International
Zelenski informs David Cameron of the course of the war in Ukraine
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenski, has received in Kiev the British Foreign Minister, David Cameron, whom he has informed about the situation on the front and has requested that the new military aid package to Kiev announced by London last week arrive “as soon as possible” in Ukraine.
“I have informed the Foreign Minister about the situation on the front. It is important that the weapons contained in the United Kingdom support package announced last week arrive as soon as possible,” Zelenski wrote on his social networks.
“Before anything else, armored vehicles, ammunition and missiles of various types,” the Ukrainian head of state added about the material included in the package that Kiev needs more urgently.
Zelenski also visited the Jmelnitsky region (western Ukraine) on Friday and discussed with the civil and military authorities the security situation in this oblast, with special attention to air defenses and the means of electronic warfare and the protection of the nuclear power plant in the area.
London approved last month the largest military aid package in the United Kingdom so far for Ukraine. This aid item worth 580 million euros includes Storm Shadow long-range guided missile systems, more than 400 military vehicles, 1,600 defensive and attack missiles and four million units of ammunition.
This new British aid arrives at a particularly difficult time on the battlefield for Ukraine, which in recent weeks has had to give way in the eastern region of Donetsk due to enemy superiority in personnel and ammunition for artillery.
The United Kingdom will contribute with gas turbines, cogeneration technologies and mobile generators so that Kiev can face the consequences of Russian attacks on its energy infrastructures and decentralize the Ukrainian electricity generation system to make it less vulnerable.
In a statement published last night, Cameron announced his visit to Kiev and confirmed the sending of an energy support package to Ukraine worth 36 million pounds (41 million euros) and the supply of precision guided bombs and air defense equipment.
In just one week, Russia has destroyed or damaged much of the Ukrainian electricity generation infrastructure in a campaign of air strikes that Ukraine has not been able to repel due to its shortcomings in air defense.
In his meeting with Cameron in Kiev, Zelenski also spoke with the head of British diplomacy about the Global Peace Summit that Kiev organizes on June 15 and 16 in Switzerland to obtain the support of as many countries as possible for the so-called Ukrainian Peace Formula.
This document requires, among other things, the withdrawal of Russian troops from the invaded country and the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
On the other hand, at least 546 children have died in Ukraine and 1,319 have been injured of various considerations as a result of the Russian military aggression against this country that began on February 24, 2022, according to data published today by the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office.
The most recent victims occurred this Thursday, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
On the other hand, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, described the “verbal escalation” of Paris and London about the conflict in Ukraine as dangerous and warned that it could pose a threat to the entire architecture of European security.
Peskov specifically alluded to the statements of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine and those of the head of the United Kingdom’s diplomacy, David Cameron, about the Ukrainian troops has the right to use British weapons to attack the territory of Russia.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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