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Ukraine’s Zaluzhny touts drones as path to victory; Russia suffers strikes

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Ukraine’s Zaluzhny touts drones as path to victory; Russia suffers strikes

Ukraine’s commander-in-chief has outlined a plan to massively scale up the use of unmanned systems to overcome Russia’s advantages in manpower and materiel and break the deadlock in this war.

The effectiveness of such systems was proved again last week as they sank a Russian missile corvette, grounded three planes and set an oil refinery on fire.

Russia, too, continued to attack Ukraine with drones and missiles, but it failed to capture new territory despite its superior resources and constant assaults on the eastern city of Avdiivka and Ukraine’s stronghold at Krynky on the left bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Western allies made progress on securing funding for the war.

The European Union finally approved a 50-billion-euro ($63bn) aid package for Ukraine, and the United States Senate unveiled a $118bn bill that includes $60bn for Ukraine.

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Zaluzhny’s drone doctrine

“Unmanned systems … are almost the only tool for withdrawing from military operations of a positional form,” Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhny wrote in a doctrinal paper on Thursday, because traditional heavy armour and manpower are “increasingly a dream” for Ukraine’s armed forces.

He called for a “completely new state system of technological rearmament” that could “take up to five months”.

Zaluzhny’s new military doctrine dovetailed with the government’s pledge late last year to build 1 million first-person viewer drones and 11,000 medium- and long-range drones this year.

Ukraine has used such systems with devastating effect.

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On January 31, Ukraine struck the Belbek airfield in western Crimea.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it intercepted 20 air-launched missiles, but Russians in Crimea filmed some of the missiles flying undisturbed directly over dormant air defence systems.

The following day, Ukraine struck Belbek again, this time damaging or destroying three Russian fighter planes on the ground, according to southern forces spokesperson Natalia Humenyuk.

One Russian military reporter described it as a complex, two-day operation targeting three airfields and involving decoy missiles, HARM radar-seeking missiles, Storm Shadow attack missiles and surface drones.

Those surface drones sank a Russian warship near Lake Donuzlav off western Crimea.

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Footage released by Ukraine’s armed forces showed them repeatedly striking the Ivanovets, a 480-tonne missile corvette, crippling it and then destroying it in a pair of massive explosions. It was reportedly one of only three still operating in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said his service’s drone unit Group 13 sank the Ivanovets using Magura V5 surface drones.

“There were six direct hits to the hull. … The ship overturned on its stern and sank,” he said.

Two days later, Ukraine’s Security Service struck the Rosneft refinery in Volgograd, one of the largest in Russia, apparently using two aerial drones. Footage showed at least four burning oil tanks destroyed.

Budanov said he believes the number of attacks would increase.

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“Hypothetically, there is a plan by which all this happens. I believe that this plan includes all the main objects of critical infrastructure and objects of military infrastructure of the Russian Federation,” Budanov said.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat suggested attacks on Crimea would continue to target airfields.

“Russia uses not only Belbek. About five airfields are actively used for attacks on Ukraine. These are planes of various modifications: MiG-31, … MiG-29, Su-27 and helicopters,” he said.

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Ukraine has pursued other forms of asymmetric warfare.

Its military intelligence said a Russian Tu-95 bomber, who had reportedly taken part in raids on Ukraine, was shot dead in Russia.

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Ukrainian hackers from the Prana Network broke into a Russian Defence Ministry server, stealing documents that revealed Russia had agreed to pay Iran $1.75bn for 6,000 Shahed drones.

Russia kept those drones flying into Ukraine throughout the week, accompanied by missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Dnipropetrovsk was one of Russia’s main targets for those attacks.

“The danger is constant, high. Russia considers the region as one of the main targets for terrorist attacks. It is our enterprises, our economic potential, this region,” he said.

Dnipropetrovsk lies at the heart of Ukraine’s territories on the left bank of the Dnipro River and sits among the contested regions of Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson.

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Help from allies

As if to vindicate Zaluzhny’s turn from conventional battlefield weapons, EU leaders confirmed they would not be able to provide Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells by March as promised.

European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said 330,000 had been delivered and the number would reach about 524,000 by March.

“By the end of the year, the planned deliveries will reach more than 1 million because the figure in the pipeline amounts to 630,000,” Borrell said.

Some estimates have put Russian artillery shell production capacity at 6 million to 7 million a year. North Korea has reportedly delivered an additional 1 million more shells.

There was some good news for Ukraine on the financial front.

