International
Russian army captures Stepove, key supply hub for Ukrainian forces, claims russian defense ministry
The Russian military has captured Stepove, a crucial municipality for Ukraine’s supply line in Avdiivka, a city seized 10 days ago by Russian troops. This was announced on Wednesday by the Ministry of Defense of Vladimir Putin’s government.
“On the Avdiivka front, units of the ‘Center’ group liberated the locality of Petróvskoe (Stepove for Ukrainians) and occupied more advantageous positions,” the military report states.
This municipality, located northwest of Avdiivka, allows control over the railway line that served as a supply route for Ukrainian troops in this stronghold.
Russian Government Asserts Continued Advance
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated yesterday that troops were continuing their advance after the capture of Avdiivka.
“After establishing control over the important enemy stronghold of Avdiivka, Russian forces continue to improve their positions in the Donetsk and Kupyansk sectors, seizing new heights and positions from the Ukrainian Army. Since the beginning of the year, 327 kilometers have been liberated from Nazi forces,” he said.
According to Shoigu, during the past week, the Russian Army has expelled Ukrainian forces from the towns of Pobeda, Lastochkine, and Severne in the Donetsk region, annexed by Russia in September 2022.
The spokesperson for the Ukrainian military group ‘Tavria,’ Dmytro Lijovi, previously confirmed the withdrawal of Kiev forces from the villages of Stepove and Severne, where, according to him, around a hundred people lived before the war.
Doubling Radar Production for the Year
On the same day, the Russian Defense Minister inspected several factories of the Russian military-industrial complex in the Tula region, 200 kilometers south of Moscow, specializing in the production of radars for the detection of artillery pieces, necessary for the war in Ukraine.
“The Strela company informed the Defense Minister that the order for 2023 for the production of Yastreb-AB and Zoopark-1M radar systems and Aistionok radars, used to detect artillery, was fully completed,” the Ministry reported on Telegram, where it also posted a video of the visit.
The company’s director, Viacheslav Chapkin, also stated in his report that the acquisition of new technical equipment and the implementation of 12-hour workdays allowed doubling the number of radars produced for 2024, with plans to quadruple production by 2025.
According to Defense, Shoigu also visited the SPLAV company, specializing in the production of missiles for various multiple launch systems, where he was shown the new facilities launched in 2023.
The renewal of this factory allowed quadrupling the volume of the main types of these missiles and even increasing the production of some models by seven times.
Zelensky: Urges Swift Arms Supply
From Tirana, where he met with governments from Southeast Europe on Wednesday, Ukrainian President urged his allies to make decisions to accelerate arms supply.
“We must survive. For that, we need concrete decisions, decisions about weapons. And those weapons must arrive on time,” he said before stressing, “We have no time or alternatives. We face a killer. With a second Hitler. Our initiative is for us to triumph over Putin.”
In recent weeks, Zelensky has traveled to various countries to seek more support and weapons amid fears that the capacity for support from allies in Europe, and especially the United States, may diminish.
In Washington, the new financial aid package for Ukraine, worth €55 billion, remains blocked due to resistance from Republicans in Congress.
International
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.”
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.
International
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.
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.
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.
International
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.
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
Seven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
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