Nation & World Glance
Russia takes control of a city in eastern Ukraine after Ukrainian troops withdraw
KYIV, Ukraine – Russia said its forces took complete control Saturday of a city in eastern Ukraine that was the focus of intense combat for months, a development that Moscow could use to boost morale as the second anniversary of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches with the war largely at a stalemate.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement came the same day Ukraine’s military chief said he was withdrawing troops from the city of Avdiivka, where the outnumbered defenders had battled a Russian assault for four months.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told the Kremlin that Russian forces were working to clear final pockets of resistance at the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant, officials said in a statement. Videos on social media Saturday appeared to show soldiers raising the Russian flag over one of the plant’s buildings.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a personal message of congratulating to his troops in the city, state news agency Tass reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Avdiivka’s capture as an “important victory.”
Along with the invasion’s upcoming anniversary on Feb. 24, Russia also is preparing for a March presidential election that is all but guaranteed to give Putin another six-year term.
Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny’s team confirms his death and says his mother is searching for his body
Alexei Navalny’s spokesperson confirmed Saturday that the Russian opposition leader had died at a remote Arctic penal colony, saying he was “murdered,” but it was unclear where his body was as his family and friends searched for answers.
Navalny’s death at age 47 has deprived the Russian opposition of its most wellknown and inspiring politician less than a month before an election that will give President Vladimir Putin another six years in power.
Although neither the imprisoned anti-corruption crusader nor other Kremlin critics were in a position to challenge Putin for the presidency, the loss of Navalny was a crushing blow to Russians who had pinned their future hopes on Putin’s seemingly indefatigable foe. It also prompted questions about what killed him. Russian officials told the politician’s team Saturday that the cause of Navalny’s death had not yet been established and that the results of a new investigation would be released next week, said Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh. Navalny’s mother was told that the body would not be released until those investigations were complete, she said. The decision has prompted speculation that the Russian authorities may be keen to hold on to the body in an attempt to cover up potential foul play. “They’re driving us around in circles and covering their tracks,” Yarmysh said.
A note handed to Navalny’s mother stated that he died at 2:17 p.m. Friday, according to Yarmysh. Prison officials told his mother when she arrived at the penal colony Saturday that her son had perished from “sudden death syndrome,” Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-corruption Foundation, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
A prison colony employee said the body was taken to the nearby city of Salekhard as part of a post-mortem investigation, Yarmysh said. When Navalny’s mother and one of the late politician’s lawyers visited the morgue in Salekhard, it was closed, Navalny’s team wrote on its Telegram channel. But the lawyer called the morgue and was told the body was not there, his team said.
Mediator says talks on Gaza not ‘progressing as expected’ after momentum in recent weeks
RAFAH, Gaza Strip – Talks on a potential ceasefire deal in Gaza “have not been progressing as expected” in the past few days after good progress in recent weeks, key mediator Qatar said Saturday, as Israel’s prime minister accused the Hamas militant group of not changing its ”delusional” demands.
Speaking during the Munich Security Conference, Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al Thani, noted difficulties in the “humanitarian part” of the negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure to bring home remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, said he sent a delegation to cease-fire talks in Cairo earlier in the week at U.S. President Joe Biden’s request but doesn’t see the point in sending them again.
Hamas wants a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and the release of Palestinians held by Israel.
Netanyahu also pushed back against international concern about a planned Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, a city on southern Gaza’s border with Egypt. He said “total victory” against Hamas requires the offensive, once people living there evacuate to safe areas. Where they will go in largely devastated Gaza is not clear.
Army Reserve soldiers, close friends killed in drone attack, mourned at funerals in Georgia
WAYCROSS, Ga. – Two young citizen-soldiers who became close friends after enlisting in the Army Reserve were remembered at funerals in southeast Georgia on Saturday, nearly three weeks after they died in a drone attack while deployed to the Middle East.
A service for 24-year-old Sgt. Kennedy Sanders was held in the packed 1,200seat auditorium of Ware County Middle School in Waycross.
Fellow soldiers recalled Sanders’ courage, her loving personality, and her willingness to volunteer for tasks few wanted to do, including learning to operate earth-moving equipment to help build roads and shelters, the Atlanta Journal-constitution reported.
“Behind her smile was a fierce determination,” Col. Jeffrey Dulgarian said during the service, adding that she “tackled her responsibility with vigor and skill.”
Sanders’ former basketball coach, Mandy Lingenfelter, remembered Sanders as a point guard for Ware County High’s Lady Gators.