsuit.

“For over a decade at Fox, Faraji was forced to endure a misogynistic, racist, and ableist workplace where executives and talent were allowed to physically and verbally abuse workers with impunity,” the lawsuit alleged.

Faraji accused Bayless, 73, of offering her $1.5 million to have sex with him. Bayless worked at Fox Sports from 2016 until 2024, when his show “Undisputed” was canceled after a dip in ratings coincided with the departure of his co-host, former NFL star Shannon Sharpe.

In a separate case, Sharpe in July reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with a woman who accused the Hall of Fame tight end of sexual assault and battery. Sharpe was fired as a commentator on ESPN’s “First Take” after the settlement was completed.

Faraji’s lawsuit alleges that Dixon made an unwanted pass at her during a birthday party for Taylor at a Hollywood restaurant in 2017. Faraji told Taylor about the episode, but Taylor responded by saying, “Get over it,” pointing out that “she herself only had her job because of Mr. Dixon and that Ms. Faraji only had her job because Ms. Taylor requested her,” and “she warned that Mr. Dixon could take both away,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also details an alleged ongoing affair between Taylor and Dixon as well as a romantic relationship between Taylor and another Fox co-host, Emmanuel Acho.

On the “Hot Mics With Billy Bush” podcast a few days ago, Taylor said the allegations weren’t the reason she was let go by Fox.

“I will say that that situation and that suit had nothing to do with the changes that happened at FS1,” she said. “I mean, I think from a logical standpoint, everyone can just look at it and see what the changes were and that there were three shows that were cut.”

In a court filing denying Faraji’s allegations, Taylor’s attorney wrote that her client “welcomes the opportunity to publicly prove that her inclusion in this action is improper.”

Faraji accused Dixon, the FS1 executive producer of content, of sexual harassment. Former network anchor and reporter Julie Stewart-Binks also accused him in a separate lawsuit.

An attorney for Dixon said in a statement emailed to The Times in April that his client had been told by Fox Sports “that he was being let go for violating company policy” in a matter that had nothing to do with the lawsuits.

“According to the network, Mr. Dixon did not disclose to human resources or the legal department that a third-party production company had hired his wife as a temporary freelancer,” attorney John Ly wrote.

Bayless denied “each and every allegation” made by Faraji in a court filing in February, asserting that he “acted with a good faith belief that he had good cause to act as he did” and none of his actions “were in bad faith, spiteful, malicious, or otherwise motivated by any ill-will or illegal intent.”

Faraji alleged that Bayless made repeated unwanted advances toward her during and after she gave him weekly haircuts, and he offered to pay her for sex.

“Mr. Bayless began finding excuses to touch Ms. Faraji,” the lawsuit states. “He would give her lingering hugs after each haircut, putting his body against her own, pressing against her breasts. He then began to kiss her on her cheeks. Ms. Faraji was uncomfortable by the physical contact and would make excuses to leave right after the haircuts.”

In July 2021, the lawsuit states, Faraji explained to Bayless that she was undergoing biopsies to determine whether she had cancer. “Mr. Bayless then grabbed her hands, began kissing them, and offered her $1.5 million to have sex,” according to the lawsuit. “Approximately one week later, Mr. Bayless made another advance at Ms. Faraji. Ms. Faraji responded: ‘Skip, stop, you have a wife.’”

Lawyers for Fox and the defendants went through mediation in March but could not resolve the case, according to a court filing in April. Faraji’s lawyers wrote that “while the parties did not resolve at mediation, they are continuing to engage in settlement discussions with the mediator.”

Laurie L. Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School and former federal prosecutor, said a settlement likely would be imminent once the class action portion of the lawsuit is addressed to the judge’s satisfaction and the individual complaint is dismissed. Non-disclosure agreements could keep the details from being made public.

“We don’t know who is paying what,” she said. “Were admissions involved? So many cases like this involve non-disclosures. But having gone through mediation, it sounds like they went a long way toward reaching a settlement, and they are at that stage now.”

