Tate brothers face rape and trafficking charges in the UK

LONDON (AP) — Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been charged in Britain with rape and other crimes, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The charges were authorized in January last year but not publicized, though news media at the time reported on a U.K. arrest warrant issued against the Tates, dual U.S. and British citizens who moved to Romania in 2016. The Crown Prosecution Service said this was the first time it confirmed the two had been criminally charged in Britain.

Andrew Tate, 38, faces 10 charges related to three women that include rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain. Tristan Tate, 36, faces 11 charges related to one woman that include rape, human trafficking and actual bodily harm.

The brothers are both former professional kickboxers who have millions of followers on social media. Andrew is more well-known, having drawn a larger following with his unapologetic misogyny that has drawn boys and young men to the luxurious lifestyle he projects.

A spokesperson for the two had no immediate comment when reached by The Associated Press. But Andrew Tate commented on the BBC’s story on the charges on the X social media platform.

“They do this to any man who fights against them,” Tate said, referring to the government. “Never give up men. Never give in. Do not be scared.”

The Tates were arrested in Romania in late 2022 and formally indicted last year on charges that they participated in a criminal ring that lured women there, where they were allegedly sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape.

They have denied all the allegations in Romania.

Romanian courts have issued an order to extradite the two to the U.K. once their court case is concluded in there, British prosecutors said.

The warrant issued by Bedfordshire Police last year for the siblings dates back to allegations between 2012 and 2015.

The whereabouts of the brothers was not immediately clear. They were photographed a week ago outside a police station in Voluntari, Romania, where they have to report regularly while facing charges there.

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

FILE - Andrew Tate, left, and his brother Tristan, right, wait at the Court of Appeals building in Bucharest, Romania, on Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

FILE - Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate arrive, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

FILE- Police officers escort Andrew Tate, center, handcuffed to his brother Tristan Tate, to the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)

FILE - Andrew Tate, left, and his brother Tristan arrive at the Bucharest Tribunal in Bucharest, Romania, Feb. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, top left, arrives at a police station in a Lada vehicle in Voluntari, Romania, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)