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European leaders overcame objections from Hungary to approve 50 billion euros ($54bn) in financial aid for Ukraine over the next four years. The first 4.5 billion euros ($4.85bn) was to arrive in Ukraine in March as part of a total of 18 billion euros ($19bn) for Kyiv this year. That left the EU with 20 billion euros ($21.5bn) in military aid still to approve.

US senators on Sunday released a $118bn national security bill for discussion that included $60bn for Ukraine this year.

US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, requested the sum late last year, but congressional Republicans had tied any Ukraine aid to increased security on the border with Mexico.

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Months of bipartisan negotiations produced sweeping reforms to asylum procedures, presidential parole to migrants and funding for border security.

“Now all indications are this bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor,” said Biden on Tuesday, blaming Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

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“He’s done nothing, I’m told, than reach out to Republicans in the House and Senate and threaten and intimidate them to vote against this proposal. And it looks like they’re caving, but they owe it to the American people to show some spine,” Biden said in a White House briefing.

Despite leading Ukraine’s armed forces to some spectacular successes, there was speculation that Zaluzhny was due to be replaced after Zelenskyy hinted at major changes in an interview that aired on Sunday night.

“A reset, a new beginning is necessary,” Zelenskyy told Italy’s state television Rai News.

“If we want to win, we must all push in the same direction, convinced of victory. We cannot be discouraged, let our arms fall. … That’s why I’m talking about restarting, replacement. I have something serious in mind, which is not about a single person but about the direction of the country’s leadership,” Zelenskyy said.

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Sporticast 510: The Sordid Saga of a Legends’s Former Mansion

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Sporticast 510: The Sordid Saga of a Legends’s Former Mansion

On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the latest in a strange sports real estate story.

In 2012, Michael Jordan listed his Bulls-era mansion outside Chicago for about $29 million, or $41 million in today’s dollars. It took more than a decade and multiple price drops for the home to sell, which it did late last year for $9.5 million. The buyer, a partner in a local real estate firm, has since tried multiple ways to monetize the property. Initially he tried to sell timeshares for $1 million each, but that plan was thwarted by the local town council. He’s back in front of that same council this week, seeking approvals related to his next plan: to build a “multi-sensory experience focused entirely on personal transformation.” The tourist attraction would require the use of a parking lot on an adjacent nature preserve.

Next the hosts discuss major upset in college sports. Nebraska’s women’s volleyball team, the top seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, was upset by Texas A&M in the quarterfinals. Riding a wave of volleyball commercial growth, the Huskers spent more on the sport than any other public school in the country, according to numbers from Sportico‘s college finance database. The team reported $2.57 million in ticket sales during the 2023-24 school year, the third highest total for any women’s team at any public school in the country, trailing only Iowa and UConn women’s basketball.

They close by taking about the Big 12‘s proposed private equity plan. A few days after Big 12 member Utah laid out its own on-campus capital ambitions, Sportico reported that the Big 12 is in talks to set up what essentially amounts to a credit facility for its members via a potential partnership with RedBird Capital-backed Collegiate Athletic Solutions.

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(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)

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Bystanders seen confronting Australian gunman during ISIS-inspired deadly rampage

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Bystanders seen confronting Australian gunman during ISIS-inspired deadly rampage

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Bystanders were seen on video confronting a gunman before his ISIS-inspired deadly mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, could begin. 

Despite their efforts to disarm him, the gunman eventually overpowered the two bystanders and killed them, according to authorities.

The bystanders were later identified as Boris and Sofia Gurman, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The outlet reported that the Gurmans were walking by as they saw the assailant exiting a vehicle. Though Boris had the upper hand for a moment after picking up the shooter’s rifle, the attacker allegedly picked up another rifle during the confrontation and fatally shot the couple, making them the first victims of the massacre.

“We are heartbroken by the sudden and senseless loss of our beloved Boris and Sofia Gurman,” the family said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness.”

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RABBI KILLED IN SYDNEY HANUKKAH ATTACK HAD WARNED AUSTRALIAN PM ABOUT RISING ANTISEMITISM

Bystanders were seen confronting one of the gunmen behind the deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach. (Jenny/Reuters)

In the video, obtained and verified by Reuters, an eyewitness replaying the dashcam footage recalls how the incident unfolded.

“You see the shooter here — he fired shots from here, shooting from here. And then look, this guy went and tackled him (shooter), knocking him to the ground. At that point, he had already grabbed the gun,” the witness, who was speaking in Mandarin, said in the video, according to a Reuters translation.

Authorities have identified the shooters as a father, 50, and a son, 24. The father was killed at the scene, while the son was shot by police and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Australian authorities also said that the shooters had improvised explosives and homemade ISIS flags in their vehicle.

