Man, 43, arrested in hunt for Michigan sniper who fired at random cars in four counties in two-week campaign of terror

• Suspect arrested in Wixom, the Detroit suburb where shootings began
• Targets in 24 incidents were mostly cars on roads near Interstate 96
  

By Graham Smith for MailOnline

Published: 12:31 EDT, 7 November 2012 | Updated: 15:47 EDT, 7 November 2012

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A man has been arrested on suspicion of being the sniper who shot at random cars in four Michigan counties in two weeks.

The 43-year-old suspect was taken into custody on Monday night in Wixom, the Detroit suburb where the shootings began.

Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth called the attacks, which wounded one person, ‘domestic terrorism’.

He said: ‘Why did he do it? I don’t know. I don’t know if we’ll ever know.’

Janice Schumacher, 43, was pumping gas in Wixom when she heard that a suspect was in custody.

‘I hope this is the guy,’ said the Commerce Township resident who for the past several weeks has been using alternate routes to run personal errands and shuttle her three children to and from school

‘For weeks, I haven’t been able to breathe while driving with my kids in the car. If they finally got this guy, that would be a major relief.’

Before the arrest, clues appeared to be few – slugs and bullet fragments embedded in cars, metal casings on roadways, a simple black-and-white sketch of the shooter – a man believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s – and vague descriptions of the dark car he drove.

The crime scene where the shootings took place is 100 miles long and slices through suburbia, shopping malls and farm pastures.

Shootings have occurred during the day, at night, on weekdays and on weekends. Police say the shooter would drive along roadways and fire at vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. Only one person was wounded.

Initial reports of shootings stirred panic. Wixom schools restricted recess and other activities that would take students outdoors. Drivers avoided main thoroughfares where they might be exposed and stuck to side streets.

But police have been working hard to maintain calm. In Wixom – where ten shootings have been reported – police had special Halloween patrols to protect trick-or-treaters.

From Oakland County, northwest of Detroit, to Shiawassee County, northeast of Lansing, authorities stopped cars resembling the shooter’s vehicle. A $102,000 reward was offered.

‘I’ve always felt safe here. But this has been very shocking,’ said Karen Adams, 51, who lives one street away from the suspect.

Is this the Michigan Sniper? Far-right activist who bragged about carrying a gun every day is arrested for shooting at TWO DOZEN cars

• Suspect arrested in Wixom, the Detroit suburb where shootings began
• Targets in 24 incidents were mostly cars on roads near Interstate 96
  

By Graham Smith for MailOnline and Michael Zennie

Published: 18:39 EDT, 7 November 2012 | Updated: 19:10 EDT, 7 November 2012

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The man accused of terrifying suburban Detroit, Michigan, for two weeks by shooting at two dozen cars on the highway ranted about far-right-wing politics for months before the attacks.

Raulie Wayne Casteel, 43, bragged on his Twitter feed about carrying a handgun everyday and said President Obama should be arrested by the military and ‘marched out of the White House in handcuffs.’

Police arrested him Sunday night at his home in Wixom, Michigan, near the epicenter of the seemingly random shootings.

His mother, who lives in Florida, has she her son is mentally ill and that she had tried and failed to get him help, but she never believed he would resort to violence.

Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth called the attacks, which wounded one person, ‘domestic terrorism’.

He said: ‘Why did he do it? I don’t know. I don’t know if we’ll ever know.’

Sheriff Wriggelsworth said a tip – one of close to 3,000 that have come in – led authorities to the man’s home. He declined to disclose what the suspect told investigators.

The shootings began on October 16 and stretched from Oakland County west to Ingham County.

The targets in the 24 reported incidents were mostly cars traveling on roads near Interstate 96. Only a handful of shootings actually occurred on the interstate.

The crime scene where the shootings took place is 100 miles long and slices through suburbia, shopping malls and farm pastures.

Shootings have occurred during the day, at night, on weekdays and on weekends. Police say the shooter would drive along roadways and fire at vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. Only one person was wounded.

Scott Arnold, 46, from Kalamazoo, shot in the buttocks as he drove along eastbound I-96 on October 27, heading to a World Series game in Detroit. He was rushed to the hospital, but did not suffer a life-threatening wound.

Initial reports of shootings stirred panic. Wixom schools restricted recess and other activities that would take students outdoors. Drivers avoided main thoroughfares where they might be exposed and stuck to side streets.

