KYIV: Ukraine’s army has retreated from a neighborhood in the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, a strategically important town in the eastern Donetsk region that has been reduced to rubble under a monthslong Russian assault, a military spokesperson said Thursday.
Chasiv Yar is a short distance west of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a bitter 10-month battle. For months, Russian forces have focused on capturing Chasiv Yar, a town which occupies an elevated location. Its fall would put nearby cities in jeopardy, compromise critical Ukrainian supply routes and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of seizing the entire Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian army retreated from a northeastern neighborhood in the town, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Khortytsia ground forces formation, told The Associated Press in a written message Thursday.
Ukraine’s defensive positions in the town were “destroyed,” he said, adding that there was a threat of serious casualties if troops remained in the area and that Russia did not leave “a single intact building.”
Months of relentless Russian artillery strikes have devastated Chasiv Yar, with homes and municipal offices charred, and a town that once had a population of 12,000 has been left deserted.
Oleh Shyriaiev, commander of the 255 assault battalion which has been based in the area for six months, said after Russian troops captured the neighborhood, they burned every building not already destroyed by shelling.
Shyriaiev said Russia is deploying scorched-earth tactics in an attempt to destroy anything which could be used as a military position in a bid to force troops to retreat.
“I regret that we are gradually losing territory,” he said, speaking by phone from the Chasiv Yar area, but added, “we cannot hold what is ruined.”
Russian troops outnumber Ukrainians 10-to-1 in the area but Shyriaiev suggested that, even with that ratio, they have not been able to make significant progress in the past six months of active fighting.
The intensity of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s defensive line in the area of Chasiv Yar has increased over the last month, Voloshyn said.
In the past week alone, Voloshyn said Russia has carried out nearly 1,300 strikes, fired nearly 130 glide bombs and made 44 ground assaults.
Other Russian attacks in recent weeks have focused on capturing nearby settlements that would allow them to advance to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the biggest cities in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Donetsk region.
Ukrainian commanders in the area say their resources remain stretched, largely due to a monthslong gap in military assistance from the United States which threw Ukraine’s military onto the defensive.
Shyriaiev, the assault battalion commander, said ammunition from allies is arriving, but more slowly than needed by the army.
“We are determined to hold on to the end,” said the commander, who has been fighting on the front line since the outbreak of the war.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, the governor of the northern Chernihiv region, Viacheslav Chaus, said Russia launched 22 drones over Ukraine last night. One hit a power infrastructure facility in the northern Chernihiv region, leaving nearly 6,000 customers without electricity, he said, adding that the rest were shot down.
Russia is continually targeting Ukraine’s badly damaged energy infrastructure, resulting in hours of rolling blackouts across the country. Ukrainian officials have warned that the situation may worsen as winter approaches.
Ukraine’s army retreats from positions as Russia gets closer to seizing strategically important town
https://arab.news/mbhxm
Ukraine’s army retreats from positions as Russia gets closer to seizing strategically important town
- For months, Russian forces have focused on capturing Chasiv Yar, a town which occupies an elevated location
- The Ukrainian army retreated from a northeastern neighborhood in the town, Nazar Voloshyn
155 hostages freed, 27 militants killed in Pakistan train siege: security sources
- Security official says 27 militants killed, gunbattle ongoing while militants using women and children as human shields
- Baloch Liberation Army group says holding 214 people hostage including military, paramilitary, police, intelligence officers
QUETTA/KARACHI: Pakistani security officials said on Tuesday 155 hostages had been freed after separatist militants hijacked a train carrying more than 400 passengers in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, with a gunbattle raging on hours after the assault began.
A low-level separatist insurgency in Balochistan is one of the chronic security problems undermining stability in Pakistan. The separatists accuse the government of stripping the province’s natural resources and leaving its people mired in poverty. They say security forces routinely abduct, torture and execute ethnic Baloch, accusations echoed by human rights campaigners. Government officials and security forces strongly deny violating human rights and say they are uplifting the province through development projects, including multi-billion-dollar schemes funded by China. Insurgents in the province also target civilians, especially Pakistanis from other ethnic groups who have settled in Balochistan.
The latest attack on the Quetta-Peshawar bound Jaffar Express occurred in Mushkaaf, an area in the mountainous Bolan range of Balochistan. The Baloch Liberation Army, the most prominent among separatist outfits operating in the province, accepted responsibility in a statement sent to the media and said it was holding 214 people hostage.
