International Glance
Russian forces on Jan. 2 launched a missile attack on a residential neighborhood in the city of Kharkiv, killing a child and injuring at least 19 people, including a six-month-old baby, regional authorities said.
The body of a three-year-old boy was recovered from the rubble of a destroyed apartment building after the attack, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. The boy's mother is considered missing. Search and rescue operations are ongoing at the site.
Sixteen of the wounded were hospitalized, including a woman in serious condition, Syniehubov said. He added that the baby did not require hospitalization.
In total, 28 people sought medical assistance following the attack, which included at least six people who suffered from severe stress due to the attack, according to Syniehubov.
The attack destroyed a five-story apartment and damaged other civilian infrastructure, a shopping center, and cars, according to the local authorities. The entrance to another four-story apartment building was damaged, as were contact networks, traffic signals, and power lines.
Russian missile attack on Kharkiv kills 3-year-old-child, injures at least 19 people
Kapustin Alive After Foiled Russian Hit Plot, HUR Says
Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) helped Denis Kapustin, the founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) who was announced dead last week, to fake his death before claiming the bounty placed on his head by Russian security services, it said on Thursday.
Kapustin, 41, was previously reported killed by a Russian drone whilst carrying out a combat mission in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region overnight on Saturday, Dec. 27.
On Jan. 1, HUR said in a post on Telegram that a Russian special service operation ordering his murder, which had allocated a $500,000 bounty to carry out the crime, had successfully been foiled.
It added that it had procured the sum offered to “liquidate” Kapustin by Russia and this money would be used to strengthen Ukrainian drone capabilities against Russian forces.
HUR said that the murder of Kapustin – considered a “personal enemy” by Russian President Vladimir Putin – had been “commissioned by the special services of the aggressor state Russia, which allocated half a million dollars to carry out the crime.”
It added that a special operation lasting more than a month had successfully duped Russian intelligence services into believing that Kapustin was dead.
Around 40 killed, 100 injured in explosion in Swiss ski resort bar, police say
Around 40 people have been killed and 100 injured, most of them seriously, after an explosion tore through a crowded bar during a New Year's Eve party in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana, Swiss officials said on Thursday, Jan. 1.
A fire broke out at 1.30 a.m. in a bar called "Le Constellation" in the resort in southwestern Switzerland. The cause of the blast remains unclear but authorities said it appeared to be an accident.
"At the moment we are considering this a fire and we are not considering the possibility of an attack," prosecutor Beatrice Pilloud told a press conference, adding that authorities had opened a full investigation.
Some of the victims are from other countries, said Stephane Ganzer, head of security for the Valais canton. The canton's head of police, Frederic Gisler, said a helpline had been opened for relatives.
"I can’t hide from you that we are all shaken by what happened overnight in Crans," Gisler told the news conference.
"Our count is about 100 injured, most seriously, and unfortunately tens of people are presumed dead," he said, adding that patients had been dispatched to hospitals in Sion, Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich.
Trump, top aides express concern over Israel’s West Bank policies in meeting with PM
US President Donald Trump and his top aides expressed concern over several Israeli policies in the West Bank during their meetings Monday with visiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Palm Beach, a US official told The Times of Israel.
Trump and his senior advisers took particular issue with unchecked settler violence, settlement expansion and Israel’s withholding of several billion dollars in Palestinian Authority tax revenues, which has brought the Ramallah-based government to the brink of collapse, the US official said, confirming a report on the Axios news site.
The official clarified that the conversations on those issues were cordial, even as Washington expressed fear that instability in the West Bank could harm efforts to stabilize the Gaza Strip and expand the Abraham Accords.
Asked whether he raised concern about Israeli settler violence during his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump acknowledged some disagreement, saying: “We have had a big discussion for a long time on the West Bank, and I wouldn’t say we agree on the West Bank 100 percent. But we’ll come to a conclusion on the West Bank.”
The US is said to also be pushing Israel to release several billion dollars in clearance revenues that Jerusalem is withholding from Ramallah, bringing the Palestinian Authority to the brink of collapse.
Tumultuous New Year’s Eve in Russia marked by reported drone strikes on oil sites
A turbulent New Year’s Eve unfolded across Russia as multiple regions reported drone attacks in the early hours of Jan. 1, triggering fires at oil facilities in Kaluga Oblast and Krasnodar Krai, according to Russian Telegram channels and monitoring groups.
Local residents shared videos showing a glow in the sky and large fires in industrial areas where energy facilities are located. In the city of Liudinovo in Kaluga Oblast, reports indicated that a local oil storage facility was hit.
The Kyiv Independent can't immediately verify the claims.
Footage circulating online showed a tall column of fire and smoke above the site. Regional authorities have not commented on the extent of the damage, though local channels said the fire was preceded by the sound of explosions.
Residents of Krasnodar Krai also reported a turbulent New Year’s night, as the Ilsky oil refinery came under attack. The facility has previously been targeted by drones on multiple occasions, according to open-source reports and local media.
U.S. Military Strikes Three More Alleged Drug Boats, Killing 3 And Possibly Leaving Survivors
The U.S. military said Wednesday it struck three more boats that were allegedly smuggling drugs, killing three people while others jumped overboard and may have survived.
The statement by U.S. Southern Command, which oversees South America, did not reveal where the attacks occurred. Previous attacks have been in the Caribbean Sea and in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
A video posted by Southern Command on social media shows the boats traveling in a close formation, which is unusual, and the military said they were in a convoy along known narco-trafficking routes and “had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes.” The military did not provide evidence to back up the claim.
The military said three people were killed when the first boat was struck, while people in the other two boats jumped overboard and distanced themselves from the vessels before they were attacked. Southern Command said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue efforts.
Trump and Netanyahu present united stance on Gaza, but will Hamas agree to go along?
As the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip stretches on, more and more reports have emerged of growing strains between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Axios last week indicated that Trump’s top aides believe that Netanyahu is sabotaging the ceasefire process. According to the report, Trump’s team is convinced that Netanyahu is delaying progress toward the second phase of the president’s Gaza plan, and could ultimately resume the war against Hamas. Trump, meanwhile, wants to unveil the new technocratic government for Gaza, backed by the international peacekeeping force, and to convene the Board of Peace.
There were disagreements over Syria reported in the news as well. According to the Kan public broadcaster, Netanyahu asked Trump to retain some American sanctions on Syria as he prepared to repeal them last week, in the hope that they could be used as a bargaining chip in future negotiations, but the request was refused.
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- 5 takeaways on Trump-Netanyahu meeting at Mar-a-Lago
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