Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, will today in Lagos, receive the athletes, who did the nation proud at the just concluded African U18 and U20 Athletics Championship in Ndola, Zambia.

The first batch of Nigerian contingent to the championship arrived in Lagos yesterday afternoon. Team Nigeria, with a small contingent of 41 athletes, finished second on the final medals table behind South Africa with 17 gold, 10 silver and 9 bronze. South Africa paraded a large squad of 120 people, including 105 athletes at the battle of Ndola.

Speaking with our correspondent yesterday on arrival in Lagos, female hurdler, Osamuyi Faith, who won a gold and silver in the relay and 100m hurdles respectively, said that she was excited to be part of the trip to Zambia.

“I am so happy to make the trip to Zambia, and I appreciate the AFN leadership for the opportunity.”

Another athlete, Ewa Peace, who got a silver medal in the high jump event, was also full of happiness, saying the battle of Ndola afforded her the opportunity to meet with athletes from different parts of Africa.

President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, yesterday, said that the Sports Minister, Dare, has promised to be on ground in Lagos today to receive the second batch of the athletes and officials.

Meanwhile, the Technical Director of AFN, Samuel Onikeku, has explained why the athletes and officials traveled to Zambia in two batches.

“It is sad that some Nigerians will just wake up and start criticising what we are doing without taking their time to find out the actual position of things. This championship was earlier scheduled to hold in Nusaka, but was moved to Ndola at the dying minutes.”

It was not possible for us to get over 50 seats in one airline. Even other countries like Egypt also traveled on different airlines to the championship. People should appreciate the effort of the present AFN board. Let us also celebrate the athletes for a job well done,” Onikeku stated.

The Guardian

When we think of potential career paths, the popular ones that come to mind are doctor, teacher, lawyer, etc., but there are so many jobs that never even cross our minds. Things are the way they are, the world functions the way it functions, and we don't even consider how certain things exist or are maintained. Well, some folks shared the jobs they've done that people don't even know exist, and it's all super enlightening. Scroll down and see for yourself!

The following is a compilation of submissions from threads that can be found here, here, and here.

1. "I used to put timestamps on Netflix videos for the 'Skip Intro' button. I would wake up, log on to a special page, and have a list of videos/shows to timestamp. I was paid for eight hours of work a day, and most days I could breeze through my daily workload in two to three hours."

—TexasCplL

2. "Have you ever sung karaoke? Well, not many people realize that somebody has to match those lyrics to the song and properly time their appearance. That was my job senior year of high school. There's an art to it. I took it very seriously. 'Pop Hits Monthly 2000-2001.' That's me, baby!"

—burtwinters

3. "I once worked for a newborn photography agency as a 'Bereavement Coordinator.' The rest of the company centered around photos of newborns taken in the hospital after their birth, but I dealt with the non-profit side of the business. Essentially, my job was to sort through hospital photos of babies that were either miscarried or stillbirths, who died in the hospital. I'd choose the best photos and do some light corrections, get them printed, and create a memorial packet for the parents that was then sent to the hospital's bereavement program for any parent who wanted the photos."

—skjori

4. "I compose music and design sound effects for slot machines. I live in Vegas, but still, few people outside of the slot industry know my job exists. Makes for a bit of interesting conversation."

—musicman702

5. "I'm a prop shopper for a popular TV show. Basically, I show up, the designer tells me what specific prop the show needs for the taping, and it's my job to go buy or rent it. It's fun because they ask you to get ridiculous stuff sometimes and it's a challenge to find it."

—77Columbus

6. "A horse braider. Not a breeder, but a braider. My mom braids horses' manes and tails for horse shows. It’s quite lucrative, as everything to do with horses is expensive."

—illbethegreatest

7. "Wide format printing. Ever see a really big, vinyl banner hanging up at an event? Trade show flags and retractable graphics? Plastic or foamcore signage? I get to play with a flatbed printer that is 10 feet wide and eight feet deep. Organizations contact me, I get them a quote based on material costs, how fast my printer can print, and production time (trimming, hemming, grommets, etc.)."

—[deleted]

8. "The department of Weight and Measures. They check to make sure gas stations are accurate, e.g. they actually pump one gallon of gas when the pump displays that a gallon has been pumped."

—Stimperonovitch

9. "I graphic design coupons onto the back of receipts."