The Jaffar Express train was hijacked while it was en route to the northwestern city of Peshawar from the provincial capital of Quetta, carrying 425 passengers, according to Muhammad Kashif, a spokesman for Pakistan Railways Quetta Division.
“Security forces have safely rescued 104 passengers from the terrorists,” a security official with direct knowledge of the matter said, requesting anonymity and adding that the released people included 58 men, 31 women and 115 children.
He said troops had surrounded the militants and an exchange of fire was ongoing, with 16 insurgents killed.
“The complex operation is being carried out with utmost caution due to the use of women and children as shields and the difficult terrain,” the official added.
“RULES OF WAR”
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by area, covering 347,190 square kilometers and constituting 44 percent of the country’s total landmass. However, the remote province bordering Afghanistan and Iran is the country’s most backward region in terms of nearly all social and economic indicators. There are no Internet and mobile services in nearly 60 percent of the province, according to independent monitors, and areas which have such services often see shutdowns and months-long disruptions due to security reasons.
Speaking to Arab News, Imran Hayat, the divisional superintendent of Pakistan Railways in Quetta, said the department was unable to gather too many details of the attack or communicate with staff aboard the train as militants had carried out the assault in a “no-signal zone.”
“We haven’t retrieved a single body or injured from the area yet due to the communication blackout,” he said.
The BLA said it had blown up the railway track and taken control of the train.
“Under the rules of war, these 214 hostages are considered prisoners of war and BLA is prepared for a prisoner exchange,” the group said. “The occupying state of Pakistan is given 48 hours to immediately and unconditionally release Baloch political prisoners, forcibly disappeared persons and national resistance activists.”
The group warned that the hostages included military, paramilitary, police and intelligence officers, who would be killed if the BLA’s demands were not met within the stipulated period “or if the occupying state attempts any military action during this time.”
The separatists have also recently attacked projects being developed as part of the $65-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, in Balochistan. The program is also developing a deep-water port close to the new $200-million airport in Gwadar, a joint venture between Pakistan, Oman and China.
Al Shabab gunmen attack hotel in central Somalia, seven dead
- Hours after the initial attack, government forces were trying to flush out Al Shabab fighters, some of whom had been killed in nearby alleys, said Dahir Amin Jesow, a federal lawmaker from the town, the capital of Hiraan region
MOGADISHU: Al Shabab gunmen killed at least seven people in an attack on Tuesday at a hotel in a central Somali town where local elders and government officials were meeting to discuss how to act against the Islamist militant group, an elder said.
The Al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for the attack in Beledweyne and said it had killed over 10 people. The attackers forced their way in by setting off explosives at the entrance, said a witness, shopkeeper Ali Suleiman.
Al Shabab frequently launches bombings and gun attacks in the fragile Horn of Africa nation as it tries to topple the government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
“So far seven people, including clan elders and their guards, all of them my relatives, died in the hotel. Parts of the hotel are ablaze now and it is not clear if the operation is concluded or not,” clan elder Abdullahi Fidow told Reuters.
“Some say the fighters are still fighting in nearby buildings. The death toll may rise because of the blasts and shooting by the fighters,” he said.
Hours after the initial attack, government forces were trying to flush out Al Shabab fighters, some of whom had been killed in nearby alleys, said Dahir Amin Jesow, a federal lawmaker from the town, the capital of Hiraan region.
In a separate incident, at least 10 people, including eight Al Shabab fighters, were killed in fighting in a village in the Middle Shabelle region in southern Somalia, Ali Farah, a military officer in the village, told Reuters.
State-owned Somali National News Agency reported that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was at the airport in Mogadishu to receive the soldiers wounded in the fighting.
Trump administration still plans to eliminate consumer finance bureau, witness says
- Trump has accused the agency of politicized enforcement and the CFPB has been reviled by conservatives and the financial services industry, which have accused it of overreach and overzealous enforcement actions
President Donald Trump’s administration still plans to fire all workers at the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, effectively neutralizing it, according to witness testimony delivered Tuesday.
The testimony runs counter to CFPB court filings, according to which the agency would continue to exist only in a “streamlined” form, as a judge has temporarily blocked it from continuing with mass dismissals.
However a witness, an agency official who testified Tuesday in a Washington courtroom under a pseudonym for fear of retaliation, said she was privy to conversations with the Office of Personnel Management this month at which officials were still discussing firing all agency workers.
