By ILLIA NOVIKOV, Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said Monday, as the Kremlin dismissed its transportation chief after a weekend of travel chaos when airports grounded hundreds of flights during the busy vacation season due to the threat of attacks from Kyiv.

At least 10 civilians were killed and 38 injured, including three children, in Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said.

Paramedics help residents evacuate their house that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Russia recently has intensified its airstrikes on civilian areas after more than three years of war. In the past week, Russia launched some 1,270 drones, 39 missiles and almost 1,000 powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.

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

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 has compelled Ukraine to seek more military help from the U.S. and Europe.

Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukraine had 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,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Monday.

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

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

One person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, 27 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. He didn’t specify the weapons used.

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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.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt on Monday, an order published on the Kremlin website said.

Putin named Starovoyt’s deputy, Andrey Nikitin, as acting transport minister. Nikitkin was the governor of Russia’s Novgorod region until February.

The announcement gave no reason for Starovoyt’s dismissal. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on it.

Over the weekend, hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airports, and thousands of travelers faced long waits. Other airports in western and central Russia also faced disruptions because of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Associated Press writer Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is stepping up pressure on trading partners to quickly make new deals before a Wednesday deadline, with plans for the United States to start sending letters Monday warning countries that higher tariffs could kick in Aug. 1.

That furthers the uncertainty for businesses, consumers and America’s trading partners, and questions remain about which countries will be notified, whether anything will change in the days ahead and whether President Donald Trump will once more push off imposing the rates. Trump and his top trade advisers say he could extend the time for dealmaking but they insist the administration is applying maximum pressure on other nations.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that Trump would decide when it was time to give up on negotiations.

“The United States is always willing to talk to everybody about everything,” Hassett said. “There are deadlines, and there are things that are close, so maybe things will push back past the deadline or maybe they won’t. In the end the president is going to make that judgment.”

Stephen Miran, the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, likewise said countries negotiating in good faith and making concessions could “sort of, get the date rolled.”

The steeper tariffs that Trump announced April 2 threatened to overhaul the global economy and lead to broader trade wars. A week later, after the financial markets had panicked, his administration suspended for 90 days most of the higher taxes on imports just as they were to take effect. The negotiating window until July 9 has led to announced deals only with the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Trump imposed elevated tariff rates on dozens of nations that run meaningful trade surpluses with the U.S., and a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries in response to what he called an economic emergency. There are separate 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on autos.

Since April, few foreign governments have set new trade terms with Washington as the Republican president demanded.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Sunday, July 6, 2025, en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump told reporters Friday that his administration might be sending out letters as early as Saturday to countries spelling out their tariff rates if they did not reach a deal, but that the U.S. would not start collecting those taxes until Aug. 1. On Sunday, he said he would send out letters starting Monday — “could be 12, could be 15” — to foreign governments reflecting planned tariffs for each.

“We’ve made deals also,” Trump told reporters before heading back to the White House from his home in New Jersey. “So we’ll get to have a combination of letters, and some deals have been made.”

He and his advisers have declined to say which countries would receive the letters.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected the idea that Aug. 1 was a new deadline and declined to say what might happen Wednesday.

“We’ll see,” Bessent said on CNN’s State of the Union. “I’m not going to give away the playbook.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent talks to reporters about his lunch meeting with Republican senators and the schedule for getting the Republican megabill to President Donald Trump’s desk by July 4, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

He said the U.S. was “close to several deals,” and predicted several big announcements over the next few days. He gave no details.

“I think we’re going to see a lot of deals very quickly,” Bessent said.

Later Sunday, Trump vowed to impose more tariffs against the BRICS bloc of developing nations, which had condemned tariffs increases at its summit in Brazil. Trump said in a post on his social media platform that any country aligning itself with what he termed “the Anti-American policies of BRICS” would be levied an added 10% tariff.

Trump has announced a deal with Vietnam that would allow U.S. goods to enter the country duty-free, while Vietnamese exports to the U.S. would face a 20% levy.

That was a decline from the 46% tax on Vietnamese imports he proposed in April — one of his so-called reciprocal tariffs targeting dozens of countries with which the U.S. runs a trade deficit.

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Asked if he expected to reach deals with the European Union or India, Trump said Friday that “letters are better for us” because there are so many countries involved.

“We have India coming up and with Vietnam, we did it, but much easier to send a letter saying, ’Listen, we know we have a certain deficit, or in some cases a surplus, but not too many. And this is what you’re going to have to pay if you want to do business in the United States.”

Canada, however, will not be one of the countries receiving letters, Trump’s ambassador, Pete Hoekstra, said Friday after trade talks between the two countries recently resumed.

“Canada is one of our biggest trading partners,” Hoekstra told CTV News in an interview in Ottawa. “We’re going to have a deal that’s articulated.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he wants a new deal in place by July 21 or Canada will increase trade countermeasures.

Hoekstra would not commit to a date for a trade agreement and said even with a deal, Canada could still face some tariffs. But “we’re not going to send Canada just a letter,” he said.

Price reported from Bridgewater, New Jersey. AP Business Writer Matt O’Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

By TERESA CEROJANO and MATT OTT, Associated Press

Wall Street is pointing to a lower open Monday as the Trump administration steps up pressure on trading partners to quickly make deals before a Wednesday deadline.

The U.S. will warn trading partners that higher tariffs could kick in Aug. 1.

Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.3% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1%. Nasdaq futures slid 0.5%.

Trump and his top trade advisers said over the weekend that the president could extend the tariff deadline if countries were making concessions and negotiating in good faith.

