International
Russia launches Ukraine’s “biggest attack on the energy industry”
At least three people have died and three others are missing as a result of the massive attack with missiles and drones launched by Russia against numerous regions of Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, there have been almost 90 missiles and more than 60 Shahed drones aimed at power plants and transmission lines, a hydroelectric plant and residential buildings.
“It is important to understand the cost of delays and postponed decisions,” Zelenski said on his Telegram account, after giving his condolences to those killed in the attack, referring to the request he made to the European Council on Wednesday for more air defense systems to better protect the entire Ukrainian territory from Russian attacks.
For his part, the Minister of Energy, German Galushchenko, has assured on his social networks that this morning is the largest attack recently launched by Russia against the Ukrainian energy sector.
“The enemy is carrying out the biggest recent attack against the Ukrainian energy industry,” Galushechenko wrote early Friday morning. The minister added that “the Russian goal” “is not only to damage, but to try to provoke again a large-scale collapse of the country’s energy system.”
Galushchenko reported power cuts in several regions of the country as a result of the attack. One of the affected areas is the northeastern city of Kharkov, whose authorities have reported that the city has run out of light.
In addition, the authorities have confirmed that one of the projectiles has hit the largest hydroelectric plant in the Zaporiyia region, in southeastern Ukraine.
According to the company in charge of this installation, Russia seeks to “create a new ecological disaster” by hitting the infrastructure of the plant and the dam from which it is fed with water.
Ukraine is receiving electricity from Romania, Slovakia and Poland to maintain the supply after the massive attack on its energy system.
The explosions were recorded after the Ukrainian Air Force reported the detection of Russian cruise and ballistic missiles that were heading for Ukrainian territory under Kiev’s control.
The Ukrainian defenses managed to destroy 55 of the 63 Shahed kamikaze drones and 37 of the 88 missiles of different types launched by Russia, according to the balance sheet of the Ukrainian Air Force.
“During the early morning of March 22, the enemy launched a combined air attack against critical infrastructures in Ukraine,” it reads the Kiev military report, which reports that Russia used, among other types of projectiles, 7 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and 12 Iskander-M ballistic missiles in the attack.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 35 of the 45 cruise missiles fired by Russia, but could not intercept any of the Kinzhal or the Iskander-M.
Ukraine can intercept ballistic and hypersonic missiles such as the Kinzhal in Kiev, but it is vulnerable to this type of Russian weaponry in almost the rest of the country.
In addition, Russia has launched 49 retaliatory attacks for Ukrainian incursions in the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk during the last week.
“From March 16 to 22, in response to the bombing of our territories, the attempts to raid and capture Russian border localities, the Russian Armed Forces launched 49 retaliatory attacks with long-range aerial weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and drones,” the Russian Ministry of Defense reported today in its daily war report.
The military department indicated that as a result of the attacks, “decision-making centers of the Ukrainian Army, airfields, weapons repair workshops, air and nautical drone warehouses, supply bases and site areas for Ukrainian military and foreign mercenaries” were reached.
Russia has been reporting daily for several days of the shooting down of drones and missiles in border regions with Ukraine, in particular in Belgorod, where it has suffered several incursions by militias of Russian volunteers fighting on the Ukrainian side.
During the last ten days, at least 21 Russian civilians have lost their lives as a result of these attacks.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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