Russia's ex-minister found dead hours after being fired

Russian's transport minister was found dead Monday, hours after being dismissed by President Vladimir Putin, in what officials said was an apparent suicide. The dismissal came after a weekend of travel chaos when airports grounded hundreds of flights due to the threat of drone attacks from Kyiv. Transport Minister Roman Starovoy, 53, served as Russia's transport minister since May 2024 and was fired in a presidential decree earlier in the day that gave no reason for his dismissal. On Monday in Ukraine, meanwhile, at least 11 civilians were killed and more than 80 were injured, including seven children, in Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said. Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said. 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, 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. He didn't specify the weapons used. 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. Putin named Starovoyt's deputy, Andrey Nikitin, as acting transport minister. Nikitkin was the governor of Russia's Novgorod region until February. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on Starovoyt's dismissal. 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. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine