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Ukraine: Helicopter Crash Kills Interior Minister, And 14 Others

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BOVARY, Ukraine Authorities said a helicopter crashed into a kindergarten in a foggy residential suburb of Kyiv on Wednesday, about a dozen other people on the ground.

Denys Monastyrskyi, the Interior Minister in charge of the country’s police and emergency services, is the highest-ranking official killed since Russia invaded nearly 11 months ago. His death, along with that of the rest of his ministry’s leadership and the entire helicopter crew, was the second major disaster to strike Ukraine in four days, following the death of dozens of civilians when a Russian missile struck an apartment building in the southeastern city of Dnipro.

There was no immediate word on whether the helicopter crash in the capital’s eastern suburb of Brovary, which occurred on a foggy morning, was an accident or related to the war. Ukrainian authorities launched an investigation right away. There has been no recent fighting in the capital region.

As he spoke via video link to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the crash had a broad connection to the war.

“This is not an accident because it is the result of war, and war has many dimensions, not just on the battlefields,” he said after asking the Davos audience to stand and join him in a minute of silence to remember those who had died. “In wartime, there are no accidents. All of these are the outcomes of war.”

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At least 14 People Were Killed.

According to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, at least 14 people were killed, including nine on board the helicopter and one on the ground. According to the report, 25 people were injured, including 11 children. Early official reports differed on the number of casualties.

Oleksii Kuleba, the regional governor of Kyiv, told Ukrainian television that emergency services were still identifying bodies and that the death toll could rise.

According to the Ukraine National Police, the crash killed five Interior Ministry officials, one national police official, and three helicopter crew members.

On Telegram, Zelenskyy described the crash as a “tragedy” on a “dark morning.”

“The agony is indescribable,” he wrote. His wife, who was in Davos then, had burst into tears after learning of the crash.

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Ukraine’s Minister And Two Children Were Killed In The Crash.

Authorities said that Ukraine’s interior minister was killed in a helicopter crash near the capital on Wednesday, along with more than a dozen other people, including children. (Jan. 19) Malak Harb/Associated Press

Suella Braverman, the British Home Secretary, described Monastyrskyi, 42, as “a leading light in supporting the Ukrainian people during (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s illegal invasion.” She was “struck by his determination, optimism, and patriotism,” she said.

According to political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko, Monastyrskyi was in charge of police and emergency services dealing with the aftermath of Russian strikes and de-mining.

Ihor Klymenko, the national police chief, has been appointed acting interior minister, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

According to the National Police, among those killed were Monastyrskyi’s deputy, Yevhen Yenin, and Yurii Lubkovych, State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Ukrainian Officials Routinely Travel By Helicopter

During the conflict, senior Ukrainian officials routinely travel by helicopter at low altitudes and high speeds, increasing the inherent dangers of the flights. According to Fesenko, the tragedy may prompt Kyiv to implement a rule that many countries and companies follow, which states that top officials should not fly on the same plane.

The officials on the helicopter were scheduled to visit Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, according to local police chief Volodymyr Tymoshenko, who added on Facebook that they were “friends who I respected” rather than “leaders.”

Reflective sheets covered at least four bodies at the crash site. Officials removed charred, mangled wreckage from a playground and against an apartment building. Some of the walls had been partially demolished and blackened.

Yurii Ihnat, a Ukraine air force spokesperson, told a television channel that the helicopter was a French-made Super Puma.

According to a French defense official, the helicopter was sold to Ukraine in 2019, before the start of the war on February 24. According to ministry policy, he spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be identified.

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Officials Are Considering All Possible Scenarios

Ukraine’s Security Service is investigating, according to Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin. “For the time being, we are considering all possible scenarios of the helicopter crash accident,” he wrote on Telegram.

The crash occurred during a particularly bleak period in Ukraine’s war, just days after a Russian strike on an apartment building in southeastern Ukraine killed 45 people, including six children — the deadliest attack on civilians since the spring.

“Another very sad day today — new losses,” Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, said as she responded to the news while attending the World Economic Forum.

Following the start of the session, the forum observed 15 seconds of silence in memory of the killed Ukrainian officials.

