World
Ukrainian stronghold Vuhledar falls to Russian offensive after two years of bombardment
Russian troops on Wednesday took the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region after it withstood more than two years of attacks following the Kremlin’s invasion.
The eventual seizure of the town signifies Russia’s leg up when it comes to the sheer manpower advantage it has over Ukraine, as Kyiv continues to plead with the West for more and faster supplies of weaponry.
A Ukrainian service member rides a tank near Vuhledar, Feb. 22, 2023. (Reuters/Alex Babenko)
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A press officer from the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine’s Armed Forces – a unit known for its hardy resistance – said according to a translation provided by Pravda Ukraine on Thursday that the wounded soldiers were successfully evacuated, but under “very difficult” conditions.
“The enemy pressed from the flanks, complicating logistics significantly,” Arsenii Prylipka told the news outlet before adding, “This is war. It is impossible to have no losses.”
Prylipka highlighted the strain of the situation and said the commanding officer was forced to make a decision amid heavy fighting.
“They are continually striking, controlling, and complicating logistics, so a decision is made right on the battlefield,” he added, rebuffing any question that criticized the decision to withdraw from the coal mining town.
Ukraine’s eastern military command said it had ordered a pullback from the town to prevent Russian troops from encircling its forces positioned in Vuhledar and to “preserve personnel and military equipment,” reported Reuters.
Apartment buildings damaged by a Russian military strike in Vuhledar in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Oct. 10, 2023. (Reuters/Yevhen Titov)
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Though the town reportedly had a population of some 14,000 before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, it has been a frontline town since the start of the war, with the majority of the town’s residents having long since evacuated.
Images show the beating the town has received after undergoing more than two years of Russian bombardment, many of the buildings not only abandoned, but smoke-covered and crumbling.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his war aim is to take the whole of the Donbas region from Ukraine, and his troops currently occupy an estimated 80% of it.
The last of the Ukrainian troops to withdraw from Vuhledar left Tuesday night, reported Reuters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday backed the decision by the commanding officer to withdraw his brigade from the town.
Members of the 1st Independent Tank Brigade near Vuhledar, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, March 6, 2023. (Reuters/Lisi Niesner)
“It is necessary to protect their lives, because they are more important than any buildings. These are our people, these are citizens of Ukraine,” he said in response to a question by a reporter about the withdrawal following a meeting with the new NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
“Therefore, it is very correct that they leave and can save themselves. For the sake of the state, for the sake of its heroic service,” he added.
new video loaded: Train Crashes Into Bangkok Traffic, Killing at Least 8 People
By Jorge Mitssunaga
May 16, 2026
World
WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Central Africa a public health emergency after 80 suspected deaths
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The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa an international public health emergency on Sunday after dozens of suspected deaths were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, the WHO said.
The declaration follows reports of 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases as of Saturday across at least three health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring a rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius cruise ship, which left multiple passengers and crew members sick, and caused three deaths.
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A health worker sprays disinfectant on a colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on Sept. 9, 2018. (Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP)
As of May 13, the WHO said 11 hantavirus cases had been identified in connection with the cruise outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case.
In neighboring Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the WHO said two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases — including one death — were reported Friday and Saturday involving people who had traveled from the DRC.
Another laboratory-confirmed case was reported in the DRC capital of Kinshasa involving a person returning from Ituri province.
Initial tests suggested the outbreak does not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which caused Congo’s devastating 2018–2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.
EBOLA OUTBREAK REPORTED IN AFRICAN COUNTRY — HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Health workers wearing protective suits tend to an Ebola victim in an isolation tent in Beni, Congo, on July 13, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
However, unlike Ebola-Zaire strains, there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain, which the WHO described as making the outbreak “extraordinary.”
The WHO warned the outbreak could be larger than currently reported due to the high positivity rate among initial samples and the growing number of suspected cases.
The outbreak also poses a public health risk to other countries, the WHO said, urging nations to activate emergency-management systems and implement cross-border screening measures.
‘DISEASE X’ HAS KILLED DOZENS IN THE CONGO — HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MYSTERY ILLNESS
Ambulances parked at Bunia General Referral Hospital following confirmation of an Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 16, 2026. (REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge)
Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease spread through bodily fluids, including blood, vomit and semen. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and internal bleeding.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said Congo has a “strong track record” responding to Ebola outbreaks while announcing the release of $500,000 in emergency funding to support containment efforts.
The WHO said it will convene an emergency committee to review recommendations for how affected countries should respond.
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Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, on July 16, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
The organization did not recommend border closures or travel restrictions.
Congo has now recorded 17 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Brittany Miller, along with Reuters, contributed to this report.
Iran to reveal its plan for Strait of Hormuz soon as Israel attacks Lebanon and Gaza, killing and wounding dozens.
Published On 17 May 2026
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