Janice Schumacher, 43, was pumping gas in Wixom when she heard that a suspect was in custody.

‘I hope this is the guy,’ said the Commerce Township resident who for the past several weeks has been using alternate routes to run personal errands and shuttle her three children to and from school.

‘For weeks, I haven’t been able to breathe while driving with my kids in the car. If they finally got this guy, that would be a major relief.’

Before the arrest, clues appeared to be few – slugs and bullet fragments embedded in cars, metal casings on roadways, a simple black-and-white sketch of the shooter and vague descriptions of the dark car he drove.

Michigan State Police Lt Michael Shaw told Mail Online investigators have not been able to determine a motive because Casteel requested a lawyer shortly after his arrested.

However, he said, detectives are looking into a possible connection between the shootings and his political posts on Twitter.

‘It is something we are looking at as a possible part of the investigation we’re not sure whether that has any connection with the case or not, but it is something we’re aware of,’ he said.

Casteel began making frequent posts about politics on his Twitter account in April. He frequently cited conservative pundits, but other more right-wing sources, as well.

He also talked about ‘open carry,’ the practice of carrying a non-concealed handgun.

‘The 2nd Amend is an absolute – absolutely no compromises – I carry everwhere I go!’ he wrote on September 28. 

He also frequently posted about the need to impeach the President.

‘I want the arrest and impeachment of Barack Obamo. I’ve given the military the option of marching him out of the W.H. in handcuffs,’ he wrote October 1.

He also said he had purchased a book called ‘Hostile Takeover: Resisting Centralized Government’s Stranglehold on America’ by Tea Party activist William Morrow.

Lt Shaw said officers seized a 9mm pistol from Casteel’s home. Pistol-caliber bullets were used in the highway shootings, though he could not confirm whether the bullets recovered were fire from Casteel’s gun.

Lana Hunt, 62, who lives in Florida, told the Detroit Free Press that her son is mentally ill.

‘He trusted me, but I could not get him to see a doctor,’ she said.

British woman, 76, is stabbed to death in Spain: Victim’s Norwegian partner is arrested

• An 82-year-old Norwegian man has been arrested in connection to the death 

By Natalia Penza and James Reynolds

Published: 04:58 EDT, 15 September 2023 | Updated: 07:22 EDT, 15 September 2023

A British holidaymaker has been banned by an airline after he was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting an air stewardess and spitting on her boss during a flight to Ibiza.

The 42-year-old, who is thought to be from Oldham, was held by police yesterday morning after reaching the island on a Jet2 flight from Manchester.

The airline has since confirmed that it has banned the passenger, who they named as Rizwan Sabri Raja, from flying with them.

The Civil Guard also said it would be asking the airline operating the flight to refuse to accept the passenger on the return flight he had booked back to the UK.

Responding to the reports of the arrest this afternoon, a spokesman for the airline named and shamed the problem passenger and confirmed he had been banned from flying with Jet2 for life.

It went on to describe his behaviour in a hard-hitting statement as ‘absolutely appalling’ and said it would be supporting the authorities ‘fully’.

The company said: ‘We can confirm that disruptive passenger, Rizwan Sabri Raja, was offloaded by police at Ibiza Airport on August 24 following a catalogue of absolutely appalling behaviour towards our crew.

‘We will not tolerate such behaviour and will support the authorities fully with their enquiries.

‘As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behaviour, and we can confirm Mr Raja has been banned from flying with us for life as a result of his deplorable actions.’

Confirming the arrest today, a spokesman for the Civil Guard said: ‘Officers have arrested a British man as the suspected author of a crime of sexual assault on an air stewardess on a flight from Manchester to Ibiza.

‘Yesterday morning officers were asked to head to a plane which had just touched down.

‘The pilot informed the officers that a passenger had refused to obey the crew’s instructions during the flight, as well as groping the bottom of one of the air stewardesses and spitting at her boss.

‘He was immediately arrested.’

It was not immediately clear today if he has already appeared in court for a hearing where a judge would have to decide whether to remand him in custody or release him on bail pending an ongoing criminal probe.

As well as prosecution, the unnamed Brit is also facing a heavy fine.

The Civil Guard spokesman said: ‘He will also be reported to the Spanish Air Safety and Security Agency (AESA) for his alleged behaviour during the flight.