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“We expect markets to be volatile into the 9-July deadline when the 90-day pause on President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs expires for non-China trading partners,” the Nomura Group wrote in a commentary.

The near-term outlook will likely hinge on several key factors like the extent to which trading partners are included in Trump letters, the rate of tariffs, and the effective date of such tariffs, according to Nomura.

“With the July 9 tariff deadline fast approaching, all eyes are trained on Washington, scanning for signs of escalation or retreat. The path forward isn’t clear, but the terrain is littered with risk,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

In equities trading, Tesla tumbled 6.5% as the feud between CEO Elon Musk and Trump reignited over the weekend. Musk, once a top donor and ally of Trump, announced that he was forming a third political party in protest over the Republicans’ spending bill that passed late last week.

Trump criticized Musk in a social media post, suggesting that Musk’s disappointment in the bill was because the legislation ended an “electric vehicle mandate,” which Trump says Musk knew was coming.

Investors fear that Musk’s companies, which receive significant subsidies from the federal government, could suffer further if his feud with Trump continues to escalate.

Molina Healthcare tumbled 6% after the insurer lowered its profit guidance due to rapidly accelerating costs. UnitedHealth Group also recently reported a spike in costs that forced it to cut its forecast, sending its stock tumbling in April.

Oil prices fluctuated after OPEC+ agreed on Saturday to raise production in August by 548,000 barrels per day.

U.S. benchmark crude was essentially unchanged early Monday at $67 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 40 cents to $68.70 per barrel.

At midday in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 inched up 0.1%, while Germany’s DAX added 0.8%. In Paris, the CAC 40 was up 0.2%.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 0.6% to 39,587. 68 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged down 0.1% to 23,887.83.

South Korea’s KOSPI index rose 0.2% to 3,059.47 while the Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.1% higher to 3,473.13. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 fell 0.2% to 8,589.30.

In currency trading Monday, the U.S. dollar rose to 145.42 Japanese yen from 144.44 yen. The euro edged lower to $1.1727 from $1.1779.

By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel’s military launched airstrikes early Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who responded with missile fire targeting Israel.

The strikes came after the Houthis attacked a Liberian-flagged ship in the Red Sea that caught fire and took on water, later forcing its crew to abandon the vessel. On Monday afternoon, the claimed the attack, which saw missiles and explosive-carrying drone boats set the vessel ablaze in the Red Sea.

The Magic Seas attack raised fears of a renewed Houthi campaign against shipping that could again draw in U.S. and Western forces to the area, particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign.

This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)

The ship attack comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance, and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program following American airstrikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites during an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also was traveling to Washington to meet with Trump.

Israeli strikes target Houthi-held ports

The Israeli military said that it struck Houthi-held ports at Hodeida, Ras Isa and Salif, as well as the Ras Kanatib power plant. It released footage showing an F-16 launching from Israel for the strike, which came after the Israeli military issued a warning for the area.

“These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, which are employed to carry out terrorist operations against the state of Israel and its allies,” the Israeli military said.

The Israeli military also said it struck the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle-carrying vessel that the Houthis seized back in November 2023 when they began their attacks in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.

“Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,” the Israeli military said.

The Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader was affiliated with an Israeli billionaire. It said that no Israelis were on board. The ship had been operated by a Japanese firm, NYK Line.

The Houthis acknowledged the strikes, but offered no damage assessment from the attack. Their military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed its air defense forces “effectively confronted” the Israelis without offering evidence.

Israel has repeatedly attacked Houthi areas in Yemen, including a naval strike in June. Both Israel and the United States have struck ports in the area in the past — including an American attack that killed 74 people in April — but Israel is now acting alone in attacking the rebels as they continue to fire missiles at Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to launch further strikes.

“What’s true for Iran is true for Yemen,” Katz said in a statement. “Anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have it cut off. The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions.”

The Houthis then responded with an apparent missile attack on Israel. The Israeli military said that it attempted to intercept the two missiles launched by the Houthis, but they appeared to make impact, though no injuries have been reported. Sirens sounded in the West Bank and along the Dead Sea.

Saree on Monday claimed to launch missiles and drones targeting Israel in its attack.

“We are fully prepared for a sustained and prolonged confrontation, to confront hostile warplanes and to counter attempts to break the naval blockade imposed by our armed forces on the enemy,” Saree said.

Ship attack forces crew to abandon vessel

The attack on the Magic Seas, a bulk carrier heading north to Egypt’s Suez Canal, happened about 60 miles southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the Houthis.

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The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, center first said that an armed security team on the vessel had returned fire against an initial attack of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, though the vessel later was struck by projectiles.

Ambrey, a private maritime security firm, said that the Magic Seas also had been attacked by bomb-carrying drone boats, which could be a major escalation. It said that two drone boats struck the ship, while another two had been destroyed by the armed guards on board.

UKMTO said the ship was taking on water and its crew had abandoned the vessel. They were rescued by a passing ship, it added.

A European Union anti-piracy patrol in the region, called Operation Atalanta, said that 22 mariners had been on board the Magic Seas.

Saree, the Houthi spokesman, claimed the attack and said the rebels used missiles and bomb-carrying drone boats to attack the ship.

“Our operations continue in targeting the depths of the Israeli entity in occupied Palestine, as well as preventing Israeli maritime navigation in the Red and Arabian Seas … until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege on it is lifted,” Saree said.

The Magic Seas’ owners didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Houthi attacks came over the Israel-Hamas war

The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership has described as an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. Their campaign has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually. Shipping through the Red Sea, while still lower than normal, has increased in recent weeks.

The Houthis paused attacks until the U.S. launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis haven’t attacked a vessel, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel.