International
The drone and missile attack launched by Russia has affected 15 of the 24 Ukrainian regions
The massive attack with drones and missiles launched by Russia during the early hours of Monday morning has affected 15 of the 24 Ukrainian regions, as reported by the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denís Shmigal, on his Telegram account.
Shmigal explained that Russian forces have used drones, cruise missiles and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in the attack. These last missiles are the most difficult to intercept in the entire Russian arsenal. Ukraine is vulnerable to the Kinzhal (which means ‘dagger’ in Russian) in most of its territory.
For his part, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmitro Kuleba, again asked Kiev’s Western partners to allow him to hit with his long-range weaponry military targets throughout the territory of the Russian Federation to avoid massive attacks with drones and missiles such as the one launched on Monday.
And the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that it had launched this attack against targets of the “energy infrastructure” of Ukraine.
“This morning, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a massive attack from the air and sea with high-precision and long-range weapons, and unmanned aerial vehicles against critical energy infrastructure facilities that guarantee the operation of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine,” says the military side.
In addition, according to the Russian command, “gas pumping stations in the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kharkov regions, which guaranteed the operation of the Ukrainian gas transport system” and warehouses with aerial site pumps and projectiles “delivered by the West, at airfields in the Kiev and Dnipropetrovsk regions” were attacked.
Prime Minister Shmigal also recalled that there have been deaths and injuries in the attack. The authorities of the regions of Volín (northwest), Dnipropetrovsk (center), Zaporiyia (southeast) and Zhitómir (center-west) had previously reported the death of a total of four people.
Shmigal has also pointed out that “the target of the Russian terrorists was again the energy infrastructure.” “Unfortunately, there are damages in several regions,” said the head of government, who also reported power cuts in the country as a result of the impacts.
Ukrainian authorities have reported damage to electrical infrastructure in the regions of Lviv and (west) and Dnipropetrovsk. The massive Russian attack has also caused power and water cuts in some areas of Kiev, according to the mayor of the capital, Vitali Klichkó.
The Minister of Energy, Herman Galushchenko, has described the situation of the electricity system as “difficult” after the attack, and companies in the sector have announced emergency cuts due to the damage suffered by the system.
Today’s is the ninth Russian massive attack on the Ukrainian electricity system since last March 22. Ukraine has lost much of its generation capacity in these attacks, which forced the authorities to ration the supply with scheduled blackouts of up to half a day during the first part of the summer.
Meanwhile, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced in his speech to the nation last night that the Ukrainian Army has taken control of two other localities in the Russian region of Kursk, where Kiev forces occupy dozens of towns after crossing the border in early August.
“I just spoke to the commander-in-chief (Oleksandr) Sirski. We are advancing in the Kursk region, from one to two kilometers. We have taken control of two more locations. There are operations underway in another town,” Zelenski said in his speech.
The head of the Ukrainian state also explained that his troops continue to take prisoners among Russian soldiers in the Kursk region. “We are filling in the ‘exchange fund,’” Zelenski said, referring to the exchanges of prisoners of war that are carried out regularly between both sides.
In addition, one journalist killed and three more injured left a Russian attack on the city of Kramatorsk, near the Donetsk front.
The deceased communicator was identified as Ryan Evans, a member of the Reuters team that covered the war in Ukraine, the British agency confirmed.
The attack also reached two other Reuters journalists of Ukrainian and American nationality, who were in a hotel in the east of Ukraine.
“Ryan Evans, a member of the Reuters team that covered the war in Ukraine, died and two Reuters journalists were injured in an attack on a hotel in the city of Kramatorsk,” the international news agency confirmed on Sunday.
According to other versions, a fourth Polish informant was injured when her vehicle was hit.
The Kremlin assured that Russian forces attack only military infrastructure or facilities linked to the Ukrainian military sector when commenting on the death of a security adviser from the Reuters agency in Kramatorsk.
Filashkin, the governor of Donetsk, recalled that throughout Saturday’s day seven civilians died in the region – which records the most intense fighting on the front at the moment – as a result of the Russian attacks, five of them in Kostiantinivka, while 15 people were injured.
International
Mexico requests extradition of ‘Mini Lic’ for murder of journalist Javier Valdez
The Mexican government has requested the extradition of Dámaso López Serrano, a former high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, who is accused of masterminding the 2017 murder of Mexican journalist Javier Valdez, the Attorney General’s Office announced on Tuesday.
López Serrano, known as “Mini Lic,” was arrested last Friday in Virginia, United States, on charges of fentanyl trafficking, a crime he committed while on parole.
“This is the key issue for us, he [López Serrano] is the mastermind of this murder. The rest of the perpetrators are already processed and in jail, he was the one missing,” said Attorney General Alejandro Gertz.
“We immediately made the extradition request,” the official added during the routine morning press conference of President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Valdez, an award-winning reporter specializing in drug trafficking and correspondent for AFP and the newspaper La Jornada, was murdered on May 15, 2017, in front of the office of his magazine Riodoce in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state.
“Mini Lic” was originally arrested in 2017 when he voluntarily turned himself in to U.S. authorities and pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. In 2022, he was released on parole.
Gertz confirmed that the Mexican Attorney General’s Office had requested López Serrano’s extradition “countless times,” but Washington had declined to act on the request because he had become a “protected witness” for the U.S. government and “was providing a lot of information.”
“Now, with this situation where they themselves are acknowledging that this individual is still committing crimes, I think there are more than enough reasons for them to support us,” the prosecutor added.
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the largest drug trafficking organizations in Mexico and was founded by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
Culiacán has been shaken by a wave of murders since the arrest of Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, another key leader of the cartel alongside Guzmán, on July 25 in New Mexico, United States.
International
Cuba’s government stresses openness to serious, respectful U.S. relations
Cuba reiterated on Tuesday its willingness to engage in dialogue with the United States, just weeks before Republican President Donald Trump assumes office. During his first term, Trump halted the historic rapprochement between the two countries, which had been initiated just ten years earlier by Democrat Barack Obama.
“It will not be Cuba that proposes or takes the initiative to suspend the existing dialogues, to suspend the existing cooperation. Not even the discreet exchanges on some sensitive issues,” said Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío at a press conference in Havana.
“We will be attentive to the attitude of the new government, but Cuba’s stance will remain the same as it has been for the last 64 years. We are willing to develop a serious, respectful relationship with the United States, one that protects the sovereign interests of both countries,” he added.
His statements come on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the historic rapprochement announcement between Washington and Havana.
On December 17, 2014, Cuban leader Raúl Castro (2006-2021) and Barack Obama (2008-2016) announced the beginning of a thaw in relations, which led to the restoration of diplomatic ties in 2015, after more than half a century of confrontation.
This process of thawing bilateral relations was later halted by businessman Donald Trump, who significantly reinforced economic sanctions against the communist-ruled country. The Republican will return to the White House on January 20.
Cuba, under a U.S. trade embargo since 1962, was re-listed in 2021 on the “blacklist of countries supporting terrorism,” blocking financial and economic flows to the island of 10 million inhabitants.
Subsequently, the administration of current Democratic President Joe Biden made only slight adjustments to the sanctions and also kept Cuba on this list. However, his administration resumed bilateral contacts with Havana on migration issues and the fight against terrorism.
International
Mexican government to use church atriums for gun surrender program to combat violence
The atriums of Mexican Catholic churches will be used for the voluntary surrender of weapons in exchange for economic and legal incentives as part of a plan announced on Tuesday by the government to reduce violence.
According to the Mexican government, there is a link between the illegal trafficking of weapons—almost entirely coming from the United States—and the spiral of criminal violence that has plagued the country since late 2006, when a controversial military anti-drug offensive was launched.
“The idea is to set up areas in the church atriums where people can voluntarily surrender their weapons, and in return, they will receive financial resources based on the weapon they are turning in,” explained President Claudia Sheinbaum during her regular press conference.
The left-wing leader emphasized that the program, called “Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace,” guarantees that those who surrender their weapons will not face any “investigation.”
“What we want is to disarm. This will be implemented next year. We also did it in Mexico City, and it had significant results,” added the former mayor of the capital, with a population of 9.2 million.
The disarmament plan is part of the government’s “comprehensive security strategy,” one of whose pillars is promoting a culture of peace, especially in regions severely affected by organized crime violence, Sheinbaum pointed out.
More than 450,000 people have been murdered in Mexico since the government launched its military-led anti-drug operation, alongside about 100,000 people who have gone missing.
Despite being a secular state, the Mexican Catholic Church has played a key role in efforts to contain violence, with priests acting as mediators between citizens and criminals. Several clergy members have been killed for this cause.
Just last week, the Catholic hierarchy called on cartels to declare a truce in their violent actions during the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12 and the upcoming Christmas holidays.
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