‘And the Civil Guard at Ibiza Airport will be asking the airline concerned to refuse to accept this passenger on the return flight he had booked back to Britain.’

AESA is the state body that in Spain ensures civil aviation standards are observed in all aeronautical activity in Spain.

It has powers to fine offenders for breaches of a Spanish air safety law, with fines for ranging from around £50 to nearly £40,000.

In September last year a British man was arrested after assaulting a female passenger in the seat next to him on a Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Majorca.

Air stewards radioed police from 35,000ft after the woman, also British, complained he had touched her breasts and asked her to have sex with him in the toilet.

He was held when the plane touched down at Palma Airport.

Reports at the time said the unnamed Brit had been fined £2,500 after being hauled to court for a speedy trial.

The woman at the centre of the extraordinary mid-air incident is said to have been sexually abused moments before the plane touched down after the male passenger had engaged in unwanted sexual innuendo with the young Brit.

Ryanair said in a statement at the time of the incident: ‘The crew of this flight from Liverpool to Palma requested police assistance after being made aware of an individual behaving inappropriately towards another passenger.

‘The crew moved the passenger away from this individual for the rest of the flight and police removed him from the aircraft upon landing. This is now a matter for local police.’

A Texas woman has been arrested and charged with threatening the federal judge overseeing Donald Trump‘s January 6 case – while identifying information about grand jurors in Trump’s latest indictment has been posted online. 

The developments are among a series of threatening or potentially threatening incidents amid the high-profile trials swirling around the former president. 

The woman, Abigail Jo Shry of Alvin, called the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. where judge Tanya Chutkan is overseeing the Trump case, allegedly saying, ‘We want to kill you,’ according to prosecutors.

That event, revealed in a filing by prosecutors, came during a week when Trump was at the center of attention in another cases, following his indictment by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia over his election overturn effort there.

In that case, the names of grand jurors were posted on far-right messages boards after they were included in the indictment. That happened on a site that has posted messages from ‘Q’ of the QAnon conspiracy theory. Other sites posted the names as part of a ‘hit list.’

Fulton County DA Fani Willis has herself been the recipient of racist attacks, she revealed weeks before the indictment. 

Early this month, she forwarded to county commissioners one of the threats she said she has received, with the guidance to ‘stay alert’ and ‘stay safe.’ 

She also forwarded an obscene message she said she received in the run up to the indictment of Trump and 18 other people, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

It called her a ‘corrupt (racial expletive),’ threatening, ‘You are going to fail, you Jim Crow Democrat (expletive).’ 

The threat against Chutkan came August 5, according to court records. 

Trump this week put the judge back in the spotlight by going after her online, calling her ‘highly partisan,’ and calling out her language while sentencing a January 6 defendant. ‘She obviously wants me behind bars. VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!.’ 

Chutkan had herself warned Trump not about attacks on herself, but against statements that might intimidate a witness or impact the jury pool.  She said ‘inflammatory statements’ might cause her to have to speed up the trial due to jury considerations.

The Texas woman, a supporter of Donald Trump has been charged with threatening to kill the federal judge overseeing a criminal case against the former president, as well as a member of Congress. 

Abigail Jo Shry of Alvin, Texas, allegedly called the federal courthouse in Washington and left the threatening message – using a racist term for U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan – on August 5, court records show. 

‘Hey, you stupid slave n****r,’ she began the message, which she left at the judge’s chambers at 7:50 p.m., according to Department of Homeland Security officials. 

Investigators traced her phone number and she later admitted to making the threatening call, according to a criminal complaint.

In the call, Shry told the judge, who is overseeing the federal election interference conspiracy case against Trump, ‘You are in our sights, we want to kill you,’ the documents stated.

Special prosecutor Jack Smith has indicted Trump for alleged crimes to obstruct the 2020 election results and also for his mishandling of classified documents. Trump also faces state charges in New York for alleged hush-money payments. 

This week, the former president was also indicted in Georgia for his alleged role, along with 18 co-defendants, to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. 

Smith has called for the trial on the federal election interference charges to start in July.  

Prosecutors allege Shry also told Chutkan in the message, ‘If Trump doesn’t get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you, so tread lightly b***h.’ 

She also threatened to kill U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat running for mayor of Houston, according to court documents.