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Trump administration has dismissed five out of seven members on Puerto Rico’s federal control board that oversees the U.S. territory’s finances, sparking concern about the future of the island’s fragile economy. The five fired are all Democrats.

A White House official told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the board “has been run inefficiently and ineffectively by its governing members for far too long and it’s time to restore common sense leadership.”

Those fired are board Chair Arthur Gonzalez, along with Cameron McKenzie, Betty Rosa, Juan Sabater and Luis Ubiñas. The board’s two remaining members — Andrew G. Biggs and John E. Nixon — are Republicans.

Sylvette Santiago, a spokesperson for the board, said they are in touch with the White House.

The board was created in 2016 under the Obama administration, a year after Puerto Rico’s government declared it was unable to pay its more than $70-billion public debt load and later filed for the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

In remarks to the AP, the White House official claimed the board had operated ineffectively and in secret and said it “shelled out huge sums to law, consulting and lobbying firms.” The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the subject, also accused the board’s staff of receiving “exorbitant salaries.”

Puerto Rico is struggling to restructure more than $9 billion in debt held by the state’s Electric Power Authority, with officials holding bitter mediations with creditors demanding full payment.

It’s the only Puerto Rico government debt pending a restructuring, with the White House official accusing the board of preferring to “extend the bankruptcy.”

In February, the board’s executive director, Robert Mujica Jr., said it was “impossible” for Puerto Rico to pay the $8.5 billion that bondholders are demanding. He instead unveiled a new fiscal plan that proposed a $2.6-billion payment for creditors. The plan does not call for any rate increases for an island that has one of the highest power bills in any U.S. jurisdiction as chronic power outages persist, given the grid’s weak infrastructure.

Alvin Velázquez, a bankruptcy law professor at Indiana University, said he worries the dismissal of the board members could spark another crisis in Puerto Rico.

“This is really about getting a deal out of [the power company] that is not sustainable for the rate payers of Puerto Rico,” he said.

Velázquez, who was chair of the unsecured creditors committee during the bankruptcy proceedings, also questioned whether the dismissals are legal, since board members can only be removed for just cause.

“What’s the cause?” he said. “What you’re going to see is another instance in which the Trump administration is taking on and testing the courts.”

The dismissals were first reported by the Breitbart News Network, a conservative news site.

Coto writes for the Associated Press.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli Cabinet on Monday voted unanimously to fire the attorney general, escalating a long-running standoff between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the judiciary that critics see as a threat to the country’s democratic institutions.

The Supreme Court froze the move while it considers the legality of it.

Netanyahu and his supporters accuse Atty. Gen. Gali Baharav-Miara of exceeding her powers by blocking decisions by the elected government, including a move to fire the head of Israel’s domestic security agency, another ostensibly apolitical office. She has said there is a conflict of interest because Netanyahu and several former aides face a series of criminal investigations.

Critics accuse Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, of undermining judicial independence and seeking to concentrate power in the hands of his coalition government, the most nationalist and religious in Israel’s history. Netanyahu denies the allegations and says he is the victim of a witch hunt by hostile judicial officials egged on by the media.

An attempt by Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judiciary in 2023 sparked months of mass protests, and many believe it weakened the country ahead of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack later that year that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a prominent watchdog group, said it filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court following Monday’s vote. It said more than 15,000 citizens have joined the petition, calling the dismissal “illegal” and “unprecedented.”

In a statement, the group accused the government of changing dismissal procedures only after failing to legally remove Baharav-Miara under the existing rules. It also cited a conflict of interest related to Netanyahu’s ongoing trial.

“This decision turns the role of the attorney general into a political appointment,” the group said. “The legal battle will continue until this flawed decision is overturned.”

WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday the U.S. will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after ordering a pause in critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv.

The comments by Trump appeared to be an abrupt change in posture after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back delivering to Ukraine some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons because of what U.S. officials said were concerns that stockpiles have declined too much.

“We have to,” Trump said. ”They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now. We’re going to send some more weapons — defensive weapons primarily.”

The pause had come at a difficult moment for Ukraine, which has faced increasing — and more complex — air barrages from Russia during the more than three-year-long war. Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least 11 civilians and injured more than 80 others, including seven children, officials said Monday.

