Russian President Vladimir Putin and US emissary Steve Witkoff addressed today in the Kremlin possible direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to achieve a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
“It was about, among other things, the possible resumption of direct negotiations between representatives of Russia and Ukraine,” said Yuri Ushakov, international adviser to the Kremlin, during a telephone press conference.
Ushakov stressed that the meeting, which lasted for three hours, served to “bring positions closer” between the Kremlin and the White House.
In addition, he stressed that, by virtue of what was agreed by both presidents, the Russian-American consultations will soon continue actively.
US President Donald Trump today defended Moscow’s position on the membership of the annexed Crimean peninsula to the Russian Federation, something that Ukraine considers inadmissible.
Advertisement
20250801_pv_central_minsal_728x90
20250701_dengue_728x90
20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
In addition, he assured that Russia’s commitment to cease hostilities and give up taking more territories than it already controls in the neighboring country are sufficient concessions.
Putin was willing for the first time to resume direct contacts with Kiev this week by alluding to a possible 30-day truce in the attacks on civilian infrastructure, at the proposal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“This must all be studied thoroughly, even at a bilateral level,” he said at the time.
In this regard, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that the main obstacle is the decree signed by Zelenski that prevents him from negotiating face to face with Putin.
Representatives of Russia and Ukraine held direct negotiations in Minsk just after the start of the Russian military intervention on February 24, 2022 and met again in March in Istanbul.
Advertisement
20250801_pv_central_minsal_728x90
20250701_dengue_728x90
20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
Russia maintains that both parties had reached a principle of agreement, but the interference of the United Kingdom threw down the consensus, although experts claim that the Russian demands represented, in fact, the capitulation of Kiev.
Meanwhile, Russia continues its offensive against Ukraine and last night launched 103 drones on Ukrainian territory, of which 41 were attack and were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses and another 40 without explosive charge fell without causing damage, according to the report issued on Friday by the Ukrainian Air Force.
The attack caused damage in the regions of Kharkov and Sumi, in northeastern Ukraine, in Donetsk in the east of the country and in the Cherkasi and Dnipropetrovsk regions, in the center.
In the town of Pavlograd in the latter region, three people, including a child, died, according to regional authorities.
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Advertisement
20250801_pv_central_minsal_728x90
20250701_dengue_728x90
20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Seven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
Seven inmates were killed and eleven others injured in a violent riot and clash inside a penitentiary in the Mexican state of Veracruz, local authorities reported on Sunday.
The disturbance began on Saturday afternoon at the Social Reintegration Center in the port city of Tuxpan, in northern Veracruz, when inmates staged a protest over extortion and assaults allegedly carried out by members of the criminal group known as Grupo Sombra.
The protesting prisoners clashed with another group of inmates and set fires inside and outside the facility, seizing control of the prison for more than 12 hours.
During the takeover, the rioters released several videos, including one showing four prisoners —believed to be members of Grupo Sombra— accusing them of being behind the violence and extortion inside the prison.
It wasn’t until Sunday morning that elements of the Mexican Army, the National Guard, and local police forces managed to enter the prison and regain control. The state’s Public Security Secretariat confirmed that around 9:00 a.m. local time a coordinated operation restored full order and reestablished control of the facility.
Advertisement
20250801_pv_central_minsal_728x90
20250701_dengue_728x90
20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
Authorities also reported that the fires set by inmates were fully extinguished.
Official figures confirmed the “tragic” deaths of seven inmates and injuries to eleven people, who are now receiving medical treatment in various regional hospitals.
This is the second deadliest riot in Veracruz in the past eight years. In 2018, a violent uprising at the La Toma medium-security prison left seven people dead (six police officers and one unidentified man) and at least 22 injured (15 officers and seven inmates).
The riot follows the kidnapping and killing of retired teacher and taxi driver Irma Hernández, a case that shocked the entire country and was attributed to Grupo Sombra. Images of Hernández kneeling, surrounded by armed men in the municipality of Álamo, sparked nationwide outrage. She was murdered after refusing to pay extortion demands from the criminal organization.
Despite these incidents, Veracruz has not seen a spike in the daily homicide average. In fact, there has been a 1.6% decrease in homicides in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.
Advertisement
20250801_pv_central_minsal_728x90
20250701_dengue_728x90
20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
In 2023, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported 3,094 incidents in Mexican prisons —an 18.5% increase from the previous year— resulting in 100 deaths and 892 injuries.
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