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On Sunday, the pair opened fire on families celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and leaving more than two dozen injured. The Australian government is investigating the incident as a terror attack targeting the Jewish community.

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Police teams take security measures at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday after a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community during the first night of Hanukkah. ( Claudio Galdames A/Anadolu via Getty Images)

During the deadly rampage, another bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, an Australian immigrant, wrestled a gun away from one of the shooters. His attorney said that Ahmed does not regret intervening, despite being “riddled with bullets” and in intense pain.

“He doesn’t regret what he did. He said he’d do it again. But the pain has started to take a toll on him,” Ahmed’s attorney, Sam Issa, told The Sydney Morning Herald. “He’s not well at all. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment.”

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The outlet reported that Ahmed has undergone his first round of surgery and that Issa fears the hero bystander may lose his left arm.

“He’s a lot worse than expected. When you think of a bullet in the arm, you don’t think of serious injuries, but he has lost a lot of blood,” Issa said.

President Donald Trump praised Ahmed for his actions, calling him “a very, very brave person” and saying that he has “great respect” for him.

People attend a floral memorial in honor of the victims of a mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. (Flavio Brancaleone/Reuters)

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The Bondi Beach attack is the worst mass shooting Australia has seen since the country implemented sweeping reforms after a shooter killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. Following the Bondi Beach attack, Australian leaders have vowed to strengthen the country’s already restrictive gun laws.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced several proposed actions, including limiting the number of guns one can possess.

“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” he said after meeting with his National Cabinet.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano, Bradford Betz and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

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Venezuelan opposition leader Machado injured on covert Nobel Prize trip

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Venezuelan opposition leader Machado injured on covert Nobel Prize trip

President Maduro’s rival was hurt as she sped on a boat through choppy waters in secret escape from hiding to reach Oslo ceremony.

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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was injured as she made a clandestine dash to collect her Nobel Peace Prize last week, her spokesperson has said.

Claudia Macero said late on Monday that the right-wing opposition figure fractured a vertebra during a choppy boat ride that had formed part of a risky cloak-and-dagger journey to reach the Norwegian capital, Oslo, for the Nobel award ceremony.

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Machado has been in hiding since she was banned from running in Venezuela’s July 24 presidential election, fearing that her life is under threat from long-time Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“The vertebra fracture is confirmed,” Macero told the AFP news agency, adding that no further details would be released beyond what had been reported in the Norwegian daily Aftonbladet.

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The newspaper had earlier reported that the 58-year-old Machado sustained the fracture while crossing the sea in a small fishing boat battered by high waves.

The opposition leader was examined by doctors at Oslo University Hospital during her time in the city.

Dangerous dash

Media reports in the United States said Machado’s escape last week involved wearing a disguise, including a wig, and travelling from a small Venezuelan fishing village on a wooden boat to the island of Curacao, before boarding a private plane to Norway.

Machado has said she feared for her life during the voyage, which saw US forces situated in the Caribbean alerted to avoid a strike on the vessel.

Several similar boats have been attacked in recent months in a campaign that the Trump administration asserts is a bid to avert drug smuggling into the US.

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Maduro has accused Washington of seeking to engineer regime change in the hope of seizing Venezuela’s large oil reserves.

The leader of the opposition Vente Venezuela party was attempting to reach the ceremony at which she was due to be presented with the Nobel Peace Prize.

She was announced the winner of the prestigious award in October, with the selection committee praising her role in the country’s opposition movement and her “steadfast” support for democracy.

‘Broken soul’

Despite her speedy trip, Machado failed to reach Oslo in time for the ceremony. Her daughter received the award on her behalf and delivered a speech that slammed Maduro and warned of the need to fight for democracy.

Hours after the ceremony, early on Thursday morning, Machado greeted supporters from an Oslo hotel balcony in what was her first public appearance in a year.

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Despite the fracture, she climbed over a barrier to greet supporters outside the hotel, AFP reported.

Machado said authorities in Venezuela would have attempted everything possible to prevent her journey to Norway.

Appearing set to challenge Maduro in the vote, the opposition leader was barred from running in the country’s presidential election in July last year.

She then announced that she would be going into hiding within Venezuela due to fear for her life while Maduro is in power.

The Venezuelan president commented dismissively on the reports of Machado’s injury on television on Monday.

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Machado “says she has a broken vertebra”, he said. “What’s broken is her brain and her soul because she’s a demon – she hates Venezuela.”

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