International

Ukraine and Russia exchange more prisoners while attacking and counterattacking in Kursk

Ukrainian troops continue to press and even advance in some areas of the Russian region of Kursk, despite the recent counteroffensive initiated by Russia, which carried out this Saturday with Ukraine the third exchange of prisoners of war since the Kiev incursion into Russian territory.

According to the Ukrainian analytical project DeepState, in the Kursk region the Kiev forces occupied Vetreno, Durovka and part of Zhuravli, while the Russians recovered Snagost with the surrounding peoples and advanced towards Liubimivka.

The Russian Army launched a counteroffensive this week in Kursk, where Ukrainian troops entered on August 6 to try to ward off Russian attacks against the northeastern regions of Kharkiv and Sumi and slow down Russian pressure on the eastern front of Donetsk, and came to occupy 1,300 square kilometers of territory.

Russia claims to have regained control of ten localities and, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted this week that a Russian counteroffensive is underway, both the Pentagon and the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) consider the operation “marginal” today.

Zelenski also assures that Russia has not obtained “important achievements” in the counterattack, for which Russia plans – as he said – to increase the number of soldiers deployed in Kursk to between 60,000 and 70,000.

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Russia deploys more soldiers in Kursk

At the beginning of the Ukrainian incursion, the Russians kept about 11,000 soldiers in this area, while now, according to various estimates, there are 30,000 to 45,000, said Vadim Misnik, spokesman for the tactical-operational group “Síversk” on Ukrainian television.

“The enemy is trying to increase forces to stop our offensive,” he said.

Moscow said in the meantime this Saturday that the Russian Army rejected in the last 24 hours up to five attempts by Ukrainian troops to cross the border, especially near the small town of Veseloye.

However, the Ukrainian drone unit Jorne, assured the day before that Kiev’s troops had penetrated the Russian border in a new place and advanced “kilometers within Russia.” As alleged evidence, he published a video on Telegram that would show Ukrainian forces allegedly advancing towards Veseloye.

However, Russia and Ukraine carried out this Saturday the third exchange of prisoners of war since the incursion of Ukrainian troops in Kursk.

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More than 300 soldiers exchanged since the incursion

The day before, the Ukrainian president reported an exchange that resulted in 49 prisoners released from Russian captivity – among which 23 women were for the first time in a long time – and today each side recovered 103 soldiers with the humanitarian mediation of the United Arab Emirates.

Among the Russian fighters released this weekend are Russian soldiers that Ukraine captured in Kursk, as well as at the end of August, when the two parties exchanged 230 prisoners of forerra.

Zelenski celebrated on his Telegram channel the return of 82 plains and non-commissioned officers and 21 officers, including 31 defenders of the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, in the eastern region of Donetsk.

On this front, Zelensky’s plan to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to deploy more troops in Kursk by removing soldiers assigned to the Donetsk sector is only partially successful, since Russia continues to advance on this front, although only marginally.

According to DeepState, in the last few hours it has done so in Pishchane, Niu-York, Ukrainsk, Sinkivka and three other towns in Donetsk.

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The ISW in turn points out that geolocated images of Thursday and Friday also show the Kremlin troops advancing gradually in the east of Toretsk and southeast of Pokrovsk, as well as southeast of Khasiv Yar, and that it continues its offensive west of the city of Donetsk.

They have also further consolidated control over Klishchiivka, according to the same source.

The General Staff of Ukraine indicated in its afternoon war part that another hot spot is the Kurajove sector, where the Russians attacked Ukrainian units on 27 occasions today.

International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.

International

Trump Floats “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Rising Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration is considering what he described as a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, as Washington continues to increase pressure on the island’s communist government.

“The Cuban government is talking to us and they have very serious problems, as you know. They have no money, they have nothing at this moment, but they are talking to us and maybe we will see a friendly takeover of Cuba,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a trip to Texas.

Earlier in the week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba needed a “radical change,” shortly after Washington eased restrictions on oil exports to the island for what officials described as “humanitarian reasons,” amid a deep economic crisis.

The United States has imposed an energy blockade on Cuba since January, citing what it calls an “extraordinary threat” posed by the communist-run island, located roughly 150 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of Florida, to U.S. national security.

International

Argentina’s Senate Reviews Milei-Backed Labor Overhaul

Argentina’s Senate on Friday began reviewing the Labor Modernization Law promoted by the administration of President Javier Milei, a proposal that would significantly reshape labor rules across the country.

The upper chamber opened its final discussion of the contentious initiative, which revises the method used to calculate severance payments — lowering the amounts owed in dismissal cases — and introduces an “hour bank” mechanism that allows overtime to be offset with paid leave rather than extra wages.

The legislation also broadens the classification of essential services, a change that would place new limits on the right to strike in designated sectors.

The bill was initially approved by the Senate on February 11 and then moved to the Chamber of Deputies, where lawmakers passed it with amendments. It has now returned to the Senate for definitive approval.

Outside the Congress building in Buenos Aires, workers, trade unions and left-wing organizations staged demonstrations beginning at midday. The gathering later thinned out amid reports of disturbances and a strong police presence. Security forces had secured the area surrounding the legislature since early morning hours.

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Union leaders contend that the reform weakens labor protections, while many business representatives back the measure but stress that sustainable formal employment will require economic expansion, improved credit conditions, greater investment and a more dynamic domestic market.