Ukraine hits Russian oil depot after Moscow launches new missile
Kyiv, Jan 10: A Ukrainian drone strike sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s southern Volgograd region, regional authorities said on Saturday. There were no immediate reports of casualties, the regional governor was quoted as saying in a Telegram post published on the channel of the local administration. The post did not specify the damage, but said that people living near the depot may have to be evacuated. Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian energy sites aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an attempt to “weaponise winter.” Saturday’s attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, according to Ukrainian officials, killing at least four people in the capital. For only the second time in the nearly 4-year-old war, it used a powerful, new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine on Friday in a clear warning to Kyiv’s NATO allies. (AP)
S Korean Prez orders probe into drone incursions into North Korea
Seoul, Jan 10: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday ordered a prompt investigation into alleged drone incursions into North Korea, warning that such acts would constitute “a grave crime” threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula and national security if confirmed. North Korea claimed earlier in the day that South Korea had infringed on its sovereignty with drone incursions last September and again earlier this week, but Seoul’s defence ministry rejected Pyongyang’s accusations. Addressing the possibility that the drones were operated by a private individual or group, Lee said if the allegation proves true, it would amount to “a serious crime that threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and national security,” calling on the military and police to conduct a swift and thorough probe, Cheong Wa Dae said, Yonhap news agency reported. (IANS)
Masked, armed men beat Palestinian in West Bank
Tel Aviv, Jan 10:Dozens of masked men armed with sticks attacked a plant nursery and beat and injured a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, according to people who saw the attack and video footage. Video filmed by security cameras shows men dressed mostly in black, faces covered, with several hitting and kicking a man on the ground. Two people who witnessed the attack and are members of the family that own the facility said Israeli settlers beat 67-year-old Basim Saleh Yassin as he was trying to flee the nursery located in the northern West Bank village of Deir Sharaf. They said Yassin is in the hospital and has broken bones in his hand and other injuries on his face, chest and back. Four cars were burned and destroyed at the nursery. The attack is the latest in rising settler violence in the West Bank. Settler attacks ramped up during the Palestinian olive harvest season in October and early November and have continued since. (AP)
