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Russia claims 14 killed in attack on hospital in eastern Ukraine

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Russia claims 14 killed in attack on hospital in eastern Ukraine

Russia has accused the Ukrainian army of intentionally attacking a hospital in a Russian-held space of jap Ukraine in what it mentioned was a conflict crime that killed 14 folks and wounded 24 sufferers and medical workers.

There was no quick response to the allegations from Ukraine on Saturday.

The assault hit a hospital within the Russian-held settlement of Novoaidar and was carried out utilizing a US-supplied HIMARS rocket launch system, the Russian defence ministry mentioned in an announcement.

“A deliberate missile strike in opposition to a recognized functioning civilian medical facility is no doubt a critical conflict crime by the Kyiv regime,” it mentioned. “All these concerned within the planning and execution of this crime shall be discovered and held accountable.”

Civilian and army medics had been working within the hospital for a lot of months treating native folks and troopers, it mentioned.

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Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian forces of frequent conflict crimes within the battle through which 1000’s of civilians have been killed and cities and cities diminished to rubble by artillery and air raids. Russia denies concentrating on civilians.

‘One more crime’

In the meantime, three folks have been killed and greater than a dozen others wounded following a Russian assault on town of Konstantynivka in jap Ukraine, the native governor mentioned on Saturday.

“The Russians fired at a residential neighbourhood, broken 4 multi-story buildings, a lodge, garages and civilian vehicles,” Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko mentioned on social media.

Kyrylenko mentioned rescue employees and police have been on the scene, “serving to folks and punctiliously documenting yet one more crime by the Russian occupiers on our land”.

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Photos posted on Kyrylenko’s Telegram account confirmed condominium buildings with blown-out home windows and particles scattered across the charred stays of a automotive.

In keeping with Ukraine’s defence ministry, Russia carried out assaults on Konstantynivka with a number of rocket launchers.

Nearly a 12 months into its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is searching for to grab management of your complete Donetsk area, which it has already declared part of Russia.

‘Intentionally destroying cities’

Ukraine mentioned this week that Russian troops had stepped up their assaults within the east, notably on the cities of Vugledar and Bakhmut.

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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the battles close to Bakhmut and Vuhledar, 200km (90 miles) to the south, as “extraordinarily acute”.

“The occupiers are usually not simply storming our positions, they’re intentionally and methodically destroying these cities and villages round them,” he mentioned.

Ukrainian troops are locked in a “fierce fight” with Russian troopers for management of Vuhledar as the 2 sides battle alongside the southern entrance. Either side claimed success within the small administrative centre of condominium blocks surrounded by flat fields.

“The encirclement and subsequent liberation of this metropolis solves many issues,” mentioned Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-appointed chief of the Donetsk area.

However Kyiv mentioned the city, which had a pre-invasion inhabitants of about 15,000, remained contested. “There’s fierce fight there,” Ukrainian army spokesman Sergiy Cherevaty informed native media.

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‘Decisive strategic motion’

Bloomberg Information reported that Russia was searching for to show that its army can change the momentum of the conflict after months of battlefield setbacks by launching a full-out offensive.

It quoted unnamed Russian officers and advisers as saying the objective is to attain fast victories to achieve management of the jap areas that have been annexed final 12 months to strengthen Moscow’s hand at any future peace talks.

The US-based Institute for the Research of Conflict (ISW) assume tank agreed with the reporting.

“This report is according to ISW’s present evaluation and forecast that the Kremlin is probably going making ready to conduct a decisive strategic motion – almost certainly in Luhansk Oblast – within the subsequent six months supposed to regain the initiative and finish Ukraine’s present string of operational successes,” it mentioned.

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“ISW beforehand assessed that the decisive strategic motion in Luhansk Oblast may very well be both a serious offensive or a Russian defensive operation to defeat and exploit a Ukrainian counteroffensive.”

One Ukraine official mentioned it’s attainable Russia will time its main offensive close to the anniversary of the beginning of the conflict final 12 months.

“It’s no secret that they’re making ready for a brand new wave by February 24,” Oleksiy Danilov, head of the Ukrainian Nationwide Safety and Protection Council, informed Radio Liberty on Friday.

The intention is to grab your complete Donbas – Donetsk and Luhansk – after which “to utterly transcend the borders of the areas”, mentioned Danilov.