In addition, she set her sights on ‘all Democrats in Washington D.C. and all people in the LGBTQ community.’ 

‘You will be targeted personally, publicly, your family, all of it,’ she added. 

When she was questioned by DHS agents, Shry claimed she had no plans to go to Washington but said if Lee came to Alvin, ‘then we need to worry.’ 

A judge earlier this week ordered Shry jailed. 

On Monday, she was held without bond and charged with communicating a threat to injure another person across state lines, according to WUSA.  

Shry has been charged four times in the last year on similar charges and has been jailed 30 times.  

She was out on bond on a July 11 charge of misdemeanor threat causing fear of imminent serious bodily injury when she threatened Chutkan. 

Court records show Shry is represented by the Houston public defender´s office, which did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Wednesday. Shry is scheduled to appear at a full bond hearing on September 13.

Trump has publicly assailed Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, calling her ‘highly partisan’ and ‘ VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!’ because of her past comments in a separate case overseeing the sentencing of one of the defendants charged in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Chutkan in a hearing Friday imposed a protective order in the case limiting what evidence handed over by prosecutors the former president and his legal team can publicly disclose. 

She warned Trump´s lawyers that his defense should be mounted in the courtroom and ‘not on the internet.’

Chutkan also warned the former president’s lawyers he could face a faster trial if he keeps making ‘inflammatory’ statements that could taint the jury pool.

In a stern message, she said she would not let the trial over allegations he subverted the 2020 election turn into ‘a carnival atmosphere of unchecked publicity and trial by media.’ 

Man is arrested for ‘raping his three-year-old daughter when she came to stay with him for Father’s Day’

• The unnamed man, 46, was detained by police in Montes Claros, Brazil
• His daughter complained she was suffering pain after visiting him  

By David Averre and Rachael Bunyan

Published: 10:19 EDT, 15 August 2023 | Updated: 10:29 EDT, 15 August 2023

The man who was arrested for attempting to charge Donald Trump‘s motorcade in Miami is now in Washington, D.C. to protest outside the courthouse where the ex-President is expected to be arraigned on Thursday afternoon.

Domenic Santana, 61, showed up in the nation’s capital this week wearing a white and black striped prisoner outfit with a posterboard of a photoshopped mugshot of a bald Trump in an orange prison jumpsuit.

‘You do the crime you pay the time. Your time is up,’ the poster reads.

The other side is an orange background with black block letters reading: ‘Lock Him Up.’

Trump is expected to be arraigned at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse after Special Counsel Jack Smith announced a grand jury’s four charges against the ex-President related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

Santana was arrested earlier this year for running in front of Trump’s motorcade as he left court from his second indictment for mishandling classified documents.

Video of the incident this summer shows Santana standing in front of Trump’s motorcade in his striped outfit and holding up his protest sign before being tackled out of the street by law enforcement and what appeared to be a suited member of the ex-President’s Secret Service detail.

He stepped out of a Miami jail in June holding his pinstripe prison costume, smiling, saying he didn’t regret what he did and claiming it was ‘important’ that Trump saw his sign.

He stepped out of a Miami jail in June holding his pinstripe prison costume and said he didn’t regret what he did.

‘They had to do their job. They didn’t know if I was armed. The police did a great job,’ Santana said. ‘Yeah, it was worth it – look, look, I’m getting the message out – he shoulda been locked up a long time ago.’

Trump is summoned to appear for his third incident in court on Thursday afternoon – but it’s still not clear if the ex-President will show up in D.C.

Special Counsel Smith announced the four new charges on Tuesday following an investigation into Trump’s involvement in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot and the efforts to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election.

A grand jury voted to indict Trump on conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy against citizens’ rights, obstruction and attempted obstruction of an official proceeding and witness tampering.

Law enforcement erected barriers around the courthouse on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night in preparation for Trump’s appearance.

If he does appear, Trump is likely to plead not guilty to all four felony charges. His schedule for the day remains fluid, while his team didn’t rule out the possibility of a press conference following the arraignment on Thursday.

Trump is expected to be met with a barrage of camera, supporters and even protesters as he is booked and processed by the U.S. Marshals Service. He will be fingerprinted but no mugshot will be taken.

The arraignment is being overseen by Biden-appointed Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya – a different judge will handle the criminal trial.