—Separate-The-Earth

10. "Getting rid of commercials in sports bars, and replacing them with endless amounts of media customizable by the consumer. My job as quality control is to push a button on an iPad when, ESPN for example, switches from a program to a commercial. It triggers the change in all restaurants/bars using the service (like Dave & Buster's)."

—heny935

11. "Instructing at a mermaid school. I teach classes where people learn how to swim and do tricks with a mermaid tail on. We also host birthday parties and bachelorette parties. The real fun part is modeling as a mermaid for promotional photos/videos."

—Secret_ice_cream

12. "Making clothes for Barbies. My mom did this as a textile engineer for Mattel. When she retired from the job, they gave her a miniature Barbie that was made to look like exactly like her. The doll has clothes my mom would wear and a whole office cubicle with miniature pictures of my family on her desk. It's pretty cool."

—fangxx456

13. "Underwater construction/salvage/inspection. I’m a commercial diver and I get called for pretty much any job that requires something be done underwater gets. It’s loads of fun and the pay is great!"

—19jos95

14. "I attempt to read addresses on mail that machines can't."

—aziraphale60

15. "Building hiking trails. A lot of people assume they're just naturally formed or something, but that's the goal of a good trail builder."

—Lo-def

16. "You know those fire evacuation maps that are entirely useless because nobody's gonna stop and look at a map on their way out of a burning building? Yeah, I design those."

—Stebraul

17. "You know those big companies with millions of fans on Facebook, Twitter, and such? You know when they make a new post and it gets like a bunch of comments, which have tons of spam and swear words and inappropriate content in them? I had a job where I would read over ALL of the comments and clear them according to guidelines set by the client."

—scrat55

18. "I get paid to be a live mannequin. No, not a model that poses in pictures, gets her makeup done, and gets put in magazines — I work behind the scenes, in the warehouse. Designers for huge chain stores will use my frame to show outfits to the CEO of a company who approves or rejects the looks. Clothing on a mannequin looks totally different on a real person."

—julieannluna

19. "I seriously have the job of trying to contact people who place orders on a very, VERY popular website, and then try to cancel their card before it actually gets charged. See, we don't charge until right before the item ships, which is sometimes a day or two. Some people have figured that out, and OCCASIONALLY one will ship out before we've actually charged the card. There are literally thousands of people out there who go on our site, make a purchase, and try to cancel or somehow block the charge going through in the hopes that the product will ship out. I call 25-40 people per day trying to get them to update their payment method. Sometimes you can tell that it's honestly innocent, like their card expired or got lost. But most of them play stupid and hang up on you."

—CDC_

20. "Once got paid for a month of 40-hour work weeks to sit at a gate and make sure no cows got out. I was a 'Bovine Identification and Exit Prevention Specialist.' Never saw a fucking cow. Read some good books, though."

—thehumanscott

21. "Trucking companies employ people who recover abandoned trucks and cargo. Apparently truckers will just be like, 'Fuck it' and leave their trucks and trailers on the side of a road. These companies pay pretty well and you are on call 24/7, but they fly you all over the country to retrieve their stuff."

—Smitesfan

22. "I had a brief stint as a 'Junior Cheese Evaluator.' What is less known than the cheese tasting part is the business analytics side of things. We have to know what good cheese is and what consumer tastes are like and how to influence those tastes to make room for company products that maximize profits for the cheesemaker and retailer. There’s a whole national certification exam I was studying for before I decided to take a drastic career shift."

—applepiepirate

23. "I used to be an E-911 call tester for a large service provider in the US. I'd literally drive cell tower to cell tower calling 911 to make sure it routed to the correct emergency services. You'd be surprised by how many times it failed."

—PM_ME_UR_BOOTY_GRIL

24. And finally, "I was a enucleator. When people passed and wanted to donate their corneas, I would retrieve their eyes from their body and take them to the lab to process for transplant."

—ratwood99

Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.

BuzzFeed

In an interview with Channels Television on Thursday, former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Onaiyekan, expressed doubts about the wisdom of swearing in President-elect Bola Tinubu before the conclusion of the election tribunal.

Tinubu's victory in the presidential election is currently being contested in court by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP). Onaiyekan suggested that the electoral process in the nation needs to be reevaluated, as it often produces winners who are plagued by legal challenges to their legitimacy.