“On the 4th, it was mostly about a cost estimate for the final phase” for firing any remaining workers after as many as 1,200 workers are dismissed, said the witness.
“This was last Tuesday?” asked Deepak Gupta, a lawyer representing an employee union, consumer advocates and others challenging the administration’s moves against the CFPB.
“Yes,” the witness answered, adding that she was unaware of any change in plans to wind down the CFPB entirely.
She appeared under the pseudonym “Alex Doe” and explained that she feared retaliation for providing her testimony.
Representatives for the CFPB and OPM did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Unlike the government position taken in court papers, Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk have said the consumer financial watchdog should be eliminated. Trump has accused the agency of politicized enforcement and the CFPB has been reviled by conservatives and the financial services industry, which have accused it of overreach and overzealous enforcement actions.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs have said scrapping the agency in this manner defies the powers of Congress, which created the agency in 2010 and would be the sole authority able to abolish it.
Justice Department lawyers argue that Trump officials have acted within their authority and are working to comply with relevant laws.
The witness also said officials with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency had pressured CFPB officials in mid-February to proceed more quickly in processing bulk notices of employee firings as a court hearing approached at which a judge could order a halt to the firings.
Lawyers representing the National Treasury Employees Union and others are seeking a court order directing the Trump administration to undo the actions it has taken so far in dismissing about 200 workers, placing remaining staff on leave and canceling service contracts, among other measures. A judge has yet to rule on the matter after two days of testimony.
What to know about Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia protester arrested by ICE and facing deportation
- Khalil was one of the most visible activists in the protests last spring at Columbia, which also happened on other college campuses around the world
- A federal judge in Manhattan ordered the government to not deport Khalil until the court has a chance to review the case
NEW YORK: A Palestinian activist who helped lead student protests at Columbia University faces deportation after being arrested over the weekend by federal immigration officials.
Trump has warned that the apprehension of Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident, represents the “first arrest of many” as his administration cracks down on campus opposition to the war in Gaza. But a federal judge temporarily blocked the 30-year old’s expulsion from the country.
Here’s what you need to know:
What happened?
Khalil was detained Saturday night as he and his wife were returning to their Columbia University-owned apartment in upper Manhattan by officials from the US Department of Homeland Security.
The agents told the couple that Khalil was being detained because his student visa had been revoked.
When his wife provided documents proving he was a green card holder, the agents said that was also being revoked and took him away in handcuffs, according to a lawsuit Khalil’s attorneys filed challenging his detention.
Why is he facing deportation?
The Department of Homeland Security, confirming his arrest Saturday, accused Khalil of leading “activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
The White House, elaborating more on its position Tuesday, claimed Khalil organized protests where pro-Hamas propaganda was distributed.
“This administration is not going to tolerate individuals having the privilege of studying in our country and then siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary.
Khalil’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to the White House’s latest claims.
Who is Mahmoud Khalil?
Khalil was one of the most visible activists in the protests last spring at Columbia, which also happened on other college campuses around the world.
He served as a student negotiator — a role that had him speaking frequently with university officials and the press.
More recently, he was among the pro-Palestinian activists investigated by a new disciplinary body at Columbia University focused on harassment and discrimination complaints.
Khalil completed his master’s degree in public administration at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs in December.
What’s his legal status?
Khalil was born and raised in Syria after his Palestinian grandparents were removed from their homeland, according to his lawsuit.
He came to the US on a student visa in 2022 to pursue his graduate studies at Columbia.
Khalil and his wife, who is a US citizen, then married in 2023. He became a legal permanent resident — also known as a green card holder — last year.
Can the government deport green card holders?
Short answer: yes. Green card holders can be deported, but the government has the burden to prove the person is deportable.
Grounds for deportation can range from being convicted of a range of crimes, from murder, assault and burglary to tax evasion, domestic violence and illegal firearms possession, according to Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law expert and retired Cornell Law School professor.
But a legal permanent resident can also be expelled for providing material support to a terrorist group, in which case the government doesn’t need a criminal conviction to bring deportation charges, he said.
“Material support for immigration purposes is much broader than the criminal definition of the term,” Yale-Loehr explained. “For example, people have been deported for simply providing a cup of water or bowl of rice to guerrilla groups, even under duress.”
Where is Khalil?
Khalil is being held at a federal immigration detention facility in a central Louisiana town roughly 170 miles (274 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans.
The Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena, which is a low-slung complex ringed by barbed wire fences, can hold about 1,160 detainees.