Trump’s top 2024 competitor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said after news broke of the indictment that Americans should have the legal ability to move their cases out of D.C.’s jurisdiction because ‘swamp mentality’ could affect jurors.

The ex-President agrees, posting to his Truth Social on Tuesday night that it’s ‘impossible’ that he will be given a fair trial in D.C.

‘The latest Fake ‘case’ brought by Crooked Joe Biden & Deranged Jack Smith will hopefully be moved to an impartial Venue, such as the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia!’ he wrote on his social media platform. ‘IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95% anti-Trump, & for which I have called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness.’

He added: ‘It is now a high crime embarrassment to our Nation and, indeed, the World. This Indictment is all about Election Interference!!!’

U.S. Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, Park Police, Marshals Service and the Federal Protective Service are all on high-alert for the indictment and prepared for the arraignment for the last few weeks.

‘We’re prepared for tomorrow,’ U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger told reporters Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday there was a false report of an active shooter on Capitol Hill, leading Senate buildings to shelter in place during the scare.

The different law enforcement agencies held several calls Wednesday to review plans for the day.

The indictments and growing legal woes facing Trump are only bolstering his support among Republican voters.

In March, before his first indictment, Trump was earning 43 percent of the GOP primary vote, according to a RealClearPolitics average. A day after he was charged in the case involving hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, his support jumped to 50 percent in the same tracking.

A few months later in early June, Trump was indicted for a second time on 37 charges related to mishandling classified documents he was privy to while President. His polling average jumped again to 55 percent.

Polling on RealClearPolitics only tracks until Monday, August 1 – a day before the third and latest indictment – but it still shows Trump far in the lead against his 14 GOP challengers.

Brutal violence hits Magaluf’s notorious Punta Ballena strip: Brit, 29, is arrested after fight between two groups of men breaks out when someone tries to help KO’d victim of ANOTHER brawl

• A 29-year-old British national has been arrested following a brutal fight in Spain 

By Natalia Penza

Published: 07:06 EDT, 14 August 2023 | Updated: 14:10 EDT, 14 August 2023

Multiple people who work on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ were detained Thursday night on charges of illegal entry to the House of Representatives.

A total of nine people were initially detained over the incident, according to Fox News. 

Among the arrestees are Robert Smigel, best known for his character Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Smigel, 62, is a frequent guest on Colbert’s CBS show. 

Also arrested were one of Colbert’s producers, Allison Martinez, and writer, Josh Comers, reports Fox News.  

According to Fox News’ Chad Pergram, the group was attempting to film and take pictures around the offices House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Lauren Boebert.

It is unclear why, but the visit may be linked to the ongoing January 6 riot hearings – with Democrat Representative Adam Schiff reportedly letting the posse in.  

The group had earlier been attempting to get interviews in the Cannon House Office Building but were removed due to a lack of proper press credentials. 

Those detained in addition to Smigel have been named as Jake Plunkett, Allison Martinez, Tyrone Dean, Stephen Romond, Nicoletta Green, Brendan Hurley, Josh Comers and David Feldman. 

According to her LinkedIn page, Allison Martinez is an associate producer on Colbert’s popular late night comedy talk show. 

While on his page, Jake Plunkett is listed as a senior producer and director on the program. 

Brendan Hurley is a prop master on the show and has worked with Colbert since the host’s Comedy Central show, ‘The Colbert Report.’

Josh Comers is a Brooklyn-based comedian and writer. 

David Feldman is a writer and comedian who previously worked on ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ and ‘The Daily Show.’ 

On his website, Feldman made no reference to his arrest but said that he was returning to New York City after filming with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog whom he referred to as his ‘boss.’ Feldman joked: ‘He’s tough, but fair.’  

A CBS spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the members of the team were detained following their final interview after they stayed behind to film ‘comedy elements in the halls.’

The spokesperson said that the interviews were authorized and pre-arranged through congressional aides. 

The team were filming at the Capitol on June 15 and 16, the spokesperson said.  

Citing a congressional source, Fox News Jesse Watters said on a broadcast that the group gained access to the building from Democratic congressmen Rep. Adam Schiff of California and Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts. 

During an appearance on Watters’ show, Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois said that the group were banging on the doors of fellow Republicans Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

Davis also told Watters: ‘We just found out about the arrest today, and I’m going to make sure when we get back to Washington next week, we are going to ask the questions that need to be asked. We will ask the security officials why these arrests had to be made.’ 