“We haven’t had time to recover from one tragedy, and now there’s another,” said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office.

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“Pointless War Continues On”

On Twitter, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sent his condolences and said that as long as Putin “keeps his pointless war going,” Ukrainians will keep dying.

The crash, according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, “shows once again the huge price that Ukraine is having to pay in this war.”

— Putin defended his invasion with a variation on previously used arguments. He told a group of veterans that Moscow’s actions were intended to stop a “war” that has raged since 2014 in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists have battled Ukrainian forces.

“All we are doing today as part of the special military operation is an attempt to stop this war. “This is the purpose of our operation: to protect the people who live on those lands,” he explained.

Ukraine Poses No Threat To Russia In Its Current State

Ukraine and its Western allies have dismissed Russia’s justifications, claiming that Kyiv posed no threat to Moscow and that the invasion was unprovoked.

— Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, stated that Moscow’s goals in Ukraine are “determined by Russia’s core legitimate interests.”

“In Ukraine, there must be no military infrastructure that poses a direct threat to our country,” Lavrov said at his annual news conference. He said that the goal of Ukraine’s Western allies in the conflict is to wear out Russia.

— Fighting continued in eastern Ukraine around the city of Bakhmut and the nearby salt mining town of Soledar. According to the office of the president of Ukraine, 14 cities and villages in the partially occupied Donetsk region were shelled in the last 24 hours. Two civilians were hurt.

SOURCE – (AP)

 

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The Presidents Of France And Brazil Meet And Announce A $1.1 Billion Investment Plan For The Amazon

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SAO PAULO — The Brazilian and French presidents announced plans on Tuesday to invest 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in the Amazon, including rainforest areas in neighboring French Guiana.

According to a joint statement by the two governments, the funds will be distributed over the following four years to conserve the rainforest. It will collaborate with state-owned Brazilian banks and France’s investment agencies. Brazil and France both stated that private resources would be welcomed.

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The Presidents Of France And Brazil Meet And Announce A $1.1 Billion Investment Plan For The Amazon

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are meeting this week to rekindle bilateral relations after years of tensions with former President Jair Bolsonaro, deepen cooperation to protect the rainforest, and boost trade.

Macron began his three-day tour of the country in the Amazon city of Belem, where he met with longtime ally Lula. The French president then boarded a boat to Combu Island to meet with Indigenous leaders.

Macron and Lula witnessed a Greenpeace demonstration with placards reading “No Oil in the Amazon.” Brazil’s government has considered authorizing oil exploration in a location near Belem, located in Para state.

Lula stated during his speech that Macron’s visit is part of a worldwide effort to strengthen rainforest safeguards.

“We want to convince those who have already deforested that they must make significant contributions to countries that still have forests in order to keep them standing,” Lula stated in a speech beside the French president.

Before the trip, Macron’s administration stated that a potential European trade pact with the South American body Mercosur would not be on the table. The French president opposed such an agreement as long as South American growers did not adhere to the same environmental and health requirements as Europeans after farmer concerns were highlighted during protests in France and Europe.

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The Presidents Of France And Brazil Meet And Announce A $1.1 Billion Investment Plan For The Amazon

The French president awarded Indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire the prestigious Legion of Honor medal for her work to preserve the rainforest.

“You were in Europe, and I promised to come here to your forest and be with your people in this forest that is coveted,” Macron told the Indigenous leader, according to French radio RFI. “President Lula and I have a common cause for one of our friends in this land that belongs to you.”

According to Macron’s office, Lula and Macron will strive to “set a common course” to combat climate change and poverty as Brazil prepares to host the G20 conference in Rio de Janeiro in November and UN climate negotiations in Belem the following year.

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The Presidents Of France And Brazil Meet And Announce A $1.1 Billion Investment Plan For The Amazon

On Wednesday, Macron and Lula will debut a diesel-powered submarine built in Brazil using French technology at the Itaguai shipyard near Rio de Janeiro. The French president will then travel to São Paulo to meet with Brazilian investors. On Thursday, the French president will travel to Brasilia for another meeting with Lula.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Israel And Hamas Dig In As Pressure Builds For A Cease-Fire In Gaza

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JERUSALEM — On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a Gaza cease-fire that his country’s main partner, the United States, chose not to reject. He said the resolution empowered Hamas and pledged to continue the fight.