He argued that until the court has made a decision on the election, it is premature to swear in a president-elect.

Onaiyekan acknowledged that similar situations have occurred with governors in the past, but argued that the outcomes have not been satisfactory. He called for a review of the electoral process to ensure that winners emerge in a way that everyone can rally around, and expressed his concern that every election seems to be constantly contested.

House of Representatives has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove fictitious names and those of dead Nigerians from its voters register, describing it as bogus.

The House made the call at plenary on Thursday, following the unanimous adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by a member, Leke Abejide.

The motion was titled ‘Urgent Need for Independent National Electoral Commission to Develop Mechanism to Clean Up Its System of Dead and Fictitious Registered Voters.’

According to Abejide, INEC’s register is “full of millions of people who are dead and non-existent persons.”

He said, “In the last general election, it was glaring and crystal clear that people that were long dead had their names still displayed in the voters’ register. Even my own deceased father, who passed on long ago, still has his name displayed on the board.

“Apart from dead voters, there are millions of fictitious voters who do not exist anywhere on this planet earth but have their names on INEC’s register of voters. It is believed that this came to be as a result of double or multiple registrations by Nigerians who had or have the intention of rigging elections, but with the advent of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, these faceless individuals can no longer vote anymore.”

Adopting the motion, the House resolved that “INEC should conduct vigorous public enlightenment for all Nigerians to be much aware of what makes the voters register bogus, which is the numbers of dead and fictitious persons.”

The lawmakers also resolved that INEC should develop a mechanism or software application, where families who lost their loved ones can report the demise of a particular Permanent Voter Card number so that it can be duly deleted from the Commission’s register, polling unit and ward.

“Whoever does not vote in two election cycles back to back be deleted from INEC register as non-existing human beings,” the House resolved.

Another resolution was that INEC should include voter verification in its continuous voter registration exercise to identify those on the register who are still alive as well as fish out those with fake registration.

Furthermore, the House mandated its Committee on Electoral Matters to ensure compliance with the resolutions.

INEC had on January 11, 2023, prior to the just-concluded general elections, released the final list of voters for the 2023 general elections. The number of registered voters rose from 84,004,084 in 2019 to 93,469,008 in 2023.

Punch

Nigeria’s manufacturing activity pulled off a sharp growth last month, shaking off successive contractions in the two months preceding April.

The growth was recorded as the squeeze resulting from the central bank’s push to wean Africa’s largest economy off dependence on physical cash softened.

The country’s Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) came in at 53.8 for the month on increased production level and improvement in new business, according to newly issued factory activity data.

A reading higher than 50 points to growth, while any below that threshold implies a shrinking in PMI, which assesses the overall direction that business condition in the manufacturing industry is headed.

Hiring was restrained and employment consequently slowed as companies still grappled with uncertainty in some way, following the crisis.

“The easing of the cash shortage challenge in April saw improvement in both output and consumer demand,” Muyiwa Oni, Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, said.

Stanbic IBTC Bank works alongside S&P Global and Nigeria’s statistics office every month to provide the data.

“While the easier access to cash caused business activities to expand across key sectors (Agriculture, manufacturing, services and wholesales and retails sectors), firms however maintained caution in increasing staff head count,” Oni further stated.

His optimism for activity in the near term is measured, considering that sentiment remains relatively weak and given the signals that access to cash will be steady, not dramatic.

The document highlighted a steep jump in input costs for manufacturers in April, not altogether unanticipated as Nigeria’s inflation climbed to 22 per cent in the preceding month, closing in on its 18-year peak.

Even though firms passed on the increased cost to customers, that was done sensitively in order to attract them, leading to the slightest rate of selling price increase in three years.

“Business sentiment remained subdued in April, despite a slight pick-up from March. In fact, optimism was among the lowest seen since the survey began in January 2014,” the report said.

PT

Registrar of Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, (TRCN), Josiah Ajiboye, says 70 per cent of teachers in private schools in the Southwest are unqualified.

Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the council and INSTILL Education on bringing in new dynamics into the profession, Ajiboye revealed that contrary to several speculations about the southwest and its teachers in private schools, 70 per cent were discovered not qualified.

While lamenting that 70 per cent of the unqualified teachers lacked the prerequisite to be registered by the Council, the TRCN boss stated that a large number of teachers in Nigeria have never been exposed to training and have been using outdated equipment for illustration.

