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
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
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.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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