The House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack public hearings have featured heavily on Colbert’s show in recent days. 

On Wednesday, the host made light of reputed Proud Boy leader Joseph Biggs requesting to have his trial moved from Washington DC due to media attention.

Biggs’ lawyers specifically mentioned Colbert’s show in documents. Colbert joked: ‘They want to move the trial to some place where The Proud Boys have a better reputation. Like 1930s Berlin.’ 

According to a statement from capitol police: ‘On June 16, 2022, at approximately 8:30 p.m., U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) received a call for a disturbance in the Longworth House Office Building.’

‘Responding officers observed seven individuals, unescorted and without Congressional ID, in a sixth-floor hallway.’   

The statement continued: ‘The building was closed to visitors, and these individuals were determined to be a part of a group that had been directed by the USCP to leave the building earlier in the day.’ 

‘They were charged with Unlawful Entry. This is an active criminal investigation, and may result in additional criminal charges after consultation with the U.S. Attorney.’

A woman who was reportedly planning the assassination of Volodymyr Zelensky has been arrested in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) detained the unnamed woman and began questioning her about her alleged involvement in a plot to kill the Ukrainian president during his visit to the port city of Mykolaiv last month.

The woman was a Russian informant who was collecting intelligence about Mr Zelensky’s planned visit, SBU officials said.

She is accused of trying to find out where and when the president was travelling and reportedly filmed the locations of Ukrainian facilities, including ammunition depots and electronic warfare systems.

The woman was caught ‘red-handed’ by authorities while trying to pass over the collected intelligence to Russia, the SBU claimed. If convicted, she could face 12 years in prison.

The suspect was living in the Ukrainian city of Ochakiv – a small city in the southern Mykolaiv region. She is understood to have been a former saleswoman in a store for one of the region’s military units.

The SBU allege that she was gathering the information as part of a plot to carry out an air strike on Mykolaiv and assassinate Zelensky.

When detectives learned of the woman’s plans, ‘additional security measures’ were taken to protect Zelensky, officials said.

‘The Ukrainian Security Service continued to document the criminal actions of the enemy accomplice in order to obtain new data about her Russian ‘curators’ and the tasks received,’ they said in a statement on Monday. 

Mr Zelensky has been a prime target for the Kremlin since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, when he refused to leave Kyiv as Moscow’s forces approached.

It came as Russian shelling struck a nine-storey residential building in the city of Kherson, killing one person and wounding four others.

Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Kherson had endured a ‘tough night’ as the Russians ‘covered the central part of the city with fire’.

In the north-eastern Kharkiv province, a 57-year-old woman was killed and four people were wounded in Russian shelling.

It comes after Ukraine damaged two key bridges leading into Russian-occupied Crimea with ‘Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK’.

The Chonhar bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea was damaged and a small bridge across the Tonky Strait was also shelled.

Continuing attacks by Mr Zelensky’s forces are making it increasingly hard for Putin’s invading army to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

Russia is also facing a revolt from its own nationals – with anti-Putin militia groups claiming to have blown up a fuel and ammunition depot inside occupied Ukraine.

The Freedom of Russia Legion – which was formed in spring 2022 to fight for Ukraine – claimed a mortar strike on the village of Zaitseve in the Donetsk region.

Dramatic drone footage captured the moment that the depot was transformed into a raging inferno as huge plumes of smoke billowed into the sky.

The attack came in the wake of Russia staging three waves of attacks on Sunday morning on a Ukrainian air base believed to house British- and French-supplied long-range Storm Shadow missiles.

A triple attack saw explosions in the vicinity of Starokonstantinov air base in Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyi region, according to reports.

The scale of any damage was not clear but Sergei Gamaly, the head of Ukraine’s regional military administration, said a ‘series of explosions’ had hit the area.

Russia had sent up seven Tu-95 nuclear-capable strategic bombers to unleash strikes with conventional Kh-101 missiles, reports said.

Russian sources said the Starokonstantinov base was used by Ukrainian Su-24 warplanes to fire Storm Shadows and French version SCALP-EGs at occupied lands.

The devastating attack came as grain silos were, again, targeted overnight in Kharkiv, and during a national celebration of Ukraine’s Air Force, with Zelensky taking time to praise his ‘heroes of the sky’ on social media.