Abkhazian opponents protesting against an agreement with Moscow that allows Russian companies to invest in Abkhazia, today took the seat of Parliament of that Georgian separatist region recognized by Russia as an independent state.

Police officers and other security services who were inside the Legislature were forced to leave the building, the official Russian agency TASS reported from Sujumi, the Abhazian capital.

The incidents, which have left at least eight injured according to the authorities, occurred after the Legislature canceled its session today in which the ratification of the agreement with Russia was scheduled, signed on October 30, and refused, as the opposition demanded, to remove the bill from the agenda.

In September it was reported that Russia had suspended its huge subsidies to Abkhazia, so opponents denounced that the investment agreement with Moscow was the product of pressures.

Incidents since Monday

Last week the Abkhazian opposition created a committee against the ratification of the agreement with Russia, considering it harmful to regional economic sovereignty.

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On Monday, the Abjaz Police arrested five opposition activists protesting against the agreement with Russia next to the headquarters of the Abjazian Parliament, whose independence was recognized by the Kremlin in 2008 after the war with Georgia for the control of the also separatist South Ossetia.

According to the Abhasian attorney general, Adgur Agrba, opponents and relatives of the detainees tried to break into the headquarters of the State Security Service in order to free them, but they were rejected by the police.

The next day the opponents blocked three bridges next to Sujumi, the Abchazian capital, and managed to release the detainees

Ukraine has found in technology its best ally for war, with a commitment to innovation that makes the difference both on the battlefield and in the daily lives of millions of citizens who have to live with the invasion.

In a conflict that from the beginning has been compared to a fight between David and Goliath, the “slingshot” of Ukraine is technology: hybrids between a missile and a drone to accurately attack Russian bases, robots that evacuate wounded soldiers or kamikaze devices that destroy bridges.

Machines to support troops

“We are trying to fight them with machines because we do not have enough people,” explained the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Alex Bornyakov, in an interview with EFE during the Web Summit, the technology congress held this week in Lisbon.

This commitment to technological innovation allowed Ukraine to destroy part of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea with small kamikaze ships, an “exact example” of the metaphor between David and Goliath, the deputy minister said.

Ukrainian forces also use sentinel drones to monitor a territory, capable of attacking the enemy if necessary; robots that help evacuate soldiers so as not to endanger other companions; and autonomous devices to locate and extract mines.

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This year the biggest bet is drone missiles, such as the Palianytsia, with a flight range of between 500 and 700 kilometers and which can be used against targets in Russian territory.

“By next year we are definitely going to produce more of our own missiles,” explained Bornyakov, who explained that the budget for the purchase of drones is around 3,000 or 4 billion dollars.

In addition, they will allocate another 80 million to innovations in Defense.

Technology for day to day

These efforts are not only aimed at the battlefield but also at using technology to help Ukrainians live with the war on a daily basis.

An example is ‘Kiev Digital’, the mobile application that the City Council of the Ukrainian capital launched in 2021 and that since the invasion has become indispensable for the Kievites.

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“We notify people that a missile attack is coming. We offer you additional information about where the bomb shelters are, where the target of the attack is, which shelters have Wi-Fi and how to get there,” Oleg Polovynko, who advises the consistory on digitization issues, exemplified to EFE.

The app reports on other consequences of the war such as power cuts but also on the basic services of any city, such as the transport network or online procedures.

18% of the population uses it daily and about 40% weekly, said Polovynko, who assured that Kiev is already a global reference in digital transformation and “all cities have to learn” from it.

Objective: to boost the technological ecosystem

The Ukrainian technological ecosystem is present this year at the Web Summit with more than 80 start-ups, some of them oriented to the Defense sector, such as BeesAM and RMachine, specialized in mines.

Others, such as Inheart.memorial, are dedicated to helping to remember and honor the deceased, with a platform to make digital memorials that allows you to gather biographies, photographs, videos, links to social networks and other resources.

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Then a QR is created that is placed next to the tombstones, so that anyone can know their story.

Although the idea emerged before the war, it now includes many pages dedicated to the “heroes,” the CEO of the platform, Oleksander Sydorov, explained to EFE, who pointed out that they have added new features such as the last battle or the medals received.

Promoting the technological ecosystem was already one of the purposes of the Ukrainian Government in 2019, before the invasion, as the deputy minister recalled: “We set ourselves the goal of becoming one of the leading technological hubs in Europe.” The war has accelerated the process.

The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, will officially announce on Friday the nomination of the governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum, as the next Secretary of the Interior.

This was announced on Thursday night during the speech he offered at the gala dinner held at his private club in Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach (Florida), which from today until Saturday hosts a new edition of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

“We are going to reduce regulatory waste, fraud and inefficiency,” promised the Republican, winner of the electoral fair on November 5 and who will assume his second term on January 20.

Burgum: another one that Trump left in the race

Billionaire and former executive director of a technology company, Burgum ran in the primaries for the nomination of the Republican Party and even participated in the first two debates, finally abandoned the race to the White House last December.

Shortly after, Bergum, 68 years old and governor of North Dakota since 2016, gave his support to the former president (2017-2021) in the race for the Republican nomination and campaigned with him in several events.

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His name was even on the final list of the Republican’s possible presidential running mates, who finally opted for Ohio Senator JD Vance.

The ‘gala’ of the CPAC

The president-elect has today been the leading figure of the gala dinner of the conservative America First Policy Institute that is held in his mansion and social club, and in which he has been presented by actor Sylvester Stallone, who referred to the Republican as “the second George Washington.”

JD Vance, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and billionaire Elon Musk, who is having a prominent participation in the transition process of the future Trump Administration, have been part of the gala.

“He’s good. He has done a fantastic job. Really an incredible mind,” Trump said at dinner.

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, also participated in the event, who on the podium was “grateful” and “blessed” to be among “true giants.”

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“You have done a fantastic job in a short time and it is an honor to have you here,” Trump said, who stressed that the libertarian “has made Argentina great again,” alluding to the slogan of his campaign since 2016.

The US president-elect announced today another outstanding nomination: that of former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for his conspiracy theories about vaccines, as the new Secretary of Health.