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Democratic Divide on Gaza War, Campus Protests Hurting Biden, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

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Democratic Divide on Gaza War, Campus Protests Hurting Biden, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds
By Jason Lange and James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats are deeply divided over President Joe Biden’s handling of both the war in Gaza and the U.S. campus protests against it, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found, fraying the coalition that he relied on four years ago to defeat Republican …
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Slovakia's prime minister expected to survive assassination attempt as shock reverberates across Europe

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Slovakia's prime minister expected to survive assassination attempt as shock reverberates across Europe

Slovakia’s prime minister is expected to survive after he was shot multiple times and gravely wounded during an attempted assassination on Wednesday, according to his deputy.

Doctors fought for several hours to save Prime Minister Robert Fico’s life after he was shot in the abdomen while he was greeting supporters at an event outside a cultural center in the town of Handlova, Defense Minister Robert Kalina told reporters.

“I guess in the end he will survive,” Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC, adding: “He’s not in a life-threatening situation at this moment.”

A suspect was swiftly arrested following the attack Wednesday and an initial investigation found “a clear political motivation,” Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said.

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Rescue workers wheeled Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to a hospital after the shocking assassination attempt on him on Wednesday. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)

The 59-year-old’s attempted assassination just weeks before an election shocked the small country and reverberated concern across Europe.

“A physical attack on the prime minister is, first of all, an attack on a person, but it is also an attack on democracy,” said outgoing President Zuzana Caputova, Fico’s political rival. “Any violence is unacceptable. The hateful rhetoric we’ve been witnessing in society leads to hateful actions. Please, let’s stop it.”

Robert Fico

Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting at an event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.  (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

President-elect Peter Pellegrini, an ally of Fico, called the shooting “an unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy. If we express other political opinions with pistols in squares, and not in polling stations, we are jeopardizing everything that we have built together over 31 years of Slovak sovereignty.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also denounced the violence.

“Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form or sphere,” he said.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala chimed in with other world leaders and wished the prime minister a swift recovery, saying “we cannot tolerate violence, there’s no place for it in society.”

The Czech Republic and Slovakia formed Czechoslovakia until 1992.

A suspect being arrested

The man accused of shooting Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during an event in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, on Wednesday, was arrested by police quickly after the incident. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)

 

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Fico, a divisive figure in Slovakia, returned to power last year after campaigning on a pro-Russian, anti-American platform. 

At the time, European Union members expressed worry that he could potentially lead Slovakia – a nation of 5.4 million that belongs to NATO – to abandon its pro-Western course.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Slovakia PM Robert Fico in ‘very serious’ condition after being shot

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Slovakia PM Robert Fico in ‘very serious’ condition after being shot

Deputy PM Kalinak says Fico is stable post-surgery after being shot five times in an attempted assassination.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is stable but his condition remains “very serious”, his deputy has said, after an assassination attempt that shocked the country and drew global condemnation.

Fico, 59, was shot five times in the central town of Handlova on Wednesday. He was in critical condition and underwent several hours of emergency surgery.

“During the night, doctors managed to stabilise the patient’s condition,” Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, the condition is still very serious as the injuries are complicated,” said Kalinak, who is also the defence minister.

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A state security council meeting is scheduled for Thursday following the attack. The alleged attacker, a 71-year-old writer, was taken into custody.

Environment Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC on Thursday that the operation had “gone well”. He said one bullet went through Fico’s stomach, and the second hit a joint during the attack after Fico left a government meeting.

The shooting was “politically motivated”, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said on Wednesday.

“This assassination [attempt] was politically motivated, and the perpetrator’s decision was born closely after the presidential election,” Sutaj Estok said, referring to an April election won by Fico’s ally, Peter Pellegrini.

Pellegrini described the attack as an “unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy”.

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“If we express other political opinions in squares, and not in polling stations, we are jeopardising everything that we have built together over 31 years of Slovak sovereignty,” Pellegrini said.

A man is detained after Slovak PM Robert Fico was shot multiple times, in Handlova, Slovakia [File: Radovan Stoklasa/Reuters]

Following the attack, Fico was rushed to a hospital in Handlova but was transferred by helicopter to the regional capital, Banska Bystrica, for urgent treatment.

Russia said it considered the attack “absolutely unacceptable”.

“This is really a great tragedy,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

Fico’s European counterparts, including Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, condemned the shooting and wished him a complete recovery.

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The country of 5.4 million has seen polarised political debate in recent years, including last year’s presidential election that helped Fico tighten his grip on power.

Since returning as prime minister last October, his government has scaled back support for Ukraine while opening up dialogue with Russia, looked to lessen punishments for corruption, and is revamping the RTVS public broadcaster despite a call to protect media freedoms.

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