International
Russia announces the capture of the Ukrainian bastion of Kurákhove in the Donestsk region
The Russian Army took the Ukrainian bastion of Kurákhove, in the eastern region of Donestsk, after several months of intense fighting, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported today in a statement.
“As part of the offensive of the units of the South military grouping, the city of Kurákove, the most densely populated urban center of the southwestern region of the Donbas, was totally liberated,” the Russian command said on Telegram.
According to Defense, “for ten years the Kiev regime turned the city into a powerful defensive bastion with a wide network of fire positions and underground tunnels.”
Two months of siege
The city is protected from the north by the Kurákhove dam, “which substantially limited the maneuvering possibilities of Russian assault units,” said the military agency.
In order to defend the city, Ukraine sent a large number of troops, “which included nationalist units and foreign mercenaries, supported with artillery and tanks,” said Defense, according to which the Ukrainian Army concentrated in Kurákhove 26 battalions with more than 15,000 soldiers.
“Thanks to the professional actions of the Russian forces, during the liberation of Kurákhove the enemy lost 80% of his living forces (more than 12,000 people), about 3,000 combat machines, including 40 tanks and other armored vehicles.
During the two months of war actions in Kurákhove, the average daily casualties of the Ukrainian Army ranged between 150 and 180 soldiers between dead and wounded,” according to the Russian report.
An important logistical knot
The capture of this city, an important logistical knot, “made it considerably difficult to supply the rearguard and the Ukrainian military in the Donetsk sector, so that the Kiev regime lost the possibility of bombing the civilian population of Donetsk with its artillery,” Defense explained.
The capture of Kurákhove allows the troops to enter operational space and “increase the speed of the liberation of the territories of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” added the Russian military command.
The pace of the Russian offensive increased in the second half of last year and, especially from August, territorial losses were increasing month by month.
In November, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost 610 square kilometers of territory or 20.3 square kilometers a day in their clashes with Russian troops.
The greatest territorial losses are recorded in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv.
Explosions near the Zaporiya nuclear power plant
Meanwhile, observers of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) displaced in Ukraine reported last night that they have heard loud explosions near the Ukrainian nuclear power plant of Zaporiya.
In a statement posted on its website, the Vienna-based organization points out that the detonations coincide with reports of a drone attack against the plant’s training center.
This “is another threat to the nuclear safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant,” warned Director-General Rafael Grossi.
According to international observers, the intensity of military activities in the vicinity of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, occupied by Russia since March 2022, increased over the weekend.
International
Meta Says Russia Seeks to Ban WhatsApp for Defending Secure Communication
U.S. tech giant Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, said that Russia is seeking to ban the messaging app because it “challenges government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication.”
Russian authorities have encouraged citizens to switch to state-backed applications, and in August they already blocked WhatsApp’s calling feature.
On Friday, the communications regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that the platform was being used to “organize and carry out terrorist acts in the country, recruit perpetrators, and facilitate fraud and other crimes.”
“If the messaging service does not comply with Russian law, it will be completely blocked,” the regulator warned.
WhatsApp remains one of Russia’s most widely used messaging services, alongside Telegram.
Moscow is pressuring both platforms to grant authorities access to user data upon request for investigations into fraud and activities the government labels as “terrorist.”
Human rights advocates fear the demand could be used to target critics of the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin, or the war in Ukraine.
International
Archbishop Wenski criticizes Trump’s deportation policies, calls for stronger push for reform
The Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, has called for increased pressure on the U.S. Congress to advance comprehensive immigration reform and criticized President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, arguing that they “do nothing to help.”
“We need to apply more pressure on Congress so lawmakers can make the necessary changes. It is also important for the Administration to listen to our voice. We do not want to be anyone’s enemy—we are Americans,” Wenski said in an interview with EFE.
The religious leader, who heads one of the dioceses with the largest Latino and Haitian populations in the United States, issued a call to defend the rights of migrants. He also emphasized that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has maintained a strong and public stance in favor of migrants for decades.
International
Trump relaunches diplomatic push to finalize U.S.-Backed peace plan for Ukraine War
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his diplomatic team will resume meetings with delegations from Russia and Ukraine in an effort to pressure both sides to accept the peace plan proposed by Washington to end the war in Ukraine.
As part of this new round of talks, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will hold discussions with Ukrainian representatives to narrow differences on the remaining points of the agreement.
Trump also confirmed his intention to meet personally with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Putin, though he emphasized that such meetings will only take place “when the agreement is fully finalized or in its final stage.”
The president claimed that his administration has made “tremendous progress” toward resolving the conflict and reiterated that the war “never would have started” if he had been in the White House at the onset of the crisis.
The U.S.-backed peace plan consists of 28 points and has been revised following feedback from both sides. According to Trump, only “a few points of disagreement” remain under active discussion.
One of the most controversial aspects of the proposal is the suggestion that Ukraine cede parts of the Donbas region to Russia and limit the size of its armed forces. Kyiv is working closely with Washington to soften these clauses in search of an arrangement that does not compromise its sovereignty or security.
With this diplomatic push, Trump aims to solidify his role as the main mediator in the conflict and steer the war toward a political resolution after years of devastation, humanitarian crisis, and rising global geopolitical tensions.
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