“A large number of teachers in private schools in Nigeria today are not qualified. We wanted to use a consultant to get revenue from teachers in private schools. When we carried out a survey, we observed that 70 per cent of teachers in the Southwest were not qualified,” he said.

According to him, they are not registrable with the TRCN and that is to say there is a big gap.

“These people do not possess the requisite qualification to register with the Council, and so there’s a big gap. So we are looking into the future to fill up that gap like it’s done in South Africa,” he said.

He said signing the MoU marks a milestone in the proposed collaboration between INSTILL Education and TRCN which is aimed at equipping Nigerian teachers with 21st century skills that will ultimately support teachers’ professional development and learning outcomes in Nigeria and Africa in general.

He noted that the Council has 2.3 million teachers in its database, and developed the Policy on Career Path for the profession and the Professional Standards for Nigerian Teachers (PSNT) which have been domesticated by Sierra-Leone and adopted by the Africa Union (AU) for implementation in Africa.

“The major component of this MOU is to service the in-service teachers. How do we go about capacitating them and up-skilling them? Many of these teachers have never been exposed to a single training programme since they were employed and have been doing the same thing the same way, whereas there are dynamics if the classroom and things are changing with regards to the classroom,” he said.

Ajiboye added, “So these teachers need to be exposed to new ways of doing things and that’s what INSTILL is coming with. They are experts who are working with expertise, technology and will help us to do this type of capitation for our teachers.”

Daily Trust

Unidentified gunmen on Thursday attacked a police checkpoint located along the Umunze-Ihite Road in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The attack resulted in the death of three police officers who were on duty at the checkpoint. Reports suggest that the gunmen arrived at the scene in large numbers and began firing on the officers. Although some officers managed to escape, three were killed on the spot. An eyewitness, who lives near the checkpoint, said that the gunmen came in a commando-like manner and fired shots in the air to scare residents.

As a result of the attack, the community has become deserted, with shop owners closing their shops, and people fleeing or remaining indoors in fear of another attack.

A video clip circulating on WhatsApp shows the bodies of the slain officers at the scene of the attack. One body was found lying on the road, while the other two were discovered at the corner of a nearby building.

The state police command spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident, describing it as a high price paid by security officers in the line of duty. He added that the police are not deterred by the attack and have deployed reinforcements to the area to hunt for the assailants.

Heavy fighting in Khartoum; Sudan's children caught in conflict, UN says

Fierce fighting persisted in Sudan on Thursday despite a truce agreement as U.S. intelligence said rival forces were trying to gain the upper hand ahead of possible negotiations and the U.N. warned of the violence's devastating toll on children.

Despite multiple ceasefire declarations, the two sides appeared to be battling for control of territory in the capital Khartoum ahead of proposed talks, though the leaders of both factions have shown little public willingness to negotiate after more than two weeks of fighting.

The Sudanese army on Thursday sought to dislodge the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force from its positions near central Khartoum in intense battles.

"Both sides believe they can win militarily and have few incentives to come to the negotiating table," U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington.

With fighting having continued despite ceasefire deals, the White House said it may sanction those responsible for destabilising Sudan.

The sudden collapse into warfare has killed hundreds, triggered a humanitarian disaster, sent an exodus of refugees to neighbouring states and risks dragging in outside powers, further destabilising an already restive region.

"The situation in Sudan is teetering toward catastrophe, and children are increasingly caught in the crossfire," Catherine Russell, executive director of the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said in a statement. "For the sake of Sudan’s children, the violence must stop."

Saying attacks had limited its ability to provide aid to children across the country, UNICEF said it had received reports of 190 children killed and 1,700 injured in Sudan since the conflict erupted on April 15. Firm numbers were difficult to obtain due to the intensity of the violence, it said.

Sudan said on Tuesday that 550 people had died and 4,926 people been wounded.

UNICEF called on the battling factions to ensure children were not caught in the line of fire, including by stopping attacks on health centres, schools and water stations.

FOOD AID LOOTED

The conflict has dealt a crippling blow to the heart of the country's economy in the capital Khartoum, disrupted internal trade routes, threatened imports and triggered a cash crunch.

Across swathes of the capital, factories, banks and shops have been looted or damaged, power and water supplies have been failing and residents have reported steep price rises and shortages of basic goods.