As the war enters its sixth month, both Israel and Hamas have rejected cease-fire proposals, both maintaining that their version of triumph is within grasp. The passing of the U.N. resolution has further heightened tensions between the United States and Israel during the course of the conflict.

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Israel And Hamas Dig In As Pressure Builds For A Cease-Fire In Gaza

Netanyahu has stated that Israel can only achieve its goals of eliminating Hamas and releasing dozens of captives if it pushes its military offensive to the southern city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population has sought refuge, many in overcrowded tent camps. The United States has stated that a massive assault on Rafah would be a mistake.

Hamas has stated that it will hold the captives until Israel agrees to a more permanent cease-fire, withdraws its soldiers from Gaza, and releases hundreds of Palestinian inmates, including prominent terrorists. It said late Monday that it had rejected a recent plan that fell short of those objectives and, if implemented, would allow it to claim an enormously costly triumph.

In a statement, Netanyahu noted that the declaration “proved clearly that Hamas is not interested in continuing negotiations toward a deal and served as unfortunate testimony to the damage of the Security Council decision.”

“Israel will not surrender to Hamas’ delusional demands and will continue to act to achieve all the goals of the war: releasing all the hostages, destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and ensuring that Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.”

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel has killed around 32,000 Palestinians, with almost two-thirds of them being women and children. The ministry’s total does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The war has destroyed much of the Gaza Strip, uprooted the majority of its citizens, and pushed one-third of its 2.3 million population to the verge of hunger.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that Marwan Issa, the deputy chief of Hamas’ armed branch in Gaza, was killed in an airstrike earlier this month. Issa helped orchestrate the October 7 attack. Issa is the highest-ranking Hamas leader murdered in Gaza since the war began. According to military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Issa was killed when fighter jets targeted an underground complex in central Gaza on March 9-10.

An Israeli strike late Monday on a residential structure in Rafah where three displaced families were sheltering killed at least 16 individuals, including nine children and four women, according to hospital records and family members. An Associated Press reporter witnessed the dead arriving at a hospital.

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Israel And Hamas Dig In As Pressure Builds For A Cease-Fire In Gaza

In response to Hamas’ requests for a more permanent cease-fire, Netanyahu has pledged to resume Israel’s offensive following any hostage release and continue fighting until the militant group is annihilated. However, he provided little ideas about what would happen after such a triumph and rejected the United States’ postwar vision.

That policy has led him into increasingly open conflict with President Joe Biden’s administration, which has expressed growing concern over civilian losses yet continuing to provide Israel with critical military help and supporting Israel’s goal of eradicating Hamas.

The approval of Monday’s resolution by the United Nations Security Council widened the tensions. The resolution asked for the release of all hostages held in Gaza but did not make the cease-fire conditional on it. The Biden administration, which has previously vetoed U.N. resolutions calling for a cease-fire, abstained from Monday’s vote, letting it succeed.

In reaction, Netanyahu canceled Israeli officials’ scheduled visit to Washington, during which the U.S. was expected to provide options for a ground assault in Rafah.

The action sparked accusations in Israeli media that Netanyahu was undermining Israel’s most vital partnership to appease hardliners in his ruling coalition.

“He is willing to compromise Israel’s relations with the United States for a brief political-media coup. “He has completely lost it,” commented Ben Caspit, a famous commentator for Israel’s Maariv daily.

He claimed that Netanyahu has tested U.S. patience by delaying the delivery of more humanitarian goods to Gaza and the development of postwar plans. “Now, instead of doing everything to placate them, he is flailing about like a baby throwing a tantrum.”

On a separate trip to Washington, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other key U.S. defense officials on Tuesday.

Before the meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin characterized civilian casualties in Gaza as “far too high” and relief deliveries as “far too low.” But he also reiterated his position that Israel has the right to defend itself and that the United States will always be there to assist.