The U.S. turnaround on weapons for Ukraine

The move last week to abruptly pause shipments of Patriot missiles, precision-guided GMLRS, Hellfire missiles and Howitzer rounds and weaponry took Ukrainian officials and other allies by surprise.

The Pentagon affirmed late Monday that at Trump’s direction, it would resume weapons shipments to Ukraine “to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops.” Still, spokesman Sean Parnell added that its framework for Trump to evaluate military shipments worldwide continues as part of “America First” defense priorities.

Trump, speaking at the start of a dinner he was hosting for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, vented his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has struggled to find a resolution to the war in Ukraine but maintains he’s determined to quickly conclude a conflict that he had promised as candidate to end of Day One of his second term.

He has threatened, but held off on, imposing new sanctions against Russia’s oil industry to try to prod Putin into peace talks.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said last week that Trump has given him the go-ahead to push forward with a bill he’s co-sponsoring that calls, in part, for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil. The move would have huge ramifications for China and India, two economic behemoths that buy Russian oil.

“I’m not happy with President Putin at all,” Trump said Monday.

Russia’s transport minister is found dead

Separately, Russia’s transport minister was found dead in what authorities said was an apparent suicide — news that broke hours after the Kremlin announced he had been dismissed by Putin.

The firing of Roman Starovoit followed a weekend of travel chaos — airports grounded hundreds of flights due to the threat of drone attacks from Ukraine. Russian officials did not give a reason for his dismissal.

Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed at airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but Russian commentators said the air traffic disruptions have become customary amid frequent Ukrainian drone raids and were unlikely to have triggered his dismissal.

Starovoit, 53, served as Russia’s transport minister since May 2024. Russian media have reported that his dismissal could have been linked to an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for building fortifications in the Kursk region, where he served as governor before being appointed transportation minister.

The alleged embezzlement has been cited as one of the reasons for deficiencies in Russia’s defensive lines that failed to stem a surprise Ukrainian incursion in the region launched in August 2024.

Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said.

Russia recently has intensified its airstrikes on civilian areas. In the past week, Russia launched some 1,270 drones, 39 missiles and almost 1,000 powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday.

Russia’s bigger army also is trying hard to break through at some points along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620 miles) front line, where Ukrainian forces are severely stretched.

Ukraine calls for more military aid

The strain of keeping Russia’s invasion at bay, the lack of progress in direct peace talks and last week’s halt of some promised U.S. weapons shipments have compelled Ukraine to seek more military help from the U.S. and Europe.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the pause in weapons to Ukraine came as part of a “standard review of all weapons and all aid” that the U.S. “is providing all countries and all regions around the world. Not just Ukraine.”

Leavitt said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the global review to ensure that “everything that’s going out the door aligns with America’s interests.”

Zelensky says Ukraine has signed deals with European allies and a leading U.S. defense company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives “hundreds of thousands” more this year.

“Air defense is the main thing for protecting life,” Zelensky wrote Monday on Telegram.

That includes developing and manufacturing interceptor drones that can stop Russia’s long-range Shahed drones, he said.

Extensive use of drones also has helped Ukraine compensate for its troop shortages on the front line.

One person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, another person was killed and 71 were injured in northeastern Kharkiv, and falling drone debris caused damage in two districts of Kyiv, the capital, during nighttime drone attacks, Ukrainian authorities said.

Russian short-range drones also killed two people and injured two others in the northern Sumy region, officials said. Sumy is one of the places where Russia has concentrated large numbers of troops.

Also, nine people were injured and seven killed in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, regional head Vadym Filashkin said.

More Russian long-range drone strikes Monday targeted military mobilization centers for the third time in five days, in an apparent attempt to disrupt recruitment, Ukraine’s Army Ground Forces command said.

Regional officials in Kharkiv and southern Zaporizhzhia said at least 17 people were injured.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday that its troops shot down 91 Ukrainian drones in 13 Russian regions overnight, as well as over the Black Sea and the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Novikov and Madhani write for the Associated Press. AP writer Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.