Several large markets have been destroyed, said Saddam Siddig Bashasha, who runs a solar energy and generator business in Khartoum. "These torched markets supported poor workers and farmers. Thousands of them lost their jobs, which will make conditions really difficult," he said.

The fighting results from a power struggle between two rival factions, the army and RSF, that had shared power after a coup in 2021, derailing efforts to bring democracy and civilian rule after a 2019 popular uprising that unseated strongman Omar al-Bashir.

U.S. President Joe Biden called the violence a betrayal of the Sudanese people's demands for civilian government and said the U.S. stood ready to offer humanitarian assistance "when conditions allow".

The sound of bombardment and clashes rang out in Khartoum and its adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri on Thursday in violation of the latest, seven-day, truce agreement. The army was trying to push the RSF from positions around the presidential palace and military headquarters.

"Since yesterday evening, and this morning, there are air strikes and the sounds of clashes," said Al-Sadiq Ahmed, a 49-year-old engineer speaking from Khartoum.

"We've got into a state of permanent terror because the battles are around the centres of residential neighbourhoods. We don't know when this nightmare and the fear will end."

The United Nations, meanwhile, pressed the warring factions to guarantee safe passage of aid after six trucks were looted.

U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said he hoped to have face-to-face meetings with both sides within two to three days to secure guarantees from them for aid convoys.

The World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday estimated that $13 million to $14 million worth of food destined to people in need in Sudan had been plundered so far.

About 100,000 people have fled Sudan with little food or water to neighbouring countries, the U.N. says.

The civilian toll has been exacerbated by the warring sides' use of explosive weapons including tanks, artillery, rockets and airstrikes in populated areas, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, accusing them of reckless disregard for civilian life.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Drones attack Ukrainian capital, Moscow says US behind Kremlin drone

Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Thursday evening, the fourth assault in as many days subjecting residents to spasms of gunfire and explosions, and at least one drone was shot down.

City authorities had declared an alert for Kyiv and the surrounding area. Residents who had gone to air raid shelters said the drones arrived more quickly than usual after the alerts were declared. Reuters witnesses heard gunfire and repeated heavier explosions near the city centre.

The attacks started just after 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) and lasted around 20 minutes. Ukraine's air force said in a statement that it had destroyed one of its own drones after the drone lost control over Kyiv region, probably because of a technical failure. It wasn't clear how many drones in total were destroyed.

Russia said on Thursday that the United States was behind a purported drone attack on the Kremlin aiming to kill President Vladimir Putin. Washington and Kyiv denied involvement.

Putin will head a scheduled meeting of Russia's Security Council on Friday and the Kremlin incident could be on the agenda, TASS news agency reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in The Hague after visiting the International Court of Justice, said Putin must be brought to justice over the war and that Kyiv would work to create a new tribunal for this purpose.

In other diplomacy, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on a visit to Brazil that she encouraged the government to include Ukraine in any attempt to negotiate an end to the war. She was referring to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's comments calling on the West to stop arming Ukraine to allow peace talks to start.

There are currently no peace talks to end the war, which has devastated Ukrainian towns and cities, killed thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

FRONTLINE ACTION

Nearly 50 Russian attacks were repelled along the main sectors of the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Thursday evening. The heaviest fighting is still in Bakhmut and in Maryinka, further south in Donetsk region, it said.

Russian forces also launched 66 air raids and engaged in 33 shelling episodes on Ukrainian positions and on towns and villages, causing casualties and damaging infrastructure, the report said.

Reuters was not able to verify the battlefield accounts.

MOSCOW CITES 'US ORDERS'

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, without providing evidence, said Ukraine had acted on U.S. orders to attack the Kremlin citadel in the early hours of Wednesday.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby dismissed Russian "lies" and said there still was no conclusive evidence as to the authenticity of a video showing the drone at the Kremlin.

"Attempts to disown this (attack on the Kremlin), both in Kyiv and in Washington, are, of course, absolutely ridiculous. We know very well that decisions about such actions, about such terrorist attacks, are made not in Kyiv but in Washington," Peskov told reporters.

Peskov said an urgent investigation was under way and that any response would be carefully considered and balanced.

Russia has increasingly accused the United States of being a direct participant in the war, intent on inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Moscow. Washington denies this, saying it is arming Kyiv to defend itself and retake illegally seized land.