Gallant stated that he informed Blinken that Israel would not end operations in Gaza until all captives were returned. Only a decisive victory can put an end to this war.

Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ top political leader, said the U.N. vote demonstrated that Israel faced “an unprecedented (level of) political isolation” and is “losing its political cover” at the Security Council. He spoke at a news conference in Tehran after meeting with officials from Iran, a key Hamas backer.

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Israel And Hamas Dig In As Pressure Builds For A Cease-Fire In Gaza

The battle began on October 7, when Hamas-led terrorists poured across the border and attacked communities in southern Israel, murdering 1,200 people, the majority of them were civilians, and kidnapping approximately 250 others. It is still thought to be keeping approximately 100 hostages and the remains of 35 others after the majority of the remainder were released in November in exchange for the release of Palestinian captives.

The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have spent many weeks attempting to arrange another cease-fire and hostage release, but their efforts appear to have stalled.

Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, which is presently holding the discussions, informed reporters that the negotiations were ongoing but did not provide any information.

Hamas has previously proposed a phased process in which it would release all remaining hostages in exchange for Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza, the opening of its borders for aid and reconstruction, and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants serving life sentences.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

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MOSCOW — The death toll from last week’s music hall attack in Moscow increased to 140 on Wednesday, with another victim dying in a hospital, according to Russian officials.

That victim was one of five who remained hospitalized in “extremely grave condition,” and physicians “did everything they could” to rescue them, according to Russia’s Health Minister, Mikhail Murashko.

According to the official, 80 individuals were hurt in the attack and are hospitalized, while 205 others sought outpatient medical care.

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Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

The Friday night shooting at Crocus City Hall, a huge shopping and entertainment complex on the northwestern outskirts of Moscow, was the bloodiest terrorist act on Russian soil in nearly two decades. Four attackers with automatic rifles targeted thousands of concertgoers and set fire to the arena.

An Islamic State affiliate claimed credit for the violence, while US intelligence confirmed the group’s involvement. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France has intelligence pointing to “an IS entity” as responsible for the attack.

The day following the attack, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the arrest of 11 people, including four alleged gunmen. The four guys, all Tajik nationals, appeared in court in Moscow on Sunday on terrorist accusations and appeared to have been severely beaten. One person appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.

Russian officials, meanwhile, have asserted that Ukraine and the West played a role, which Kyiv categorically rejects. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of attempting to incite frenzy as his forces fight in Ukraine.

Alexander Bortnikov, the FSB chief, also said that Western intelligence services may have been involved. “We believe that radical Islamists planned the action, while Western special services assisted it, and Ukrainian special services had a direct role in it,” Bortnikov added without providing further information.

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Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

He echoed Putin’s claim that the four gunmen were attempting to flee to Ukraine when they were apprehended, citing it as evidence of Kyiv’s claimed involvement.

However, Belarus’ autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko, who stated on Tuesday that the suspects were on their way to Ukraine because they were concerned about tight border controls, called this allegation into question.

The Islamic State organization, which lost much of its territory after Russia’s military intervention in Syria in 2015, has long targeted Russia. In October 2015, IS bombed a Russian airplane over the Sinai desert, killing all 224 persons on board, the majority of them were Russian vacationers returning from Egypt.

The group, which primarily works in Syria and Iraq but also Afghanistan and Africa, has claimed multiple strikes in Russia’s dangerous Caucasus and other areas in recent years. It has recruited fighters from Russia and other former Soviet republics.

On Monday, Putin warned that similar strikes could occur, citing probable Western participation. He made no mention of the United States classified warning to Moscow about a probable imminent terrorist strike two weeks before the raid.

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Death Toll In Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises To 140 After Another Victim Dies In Hospital

Three days before the incident, Putin condemned the US Embassy’s March 7 notification urging Americans to avoid crowds in Moscow, particularly concerts, as an attempt to intimidate Russians and “blackmail” the Kremlin ahead of the presidential election.

Bortnikov said Russia appreciated the warning, but it was quite vague.

SOURCE – (AP)

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