Louisiana became a hub for immigrant detention during the first Trump administration and has nine centers, most of them run by private contractors.
Critics say the isolated complexes cut prisoners off from easy access to attorneys and family.
“The intent is to kind of break the morale, the spirits, of those that are held at these facilities,” Yasmine Taeb, the legislative and political director for the Muslim activist group MPower Change, told reporters Tuesday.
What’s next?
Khalil is expected to make an initial appearance before an immigration court but is unclear when — it could happen anywhere from 10 days to a month, experts told the AP .
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Manhattan ordered the government to not deport Khalil until the court has a chance to review the case. A hearing was tentatively scheduled for Wednesday.
Khalil’s lawyers contend that he has a right to due process as a legal permanent resident and that the government is “engaging in blatant efforts to target and chill” Khalil’s free speech and to “discriminate against particular viewpoints,” in violation of the First Amendment.
They’ve also petitioned the court to have him returned to New York, as his wife is eight months pregnant.
“For everyone reading this, I urge you to see Mahmoud through my eyes as a loving husband and the future father to our baby,” his wife, who has not been named, wrote in a statement provided by his lawyers. “I need your help to bring Mahmoud home, so he is here beside me, holding my hand in the delivery room as we welcome our first child into this world.”
Macron urges allies to plan ‘credible security guarantees’ for Ukraine
- Macron has teamed up with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to lead efforts to form a “coalition of the willing” to enforce an eventual ceasefire in Ukraine
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called on military chiefs from across Europe and beyond to draw up a plan “to define credible security guarantees” for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, the presidency said.
His appeal, in a closed-door Paris meeting of top brass from more than 30 allied states, came as Ukraine endorsed an American proposal for a month-long ceasefire and agreed to immediate negotiations with Russia, in pivotal talks in Saudi Arabia.
Macron has sought to rally a European response to Washington’s shock policy shift in US-Russia relations.
The Paris meeting gathered representatives from 34 countries — most of them from Europe and NATO, but also from Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
There was no representative from the United States, which is the leading member of NATO.
“This is the moment when Europe must throw its full weight behind Ukraine, and itself,” Macron told the meeting, according to the Elysee.
“In view of the acceleration of peace negotiations,” it was necessary to start planning to “define credible security guarantees” to make a lasting peace in Ukraine a reality, the French presidency reported Macron as saying.
Macron has teamed up with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to lead efforts to form a “coalition of the willing” to enforce an eventual ceasefire in Ukraine.
According to the Elysee, the military chiefs of staff from European and NATO nations — including Britain and Turkiye — agreed that the security guarantees “should not be separated from NATO and its capabilities.”
Such guarantees should be “credible and long-term, and should be accompanied by unfailing support for the Ukrainian army,” according to the Elysee.
More than three years since Russia invaded its neighbor, Europe is scrambling to boost its defenses and break free from dependence on the United States.
It has been unsettled by Trump renewing contacts with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, raising fears that the US president may try to force Ukraine to accept a settlement favoring Russia.
Trump suspended military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, though his administration late on Tuesday indicated it would lift the freeze after Ukraine endorsed then American proposal.
Macron later posted on X that “the ball is now clearly in Russia’s court,” and hailed the “progress” made in peace talks in Saudi Arabia.
Ahead of the Paris defense meeting, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said: “We will reject any form of demilitarization of Ukraine.”
“It is simply a question of looking ahead and thinking about what the Ukrainian army should be in the future,” Lecornu added.
On Friday, the French president, who has pushed his country’s defense industry to switch to “war economy mode,” is set to meet with defense manufacturers, according to a member of his team.
Defense ministers from Europe’s five main military powers — France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland — are to meet in the French capital on Wednesday. EU and NATO representatives and the Ukrainian defense minister will also take part.
Those talks will center on the “necessary rearmament of Europe” and military support to Ukraine, one of Lecornu’s aides said.
Starmer will, in turn, host virtual talks on Saturday with leaders of the nations willing to help support the ceasefire.
Macron has said any European troops in Ukraine would be deployed only “once a peace deal is signed, to guarantee it is fully respected.”
He has also said he would be ready to discuss extending France’s nuclear deterrent to European partners.
Last week, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a plan to mobilize around 800 billion euros ($843 billion) for Europe’s defense and help provide “immediate” military support for Ukraine.
France also plans to raise defense spending, with Lecornu referring to a target of around 100 billion euros ($109 bn) a year, compared to 50.5 billion euros in 2025.
