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After Days at Sea, Some Migrants Reach Italy

Migrants disembark a coast guard vessel, after arriving by the hundreds packed on boats, on the southern island of Lampedusa, Italy May 9, 2021. REUTERS/Mauro Buccarello
Migrants disembark a coast guard vessel, after arriving by the hundreds packed on boats, on the southern island of Lampedusa, Italy May 9, 2021. REUTERS/Mauro Buccarello
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After Days at Sea, Some Migrants Reach Italy

Migrants disembark a coast guard vessel, after arriving by the hundreds packed on boats, on the southern island of Lampedusa, Italy May 9, 2021. REUTERS/Mauro Buccarello
Migrants disembark a coast guard vessel, after arriving by the hundreds packed on boats, on the southern island of Lampedusa, Italy May 9, 2021. REUTERS/Mauro Buccarello

A German charity boat carrying 257 rescued migrants docked Saturday in Sicily after Italian authorities granted permission, but another humanitarian vessel with 549 aboard still awaited an assigned port six days after the start of rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

After several days in limbo at sea, Sea-Watch 3 sailed into port at Trapani, western Sicily. Among the migrants aboard were 70 minors, some of them traveling without adult guardians while trying to reach Europe. Health workers were administering COVID-19 tests to the migrants.

German maritime rescue group Sea-Watch said Italian authorities assigned the German-flagged vessel a port on Friday after sea conditions in the central Mediterranean deteriorated.

Italy appealed to the European Union earlier in the week to press fellow EU nations to take some of the thousands of asylum-seekers who have arrived in the country in recent months, a sharp uptick since 2020. But similar past appeals for EU solidarity largely went unheeded, and there was no immediate signal the Italian government’s latest pitch would prove more effective.

A French charity, SOS Mediterranee, said Saturday that its rescue vessel was still awaiting port authorization. The Ocean Viking is carrying 549 passengers, including a 3-month-old infant, who were rescued in six separate operations over the course of the week, the organization said.

The Italian coast guard took one migrant off the boat for medical reasons on Friday night, the fourth such evacuation from the Ocean Viking in recent days, The Associated Press reported.

“The #OceanViking is still without any information about disembarking,'' SOS Mediterranee tweeted. “Our medical team is observing ever more signs of psychological unease aboard. Yesterday, a person fainted due to exhaustion. We're running out of medicines.''

Italy's interior minister earlier in the week pressed the European Union for an “urgent” change of direction on migrant policy. Right-wing leader Matteo Salvini, whose anti-migrant League party is a member of the country's wide-ranging coalition, is insisting Premier Mario Draghi act decisively to stem the flow of migrants arriving on Italy's shores.

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Ukraine Has Lost over 40% of Land It Seized in Russia’s Kursk Region, Senior Kyiv Military Source Says

A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)
A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)
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Ukraine Has Lost over 40% of Land It Seized in Russia’s Kursk Region, Senior Kyiv Military Source Says

A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)
A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)

Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia's Kursk region that it captured in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults, a senior Ukrainian military source said.

The source, who is on Ukraine's General Staff, said Russia had deployed 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv's forces swept in and advanced swiftly, catching Moscow unprepared 2-1/2 years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"At most, we controlled about 1,376 square kilometers (531 square miles), now of course this territory is smaller. The enemy is increasing its counterattacks," the source said.

"Now we control approximately 800 square kilometers (309 square miles). We will hold this territory for as long as is militarily appropriate."

With the thrust into Kursk, Kyiv aimed to stem Russian attacks in eastern and northeastern Ukraine, force Russia to pull back forces gradually advancing in the east and give Kyiv extra leverage in any future peace negotiations.

But Russian forces are still advancing in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin's main objectives were to occupy the entire Donbas, which consists of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and oust Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region.

"For Putin, the most important thing is to push us out of the Kursk region. I am sure that he wants to push us out by January 20," Zelenskiy told media, referring to when Donald Trump will be inaugurated as US president. "It is very important for him (Putin) to demonstrate that he is in control of the situation."

The source at the Ukrainian General Staff source reiterated that about 11,000 North Korean troops had arrived in the Kursk region in support of Russia, but that the bulk of their forces was still finalizing their training.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the figures or descriptions given.

Moscow, which occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, has not confirmed or denied the presence of North Korean forces in Kursk region.

RUSSIAN ADVANCE IN EASTERN UKRAINE

The General Staff source said the Kurakhove region was the most threatening for Kyiv now as Russian forces were advancing there at 200-300 meters (yards) a day and had managed to break through in some areas.

The town of Kurakhove is a stepping stone towards the logistical hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

Russia has about 575,000 troops fighting in Ukraine now, the source said, and aims to increase its forces to around 690,000.

Russia does not disclose numbers involved in its fighting. Reuters could not verify those figures.

Ukraine has sought to disrupt Russian logistics and supply chains by hitting Russian weapons and ammunition depots, airfields, and other military targets inside Russia.

After US President Joe Biden allowed Kyiv to fire US-supplied missiles at targets deep inside Russia, Ukraine last week fired US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia.

On Thursday, Russia launched a new medium-range ballistic missile into the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, in a likely warning to NATO.

Ukrainian officials are holding talks with the United States and Britain on new air defense systems capable of protecting Ukrainian cities and civilians from the new longer-range aerial threats.

The Ukrainian General Staff source said the military had implemented measures to bolster air defenses over Kyiv and planned similar steps for Sumy in the north and Kharkiv in the northeast.