KYIV, ODESA TARGETED

Earlier on Thursday, Russia fired two dozen combat drones at Ukraine, hitting Kyiv and also striking a university campus in the Black Sea city of Odesa. There were no reports of casualties. Russia denies targeting civilians in Ukraine.

Diplomats, meanwhile, are still working to keep a package deal for Ukrainian and Russian agricultural exports alive beyond May 18. Technical personnel from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations will meet on Friday to discuss the deal, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.

Russia has a list of demands it wants met for continuation of the Black Sea grains pact, which the U.N. said helps tackle a global food crisis aggravated by Russian forces invading neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.

Zelenskiy has vowed to drive all invading Russian forces back to the borders set in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He said on Thursday the whole of Ukrainian society was preparing for a counteroffensive, which he said would be successful against what he called a "demotivated" Russia.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Washington responsible for attack on Kremlin – Moscow

All of Kiev’s decisions are ultimately dictated by Washington, including which targets to hit and by what means, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed on Thursday. His comments came after two Ukrainian drones unsuccessfully attempted to strike the Kremlin in the early hours of Wednesday morning.  

“Such decisions – the definition of goals, the definition of means, and so on – all this is dictated to Kiev from Washington, and we are well aware of this,” Peskov told reporters. 

The spokesman for President Vladimir Putin dismissed attempts by US and Ukrainian officials to “disown” Wednesday’s attack as “laughable,” insisting that “we know full well that decisions to carry out such terrorist actions are made not in Kiev, but in Washington.”  

Peskov asserted that it is important that the US “clearly understands” that Russia is aware of its involvement in Ukraine and “how dangerous such direct involvement is.” 

The spokesman said that Kiev’s attempted drone strike on the Kremlin is being thoroughly investigated, but did not provide estimates on when any conclusions would be officially announced. 

Peskov reiterated that Moscow reserves the right to respond to the attack with “a variety of steps.” Although declining to specify what those measures might be, the Kremlin official insisted they would be carefully considered and “in line with Russia’s interests.” 

Putin’s office reported on Wednesday that two Ukrainian UAVs had been disabled by air defenses while trying to strike the president’s Kremlin residence in Moscow in the early hours of the morning. Putin was not in the Kremlin at the time of the incident and no one was hurt, the statement added.  

Russia described the failed drone strike as “a pre-planned terrorist act” and an attempt on Putin’s life perpetrated by Kiev.  

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has denied his country’s involvement in the attack, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Washington could not “in any way validate” Russia’s claims.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded to Peskov’s comments by insisting that Washington was in no way involved in the incident. “We don’t do that and we had nothing to do with it,” he told MSNBC.

The Kremlin has vowed that Moscow will retaliate to the raid “anywhere and anytime it deems necessary,” while senior Russian lawmaker Vyacheslav Volodin has called for the use of “weapons capable of stopping and destroying the Kiev terrorist regime.”

** Russian forces strike command posts of two Ukrainian army brigades

Russian forces struck command posts of two Ukrainian army brigades and a special operations center over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Thursday.

"In areas near the settlements of Novoandreyevka in the Zaporozhye Region, Belogorovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Nestryga Island in the Kherson Region, the command/observation posts of the Ukrainian army’s 128th mountain assault and 54th mechanized brigades and the special operations forces center were struck," the spokesman said.

In the past 24 hours, operational/tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Russian group of forces struck 103 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions, manpower and military hardware in 118 areas, the general reported.

Russian forces destroy Ukrainian artillery ammo depot in Kupyansk area

Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian artillery ammunition depot and roughly 30 enemy troops in the Kupyansk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

In the Kupyansk direction, operational/tactical and army aviation and artillery from the western battlegroup struck the enemy units in areas near the settlements of Novosyolovskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Pershotravnevoye and Novomlynsk in the Kharkov Region, the spokesman said.

"As many as 30 Ukrainian personnel, two armored combat vehicles, three motor vehicles and a Gvozdika motorized artillery gun were destroyed. In the area of the settlement of Volchansk in the Kharkov Region, an artillery ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 67th mechanized brigade was destroyed," the general said.

Russian forces neutralize six Ukrainian subversive groups in Kupyansk area

Russian forces neutralized six Ukrainian subversive groups in the Kupyansk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the Kupyansk direction, in areas near the settlements of Stelmakhovka in the Kharkov Region, Kislovka, Sinkovka, Timkovka and Ivanovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, the activity of six Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance groups was thwarted," the spokesman said.

Russian forces eliminate 70 Ukrainian troops in Krasny Liman area

Russian combat aircraft and artillery struck Ukrainian army units in the Krasny Liman area, eliminating 70 enemy troops and one tank over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the Krasny Liman direction, operational/tactical and army aviation and artillery from the battlegroup Center struck the enemy units in areas near the settlements of Terny and Serebryanka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Nevskoye and Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.

The strikes eliminated as many as 70 Ukrainian troops, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, two pickup trucks and a Msta-B howitzer in that direction in the past 24 hours, the general specified.

Russian forces destroy 255 Ukrainian troops in Donetsk advance

Russian forces destroyed roughly 255 Ukrainian troops in their advance in the Donetsk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"As many as 255 Ukrainian troops, two armored combat vehicles, six motor vehicles, two D-20 howitzers and a Gvozdika motorized artillery system were destroyed in that direction during the last 24-hour period," the spokesman said.

In addition, Russian forces obliterated an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 54th mechanized brigade near the settlement of Belogorovka, the general added.

Russian assault teams destroying Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk

Russian assault teams captured two urban areas and kept destroying enemy forces in the western part of Artyomovsk over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the Donetsk direction, the assault teams captured two urban areas and continued destroying the enemy in the western part of the city of Artyomovsk. Operational/tactical and army aviation and artillery from the southern battlegroup struck units of the Ukrainian army’s 60th, 93rd and 54th motorized infantry brigades near the settlement of Krasnoye, the southwestern outskirts of Artyomovsk and Grigorovka," the spokesman said.

Russian Airborne Force units kept thwarting the enemy’s attempts to counter-attack from the flanks. In the past 24 hours, Russian combat aircraft flew six sorties and artillery of the southern battlegroup accomplished 57 firing objectives in that area to support the assault teams, Konashenkov reported.

Russian forces destroy 30 Ukrainian troops in southern Donetsk, Zaporozhye areas

Russian forces destroyed roughly 30 Ukrainian troops in the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas over the past day, he said.

In the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, assault and army aviation and artillery from Russia’s battlegroup East struck the Ukrainian army’s units in areas near the settlements of Ugledar, Vodyanoye and Velikaya Novosyolka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Chervonoye, Kamenskoye, Novodanilovka and Malaya Tokmachka in the Zaporozhye Region, the spokesman specified.

"The enemy’s losses in those directions in the past 24 hours amounted to 30 Ukrainian personnel, two armored combat vehicles, three motor vehicles, two D-30 howitzers and a Gvozdika self-propelled artillery gun," the general reported.

Russian forces destroy 35 Ukrainian troops, two howitzers in Kherson area

Russian forces destroyed about 35 Ukrainian troops and two howitzers in the Kherson area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the Kherson direction, as many as 35 Ukrainian troops, six motor vehicles, a Gvozdika motorized artillery gun and D-30 and Msta-B howitzers were destroyed as a result of damage inflicted by firepower," the spokesman said.

Russian forces wipe out Ukrainian army’s fuel depot near Kirovograd

Russian forces destroyed a fuel depot of the Ukrainian army near Kirovograd over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the area of the city of Kirovograd, a fuel depot belonging to a Ukrainian battlegroup was destroyed," the spokesman said.

In the area of Slavyansk, Russian forces obliterated an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 66th mechanized brigade, the general added.

Russian air defenses intercept nine rockets, down 14 Ukrainian drones

Russian air defense forces intercepted nine rockets of the HIMARS, Uragan and Smerch multiple launch rocket systems and destroyed 14 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"During the last 24-hour period, air defense capabilities intercepted nine rockets of the HIMARS, Uragan and Smerch multiple launch rocket systems. In addition, they destroyed 14 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Novoprokofyevka in the Zaporozhye Region, Lyubovka, Kamenka, Lebyazhye and Kirillovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Lisichansk, Krivosheyevka and Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.

In total, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 416 Ukrainian warplanes, 230 helicopters, 3,949 unmanned aerial vehicles, 421 surface-to-air missile systems, 8,967 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,095 multiple rocket launchers, 4,728 field artillery guns and mortars and 9,949 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.

Reuters/RT/TASS